New Work, New Directions

In getting ready for three shows in the next couple of months I've been busy creating more new work to bring with me. Here are the images and discussion:

This first one is the second of my wedge series, the first one is here, and pre-painted earlier version of this one is here.

Fear Not, Fall Not
shellac on curly maple and cherry
28" x 32" x 4"

side view

In looking at the images, I'm real satisfied with how it came out. I find it hard to look at a piece after working on it for months and seeing it with fresh eyes. Somehow images give me the distance to be able to evaluate the work. For instance, I knew that the sections were book-matched but I couldn't remember or see which were the matching sections. Now, looking at the image, I can see not only the match, but that the off-set lines them up perfectly. I don't remember ever thinking of lining them up -- it might have been an accident -- but I'm happy with the results.

The piece isn't that large but it is substantial. I don't have a scale but I'm guessing that it weighs 45 to 50 pounds (judging by my feeling that it weighs less than my 62 lb air compressor). I'm a little worried about it taking down my plywood walls at a show but I think if I place it on the back wall on the left or right side I'll avoid that disaster.

The over-lay piece I have been struggling with for a while (discussed here and here) is also finished. The title, No Apology Necessary, is a reference to my earlier discussion of being influenced by George Nakashima and being able to keep the live-edge on the final piece.

No Apology Necessary
shellac on curly maple, cherry, and walnut
48" x 26" x 1"

This next piece also went through a major change. Earlier images are here and here. I decided I didn't like the clear epoxy in the middle so I cut it in half and glued it together side by side. I think this version is much better than the original idea and, thankfully, I don't have to worry about the back-lighting issue any more.

Time Float
shellac on bird's-eye maple, cherry, and epoxy
29" x 24" x 1"

And I finally finished the second of my flag series after many iterations on the blue section. Just before finishing it I was ready to completely start over but, as I removed a little of the shellac I thought it suddenly came together and made sense, so I stopped and just polished it. I like how, from the time I started, the movement in the wood caused the bird's-eyes to protrude slightly so that when I removed some of the color they suddenly came out as white stars on a blue night-like background. It made me think of Van Gogh's famous painting, hence the title.

Starry Night Flag
shellac on bird's-eye maple, curly maple, and cherry
26.5" x 26.5" x 1"

In the quest to explore work in a completely different direction, I started a series of shellac paintings that are just about shellac, and aren't sculptural or have anything to do with wood. Having recently acquired a large stash of 3/4" baltic birch plywood, I decided it was time to experiment. With this first piece, I treated the plywood as I had solid wood, building clear shellac on the surface before adding color, but then realized that I didn't like the grain pattern coming through.

Untitled First Shellac Painting
shellac on board
18" x 24"

So, for the second painting, to get ride of the wood altogether, I gesso'ed the plywood before painting it. I know it is more than a little ironic that someone who is so focused on wood would try to get rid of the look but I don't see any reason to be dogmatic about art. I think shellac can create some real interesting effects, different than one can get with any other type of paint, so I feel it is important to explore what can be done with it.

Three Blue Stripes (2010)
shellac on board
12" x 26"

Because I have an earlier piece with the same title, I added the date.

With the third one the design got a little more complicated. I struggled with it for a while but felt it came together when I added the black.

Six Red Squares
shellac on board
19" x 25"

One of my hopes with doing these paintings was that it would be easier and faster than the sculptural paintings on wood I've been doing. Unfortunately for me, it didn't seem to be any faster, rather, I seemed to be exchanging one set of challenges for another. Still, I think the effect is interesting and worth exploring. It opens up a lot of possibilities that I don't have with the wood work.

In another direction, I started another series of ribbon sculptures. Since selling a couple of them at the last show in the fall, I had wanted to make some more, so, figuring the I could now justify the expense of buying a big hunk of cherry, I bought an 8' x 8" x 3" board on my last visit to the lumber mill. I was looking for a 4" board but the guy at the mill said he hadn't seen anything that thick in more than a decade and even getting 3" thick boards is getting tough to find. I could probably find a 4" board if I go to a lot of effort but luckily my neighbor cut down a butternut tree over the summer that I was able to buy and mill myself (after using Inca-like ingenuity to move and lift it into my truck, solo). Now I have several big hunks up to 8" thick that I'm air drying. In four to eight years it should be ready to work.

Cherry Ribbon (2010)

42" x 8" x 3"

Lastly, in making these ribbon sculptures, I'm left with a negative half that I like to make vases with, good for dried flowers. Because I feel it is more craft than fine art, I don't plan on adding it to my portfolio and just photographed it myself. It can hang on a wall or sit on a table/credenza/shelf.

Cherry Vase

8" x 37" x 2.5"

Don't Listen To The Artist!

In the latest issue of Smithsonian Magazine there is an article about Van Gogh and his night paintings. One point that stood out for me was where it mentioned how horribly disappointed he was with his painting, Starry Night. He thought it was a total failure. It reminded me of my own experiences with my art and dealing with other artists. I find, pretty consistently, that the public reacts much differently to art than the artists would predict. Often my least favorite piece is the one that people tend to react to and like the best. I have to hold my tongue. I'd like to say, "What? You like that one!?! But it really isn't any good." I don't know why this is. I haven't found that it has to do with how much experience a viewer has with art, they could be a seasoned collector or a novice. It might have to do with the extra work that goes into the failures. I can spend twice as long working on a piece that I don't like in order to try and save it and then finally give up when I realize there is nothing left I can do. I think it may also have to do with how artist will fixate on one minor part of a piece that doesn't feel right where as the viewer never notices or cares about the details, they react to the piece as a whole. As a gallery owner, I see the same thing with other artists. It isn't unusual to see someone's least favorite piece be the first to sell. The bottom line is that artists are often the worst judges of their own work.

Art Finds A Home

The recent purchasers of this painting, "Sunflowers and Sky," sent me an image of its installation in their home. I think it looks great, like they had the nook made specifically for the piece. In fact, they had a couple of nooks built into their home specifically for art. They then painted the background to go with the painting. It is a honor to have the work so prominently placed.

This was my second shellac painting. It was an interesting process of having to start thinking about color and composition. Besides learning about primary and secondary colors in elementary school, I don't know much about color. Luckily, at the same time I was beginning the piece I heard (or read) about Vincent Van Gogh writing in a letter describing his color theory and how much he loved yellow and orange and that whenever painting it, he liked to paint blue next to it. I figured, if it is good enough for Vincent . . .

In sending the work to the Phoenix area, I also got an education in shipping shellac paintings to deserts in the heat of the summer. The first time I sent it, I wrapped it in tissue paper and, although FedEx did crush the box a bit, the bigger problem was that it arrived in Phoenix on a Friday but it didn't get delivered until Monday, leaving it the weekend to bake the tissue paper into the shellac.

After repairing it I repacked it with an added layer of plywood that I used to attach to the back so that it would float in the box without touching anything. Unfortunately, FedEx was again unable to deliver it on the Friday and they crushed the box, slightly but significantly, baking some cardboard into the painting. Luckily, the buyers gave me a third chance and this time I added wooden laths on the front and sides, inside a second box.

I submitted a damage claim to FedEx for the second crushing and they reimbursed me enough to pay for the multiple shipping costs, so at least it only cost me time. Now I know, crate all work going to deserts in the summer.