New Work

Here is my latest batch of work going back to last June. All photographs were taken by RL Photo Studio of Burlington, Vermont.

This first piece, Binding Light (1), evolved over time to become something much more spiritual than I originally intended. I find that I am continually drawn to geometric shapes with random angles and sides. I like how they are all different and I like adding to that difference by painting them differently. As I paint them I am always thinking how their uniqueness is a metaphor for the uniqueness of all beings, the infinite variety of life. Consequently, I see this work more as portraiture than abstract art.

As I was working on this piece, I started to see how, if I painted the last, outermost pentagon the same color as the section in the corner it could infer that the same color (or light would exist around every other shape continuing beyond the unseen corners out to infinity. In this way, I feel it is a depiction of the nature of reality, the insepartablity of all beings that exist everywhere.

Binding Light (1)

mixed media on board 

48" x 41.5"

2018

Binding Light (2) is a conceptual continuation of (1), intending to show what it looks like to have multiple "beings" within the painting. I had changed the last pentagon to white after I realized that it made more sense since white light is the source of all other colors; additionally, both The Tibetan Book of the Dead (The Great Liberation Through Hearing) and people who have died and come back to life talk about going toward a white light.

Binding Light (2)

mixed media on board 

48" x 41.5"

2018

Carlota was originally started, and "finished," in 2013. Over the summer I pulled it back out to work on it again, this time adding the zigzag pattern on top.

Carlota

mixed media on board 

41.5" x 41"

2013/2017

Here is what Carlota looked liked before I reworked it.

December 2013
mixed media on board
2013

The same with Conundrum with Blue, it was the second zigzag piece. I decide to make larger zigzags this time. Not sure which is better.

Conundrum with Blue

mixed media on board 

42.5" x 46"

2013/2017

And this is what Conundrum with Blue looked liked earlier.

Untitled
mixed media on board
2013

Homage is, obviously, an homage to the many other artists that have inspired me while still adding my own style. I am not sure why but I find it really important to use a different color for each ring. I believe the aesthetics would be better if it had a pattern but I feel the changes make it more mysterious, adding questions to the viewers mind.

Homage

mixed media on board 

48" x 41.5"

2017

There must be a source light but I have no idea what it looks like or what the radiants look like either. This is an attempt at depicting it.

Source Light

mixed media on board 

48" x 41.5"

2017 

These next three are inspired by my bumper stickers ideas.

Grayless

mixed media on board 

11" x 36"

2017  

Inductance

mixed media on board 

11" x 36"

2017

Surprise Party

mixed media on board 

13.5" x 24.5"

2017

Physicianification was first "completed" in 2013, but stayed in storage for four years.

Physicianification

mixed media on board 

17" x 36" x1.5

2013/2017

2013

These last three were inspired by work I'd seen in NYC just before making them, though, if you see where my idea started you would not believe they where related. It worked more as a mental jumping off point. It was nice to find a good use for small scraps I had laying around the shop for years but couldn't bring myself to giving away for firewood.

Stack (1)

 acrylic and gouache on wood

7" x 10" x 2"

2017

Stack (2)

 acrylic and gouache on wood

8.5" x 27" x 2.5"

2017

Stack (3)

 acrylic and gouache on wood

23" x 12" x 2"

2017

Solo Show @ Cross MacKenzie Gallery, Washington, DC

I'm excited to announce that I have a solo show scheduled at the Cross MacKenzie Gallery in Washington, DC (opening November 12, 2015). In preparation I took my most recent work to RLPhoto in Burlington, VT to get them professionally imaged. I wrote about the first six of these previously, here and here, but these images are so much better than the ones I captured I have to share them again. They are a really top notch professional photography studio and they are really great to work with -- I feel lucky that I am able to use them.

Sugaring Time

acrylic, oil pastel, epoxy, shellac on wood (with stainless steel hanging system)

80" x 23" x 1"

2015

If you looked at the earlier posts you may notice I made the titles more memorable so that I can talk about the work without having to refer to my notes to know which is which.

Sugaring Time (closeup)

I've also upgraded the hardware of this piece since it was first photographed. It now has a custom made stainless steal hanging system.

Sugaring Time (side two)

In making all of these pieces I've struggled with finding the right balance of bleed-out from the acrylic paint onto the wood. I want some because I like the play between the clean line caused by taping the paint and the soft fading of the color around it, but I don't want too much of it because I feel the piece ends up looking "muddy."

South Beach

acrylic, oil pastel, shellac on wood

34.5" x 10" x 1"

2015

I also like how the bleeding of color captures some of the natural and added texture on the piece, like these diagonal lines below. 

South Beach (closeup)

I don't often use cherry as a primary wood in my work because I love how the lighter woods work with color, but when I saw this piece in the lumber yard, with significant figure and plenty of light sapwood to add contrast, I had to make an exception.

All Species Day

acrylic, oil pastel, shellac on wood

41" x 16.75" x 1"

2015

All Species Day (closeup)

As with cherry, I've had a bias against using walnut but this board was so gorgeous, I again made an exception. In truth, I felt disappointed with it when I was done because I felt the colors didn't standout from the dark background enough but I've gotten so much positive feedback I can only assume that it was more successful than I had thought.

Bari Notes

acrylic, oil pastel, shellac on wood

58" x 10" x 1"

2015

Bari Notes (closeup)

I've also found it interesting how my feelings for April Dawn have evolved. As I was making it, I was enamored and thought it would be a great piece; but when I finished I first hung it horizontally and I was surprise by how unhappy I was -- it just seem to lack energy. After a couple of weeks I changed the orientation to vertical and was much happier but still a little disappointed, mostly because I felt I hadn't left enough wood visible and I thought the bleed was a little too muddy. However, much to my surprise, as I've shown it to friends I've consistently heard them say it is one of my strongest pieces. I've long thought that artists are often the worst judge of their work but I find it so interesting when I see it in myself as well. 

April Dawn

acrylic, oil pastel, epoxy, shellac on wood

72" x 16.25" x 2"

2015

It is hard to tell from these images but this piece is two inches thick in the middle and tapers down to about a half inch on the sides.

Sugaring Time (closeup)

After hanging April Dawn in my own living space and seeing how it interacted with other vertical stripped pieces in the same room, I was inspired to make a single piece that played with the same effect, this is the first to evolve out of that idea. One of the things that I like about this design is that it allows for the possible construction of an installation across an entire wall.

Anonymity

acrylic, oil pastel, epoxy, shellac on wood

45" x 10" x 5.5"

2015

Anonymity (Side Two)

Anonymity (closeup)

These last six pieces were all finished in September.

Cleveland, Ohio, 1975

acrylic, oil pastel, epoxy, shellac on wood

58.25" x 1.25" x 5.5"

2015

They are all hung on a mortised french cleat that I made myself. It is a super strong hanging system that lets me keep work tight to the wall even with a small surface area.

Cleveland, Ohio, 1975 (side two)

I like the simplicity/austerity of this piece.

Cleveland, Ohio, 1975 (closeup)

I originally envisioned these two pieces (above and below) as a single piece, displayed off-set from each other, but as I was working on them I realized they should hang separately, that they are more powerful on their own than together. 

In Remembrance, For Ornette

acrylic, oil pastel, epoxy, shellac on wood

57.25" x 1" x 6.25"

2015

I like that one side is much lighter, having a lot of sapwood. As I've mentioned, I generally don't like using walnut as a primary wood because it is so dark but this board was so gorgeous, I had to make an exception.

In Remembrance, For Ornette (side two)

I like the saw mill marks left on this board, with the rough and smooth surfaces next to each other. I also love how the mill marks create gaps that can be filled with color. I feel that these "imperfections" have a commonality with O.C.'s sax playing style, hence the title, though I do feel a bit uneasy about making the comparison with such a great musician.

In Remembrance (closeup)

With these independently hung multi-piece pieces I'm not particular about hanging them exactly the same way each time. Rather, I have principles that I want to follow -- I want them to be off-set from one another; the order of the boards should be the same (in this case the dark board should be in the middle and the live-edge of the small board should be on the outside); and two of the boards should be close enough together that it isn't easy to see what is between them. 

Namibia

acrylic, oil pastel, epoxy, shellac on wood

46" x 14" x 6"

2015

Namibia (side two)

Namibia (closeup)

Breakfast In Tunis

acrylic, oil pastel, epoxy, shellac on wood

35" x 1.25" x 10.5"

2015

When I first came up with idea of using mortised french cleats to hang work on edge I was excited because I realized that it opened up the possibility to make work like these last three, work that can appear to be flying off of the wall or maybe even floating.

Breakfast In Tunis (side two)

Breakfast In Tunis (closeup)

I also love that this work demands to be seen by protruding into a room. They don't blend into the background and they force the viewer to walk around them. I also love how they exist in a place that isn't distinctly painting or sculpture, but equally both.

Voyager

acrylic, oil pastel, epoxy, shellac on wood

47" x 1.25" x 10.5"

2015

Voyager (closeup)

Voyager (side two)

I love apple season in Vermont. There are so many great and rare varieties arriving in the market and changing throughout the season. I know and love a few of them but mostly I'll randomly buy unknown varieties without worrying about learning their names, just being confident that I'll like what I taste and happy to be surprised.

Apple Season

acrylic, oil pastel, shellac on wood

50" x 1.25" x 10.5"

2015

I also love the saw mill marks left behind on this board.

Apple Season (closeup)

Apple Season (side two)

If you are in or near DC in November/December 2015, I hope you'll get a chance to see the show and look at the work in person! If you do, please share your thoughts with me.

Flag Proposal Series Update

After four years of thinking and working on my flag proposal series, I've finally finished six pieces. To celebrate, I took them to RLPhoto Studio in Burlington to get high quality, professional images. I think they did a fantastic job. It is nice to see what really professional studio can do -- great lighting, great shadows, no glare!, great detail and clarity, great color balance -- they are true professionals.

Though the series is obviously influenced by Jasper Johns' flag paintings, I consider Claes Oldenberg's proposal series to be equally influential. I love his absurdist proposals to replace landmarks, like the Washington Monument, with things like scissors, cloths pins, or electric fans. I want this work to be viewed as proposals for replacing the US flag with my designs, including materials, techniques, and dimensions. 

Reference Flag is the first of the series. Though everything else is a variation on the theme of the American Flag, I wanted the first to be clearly identifiable as a US flag. Technically, it isn't an exact replica, the blue section should extend down one more stripe, but I decided replication of the actual flag was less important than the aesthetics of the lumber and dimensions I wanted to work with.

Reference Flag

shellac on maple and cherry

24" x 41" x 1"

2009

Reference Flag (closeup)

Almost Square Flag was the second. I remember I started the blue section after seeing a Rebecca Purdum show at Dartmouth College and was inspired by her style, but got very frustrated after a number of attempts. I had given up and started to sand it down when I noticed that the bird's-eyes had become bumps that I was preferentially cleaning off. I liked the look, seeming to reference stars, so just polished it and was happily surprised with the results.

Almost Square Flag

shellac on maple, cherry, and epoxy

26 1/2" x 26 3/8" x 3/4"

2010

Almost Square Flag (closeup)

Thirty-Nine Piece Flag was the third in the series until I recently took it apart and reworked it. So now it might be considered the sixth. I think it is be the only piece I've signed and dated three times (each one being a documentation of thinking I was done). I'm sure it is finished now.

Thirty-Nine Piece Flag

shellac on maple and birch
34" x 53" x 1.5"

2010/2012

Thirty-Nine Piece Flag (closeup)

Here is an earlier version.

Thirty-Nine Piece Flag (September 2010 version)

When I thought of the design for Double Star Flag, I cursed my imagination because I had no idea how I was going to do it. In fact, as I was making it I still had no idea if I would be able to pull it off. Much to my surprise, it worked out. I was especially happy when getting it photographed because that was the first time I had seen it as a finished piece. I was a bit nervous as to whether it would all fit together (I don't have a good place to store it assembled and it is too large for me to fit in my truck as well) but, thankfully (or miraculously), even with the wood movement since summer (the last time I had assembled it) it came together without a hitch.

Double Star Flag

shellac on maple, birch, walnut, and epoxy
71" x 62" x 1.5"

2012

Double Star Flag (closeup)

Perhaps I shouldn't say it, but Trapezoid Flag is my favorite. Maybe it isn't coincidental, but it also gave me the fewest problems, among all six, in terms of design and implementation - no rework, no second thoughts, no mistakes. Plus, that black salamander is a really great feature. 

Trapezoid Flag

shellac on maple, birch, epoxy

39" x 49" x 1.5"
2012

Trapezoid Flag (closeup)

Of all these pieces, Nine-Sided Flag was the most frustrating. I reworked the middle section four times before I came up with something that I liked. I also trimmed some of the left side off after I thought it was done in order to shift the center piece more to the left. I easily put more work into this one than any of the others and, though it is still isn't my favorite, I am finally happy with it. To my surprise, my photographer said it was his favorite, perhaps not coincidentally, because of how much work I put into it.

Nine-Sided Flag

shellac on maple, birch, ash, walnut, epoxy, acrylic paint, and gesso
35.5" x 47' x 1.5"

2012

The thin black lines in the middle section is walnut veneer.

Nine-Sided Flag (closeup)

Here is the version of Nine-Sided Flag from May 2012 (at Vermont Studio Center).

And here is the version from October 2012.

Both of these versions made me very unhappy so I'm thrilled that it is no longer a headache.

None of these pieces is for sale until I have enough for a show of the series. I would like to have thirteen of them but I know I need at least ten. I'm planning on continuing to focus on them for the next year or two in the hopes that I can make the requisite amount in the near future. I think the long time frame of their assemblage makes for an interesting look at the evolution of my work. I'm in the beginning stages of creating a Baye Fall Flag (identifiable by their colorful, patchwork clothing) and would like to make a larger version of something like Three Triangles for an eighth.

Three Triangles

shellac on ash, walnut, and acrylic paint

19" x 17" x 1"

2012