Onion River Campground Bathhouse

I recently completed painting the bathhouse at Onion River Campground in Marshfield, Vermont. It was a fun project, not least of all because the owners allowed me to do whatever I wanted, no pre-approval of concept or design. I found the project a useful reminder of just how much can be expressed with just simple colored stripes. I was going for something that would be both fun and challenging, balancing a fine line between welcoming and "out-of-place-ness." 

Onion River Campground Bathhouse

exterior latex paint on plywood

14' x 16' x 24' (approximate)

2017

I would be remiss if I did not also mention that I developed a relationship with the owners through their other venture, Nutty Steph's, my source for the best granola in the world (note: this is an objective, unbiased, easily verifiable statement devoid of hyperbole). 

Onion River Campground Bathhouse (women's side)

Onion River Campground Bathhouse (men's side)

Onion River Campground Bathhouse (front view)

Onion River Campground Bathhouse (back view)

Onion River Campground Bathhouse (before)

Art Flag Commission

Over the summer I was asked by gbA, a Montpelier architecture firm, to create an object (not necessarily a flag) for the flag pole outside their offices. After some thought, I decided to stick to a "flag" format because I love that with a flag there is an implied meaning but that with a unique abstract design the meaning is completely ambiguous.

gbA Flag

fabric

36" x 70"

2016

I researched whether to have the design printed but I didn't like the materials and I didn't think it would "fly" very well, and when I looked into buying the fabric and having it sewn together I realized it would look much better; thankfully, it was cheaper as well.

gbA Flag (on site)

85 Granite Lane

Montpelier, VT

Given that I lack the both the skills and equipment to construct the piece, this was my first opportunity to pay someone to make my art.

gbA Flag (closeup)

The piece is obviously an outgrowth of my bumper sticker series, hopefully I'll have more opportunities to create a series of flags as well.

Fear of Triangles

In August I was asked by the architecture firm Gossens Bachman Architects to paint a metal garage door on a warehouse building next to their offices in Montpelier, VT. This was an especially fun commission because, just like my last one, I was given free reign to create whatever I wanted without any discussion, plans, or drawings. This is how I prefer to work so it is a blessing to find clients who are brave enough to go along with my madness. In fact, the extent of our conversation about the design was the following:

GBA: So, do you know what you'll do?

RH: I have a vague idea.

GBA: Do you know how long it will take?

RH: Until I'm happy. Maybe a week, maybe more, or I might go super-minimalist and decide that I'm done when I show up the first day. 

GBA: Ok.

Fear of Triangles

exterior latex paints and stains on metal

144" x 138"

2014

 I ended up using twenty-two colors and creating twenty shapes. I visited all the local paint stores looking for mistints so I could find random colors cheap but ended up having to mix some of my own because, with a couple of exceptions, the mistints were dull/boring colors and I was looking for bright colors that would make the piece highly visible from a distance.

Fear of Triangles (site view)

 The painting is located in an obscure industrial section of town but it is visible, especially in the winter months, from Barre Street, a highly traveled side street. I'm happy to report that the feedback has been positive and GBA is happy with the results. I look forward to finding more opportunities for outdoor paintings because my dream/vision is to eventually start painting buildings. I'm hoping I can find a client brave enough to hire me because I don't have the money right now to buy my own structure.

North Carolina Barn Bling

On a recent trip to North Carolina I was commissioned to construct some barn art for friends that live in the Asheville area. I had mailed them some of my exterior paints ahead of time and was told that they had scrap wood or plywood laying around that I could use, but other than that, there were no plans. I was thrilled that they trusted me enough to let me do what ever I wanted, with no direction or limitations, just the way I prefer to work. 

Moving the finished piece out of the barn for installation.

Unfortunately, I forgot to measure it so this picture is included for some perspective.

Honestly, constructing it was a little nerve-wracking. Because of travel plans and other activities, I was left with only 30 hours from start to finish. Additionally, I wasn't sure what I was doing, or if I'd be able to finish it, until the 27th hour.

Finding a way to get it into place was a little complicated but, thankfully,

not too difficult because it was relatively light.

I was a little concerned when I saw the plywood that I was going to work with was only 3/8" thick because I wasn't sure how well I'd be able to attach the pieces together but it turned out not to be a problem and the thickness was especially fortunate when it came to raising it in place; because it was so light, it wasn't too difficult to work up the ladder. By the way, I find it only appropriate that we used a tractor for the installation, as all barn art should be installed.

Though I try to be as safe as possible when installing art work, I'm always relieved

when no one dies or is seriously injured in the process.

My fear in taking on this commission was that I would get all the pieces painted but wouldn't be able to come up with anything I liked in the allotted time and would have to tell my friends that I'd finish it at some indeterminate time in the future. I was truly working on "a wing and a prayer", just trusting that somehow something would come together if I just followed the process. Much to my surprise, and based on the feedback I've gotten, it seems to have worked. More than anything though, I'm just relieved I'm not embarrassed with it.

072214

3/8" UL plywood and exterior latex paints and stains

approximately 8' x 8.5' x 1" (I forgot to measure)

2014

I've been calling this series "Barn Art" but I like my friend's terminology of "Barn Bling" better. It is located off a rural road and faces away from it so the only way to see this piece is by personal invitation. It is nice to see my work on an actually barn, I particularly like the contrast of contemporary art on an old, traditional, building.

Brian Bill Memorial Commission

I was recently asked to create a memorial sculpture for Brian Bill, a Navy Seal who was killed in Afghanistan on August 6, 2011. He was a Norwich University graduate and, to celebrate his life, the school organized a memorial race (the Brian Bill Memorial Challenge) that was held on February 16. As part of the event, the organizers wanted to present Brian's family with a sculpture that included a small Navy anchor. Below are a couple of images of what I came up with.

Brian Bill Memorial Sculpture

navy anchor, quilted maple, butternut

(french polish shellac finish)

approx. 20" x 35" x 9"

I was impressed with how beautiful the anchor is. I don't know its age or history but the officer I worked with in designing the piece, Captain David Castro, said it was a functioning anchor for a small boat and that he had it cleaned up for this project. I find it somehow reassuring that our military cared so much about the aesthetics of the object.

Brian Bill Memorial Sculpture (second view)

Below is an image of Captain Castro presenting the piece to Brian's stepfather, Michael Parry. David did a nice job of adding Brian's name in front of the anchor and the dog tags of participants along the side. Given the importance of piece, and the emotional impact for the family, I was nervous about their reaction but, thankfully, I've been told that "the family loved it" so I am relieved. 

Memorial Presentation

Delivered and Installed

Yesterday I delivered and installed the seashell commission. Thankfully, everything when smoothly. No damage to the piece getting it down there. No car accidents. No major forgotten items. No installation iterations. It took a little over an hour to put it together, determine the exact location, and place it. I'm not totally surprised; I didn't think it would take long, but I was a little nervous that something would go wrong and I would have to drive back to Vermont without accomplishing the mission.

Epitonium apexaurum (Hitzig, 2010)
curly yellow birch, walnut, shellac, gold
82" x 48" x 1"

Unfortunately, the client had jury duty so she didn't get to see the installation, but her husband, sister, and interior designer(?) were all happy with the finished piece. I have to say I'm happy with the results as well. It looks better than I had envisioned in that the figure in the yellow birch is better than I could have hoped for and the scale of the piece is perfect for the space.
I named it Epitonium apexaurum (Hitzig, 2010) because the shape is based primarily on shells of the Epitoniidae family, which includes Epitonium. Here is a good example of a different genus in the same family, Amaea ferminiana (Dall, 1908):The apexaurum part of the name is just a reference to the fact that the tip is gilded, unlike any other species in the family. Fortunately, as an artist, I do not have to go through the same peer review process as a biologist or paleontologist in naming a new species. They would probably tell me, among other things, that I should have included it in the Amaea genus. However, I'm not sure how to pronounce that word and my nomenclature rules allow exceptions for such things (nothing more embarrassing then for an artist to go around mispronouncing the name of his own piece).

Shell Commission Part III

I'm about ready to start painting it. Both walnut and birch are open-pore so it take a ton of shellac to seal, walnut especially. With maple, being closed-pore, it is really much faster to get to the painting stage.

Shell Commission Update

Here is the roughed-out shell commission. Having heard Hank Gilpin give a talk at Gallery NAGA two days ago, I've been thinking about what he said about commissions, how they are a great opportunity to do interesting things that he wouldn't normally do (he gave an example of a ten foot long table six inches high). I think this is a good example. There is no way I would have thought of doing a giant sea shell but I'm happy to be doing it and pleased with how it is looking. In this way, it is really a collaboration with the client. I don't mind collaborating; there is no reason I need to work alone with self-inspiration. Although there is always a risk in working with other people - that you may create a camel when you really want a horse - but done right, it can be an opportunity to make something much better than one would otherwise do.It looks like it will turn out to be 83" rather than the 80" I had in my drawing but I'm sure that isn't a problem. I was able to select curly yellow birch boards with similar figure and all the curls are moving in the same direction so it should look like one consistent board throughout the piece. I'll bleach the heart wood out of the top three sections so it won't distract from the coloring. The section second from the bottom is darker than the rest because I had started shellacking it to get an idea of what it would look like.

Working with yellow birch also has me thinking about Hank Gilpin because he is famous for his use of rarely used species, which yellow birch is. Though, I now have a good understanding of why yellow birch is such an under-utilized wood. Frankly, it is a pain in the butt to cut. The wood is so hard and the curl so intense that you need to make the very smallest cuts on the joiner and planer or the grain will tear out with deep gouges. Then, there is so much tension in the wood that I can't get it through the table saw in one pass; the boards pinch the blade as it is going through so I have to repeatedly stop the saw, pull it out, and start again. A four foot board can take 4 tries to get it through the saw (rough cutting with the band saw might have been a good idea). Although it is extra work, it will be worth it. Yellow birch is the right species for this project and it will look great when I'm done. Besides, cutting the boards is an almost insignificant part of the project. I'll spend so many more hours painting it, I won't have any memory of the difference in cutting time when I'm done.

Shell Commission - Part I

A couple of weeks ago I received a request to design a custom piece for this space above a fireplace:With the following dimensions:The client had bought "Thrice in a Lifetime" at the Paradise City show in October for the space but it really didn't work, as I realized when I saw the image of the location. In addition to being a large, odd shaped wall, it also starts 10 feet above the floor, so a 3' x 3' piece would get totally lost. They wanted to know if they could exchange what they had for something that fit better and I told they they could. The specific request was to "draw up some ideas for a special order shellac painting piece (perhaps something shell-like)." Since the client had previously asked about doing something shell-like, I felt the emphasis was really on shell-like and not on a general abstract piece.

At first, I was confused about how I could apply what I do to make something that would be considered "shell-like." I didn't want to do any carving and all I could think of were scallops. Then I realized that gastropods, cephalopods, and the like, create sea-shells and that it might be possible to create a flat projection of something along those lines.

After spending a couple of days looking at thousands (no exaggeration) of shell images, primarily from this site, this one (94,199 shells for sale and I think I saw them all), and this one; I decided to go with something along the lines of this and this. The great thing about working in the parameters of something "shell-like" is that the diversity of shapes and colors are so great that there is an enormous amount of flexibility. Had they asked for a dog, whale, or some other figurative object, I probably would have refused, but shells, they seem to work with what I already do.

So I started drawing, and struggling with creating something that fit the space proportionally. Here are my series of drawing, in the approximate order they were created (I know it is a lot to post but I think it is interesting how they go from something rough and horrible to something that actually might work):
After I drove by a Shell station I realized that I could create an art deco stylized scallop-like shell but then realized it really wouldn't fit the space very well. I also didn't like its perfect symmetry, although shells like this and this are really captivating. Some shells are somewhat angular but I thought it would be too "hard" for the space. Finally, I was happy with a drawing. I just needed to recreate a clean version, which I did below:

I suggested that it might look best in flame yellow birch, which I picked up recently, because both the grain and the figure are larger than maple and could be seen better from a distance; and that the stripes could be made with walnut because it would contrast better with the yellow birch than cherry would. I also thought that the tip could be gilded in order to draw more attention to the top and make it more visible from a distance (about 17' high).
As shown in the cross-section drawings, the edges will be rounded, there will be a small gap between the sections (eight total), and the sections will be joined with a backing that will be screwed into each side.

I'm hoping to finish the piece by sometime in November. Luckily, the clients are flexible about the schedule so that I can have time to finish some new pieces for the shows I'm going to in September and October. I've started milling the wood that I have and the figure in the yellow birch should be perfect for this application, really big and dramatic. However, I'm a little short on what I need so I have an excuse to go to the lumber mill on Monday to pick up some more birch, walnut, and what ever else looks interesting. Always good to have an excuse to go to the mill.