Art Blog » June 2006
Giraffe in Lines
Another drawing done with a pure contour technique. It is perhaps not initially as bewildering as the drawing of 6/23, but still cuts a sharp figure on the page. Inspired by one of the photographs of Mary Schwalm.
Fritz on a Chair
Seen from above, this is Fritz, one of Else’s cats, relaxing on a green chair and leaning on a white pillow, with natural light coming in through windows to the right. It’s an unusual angle from which to see a cat.
Lying on the Floor
I’ve been thinking lately a lot about line. When I look at the world, I often don’t see shapes and shades; I see lines between objects, between darker and lighter areas, between shapes. Many of my art teachers have focussed on trying to get me to focus less on lines, to let distinctions between things meld together, so I’ve abandoned line a lot. Here is a revisitation.
Look at the whole drawing, and give your mind a minute to process what it is.
Berlin Pics
These two small paintings are of the Berlin cityscape as I saw it last month from the top of the Reichstag, the parliament building. In one, you can see the Fernsehturm (TV tower) which has been painted as a football. In the other is one of the Reichstag’s four towers, with the German flag flying. And clouds.
Fernsehturm (TV tower)
Tower with Flag
Name in the Round update
I’ve made a special background for this papercut, using matboard and watercolors. The recipient likes pink and other bright colors, hence the color choices. I still had to make them dark enough to contrast with the white of the papercut. This is now framed (a tricky business, getting everything to line up!) and officially complete.
Dead Banana
This banana peel aged so quickly that it became mostly brown within minutes of being removed from its center (which was delicious). The original purpose of the lightbulb was to provide some structure to the wilting dead pieces of fruit detritus, but in the end it also gives the painting an air of tension between light and dark, death and life.
Name in the Round
This papercut is a present for the daughter of a good friend of mine who I visited recently. Before I send it to her, I’m going to create a colorful background with warm colors (pink, orange, yellow). Check the link below in a week for an update to the photo.
Back in the Metalshop
So I’m back in the metalshop for the summer. I’m not sure yet what I’m going to make. So far, I created a tool that screws into the ground so I can tether the dog when I hang out in the park. Art as tool. I also started forcing this … hump. It’s pretty neat how you can make the metal stretch by heating it, putting it in a “mold” and banging the heck out of it. Here’s what it looks like so far. I also took two neat metalshop photos.
South Germany Lanscapes
These two small paintings are from references photos I took while in south Germany visiting my “grandmother” Else. The first is of these huge, solid-looking clouds of which I saw so many while there; they were quite captivating. The other is of a field covered with little yellow flowers with a white horse hiding in it.
Here are today’s two paintings:
Clouds in Traifelberg
Field with Flowers and Horse
Birchat for Architect
When I was in Berlin earlier this month, an unknown person (a friend of a friend) let me stay in her apartment while she was out of town. I’ll be framing this papercut and sending it to her as a thank you. It’s a “bless this house” with t-squares, as she is an architect.