makeshift studio/garage
A few years back I became fascinated with Japanese prints. I could relate to how the French impressionists felt when they fell in lovewith the lyrical perfection of these sublime prints. I collected every book I could and have a wonderful collection. This collection inspired a series of large mixed media paintings.The first of this series which is pictured above is made of three panels, which was my first attempt at large mixed media work.To educate myself, I practiced on several small squares of masonite for hours and hours, experimenting on overlays of glazes and textures. I started by coating the surface with a prime that I colored with some raw umber, then added whatever gritty powders I had, such as sand and crushed pumice, etc. to add some texture.I textured it very unevenly as I spread the thickened prime on with a roller,brush, or palette knife, encouraging random nooks and crannies to form. These variations in texture would suggest an image, usually a woman's face, intertwined with something from the garden. As in life, it is what lies beneath, the seemingly randomness of our origins and circumstancs, that which we have no control over, that present us with the prime for our lives.It's these nooks and the crannies, Providence's grist for the mill, that richly flawed prime, which becomes our opportunity to create the emerging beauty of our lives. The Creator, with our cooperaton, turns the gritty surface into the complicated textures that give our lives real depth. Without our cooperation, the image never emerges, and without Him, there is no real depth and life is shallow..and in the end, worthless.
A few years back I became fascinated with Japanese prints. I could relate to how the French impressionists felt when they fell in lovewith the lyrical perfection of these sublime prints. I collected every book I could and have a wonderful collection. This collection inspired a series of large mixed media paintings.The first of this series which is pictured above is made of three panels, which was my first attempt at large mixed media work.To educate myself, I practiced on several small squares of masonite for hours and hours, experimenting on overlays of glazes and textures. I started by coating the surface with a prime that I colored with some raw umber, then added whatever gritty powders I had, such as sand and crushed pumice, etc. to add some texture.I textured it very unevenly as I spread the thickened prime on with a roller,brush, or palette knife, encouraging random nooks and crannies to form. These variations in texture would suggest an image, usually a woman's face, intertwined with something from the garden. As in life, it is what lies beneath, the seemingly randomness of our origins and circumstancs, that which we have no control over, that present us with the prime for our lives.It's these nooks and the crannies, Providence's grist for the mill, that richly flawed prime, which becomes our opportunity to create the emerging beauty of our lives. The Creator, with our cooperaton, turns the gritty surface into the complicated textures that give our lives real depth. Without our cooperation, the image never emerges, and without Him, there is no real depth and life is shallow..and in the end, worthless.
