Before I left for VSC, I decided that I wanted to spend the majority of my time experimenting with painting on plywood. I came up with a set of rules for myself to follow and prepped about 20 pieces of maple and walnut plywood to work with. I often work in a rule-based manner and I was excited about the rules for these paintings:
- Paint a number of lines on the panel equal to the size of the panel (i.e. for a 12″ x 12″ panel, paint 12 lines of color… for 16″ x 16,” paint 16 lines)
- The lines can be in any color or width and at any angle
- Once all lines have been painted, drill holes into panels so that the holes and lines work together
As I began working in this direction I quickly discovered that my plan was flawed. Fellow resident, Tracy Helgeson, helped me understand the problem by pointing out that not only was painting fairly new to me, but in this work I was trying to work with three dimensions (the panel), woodgrain (color and composition), color (the paint), and holes. In other words, I was taking on more than I could realistically handle and as a result I was becoming frustrated with the work as a whole. She made the suggestion that I simplify. I took her advice and things began to go much better.
In this post I want to share some of the first paintings I finished and talk about my struggles with them. Keep in mind that there were other pieces not even interesting to make it on the studio wall, much less to be shared here.
Not Yet Titled #1
Acrylic paint, polyacrylic on walnut plywood
12″ x 12″ x 1″
2010
Not Yet Titled #1
Acrylic paint, polyacrylic on walnut plywood
12″ x 12″ x 1″
2010
This first piece is the best example I have of the issues that arose when trying to talk my initial rules. I started by painting the blue, pink and gray lines. I had 9 more to paint per the rules, but based on where this piece was headed and where others had already failed, I abandoned the plan. I decided to paint the inside of the lines a solid white to give it some structure and weight. Then I drilled holes in a line that bisected the painted lines. These larger holes were meant to serve as the foundation for a larger form made of holes. However, I noticed two problems. One, the drilled holes weren’t perfect and some of the paint and plywood chipped out. Two, these first holes already started overwhelming the overall composition. Given all that, I decided to stop drilling holes and let the piece be complete at this stage. Although I would not have drilled the holes in this way if I had known this was the final composition, there was something about the piece that interested me. It stayed on the wall. Many visitors to my studio felt the same way, the piece wasn’t fully resolved – it wasn’t successful – but there was something intriguing about it. It was a start.
Not Yet Titled #2
Acrylic paint, polyacrylic on maple plywood
24″ x 24″ x 1″
2010
Not Yet Titled #2
Acrylic paint, polyacrylic on maple plywood
24″ x 24″ x 1″
2010
This larger piece followed the same path as #1 above. Here, I abandoned the lines after 4 (with 20 left to be painted according to the rules) and I also used white paint to fill in areas created by the lines. Based on prior experience drilling holes, I decided not to risk it at all with this piece. Instead, I opted to fill in the large wood area between the blue line and the dark purple with glossy clear coat. The rest of the piece is finished in matte. The glossy finish doesn’t play much of a role in the piece even when seen in person. Ultimately it’s more of a conceptual interaction. This work did provide one big advancement for me. This was the first time I painted lines that weren’t connected all the way across the surface (i.e. the blue and yellow lines). I was quite please with what happened in the lower left corner and this informed future pieces.
Not Yet Titled #3
Acrylic paint, polyacrylic on walnut plywood
16″ x 16″ x 1″
2010
Not Yet Titled #4
Acrylic paint, polyacrylic on walnut plywood
16″ x 16″ x 1″
2010
In #3 and #4 above, it would seem that I took a step backwards. Well, in a way I did. Remember Tracy’s advice to simplify the work? Both of these pieces were in very early stages when Tracy provided her feedback. While each piece should have had 16 lines, that rule was no longer driving my work in the studio. Instead, I thought about simplifying. #3 has a simple composition of four lines while #4 only has two. My final touches to these works was to use glossy clear coat to fill in the center form on #3 and the left and right sections of wood on #4.
The important things to take away from these in thinking about later pieces made at VSC are the pastel colors of #3 and the mucky colors of #4. These will reappear in future posts.
Not Yet Titled #5
Acrylic paint, polyacrylic on maple plywood
12″ x 12″ x 1″
2010
Not Yet Titled #5
Acrylic paint, polyacrylic on maple plywood
12″ x 12″ x 1″
2010
Not Yet Titled #6
Acrylic paint, polyacrylic on maple plywood
12″ x 12″ x 1″
2010
In #5 and #6 above, you can see how I altered my direction in the way I applied the paint to the panels. I was interested in the subtle organic curve to the paint in #4. I realized that the organic form worked better on the wood instead of the hard-edge lines. The hard-edge lines worked against the wood whereas the organic forms worked with the wood. My next decision was to cover the majority of the wood with paint. This allowed me to do two things. One, I reduced the impact of the wood grain on the overall composition (again, following the suggestion by Tracy to minimize the variables I had to deal with). Two, by selectively choosing what wood grain I allowed to be visible, I could focus the viewer’s attention on the most interesting wood grain. With these discoveries, I was once again excited about the paintings. I had something to work with now.
As part of this new work in painting, it was important to me to work with color. Though I had a big area of color in these paintings, I wanted do something more. I came up with the solution of using a pinstripe along the edge(s) of the larger color form. I liked that this created some depth to the composition and allowed up a dialog between colors.
Unfortunately, all was not well in these pieces. Given my inexperience painting, I didn’t know how to apply a solid area of color to the surface. The color is splotchy in both pieces and it’s a real detriment to the work. Fortunately, though, I was in the right place to learn how to fix it. A quick tutorial in using mediums as an extender to the paint and I was once again in business. The problems I encountered in #5 and #6 would be fixable in future pieces.
Not Yet Titled #7
Acrylic paint, polyacrylic on maple plywood
12″ x 12″ x 1″
2010
Not Yet Titled #7
Acrylic paint, polyacrylic on maple plywood
12″ x 12″ x 1″
2010
In #7, I was able to apply a solid area of green paint. Well, mostly solid… it was much better than #5 and #6. However, another problem I encountered in #5 and #6 was how to apply the pinstripe in a perfectly clean way. In #7, I tried a different solution of hand painting the pinstripe instead of taping it off. I thought this might continue the interest I had in using organic forms on the wood. Instead, I found the imperfect edges to be a major distraction. I would need to figure out how to get a perfectly edged pinstripe in the next paintings. In the next post we’ll see if I was able to solve that problem.
Thanks for looking!
3 Comments
February 8, 2010 at 11:14 am
It’s really great that you were able to have this experience JT – I think it just sunk in that even though you have been heavily involved in the DC art scene, you never had an experience where you were working in close proximity to other artists having regular visits and even more structured critiques. Seems like you got so much out of it – GREAT!
Is your street plowed yet – when can I come over?
February 8, 2010 at 11:35 am
These images look great, J.T.! You did a great job with the photos, I am envious. And thanks for making me sound like I maybe knew what I was talking about concerning your work;))
February 9, 2010 at 4:04 pm
I’m personally glad Tracy could help you, J.T. That makes me happy.
I think #2 and #3 here are the best so far. I think #1 would’ve gone better without the holes, but it seems you worked that out on your own.
I kind of like the wabi sabi character of the pinstripe in #7 but I can see how it’s not your style. I’d only note that pinstriping is challenging, especially without the right tools. A good liner brush is key. A liner brush and a lot of practice. Or you can just go back to taping, which is fine.
#3 reminds me of a 1950s design with the wall behind it. It has that groovy Saul Bass kind of thing happening, like a jazzy cartoon, and the wood reminds me of wood paneling behind the ‘toon. Like if you could pan down you’d see a groovy sofa. And maybe a guy with a pipe and a highball.