Medium Madness

It is every artist's dream to find a style that they enjoy and a medium that they can flourish in, especially if they can find success with it. And so, for the last few years I have been on a quest to understand myself and my style, attempting different approaches to producing artwork and becoming so associated with different techniques that I can just simply say, "I like this approach. I don't like that approach." I'm the kind of person that tries to (and generally succeeds in) finding the beauty in almost everything, so I end up liking all types of art styles and artists. While many people can say, "I love abstract expressionism and I despise Caravaggio and Rembrandt," or visa versa, I end up loving it all. So, it continues to be quite a process in determining what styles I wish to pursue.

 

Pollock! Wild!

Caravaggio! Daunting!

Many times I really just prefer the quickest solution to describe a vision, so I end up with a sketch of some sort, or an impressionistic scene. Other times I like to revel in the details and take as much time as I can in exploring the ins and outs of what I am attempting to represent. So, I end up confused as to which direction I should go in. I like the idea of sketches and impressions, because that is usually what we end up encountering in the real world, plus it is the fastest way from the brain to the paper or canvas, which may end up giving a peek into the artist's mind. Other times I think a lengthy study is quite impressive because of the devotion to the subject that is required and the amount of skill in the artist's eye and hand that is needed to achieve such detail.

Winslow Homer! So Simple!

Durer! So Much Work!

I have the longest history of working with pencil, since that's all I used as a kid (besides crayons and markers), but I can't stand the amount of work that goes into graphite drawings, especially when most graphite works just remind me of those books with pencil drawings that used to get me carsick. I much prefer straight-up ballpoint pen action. It has a nice flow to it.

Graphite! This looks about as fun as stabbing myself with a pencil! Carsick! Barf!

But I prefer charcoal to both. I've been working with charcoal since 2003 and I'm pretty comfortable with it by now. There's a nice balance of messy and detailed in charcoal that I struggle to get with other mediums. In fact, just writing about working with charcoal makes me want to draw right now. My problem is that charcoal doesn't really work as a great medium for things other than still-lifes and portraits or figure drawings. I can't afford a model and I've drawn myself about a million times now, plus I can't set up a decent still-life. Well, maybe I'm just lazy. (The rest of these images are my own)

Charcoal! Pretty Fun!

For the past three years or so, I've been dabbling in oils. There are many things that I enjoy about oil paint. It's flexible, like charcoal, it's strong in color and substance, and it just has a nice glow to it that other mediums don't have. Plus it is forgiving in many ways. The thing I hate about oils is the glazing aspect of it. It can just be a little too complex for me, so I prefer to just pile paint on top of paint. Lately I've really been digging painting with a palette knife.

Glazing! Not that fun! Looks cool though!

Heavy Paint! Fun!

And just recently I've been attempting watercolors. I'm in awe of Winslow Homer's watercolors. The man knew how to use them, although I've read that he struggled with them for years before he became comfortable with them. I've also read that he (along with Edward Hopper, another favorite, and self-made artist) struggled in all aspects of art until his mid-forties, when he really started to get a grasp on it all. That is both very inspirational and incredibly daunting. These are men that had incredible skills in terms of color choice and composition, and it seems that they really were 'skills'. By that I mean that they worked and worked and worked at them over years and years of practice to earn their talent and recognition. That is something that sounds very fun and very boring to me, if that makes sense. I'm part of the "right now!" generation, but I also esteem work quite highly, because it is truly respectable when someone sacrifices so much for their goals. Anyway, I suck at watercolors. This is a painting I did this morning at Golden Gardens.

Watercolor! Freaking Difficult!

I'm going to go there a few times a week and just paint and draw, I think. It felt good to enjoy nature this morning.

Hopefully this process of learning and growing and practicing will pay off (as I'm sure it will, because it already has). Here goes nothing.

Inspiration and Perspiration

This past Monday night, Tim Lowly, the famous artist (I'll post one of his works), dropped by Seattle Pacific University to perform some songs that he has written. His opening act was a man by the name of Robert Deeble who was immediately impressive in his songwriting and guitar playing. He was one of those players that liked to hit his strings and guitar and use a lot of harmonics, and was actually good at it! Here's an example of some of his work:

So after he played a few songs with some nice photo imagery playing upon the wall, Tim played a handful of his own songs. He seemed to be slightly nervous following Robert's great show and not being backed up by his band, but he soon found his groove and it lent his show a nice intimate feeling. His singing voice is definitely not like his speaking voice; he drops into a lower register and it becomes almost mournful.

So, he's a talented musician with a creative drive, but can he paint? My good sir, he can! In fact, that is his vocation! He visited SPU again the next morning to discuss his career as an artist and what he has learned about what it means to be an artist. Two very important things that struck me: "Paint what you love" and the idea that we all have a sympathetic vibration, which means that when we view or hear something that is beautiful to us, it is a reflection of our own artistic idea of beauty and therefore something that we can utilize within our own artwork and find satisfaction. It seems to make sense. 

The drive behind Tim's art is his daughter. She was born in 1985 a healthy baby, but two days later she had a cardiac arrest and suffered significant brain damage which has led to physical ailment. At first it was quite the sad shock to Tim and his wife, like it would be to anybody, but after a while their lives began to revolve around Temma's life in all good ways. Tim's inspiration draws heavily from that relationship with her and he includes her in almost all of his works. For example:

Temma On Earth, by Tim Lowly

This large four piece work (8'x12') is an acquisition of the Frye Art Museum here in Seattle and is one of Tim's most famous works. He is definitely a realist painter and takes a lot of time on his works. I've seen it in person and it is genuinely remarkable. I had a tough time trying to look at the surrounding works, because I was constantly drawn to this one.

So, that was Monday and Tuesday.

I also need to buy some new deodorant. 

That's why I put perspiration in the title.

getting rid of the burden

So, I just filed my taxes. It feels good, especially since I'm getting a hefty sum back. One of the perks of being a broke student worker. Not only do you get to do the deductions and get the return, but you also get credits from the government based upon how poor you are, which is where a huge chunk of my return is coming from. Huzzah!

Today is a day to finish a bunch of unfinished business. I have paintings to finish for friends. I have medical bills to fax to Aflac for monetary support. BTW, don't ever go to the doctor because of a cold, unless you have an extremely bad fever. When your cold lasts two weeks and doesn't seem to improve and, in fact, gets worse, don't go to the doctor. Wait it out. Or else you will be charged close to a thousand dollars. It's just not worth it. Here's your prescription: Buy some Mucinex, eat chicken noodle soup, and get rest. Also, if you have a wet cough (which means that it is a cough caused by having mucus in your lungs), don't use a cough suppressant like Robotussin. All that does is prevent you from coughing up the mucus, which NEEDS to happen. There. How's that for $800 worth of advice?

So here're a couple of pictures of my projects for the day.

This is a painting that I've been working on for a few months for a coworker. The sad thing is that I've probably spent a total of 10 hours on it. Not much for having it for so long. It actually looks better than this now, because this picture was taken a few paint layers ago. I'm pretty happy with how it's turning out.

I'm doing this one for my uncle who has a place in Chelan. So far I've almost completed the background. I started with an acrylic underpainting, which I think I'll do from now on. It just helps me flesh out the main shapes before I go all detailed. I read that Bo Bartlett does that and I respect his artistry. I'm really liking this one a lot, because it has been fun to paint and it's looking nice. I'm a little worried about the foreground. Trees aren't really my strong suit and they really start to jump up into the picture. I think it'll be fine, though.

This next part is the opening to a story I'm working on. It's about a post-apocalyptic world where different people groups are either wailing out to God or are explaining away his existence. It's kind of like Pilgrim's Progress crossed with Crime and Punishment with a dash of The Road.

The Opening

I am the earth. I am broken. Rotten, my diseased insides turn out. The yellow clouds swirl in my skies, rising above the gray empty, traveling aimlessly to and fro and throughout. I am split down my middle, my mountains and valleys shuddering and corroding and combusting, shattered and flaking into dust. I shiver and wobble, my core unstable, pulsing and anxious.

         The animals are fearful. The deer and the lion both look behind them at the slightest unease. The birds molt, the elephants stumble, and the bears have ceased hibernating. There is no migration. There is no routine. There is no foundation. Craters in the splitting crust supply themselves as homes for nervous and mangy prairie dogs, eyes wide, looking about with convulsing and jittery twitches. The scorched forests are no longer capable of sheltering wildlife, replaced in their duties by splintered trees and crumbled neighborhoods, where the animals fend off death in confusion and disarray.

         The streams have dried, exposing ever-cracking riverbeds and sun-scorched stone. The tributaries resemble crow’s feet, branching and branching, crevices carrying no supplication. Nourishment has been excised. Rain is a commodity. Drought is the norm. Wind never ceases, as high and low pressure zones move quickly and converge with mysterious force. The grains of sand and dust in the barren East that coated the ground on Monday will have been carried to the dark West by Friday. And to the East it shall return. There are no seasons. There are no cycles.

There is disorder. There is misfortune. There is struggle. There is monotony. There is war. There is death.

These are the facts.

I'm hoping my friend collaborates with me by doing some illustrations for it. His name is Jonathan and he has one of the most unique and endearing styles I've ever seen. And he just continues to grow in his skills. Here's an example of his work.

It's so stinking cool looking. It's Moses at the burning bush. So I feel slightly sacrilegious asking him to illustrate for a stupid little book when he obviously has a much more visionary Being inspiring him. But hey, I'm a fan.

Reset

When at first you don't succeed, try again.

This is probably my fourth attempt at keeping a blog, so cross your fingers that I keep it up. I think it's about time that I got serious about it, because I'm dying for an outlet for my inspirations and interests. When I get fed up with my own attempts at creativity, I'll just jump on here and post pictures and articles and poems and other things that are really touching my soul lately. Hopefully that will be a satisfying experience.

Along with all of that, I will also be posting any new works that I have produced, whether they be drawings, paintings, or writings. Do it, to it. Here's some stuff I've been digging lately:

William Blake, The Lamb

I'm really interested in the combination of visual and written art lately and William Blake is one of my main inspirations in this endeavor. Plus, the poem is just great.

Talk about nerdy. I just got this board game called Agricola. It had good reviews on Amazon and Boardgamegeek.com, so I had to give it a go, since my roomies and I have played Settlers of Catan to death. It's pretty stinking complicated, but I'm really finding it to be a satisfying experience. A good way to kill time on a rainy day, at least.

This is what I have been listening to as I've been developing this blog post. Classic album. Haven't listened to it in a while.

And here's just a dinky sketch of my roommate, Rick, that I did this evening. It felt good to just do a simple short drawing.

So, that's my first post. Hopefully the first of many. 

Also: the blog title is from the Lynyrd Skynyrd song "Simple Man". I felt like it was a pretty good representation of what I'm trying to accomplish with this blog. Just some simple loves.