a blog of painting, abstraction, and contemporary art

Crayola on arches
30″ x 22″

Crayola crayons and arches

The studio is a laboratory, I like to be in here conducting my experiments. I remember being fascinated going to Thomas Edison’s laboratory when I was in elementary school. I wanted to have a big place like that filled with bunson burners and beakers. It looked like a lot of fun to be able to invent things.

I started this drawing on Saturday. Again working with crayon and seeing what I can do with it. Find myself thinking about passages and movements of color across the surface. Pushing and pulling areas with warm and cool colors. Basically just responding to the surface, it’s not necessarily spontaneous as I stop and consider/appraise what is happening on the paper and what I think might be interesting to add. I’m also not thinking about feelings or trying to dump feelings onto a surface. The drawing begins with wandering graphite lines creating a movement or structure to the piece. I continue by adding colors in a sort of improvisational manner, sometimes thinking what color to other times just looking down at the box and seeing which color catches my eye. In both cases I think about where the color may be needed. Occasionally I’ll just start adding it someplace and see how it affects the composition and respond by what seems to be needed at that point.

Let me know what you think!

graphite and crayon

graphite and crayon

graphite and crayon

graphite and crayon (detail)

After struggling and struggling to get down to the studio. I’ve been forcing myself to get into the studio the past few days, if only to sit there and read, stare at the wall, listen to music, or pick my nose. Monday, I found myself pulling out some small sheets of paper and sketching and yesterday I started drawing on this large sheet (48″x51″) I had tacked up a month ago for a watercolour I was going to work on. I guess the watercolour is on hold because I had fun drawing, and a stream of ideas started flowing through my head.

Worry about debt keeps me stuck, and is emotionally draining. It keeps me out of the studio and I hide out watching tv or playing minecraft instead of drawing painting shooting photos or anything creative.

I’d love to hear people’s thoughts about how they manage or overcome their worries. How do you get yourself into the studio or out into the world?

I went to the figure drawing session in our studio last night. I plopped down on the floor with a newspaper, a pile of construction paper, and my box of crayons 64 colours. This is some of what I did in a couple of hours. All based on the two models of course!

I’ve been playing around a bit just drawing and painting on news paper. Mostly just making a mess, having fin and not taking myself or the work too seriously.

Here’s some pics of drawings I did yesterday.

This painting is going extraordinarily slow. I’m doubting myself and choice of method tonight. I need to figure out the process. Might need to pick up some small canvases and work with some different approaches just to see if something else works better. I’m concerned that once again in my eagerness I jumped into a big canvas too quickly. On the other hand it forces me to sink or swim. If nothing else this is a practice in patience.