Dimension

image

Not too long ago, Helquin commented:

"I guess what I'm getting at is: if the painting is itself a 2-D illusion of 3-D reality, what's lost by working with another 2-D illusion as your source?"

likewise:

Yesterday, in my drawing class, a student brought in his homework, which was basically = Do a self portrait with a 6B pencil. What was interesting was that what he turned in was obviously derived from a photograph (it was him as a child).

Touché.

It seems that when we look at 2-D illusions (which include the monitor you are looking at), and then we try to mimic the illusion with ancient tools, our eyes move from plane to plane. This exercise is important, and yet limited. The Plane-to-Plane experience can only develop a craft. When converting 3-D to 2-D however, us humans are required to make choices.

Back in 1994, I made paintings that relied on the viewers depth-of-field choices, for example :Steven LaRose, The Insect That Decieves, 1994
Acrylic and polyurethane on wood, 12" x 12"

When we draw from "life" our depth of field is constantly moving/evaluating/judging.

JUDGING

That is the kicker, isn't it? When we draw from "life" we expose our judgments. Our brain flickers and settles when drawing from life. Whereas, in the 2-D to 2-D transfer we are nothing more then a machine.

There are (of course) exceptions to my observation (like Chuck Close).
What I don't understand is what happens when we look at a mirror.

Not as I do

I just created a YouTube account so that I can broadcast myself. (It was either that or fold the laundry).

Which is it?

"Anastasi is one of the founders, indeed before the movements were named, of both Conceptual Art and Minimal Art, which questions traditional readings of the object in terms of style or medium. Creating a new set of values by which to judge art, the conceptual artist asks viewers to question exactly what art is. Anastasi's work often emphasizes his thoughts on the act of "not seeing" and chance; the artist frequently blindfolds himself and limits the production time of his works."

or. . . Remington and Du Pont could be trying to sell us better weapons that have dense and full patterns, with no holes through which game can escape.

Fish or Cut Bait

I wish I knew where this piece of paper came from (I got it from a dead guy's studio). It is 19.5 inches tall and the left hand side has been roughly cut from something wider. It is large. It is screen printed. It asks the question.

You are probably wondering, "Steve, where can I get an Art Gizmo for myself?"

Part of my studio edit/re-org has me confronting my collection of devices like the Art Gizmo.

The back panel is beautifully confusing. It claims in bold lettering:
Colorful OP-ART is yours to create
and yet, the smaller font reads:
"All you do is watch. . . the GIZMO does it AUTOMATICALLY. . .produces endless intricate geometric patterns"

I suppose I should simply frame this

I don't consider myself a "photographer" but this may be the best convergence of events that I've witnessed in years.

Hunkerin' Down

I took the picture above at 3:30 PM today and the fat flakes are fallin' fast and stickin'. My family is assuming that tomorrow is a no-travel day. No school. No work. This is great because I spent the weekend painting one of our rooms a color called "Sultry Castle" using Devine's Powder wall finish.Now it is nothing but studio time with an open ended window. That's how I like my studio time. It takes a unique mind-set to be able to squeeze a couple of hours of reckless abandon in between responsibilities. It's not impossible, just not as enjoyable. That's why I'm a night painter. Nights are infinite for me. Nothing can stop me except my own stamina.

What these snowflakes mean is that I am going to have a larger infinite time in the studio tonight. The chores are done and there is unexpected "free" time on the horizon. The icing on the gravy is that Miso has finally become mature enough to hang out with me into the wee hours.
So, as I leave my wife and daughter cuddled in a blanket in front of the Jøtul, I pull the first piece of god-knows-what off of my stack to edit.

Should I keep The White Rock Girl? It is just a magazine advertisement. I've shared it with you now, so why keep this piece of paper around? I love the colors and the brush treatment and the clumsy font. I am embarrassed to admit that the objectification of the female form stirs some appreciation in my adolescent inner self. Past that, I wonder why I have been fascinated with the creamy/marigold/nicotine quality of aging paper? As a painter proficient in mimicking old shit, I often wonder why "aging" adds integrity? Is it simply the patina-like warmth of complicated colors? Image source

UPDATE:
And then the power went out.

2 Vids

Drum Buddy Demo

Tomorrow's Impact

My studio is an extention of my brain. . . and it is way too late to be posting something for the world to see

I am feeling lopsidedly ego-centric so I want to point out two polar blogger/painters who have earned my respect (before I dive into mememe). The first is Rachel Maxi for "her diary of the mundane". Dennis Hollingsworth is the second person I'd like to flag for ya'll. If I had more time in my life, I would follow the lure that Dennis dangles with his recent strange loop post. He points to the rich truth that: "each artworks' content is distributed over numerous subcontents, rather than being limited to precisely one subject..."

In the meantime, I am still in the studio-reorg process. I've got my brushes loosely dialed in: The acrylic quarts are corralled:

The oil paints have spontaneous grab potential:

I even crossed the fuddy-duddy barrier and became a peg-board man.

But, not everything is finding a home. One of the many frustrating pearls in my studio is this roll of flocked wallpaper that I've been carrying around for years:

Flocked, meaning fuzzy texture:

My Lupe is also homeless.
Should a beautifully simple slide viewing device be put on the endangered species list?

Introduction to Painting Demonstration

Tonight I painted and tried to talk for the entire three hours. I think it helped some people, but I couldn't help notice that a couple people took the opportunity to sneak out.

Murmur 21 November 26, 2006

"Richard Barnes’s photographs capture the double nature of the birds — or at least the double nature of our relationship to them — recording the pointillist delicacy of the flock and something darker, almost sinister in the gathering mass." - Jonathan Rosen

Impossible Idea

Pose Maniacs

Cool plaster

Century old German models being maintained by Chinese students. (link)

Understanding My Roots

I am in the process of a massive studio overhaul. I'm this close to sifting through the yogurt cups that contain the scrambled knot of screws, washers, hooks, and black-widow carcasses. Presently however, I am dealing with the stacks. Above is the oldest drawing that I've saved. It was a big deal to me because I didn't trace it. I don't remember what powers Ultron had. Below is a video clip of 28 drawings I did in high school (1980). I never was able to see them all together as an animation until yesterday when I quickly snapped pix of them and uploaded the group to Imovie. I've long lost the background painting. What is cool is the reflection of me and the camera. It is a little over two seconds long. . .

Herbe II

This is a video about Stan's project that I have worked on occasionally over the years. Many of my paint tricks you won't see at first, like the faux marble below the painting of Stan's wife, and the gold striping in some of the rooms. The exterior pediment which I built and posted about here, and here, isn't even seen.

Steven LaRose, Kouros 2006-08
Oil on acrylic on illustation board
12" x 9"

Twisting stream

I've been collecting these old Walter T. Foster books for years. Initially I sought them for their kitsch value. Recently however, like the New Jersey man who two weeks ago chomped down on a pearl in his fried oyster special, I have been finding special little moments in several of them.
Actually, this book has enough bright spots in it that I Googled Claude Parsons only to find that there is a Memorial Award for Landscape painting in his name available from The American Artists Professional League, INC. I wonder if his story is slipping through the cracks? I particularly enjoy this "fault" and his example:
The purple and green are so sweet. The lesson of the descending scale of choices (power, weak, and dead) is a poignant one. I find myself pleading with students to "quit beating-up that line" as they scratch away at an edge that isn't even a contour. It got me to thinking about "trusting your mark" and forcing yourself to move around the canvas. I also found myself pondering the whole "third time is a charm" thing again. I couldn't find much about that old saying on the net. There was the bizarre notion that it is related to some old English law that if you are not successfully dead after the third attempt at them hanging you, you can go free. Maybe there is some holy trinity thing going on? (painting above by Perugino)

"All good things come in threes. People still believe that good or bad luck may follow someone three times in a row. The word bad may substitute for good. Things (death, luck, trouble, misfortune, murders, disasters) come in threes is a variant of the proverb. First attested in the United States in 1927..." From "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" by Gregory Y. Titelman.
Anyway you look at it, I was chasing down the wrong question really. Three strokes don't make a better mark. There is nothing charming about an overworked painting. Then I thought what Claude Parsons was getting at was something like "first guess, best guess" which interestingly enough took me quickly to Rebecca Alzofon and her site that is dedicated to deconstructing Pierre-Paul Prud-hon's unique hatching style. She has some interesting craftsmanship lessons.I sure learned a lot this morning. But don't let all this sentimental representation stuff fool ya, I still have a soft spot for Paul Klee.

Sky Porn

"Just too many real world things and wanting to post something thoughtful rather than just whatever, has prevented me from getting anything on there."

If I had a nickel for every time I've heard that one . . .
Absolutely nothing personal towards the person who recently sent me that excuse in an email, but gee whiz, it is hard for me not to take it personally. "Thoughtful" is highly over-rated, especially if it becomes catatonic.

Although, if you still need a thoughtful artists take on things, I recommend High-Lo's "You didn't really think higher ed. was about learning?" or anything over at Micheal's Spontaneous Arising.

Art For The Masses, 2008

Brandon's Blue

Bon Bon

Cerise Pink

Last week, one of my students asked if I had ever tried starting a drawing with the title first. I told him about my Art for the Masses (2006) series which I occasionally fall back on. I randomly grab a paint chip and draw the color's name. I seem to have completely ignored labeling things lately so there is no clear path to all of the drawings. Seriously, it seemed neat at the time, but when was the last time that you used the "label" menu on a blog? I don't think I have ever. Here is a link to the 2007 series.

The aforementioned student, Aaron, sent me the link to explodingdog's project where people send him titles and he draws them. It looks like he has been using some basic paint program since 2000! The results are sardonically cute. Thanks Aaron.I dropped my cell phone.

Steven LaRose, Swinburne 2006-08
Oil on acrylic on illustration board, 9" x 12"

The Seven Soldiers of Victory (plus one)

This is a deep root for me.

Rule Number One For A Productive Society

Bone Head Glaze Assignment

It seems so easy for us old farts, but thinking ahead four steps is apparently excruciatingly difficult for the "Introduction to Painting" student. Their assignment for next Tuesday is to present replicants of the squares above, plus eight additional squares that reflect their unique personal taste.

Some Beautiful "Basics" From My Collection

A couplet

They say that three times is a charm, but in my world, it can take only two events for me to start making correlations. I am fascinated by these two games from xavierenigma. The one above is called Hops, and the one below is labeled simply next physics game.
I relate this to painting (and the learning of painting) in that these are fairly simple appearing games in which the rules are discovered through exploring and the making of mistakes. It is up to you to decide whether you want to become proficient at them. To become proficient, you have to mess around, which means spending time.

I've also embedded in the sidebar a cool little verlet integration demo created by bunnytech. At the Bunny Hero Labs site, they say "the code is based on the article advanced character physics (by Thomas Jakobsen) which was presented at the 2001 game developers conference."

Steven LaRose, Tat 2006-08
Acrylic and oil on illustration board
12" x 9"