"Black and White and Read All Over"

Dowager Brooch, 12" x 8.5" oil on wood

Brooch of Bewitchment, 14" x 12", oil on wood

Buffalo Heart, 14" x 12", oil on wood

I can't tell if I'm legitimately self-doubting or just in a grumpy mood, but the boa frame annoys me. I feel I've sacrificed a painting (an experience) to make an art object (a symbol for experience). I also have mixed feelings about exploring the point where a painting functions as an object. It seems interesting. All human pondering is interesting, and formal considerations are ultimately about human pondering. I just think this particular issue, the workings of a painting functioning outside of the 2-d realm, may be of relatively minor interest, compared to the workings of a painting within the 2-d realm.

These are for the upcoming color-themed show at the Harrison Center (16th and Delaware St, Indianapolis). Opens on Dec. 4.

Backsides

Bootleg Exhibitions and Mt Comfort Gallery

Jenny Buffington at Bootleg Exhibitions Vol.1

Aaron Schmidt at Bootleg Exhibitions Vol.1

Tyler Meuninck in "Public Works" at Mt. Comfort

Saturday, I hit two closing receptions at the corner of English and State St. .

Tyler Meuninck was showing some great paintings, done mostly with a beautiful palette of pinky browns. These urban landscapes combine atmospheric space with abstracted space, which works especially well with the mid-value, low contrast paintings.

I had heard and read from many different sources that Bootleg Exhibitions, across the street from Mt. Comfort, had hosted an excellent inaugural and second show. There is so much local marketing bs pushing entities to succeed by blowing hype, that, to some degree, I blew off the input I receive on this gallery. I shoulda listened better.

The space is so exciting that the work shown forms a symbiotic relationship with it. Well, I should say, the artists are intentionally working with and within these conditions. The space is raw, and display decisions are brilliant. The rawness is embraced and played upon, but not in a precious manner. Rather the arrangements are unselfconscious, direct, and efficient. I can't really address the work shown, because I stupidly waited until the closing to see this show (and missed the inaugural show entirely), but what I saw was very good.

I'm Breathing Air Again

...after being underwater for three weeks.

I subcontracted with Steve Paddack of Paintbox Studios, and we also had help from artist Mike Brown. We painted three scenic wall murals, and two window murals, all depicting biblical geographical areas. This is for a church's new childrens' learning area.

Above and below: Entry mural, Northern Galilee, 10' x 25'

Sea of Galilee valley, 10' x 30'

(this area will soon have a giant boat in which kids can ride)

Northern Galilee, 7' x 16'

Interior room of a Jerusalem home,

with windows looking out on a terrace and on Jerusalem,

6' x 6'

This was a great project, and I really enjoyed working with others. I like that these murals have nice light and space in them, even though the project didn't require this. People really do respond well to "painted worlds" once they actually see them in person. That's reassuring.

Yard Offerings From Below

These are fairly early finds at 1650 Kildare, from a few years ago when I still enjoyed hanging out in my yard. I spent several years hand digging my garden. I've had people tell me I'm full of shit for thinking these are anything other than rocks...

I've thrown back the iffy ones and kept these two, because they are obviously human-made tools. It doesn't show, but the larger one has a very refined axe-end to it, with a very bulky front area. It appears the lower part of the axe-end broke and they tossed it aside. I would not have expected these to be made this way, refining an area before shaping the entire thing.

The cat tail in the last photo is from current times.

Henri Art Magazine - Color

Mark Stone of Henri Art Magazine has been posting a series of essays on color. He points out how the use, and perception, of color in art has dramatically changed over the past few centuries. He then very intimately links this, through specific artworks, to our own changing character as a people.

He frames these thoughts within a Modernism vs. Post-Modernism comparison, in ways which further clarify these movements.

Color: 16th Century
Color: Mannerism
Color: Chromophobia
Color: Emphasis
Color: Simulation