Jars of Paint

The new Exigency painting is well underway, the photo above taken several days ago.

Why would I be so surprised that a larger painting would take more paint? I dunno, but I was... jars rather than tubes… and slightly different methods - larger brushes for example - my 3/4 replaced by 1½ inch brushes for laying the ground. A more decisive approach seems to be working best too, what with 24 square feet of canvas to cover :)

Using my old ways of doing things, this painting would take at least a month; and might anyway? We'll see.

In the meantime, I've been advised to come up with some more "conventional" paintings again, (you know, landscapes and flowers), if only to improve cash flow. I'm not exactly sure of the logic behind that seeing as how none of the "conventional" paintings have sold - my work not being displayed for three months in another gallery when I thought it was, notwithstanding. Still, the advice came from someone else I respect and you know, don't you, one of the artist's commandments is, "Thou shalt deal with those who will honour thee." So I better get on the stick and see what else I can come up with.

Until next time…

Cheers!

Here We Go!

I'm totally jazzed right now.

I've been more or less biding my time, what with one thing or another, but always so very conscious of time slipping by without painting.

There'd been a man who'd volunteered to model a couple weeks ago? and I'd left it up to him to call when he was ready. But I hadn't heard from him, so this morning, after tying up some loose ends with a website job, I decided to give him a call. And I'm sure glad I did. Even before I could say much over the phone, he asked if we could do it right away. I said, "Sure!" and before you knew it, he was knocking on the door. Cool.

He was great. Once I had the camera set-up and explained a bit about the composition, (see sketch, next entry), his nervousness passed - he'd never modeled before - and once that happened, he became attentive to whatever directions were needed. And he was great at following directions too, so all-in-all, it was a short, very productive session. He even suggested an improvement to the composition!!!!

In my explanations of the shoot, I'd told him it was of a guy who had a decision to make, but that he wasn't depressed… "Just thinking real hard," I'd said, "so let's keep your shoulders back a bit… not drooping." No problem, but in positioning him, I had him so you could only see the top of his head. A few photos into the shoot, he remarked, "Won't that make him look depressed? his head hanging down so low?"

Sure enough, in reviewing the photos just taken, he was right. So after that, his head is raised a bit and he's staring at the floor in front of him.

I just uploaded the photos to the computer and reviewed 'em. The photos turned out great. Not photographic art, you understand, but that's not why they're taken… The positions I ask for can't be held for very long, and they're definitely not positions that can be held for as long as it'd take to do a painting. In fact, the positions can be downright uncomfortable even for the shortest period of time. So the only recourse is to take reference photos.

I'm totally jazzed. And I'm totally excited about this painting.

Thank you, uh… Crud... I don't know what to call him. I forgot to discuss "attribution" with him so I don't know what to call him in public.

Okay, paint first and ask questions later. Should prolly have a name for him by the time I post a pic of this next painting.

Guess what I'm gonna be doing tonight… Painting!!!! Yea!


Cheers!

The Exigency Story

I've been getting a lot of questions about the Exigency Project - mostly from people I've invited to participate, potential sponsors, models, etc. And from those viewing my art and involving themselves enough to ask, "What motivated you to paint this?" So for the sake of the Project's success, it may be time to end at least some of the secrecy. Reasonably so. Both interest and cooperation tend to evaporate in a hurry when someone's told, "I can't tell you." Or when 'just enough' isn't heard.

I don't want to get into the language of sociology, psychology, or anthropology, so for now, suffice it to say, "The Exigency Exhibition is a collection of some 40 planned canvases meant to visually relate a story - the story of victory over defeat."

It's the story of one man - though not me en toto - having drawn on the experiences of the hundreds of men I've known - and is decidedly a story involving uniquely male experiences. However, regardless of the viewer's gender, the Exhibition should have relevance if only because of the commonality of the human experiences represented on canvas. (There will no doubt be some departures, but my goal is to improve understanding rather than to draw battle lines between the sexes.)

From one perspective, the story is about the search for meaning and purpose in life while at the same time having to overcome obstacles presented both from without, (because of the people around us and the society in which we live), and from within, (battling one's own demons: the various delusions, fears, guilt, regrets, and despairs we entertain whether we know it or not).

In most stories, there's a protagonist or 'hero,' and one or more antagonists. And so it is with the Exigency Story, though the antagonists have yet to be introduced... They haven't been represented in any sketch, canvas, or sculpture made available for public viewing up to this point. (And they may not be revealed until the Exhibition.) (We'll see.)

In the stories of most American dramas, (provided the hero is attractive, fits the template of "normal," or is endearingly eccentric), there are always blue skies after the struggle, and a 'happily-ever-after' ending. This is true whether or not anything of the sort can be expected out of real life. Unfortunately, American movie-goers rarely dismiss these happily-ever-after endings as corny or strictly make-believe. They - these Walt Disney happy-endings - have become something people in American audiences have come to expect, not only from their cinema - and feel cheated if they don't get one - but in their own lives as well.

Viewers of the Exhibition may feel cheated if they expect such an unrealistic ending to the Exigency Story.

That having been said, there is a "happy ending," (represented by the "White Canvases"). But it doesn't come because our hero thinks he deserves one, (or assumes the right of entitlement), or is somehow granted a 'wish.' Nor does his happy ending come in "knight in shining armor" rescuer fashion; or as a "love" that saves the day or magically transforms a dull, meaningless life into something wondrous and exciting - turning a hell on earth into heaven. (Granted, that seems to happen on occasion but it's usually short-lived because it's based on delusional thinking.) And above all, our hero's happy ending doesn't depend on him becoming someone else's salvation project - as in his shrink's success story or favorite missionary man's conversion.

His happy ending comes with a great deal of hard work, discovery of the truth, and ultimately, the surrender to the truth he's discovered rather than the way he wants things to be.

(There is, of course, a great deal more to the Story; but for various reasons related to over-exposure or revealing too much before exhibition, that will have to due for now.) (Stay tuned.)

The rough sketch above is the preliminary for the next "Black Canvas" to be shown over the internet. It's meaning may seem obvious, but its true significance can only be fully understood within the context of the Story as a whole, that is, in and among the entire set of canvases.

The current project is the largest of the "Black Canvases" to date, measuring 4 ft. x 6 ft., and certainly the largest canvas I've ever attempted.

For more on the Exigency Exhibition, visit the online gallery website and follow the Exigency links.

Cheers!



[The above entry was edited for clarity on August 5th, '07; (previous title: "Spilling The Beans"), and again on March 5th, 2009.]

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

I have to laugh at myself sometimes. I really do.

I just did.

It's happened before. It'll happen again.

It usually happens gradually, but before I know it, I'm frustrated and the world is feeling more like a straightjacket than anything else. And usually the only way to get out of it, for me anyway, is to laugh at myself.

The reasons for that happening may vary, you understand, but I've at least become more adept at recognizing that straightjacket feeling, stopping to take a breath, and trying to objectively assess the situation. It's then that the comedy of it all hits me.

This time it wasn't because I'd built the frame to a 4 ft. x 6 ft. canvas out on the deck without thinking. (There are weird, little, narrow turns after you reach the top of the stairs and a cramped entryway. And that's just to get into the studio.) And it wasn't because I hadn't thought about how low the ceiling to the studio is. (To paint the 6 foot tall canvas, I'd have to lay on my belly.) (Okay, you can stop laughing now.)

Naw, it wasn't because of anything having to do with solutions out in the real world - which are sometimes easier to find - like removing a door or setting-up a temporary easel in the model staging area. (That's where I'm stretching the canvas above. That's why the walls are black.)

No sir. It had to do with my own mind, where solutions can't be measured with a yardstick. Seems that somewhere along the line I'd lost that wonderfully carefree attitude of, "Let's try it an' see."

Gradually, and without me knowing it, temporary delays were becoming imagined obstacles that were getting a lot of air time in my head, that tendency seemingly validated by weird little coincidences happening in the real world. And let's face it, when that happens, I might-as-well, just-as-well, eat worms.

So, "No, Jeff, just because you weren't able to touch bases with someone as soon as you thought you would doesn't mean they're not interested. And just because they're not interested… ! …doesn't mean that the whole Project's a total waste of time and gonna end-up in total failure anyway. And no, Jeff, you're probably not gonna end-up living on the streets, begging for food, going insane and in jail because that's where they put mental patients nowadays anyway." (Well, I didn't go that far, but you know what I mean.)

I'm thinking patience really is a virtue in this case. There were at least four people I wanted to 'touch-bases' with before the weekend. Plus about a half-dozen other things that were dependent upon some other things happening. But for one reason or another, none of it happened. And just because "everything" didn't happen on my schedule, exactly the way I wanted it to, doesn't mean that everything won't happen, turn out even better than expected, and maybe even with a few pleasant surprises thrown-in to boot.

Patience, Jeff, patience.

Life really is interesting, isn't it?

So, here's to all of you, wishing you all a straightjacket-free weekend. Until next time I write…

Cheers!

I think I'll go paint. Let's try it an' see what happens. :)


Oh! And thank you all for the compliments and words of encouragement. And for the person living in Florida: "Yep! I sure do love living here :)