Gammy!

It's my Gammy Hil's ninetieth birthday this week! Ninety! The fam's coming in from Toronto to surprise her and I was asked to do portraits of all the grandchildren. We have a small family so luckily I only have to do four. Leaving things to the last minute it is now 3am and I have finished three. May or may not stay up and do the rest... probably not. I think the quality of my work deteriorates as my brain get mushy in the wee hours. My serious productivity usually happens between 8pm and 2am. We've passed that threshold. Was that the right word to use?

threshold

noun
1. the starting point for a new state or experience; "on the threshold of manhood"
2. the smallest detectable sensation
3. the entrance (the space in a wall) through which you enter or leave a room or building; the space that a door can close; "he stuck his head in the doorway" [syn: doorway]
4. the sill of a door; a horizontal piece of wood or stone that forms the bottom of a doorway and offers support when passing through a doorway [syn: doorsill]
5. a region marking a boundary [syn: brink]

I can't figure it out right now. And I feel like one of these things is not like the other. Number two anyone? But I think number five means I was right..

Anyways I think they're pretty hilarious. They look very sweet in the flesh but for some reason loose a bit of that in the photographs. Again, I was enjoying the play between charcoal and acrylic.
Sleep is definitely in order now. I'll be posting the fourth tomorrow.

Music as the Muse Part II

It's time for a new painting playlist! Complied of recommendations and new discoveries this list has a surprising number of songs relating to longing... it's taking over the already oversized right side of my brain.

Humour is the new black

Recently sat in on artist talk with Jon Pylypchuk for my majors class. Everyone was making a huge deal about him coming to do a talk because he's "one of the most - if not the most - successful U of M Fine Arts graduate". He now works out of L.A. I had only seen his work on posters around campus but was automatically intrigued by the sculptures made out of scraps of wood, material, and found objects. I completely agreed with one prof who said his work could belong in juxtapoz. It gave off a a hip grungy vibe which is very prominent in the magazine.
When he sat in front of the projector at the art barn i thought right away that it wasn't going to be a long talk. He didn't seem like a talker. At first glance he looked like Rivers Cuomo (lead singer of Weezer). He was shy and nerdy looking with thick rimmed black glasses. The talk started with slides of his favourite bands. He had a very quiet almost nervous voice as he explained that he and his wife decided that going through his entire music collection since art school would be a good way to describe how he has developed as an artist. It seemed ridiculous and irrelevant at the time.
He showed slides of his older paintings and explained how galleries said they sucked so he started to make work that would sell. As soon as he sold his first piece he was shocked and just started producing what people would buy. He was modest and straightforward but you could tell there was more to his agenda than just creating what people want.
He moved on from paintings to his recent sculptures. The materials used for his sculptures dictated how you felt about the characters. A mixture of rough edges from wood contrasted with the plushness of a stuffed animal. But what kept most on the edge of their seats was through his quiet mumbling the titles of his work were shocking. For instance "Don't fuck the sea too hard big boy". The most intense course I've taken so far has been sculpture. With a prof who was very set in his methods and ideas and who told me that titles were cop outs. But in Pylypchuk's case I think they made his work. He was masking the darker meanings in his work with humour. And it was working. After a long ramble of these titles I saw a student leave in disgust. I felt just the opposite. What he was doing was the essence of his work. It seemed personal and dark blanketed with comic relief. I think this is a common coping mechanism for a lot of people.
After a short half hour talk we had question period. Possibly the most revealing statement was "Really deep down people don't care so just do it for yourself". This slightly contradicted his earlier confession of just making what people would buy but I took what he said to heart. I think he has come a long way from just making what sells and his work is now a true expression of his character.

Don't fuck the sea too hard big boy
Painting

Your brother is adopted / and I slept with him / so / so
Painting

So then we will burn you when you are dead
Sculpture

Don't press too much luck
Sculpture

I miss you danger and all its elements
Sculpture

Dusting off for a new year

Got my crisp new December/January edition of New American paintings the other day. I sometimes disregard the artist write-ups and focus solely on the images but I found myself very intrigued by Allison Cortson's work. I enjoy painting in deep colours mixed with a sepia tone so I was drawn to hers immediately. These colours remind me of gritty urban scenes but she has used them in a domestic setting. I wanted to know why she created this contrast and discovered that the sepia tones were actually dust. She takes photographs of people in their homes and spends months collecting the dust from underneath their furntiture, in their vacuums, and other hidden places where those dust bunnies collect. She uses the different shades of dust to capture each persons surroundings while making the subject stand out with deep oil colours. Most dust is composed of skin particles so each painting has a certain tone depending on the person. Yet again another unique idea using unconventional materials.

Cardboard Cut Outs

I've been doing my cardboard paintings since the fall this year. I started them on a whim probably because, with my room being in the basement, I am still surrounded by the boxes I moved in with in February. I knew I'd use them for something. Other than it being convenient, I'm attracted to its colour and texture. It has kind of a dirty or used feeling to it. I started painting very graphic figures onto the cardboard and liked how the ripples protruded from underneath the paint. I had a series in mind so I was just chugging away for the first half of the semester. I tend to paint in a very planned, methodical fashion. Carefully putting one specific colour in each shape as if its a paint-by-numbers piece. I'm sure that will always have a part to take in my process but without realizing it at first, I was confining myself.
My painting prof, Jeff Funnell, came up to me a couple weeks ago and told me he had seen my jewelry and thought that I should display them by incorporating them with my paintings. I love getting suggestions when they're exactly what you need to hear. When you're looking for something to tie it all together and someone or something has just made everything click. So thanks to Jeff for that gem. Last weekend I finally had the chance to hunker down and put it into action. I started off with a picture I found that my best friend, Kaja, had apparently uploaded onto my computer this summer. It was a dirty camping picture of her craning her neck, showing off a new set of hickeys to the camera. It was a goofy picture to begin with but when I sketched it out she wound up looking very graceful. The idea was to paint my friends as models on the cardboard and to hang the jewelry off them as if they were wearing the piece. Needing a change I sat on the kitchen floor with my cardboard and started slopping the paint on. At first I had to try not to be anal about it and purposefully paint messily. I got a little more adventerous and started slashing the cardboard with my exacto knife to give her hair some texture. I kept slashing away and wound up being very pleased with the results. I think the paintings work well by themselves but it's nice that they serve a function of being my jewelry models. I have decided to stop being so controlling over my methods and to break free more often. We'll see where this new approach takes me.

The first set of images is called 'Ritualistic'
It is a camping picture of myself, my boyfriend Darrin and my roommate Campbell (from left to right) shotgunning beers. This was my first attempt at the cardboard paintings.
I have yet to find a name for make second series that dually function as my Gillian Giggs jewelry models. They are interpretations of my close friends. From top to bottom is Katie, Kaja, Amy, and Sullivan.

Rituals

Everyone has their own ritual while they're in 'the zone'. I tend to work late at night with a pot of coffee at my dining room table. I have a musician for a roommate and our house has been designated the 'jam space'. So usually I'm listening to one of several bands practicing or if I'm alone, cbc radio or my own selection of tunes as background. Currently hunkering down for some painting on cardboard.. Decided to share some painting tunes....

Think about your 'canvas'

Drinking coffee, fending off my cat, and flipping through an 'old' New American Paintings this morning and saw Suzannah Sinclair's work again. I've seen it before and found it striking the first time but looking at it this morning I came to a realization about why I am currently painting on cardboard. Suzannah's paintings are mainly watercolour on birch panel. She uses the flesh tones of the birch to come through as her subjects' skin. Very inventive. This is much more delicate than my acrylic on cardboard but I felt a connection to it because why do we always have to stick to canvas? We don't. This is a pretty obvious conclusion but sometimes it takes a while before you figure out why you're creating something the way you are. I'll post some finished cardboard works soon but for now enjoy Suzannah's work!