Art 210: Encaustic Painting

Wow, I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed my painting class.  To put it simply, I think it will forever change the way I interpret, study, marvel and admire fine paintings.  

The class, 'Intro to Painting', is primarily a study of materials and methods of creating a painting.  We began by studying pigments: ancient earth colors and modern manufacture elements.  In this discussion it is hard not to also examine the cultural and geographic influences on painting processes and how they developed alongside each other.  We began by looking at cave paintings, discussing content and all the environmental conditions that influenced them.  Really intriguing works, and very mysterious.

The oldest process that we replicated was that of encaustic painting, which was used by the Egyptians on their tombs, or coffins (most notably the 'Fayum mummy portraits').  Encaustic painting is created by adding pigment to hot wax.  So that is what we did in class:  heated beeswax on a pancake griddle, added our earth pigments, and created a painting with those basic elements.   

We each researched a Fayum mummy portrait and reproduced it on a wooded board.  These painting were often constructed in layers, the first being an 'underpainting' which was a value study of the subject.  Color is added in the second layer of wax.  Check it out:  I like the value study more, color ruined it for me.  

This is the image I chose to replicate.  Answer a longstanding debate we've been having in class: is this a male or female?

I liked the value study, and we spent alot of class time on it.  The wax was really difficult to work with:  it caked up quickly.  And before you added a color (of hot wax) to your brush it was best to know where it was going - you have about 3 seconds to work before the wax dries on your brush.

Then we added color to the process... which basically requires you to redo all the work you did the first time!  Well, I'm not a fan of redoing work I already like... so I gave it a very desaturated interpretation of the original, which was fine, the idea was to experience the process and explore the medium.

It's kind of haunting, isn't it?  And really, is it a boy or girl???  

Art 104: Enlarging a Common Object

What more is there to say?  Choose an ordinary, commonplace object, and enlarge 10-15x its original size. Meant to be and exploration of materials... half the trouble is the problem-solving exercise of how to construct your chosen object.

I chose a grapefruit!  It's hard to find a deeper meaning to another project that seems rather straight-forward.  But grapefruit are special.  They have always been present in my upbringing, thanks to this outstanding old citrus tree at the old farmhouse.  Nostalgia is all I can chalk this one up to:  picking the pale pink grapefruit from the tree with mom, eating them in the morning with dad.  Birds always trying to peck their way into the fruit, damaging the skin, never reaching the interior sweetness.  I always liked that the fruit were ugly, knowing that they would be rejected on a supermarket shelf.  Knowing that I was in on a great secret, a Tietje-ism that was quiet and special.


My primary materials were plaster wrap, fabric, and polyfill with a wire structure.  Among other things I think I was attracted to the geometry of the form, and the beautiful textures and colors.  My attachment to the sewing machine definitely helped with this project.  Alot of fun math involved in creating the pattern for the interior grapefruit structure.  The flesh of the grapefruit is a salmon-colored tulle with two different shades of opaque pink fabric below. 

Strangely, some of the most successful projects in the class were enlarged food.  It's just fun!  Renee couldn't stop giggling about the grapefruit.  An A+ project.  Even Matthew was game :).

Art 104: Balance and Tension

The realm of 3D design, form and sculpture, has been an area I have always wanted to explore.  Visually, it is not something I have been trained to analyze, break down, and understand.  Translating the 2D principles of line, positive and negative space, color and composition to the third dimension is not as easy or straight forward as it appears.  All good reasons to enroll in Art 104, 3D Design.

Our first project was to create a form comprised of geometric objects (rectilinear forms) that conveyed a sense of both balance and tension.  Our choice of materials was some sort of sturdy paper or board (matte board, chip board, poster board, ect.).  Color within the material was optional, only to be used only as a complement to the form.

It was a rather simple assignment... and those are often most confounding.  Sketching was where I started with this project, but it ultimately didn't inform my process as much as just building a study model with crude figures.  I settled on a form that I felt was rather organic in nature, comprised of a long narrow, central form (a stick or stem) with triangular forms radiating around it (leaves or flowers).  The tension and balance was easy to create, just in trying to arrange the triangles around the spine and getting the structure to stand.  The endless process of adding and subtracting, trial and error.

 

Here are all the elements made of chip board, taped along the central spine to figure out the best arrangement of the parts.

Somewhere at this stage a concept came to me... I began to see a larger meaning in this piece.  It is so mysterious how that happens!  I had probably been listening to too much NPR, and dwelling on this terrible oil spill in the gulf.  Color, a little acrylic paint, brought purpose to this sculpture.

The 'red stick', la baton rouge, representing Louisiana, my home.  And the blue triangles, water, coated and covered in oil.  Sticking and dripping, pulling down the red stick.  But also, it could be perceived that the water and oil are holding the red stick up, supporting it.  That is the contradiction of this tragedy... as much as we (Louisianians) would like to criminalize the oil industry it is also our blood and lifeline, a primary source of income for our community.

 

Concept is not something we've really been talking about in class.  Right now we are exploring form and for the sake of art and composition.  I was the only person in the class that had alot of thought or symbolism in the project.  We're not there yet in the class, and I jumped there because at LSU if it wasn't about something, then what was the point?  

I can just hear Frank, looking at a pile of geometric forms, saying 'So what?'.  And I can't help but make it about something.

Home Life

Enjoying the small beauties of summer life in South Carolina.

My veggie garden:

The garden has become a tangled mess of peppers and tomatoes... but that was expected with such a small space.  I just can't resist overplanting.  Also, finally success with the swiss chard there in the foreground (planted primarily for their colorful stalks).

Perennial Garden: I finally weeded and some of last year's favorites are coming back.

Purple Cone Flower!

And I can't forget the blue lace-cap hydrangeas in the front (this is for mom).

It is also the time of year when the local farmer's market never disappoints.  I've been buying peaches by the dozen and freezing them for smoothies!

And finally, blueberry picking!  Sonya, Grady and I went on Sunday and left with a gallon of berries each.  Also freezing them for smoothies, and other treats, like these Blueberry Breakfast Bars (which often doubles as dessert with ice cream).  We plan on making another trip to pick berries before the season is over.

Art 112: Portfolio 3

Our final project in my Maymester drawing course was a still life.  We were to create a composition of objects that reflected our lives.  Ironically the week I worked on this assignment was also my last week of work at Grimball-Cotterill, the design firm I've been working for.  My mixture of feelings about my decision to leave probably influenced my composition.  Moving away from the profession that I have invested so much of myself in....

Plant material was my favorite part of landscape architecture - that is where I found mystery and beauty.  So I arranged plant materials that are withering and in various stages of decay, along with my 'plant bible'.  I think this displays my conflicting feelings of nostalgia, and maybe, the end of something that was once vibrant and beautiful.

Ok, thumbnail sketches, deciding on the composition.

 

In this assignment we were employing all the principles we had been working on: scale, proportion, composition, texture, linework, and now adding perspective.

I used graphite, vine charcoal, and charcoal.  The quietness of the composition and the dramatic lighting speaks to the emotion I was trying to convey.

Art 112: Portfolio 2

I'm excited to share this work with you.  Week 2 in drawing we focused on linework.  Descriptive lines, lines that create texture, lines that translate form.  Adjust of lineweight, value, and material to accurately describe the object you are seeing.

Drawing Wonder
Phase I - Texture Study of Organic Object
We each chose a highly textured organic object.  We created a grid of 9 5"x5" squares and in each we described a different topographical texture found on the object.  We were only to use line to describe each surface (which is a very difficult task!).  I ended up layering lines often to create value.  The object I was to study and describe was a cluster of clam shells, each open and facing different angles, with all kinds of various sea creatures growing on it.  (Sorry I neglected to take a picture of the shells).

The drawing was too large to scan, and you really can't see the detail of the linework in this drawing in this photograph.  It was a pretty intense assignment and I spent alot of time developing each.  I used pen, drafting pencils, charcoal, and graphite.

Vertical Line Only

Dawn Hunter, my professor, developed this project herself.  Using only vertical lines, in a grayscale of pastels,  we intuitively composed a landscape.  The entire page was to be covered in lines using value to describe the scene.  Interesting project - it was nice to let go a little and trust instinct.

Drawing Wonder

Phase II - Final Project

Chose a collection of highly textured organic objects to use in a composition.  Use linework to describe the topographic and visual texture of the objects.  The kicker:  we had to choose one medium and use it consistently.  I chose graphite (which is nice, but it never gets quite as dark as I would like).  Again, I don't think the photo is the best representation of this drawing; the detail isn't evident.  But I'm pleased with this piece.

My subject:  roots exposed due to erosion, magnolia leaves and flower center, mulch, twigs, ect.   I traveled to Louisiana for Maggie's wedding the weekend before this was due, so I ended up printing the photo and using it to create alot of the drawing.