Abstract Art Blog

Visiting California

This week Adrian and I are in California "baby-sitting" two of our grandkids while their parents are on vacation in Hawaii.  On Tuesday, we all went to the Triton Museum in Santa Clara.  The exhibit we liked best was Ann Weber's WONDERLAND, a collection of large sculptural pieces made of woven cardboard stapled together and shellacked.  Some of the pieces were over 16 feet high, so it indeed felt like walking through a wonderland of organic, whimsical, always-interesting shapes. 

We saw another piece by Ann Weber later in the week at an "all cardboard" exhibit at the San Jose Museum of Art.  This was a group exhibit with a huge variety of approches to making art out of cardboard.  One piece which summed up my feelings about a lot of conceptual art was a stack of cardboard boxes reaching to the ceiling with the word "BLAH" stenciled on each one, as in "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah . . ." 

Too many of the pieces in this exhibit were simply reproductions of ordinary objects, such as a lounge chair, or clothing on a clothesline.  It may have taken some craftsmanship to make these items out of cardboard, but what makes them art?  Only the theory-filled verbiage written on the wall next to them. 

My favorite exhibit at the San Jose Museum of Art was a small room filled with works by San Francisco abstract expressionists from the 1950s and 60s:  Elmer Bischoff, Ernest Briggs, Edward Corbett, Edward Dugmore, James Kelly, Frank Lobdell, Deborah Remington, John Saccaro, and Hassel Smith.  Since my greatest influences were the NY abstract expressionists, it was fun to see the connections between them and their west-coast counterparts. 

Getting the best digital files of your art

When you have your artwork photographed, especially for use in making giclee prints, does your photographer give you the right kind of digital files?  It's important for artists to document their work properly, because once an original is sold, it's too late. 

Quality slides and color transparencies were the preferred documentation method some years ago, but in this digital age, there is a different standard.  As an artist, I didn't pay a lot of attention to this issue.  I took my own digital photos which were good enough for my website, but not much else.  Once I started having giclee prints made of my work, my printmaker did the photography (and sometimes scanning) to create the high-resolution file necessary for large prints.

Recently my new printmaker Jim Kirsner, who I must disclose is also my brother-in-law, pointed out that the format of  a digital file is critical to historical documentation.  Here he is in his own words:

"When your printer gives you a CD with the image, are they giving you the original capture files (usually TIFF or Raw) or are you getting JPGs?

"Are you getting clean files (unedited) as well as the optimized print file (mostly only of value to your Printer's printer)?

"Not important, you say.  Well it is if you, say, move out of the area and have to start up again with a new Giclee printer.  Or, what do you do if your current printer ceases operation? Can you recover with less than pristine digital files?  Of course you can, eventually and at considerable editing expense.  Why risk it?  Simply request copies of the original captures from whoever is doing them for you, they are your property!

"I can not emphasize too strongly the importance of possessing the original, unedited, un-color corrected file, the negative, if you will.  There are many of you who have a considerable Giclee business.  That high quality, unedited file (no JPGs, only TIFFs or RAW files) is the raw material of your Giclee business, especially when you've sold the original.  No file, no Giclee.  Questionable file, more expense, maybe not the same quality Giclee."

Jim has been making my Giclee prints for the last few months, as well as working with other area artists.  For more information, check out his website at fineartprintbyjim.com.

Art Trail A Success

This past two weekends I had my studio open to visitors, as did 53 other artists in the greater Ithaca, New York region.  We had perfect weather, which brought people in from Canada, New York City, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut, as well as from our local communities.

I sold several prints of my most popular painting, Culmination:

Culmination is the image I put in the Art Trail brochure, and many visitors commented on it.

I wasn't sure how sales would be, since the country (and the world) are facing scary economic times,  but I had my best Art Trail season ever.

One of the original paintings I sold was a floral design on paper:

I also offer this image, Abstract Flower Six,  in limited edition giclee prints on canvas.

Some things I learned from this year's Art Trail:  

• Always mark items clearly with pricing so visitors don't have to ask.
• Offer inexpensive items such as cards, calendars and prints, as well as original art, so that everyone can afford to purchase something.
• Introduce yourself to everyone who comes and ask them something about themselves.
• Be sure to have biographical material about yourself available for those who want to view it.
• Provide a mailing-list sign-up sheet.
• Offer a simple snack like cookies or chocolate.
• Have help if possible.  At times I was a bit overwhelmed handling everything by myself.  Luckily my daughter arrived just as I was trying to wrap two original paintings I'd sold.

All in all, I am very pleased.  In addition to sales and possible new clients, I also got to meet other artists and was invited to participate in a group show next year. 

 

Greater Ithaca Art Trail Open Studio Weekends

Check out the Greater Ithaca Art Trail  for  maps and information on 54 artists showing their work in 49 studios which will be open this weekend and next (October 18 and 19) from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.  I worked like crazy last week vacuuming, moving furniture, and organizing my art in order to get ready for it. 

The Art Trail open studios are a once-a-year event in the fall when the leaves are turning and the weather is still beautiful here (depending on the weekend--this one is great).  I like them because I get to talk to people about my work face-to-face, which I don't get a chance to do when I sell from my website or galleries.

Preparing my studio for the art trail also gives me a chance to stop and reflect on what I have accomplished during the year.  I have so many new paintings to show for my efforts, and that feels good.  But stopping my work flow in order to have a passably neat studio for two weekends also gives me a chance to think about what direction I want to go in next year. 

With the economy in its crazy free-fall, maybe I should just hunker down and conserve what I have, but I am an optimist, so I will continue to take on new projects and to think of my life as expanding rather than contracting.

The last painting I completed before getting ready for the trail was the second of two canvases for a commission I received recently:

  Matrix 2, 56" x 42"

Now I will put out some chocolate candy and get ready for the crowd!

Painting an Abstract Commission

   Commissioned Abstract Painting

Recently I was talking to some artist friends about painting commissions.  One friend was complaining that her client wanted a painting of their house which listed all kinds of very specific criteria that had to be included.  Another also complained about clients "talking too long" about what they wanted and said she felt like charging them more for the longer they talked.

I mentioned that I also was working on a commission, but since I make non-representational abstract paintings, I didn't really have this problem of the client asking for too many specifics.  "I need to get the colors right," I said, "and to express a feeling, mood or idea."   

Is that easier or harder than having a specific subject matter to paint?  I think it is just "different," and that each kind of project depends on the artist's particular expertise and talent. 

One thing that makes it easier for me to paint commissions is that I always paint two canvases instead of just one.  That frees me up so that I can be more spontaneous.  If I mess up one, I still have the other.  It also allows me to paint one canvas in a narrow interpretation of the client's desires, and the other in a freer, looser style.  And then they get to choose. 

The image above is my first attempt, almost complete.  Below is the beginning of my second attempt:

More Tic Tac Toe Paintings

Trying to paint with a tic-tac-toe theme has been extremely frustrating.  I never imagined I would have so much trouble doing it.  I guess for me, having a design in my head to begin with doesn't allow me to be spontaneous and free. 

I worked a bit more on Tic-Tac-Toe-3:

Tic Tac Three, 48" x 48" 

I like it better now, but would have made different choices if I'd had a chance to do it again.

Here's one that is looser and doesn't follow the design literally:

  Tic Tac Four, 30" x 30"

It is Labor Day, and all the Cornell and Ithaca College students are back on campus.  A friend of ours just moved here after getting 3 adjunct classes to teach at Tompkins Cortland Community College.  He will live with us until he finds his own place.

Summer is over.

Art Centers

At our last local artists' meeting, someone brought up the topic of having an art center in town.  The Ithaca, New York regional area is home to many visual artists (as well as musicians and writers), yet there are very few places to exhibit locally.  We do have a couple of not-for-profit spaces that show art, but one is tiny and hardly ever open, and the other, which isn't much better, will be lost soon due to the sale of the building it is housed in.  We don't have much in the way of for-profit galleries, either. 

My response to this issue has always been to ignore Ithaca as a place to sell art.  It's lovely living here and making art, but not a good place for marketing.  When the tourists come through, they are looking for a photo or painting of a waterfall or gorge, certainly not my non-representational abstracts.  The artists who cater to this market have a better chance to sell.

Establishing an art center takes money, and it's unclear where we would get the funding.  There is an art center at Corning, New York, which is supported by Corning Glass.  Check out 171 Cedar Arts.  They offer classes as well as exhibitions. 

We have Cornell University in Ithaca, but they have put their money for the arts into the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art.  They occasionally show a few Ithaca artists' work in a summer exhibition.

Taking a look at art centers on the internet, I came across the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, which opened in 1956 as a non-profit visual arts organization in Winston-Salem, NC.  When an industrialist willed his 32-acre estate to the gallery, they increased their scope to 11 southeastern states.

Most non-profit organizations function due to the sweat of many volunteers.  It takes that plus gifts and grants to make a success.  Artists usually do not have the money or the time to fill these slots.  What we need is a wealthy art lover to get such a project off the ground. 

It's true that artists often start and manage co-op galleries with group funds and energy, but how many actually make a profit for their artists? 

For now, I'll pass on putting my time and energy into starting an art center in Ithaca. 

 

Early Abstract Paintings

  Crossroads, 36" x 36"

Over the years, my sister Laura and her husband have collected a lot of my art.  When they moved to Ithaca this year, I got to see it all.  It's always instructive to see what I was painting earlier in life, such as the above piece from 1989.

"Crossroads" was painted when I lived in San Diego, and I believe the piece below was also:

  Outland Paths, 60" x 60"

I see that I loved line then, and that love has carried over into my present work. 

For a short period, I included bits of text into my paintings.  This one was painted when I lived in Alexandria, Virginia:

  I Love Ice Cream, 40" x 40"

Looking back, I'm not sure what was going on in my head, but some of the phrases included (as well as the title phrase) are "believe," "now," and "before we judge."

Looking over work from our past is a bit like revisiting our earlier selves. In it we see the signs that led to current directions in our art. 

Decadent Bourgeois Art

Sometimes I hate conceptual art so much I could scream!  I am sick of art that has to express a cultural or political critique of our times in order to be found relevant and worth hanging in a museum.  Of course the MFAs and art history majors must produce a thesis, and it is much easier to write one using theories of cultural critique than aesthetic values. 

I make beautiful paintings for people to hang on the walls of their homes and enjoy.  Thus, you could say I am making decadent bourgeois art.  Of course, it is my job only to paint it, not to interpret it. Let the critic or curator figure out what it means.

I studied a little theory myself in graduate school, and there was a catch-22 that stated, in brief, if you weren't critiquing the status quo, then you were automatically supporting it.  By providing art for the homes of the middle-class and wealthy, I am supporting the exploitative capitalist system. 

Artists are supposed to be social critics.  You can't simply follow your bliss and paint your passion.  You must make an intellectual statement as well. 

That's my rant for today.  Just finished working on two paintings.  One, I think is ready:

Canvas #43  60" x 60"

The second one still needs more:

  Canvas #45  60" x 60"

The Challenge of Very Large Abstract Paintings

Over the past week or two, I have been working on some 5 feet by 5 feet canvases, and each time I do this, I forget how physically demanding large canvases can be.  I am continuing to explore the pattern-painting motif  I've been developing lately, and creating them on this large scale is a challenge. Here are three canvases in various stages:

Canvas #44, 60" x 60"

Canvas #45

  Canvas #43, 60" x 60"

In order to fill in the patterns I'd drawn, I had to crane my neck uncomfortably for the high ones and sit on the floor to paint the low ones.

We had a friend visit for a few days, just when temps reached the 90s here with high humidity.  Since we don't have air-conditioning, none of us slept well for three nights.  But the humidity left with our friend, and we are now back to a normal routine.  Fortunately for me, my studio is always cool in the summer.