Pretty Good News

I'm happy to say that I was asked to be a So Hamiltonian Fellow Alternate. Of course I would rather have been one of the ten artists who were chosen for the fellowship, but I still get to take advantage of the lecture and seminar series with the ten artists who received the fellowship. I was also informed that there would be a group show for the five alternates at the new gallery space on 14th St. that is currently under construction and is set to open sometime around June.
There were 125 applications from across the country. Congrats to all the recipients.

The recipients are:

Christian Benefiel (Severna Park , MD)

Anne Chan (Baltimore, MD)

Ian Davis (Baltimore, MD)

Leah Frankel (North Wales, PA)

Alex Gutierrez (Kensington, MD)

Linda Hesh (Alexandria, VA)

Al Miner (Washington, DC)

Youngmi Organ (Nokesville, VA)

Brian Rojsuontikul (Springfield, VA)

Michael Sirvet (Washington, DC)

The jurors were:

Philip Barlow Art Collector

Linda Day Clark Coppin State University

Annie Gawlak G Fine Art Gallery

Nevin Kelly Nevin Kelly Gallery

John Penny Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)

Foon Sham University of Maryland at College Park

Tim Tate Washington Glass School

Artwork of the Week, February 25, Collographs

Station
Collograph on Rives BFK
6.6"x4.5"

This past week I pulled my first collographs (more info about this printing process in the link). I see quite a bit of potential here as there are so many variables in terms of inking and printing (collographs can be printed either intaglio or relief, with a wide variety of inks such as etching, block printing and monotype inks). I also have a half dozen plates still left to be printed for the first time. All of these prints were pulled by me using just a wooden or Teflon-padded baren, with no press. The minuted I peeled the paper off the plate from "Station" the print above, I was transported back to my minimalist roots developed in graduate school. It was a refreshing change from the topographical texture in my recent paintings. I printed it relief, with water-based monotype ink.

Drag (light)
Collograph on Rives BFK
6.6"x4.5"

The next two prints reveal my initial interest in this process, which was the ability to construct the plate with the same mediums I use for painting and getting a fresh surface. The texture of my paintings has made it into print form. These were pulled from the same plate, but two different inking densities. I haven't made a decision about the direction of this print. What do you think?

Drag (heavy)
Collograph on Rives BFK
6.6"x4.5"

As usual, email me if you are interested in these intimate artworks.

Artwork of the Week, February 19: Painting and Photography

St. Mary's River, Virginia
Artist printed, toned black and white RC print, 35mm

A friend of mine has been taking photos, something new to him. As a painter, my own photography has been limited to documenting artworks, and some frames I have never really shown anyone.
Photography has interested me a bit, I even taught it for a few years, but have always remained a painter at heart. Improvisation, experimentation and a dialog with materials has kept me interested since I was a kid. When I did take photographs, I looked at them as source material for textures and compositions, although I can honestly say I haven't used a photo as a direct source for an artwork since I was in undergraduate school. Being an avid hiker and fisherman, I have often toted a camera to capture interesting details or to have an artistic outlet when it was not practical to carry drawing and painting materials on a 35 mile with a huge pack on my back. Obviously, this has had a direct impact on the subject of the photos, which inevitably have continued to revolve around water.
I started to think about how being a painter affected the way I look for an image with a camera, and what I do with it after I shoot the frame. All of these photos were processed and printed by me in the darkroom a few years ago when I had access to the equipment. I manipulated each print, changing exposure, toning prints, and even repeating portions of the development process to manipulate the effects of value and subtle color. Macky lines (reversed values and iridescent edges along value changes) appear in some areas, create tension in depth and surface.
All of these photos were shot with 35mm Kodak Tri-X black and white film and printed full frame (you see everything that was shot, they are not cropped, the black "border" is light escaping around the edge of the negative, exposing the paper). They were shot on various trips over the course of a couple of years, but all of these prints were made in the darkroom over the course of a few days. I have not titled these photos, and right now they are titled with only the location in which they were shot.

St. Mary's River, Virginia
Artist printed, toned black and white RC print, 35mm

I printed multiple versions of each photo such as those below, and manipulated them individually as separate pieces, working intuitively (but taking copious notes so I could do it a gain, but I never felt compelled to reproduce the exact same photo, perhaps this is the painter in me..)

St. Mary's River, Virginia

Artist printed, toned black and white RC print, 35mm

St. Mary's River, Virginia
Artist printed, toned black and white RC print, 35mm

St. Mary's River, Virginia
Artist printed, toned black and white RC print, 35mm

St. Mary's River, Virginia

Artist printed, toned black and white RC print, 35mm

So what do you think? Can you see the connection between these photos and my paintings? Do you think being a painter has affected the way I have approached these photos?
These one of a kind, manipulated prints and more are available for sale. Drop me a line if you are interested in any of the photos.

falling behind...

Well if there is actually anyone checking for my weekly update of artwork, I'm falling behind and could not post last night due to a 14 hour work day (this is becoming more and more the norm unfortunately...). I plan to rectify this situation by giving myself some comp time over the next few days before I burn out, so look for a post later tonight or tomorrow. Check back later and thanks for looking!

Fathom, Artwork of the Week, February 4

Fathom
oil and acrylic on birch panel
48"x37"

JT came over Friday and took a look a these paintings. He commented on the difference in depth when seeing these in person. The surface is irregularly rippled and thick, the bulk of it transparent dappled with suspended opaque marks. Most of this is lost in the digital image, but the more "graphic" nature of these paintings still translates in the digital image. Thoughts?