Ghost Music Studies Part 2

The following are studies for a collaboration with composer Matt Sargent. (I will explain this as our goals and exhibitions solidify, and there is another collaboration in the works) The drawings are all graphite on polypropylene. The long horizontal pieces are 3x6" and the verticals are 9x6". I am searching for the right range of marks, any of these marks will likely find themselves in larger pieces with a change in ratio of mark to over all size of the finished pieces. Making marks...

Ghost Music Study Number One

Ghost Music Study Number Two

Ghost Music Study Number Three

Ghost Music Study Number Four

Ghost Music Study Number Five

Ghost Music Study Number Six

Ghost Music Study Number Seven

Ghost Music Study Number Eight

Ghost Music Study Number Nine

Ghost Music Study Number Ten

Ghost Music Study Number Eleven

There are a few scratches and some dust adhered to a couple I may be able to clean up.

Ghost Music Studies

Ghost Music Study Number Nine
Graphite on Polypropylene

This is the first one I am posting, but I need to run to catch a speaker at 7 in DC, more later tonight if my wife isn't working on photo stuff...

Aquifer Opens this Weekend

Aquifier opens this weekend. (Curate by JM Mahoney and Deborah McLeod) My art buddy JT Kirkland has a piece in the show, along with some other artists to look out for: Joseph Barbaccia, Richard Dana, Pat Goslee, Joanne Kent, Renee Stout and Millicent Young.

Opening Reception Recap

The "Artist Teacher" Exhibition (mentioned in the previous post) opened tonight and will be up through November 15. It is a good show of artists you may not be familiar with. JJ McCracken (clay/performance artist) juried the exhibition, which was made up entirely of Fairfax County Art Teachers. The 61+ artists have made a wide variety of work from painting, to video, functional ceramics and digital artworks. McCracken told me that she pulled my paintings into the top three on the first round. The gallery Remarks were also made with my paintings as the back ground - I think the remarks may be on channel 21 at some point. Its a short show. Go check it out.

Wednesday, November 5 Opening Reception

Please join me Wednesday, November 5 at the Ernst Cultural Center at Northern Virginia Community College (Annandale Campus) from 6-7:30 pm. have two large paintings in the exhibition. Please check my blog for more information about the exhibition.

Also if you haven't been to the 20x20 Exhibition at Art 17 in DC, you only have until November 20th to see "Flash", a new oil and acrylic painting on birch.

Laurel Hausler at Nevin Kelly Gallery

"The Moors" - Laurel Hausler
Gouache, pen, ink and pencil on paper - 12"x12" - 2008

Laurel Hausler at Nevin Kelly Gallery
"A History of Dogs and Witches - New Works by Laurel Hausler"

The Nevin Kelly Gallery on U Street in Washington, DC has Laurel Hausler's latest works on view through November 9th. Hausler's paintings/mixed media pieces evoke an eerie reaction from the viewer through layering of materials and distorted figures depicting "witches" and animals (not only dogs, but snakes as well).
While all of the artworks definitely seem to be created by the same hand, Hausler's style and format for the pieces varies throughout the show. Some works contain calligraphic texture created by layers of line drawing with a marker or brush, while the most successful pieces present the viewer with haunting figures constructed of ephemeral faces and body parts. The former pieces contain more layers, which one may think would make the seem more finished, but I believe distract the viewer from the layers of expertly executed ghostly forms.

"Faith Healers" - Laurel Hausler
oil on canvas - 48"x48" - 2008

My favorite painting in the show, "Faith Healers" depicts two female forms confronting the viewer, one holding a vial of acidic poison, and another terribly haunting figure holding a snake by the head (a reference to the snake handlers of Appalachia ). This figure is tilting her head, looking down her nose at the viewer, as if conjuring a spell. This face is so hauntingly executed, suggesting otherworldly movement and presence that it would make Francis Bacon jealous. Her right arm is obscured or missing all together in an aqueous swirl of paint. The figures are ambiguous, which adds to the spooky tone of the painting. The understated, but excellent asymmetrical composition pulls the viewer into the color scheme of red, yellow and blue on a shiny black ground. It is simple and wonderful. There are other great pieces in the show (including the small mixed media piece "The Moors" and several lithographs), but this painting is a stand out. Like this painting, the most successful pieces also utilize an asymmetrical composition that increases depth and tension.
The theme of the show is fitting (it is Halloween after all) but escapes the trap of feeling like holiday art. In terms of composition and execution, the show feels a little uneven, but when Hausler hits the mark, its hard to imagine it being done better. I understand this is Hausler's third solo show in different galleries this year, and I look forward to seeing more.