REINO ART

Identity Crisis

2011-10-22T10:22:00.000-07:00

Let me go on about myself for a paragraph and then I will talk about something that is hopefully more interesting. Obviously I have not posted for a while, I hope to do so more regularly. I think it will be more thoughts than the work I have been doing. With that said, I have doing a little painting and drawing again after months of not. No promises.

I have been working in a bookstore for the last six months or so. In addition to being exposed to a lot of stories and writers there is a lot of cover art to digest. Things often come around again but it seems the age of illustration for book covers has past, the golden age that is. I in no way mean contemporary covers are unattractive or less, but they do have a different aesthete to them. I feel that it is possible to generally date a book by the cover art. There are trends and styles of periods that seem to be near universal.

Even the pulp and schlock of the day has a charm hard to find today. I think in part is the "hand crafted" aspect of the covers. Even non-pictorial covers were lain out by hand. Again, this is not a judgment call but there is a line that has been drawn and crossed, an era has passed. I think though there is, like spelunking or archeology, a wealth of experience to be discovered here.

I suppose some example would be nice. Edward Gorey's name recently came up in this context. I imagine he is well known enough but he has dozens of book covers to his credit that might well be over looked as a body of work. There are suites of books with his art work, Henry james for example.

Where am I going with this? I am just saying that there is a lot to see out there that was from an analogue age that we may not see the likes of again. Stuff I think is enjoyable and worthwhile. This includes other media like record albums that are now collectors fair rather a general consumable. I should mention that there are outside movements like guerilla fliers and poster makers who resemble something of this stuff. Also I might not know about much of it is there wasn't the internet. Nonetheless the age of Kindle and i-tunes has its drawbacks and one of them is loss of a venue for art and artists.
r.

Almost three months

2011-07-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

Its been another chunk of time since I've posted. It is the day that Lucien Freud has died at 88. The small blurb/link on the side of the NYT page says "Lucian Freud, Adept Portraiture Artist, Dies at 88." I am passingly familiar with his work and find a certain charm in it. The thing I am thinking about is being known as an "adept portraiture." I am sure the main article has a lot more to say but it seems a luke warm bio. I am sure I'd be happy to be called adept at anything let alone portraiture. I feel it is as if the food was described as edible or anything as generally sufficient. This isn't so important to me but I thought I should blog again so why not this?

LATER
I found this caption later on"Painter and Provocateur, Set in His Ways" . Isn't that a much better or at least more dynamic statement.? On a side note Cy Twombly died the other week. I imagine a lot of the names in my art after 1945 art history book will be dwindling as time goes by.

random

2011-04-30T18:26:00.000-07:00

Some random Hydrant photos. No insight there but still moving forward. It might still be worth seeing them enmass.
the Lenin shot is more noteworthy. I like the profile of his face. I saw interest and potential there that made me want to try doing some plein aire painting. J. reminded that I can do sketches too. So maybe something will come of it. Beyond that I bought some new paint thinner and that may be an omen of things to come.
Ten Four
r.

what is in a name?

2011-04-27T07:28:00.001-07:00

I feel as if the subjects of this photo essay takes on a character or dynamic. That character is hovering around, waiting, watching or being on duty. The plugs seem like little civil servants to me right now. At there post 24/7 waiting for the on coming storm which may never come but at some point must.
r.

s'funny

2011-04-26T07:35:00.001-07:00

I think the great thing about "art" and its projects is what happens to you the artist. What is happening, and rightly so, with this hydrant thingy is that I am having to pay attention to something I otherwise wouldn't. Isn't the only function of art to make you see,or rather to remember to look . This is demonstrated to me through the hydrant gig. I am now seeing these hydrants, specifically and generally, that I would of otherwise have overlooked before. This is what it is all about, art must be a bridge between the world and the viewer. There is some work involved on the part of the spectator its true. There is though a huge difference between being able to see something and actually making the smallest active effort to do so. That difference can literally be everything.

r.

No 4th picture today

2011-04-25T07:12:00.000-07:00

I don't have a picture of yesterdays 27 days photo. I do have this though,
When you say Rube Goldberg I thing this:

I do not know how esoteric his work is these days. I've always enjoyed them and the ideas behind them. Some one showed me this yesterday. Though probably faked and clearly not actually Goldberg's it does capture a spirit I think.

I suppose it is okay to just have fun or enjoy something regardless.
cheers
r.

Day Three of Twenty Seven

2011-04-23T21:43:00.000-07:00

This is not the actual picture taken with the ArtHouse Coop camera but a reasonable facsimile. I carry both cameras and take the shot twice. The first day I did not do this hence the three day vs two pictures posted. I wonder, will there be a telephone pole (are they technically telephone poles anymore?) in the next shot? Will the hydrant be yellow green or some other color? Oh what suspense and drama. How can any of us stand to wait? One shot a day, that is the deal.
More later
r

27 days of fire plugs?

2011-04-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

I made a decision on the Art House Coop camera project. For which they sent me, and others, a disposable camera to take 27 picture of various themes and return it to them. My chosen theme was "27 days of....." and I have chosen 4 weeks of fire plugs. A different fire plug every day.
I suppose on the face of it it may be a bit dullsville. Truth be told I am finding the idea (the execution is yet to be seen) a little charming. Some things just have a strength as a series. That is to say I am hoping that enmasse they tell a story or show something that is overlooked or invisible when you do not see all these photos together. The settings the plugs themselves, their immediate surroundings all different but united. E Pluribus Unum. Anyhow that is how I see it.
so there.
On a side note, where I am from we say "hydrant" not "plug", I have no idea why I chose that word.
r.

Around your hivve

2011-04-17T23:01:00.000-07:00

Building for bees has shown me something. Bees are synonymous with repetition.

It isn't like I've been doing nothing. I still see the world. There is a lot to take in.

Taxi and I dunno

2011-04-12T11:11:00.001-07:00

I haven't been doing anything, artwise. No painting, no drawing, no doodling nor thinking about it. It feels kind of good. I do not feel the pressure of production or quality. This is not to say it won't come back but It is possible that being an artist or some such thing is just going to cause me grief. Maybe this is just a needed break but I can see the appeal of being one of those people who do not bother with such things. There is more time and it is easier to relax. Wow.
Don't get me wrong, this is not a big deal and i am not trying to name or define what is going on. I just felt the need to comment on the situation as it is so very obvious from this side of it all.

Now to contradict myself. Though this is not the next thing I'll do nor is it on deck but I'd like to do some scenes from "Taxi". I will not get into why I like this show but i really feel like there is a something to be said about the potential of this subject matter. Hopefully these pics speak for themselves. If not ask me about it. I dare you.

Additionally I am in another arthouse coop project. This one is a photo project with a disposable camera I am supposed to send back to them in a month or so. My theme is "27 days of...."
I am not sure what my plan is.
r.

But I like them

2011-03-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have been busy this last week getting my nebbish on. Nonetheless i dug these and hung them to look at them for a while. I like them. I also think that this is a moment that the only thing to do it to start anew if I want to change them. And Maybe I will. That is the news such as it is.
r.

.. but did I learn anything?

2011-03-16T09:54:00.000-07:00

I did mess around with this piece on cardboard. I had a good time and there are certainly aspects of it I think are strong. However on the whole I'd say it was less than good. If I want to keep at it I have to figure out how to tie it all together. In theory there are as few as one element that can package this picture into a well balanced composition. But what is it/ are they????
r.

Sally Forth

2011-03-11T12:24:00.000-08:00

I hate working on abstracts. I am intrigued, appreciative and recognize the potential of abstraction. However I hate working on them. The decisions or choices aren’t obvious to me. But you don’t need to plumb my feelings here.

I told myself that whatever little paintings that I had left over from the art walk would become fodder for the exploration of a less literal direction in subject matter. I have effectively started doing this on the big cardboard. I wanted to make it more interesting but also build around (and maintain?) The picture it started on. I have tried before. It had its moments.
I at this point do not know where to go. I can only think that I must make some choices and focus on the composition, balance the colors, the lights and darks, etcetera.
I have tried doing abstract work, here and here,before. I have not been terribly satisfied with it and hope to break away from some tendencies that seem to be reoccurring. What that will entail isn’t clear yet. I will certainly keep you posted but I have no specific intent yet.
r.

Realism

2011-03-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

I was trying to decide if there was any ultimate merit in real/naturalistic painting endeavors. Isn't there an inevitable desire and opportunity in veering off to more abstract or conceptual ideas? This seemed true but I realized that in the act of painting there are many way to invent or unearth some tactic to support at the end was a lie as much as a statement or interpretation of something.
For example the contour of a truck hood's front corner. There is no good way to just say "truck hood's front corner", it had to be expressed some less literal way. There are many ways to engage that bit of paint application and in this there are chances to find new and better ways to communicate some idea or feeling.

Wallingford Art Walk

2011-03-01T08:13:00.000-08:00

Thanks for checking out my site. I hope you like what you have been seeing. I am sorry I do not have a static site for you too look at. If you are willing you can scroll down through the last couple years, though I do not expect you to.
I am mainly a painter and illustrator. I imagine that like many artists my impetus is born more from a dissatisfaction of my own work than from perfect enjoyment of the craft. So I keep working trying to a) do it better and b) make something that is more than a picture of Batman or a landscape. This is probably more than you want to know.

Since this is your first time here you might want to check out these earlier posts for an idea of what I do.

Movie Scenes
Discuss
Response To No Trace Show
Lyricism Of Bent Nails
More Green Glass

Thank you for any and all interest. If you want to comment say hello or create a dialogue you can write me at reinopower@yahoo.com
r.

over two weeks but......

2011-02-15T10:42:00.000-08:00

Its been a few weeks since I've posted. But I have been doing some painting. These are some of the works in progress. I am trying to get a collection of stuff to hang for the Wallingford 1st Wedneday Artwalk. I am just thinking subject matter and quantity and not so much process or more esoteric concepts. So no nit picking or whining today just a "this is what is going on".

Am I wrong about of crayons?

2011-01-27T12:31:00.000-08:00

This first image is someone else's work. I am posting it because it fits with today's topic. The person who drew this just was busting out drawings at the table. Its exactly the kind of thing I didn't do when I was their age and don't do now.
I seem to keep going to crayons. Am I wasting my time? Is there an inherent problem with crayons or is it just how they are used. I keep looking for something more stream lined, clean or even crisper than I usually do. Somehow when I am working on something I keeping forgetting what I am shooting for. Not to mention I keep using photos as subjects rather than just sitting at a table in the restaurant and drawing.

Time will tell.
r.

More Random

2011-01-20T15:13:00.001-08:00

With the internet again

2011-01-18T10:52:00.001-08:00

I have the internet again after a few weeks of being without. This at least allows me to rationalize not posting.
This is a nominal post with random pics.
cheers
r.

sketchbook project

2010-12-20T13:22:00.000-08:00

I have been getting some pages filled for the sketchbook project. I still have to bust out a lot of stuff but I am happy with most of the work that I have been doing. I hope to have all the pics for posting as it will be leaving the nest in a couple of weeks. Sometimes i miss work that I've done.
r.

Dichotomy

2010-12-17T15:00:00.000-08:00

I was looking for themes for the matchbook subjects. The Soviets 3 for example. It turns out that disparate characters are much more interesting to think about ( for me anyhow). The three pairs pictured above are all two people who were alive at the same time, in part at least. I enjoy how this highlights very different worlds that coexist. For example the Mad Monk Rasputin was in action the same time as Walt Disney. How very different their experience must have been. The same for the Garbogahndi piece, Greta was intriguing thousands or millions of people on the silver screen Mohandas was doing his thing in India. Despite the fact that any of these pair's lives overlapped by decades they could hardly be said to be living in the same worlds, how can the experiences of Emily Dickinson ever be those of Fredrick Douglas.
Maybe that can be said to be true for any two people, however we then have to ask ourselves what makes two people's lives the same or akin. So as this post is titled, this all seems to be a lens on the dichotomies of the world, same time, same planet but different worlds.

More to follow?

2010-12-04T07:56:00.000-08:00

These are two recent paintings that are the beginning of an intended suite of works. Though not limited to, I have a dozen or so 10.75" x 10.75" panels that I am working with and allowing me the chance to do a series but they are also ready to hang in a way that some of the materials I have been using are not.
I have chosen local cityscapes as a theme both as an accessible and recognizable subject matter but also as a way to practice some intentional technique choices. A way to see them in action as it were. Specifically brushwork that is generally more suggestive and laid down more judiciously. I feel there is a point where I "over work" some pieces and I am trying to undo this habit. This will lead to richer tones than I have historically used.

I have been painting

2010-11-12T11:10:00.000-08:00

I feel like I have made some progress. Sometimes I feel if i am too timid about paint, using paint anyhow. I do feel genuinely good when I manage to get past it, the inhibition or whatever you call it. I am of the opinion that that is what happened with this set. Not right of the bat but with some effort and intent.
Now I am faced with the usual problem of not making it worse or removing the things I like about a painting by working on it further. On the flip side I cannot bring myself to say that any of these are done. Though I was tempted to leave the scooter picture alone for the sake of maintaining the contrast..

Also I have been looking at older paintings. Many of which I have been less than pleased about their outcome. So, does one give up or go back in. The top one pictured here is at the top of the list. I've already been stretching and pulling it into something way other than my original goal Maybe I need to go full circle and try and reclaim my original vision or at least the original scene. Hmmmm. If I felt that there were enough people reading this blog I would certainly go the democratic way. On the off chance anyone is reading this please feel free to put in your 2¢.
r.

Du Jour

2010-11-09T10:35:00.000-08:00

The latest project is to approach things more zen like. That is to say I am trying to just paint or draw. This might be more akin to weight training or some other exercise where as you increase reps or time incrementally over sessions. Though this in the field of art might be uninspired I can see no fault with it. I figure more is better right now.
As I have mentioned ad nauseum in this blog I have some habits and practices I wish to undo. Though I have been complaining about them for years it does not mean that I am wrong in my opinion of them. With that said I am trying to pay attention to how I am painting as well. More specifically I am trying to loosen up and be less literal in my gesturing. This might be easier met if I did use a larger "canvas" and shy away from the smaller dimensions I tend to use. But I have what I have to use and will stick it out until something good happens.

r.

random attempts at abstract

2010-11-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

I remember reading about how to deal with insomnia. One of the suggestions was to not use your bedroom/sleeping area for anything other than sleeping. I wonder if this is also true for the whole studio/workshop thingy. Having a dedicated space might mean that when ever you are in that space you are actually working or something similar. In my case I seem to be puttering, watching Futurama and making brussel sprout and chestnut pot pie. Clearly a problem of focus.
I have picked a direction for the sketchbook project and have been looking at a lot of reference material I have. So perhaps I am on the event horizon and soon I will have something to post here other than excuses.
ciao
r.

Today

2010-11-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

As usual I feel as if I am wasting time and just doing small and token projects. Yet I am doing more than nothing. for example
this is a painting I have been messing around with.
I finally bought some sand paper and can do more gessoing.
I also am participating in a sketchbook project.
So I am inching along.

per diem?

2010-10-27T12:29:00.000-07:00

I am trying to get busy. I am trying to do more work with some success, though apparently it means making more bat-man pictures or working on ones I've never felt were done.

I've had some small spurts of making myself produce work, for example This dealy. I do not think it is bad but at the same time it just feels like busy work and not really making useful or growth encouraging work. Then again it has been said that I cannot see a good thing when it is right in front of me.
Speaking of not seeing what is right in front of me, does anyone have an interpretation of this.....

?

Still messing around.

2010-10-26T16:32:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel that, in retrospect, every piece I do I would go about differently. With that said i feel that way about this little doodle. I would start out with the blackest/darkest blocked mass and build out off of that. I always try to add the detail at the wrong time. I am unsure if i want to see how it looks or if i think the detail work is more interesting to do. Hmmmm. At least I did something.
Also I seems to being pulled back to the landscapes again. Sometimes I am fully charmed by them other times it is portraits others....who knows.
r.

Not So Much

2010-10-25T14:44:00.000-07:00

As usual I am going to complain about my own productivity.

I have been doing more than nothing though. For example I am Always looking at stuff and sometimes even documenting it.
I am working on my organization and stuff like actually framing stuff if not just getting it ready to hang. This I think should be my main objective right now. That is to say I have a lot of random stuff floating around and unfinished projects

I have also been gessoing and did start a painting. Once again I am faced with the rough study being more interesting to me than the completed painting is likely to be. Clearly this is a story about brush techniques and expressiveness. I could also throw in the sub plot of consistently bad color choices. I am sure I will address all this again but I wanted y'all to know I was still being arty.

r.

Yes, I know Chekhov was not a soviet

2010-10-22T11:19:00.000-07:00

I have been doing more matchbooks. The target this time is suites and sets with a theme. This one is Soviets and /or Communists. Obviously Chekhov is the odd man out but I had russians on the brain. I think the next will be Secretary generals of the UN. I have been using the dictionary almost exclusively. When will it be time to branch out? I cannot say, there are a lot of pictures in there to transfer before it runs dry. I think that was the original intent of this project leg, to cull out all the groups and collections from the pages of said dictionary.
What am I NOT doing? I have been doing little or no actual painting. I have not been trying to catalogue any previous work and pitch it to silly venues. I have not even thought about a business card, I have not even caught whiff of a glimmer of a proper web site. The list could go far.
r.

Of Late

2010-10-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

I cannot say I have been the busiest bee in the hive this past week. I have done more than nothing.

So obviously I have done a few more matchbooks. I have been perusing the dictionary and seeing various themes and potential groups for the matchbooks.
Otherwise I have been gessoing and working on random stuff. I hope a nice spurt of industriousness is in the near future. I'll certainly let y'all know.
r

Thank You & Rainbow Beef Love to you all you COCA people

2010-10-09T06:50:00.000-07:00

I want to thank EVERYONE who worked so hard the last few days (and longer) for the COCA art marathon. Thank you. Thanks to the volunteers, thank you to the coca folk, thank you to the patrons and supporters, thank you to my fellow marathoners. Thanks to all the new people I've met, keep up the good work
r.

Hello any new people and possible COCA marathon supporters

2010-10-06T23:25:00.000-07:00

It's the night before the art marathon.
This is a piece I started today( though not finished with). I'm trying to nail down a certain simplicity of illustration. This does not hit the nail on the head but I'm charmed by it to some extent. I think it is my palette departure I am enjoying most.
This is what I will be doing for 24 hrs on Thursday.
Some of my personal favorite projects included: the Green Glass pieces. the Kama Monstra, My City of Rust has a lot of potential I think, Even bent nails are fun, and of course a bunch of cardboard.
There is a lot of art and illustration peppered through out this blog. I do not expect people to go through it all but please do if you have any inclination
grazi
r.

Newish

2010-10-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

I'm not trying for this all to be anything. I am mainly trying to "let go" and draw with some mind for new style(s) and what have you.
ciao
r.

TV

2010-10-01T22:57:00.000-07:00

I need to put a moratorium on watching TV.

I like street art

2010-09-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

I haven't had internet access for about a week so I have been unable to post, and I of course would of otherwise.
I wish I knew more about this style of street art. The process and the makers, of whom there must be many. Though I see it and find it charming I do wonder how accessible the "where the wall meets the sidewalk" placement of something such as this is. I fear most people are unable to see it let alone do. For myself I think it is a great spot. It creates its own little landscape hidden on the street. I should in fact steal it for my crap as it seems a natural choice.
So that is the post du jour.
r.

Coca submission

2010-09-07T15:08:00.000-07:00

Matches are almost as iconic as the fire they birth; Hans Christian Andersen’s little matchstick girl, the classic segue in Lawrence of Arabia, The ill-fated portent of three on a match. They are evocative of gusts of human breath, gin soaked nightclubs, candlelight, and the ever-important clue in detective genre fiction. They promise a fully tactile experience, light and heat exploding into existence in a burst of brimstone. Matches are a piece of the 19th century un-phased by 21st century advancement.
Inversely it is easy to imagine that tomes like the dictionary have lost footing in the lives of most people. I, on the other hand, adore my dictionary. It is a vast world unto itself yet offering a window to the things around us, near and far. It is my co-conspirator of crosswords and analogue spell checker. It is a thing with heft and size, a true companion.
Combining two disparate things can be surprisingly self-fulfilling. A matchbook can be a blank canvas of full public accessibility. Filter them through the seemingly endless entries found alphabetically and a parade of poets, writers, statesmen and scientists emerge. Resolve to do this dedicatedly over a full day and hundreds of examples of two things reinvented will pile up for consumption and enjoyment.

Still looking for "that" scene.

2010-09-03T13:21:00.001-07:00

Just Posting

2010-09-03T09:01:00.000-07:00

This is the darkened background I mentioned. Perhaps it is an improvement. I am not too happy about the choppyness of the brush work. Maybe I'll get over it maybe I won't.
I am working on tweeking the background here. Without a solid plan it is just randomness or trial & error. Of course when I was looking at the pic of the pre change version I saw potential there I hadn't. Ach!

This is some random pic to mix it up. I think I was trying to be arty. this of course is an offshoot of City of Rust stuff.

As Mentioned

2010-08-31T13:17:00.000-07:00

these first two pics show the proportional subject size issues I mentioned. Otherwise.... I darkened the background on this one last night (thank you indigo). I was on the fence but decided to go for it. Maybe I ned to embrace the more paint ideology and stop quibbling. What is the worst that could happen?
Over all I am having issues with this painting. I feel the squid doesn't fit all all and the background is ass. The wrong or too much negative space perhaps. I will apply the "more paint" concept mentioned above and report back.

I keep messing with this one. Adding things,changing tones etc. I feel like I made better choices here. Hmmmmmmm?

I have been fighting with this one for a while. my issue(s) may be a simple as not getting the upper right hand corner figure"s hat fully in frame. Of course it could be many other things in addition or instead. The battle continues.
r.

Is this true???

2010-08-31T11:29:00.000-07:00

I do not know what to think of this.
Why was it way down at the bottom of the post? Was it meant for someone specific or everyone or no one? Does my stupid magic not work?

Does it have any relation ship to the sticker that may or may not be Tom Selleck on the sign at the top of the post? Is there a secret war going on under my nose?Nothing but questions.

discuss

2010-08-25T13:01:00.000-07:00

I am writing a full week after this was posted as a couple of lone pics. Clearly I have not been to verbose in regards to blogging. As always I am finding my work weak and unispired. Are there ways to deal with this? Probably but........
Regardless, these were another set of painting ideas meant to be consumable by the public. I see what seems to me a weakspot in several of my paintings here. The "canvas" size is inversly proportional to the space any on figurine occupies the compositional space of the quadrangle. That is to say the smaller size canvases work better with close ups and more scenic pics work better in larger space. This does not mean that what works in a smaller canvas won't work in a larger but it does not seem to be a two way street. This might be compensated for with a different type of brush work but that would involve doing a lot more painting than I do.
In regards to the lower pic (with the bee) I haope to rock that said same bee to tie the (not yet started) painting together.
what next? I can't say.

2010-08-04T18:18:00.001-07:00

Big and foxy

2010-07-27T12:05:00.000-07:00

So this is what is going on.
The good part of it is that it is large. The dimensions are about 24" x 36" give or take. Large size work allows me to be able to work with a different range of motion and techniques generally not used in smaller scale stuff. It, obvioulsy, opens the door for doing work in larger scale. Sometimes bigger is better.
On the flip side, it might well be all an act of avoidance. Simply put, it is not painting. Though I intend to do the larger works on paper for a while it is not what I should be doing. I do not know if I can honestly say that anything done on this will help me paint later.
Do not get me wrong. I enjoy working in charcoal nad pastel and I am quite comfortable drawing and often satidfied with the results. The problem I have is I am unwilling to leave my comfort zone. Mayby I should just let it happen on its own but truly one does need to force the issue some times.
This is especially true since I have been quite unhappy about my painting in the last several forays. I do not think I can find any satisfaction if I do not put the work into it. Does this all have to be a psychological game? I doubtr it but it seems to be.
r.

words to follow

2010-07-18T00:16:00.001-07:00

Why am I writing about this picture? I posted it last night with the title "words to follow".

Back ground: This pic was an attempt to take a snap of a line of horse (and zebra) figurines. This one does not demonstrate any presence of multiple animals.
What do I like about it?
I feel that this pic, by accident or design, holds a bunch of qualities I try to seek out or imitate. There seems to be a balance of tone and color; the contrast of black and white of the zebra white the grays of the cement and washed out colors of the back ground. Note also that the warmest colors seem to be at the focal point. There is an obvious pull to the back ground. The Linear railing to the right and the short depth of field create a sense of space and size within the composition despite its actual size.
My favorite part is the sense of weight of the front hoof. Regardless of the actual nature of the subject (something that would fit into your hand) there is the illusion of gravity there. A delicious heft that I would love to hold in my proverbial tool belt.
r.

More of the same

2010-07-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

I never got a handle on this painting. I added to it the other day to see if it would take me anywhere. I do not think it did. It is perhaps an example of why I should give up the belief that I can do painting (at that scale?) with minute detail.
I've added to the figurine painting. An improvement perhaps but not so hot in my eyes. This is now a blog about what I am doing wrong and this one is not an exception. The composition is weak and thin, I am not filling the space in any juicy or luscious way. Perhaps my expectations are to high but I seldom seem to meet them. Additionally I believe I am remaking the same mistakes in palette selection, over and over again no less. I will let it dry some and go back into it to improve some of these issues.
On the plus side I am trying to use the paint itself better more liberally and may be approaching that.

I have managed to have some better choices on colors here. making a plan and sticking to it. My complaint of this one is that the subject matter is not as interesting as I thought it would be. There is a way to add drama and mood with the paint and the way it is applied. That though does not lend itself to my painting habits. I might have to except the little steps for little feet concept.

Finally, I got around to doing more of skeleton hand nonsense. I can't see why not to just keep doing it. is it funny? I 'm not sure but it is something to do.

still a dry spell

2010-07-03T18:30:00.001-07:00

I was using photoshop to tweak some cityscape pics to look like model sets, it's called tilt shift. This one was so-so at best until it was cropped. It works I think.
The shadow of the blinds falling across this Kolchak picture look cool, I thought I'd share. The nude cardboard matches the wall color well enough that it ties it all together. That is to say that the uncropped pic might have a stronger quality to it than just the shadow lines over the painting itself. I've had other moments where the painting seemed to fit into the space it was in on some whole other level than just hanging there. Certainly a piece of art having a dialogue with its immediate environment isn't a new thing. It is though, a concept I do not tend to consider or even need to consider.

This last one is more of the painting. I am concerned about what is going on in my mental space in regards to painting. For example, I feel I hit the proverbial nail more squarely on the earlier plastic army men painting seen in this group. hmmmmmm, well it's not over yet.

Not on canvas board

2010-07-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

I have started some new paintings, on proper canvases no less, as opposed to canvas board. Now I just need to paint them. I am having some difficulty getting into the "zone". I need to just paint, use the paint make picture without thinking too much about it or the outcome. As I am sure I have mentioned I feel too restricted in my painting. I just need to do the equivalent of doodle I think. Not that i do that so well these days. How is that a lost art form?
Last week's Doctor Who episode feature Vincent van Gough. Now I have that bee buzzing in my brain making me feel lazy and uninspired. What are all these blocks about.!!!!!???
Thought I should post so I did.

Same old same old

2010-06-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

Not much going, nothing new anyhow.
touched up the Adam West. I think its okay. Had an okay moment when I used an orange for the lips instead of the red. This makes them stand out less but keeps them warm and fleshy. It might be a useful bit of info for the future.
I started messing around with the water colors. Certainly room for improvement but not so painful.

Otherwise it's more works on CB. I am tempted to be all painterly on Poirot's face. Work on the portrait skills. Poirot Portrait has a nice symmetry to it. I probably will.
Shatner's face is off and Snake Pliskin was a struggle to get where it was but really should be re-done. Laziness is not a good trait to have.

The only other things are I am still thinking larger is better but no specific plans. I do have some larger cardboard sections and some medium sized canvas (16x20) not so big but affordable. I got some rubber glove with the idea of using my fingers in the oils. I still avoid using paint in someways.
Also
When looking at other peoples work it becomes clear that i am messy with mixing colors and loose the vitality of some colors. Using unclean thinner and reusing brushes with non compatible colors.

2010-06-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

New word generator, new Batman, new works on cardboard, new skeleton hand.

I'm trying to up my game on the random word pictures. This is a Fish Lamp number two. Next is superhero sausage. We'll see what happens there.

Went back into an unfinished Batman/Adam West. Needed to keep painting and get some closure. This is not quite done but not so bad. More highlights are next, tonight even.

The WOC are still happening but I seem to be missing something in the works. Some enthusiasm or passion. Perhaps it is as simple of doing the mixed media stuff. I am still tempted to go full out and hide all of the carboard substrate with some media or another. I should try it again to see.

Replacement hand. see previous post.

Ha Ha

2010-06-03T10:49:00.001-07:00

I made this little skeleton hand.
There is an old church down the road where they have built/put tricycles into a stone wall. I am not sure how clear that is from this picture. The idea of course was to add the child size skeleton hand to the rock pile. However when looking for a good spot the hand fell into the hollows so it is generally unseen now. I'll make another.

Fish lamp in concept if not completion.

This brings up the idea of using my own work as reference material. Something I tend not to do. Though I have noticed paintings and such work out better if I do pre work, sketches and such before starting the "official" piece. hmmm?

While taking a pic of the Fish Lamp I took some of these Wrestlers group. Yet another project idea in cue. "sigh". The idea of course is to repeat with variation. This is the kind of thing where more is more. It is supposed to be more interesting for the number of pieces and not any one piece. It is also something that could work into a group show. I doubt that'll happen anytime soon.
blah

Cute?

2010-06-02T18:23:00.000-07:00

I'm still trying to keep up with this thing. I have had a few things I am stuck on. The one pictured here is Wishing Totem Pole. As I have mentioned one of the reasons I am doing this is to get out of the habit of reference material, ie copying photos and other pictures.

I was trying to get something different for this picture, something more animated or silly, cute even.. I think this doodle/study better shows what I wanted than what I came up with. This only justifies working in this no reference material way. Both develop a style and to learn to draw out of the box so to speak. Problem solving as it were. I was very tempted to look at some pictures of totem poles and such to do this but I resisted temptation.

Unlike here where the next word pair is Fish Lamp . I have been looking at Anglers and pretended that if I can use them for other things and it won't count as cheating. This is not the Fish Lamp study.

After Fish Lamp is Super Hero Sausage, I have no idea what I am going to do with that.
r.

blah blah blah

2010-05-29T10:36:00.001-07:00

I cannot say have been too productive. I have done more than nothing but my head isn't in the right place right now. As always there is the desire or perhaps fantasy of doing work but it seems cumbersome too awkward to get a hold of, at least right now. The big chalkboard piece was done for S.'s dance party. It is of course a Degas copy, such as it is. It was one of those things that came about unplanned. The pic is a painting/picture I hope to do (though I have some desire to go in some other direction genrewise) of Ace Rimmer riding an alligator out of an exploding plane towards a WWII German officer. Really it speaks for itself.
So this was a blah blah blah blog just to get something up. More later.
r.

Doodles

2010-05-18T09:21:00.000-07:00

I've been working a lot in the sketch book. I have gone back to getting subject matter from my word generator . Admittedly they are not much more than silly sketches but there are advantages. One, it forces me to draw with out reference material. I am just drawing out of my head and working out the the drawings without the crutch of copying from a photo or what have you. I suppose this issue might also be dealt with by doing still lives and life studies. At least I am trying to adjust my habits in a useful manner.
Additionally it allows me to try and be creative with the themes or specific subject. The words, for example in this post and in no specific order (but coupled) are, Cemetary Cricket, Gater Ugly, Smoking Poet and Martian Thing-In-a_Jar. I am forced to be, if not creative and clever, decisive in my actions. It is a little surprising how easy it is to come up with imagery.
On some level I hope that this is also allowing me to work out some concepts and ideas for bigger or more complicated projects. Maybe on some subconscious level perhaps. It certainly beats not doing anything.

older examples are here,, here, here, here, here, and here.

Cardboards en mass

2010-05-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I insist on trying to take a picture with the sun shining in towards me. Silly
I have been spinning my wheels and not quite able to settle on any one project or another. I haven't finished a darn thing, yet have stupid amounts f free time. I think I need to collect the different things into a viewable package. As well as make them hangable. This of course must not involve spending money (as usual) so it limits my options.
I have nothing good to report is the gist of it all but am still thinking on it.
This was supposed to be more interesting of a post, my apologies.

in lieu

2010-05-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

In lieu of proper cards I have made this matchbook art thingys. I am posting a pic as I've started a new batch using the Heritage Dictionary as reference (no pun). Not all seen here are of the new batch but the ones from last night were all of people or more specifically their faces.
Also I found my lightest grey pen and that makes a huge difference in this project. The size and tones of course
r.

today

2010-04-27T21:54:00.001-07:00

Ugh

2010-04-25T20:48:00.000-07:00

I suppose I should be glad to be able to say I am working on something. This last week or so seems to be about two things. One, I have been meaning to push the comic art a little just so I know it can work. I figured I could take a month and focus (such as I can) on that. The main issue here is to both become comfortable with the genre and develop a solid style wich presumable will go hand and hand with my aforementioned comfort. This involves being non-critical in the period of development as well as unapologetic of any outcome. In other words, it is what it is.
The second issue is the loosening up and leaving my comfort zone for art projects. The sketch book is great for this. It allows the chance to work on stuff with out pressure of an outcome. It is also a place to return to and rework pages, a great place to experiment and hone techniques.
Beyond the venue of the sketchbook the comic art focus allows me to work without models and references in a way I have NOT been doing. So I am hoping to free up both my hands and my mind in the coming weeks.
Case in point the Spiderman pic is not so very bad and one done without reference. I wish though I took a before pic of the drawing which was sub par at best, regardless of your opinion of the over painting.
So here I am working both on painting techniques and subject matter all at the same time.
I have other stuff in the book that I took the before of so that'll come soon.
otherwise older posts that refer to the/a sketch book are here, here, here here and here

Mostly the same

2010-04-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

I've done a few works on cardboard since I last wrote. I have mixed feelings about them. Silly stuff like the Kahlo looks wrong, too young or just incorrect somehow. At least I am doing work so I can't really complain.

Otherwise I had hoped to write more about the painting style/ brush work I spoke of last time. I do not think that there is a view of this in the two pics I posted. I felt i needed to post so this'll stay up until I get better things on.

I have a life long relationship with comicbooks and comic art. This is likely noticeable in the themes of some of my work. This is off topic. I was messing with an old sketch book and paint. Long story short I painted a silly little sketch with not too unpleasant results. The notable aspect is it is a departure for me in the sense that I managed to not use photo references. Not that it is so very bad to do so but I often feel locked in by this habit. So it was a good feeling to something relatively original.

make your accidents your own

2010-04-10T09:22:00.000-07:00

Firstly, I've started some new works on cardboard. This should get revisited when I have more of the same. There is something about groups of works that can make them more noteworthy.

The topic I wanted to touch upon (again) is the phenomena of a painting looking stronger half way through as opposed to when it is done. This happen far too often for me to ignore. It is in part the idea that the rough, more gestural strokes of my painting at certain points allow both the often more powerful suggestion of form as opposed to the strictly literal translation. This is not just bolder stroke methodology but also the mechanics of seeing. If I go on too much I'd be talking about something I do not know about.
Anyhow, there is a strength in a painting that I lose if I work past it. This is something that happen unintentionally or at least unconsciously. Clearly the thing to explore is to try and make the unintentional outcome an intentional habit. Ironically it is a struggle against my own instincts. but i am going to try it by leaving some of the Batman painting as they are and see how they stack up against the others. Thanks for listening.

Response to No Trace Show.

2010-04-03T23:11:00.001-07:00

I'd like to thank every one at the show tonight. I was very thrilled with the enthusiasm and response of the evening.
For those of you looking to e-mail me and do not wish to deal with the blogspot site, I am at reinopower@yahoo.com .
Please feel free to e-mail me at anytime. I am always happy to get mail.
The pics below are Batman series I am working on. They are in varying degrees of completion. They are all oils on canvas board if you care about those things.
If you are new to this site (and you probably are) the following are some earlier post of some of the work I do/have done.
These are from the No trace show, Thanks Jadd, Julie and the other artist whose work you should definitely check out.
It occurs to me now that the City of Rust could have fulfilled the eco-art theme of this evening.
I really enjoyed this Green Glass project and would love to do more someday.
I'm still trying to get my head around this project idea.
The Kama Monstra is totally on my list of this to work on.
I have no idea why I haven't been using the Face Book Graffiti application.
There is more as this blog goes back to August of 2007 and I've been messing around for decades now. Please feel free to look through the older post, some of them might even be worth the effort. Otherwise I will hope to make this all more accessible at this site or another. Hopefully there will be plenty of new work to look at.
r.

they look much bigger

2010-03-31T23:20:00.001-07:00

Bat- follow up

2010-03-31T23:17:00.001-07:00

Batman

2010-03-27T17:00:00.000-07:00

All of these are incomplete "works in progress" as they say. I decided to try and get something together to pitch to the cafe hanging crowd. Did I make the right choice in these Batman TV stills? We shall see.
Additionally I got a camera another camera. There were just too many times I felt I could use one without haing one on hand.

2010-03-17T10:41:00.000-07:00

2010-03-14T16:19:00.001-07:00

2010-03-13T16:24:00.000-08:00

2010-03-13T16:22:00.000-08:00

2010-03-12T17:52:00.000-08:00

Random older pics

2010-03-11T09:36:00.000-08:00

to keep the ball rolling

2010-03-09T21:37:00.000-08:00

I should of danced when there was a fire.
I should of danced when there was a fire.

Progress?

2009-12-12T09:51:00.000-08:00

I haven't had the most productive week or two. Lots of intentions little or no follow through. I hope to try and do a before and after with the forgotten works submissions. The idea being that with more time and better direction I can improve the paintings. This is for two main reasons, the first being a chance to refine technique. The other being that I would like to see these paintings work better. I feel I could have pulled them off better. I can use the excuse of time restraints for the first go but not at this point. Though nothing has happened yet of course.
Unfortunately I seem to be at the point of doing nothing for the sake of not doing anything. There is usually a spurt of activity if I wait for it but I hate waiting for it. "sigh"
With that said I have posted an old concept piece that I feel I need to go back into.
Golly This post is going no where so ciao
r.

what has been going on.

2009-12-09T16:58:00.000-08:00

just a pic. Need to organize my thoughts

two things

2009-11-27T19:31:00.000-08:00

I hope to add more text later, but for now its another wasp reissue and random pic. The Wasp has the the light coming through the back. It was hung on a window with the sun shining for a change. I think the change in lighting brings out some fine aspects of it not seen in the previous shots. I think the subtleties of some of the coloring was lost on the earlier pic and the resulting image is too muddled to show off the subject matter.

2009-11-24T13:05:00.000-08:00

I am enjoying the changes on the merits of visual interest alone. I feel that a painting is successful partly when ones eyes can wander the "landscape" of the painting. Ideally without being too bland or too jarring. That might be more opinion that fact. I feel the need to point out that these are not just choices of mode and style. Part of the changes I have made, been making, are an attempt to break down what I paint/draw in regards to what I see.
I have long known but often do not exercise the knowledge that it is often a more successful strategy to not be specific in your expression. That is to say, getting bogged down in the details is a way to make a bad picture. There are times and places where you want to lot of small bits of information but usually that can be chaotic and have the opposite effect in the descriptive process.
It is a mistake to think direct expression is more "true" than suggestive notes and styles. As mentioned in the previous post, I believe that the two paintings I started with were ones I never felt in control of. This in part was due to a desire for "faithful" translation. However a busy skyline of a shipyard seems more accessible with a generalized or ... flattened busyness of form and color. Discounting the difference in tones of the before after pics, I would say that this is a god example of idea. Not that there aren't other ways to correct a perceived problem.

Finally, I occurred to me that in many ways the wasp picture were another attempt to break down picture and form. It was certainly trying to use a looser gestural style to better find the "character" of the patterns found.
pax
r,

Altered (thanks to seurat, close and hockney)

2009-11-21T10:47:00.001-08:00

I managed to get a little painting in last night. I suppose that saying I did a little painting isn't so much news these days. However, I did manage to try out some new ideas and directions.
Technically speaking it can be summed up as pixelization of some pre existing paintings I have been working on. I cannot argue that such ideas and styles are remotely unique or new. You can't devalue any exploration regardless of the ubiquity of the mode. So for myself it is an exercise of thought and hand that can only do good.
To start with, you can't say that on a painter's canvas pixels aren't the bastard child of pointillism. The process of digitally storing information in pixels and compression is a different story. On the two dimensional plane it is just some fusion of aesthetic choice and inquiry of how we see.
Georges-Pierre Seurat
The similarities lie more in the was we see things more than the way things are made. That is to say that the comparison I am making here has less to do with the actions of the painter and more with how the product is witnessed.

Chuck Close

So tho effect changes in my work I am trying to break down the things I painted in my usual way. I should mention I am using pieces I never felt good about, in a sense I was trying to rescue the paintings.

David Hockney
This next pict is one of the altered one, the other I don't seem to have a previous pic. more later

1000 words

2009-11-17T17:13:00.000-08:00

They say picture is worth a thousand words. So if I am without new pics to post perhaps i should embrace the kiloword. I just read an essay comparing Up to Milton's Paridise Lost. Having done so I am some combination of optimistic and enthusiastic about the prospect of getting back to a more verbose blog. This particular post will not be withstanding and as i decided to include a pic it is not a mutually exclusive choice. Either pictures or words that is.

the two radioactive men

2009-11-16T11:55:00.000-08:00

Hola
I am still without a camera. poop. So I am posting this to keep the flow going, such as it is. So there are two "Radioactive Man"s. If you are comic nerd fanboy this might be a little funny. Otherwise......
These are they.

finally

2009-11-05T09:28:00.000-08:00

I finally resolved the color issue with the green glass post from over a month ago.

30 in no particular order and in various degrees of completion

2009-11-03T14:52:00.000-08:00

Opportunity

2009-10-29T23:26:00.000-07:00

On the plus side I have been given a chance to exercise a non attachment to material processions. On the down side I lost my camera. So I do not know how soon it'll be before I can post new pictures. I suppose you can enjoy the my fine fine talents as a word smith. I'm not sure exactly how much of that is a joke.

progress report

2009-10-17T13:11:00.000-07:00

At this writing I have only 4 completely blank canvases. The rest range from done(ish) to mostly scratches on a white field. I have been enjoying the project and feel at times I am really painting. So I suppose this is good news. There are sub topics that could be discussed but they'll have to wait.
The posted pics are the ones I feel are closest to done if not fully completed.
ciao

30 in 28

2009-10-14T22:40:00.003-07:00

I am supposed to do 30 paintings in 28 days. So I have been busy. this is were I am more or less.

What's going on.

2009-10-08T22:22:00.000-07:00

So I have been trying to think about presentation. Or at least I feel I should be thinking about presentation. These then are the card board pieces hung amass. Maybe it looks okay, I cannot tell, as I have seen the pieces so often it can be said that I do not see them at all. Regardless, I always like the way thing look when hung salon style. I hope that this and the individual shots give one the idea of how they look hung. For better or worse.
Of course the gummi tack method needs to be improved upon.

Saturday i am supposed to pick up thirty canvas board pieces for the 30 day project. #0 canvases in 28 days. Yikes. Lets hope I can focus. I hope and suppose I can post them daily or as they are finished.
I am going to go in without a theme. I thought about it and figured I should just do work and let it happen as it happens. It's easy to believe a theme will develop unbidden but i have no problem with that.

Monster cereals

2009-10-05T01:06:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I see something hat seems fun to me and submit something. A case in point is this.

City of rust

2009-10-02T14:19:00.000-07:00

I need to get back to finding scraps of rusty metal. But I busted out what i had on hand and was trying some new City of Rust pics. These are they. Earlier pics are here.

new stuff

2009-09-28T15:41:00.000-07:00

So I have been trying the participation game again. The two of mention are the Glow-in-the-Dark show. The "black whip" painting is in glow in the dark paint. I will try for a glowing shot to post. It is not quite done but the general sense is there.
Another show I am hoping to be involved in (not definite yet) is the Forgotten Works Challenge 9. This involves painting 30 paintings in 30 days. Yikes.
I have been dabbling in the paintings of recent posts. The highway scene is posted here. This one is needing something, I need to figure out what though. I think I have lost the handle on the original idea. I might need to change the palette. One other thing i that I was intentionally working from a blurry photo with the idea of moving to a sharp one later. I have yet to do that. I still think though it is the color that is the issue. We shall see.
Lastly i have collect a bunch of crow feathers. What for? I cannot say but I can say that I have them if i need them.
ciao
r

FYI

2009-09-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

I managed to cobble the shots of the green glass together. Somehow the grandeur is lost. In fact every time i open the pic the colors are not the ones from the jpeg. i will work on this.

painting updates

2009-09-22T20:22:00.001-07:00

I've been working on the paintings (and adding to a third after this is posted) mostly. I have been going back into a sketchbook. he book is filled with pictures i either do not like or are uncompleted. The idea is to make the page better more interesting by adding new elements. Sometimes that is just reworking a picture other times it is taking it some other place. An advantage of this is that there is little pressure for me to have it be anything other than it is. Sometimes it is akin to bust work and doodling over a drawing, other times it is making a stronger composition by more deliberate choices. There is enough there to work with but also someplace to start beyond a blank page.
I am really finding this much more interesting and creatively potential than just a blank note book. It is both a chance to experiment and to deviate from some habits that might not be so helpful for my development. Additionally it is fun, for me anyhow.
ciao

works in progress

2009-09-16T00:57:00.000-07:00

I have been painting. This is good. I find it useful to have several paintings going at once. These are two of them.
clearly there is work to be done but maybe you can see something in them.
The portrait one is a pain in the butt. At least the head on the left. I enjoy doing portraits, regardless of how much practice I may need. With the oils it is the drying time that slows me down. I am sure there are wet techniques I could be using but my "style' Doesn't seem to be about that.
The cityscape is supposed to be starker and to have the rich tones added later. It is supposed to be about the red truck leaving the shadow f the overpass into the sunlight. I toned down the red and will add a pure red where the light hits it later.
Blah blah blah.
r.

more nails

2009-09-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

I really need to get some sort of lighting. Why that has to be so difficult I do not know. Here are some more nail pictures for your enjoyment.

NAIL

2009-09-03T18:00:00.000-07:00

If it wasn't clear, I have been trying to spread out into non painting venues. I have been playing with various conceptual ideas. The one that is the topic of today's post is the Lyricism of Bent Nails. For now this involve taking pictures of nails as groups or singly.

This was previous mentioned or blogged about here andhere.
I have a sense of something here but I am not quite unable to pinpoint it. I might have to return to the single nail photos and see if there is a stronger "poetry" than with my arrangements of multiple nails. Any feedback would be useful here, so throw away any shyness and comment on this post as you see fit.
What I have figured out is that the better lit pics look better. The rusty oranges come out more and the whites are whiter. I think this helps the visual strength and is more pleasant to the eye. However, as i was messing around with the adjustments to the pics I thought the nearly solid black nails of the high contrast images had something that might warrant exploration. I think also the lying flat on the paper as opposed to standing upright with gum-tack might offer some stronger view of bentness. Don't ask me what that means. So I'll be back with more in the near future.

r.

too insular

2009-09-01T12:29:00.000-07:00

Firstly, there is a new monkey picture and painting post. Someday I hope to not take up the lion's share of bluemonkeyproject posts. If you are reading this feel free to contact me for this or anything art related, reinopower@yahoo.com.

In regards to the pics on this post. One is a painting I am doing, actually they both are but clearly there is a difference. The story , as I see it, about the painting is posted on a different blog. I thought of some changes to make while typing this and hope to make them. I'll post on the painting site to see if you can tell the difference.

FINALLY on the subject of the two pics and their differences:
I was taking some shots of the painting for general purposes and was in the cropping stage. I noticed the unintentional compositional continuity of the painting plus some background in the photo. I liked the way it looked, the way it flowed. I was a little intrigued and a little charmed by its outcome. Now the question I am trying to raise is, "is it just me?" Particularly when one considers the previous post , I have to ask how much is me living in a crazy little world of self delusion and how much is appreciable, if not just visible, to others?

I am often saying that I want to devote my time and energy to art and its pursuit, but how far am I willing to go. In my opinion I am a bit timid and not one to take chances but am I able to put my money where my mouth is. An issue here is that I have little feed back or outside input into these ideas that I seem to be looking at. If one is to follow through on the ideology of the things I am trying to express how long can I be expected to "keep the faith" without some sort of validation.
This is starting to take the tone of a bible story and I apologize.

This is a real concern I think. I can keep working on my painting technique with a quantifiable sense of change if not improvement. The other intangible stuff, the conceptual and philosophical are not so clear. I do tend to live an insular life and my art community is not so broad. I am not in or from an art school environment, I am not on any scene nor am I with any real monetary means or sustainable career (artistic or otherwise). So there is not much latitude for me. I have these opinions and questions but writing them down here doesn't really foster them. If that in fact that is what needs to happen.
I guess all I am saying is if not validation then at least some amount of outside input would help me. Perhaps I hit the proverbial nail on the head with the use of the word "faith".
r.

How does this happen?

2009-08-27T22:11:00.000-07:00

J was getting ready for a show tomorrow and getting her stuff ready to hang. These are the large prints of her mold variations. Nice work in my opinion.

So these large prints are placed between larger pieces of Plexiglas. The plexi was new and as you may or may not know, needed to have its backing paper peeled off. These coated paper backings warp and contort from being peeled off.

Somehow, despite the fine and interesting art work across the room, the paper became the object(s), of interest. The pile of paper became the new project without the current one being done. I could go on about the tension and feel of potential energy these objects have ( how they seem to embody the act of peeling) but I intend to talk around the art, talk about the process.
I am not so very surprised about the distraction of the trash from the shiny new works that were the goal of the evening. It seems more and more that it is this kind of stuff that is, not only more interesting and more intriguing, but has more powerful and innate commentary than anything I could craft intentionally. This, for me, is not just about found art but rather about the looking. There is more than just the aesthetic of taking something out of context and putting it in a frame or on a pedestal. I argue that these ...things have a objective strength. A gravity that is sublime and echoes the world and its workings. There is a wonderful duality of them containing both the fiction and the nonfiction of a story if not some facet of all stories. Perhaps unfortunately this echo renders anything I could paint or draw superfluous and close to pointless.
Does this say more about me than it does the art in question? Probably. but I am okay with that. I don't think that this is a new road for society and its many times,people and places. I do think that once you start down a certain path or way of thinking that this conclusion is unavoidable. Perhaps conclusion is too final a word and stop over is better suited companion to the "path" metaphor. So I have every expectation that some aspect of how I see, feel and express whatever this state of existence we share is will inch closer to this idea.
r

Redo

2009-08-27T12:42:00.001-07:00

I 'll have some painting stuff to post today (later) but I was messing around with the previous images. These are them (plus one more)"tweaked" as per a comment by J. I am not saying they're better so much as being posted for the contrast/comparison option.

Low to the ground

2009-08-23T23:59:00.000-07:00

I have been keeping busy somewhat. Nothing today but tomorrow is another day. One thing I have been enjoying the outcome of is something I have been doing with the camera. It does, I feel, the thing I has always charmed me. Seeing that thing that is there but somehow looked over as mundane. I wonder do people look around them as they walk through the world. If so what do they see, what do they look at? I am not trying to be pretentious but I can't tell if the things I see are seen by others, Invisible or ignored.
I should happy to see it, glad to record it as best I can. I wonder If I can accept a role as that person. Someone whose role in society is to do this, to offer a view into a world that is there but overlooked. Teasing out the interesting, perhaps even the beautiful from that which is right in front of us. If I don't I suspect it is due to fear it is cowardice. ?????????
r.

Red, Blue and Green

2009-08-20T22:00:00.001-07:00

J is in a show next week. Kudos to her. If you can stop by please do.
She has the unenviable task of getting her stuff "ready to hang" in 7 days time. I figure the least I could do is try and help promote it.

I also have the Blue Monkey Project I am trying to rope people in. If you want to contribute just let me know. I'll send you a monkey.
I am not sure how long this will take to take shape but it is meant only be fun and inclusive.

I need to do some follow up pictures (one week later) of the Green Glass. I also have some detail shots I need to string together but that will happen when it happens.

This is a pic I just threw in because red, blue and green sounded better than green and blue.
r.

The lyricism of bent nails

2009-08-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a tenth Muse. Her name is insomnia. I don't think I need to elaborate on that idea. Included in the whole found objects work there is the bent nail study. The working title(s) are the the Lyricism of Bent Nails or the Hidden Poetry of Bent Nails. I had a influx of new material found while working on the green glass guerrilla (thats a new title) project yesterday.
I am a fan of this new nail deal. It seems to be working out well and like many fine pieces of work seems to be "writing" itself. It might become my new pet project over the the City of Rust idea. I of course need to work on the photographic end of it all. The lighting is distracting and the look isn't quite where my vision is. Maybe I need to out source the camera work.

More Green Glass

2009-08-15T16:07:00.001-07:00

So I was inspired to do something, or so tired of being me I decided to leave my comfort zone and work in public.
The Prospect Park Glass was the first (and only other) one of these. As always my apologies to Andrew Goldsworthy.
It is clearly different in its execution than the green line done today. I think though that today was better done, it was certainly more work. I do not expect it to last ( it isn't meant to), the first one didn't last an hour, but part of me hopes someone notices.
With that said I was somewhat disturbed by something today. I am used to being unnoticed and invisible so the fact that most people didn't make eye contact with me is fine. Of the few people who spoke or otherwise acknowledged my existence about half of them made the same joke. Keep in mind this project involved me scrabbling in the gravel for glass. It is meant to be site specific in that nothing was added or taken away only rearranged.
The joke was "find any diamonds/gold?" The disturbing part is that that was no real curiosity in my actions, just a filter of a capitalistic mind set. Surely what you are doing is only legitimate if it is in pursuit of money, not even work but a way to circumvent work. This pseudo sidewalk of gravel could never hide anything of value, nothing to see here. Of course maybe that is the whole point of doing what i did. For me the process it cathartic and rewarding but the hope is that some sees this and appreciates what is literally right in front of them, right under their feet. Isn't that the function of art, To open eyes, change perspective just slightly to see more or differently? To ask what is valuable, what is treasure? Maybe my standards are too high. For everyone else's sake I hope not.
r.

abstract collage, some Art Brüt and a $10.00 box of paint

2009-08-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

The post I was looking at before this seems to be just an excuse to post a picture. That happens sometimes. Arguably it is better than not posting. One must keep moving forward. It also, to me, emphasized how I have not been tending to the sister blogs of this site (links are to your right).
There was an implication of not being focused or directed in my work and actions. A little less than two years later this seems to still be true. I am "all over the map" as they say. I do have some things in queue but am awaiting the burst of energy or what ever it is that allows me to work. I am not sure if this is an internal influence, external influence or a mix of both. However I am calling this blog Reino Art not Reino Psychotherapy.
Today's pics are of an abstract collage, some Art Brüt and a $10.00 box of paint. At least two of these lend to the topic mentioned in the 9/30/07 post.
Abstract
I have found abstract art a consistent foil for myself. I threaten to delve into it deeply but never seem too. I occasional make some works as seen above or here. My attempts all seem much the same to me. It is as if I am unable to move from or add to whatever idea I have of what abstract is.
I have seen works I like and that make sense to me, compositionally speaking. I have enjoyed looking at them, searching through the painting with my eyes. Feeling as If I get it or at least have a sense were its leading me.
However, my abstract work frustrates me and always comes off muddled or flatly uninspired. Ironically I feel I have had better success with photography in this arena. Go figure. Once again I shall say that the day will come when I do put the time and effort into this. It seems only a serious and sincere effort will win the day here. Wish me luck.
Art Brüt
It seems there is an Indie Rock Band called Art Brut, thus it is easier to look it up under its other name Outsider Art. I once and sometimes felt that I might be able to get in the back door of the art world by the outsider venue. I had no formal training and was and still am an outsider in many ways. I suppose it could still happen but I am generally afraid to let myself cross the line of crazy. Coincidentally this might be related to my abstraction issue(s). Nonetheless there is a whole world of "art" out there to be found and appreciated if one searches or gets lucky enough to stumble across it. In the case of the posted pic it is a six year old's drawing of a heart butterfly. It seemed, for me, the right kind of disturbing to be a good picture. If only it was something I could whip out. Alas, heart butterflies are not my thing.
$10.00 Box of Paint
Obtained at the Freemont Market it is a bounty of usable oil paints for me. This means that I 'll have to figure out what to paint though. As long as I can get started it should be fine. At this moment though I am unsure where to head. hmmmmmm.

r.