In Two 2

What I didn't say last post:
Of the pictures I did, some seen in previous post, I have no doubts that at least some are dogs. I was pressed for time and literally threw down anything and others fell short of the vision I had for them. These though are not so useless, in fact they may be more useful than the ones that are "good". As I have mentioned again and again going back into a piece can be useful. A word I might not have used in reference to this is "salvage" or perhaps "rescue". This I suspect will be the thing I do, if anything, in the near future. I will likely go back in to the pictures like the one in this post and make it something better if not good. I'll post if/when this happens. RGC

In Two

These are some of the pictures that i made for 30 in 30. They all came back. So there you go, there are no short cuts.
Anyhow this post is a collection of some of the stuff that I view as done or as good as they are going to get.

I suppose I could say a lot about it but I am not feeling verbose. The next post will have some other image(s) and perhaps something worth reading.

Just talking

I am often going on about reworking old pieces, particularly sketchbook work, to better know how and what you are doing. That can be attested to in This This and This. The pictures below are part of that.

Firstly let me say that there is half a decade or more between these two stages. I am in no way saying the end product is a standalone piece of good work. However, in context to an old doodle on crappy drugstore sketch book paper, it has some merit. I can poke many holes in the ultimate composition but the "improvements" and activation of potential is somewhat clear. There are also other ways to have gone with the piece but black lines seem to be the thing right now. For that matter there is no great reason to stop here( not that I intend to go back into it). The work done last night could just be the latest step. That is the great thing about such scraps of work, they can be used without fear of ruination.
I should qualify this by saying that the piece(s) are done with a reference movie still. In truth I would argue that reworking NOT using a reference piece could be more informative but if there is a different plan so be it. There is no right or wrong in such things but there may be bad habits. One's creative muscle is better worked out by tapping into one's own mind and lore. This is my opinion of myself, it is likely true somewhere someone has the opposite issue.
I could also argue that this falls in the middle. The first pic might be the ground work, rooted in representation and the update "could" be the use of internal reference. Something not unlike This. with all that said perhaps this is the next jaunt of artwork for me.

Walls

I could go on about the type of walls that keep things apart. That thought occurred to me as I typed the word. "Walls" though mean just that, the thing between the ceiling and the floor. I am trying to make some hangable pieces. That is to say use some frames I have lying around and make things looks better if not professional. They look ok, my main issue is that I am using thing I already have. I might do better making new things to fit the frames. I am nor sure what the next step is. You'll find out, thanks for tuning in. RGC

I will Post SOMETHING soon.

These are just here because Ifelt I owed a post regardless of its level of interest.

What can I say about these? Clearly on is colored in and one is not. I certainly cannot say that the color or the coloring job improves upon the picture. Other than the fact that posting this makes me want to redo some pictures I cannot think of anything else to say. TTFN RGC

I Do Dangerous Things

Right now I don't have a lot of legitimate time for art. I suppose I could make it if I budgeted my time differently but right now while typing this post I am supposed to be doing something else. It might actually be to my benefit to work this way. I have often found I am the most productive when I am supposed to be doing something else altogether.

I suppose the title of this post is somewhat provocative. It is simply the reference to my wanting things back, to looking at days and events gone by. I say this under the umbrella of artwork. I see some old piece I no longer have and I want to go back and work on it some more. The painting that is just a blue undercoat is an example of this. I suppose I could start it again but in truth I am in a different time and place and could never recapture what I was thinking and doing then. Inversely the picture of the face with animals on it I still have but never understood why I thought such a thing was a good idea. That is not entirely true, I can come up with a reason now why it may be worth it. The end result not withstanding.

As you may know I muse alot about what I am not doing or what I should be doing and this post is yet to be any different. If no one takes me up on my "SIX" offer I will perhaps follow through on earlier threats to redo works and ideas. I sure as heck couldn't hurt.

SIX

I did that 30 in 30 thing. I didn't take many pictures of my work as the crunch time at the end was a very last minute thing for me. In fact I did not finish 30 pieces. I still have 6 canvases left over. If you have a picture request let me know and I will likely do it for you and mail it too boot. This picture was part of something I tried to do for one of the pictures. It didn't work but I cannot show you the result, leastwise not until it doesn't sell next month. In fact I should find myself with mot if not all of the pictures I made after the one night show. Like I said there are six blank canvases left and I do requests. RGC.

Today

I am a little bit behind schedule if I am to average one piece a day for 30 days. Not too off though. Additionally I do not have anything to post that is new at the moment.
As you may or may not know, one of the aspects of the 30in30 is that there is a sale in December. I think that I can let go of the dream of selling everything. I say this because some of the pieces do not hit the mark of what I envisioned. I could say that some do hit the mark of what I envisioned but still seem lackluster. Long story short it is good to produce work and it is good to challenge oneself but it is not always good to work fast or in a slipshod manner. Technically I could buy some more canvas board but that is not in keeping with the spirit of it all. When on starts a piece they are committed to it good or bad.

Lessons Learned Since the Last Post

It might be different with larger formats but I did learn not to do something. It turns out that the wax of the crayon(s) will not protect the marker from the clear coat media (acetone maybe?). The marker of the undercoat, bleeds and runs upsetting the colors of the overcoat. This may be something that could be exploited but not what I want to happen right now.

~ One Week Later

In the last post I offered up a blank canvas for consideration. It is now about one week later or seven days into the 30 day challenge. I have done some work. No one piece is finished but I did a bunch of the base work. The next step would/will be to do the crayon work (top coat) and then clear coat that with the spray. Again, none of these are done but here are some of the things I have done to date.

The subject matter is not out of bounds for my normal work but I am trying to tweak them a bit. Right or wrong I am trying to make them more consumable.I have High hopes for a coiple of them but generaly I want solid and tight art work if not charming pictures people will plop down some money for.

24 Hours In

I am about 24 hours in for the 30 in 30 challenge. I did one about five years ago and I decided to do it again this year. The picture here is how much progress I made. My next post will also show the progress to date.

Fear?

I have never been one for graffiti, that is to say for being the one to graph the iti. In many ways I am pro graffiti. However I am pro graffiti in the same way I am pro speaking out loud, yes people should talk (or speak) but that does not mean that I want to be subjected to every conversation or monologue that crosses my path. Some things are smart, thoughtful and worth saying others are not. There is also a full spectrum between those ideas and tangents I have not thought of.
What about fear? Why do I not or never been a public scratches? I'll doodle on paper, on sand, on napkins, on the back of my hand, on a rug's pile or the condensation on a window pane but not in the modern convention we call graffiti. I suppose it might be civic pride. The defacement of public or private property is hardly the act of an upright citizen. Yet I would argue even the basest tagging is kissing cousins with calligraphy and mural work. I could simply not be interested, that happens. That may be an aspect of it but

most things are not one thing or for one reason. I suspect that the true reason is fear. I don't mean shyness that is something else but still maybe part of it. In part my upbringing and temperament steers me away from "getting in trouble". This is probably important but also a whole other conversation. There is some amount of intimidation I feel for many many things. The act in question might well be on that list. I may be, when it comes down to it, afraid to do it. This fear then must also apply to so much other art or like endeavors.
This is as far as this thought process got. I do not have much to add beyond the existence of such a hindrance.Surely though there is something more to say. I conceived this post before I saw a scene from Akeelah and the Bee just yesterday. A Marianne Williamson quote from that movie seemed close to the subject.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Styles

I am not sure you can say this collection of pictures capture the range of styles I am thinking about right now. It may help illustrate the idea. I am thinking about style right now. Clearly the media used has a large impact, my use of a brush with oil paint is different than my use of soft pastels. Using my fingers is different than using a pen, pencil or brush. Gessoed canvas is different than paper. Good paper is different than bad paper. Beyond the media is the subject matter. Hoping for a reasonable abstract painting is different than a picture of Kermit the frog. Lighting of the model can impact almost all aspects of a picture. It might in fact be more difficult to adhere to one style than it is to change styles. That though is a bit more debatable in my mind than the previous ideas. Nonetheless, INTENDED style is a consideration for any project. Sure anything that is "my" style will show through regardless but there are strengths to particular modes in regards to one's end objectives. This is not news nor new to what I write about here but it is what is on my mind. I say all this with the 30 day art project in my thoughts. I am not quite ready to put it into words but I have an idea of what I am intending to do or better yet how I am intending to do it.