Dummies (February 22, 2016)

I couldn’t help but photograph these dummies as I passed by them. They are used for resuscitation practice.

Rust Never Sleeps (February 12, 2016)

I thought of the name of that album by Neil Young when I saw this sign. Remarkably, the sign does not need removal because it still communicates what it needs to.

Cloud Compositions (February 4, 2016)

Below are some very interesting cloud compositions that I photographed recently. I love clouds – they are constantly changing and reforming with different values, colors and densities. I liked these two clouds because they were so dense and full of color and a wide range of values. I also liked that they both have the same composition – this cut out circle of sky on the left hand side of the composition. This obviously reveals a predilection of mine for this composition.

My friend Rod Bouc does wonderful drawings of clouds. You can see some of his cloudscapes and landscapes here at the Keny gallery

http://www.kenygalleries.com/images/ac-bouc/bouc-bio.html

Assemblage art (January 28, 2016)

I recently took this photo and was immediately reminded of assemblage art. According to the Webster dictionary that is art that is a composition made from scraps, junk, and odds and ends (as of paper, cloth, wood, stone or metal).

The photo was taken recently in a men’s restroom in Cincinnati. It is a kind of work of art in itself. Does anyone recognize where it was taken???

Drawing / Illustration (January 21, 2016)

I was rooting through some old boxes of artwork and found this piece. I had totally forgotten about it – it was an illustration for a Graphic Artists Guild Event poster or something like that. I pulled it out because it had yellowed – so I scanned it and corrected the color. The first photo is the piece adjusted – the second photo is the piece as I found it, with all the yellowing. I assume the yellowing was due to the fixative that I used.

When it was printed there was a blue background that covered the entire piece except for the shoes. The shoes had a white background to make them pop out. The effect was make it look like a duotone. I will have to see if I have the actual printed piece somewhere.

Vector – traced Amoeba (January 13, 2016)

I decided to vector trace the red, tentacle-like object in the center of the last drawing posted. I used Illustrator and the pen tool to trace it. I now have an object that I can blow up as large as a billboard or print out as small as a postage stamp and it will look clean. This resolution independence makes this object much more usable to me. I can see it showing up in my next narrative scroll. Additionally, I can change the color inside and change the color of the outside stroke to whatever I want. I just threw a basic radial gradient and an orange colored stroke on it below. I am not quite sure why this object appeals to me. Perhaps the appeal is it’s lack of symmetry, even though, at first glance, it appears to be rather symmetrical.

Weird Amoeba Proteus Sketch (January 6, 2016)

Sometimes I just start out doodling and come up with an image through my subconscious. This is one of those drawings. I started out just drawing these tentacles and then started adding to it. The final image looks to me like a kind of amoeba proteus. I added color to it and am not quite sure what to make of it. It is a truly subconscious piece or maybe just an abstract play of shapes and color.  I don’t really know.

I am thinking about tracing the central red tentacle-like object in Illustrator. I think it may have some application as a vector object.

Weed Drawings (December 22, 2015)

It has been so warm so far this winter – I have been out riding my bike and hiking in the woods. I always see the same weeds that I have seen since I was a little kid. They are all so familiar that I never really spent the time to look at them closely. For some reason, I looked at them with a renewed fascination and marveled at how delicate and intricate they are. They are very common weeds – usually a nuisance to most people. I saw them as quite beautiful so I decided to draw them. I drew a Queen Anne’s lace, a thistle and a teasel. If you live in Ohio you will recognize all of these weeds. I may or may color them but the drawings from my sketchbook are below.

“Leader” film by X-PRESS (December 16, 2015)

O.K. I forgot to add this film to my X-PRESS Revisited section. This is probably the most extensive project we collaborated on. Mike Horvath and I wrote, produced and performed this film. John McClintock shot all the footage in 16mm film that was ‘pushed’. This ‘pushing’ of the exposure of the film made it very grainy and other-worldly. Of course, my process of compressing it down to video settings that could be streamed, increased the low resolution of the images. Mike Sanders edited it and added the audio. We finally put it all together and finished it in 1990 even though it was shot much earlier. It is approximately 11.5 minutes long.

Following is the film:

Below are some stills from the film:

Interview by Connie Springer (December 9, 2015)

This very nice interview was written by Connie Springer for the Hyde Park Living magazine and was published last month. I have scanned the interview and  posted it below. There was an online link to the photographs of my artwork that she took and I have posted those screen grabs below along with the online link here:

http://www.livingmagazines.com/Hyde_Park_Living/Hyde_Park_Living.html