No Words

 

No Words (resolved and No Longer in Inventory)

8"x8" water color crayon, matte medium, acrylic on canvas

No Words (Still unresolved)

8"x8" water color crayon, matte medium, acrylic on canvas

No Words (unresolved--needing to make the lights lighter and the darks darker along with more complimentary colors) 

8"x8" watercolor crayon, matte medium, acrylic on canvas

For this, I began with a grid form that I came across--the blanks created when cardstock game pieces were punched out. I rarely work with squares in my square paintings, so this was all an experiment. I'm a little bugged by all the even numbers of squares, down, across, in total. The size seemed right for how I wanted to play at it, so there you are. 

I began by making marks with the watercolor crayons, layer upon layer. The initial marks were different, more intentional forms that gradually lost their shape as layers were added--in part a result of applying matte medium which naturally smears the marks. So be it. I had originally thought to do this exclusively using watercolor crayon with the acrylic medium to stablize, but it looked rather flat. To create dimension, I had to add the black detailing within each grid section and then the white to the grid lines. Made a tremendous difference. And it took a significant amount of time--way more than I thought this little painting would take. But it was a rather meditative process. And the amount of time a painting takes has little to do with anything.

The "No Words" idea came because I was wanting this to look a bit like ancient text with some parts stronger than others, a time pre-letters and more in the time of glyphs. I also think of the beginning of the creative process, the spark, as something that occurs in the non-lingual part of the brain--if there is such a place--so that articulating what the painting is about comes way later and is never fully explained--not to my satisfaction in any case.

Memory Stick 40" x 16"

And it is completed. I decided that the piece needed an archway, perhaps to suggest we are getting a peek into a chasm of time. I wanted the archway to appear to be barely containing the communication process, communication through time, the memory of communication. It's splitting apart, perhaps imploding, hence the fieriness, some charing. The archway is made of a composite paper cup holder from starbuck's. I tore it up into pieces intentionally using the pieces that would stick out from the canvas and the pieces that appeared like a Y (architectural features?). Micaceous Oxide again to make it look stone-like, of the earth.

Working Title: Memory Stick (40 in x 16 in)

This didn't come about just because I had computer parts left. This came about because of my obsession with cave drawings, petroglyphs, and the human need to communicate through a variety of methods. I think that's ultimately why I thought to arrange the computer bits into a shape of glyph.

To make the glyphs, I used a cake-decorating tool. This was the first time for that experiment. I put the gel medium/lightweight vinyl spackling mix in the decorating tool and squeezed and guided it onto the canvas. Fun. It wasn't an even and completely predictable process, which, as always, is a good thing. That made the glyphs more interesting--starting in one direction and ending up somewhere else entirely. Let it go.

I first went over the marks with micaceous oxide. Then I floated in a wash of titan buff mixed with azo gold/quinacridone nickel. Then I went over the marks with the azo gold/quinacridone nickel. Nice and rusty looking. 

I had spent hours in the studio and wasn't sure of my next step. So I stopped to photograph for a friend and reaching for my camera saw some gel medium layers that had dried in the container and I had peeled from the side. I draped them over the circuit board and memory sticks. I think that's where it goes. 

Once attached to the painting, it still won't be finished, but it will be a kismet step closer.