Wednesday, August 20, 2014

More Written Work Samples

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Sunday, August 17, 2014

Written Work Samples

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Monday, July 14, 2014

Inception, idea, style, and lastly, technique

Sound To Flesh: Music (1)
Basically I am still learning that design work, mainly concept, must start with an idea. This begins a process of discovering what is wanted prior to even caring about the materials used to carry it out. Mainly this for me is what I have encountered with respect to commercial work. However, with my personal work things seem quite different: The images are inseparable with the materials being used. Case in point: my Sound To Flesh series. Here I am getting inspiration from the Bible. God speaks the Universe into being. "in the beginning God said let there be..." Genesis 1:1. I found that with dry mediums like charcoal I get the best results. Anyone who uses charcoal can sympathize with how vine charcoal glides almost like a feather across the surface. The smokey conjuring marks begin to define forms which can pass for an array of things simultaneously. As I am more definite and sure of what is before me, I get out the compressed charcoals and go at it from there. I have done at least twenty images, more or less, Not one has failed too miserably. I attribute this to the almost seamless relationship of my idea and materials.
STF Music (close up)
What This means is the image could not have been done if I did not use charcoal. If I used paint, it will look different. A series of tries seemed to be less fortunate than the charcoal works (at least, for me).  I do not have repros of this but I am currently working on a painting which started out good but like before I would not have known where to go if I wish to put a representational twist to things. I seem fixed to a point even with my charcoals. All is fine, as long as I do not try to veer too much to the representational.
Now, I wish to. So, I tried drawing out what forms seemed to be dictated to me-but it seemed too 'separate' from a seamless work flow, and I grew disinterested fast. I found that a more direct approach is needed. Ironically digital software became an answer:
Sound To Flesh (1st drawing of series)
Scanning my image into Photoshop allows me to paint seamlessly on the original in ways I could not previously- I can edit not having to throw the baby out with that bathwater.
Oils

Original oil sketch scanned and worked over in Photoshop