The fifth of this series of portraits of my brother Mike* is a bit different than the others. Mike would often display fits of rage, directed at himself. Some docs thought he was Tourettic, others thought it was a behavioral issue. The point is, Mike could be frightening. I weathered the storm and didn’t believe […]
I began this fourth portrait of my brother Mike*, with frisket squiggles to sketch out an eye and lips. Jarring the paper side to side and up and down created traces, traces that have meaning. This is almost a double portrait. Possibly it is a portrait of the space between two people, the channel that […]
I began today’s study with compass and ruler, Kandinsky’s work in mind. Usually I have a couple of paintings going at the same time, so I had not planned this one to be part of my current portrait series. I’m not quite sure how it became one. I drew on symbols and visual elements I […]
For a change of pace, I will return to portraits of my brother Mike for a while. He is autistic, low functioning and nonverbal. Mike currently lives in a geriatric group home back east. I took photos of him for many years; since I moved away I’ve been painting compositions related to my experience with […]
I get in a creative rut every now and then. I can’t seem to think of anything new to paint or draw. Sometimes, looking at my books about art by my favorite artists, and essays by knowledgeable critics, gives me a boost. What I seek from my readings and reproductions of art from the masters, […]
With today’s composition, I’ve reached the limit of my frisket-and-shake technique, at least for regular patterns (see Netted). The graph-like overlay on the painted area resulted from shaking the liquid masking (frisket) that I applied in closely-spaced parallel lines. The design includes some very dark areas. A bit of overspill from my ink bottle, poured […]
I drew narrow traces of masking fluid with a wide-gage hollow applicator. The gage wasn’t narrow enough to allow a smooth outflow. The fluid bunched up and formed a bead at regular intervals across the page. Once I shook the paper at 90 degrees to the direction of the parallel lines, the beads turned into […]
Today’s composition began with a latex masking (frisket) design. I complied with my practice of the past few compositions, of shaking my paper while the frisket was still wet, causing it to streak. I dripped ink onto the paper in different places and blended those spots with watercolors. I continually inspect the image that arises […]
I like working with the thin applications of masking frisket. The curved trajectory of the traces form regular beads of fluid, which become the source of intersections, when I jostle the paper from side to side. After my frisket network dried, I dripped ink into its midst. I used sepia and blue inks. They mixed […]
I began this composition with a series of parallel lines that I drew free-handed. I was thinking of Paul Klee’s compositions that consist of adjacent strips of color. Some of his compositions are made up of seemingly random squares of colors, arrayed in parallel configurations. I used the parallel lines as a skeleton on which […]
