Pan Pastels

I just bought some pan pastels to try. I've been working on a painting in which I've been mixing painting, and coloured pencil. I've also been experimenting with painting some hard edges, which is rather off the beaten track for me. While working, I began to gravitate toward my pastels and started playing. Then the other day, on Laura and I's Saturday excursion.. we came across pan pastels. Well, I had to try. I picked up a couple colours. They are very nice indeed. I've been experimenting with applying them with a make-up sponge and using a brush. I even tried picking up the fresh pan and swiping it directly on the board. It's been a lot of fun, and the colours spread like butter. I only wish I had more...
I'm not sure I will give up the regular pastels, but they are a nice addition to the bag of tricks.

Driving Home from Niagara Falls

We spent Thanksgiving in Niagara Falls this past weekend. Just John and I. It was really a nice getaway.
What really struck me on the drive home though was the difference in the colours in just a couple of days. It was like the trees had transformed in just two days. I don't remember the colours being so intense on the way down there. (Maybe I was sleepy from the car ride)  On the drive home though, everything seemed crisper, brighter. Even the sky was more blue. And big, the sky was huge and I felt puny. It was a good drive.

Plastic... of sorts

Just experimented with styrofoam and acetone. Just a teeny tiny bit of acetone in the bottom of a glass jar, and some old styrofoam packaging. I ended up using about a 12 inch long piece about 2 inches thick. First of all it's just cool to see the acetone eat up the styrofoam. It's crazy. Then you get this goo at the bottom, that is sort of malleable. Maybe it needs more foam for body, not sure, will have to do some experimenting. But it's kind of stringy and once its out of the acetone wants to return to a solid rather quickly. It also is VERY messy and sticks to your hands very well, so I recommend glove or something.  I tried pouring it into a n old rubber mold, but I'm not sure it will work. We'll have to see on that one. Also spread some around on an old palette with a painting knife, with out much of anything to show for it. But again this is only the first experiment. I was happy to see the foam melt.. what to do with it will come.
Back to the studio!

Studio Interrupted

Thanks to the big rain the other day, I have been spending my time cleaning out and sorting old drawings. Rain flooded in the room, made an awful mess! Boxed up drawings from long ago, soaked. So now I've been drying out what I can, and throwing out what can't be saved. I spent yesterday taking pics of everything that I could so that if they are totally wrecked, I at least have some record. They were mostly drawings from the Breitenbush retreat so many years ago. So many good memories from that. And by the end, I had really made some inroads in my drawing, so I'd hate to lose those tangible things that help me remember.
On the up side, I guess it was good to make me look at them again. And force me to document them. I hadn't thought about that trip in ages. They make me want to quit cleaning and get drawing!

Can't help Myself..

This is totally off-topic, but I just can't help myself, it tickled my funnybone so much. Today's Free Press, had an absolutely fabulous front page for the Today section. An entire front spread dedicated to enlightening women about the fashions this fall that you simply cannot be without. Every self-respecting woman will be wearing boots that go over the knee, or even higher. It's just sooooo chic.... Except, that not one of the accompanying photos of "to die for" bootwear, was anywhere near that height. Every pic in the spread was calf-high, tops...
I giggled like a schoolgirl. I still am.. They couldn't find one example of the trend they are trying to push.
Hilarious...

Knowledge, Faith Asimov

I'm just beginning this blog, so please be patient with me. My goal is to discuss traditional media and digital media. In particular I will likely most often write about my thought process in relating to my work, so I thought I'd begin by talking about the painting on the right, Knowledge, Faith, Asimov.
This is my latest finished work, and it combines a variety of media. As with most of my painting, the focus is on the discussion of theology and science. One of my favourite quotes is from Isaac Asimov, and for me it sums up man's dilema. "Man knows enough now to kill a billion men in a single day, by an act of his will, but is not yet capable of understanding what lies behind that act of will." Asimov, 1962, The Genetic Code. Written in 1962, it is still true today. It blew my mind when I read it, and knew I had to work with that somehow. This painting is mostly traditional media. There is some digital transfer in the background of the circuit board. I generally like to work with a variety of media, and while I normally do more digital work and combine it into traditional media, I do not restrict myself to a particular way of working. The unique thing about this work is the spine. It is 3 dimensional and acts as a `divider` for the concepts of faith and science. Yet being the spine, it is an integrated unit of the body, so brings these two concepts together, in the way that we must deal with these ideas as a society.