A Crack in the Wall

 

A Crack in the Wall

Oil on canvas, 45"x45"

This is a new and very different sort of painting for me.  Rather than just post it and say "new work, here ya go", I think it needs some discussion.

Several years ago, I was doing a photo session with one of my regular models.  We had been having fun, making photos that I could use for artworks, going through a variety of themes for her to play with, when I suggested "how about something defensive?"  She got down on the floor and curled up into this ball.  It hit me like a gut punch: she wasn't imagining what it was like, she was reliving something that had already happened to her.  It was unnerving and I changed the theme to something lighter.  

She didn't explain what had happened to her, but some time later, I learned something about it.  Yes, it was bad.  I couldn't just walk away from this raw experience, though.  I did a charcoal and pastel work from it and it has been in a few exhibitions.  It has always gotten strong responses from women.  And I have wanted to make it a much larger painting ever since.

What held me back?  Maybe the fear of not doing justice to it.  What she showed me was her response to a very personal infliction of violence.  And what the viewers of the pastel artwork who talked to me later showed me was that this was a very wide-spread experience.  Way too many women have been subjected to physical, mental, and sexual violence.  I wanted to honor those experiences in a way that helps others to see that they're not alone.  

Finally, I realized that if this painting was ever going to get made, I had to get off my ass and make it.  So I got busy.  I made a small study in oil on paper and worked out the composition and color scheme, then stretched the canvas and dove in.  It took several weeks, much experiementation, and many layers to get it to where it said what it needed to say.  

The next step is to get it exhibited.  Don't know where that will be yet.  Will let you know.

And the title, "A Crack in the Wall"?  I'm not so sure about that one.  I'm not very good at titles.  Got a better suggestion?

Wedding Painting Equipment

 Every artist develops a unique set of tools to get the job done.  Wedding painters typically go for a minimalist approach - just the basics.  An easel, a light, a canvas, and some paint, and they're ready to go.  This setup is lightweight and easy to get in and out of the venue.

Yeah, not me.

My setup is a direct outgrowth of my studio way of working.  I paint in oils and need a lot of equipment, and it seems to grow a little bit every year.  The photo shows my setup at The Farm at Old Edwards Inn in Highlands, NC, last weekend.  Let's talk about what's there and why.

First, the easel.  It's a wooden full-size French easel.  It's very efficient: it's a box that holds my paint tubes, has three telescoping legs, a support for the canvas, a place to mount my light, and a tray that I can clamp my palette to, and hang my roll of paper towels from.  The drawback?  It's fairly heavy.  I usually don't have to lug it very far, though, so I'll take the weight penalty for the convenience.

See that tall table just to the right of the easel?  That's mine, too.  I take a lot of photos and load them into a laptop.  The laptop needs to be up where I can see it.  Many wedding artists use their phones or iPads for reference photos, then wind up painting with one hand while holding the phone in the other.  No, I need a stable and larger screen so I can see the reference photos.  Having a place to hold my Coke and business cards is a bonus.  When I first started at events, I asked the venue for a tall table, but soon learned that I can't rely on them.  So I don't.

The mat on the floor is part of the setup.  It's there to protect the venue.  I've never actually spilled anything or had a wet painting do a face-plant on the floor, but if that ever happens, we're safe.

I've got a plastic trash can under the easel.  Because trash.  It's something else that I can't rely on the venue to provide, and it looks a lot better than hanging a plastic bag from the grocery store off the easel.

You can't see it here, but I also bring an extension cord to power the light and computer.  Again, something I can't rely on the venue to provide.

You can barely see it here, but under that black cloth between the easel and tall table is a big rolling toolbox from Lowe's.  This is to haul all the stuff that doesn't fit into the easel.  That includes the light, computer, computer power cord, iPad, paint brushes, palette, painting mediums, roll of paper towels, various tools, gaffer tape, extension cord, apron, business cards, granola bars, sketchbook, DSLR camera, straight edges, spare batteries for the camera and computer mouse, and various other bits.  

Does that sound like a lot of stuff?  It does to me, but it's all necessary for my way of working.  It also means that I don't fly to do weddings.  I load my car and drive, and I only go to events that are within one day's drive of Asheville.  Events in Miami or southern California?  Sorry!  But I have done weddings as far off as far western Kentucky, Atlanta, and the Washington, DC area.  

So that's my wedding painting equipment loadout.  It may not work for you, but it does for me.  

Andy

 

This is a portrait of Andy, the brother of a friend.  Andy's a great guy, very smart, very accomplished, and one of the nicest people I've met.  This is a fairly small painting, 16"x12", in oil on panel.  It's one that I'm really glad I did.