In early 2008 after being featured in the Artrageous column of The Rage Monthly, I had somehow felt the urge to do something different or varied as to not pigeon-hole my work in any way. Part of me was feeling a little bored perhaps. So I became introspective enough to have gone through this period of near panicked "been there - done that." Thus, I was trying out all sorts of different techniques and applications in order to bring something new to the table. You know, just in case anyone was paying attention. I imagine at best, I was trying not only to challenge myself, but I was also trying to appeal to everyone in some way. (which is nearly impossible when you really think about it.)
I'm glad I went through this experimentation period because it is always wise to step up and try your hand at varied applications if you expect to grow. But honestly? This time it just helped to solidify for me that with the level of detail I like to achieve in a piece, I've got methods that work well in place already. In other words: "If it ain't broken - it doesn't need fixing." Improving on those methods and skills alone, is surely going to happen with time and age anyway. Why mess with it?
Personally, I like things to be smooth and polished, rather than over chunky or rough any day. Impasto and palette knife execution only was overall just too crude for me to work to my advantage. So in whatever I want to present to a viewer, the formulas I have been so comfortable and secure with are really in place for a reason.
Now in the process of all these trail and error ventures, was it fun? Well sure, why not? Yet I wound up with a bunch of paintings that can only be categorized as odds n' ends. Ones that didn't really seem to be theme-fitting or worthy of settling into any type of showing. Those I didn't like for one reason or another went into the void and most of the other pieces have all found homes. But this gal is the last of the bunch. The title is "Don't Do Anything I Wouldn't Do." and I'm going to say medium used here can best be described as the 'ol impasto chunk-in-the-trunk effect.
The piece is kind of a take on the movies of the 40's. How in all the old classics damn near everyone chain-smoked throughout scenes, and somehow we were expected to believe they would still look (or maybe even smell?) glamourous and remain the picture of perfect health. So much so, that people wanted to know just what Joan and Bette's brands were. And to be sure, Lucky Strike and Chesterfield made clear the public knew exactly. Gotta love American marketing.
The raised texture was a little hard for the scanner to capture, and I had to adjust the contrast to hide some of the shadows cast from the thick impasto mixture. Note* Viewing on the web shows more red than is actually present in the dress.It's really more of a rose pink than red.
Detail scan of painting (click on image)
2008- Acrylic impasto on premier studio grade canvas. The size is 12 x 16. (unframed) She will be at LeStat's just in time for the annual Adams Avenue Street Fair and Music Festival this weekend. Take her home for a song.
K~
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