Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Something Different: New Work

Well, maybe not that different, but exploring the Running Stitch in a couple of different directions. I've been thinking for a while about stripes so I made a couple of smallish pieces to begin working with a couple of stripey ideas. These images are just me and my poor photography skills, not the really GOOD professional photos, but it's just to give you an idea of what I'm up to. (CLICK PIX TO ENLARGE)



Last Garden, 2011, 24" x 24",
painted cardboard, book parts, patinated copper, album cover parts, tacks, encaustic



Last Garden detail



Remnant of a Dream, 2011
painted cardboard, book parts, patinated copper, tacks, encaustic



Remnant of a Dream detail


And now here's one below that I've been thinking of for a while - a mostly black painting made with tar paper. The image below shows the piece in the laying out stage without all the tacks and encaustic. The top left part is just bare panel painted with black gesso and with the marks of the previous piece that I stripped off of it. That look is what really prompted me to make this new work.



Black One, 36" x 36", tar paper, book parts, patinated aluminum, tacks

You can see that it's really not all black because the book covers do add color, although the color doesn't look as strong in person as it does here. I am excited about making this one because it relates to previous works that I made with tar paper back in the mid-'90s. Here is one of those below:


Tar Paper Piece, mid-1990s, about 22" square, tarpaper, found wood, tacks, nut shells, paint


Of course when I look back at old work, it makes me wish that I knew then what I know now after many more years of working, thinking, experimenting and looking. That "if I only knew then" is the kind of remark my mother always used to make to me when I was growing up, but youth always has its own ideas. There's no short cut to knowledge. It has its own timetable.

7 comments:

Linda Starr said...

Oh I like that tar paper piece, the last one, The first ones are hard to see the detail, I am sure it would be good to see those in person.

Sue said...

I love the black pieces! Their structures and shades are very exciting and not bleak at all.

pam farrell said...

wow! the black one really does it for me!!!!!

Tanya said...

I like the black piece very much. It has a lot of depth and allows me to really move into it and spend some time. Very soothing and interesting. I can't wait to see it finished.

Adrianne in Portland said...

Lovely pieces! The black one is mysterious and subtle.

Jann Gougeon said...

Hmmm . . tar paper . . have to check into that. I too love the black pieces.

Wendy Rodrigue Magnus said...

I so enjoyed this collection, Nancy. And as to your comments at the end, it reminded me of something George says ---- He used to layer a painting over and over until it was right (I'm talking abstracts and oak trees, 45 years ago). Then he realized one day that he had 10 paintings beneath that one.

He tried an experiment - starting a new canvas with each new bit of inspiration. Only then, looking at all ten in a row, could he see what he had done and how he was changing --- a valuable slice of knowledge. Today he does the same thing, but looking back not only over a month's worth of canvases, but over many years. Those 'if only I knew then...' works may be your most intrinsically valuable.