Jug

Rough charcoal drawing of ancient jug and blocks.

Sketches

Here's a quick post to let you know what I've been working on. As you can see from the rough sketches attached, there's a lot going on in my mind right now. I'm trying to wrap my mind around the continuity of material culture from past civilizations to our own. Lately, I've been sketching Roman and Greek vessels, ancient toys, as well as Stella's beloved dolls, stuffed animals, and toys. In my upcoming work I will be focusing on the juxtaposition of old and new in an effort to bring greater meaning and weight to the concept of play, as well as considering the important role objects play during childhood.

Back to the drawing board

After spending more than a year studying simple block forms, balls, and toys I have started to feel a stirring of interest in more complex designs and new themes related to children and play. I am spending more time at my drawing board and sketchbook than I am at the easel right now. In the weeks ahead I will be posting sketches, drawings, notes, and anything else I think you might find interesting. My hope is that you will enjoy this window into my creative process and look forward to future work inspired by it.

In Progress - Cobalt

These are the first two layers of a painting on my easel right now. Its working title is Cobalt. The painting is still quite dark at this point. The first photo shows the thin raw umber layer I often use as a starting point, and the second gives you a sense of how the darker blue tones are emerging. I think the teacups and saucers add nice visual interest and balance out the more vertical forms of the various arches.

Four

The inspiration for Four, oil/canvas, 24" x 48" arrived one day when I was idly stacking blocks in Stella's room. She was running about the room with characteristic joy while I played with her blocks, stacking them in a variety of ways on her table. After constructing four stacks of four cubes each I was struck by the beauty of repeating a shape both horizontally and vertically. The room was flooded with afternoon light and the colors bleached together in a most pleasing, harmonious way. Four recreates that moment in Stella's room, except I've placed a wall behind the blocks and left details of the table for your interpretation. I love the sense of balance achieved in the painting. I also like the suggestion of progress from the first stack to the last: the stacks become more stable and the blocks more uniform from left to right. This compositional choice is another nod to the power of learning through play.

Save the Date: 2009 Winston-Salem Heart Ball

You're invited to watch me create a painting (start to finish!) in one hour at the 2009 Winston-Salem Heart Ball, the American Heart Association's annual fundraiser. The gala is on April 25, 2009 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Winston-Salem, NC from 6:30-11:30 p.m.

The painting that I create during the Heart Ball will be sold in a live auction along with work completed by five other artists participating in the event. One of my paintings, Lineup with Ball, will also be available in the silent auction. In addition, the auction winners will receive a signed copy of my forthcoming book of art covering highlights from the Block Art series. The book includes full color plates and artist notes about the paintings republished from my Stacked Life blog. Proceeds from the live and silent auctions support AHA research leading to medical advances and education programs that promote their mission to "build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke."

Tickets to the Heart Ball are $150/person or $300/couple and include dinner, artist demonstrations, and live and silent auctions. Contact Jennifer Taylor at jennifer.taylor@heart.org or (336) 662-1362 for more information.

In Progress - Four

Here is another large painting on my easel right now. Its working title is Four. In the photo you can see I'm working through some lighting issues on the blocks. The nice thing about oil paints is the number of layers of paint you can apply and how long the paint can stay workable, particularly if you use special mediums to extend it. These characteristics allow an artist to work through many different issues as a painting progresses. Also, notice that I chose to work directly on white canvas instead of toning it first. Mostly I think this is a personal choice, but some would say that working on white can lead an artist to paint too lightly. I have not found this to be the case, perhaps because I use a dark pigment (umber) for the earliest layers of paint and also because I'm working loosely in the still life genre. It would be difficult to execute a portrait without a toned canvas due to the degree of detail and many nuances between dark and light areas on the human face.