In Process

COMPLEX. 2012. Oil on aluminum. 28 1/4” x 2” x 6”. In honor...

Wed, 08 May 2013 09:55:48 -0400

COMPLEX.

2012. Oil on aluminum. 28 1/4” x 2” x 6”.

In honor of Pynchon in Public Day I am posting images of the paintings I have completed so far in an ongoing series based on Pynchon’s ‘Gravity’s Rainbow.’

Complex is based on the sprawling examination of corporate structures and interests within ‘Gravity’s Rainbow.’ The subject seems ever more relevant in contemporary life, but in treating I.G. Farben as a “character” I can also look to the corresponding American conglomerate as a way to insert a self portrait into the series (even though I am not related to the DuPonts who founded the eponymous chemical manufacturer).

I have begun work on the next works in the series and hope to have them ready for next year’s Pynchon in Public Day (if not for actual exhibition).

VICTORY. 2012. Oil on aluminum. 19 3/4” x 2” x...

Wed, 08 May 2013 09:15:21 -0400

VICTORY.

2012. Oil on aluminum. 19 3/4” x 2” x 6”.

In honor of Pynchon in Public Day I am posting images of the paintings I have completed so far in an ongoing series based on Pynchon’s ‘Gravity’s Rainbow.’

Victory is a painting work based on a minor character reference; The character name and the real world referent are on opposite sides of the work. it is the first in many works that I have planned that will raid Pynchon’s fantastical lexicon of character names as source texts for the paintings. Larger works will focus on the organizational structures in the novel or groupings of characters.

ROCKET STUDY. 2011. Oil on aluminum. 24 1/4” x...

Wed, 08 May 2013 08:25:00 -0400

ROCKET STUDY.

2011. Oil on aluminum. 24 1/4” x 2” x 8”

In honor of Pynchon in Public Day I am posting images of the paintings I have completed so far in an ongoing series based on Pynchon’s ‘Gravity’s Rainbow.’

Rocket Study is the first work in the series and as the title suggests is a study to see how the series might progress. The numbering represents the mysterious (even mythical) serial numbers on the special V-2 Rockets that drive the novel’s search.

KAPITAL 2013. 10 1/4” x 12” x 6” Oil,...

Mon, 06 May 2013 09:15:20 -0400

KAPITAL

2013. 10 1/4” x 12” x 6” Oil, epoxy, and collage on aluminum and acrylic and collage on fiberglass.

This is the final assembly of my collaboration with Chris Rusak that came out of our ‘Source Material’ exhibition at Skydive Art Space in Houston, Texas.

PUZZLE PIECES (Means of Production # 6). I received Chris...

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 08:21:00 -0400

PUZZLE PIECES (Means of Production # 6).

I received Chris Rusak’s half of our collaboration, ‘The Capital’ (or ‘The Kapital’) which is the final component of our Source Material exhibition from last spring. Chris’s work has shifted dramatically and while this isn’t necessarily what I was expecting, I quite like the use of unorthodox materials as a support for painting and think it works well with my own approach.

The trick, however becomes unifying these separate elements, especially as Chris and I work on separate coasts and are 3000 miles apart. Upon playing with our two parts I decided to incorporate some more hard-edged elements into my own composition, and echo the strong diagonals in his composition. I think the pieces work better slightly separated (it keeps my piece of aluminum from looming too far in front of his panel and overwhelming it), so the final issue to address is how to link them across a small divide on the wall.

With Pynchon in Public Day coming up, I am posting an images of...

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 08:20:00 -0500

With Pynchon in Public Day coming up, I am posting an images of 2 recently completed works that are some of the first works in a series based on Thomas Pynchon’s ‘Gravity’s Rainbow.’

These both take details from the story and Juxtapose them with their real world analogs on the opposing faces of the aluminum. I will post the complete images on May 8th.

This corner of the studio looks like it’s getting a little...

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 09:00:26 -0500

This corner of the studio looks like it’s getting a little out of control…

How that “panel” looks now on the studio wall in...

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 09:55:18 -0500

How that “panel” looks now on the studio wall in relation to the other sections of pipe. Part of the formal problem within this work is seeing how to move different areas of color through the painting. The text can be read by moving around the circumference of the pipe, but when the narrator “speaks” the text shifts direction and changes to a different stenciled font.

One unit from a still unfinished triptych with text appropriated...

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 09:35:26 -0500

One unit from a still unfinished triptych with text appropriated from @RobertPearreOne

Looking at yesterday’s picture from the studio, this is...

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:42:40 -0500

Looking at yesterday’s picture from the studio, this is the very beginning of a new work, this time with a specific site in mind. The intention is to explore the construction and perception in an expanded painting format where the entire work is impossible to see at one time.

In order to highlight the slippage that occurs in within that mental construction, the diptych “panels” will be hung on separate walls. Each unit is a piece of structural aluminum, 80” tall x 3” wide x 6” deep.

Studio view: 4 different expanded paintings that I’m...

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 09:35:20 -0500

Studio view: 4 different expanded paintings that I’m working on right now for upcoming projects.

Means of Prodcution #5 (detail). Part of the structure of the...

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 10:48:32 -0500

Means of Prodcution #5 (detail).

Part of the structure of the work is that it is a collaboration with Chris Rusak. We are working on our different parts without much discussion; he had originally described a shelf structure, but he may also be making smaller paintings that fit inside my book like form. In thinking about these options I started bringing the collage and pattern inside the aluminum in order to give my contribution a chance to stand up to a more object-oriented approach.

Means of Production #5. After sitting around and thinking about...

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 10:00:52 -0500

Means of Production #5.

After sitting around and thinking about what to do with the addition of the text, I decided to use the difference between the original German and the English translation to focus the composition (after all the everyone still knows Marx’s text via the German - telling people that you’re working with “The Capital” causes a momentary pause before the apply the translation themselves). In this case I just added the heavy lettering in thick black where the spelling differs between the English and German.

Means of Production #4. I’ve been starting at the painting...

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 10:26:26 -0500

Means of Production #4.

I’ve been starting at the painting for quite awhile, and decided to just stencil the name of the source text onto the surface to give my self something to react to.

And then I sat around and looked at it for awhile again…

Waste not, want not… While I’m variously collaging...

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 09:10:10 -0400

Waste not, want not…

While I’m variously collaging and stripping page fragments on and then from the aluminum support of The Capital, I’m also reorganizing the scraps onto postcards to see if the detritus will make a suitable beginning for new Postcard Constructions. They also serve as small studies for integrating painted elements with the collage pages.

Means of Production # 3. After stripping the tape and tearing...

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 09:38:00 -0400

Means of Production # 3.

After stripping the tape and tearing through areas of collage that were only partially adhered, the section is on the wall for consideration. I’m thinking about how to incorporate the text as a painted element that interacts with the collaged pages.

Means of Production # 2. This is the next stage of The Capital,...

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 09:26:00 -0400

Means of Production # 2.

This is the next stage of The Capital, a collaborative work I’m making with Chris Rusak. My previous abstract paintings were often densely layered and it was often suggested that I should document the different stages of works in progress. While this is generally not warranted with the ‘Specific Objects’ I have been working on recently, I will continue to post ‘Means of Production’ images so that both Chris and the collector who the work is for can track its progress.

Here I have taped off stripes of the aluminum support and then collaged over that (both on the interior and exterior surface) with epoxy and and pages of a discarded German edition of Marx’s text. (Chris is using other parts of the same book for his part of the contribution.) The next step is to remove the painter’s tape, ripping through some of the collage elements in the process and then proceed from there.

This is a new specific object from the Gravity’s Rainbow...

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 09:59:00 -0400

This is a new specific object from the Gravity’s Rainbow series. The work is a smaller study using tangential and source information in the novel, in this case some of the World War II chemical conglomerates that shaped both the war and the aftermath of the conflict for their own ends.

PREPOSITION PAINTING. 2012. Oil and paintstick on 2 irregular...

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 11:27:39 -0400

PREPOSITION PAINTING. 2012. Oil and paintstick on 2 irregular aluminum panels. Each panel 35” x 20”, 35” x 43” overall.

This painting is also not quite finished. It is a study in using appropriated text to form the composition.

ASHES. Oil, on aluminum, pre-printed card stock, epoxy, paper...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 11:26:00 -0400

ASHES. Oil, on aluminum, pre-printed card stock, epoxy, paper towel, and glassine. 6” x 8”.

Not quite finished, but close. I started working on this piece after being given a paint sample card for the color used on the walls at Skydive Art Space, and trying to use it as a found object.