Plexi Project

Vision 9  Hardboard and carved Plexiglass 12" x 24".

One of the suggestions from my critiques during the January Residency at AIB was to experiment with Plexiglass. I picked up a few scraps last week and began to try painting and carving them. The Dremel tool with a cutting bit creates etched lines without too much difficulty. I like the way the light catches the grooves and casts some interesting shadows. I'm not sure about the subject matter. The waterfall could be simplified further. The two panels are not attached together yet, so I can make a few changes if I want to.

Vision 9 - Stage 1 Hardboard panel in progress.

I began with the idea of creating a design for a wall mural. Early on, I realized that I don't have the technical skills necessary to create a 3-D wall relief more than 25' wide. However, it is an interesting exercise and I am glad that I tried it. The transition from Photoshop design to a physical work was challenging. I found that I fell back on my past painting approaches when faced with a frustrating problem. I had to put the Photoshop enlargement away in order to simplify the image further. Originally I had planned for three panels. I had cut out and painted a partial panel of plants for the foreground which just did not add anything to the piece in the final analysis.


The Plexiglass needs a space between it and the hardboard, so I picked up some mirror fasteners at the hardware store. I think I can create a space by screwing them two-deep to the hardboard. I plan to drill holes in the Plexiglass for the screws so I can install it and remove it later to clean it. The Plexi picks up all kinds of fluff and dust once it is charged with static electricity. This is a disadvantage. The plus side is that it is readily available, lightweight and easy to use.


My next project may be an abstract design using a board and a carved Plexi panel. I have to do some serious thinking about the direction I want to take with my work. There are a number of contemporary artists who work with abstraction and representation, so it is not an impossible idea. I want to find some way to reference nature in a contemporary way which will seem relevant and not be seen as a throwback to past ideas of romanticism and the sublime. The waterfall in Vision 9 is verging on this, so I think the piece needs more development.

Ellsworth Kelly's Works at the MFA Boston

Ellsworth Kelly, Curve XXI (1978-80) San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
The New York Times. November 27, 2011

Ellsworth Kelly’s wood sculptures, recently on display at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts[1], seem exceptional in their elegance and simplicity. The subtle curves, the patterns in natural wood grains and the transparency of cast shadows evoke calm contemplation in the viewer. It seems as if one is being drawn towards an ideal monolith or relief, where the interplay of shadow and shape creates a refined and aesthetic ambiguity. Visiting this extraordinary exhibition of nineteen of Kelly’s thirty wood sculptures is like finding « . . .some profound silence amid the hubbub of daily urban life. . .”[2]

Although the wood sculptures have impressed me as the highlight of Ellsworth Kelly’s artistic range, he is known primarily for his other works. Sebastian Smee comments,” Most people associate his mature work with flat, carefully shaped planes of rich, unmodulated color, each plane placed subtly in relation to another. His “Blue Green Orange Yellow Red” was recently acquired by the MFA and now graces a handsome gallery in the Linde Family Wing.”[3] 

What interests me about this painting is Kelly’s use of panels and his skillful handling of pure color. From my own experience as an artist, I know how challenging it can be to work with vivid hues placed side by side, where they can vie for the viewer’s attention in an unpleasant visual cacophony of intensity. Kelly’s huge piece is refreshing to look at, showing us the joyful expanse of a simplified spectrum.

Ellsworth Kelly, Blue Green Yellow Orange Red, 1968.
Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Personal Photo.

After contemplating Kelly's works, I feel the need to simplify and streamline the shapes I am working with. The last few panels I have been working on have become very busy, with layers of dripping paint and curling lines, almost 'baroque' as my mentor has commented.

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[1]      Ellsworth Kelly: Wood Sculpture. Foster Gallery 158. Boston Museum of Fine

           Arts, September 18, 2011- March 4, 2012

[2]      Plagens, Peter. “Beautiful, Quiet and Spare.” The Wall Street Journal: Arts and

           Entertainment. October 6, 2011. Web. 29 Feb. 2012.

[3]      Smee, Sebastian. “Ellsworth Kelly on Boston.” Culture Desk. Boston Globe.

          September 23, 2010. Web. 1 March 2012. <http://www.boston.com/>

          Five Panels: Blue Green Yellow Orange Red, gift from the Bank of America,

          September, 2010.

Les Richesses des Terres Humides / Riches of the Wetlands, watercolors

Le coucher du soleil, Memramcook Sunset watercolor 22" x 40" 2011

Guests at the opening.

"I know where this is!"

Saturday, February 4 was the last opening for Les Richesses des Terres Humides, my series of watercolors of waterways and marshes in southeastern New Brunswick, Canada. The show has travelled to three other venues in New Brunswick since July, 2011, in conjunction with the Regard Parallèle program of the Conseil provincial des sociétés culturelles. The project began with the controversial Restoration Project of the Petitcodiac River and expanded to include other wetlands. Painted on location and in the studio between July 2009 and February 2011, the series has been well-received by the local media and the public around the province. The exhibition is open until March 14 at the Salon Hélène Grant-Guerrette gallery in the Centre Communautaire Samuel de Champlain, Saint John, New Brunswick.

When the weather improves I plan to return to sketching outdoors. However, the focus of my work has changed from depicting a specific scene to more simplified and evocative forms. Perhaps I will develop new ways to combine watercolor, acrylic, and textural materials while sketching.

Visit to Providence, RI

Felice and I in front of  'Homage to Mexican Folk Art' by Francisco Moreno, RISD.

Following our first intensive residency, I was fortunate to visit my friend, Felice, in Providence, RI. We visited two mansions in Newport and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum. There is no substitute for seeing works of art directly. Often the format and scale of certain pieces turns out to be very different from the way I have imagined them. The content of a work can be so compelling that I visualize it in large dimensions, even though the original may be quite the reverse.

I was impressed with the Contemporary Art Collection in the museum. Each piece seems to represent an important body of work of its creator. I was quite fascinated to see one of Anselm Kiefer's large, heavy books and also one of Vija Celmins' ocean drawings as a print. This particular work was small and intimate, with ripples and waves lovingly shaded. Celmins' ocean series relates to my interest in water as a subject. However, I am more interested in creating the suggestion of water, rather than portraying each individual wavelet as it is captured in a photograph. 

Nancy Chunn's show 'Chicken Little and the Culture of Fear' seems to take a humorous look at the absurdities and fears inherent in North American life. Chunn's 'Front Pages' project was pithy and incisive. A copy of the bound book of these New York Times front pages transformed into drawings, paintings and graphics was available for perusal. 

Go to:
http://www.risdmuseum.org/exhibition.aspx?type=current&id=2147490644

There is a link to an image sheet with selections from the Chicken Little series.

We found time to view the graduate exhibition of Master of Fine Arts RISD students. There were some intriguing pieces which create sound as the visitor interacts with them. However, one was too delicate to touch in spite of the card inviting us to try it. 'Whole' by Astrid Toha combines abstract painting on the wall with projected images, suggesting an ambiguity which I aim for in my own work. Astrid was in the gallery at the time and gave me permission to photograph her work:

'Whole' by Astrid Toha, RISD MFA Thesis Graduate Show

The Breakers Newport

The Elms and the Breakers mansions were interesting to walk through. The owners impressed their guests with elaborate decor and huge proportions in the rooms used for entertaining, which seemed too busy to our more minimalist eyes. The private bedrooms showed more elegant restraint, with muted colors and pale furniture. I actually found the enormous and exotic trees in the gardens to be more captivating than the houses.