it comes to resemble the shape of the heart

An idea sketch of some time ago is providing inspiration for a new series of paintings.  The first four paintings I made with this idea were part of my "Tintinnabulation" exhibition.  You can see them here, among the other pieces from that exhibition.  They are the ones titled "Little Things", "Shades", "Aerial", and "Then There is That Gap".

Now I want to make a more involved series based on the idea of more abstract shapes and lines, keeping the colour clean and clear, aiming for visual simplicity, elegance and sophistication.

First attempt:

layout begins on the wall

moves to the floor

and back to the wall before stretching

As usual, the work has changed a bit from initial layout to finished stitching.  I stretched this one yesterday.  While I am excited to begin painting, it is necessary to spend some time considering the colour.  Acrylic colour will keep its glow if applied carefully in sheer layers; too many layers and the colour goes dull and flat.  I'm not talking about surface sheen, I'm talking about the life of the colour.

second layout

My intention is to copy this layout as exactly as possible.  To that end I have traced around the shapes on the wall, and will measure their positions as I stitch them into the canvas.  This will be an interesting process for me, less organic in execution than most of my work has been.

Previous to this new series, I completed the stitching for the commissioned work:

And stretched them:

The clients wanted a diptych.  Husband wanted me to make a piece "just for us", wife wanted to be able to choose.  

My solution: make 3 paintings, any two of which will work together, and any one of which can stand alone.  (In a later post sometime I will show the 6 different potential diptych combinations.)

The logic: what I do as an artist is to disassemble my experience of the world and re-assemble it in my studio.  Here then, my clients can be a part of that process when they, in effect, disassemble this work and re-assemble it into a diptych.

Brilliant, no?

In between working on my new "elegant and sophisticated" series, I will keep this commissioned work in the periphery of the studio.  In this way creative ideas and information are circulated.

Here's a poem that sums up a part of the creative process quite nicely.

spindle and float

And here is piece which I began several months ago.  It has been languishing in the painting rack, waiting for further inspiration.  Often the creative process works like a brewer's yeast, bubbling away at the bottom of the cask, creating a chain reaction that gradually moves to the surface.  (haha, I recently read an article on beer-making.)

Now looking at it, I'm thinking it only needs a few small tweaks.  Soon, soon.... !