Progress

Had some technical difficulties with glue— what kind, mix ratio, how much—but finally settled on the centuries-old recipe of boiled water + flour and a bit of salt.  Still having issues with how to “face” the front side, with several spectacular failures which I neglected to photograph.

 

New mosaic project finally underway!

Exploded view of 6’ x 5’ template for the first of four mosaic panels to be installed between the windows of the golden dome of Our Lady of Victory Chapel in Bismarck, ND.  The mosaics will be fabricated using the ”reverse” method historically utilized by Italian masters.  Thousands of pieces of glass tessera called “smalti”, will be temporarily attached right side down to sections of the template (image reversed) for eventual cementing into a frame.  This means creating it upside down and backwards —and not being able to see the right side of the piece until it is completed…..!  The photos below shows beginning with Mary’s red dress in the lower left and her blue cloak in the lower right.

 

1-2-3 Mississippi Mosaics at MSP Airport

Installed at the MSP International Airport, Delta Gates C4-6.  Hundreds of thousands of vitreous glass tiles.  Special thanks to crew Austin Flom, Mary Lee Leikas, Michelle Roise, Kathy Thiel, Anni Kandel, Thea Schermerhorn, Bobbi Solien, and Cathi Tiedeman; and to installers Leslie Bentley and Joyce.

"One Missippi"
Lake Itasca Headwaters, MN
9.5' x 11'

"Two Mississippi"
St. Anthony Falls, MN
9.5' x 10.5'

"Three Mississippippi"
St. Paul, MN
9.5' x 10.5'

#4 MMM: Prep Work without End

 Welcome to my studio......

...where, in a space 14'x18,' I'm supposed to make 3 mosaic murals -- each 10 feet high by 11' wide or greater.  First step was to order materials.  Some come in bags, but others come on sheets like you'd buy in the DIY store and these must be soaked off the paper or mesh, and then dried overnight before being sorted into bins.  How many?  Thousands....

tiles soaking

tiles drying

Next is to trace the template onto mesh.  Thanks to Bobbi S and Cathi T for noticing that we needed to number EVERYTHING-- lest we lose track.

Tracing the template onto mesh, referencing gridded "map" 

MMM #3: SIZE MATTERS

All along I've known these were big walls -- approximately 11 wide by 10 tall -- but it never hit me HOW BIG until I put up one of the templates I had printed. Yikes!  That's going to be a lot o' tiles.....

I'm 5'3"  and the full height isn't shown, but you get the idea.  Going to do this wall first, even though it is the 3rd one, because it seemed to be the...  not easiest per se, but the one with large simple areas.  Ha!  Was I ever wrong -- seems to be easier to be complex than simple. 

** These posts are current, but the activities described are from the past 2 months;  just now getting around to blog.

MMM (Making the Mississippi Mosaics) #2

Next step is to add color, even though it's not certain what tile colors will be available when they are finally ordered.  Since mosaics are closer to pointillism or pixelation in affect, it can be a challenge to get across one's idea in a different medium. Finally, there's that pesky artistic license.  Speaking of license, note the extensive use of of a certain state's license plate colors.

"One Mississippi"

"Two Mississippi"

"Three Mississippi"

MAKING THE MISSISSIPPI MOSAICS (for MSP airport): Design

Long time no see.....  and no blogging, either.  Hopefully that's about to change.

My latest endeavor involves 3 mosaic walls for the MSP airport restroom areas at Gate 4-6, concourse C (Delta). Approximately 325 square feet overall, this project has been in the works for about a year but actually started making it not long ago. With help.  Lots of help.

The task was to come up with 3 related images that "spoke" Minnesota.  My personal feeling was ABSOLUTELY no loons or lumberjacks.  Since the state is all about water, and the Mississippi is the biggest coolest waterway ever, here are my sketches of three different views of the river.

The Headwaters...

bustling St. Anthony Falls.....

and stately St. Paul.

Unless you know it's the Mississippi, how do they appear related?  Decided to emphasize the "arc" presented by the curve of river and shoreline. Also decided to flatten shapes and repeat a limited palette of blues, greens and whites.  Something cool I discovered after the fact:  If you line them up side by side, you can travel the river through all three picture planes.

"Helping" bites the dust

Well, as so often happens the "real" painting was not looking as good as the study, so I trashed it.  I might revisit again someday when not trying to reacquire my painting confidence.  I swear, I look at work done 15-20 years ago when I didn't know what I was doing, and they are all SO SO SO much better than anything recent.  And at that time I had 3 kids to carpool to activities, a job and was working on my latest degree.  

Not being an idiot, I know better than to think I need to recreate that environment in order to get my mojo back.  I am older, have less energy, and am less inclined to take risks (now THAT's a problem); but I'm also wiser, more experienced, and have honed down my scattered interests somewhat so as to make better progress in a few areas.  Most important is knowing what makes the paintings I dream about.  (Not subject matter, even though it seems my "oeuvre" has been painting people.)

Competent technique, confident application, and something to say.  The challenge is sitting steadily on all 3 legs of that stool at once.

"Helping" All Drawn Out and Ready to Go

22 x 30, Fabriano Artistico Rough paper

There was no way I was going to draw out all those flowers and stuff, so effort concentrated on the 3 subjects and some of the shadow shapes so I don't forget about them.  This and the next stage are my favorite parts of painting, where all potential lies ahead and no screw-ups have yet occurred.  

"Helping" - Color Study

8 x 6 wc study

The purpose of this is to try out colors in a small format, see if anything bugs me, and to warm up with the paint and the image.  Where will edges be hard, soft, rough or removed altogether?  Is there too much white that should be tinted back?   And so on.... The hospital chose to commission a 22 x 30 full sheet watercolor  based on this study (remember, guidelines were Norman Rockwell, Americana, nostalgia). 

"Helping" - A Watercolor in Progress

Visual thinking in the sketchbook

Values

Sometimes while at work I have time to work out my ideas

for a painting.  On the left are notes and possible formats, movement, where to put the forms and how big.  On the right sketchbook page I dinked around with wc pencils and whiteout.  Next came the value sketch, just to check the shapes; although this usually happens before the color thinking.  I like to simplify it into a notan (Japanese word meaning black and white design) and then see if I can get to as few shapes as possible.  Counting just the large shapes, there are 5; putting in a few of the smaller shapes brought the count to 8, which is well under the goal of no more than 13.  So, this looks like it will work. 

"Waiting for the Parade" Completed

   
     Oil on canvas, 24 x 36

All done and varnished - finally!-- but now I can't take a decent picture of it because of glare....  oh well, on to the next (commissioned by same hospital in SD).

End in Sight, Yet Far Away

Missed my self-imposed deadline of Sunday, so I'll be at it again next weekend. So many little things to attend to!  The front five kids are pretty complete, except for maybe putting a bomb pop in the hand of the kid on the left and de-activating some of the stripes on the romper on the right, and adding folds.  Pavement needs to be scumbled over this dark layer, and then figure out what color shadows ought to be.  I like the shadow colors on the curb.  All of the other people, their clothing and skin and well -- everything-- needs attention.  Hopefully, whatever that ends up being will not require much change to the front five.  Now I guess I know why you're not supposed to take isolated parts to completion ahead of other stuff.  

Moving Along to Ugly Adolescence

Block-in completed.  This is an enjoyable process even if some things are dead wrong, because nothing is permanent and all feels possible.  Still dealing with chunkier shapes of flat color and exaggerated value.  It's the next stage where things start to get.... well, like an ugly adolescent.

Because you start paying attention to how you think it ought to be, you start pulling punches, fearful of making mistakes and wasting time and paint and canvas.  Bits and pieces move along at varying rates and out of synch, and you despair of ever getting through this stage and having things turn out.  You avoid some areas altogether (shadows) and completely overwork others (skin).  You have no clue what to do about the pavement. But, you are committed to finishing this weekend (and getting past using 2nd person narrative; first person feels like too much ownership at this stage).

"Waiting for the Parade" -- and hoping to make art again.

 I see that it s been just about a year since I last posted here.  So much for accountability.  Truth is that I have painted very, very little; maybe lost my mojo, and giving serious thought to giving up my studio.  The day job takes 3 days of the week, leaving the other 4 available for chores, errands, R & R, family stuff -- and then maybe time for art. My son and I have talked at length about how frustrating and demoralizing it is to try to do something you love, but do it poorly.  Here's to hoping the slump has schlepped.

Happy to have a project on the easel again and a deadline to meet, and while engaged with this new ideas and plans beginning to bubble up again.

 Received an RFP (request for proposal) for artwork for a new hospital being built in SD, asking for americana/nostalgia themes for a "Main Street" commons area.  I submitted photos of existing work, samples and  proposed commission ideas.  The committee  commissioned two paintings, a 24 x 36 oil and a 30 x 22 watercolor.  The oil will have to dry a spell before it can be shipped in the beginning of March, so that one has to be tackled first. It will be based on the little painting above (9 x 13 oil of the kids at the 4th of July parade). 

Here's the underpainting (24 x 36)...

And here's the initial block in, trying out some colors and values, changing a few things around.  What works in a small painting doesn't always fly when you blow it up three times bigger. 

10 days later...

Slick  mosaic over resin, 15 x 10 x 6

Last post was February 13, and 3 of those were technical cheats, so for the month my posting average is .333 so far.  Slick was done for the Crow Show at the Spirit Room here in Fargo, ND, and turned out to be more complicated to do than I anticipated, which led to yet another excuse for not painting.  Since regular painting is the point of this, I keep shooting myself in the foot.  But March is nigh.... will try again and see if I can beat February's total.

Odessa Files, Part 4

Water Tower, watercolor 14 x 10

This was John's new property (at the time) up the hill.  I think the view is looking north, northwest, something like that?  Where "town" and Bailey's was down the hill below the water tower ...?

Odessa Files, Part 3

This Beer's for Dick watercolor, 14 x 10

Another old painting, previously posted, of another woodcarving friend.  So now I'm only 2 days behind, and will post new stuff -- but going to try to stick to the Odessa photos.

Odessa Files, Part 2

John at the Diner  watercolor 14 x 10

Pretty sure I posted this one a few years ago.  I know it was painted back in 2009 or earlier, as I don't paint quite the same way these days.  But in the interests of keeping a theme going here, and because painting anything new on T-W-TH is not likely to happen due to my schedule, I'll be posting a few other paintings done from "The Odessa Files" -- good times, good memories of carving times.

The Sculptor

The Sculptor  watercolor  10 x 13

Pulled some photos out randomly, and came up with the Odessa woodcarving bunch.  This is our fearless leader, carver of stone and wood and nasty smelling plasticine.   I believe this was the model for the eventual bronze statue of bricklayers, commissioned by the city of Carver.  Let's see if wife Paula notices this is him when it's posted to FB....