Short term studio objectives. (2-7 weeks- midterm group critique)
1. Explore Contemporary Abstract Painting, with the formal elements and landscape as the subject matter.
2. Create a series of small studies to determine direction of larger pieces.
3. Paint six large paintings
4.Work on mark making, texture and composition.
Action plan:
1. Set up studio furniture, and studio schedule of 20 hours per week.
2. Check out botanical garden on campus. Take photographs, word banks, and start sketches.
3. Get books from Henderson Library.
4. Get my key for the studio.
Research:
1. Ask M. Mitchell about Kitch, read about it.
2. Research Contemporary / Abstract landscape painters.
3. Create my own research by mindmapping with words that describe why I paint.
4. Learn how to blog with others, and research tutorials for new laptop.
Long-term studio objectives (7-15 weeks-final group critique)
1. Explore and work on subject and context.
2. Work on verbalizing and writing about my art work.
3. Start a series of small paintings to move toward abstracting the landscape.
Action plan:
1. Continue sketchbook-journal of ideas for subject and context.
2. Continue logging time spent in and out of the studio to keep focus and motivation.
3. Create a series of small studies and complete six more large paintings.
Research:
1. Photograph and document artwork to check on progress and growth.
2. Continue blogging with classmates / professors to get feedback on direction on body of work.
3. Continue learning technology as it relates to artwork and research of art.
Wonderful Start. I'm super excited to see this all come together!!
ReplyDeleteJANET SUAREZ ‘S ISPO UP-DATE, September 27, 2011
ReplyDeleteI have been researching several artists. One is Pia Fries. She is a painter with a fluid expressive style. Her paintings are colorful, light and airy. She leaves the canvas white and uses shapes, textures, and color to create these microscopic looking works of art. Nature is her subject abstracted into these lyrical topographies. She uses thin washes of paint creating this fluid, free-form shape, and adds thicker paint to move the viewer around the canvas. As much as I like her colorful paintings, I am especially drawn to another artist, Richard Diebenkorn. Scott loaned me his Richard Diebenkorn book, and I have spent several hours researching his thought processes and influences. I especially like his Berkley series which shows his absorption of the New York Abstract Expressionism. Expressing his environment of the west coast and New Mexico, he paints with warm colors. He paints these beautiful flat planes of color that tumble across the canvas, using bold expressive brushwork. He fills the canvas from edge to edge. Diebenkorn’s style changed every time he moved. He was painting the abstracted landscape, but his shapes, and colors were taken from his current environment. As he traveled and flew he was influenced by the aerial perspectives from the higher elevations of a small plane. This high vantage is something I have always been fascinated with. I think because it allows me to stack the shapes vertically on top of each other instead of receding into the canvas. In the past I have climbed on top of my SUV to get a better angle to photograph the marshes, or I have captured some shots down low in the kayak to create the horizontal bands of color. Some new goals for my ISPO are to back up and include some figurative elements into my work to gather more information to move forward in these abstract landscapes. I am going to focus on simplifying, and stacking the bands of color up the canvas. This week I have some new oil pastels and charcoal to add some linear elements too. Strong expressive brushwork is on the menu this week. Small studies are helping me to move forward with determining how the body of work will proceed.
JANET’S ISPO FOR WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 5, 2011
ReplyDeleteThis is an insert for the week of September 5th, 2011
This week I have started researching a number of artists, Abstract Expressionist, Color-field painters, Lyrical Abstraction painters. Hans Hoffman was considered an American Abstract Expressionist painter. His work is concerned with spatial illusion, pictorial structure, and color relationships. I remember seeing one of his paintings back at Santa Fe College and thought it was beautiful! That was a very long time ago. I am also looking at Matisse, Gauguin, and Bonnard for their expressive use of color. I met with Pat this week, she said we should be researching and exploring different artists and different ways of painting at this time. After looking at some the artists above, I still need more research. Elsie suggested Soutine, a painter and colorist. Both teachers suggested more juicy brushwork. Wow, what a difference! Time to revisit my ideas on format; let the imagery dictate the format. Both Pat and Elsie suggested Diebenkorn and an unusual view of the landscape. Maybe lose the horizon line? I will check him out this week. I’m still working on the key and furniture to the studio!!! I want to finish setting up the studio space.
JANET’S ISPO UPDATE FOR THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 3RD, 2011
ReplyDeleteWe have our keys and furniture yeah!! Ok now down to business. What is my painting about? Is it the landscape or is it really about the formal elements and painting? Maybe I hold onto the landscape because I don’t know how to paint abstract? I know it is not about the figure or still life. I have started some abstracts. I feel free, but lost. I am moving into uncharted territory. I am not sure where I am going. Pat said to bring up my darks a little. The darkest values do not have the nice variety that my middle and light values have. I am going to rework the New York abstract painting and lighten it some. I have been looking at unusual views, such as satellite views of New York. The New York abstract was just a jumping off for my abstracted landscape. I am still trying to figure out where I am going, looking for my direction. I am now trying to paint over two of my representational paintings, the above water / below water painting by interrupting the surface. The other painting is the unusual view from the cruise ship where the earth seemed to curve. I just could not get it to work so I abstracted and collaged over it. I like it better, but still not resolved? I started another abstracted landscape. I really liked where it was going, but trying real hard not get attached to any one part of it. Then I felt like a kept painting it until I lost most of what I liked. I am feeling very frustrated because I am not sure what I am doing? We had our first faculty critique. I think they were confused because I don’t know what I am trying to say. They are right, but it was interesting to see and listen to what others see in my work.
JANET’S ISPO UPDATE FOR WEEK OF OCTOBER 17TH, 2011
ReplyDeleteI think I am going to work on a series of studies. Using a square format, I am going to use maps to work on some small studies to explore abstraction, composition, value and especially my mark making. What if I use the same size and format for each painting then combine them to form an interesting piece as a whole? I like the three little studies. The composition shapes and especially the marks are interesting. Now I would like to add back some color. Maybe if I add a limited amount of colors I can make it work. I reworked the two large paintings. “Don’s Palm Island” and the “Vickery Creek Waterfall”. I want to see if I can combine the representational and the abstraction or interruption of the surface. I am not sure I can combine them and make it work. Both Pat and Elsie suggested the repetition of shapes, colors, and marks. I like it but it still does not look like it belongs together. Both teachers also said I need to repaint the representational parts or they won’t go together. The vickery Creek painting worked a little better. Elsie said the interruption can be textural, such as the thickness of paint, or awkward placement of a shape. Pat does not think the representational and abstract can be combined effectively. Even if I could do it she says the viewer will not know how to see it. Does the artist know how to paint? She said the viewer can accept representational or abstract but would be confused by my trying to combine the two. I see what she is saying. I have not looked at it from the viewer’s side and how they interpret my art. I am still going to try. I have to admit I cannot find many artists who have managed to do this.
JANET SUAREZ ISPO WEEK OF NOVEMBER 1ST
ReplyDeleteI have decided to revise my ISPO. Six large paintings are not realistic or are they the most important part of my experience here at GSU. My most important goal right now is to research and explore Contemporary Abstract painting. Finding my artistic inner voice as it applies to content and context are my main goals at this time. I do enjoy painting large, but I will grow and learn more if I move between a variety of sizes as needed. My focus the last week or so has been on re-working the two large paintings. I am trying to incorporate or interrupt the surface or the illusion of space in the paintings. I need to focus on the large shapes first and solve the value structure. Then I need to repaint the old shapes and colors to continue to move forward with the paintings. Maybe I should photograph it? I worked on some sketches instead in my studio book. It looked like it would work. It’s harder than I thought! I will go back to it when it dries some more. I want to be able to draw into it. I tried to draw into another painting when it was wet, and could not seem to get the marks that I was trying to get. I need to research other tools for drawing onto wet paintings. If I apply thicker paint, then I can carve out marks to reveal another color underneath while the paint is wet. The Vickery Creek painting is working a little better. Elsie said that interruption can be a textural, thickness of paint. Interruption can be contrast or just awkward. It could need balance of space, by using juicy thicker paint I might be able to achieve the balance that I need. Fix the signature. I will make a game of hiding my signature in the piece. Elsie said to check out the Highway men. Pat and I talked about teaching on the college level. We discussed some electives I may want to look at. Eric Nelsen teaches a creative writing course. A creative writing course would help me with writing about my art. I talked to Kate and Amy about his course. They liked him and said he was a good teacher. Unfortunately he is not teaching one this spring. Maybe I will see if I can audit the class later.
JANET SUAREZ ISPO WEEK OF NOVEMBER 14th
ReplyDeleteI’m still exploring Contemporary artists and working on abstracting the landscape. Currently I am working with the subject matter and especially the context. I started with this idea in my paintings. This window into my memories, I see this square shape as a window to images of another place and time from my memories. Can I visually weave the two together and make it work? I don’t know if I can? Pat said if it is too realistic people will naturally look for images, and they will not know how to respond to it. Maybe the paintings would work if images were just suggested, not so literal. I like a sense of mystery. Matisse’s Red Room and Gerhard Richter were suggested to research. Most of Gerhard Richter’s work combines both illusionistic space that seems natural and the physical activity and material of painting – as mutual interferences. For Richter, reality is the combination of new attempts to understand or to represent / paint the world around him. His abstract paintings often act like windows through which we see the landscape outside. As in his representational paintings there is an equalization illusion and paint. He elevates spontaneous, intuitive mark- making to a level of spatial logic and believability. Janet Fish was also suggested because she paints reflective objects to explore the patterns she sees in them, not because the still-life is beautiful, but because the patterns they create are beautiful. I need to work on integrating the window with the rest of the painting by repeating colors, shapes, and use of marks to create unity within the paintings. I have been writing and working on talking about my work. We have been working on an Artist Talk in Mitchell’s class. I am so glad that the other classes relate right back into the studio and my work. I just think it helps the whole learning experience, and is one of my long term goals.
JANET’S ISPO UPDATE FOR WEEK OF NOV.28TH, 2011
ReplyDeleteMy goal this next two weeks is to work on resolving the large representational and abstract paintings that have not been resolved and finished. I have tried several times unsuccessfully. I am either going to integrate them or ruin them. I have decided that photographing my painting in stages may help to document the progress and direction of my work. The compositions are somewhat fragmented in my abstracts. I have backed up and researched some abstract painters to look at and learn from their compositions. This week I also have worked on the tonal value in my paintings to help strengthen the compositions. Limiting my colors was also suggested by two of our visiting artists, John Daly and Tom Nakashima. Elsie and I had a very good discussion today. We were discussing what was missing in my abstract paintings. The beautiful luminous light and shadows that are present in my representational paintings are missing in my abstract art. I will make a conscious effort to work on the luminous quality that really works in my representation art. Elsie also suggested trying linear perspective and repetition of shapes of demensing size to manipulate the space in my abstracts. Shadows are another element I have not tried in the abstract pieces. These are some great suggestions for manipulating the spatial illusion in these paintings. Elsie suggested painting the experience, and it can be replicated in the act of painting the warmth and light. I need to ask her to clarify this again. I’m a little fuzzy on how I might accomplish this? How do I paint this fleeting light and moment in time that continually changes? I have some great direction for my work, but I am running out of time. I reworked the small red abstract for a third time. It’s oil and I need to let it dry before I can finish it. So I broke out my pastels to work through my visual thoughts on composition in abstracting the landscape. I was really trying to capture that luminous quality and strengthen the composition as well. I think this has been a good start in the researching, and exploring of Contemporary Art. Through the visiting artists, the many critiques, my reading and research I have learned more than I could have ever imagined. I will make notes to myself where I left off on my thoughts to facilitate finding my direction when I return.
Janet's ISPO for 2D Graduate Studio Spring 2012
ReplyDeleteShort term studio objectives. (2-7 weeks- midterm group critique)
1. Continue to explore Contemporary Abstract Painting. Continue exploring the interruption of space and abstracting the landscape.
2. Create a series of small studies to determine direction of larger pieces.
3. Paint two large paintings.
4. Work on layering, mark making, texture and composition.
5. Learn printmaking techniques as it applies to my painting.
Action plan:
1. Set up studio furniture, and studio schedule of 20 hours per week.
2. Continue to log hours in the studio to maximize time.
3. Continue sketchbook-journal of ideas for subject and context.
4. Start series with a few studies and document as my work progresses.
Research:
1. Ask M. Mitchell about book on John Walker, read about it.
2. Research Contemporary / Abstract landscape painters.
3. Create my own research by mind-mapping with words that describe why I paint.
4. Research printmaking techniques and Artist.
Long-term studio objectives (7-15 weeks-final group critique)
1. Explore and work on subject and context.
2. Work on verbalizing and writing about my art work.
3. Explore different types of printmaking as it relates to my work.
4. Find my artistic voice and direction.
Action plan:
1. Explore both camps of thought with my work.
2. Continue logging time spent in and out of the studio to keep focus and motivation.
3. Create a series of small studies and complete four large paintings.
4. Check out botanical garden on campus. Abstract on location.
Research:
1. Photograph and document artwork to check on progress and growth.
2. Continue blogging with classmates / professors to get feedback on direction on body of work.
3. Continue learning technology as it relates to artwork and research of art.