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This web page will show the stages and ideas as I create an art project.
This is a sculptured painting, an oil painting done on a sculptured surface.
I am starting out with a plaster filled box which I will then carve out a 'flat' sculpture. After the carving is done, I will make a mold of it and make a positive mold out of fiberglass. Originally I was going to paint directly over the plaster, but it was heavy even after it dried, and if it was dropped after the painting was done, it would shatter. Making a fiberglass mold of it will keep the integrity of my sculpture as well as make it lighter and more durable.
After the mold is made, I will apply Gesso to the surface and start the oil painting. When it is all done it will be framed.
My painting 'theory' for doing all of this is to create a multi-dimensional art work that will add depth and varying angles to the oil painting. The sculpted part will have some of my ideas carved into it, which may or may not correlate with the oil painting overlay, but the two mediums will hide as well as expose the creative ideas and philosophies.(Oct 21. 04)
The Hidden Idea
When I say I would hide an idea in a painting, it's really more like hiding it in plain sight. This is exemplified by Salvador Dali, where he creates a double image, first you see what looks like a natural formation, then your view shifts and it turns into a face. When an idea is hidden in a painting, it should be done in such a way that it will eventually be found, otherwise it turns into a messy, abstract painting in which only the artist knows what's in it (some of them don't). Putting in an idea to view that can be found creates more of an interaction with the viewer, a sense of discovery. (Oct 22)
Preliminary carving started. Oct. 15, 2004
Oct. 25, 2004
Nov. 21 2004 Click for larger image
In almost all of my paintings I have an eye or eyes in them. This symbolizes the awareness of awareness unit, or the soul, which is exterior to the body and the Universe and sees all. This also ties in with the Eye of Ra, the egyptian protection symbol. This is my painting mascot:) In the carving, on the lower left side, is a small breast, when it is painted however it will look like an eye. So on one hand the sculpture says one thing, and then the painting over it will say something else, but the two go hand in hand in telling a story or eliciting a memory of a story. (Oct. 25)
The final sculpture is starting to take shape. Images and ideas are starting to come out that were not there in my initial outline but follows the general motif, theme of the painting. When I was sculpting in high school in new york city, I did a piece which won a city-wide award and was featured at a small gallery. That was the first time I noticed that when I carved the idea that I wanted to create seemed to be embedded in the plaster and was of a slightly harder substance, so that all I had to do was chip away at the softer plaster to reveal the art piece, the same thing is happening with this piece. (Nov. 27)
Nov. 27, 2004 Click for larger image
Observations on the value of Original Art
How does one place value on art? Is digital art better than hand created art? I have worked with Photoshop and Bryce and also seen very beautiful, detailed art created on computer art programs. You can't beat them for clarity and precision of imagery. But it only takes one trip to an art museum or a gallery to see the difference.
In an oil painting one can see the strokes the artist used, sense the thickness of the paint and even the irregularities add to the art piece. But even more important..an artist's ideas and creative energy become part of the art work, I mean the actual aesthetic thought is now part of it which can then be sensed by the viewer. An example of this is in music, listening to a recording is one thing but when one hears the singer live you can feel the emotional impact much stronger along with the beingness of the artist. So it is with visual art. A print of a $10 million oil painting can be had for about 10 bucks, for no matter how good the print is, it is still only a piece of glossy paper.
The medium of digital art is very ephemeral, it exists only on a disk or screen or if printed, on paper and ultimately is made up of pixels. Not to undermine the beauty of digital art, but to emphasize the differences.
The negative mold came out ok. I was worried because I had to do this in my garage which was quite cold and it could have affected the resin setting properly, but it turned out ok. This was a 'destructive mold' because the original plaster was going to be destroyed as the fiberglass was removed. Interestingly enough one part of the plaster mold came out intact, which was the woman figure. I'm going to clean that up and mount it on a wooden board.
Dec. 6, 2004
Final plaster stage before fiberglass mold. Image
Nov. 28, 2004
The fiberglass negative mold. Dec. 6.