Process, Ideas and Experimentation

I'm working on a new series for the Gallery Artspace Anna Maria here on the beautiful Anna Maria Island. They have and amazing location right by the water and I'm just really excited for it! It's gonna be on August 11 - 24 and the title will be Abstract Expressions and I'll be posting process and all that through my Facebook.

For these pieces I really wanted to fuse my drawing style with some of the abstract style I use for my experimental paintings. The experimental abstract paintings are great creative release for me, because I just play around with colors, splatters and just try and stretch my wings a little.

But they're missing a big part that would really elevate them into being a final piece. For this series I decided to tackle that.

 This was my first attempt. I started with some strong reference and a very clear idea and I set forth to paint it. This was my first mistake because I am more of a draftsman than a painter, and especially for an experimental process like this, it was a bit of a risk having so much of the piece riding on those skills.

I don't dislike the piece, I learned a lot from it, and there is a process and a technique that can be developed there later on. But it wasn't what I was looking for for this series.

So I started over with my same idea and my same reference. Then it hit me "Why am I not drawing?". I've been seeing a lot of street art lately and I'd always been interested in wheat-pasting but I never had an oppurtunity to really use it. 

Except for now.

And just like that I found a fun way to fuse my ink work with my abstract work. There's still a lot more experimentation and fine tuning that will go into it. What you see will probably be the half way point before the final.

The main thing is I have a lot more room to play around and experiment, because the underlying artwork is already there. As long as I let that shine through and just focus on blending the styles, I'll be able to have as much fun as I want with it.

Remember, this is just a teaser. Feature presentation won't be out till August 11!