This was my very first sketchbook entry in Cádiz. I already saw something different here. I was jet lagged when I drew it, but I also felt a change in the colors I was using and the abstract feel. I think the colors and lighting of the city had something to do with it.
The table on a very productive workday
There were days when I just had work everywhere: laid out on the floor, taped to the wall and covering the table. I was experimenting far more here than I had been back home.
Cut-out drawings
Amy Podmore's painter's tape legs
We had a huge rooftop to go out and work on. I didn't spend much time working there, but did take my coffee out there when I arrived each day. One of the other artists in residence, Amy Podmore, created these legs with blue painter's tape. She made one each day. It was really cool to watch this evolve. Her work is amazing.
Piles and piles of work
I literally could not stop making work while on this residency. The horizon line between the sky and sea endlessly inspired me, as well as random memories of my past. In fact, that was one of the most eye-opening aspects of being out there: being away from home and familiar circumstances causing me to revisit past experiences that I had not thought of in a long time.
The stone sketch that inspired the life-sized fireplace installation
Dioramas, collage, installations, drawings... Rewriting this post reminds me that I have a lot of unfinished ideas to pursue.
One thing I loved is how much I painted from my imagination in Cádiz. I often begin a drawing with either a photograph or life reference. The above painting was inspired by the forts I made as a kid, but from my imagination.
This is one of my diorama ideas that I got really excite about while out there. I had stripes of watercolor that I cut loosely with an X-acto knife. I lay these in front of the Blanket Fort painting and really liked what was happening. I wanted the idea to relate to memory and how it becomes harder to remember the whole picture clearly.
I'm looking forward to my upcoming show at The Arsenal in February 2016. I think you'll find a lot of influence from this time period. Thanks for following along in this series! It will continue through December.