I was looking for a photo on my phone and came across a group of photos from Spain that stopped me in my tracks and made me say 'duh'. Time created some distance from some ideas I had out there and it was nice to see them again. They reminded me of a few projects I still want to try out. I had all day to play with materials and just have fun experimenting while working out there. I had not looked at these since I shot them and I think there's such interesting stuff happening in these photos (of course, maybe just interesting to me!). Since I've been back, I've been focusing on smaller paintings (with a focus on the 'product' not the process), moving the studio and a variety of other things. I had almost let some pretty cool ideas fade from my memory.
I had a ton of ideas there. Too many. A month was definitely not enough time to carry out all of them, but there are at least elements of these ideas that I want to use in current and future projects since there isn't an expiration date.
The juxtaposition of certain pieces together was really interesting to me. I had painted strips of paper and layered them in front of two different paintings, which gave me all kinds of ideas for dioramas and other three-dimensional work.
Using cheap roll paper, I drew and painted without a care since I didn't feel precious about this inexpensive material. I tested out lighting it from behind, thinking I would create an installation that used this idea. It is something I would still like to try. I have used a light before, but hanging rather than behind the art.
One of the first things I played around with were cut watercolor shapes I called 'gotas' (or blobs in Spanish). Each day, I made anywhere from several to ten. This ended up being included in the final exhibition which you can see here.
Here are some ideas I had for the fireplace installation I did. You can see the final installation here. The idea behind the piece evolved to be about states of static versus flow. How we can become stagnant or try to achieve a firm stance in life when it is constantly in flux and moving around us.
Whether getting caught up in a routine or having too many deadlines or goals, we can forget about concepting, sketching, playing, experimenting, making mistakes, making a mess. By working with these materials in different ways, I explored light, shadow, scale, dimension, pushing the idea of a two-dimensional painting. I was so excited while working in Spain, being inspired by a different landscape and surroundings, and I'd like to keep that going here.
I am currently working on dioramas with cut watercolor paper for a new project. I'll keep ya posted on how that goes!