"Resonance" at House Gallery

"Wrapped," Mixed Media - Cement, Wire Mesh, Twine, Acrylic, Canvas Strip, 10x10 on Panel

I have created a series of 10x10's for my show "Resonance" to run from April 3 through April 28 at House Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah.  I adopted the use of cement from an artist on Facebook.  I thought long and hard as to how the use of cement could complement my other works for the show.  "Wrapped" is just a teaser - come see the rest of the show.  These 10x10's are my smallest pieces.  The largest is 36x48.

Lest I forget, the Artist Reception is from 6 to 9 pm, on Friday, April 20.  See you there!

Performance Painting, "Tango"

Painting live with an audience can be quite challenging.  My focus on February 17, 2012 was to finish a painting that would satisfy not only me but also the audience.  I accomplished both these goals.  When I painted "Chameleon" for South Towne Orators (see previous post), I did not finish as I had too much interaction with the audience.  At DF Dance Studio in Salt Lake City during Gallery Stroll, I had one hour in which to complete my painting; therefore, I asked the audience to hold questions and comments until the end.  I could have talked more as I painted but I was "in the zone" and focused on a finished painting.

I first drew spontaneous marks on my 36x48 canvas with charcoal, and explained that as I added paint these would bleed and that they could be covered with paint.  My purpose was to energize the canvas and to have something to look at other than a white-painted canvas.  I then applied acrylic cobalt blue paint with my gloved hands.  I used all the blues I had in addition to the cobalt: cerulean, light blue, ultramarine, phthalo, also dioxazine purple, red and white.  Blue is my favorite color followed by yellow.  I did not want to use yellow as combined with blue would create green which would dominate the painting.  I also used a tempera blue.  I use water and various tools to create textures and interest.  

After taking comments and questions, as a finale I squeezed sweeping lines of white and blue from their tubes (one fan called this     my signature)...    I titled the painting "Tango," afterall we wer at DF       Dance Studio...  Watch for the video.

Chameleon

At a weekly Toast- masters meeting, I painted a live, action per- formance painting and gave a pre- sentation along with it.  Because there was so much audience interaction, I was unable to finish.  I started with a white canvas, 36x36 on which I drew some haphazard lines with charcoal.  I concluded with the painting you see here.

I felt the painting was unfinished and I was unsatisfied with it.  I therefore brought it to my home studio and proceeded to lighten it.  If you look closely you may be able to see the charcoal lines beneath the paint.  I tried to preserve some of the elements of the painting.  See the blue on the left and the yellow shape on the right.

I further lightened the painting by scraping and wiping and using several techniques.  Note the blue on the left and the yellow shape on the right.  Finally, as you'll see in the next image, I had to give them up.

I had scraped back quite a bit of paint which was a dark brown due to all the pigments mixed together.  I then used this brown to highlight some of the charcoal lines underneath the paint.  I then painted within the confines of these lines.

Tada!  The finished painting became a chameleon as it went through several changes.  Note that I used scraping, dripping, and texturing to create....


Chameleon, Oil, 36x36.

Watch for the video to follow sometime next week.

www.JerryHardestyFineArt.com

Take 5

Take 5, Oil, 36x36.




I have been asked to paint live...  a performance, action piece.  At first, I was somewhat reluctant as I've previously never done this.  I then thought I needed to see others paint live.  I watched an LA artist friend, Vera Aruntyunyan and became enthralled.  I then went on to Youtube and watched other performance painters.

I began to practice in the studio without an audience.  I next wanted a small audience and drafted a group of some artist friends.  There were five of them.  I took approximately an hour to create the painting posted here and named it "Take 5" in their honor.

I painted with my hands (using latex gloves for protection).  As I talked about what I was doing, we shared back and forth.  Occasionally, I asked the group for suggestions... color choices primarily.  Their involvement added to the excitement.

Now, I am still getting prepared for the big performance on March 3.  I would like to do one for a non-artist group.  In the meantime, I do feel more prepared than before and I will continue to practice with or without an audience.  I need to videotape a performance; however, don't have a video camera.

"Language of Abstraction"

Art at the Main Gallery in Salt Lake City is sponsoring my show, "Language of Abstraction," through June 11, 2011. An artist reception was held Friday evening, May 20. It seemed like a party to me. There was a steady flow of viewers from 6 to 9 p.m. The evening flew... and I wasn't ready to close. My wonderful wife, baked some goodies and provided veggies and fruits for attendees. My good friend Keith Callister sang and accompanied himself on guitar. Many other friends also lent their support and encouragement. Most patrons, however, were gallery strollers. Whichever category that fits you, thank you for coming.

If you were among those not attending the reception, you may still view the show through June 11.

My painting "Crescendo to Rage" (pictured above) garnered the most attention. A number of viewers asked about it's creation and the story behind this painting. The painting is covering a failed painting. The original work included sand and gold leaf. I allowed some of the gold leaf to show through and the sand help create a wonderful texture.

Now the rest of the story, as the saying goes. In 2008, my sister (my only sibling) died of lung cancer. She was only 67, way too young. I was very upset and miss her terribly. Last September my Mother died from Alzheimer's. I could not accept the fact that my sister died before Mom... not that I wanted Mom to die, I didn't. Her disease prevented her from having any quality of life however. I was pretty angry. Furthermore, at Mom's funeral the preacher called her by another person's name - not once, not once, but twice. This further fueled my rage. I therefore, came home and took out my rage on this canvas, hence "Crescendo to Rage."

I painted "Circles" for Salt City Artists' League. The League's mission is to bring the arts together and to develop and provide more venues for artists. The League has sponsored an arts festival during the first three week-ends in August at Library Square in downtown Salt Lake City. Plywood sheets painted white, size 48x48, were provided. The League provided some latex paints.

I painted the substrate an acrylic green and began spray painting circles.

I continued to add more circles

Once I had enough circles, I then added lines.

More lines.

Artist with the finished painting.

Finished at last.

Evolution of a Painting

Desiderata, 50x40x1.5 inches, Mixed Media

After first stretching the canvas, I painted it black. I then created quadrangles in the upper left and lower right corners - the one in the lower right is still somewhat visible.

In the upper left quadrangle I painted a round white circle to represent the face of an unnamed person. I then painted the five red squares on the right (I like geometric shapes).

All of this was being accomplished in Studio Window, an annex to Art at the Main Gallery in Salt Lake City, Utah. I was spontaneously adding white and blue acrylic paint to the canvas when a young lady entered to watch this process. The public is able to watch and interact with artists in Studio Window. Unfortunately, I did not get her name so I will call her Tatted Girl. Tatted Girl suggested the face in the quadrangle in the upper left should fade away down through the canvas, and further suggested to entitle the painting "Fade." I noticed that she had several lines from the poem, "Desiderata" tattooed on her right forearm; I therefore, suggested that I might title it "Desiderata" in her honor. She stated that those lines on her arm helped keep her balanced.

Later that day, I took the painting home to finish it there. I did some internet research on the poem and not only decided to call the painting "Desiderata," but also to place the title in the painting. Since I am not proficient in free-hand lettering, I used a stencil.

I then painted one of the squares a solid red to add more interest - I chose the fourth square down to draw the viewer's attention in that direction. I then added three handprints - one at the top which I subsequently painted out, a blue one to represent Tatted Girl reaching for her desiderata, and a white one grasping the side of the canvas to represent Tatted Girl hanging on to former values. I painted over the white face to represent Tatted Girl.

I love lines and added lines over lines over lines, seven inches in length. These lines are in an early layer of the painting and not all visible in the finished painting. Viewers may have to get close to see them. At some point I added the outline of the Gothic cathedral. The white area above cathedral appeared in an early layer of the painting and I chose to preserve it.

I returned to Tatted Girl's face in the upper left quadrangle as it didn't appear to be a part of the painting. I placed a mask on her face, but it didn't tone it down enough, so I applied red tissue paper over the face. She still peaked through, so I added red and blue paint over the tissue paper.

I then added thick paint with a palette knife to random areas. I repainted the red square to create a more impasto effect.

After each of these steps, I added more and more lines and more and more layers of paint. At some point during the process, I learned of a New York City artist who mixes acrylic paints with water and future acrylic shine floor wax. I adopted this technique and used it throughout the painting. My next to the last step was the addition of more lines of various thicknesses and lengths. I should also mention that in some areas before the paint dried, I sprayed it with water to create the drip effect all the way down the canvas, especially under Tatted Girl's face thereby creating the fading effect of her face.

My final step was to place the metal cross atop the Gothic cathedral.

I hope you enjoy this explanation and appreciate my process and "Desiderata."