excerpt from an interview with Richard Colman

from Juxtapoz Magazine online

CRG: I know that you use Islamic patterning as a reference in your work, and I also noticed that all or most of the faces are hidden/ obscured. I found that pretty interesting because in the Islamic religion, they are not allowed in their artwork to depict the human form. Is there a significance to this Islamic idea of not depicting faces?

RC: I don't really reference Islamic patterning directly, I think it's more that I just build my patterns in the same sort of way. I like figuring out ways to build the different patterns, there is a sort of math to it all that I find interesting. Working out the patterns and actually the whole painting is this process of sort of making and solving a puzzle all at once. I like that.
The faces and other things which are obscured or hidden just comes from wanting to hide things and have secrets in my paintings. I like the idea that you can never really know what's going on and that you can continually find new things in them.

CRG: Second part of that question, also related to Islamic patterning, their use of patterns derived from nature represents the most perfect depiction of the presence of their god. In other religions, in particular the Mandalas that occur in a number of different cultures, they use pattern and repetition as a way to meditate on the presence of some greater power. What are your thoughts on this?

RC: I think working in this way can be very meditative. A lot of times I'll be working and before I know it the whole day has gone by. It's very easy to zone out and lose yourself in this kind of work. As far as reflecting on, or communing with any sort of higher power, I don't know—but I'm not really looking to do that. I just kind of daydream or think about whatever, but I guess if I were real into God, I'd think about that.

ART CHICAGO

art chicago

artists of note:

William Steiger, The Blue Mill - 60 x 48

oil on canvas

Tom Wesselmann, Bedroom Painting # 23 - 99.8 x 110.5

oil on shaped canvas

Cordy Reyman, 193 Stairs - 82 x 121 x 2

Acrylic on wood

Erika Lawlor Schmidt, Overwhelming Compassion (Meanwhile, The Arctic Melts), 30 x 40

Collage and Acrylic on Reeves B.F.K.

Adam Scott, Electric Koolaid Acid Punch - 46 x 46

Acrylic on canvas

Nichole Stager, Bracket - 4 x 4

Chromogenic photogram and resin, mixed media.

Ted Larsen, State of Play - 35 x 32

Peter Skvara, Asteroid #4

Michael Burges, Reverse Glass Painting - 23.6 x 16.5

Acrylic, Plexiglass, Aluminum

galleries of note:

eo art lab

verve gallery

rebecca ibel

skestos gabriele

tory folliard gallery

riverhouse van straaten

rebecca hossack art gallery

jill george gallery

roy boyd gallery

lausberg contemporary

zane bennett contemporary art

jim kempner fine art

kavi gupta

hungry man gallery

like the spice gallery

steven zevitas gallery

pele prints

IFPDA

back to work on wednesday

Craig

24" x 40", oil on canvas

This is what I've been working on for a semi-short while this winter break. I decided against doing pretty much everything else, mostly because I over-obligated myself to myself and others, hah (this is the story of my life). This painting isn't nearly finished at all. I'm at the point where I'm not sure what to do next because I never work representationally and I'm not very good at that style of painting haha. It'd be nice if I could work loosely. I know how I ended up here, I sort of know where I want to go, I just have to get there; however, I'm waiting for the semester to begin again first, so that I can get some opinions from peers/academia (or, simply anyone/everyone).

Today my brother and I went to Turkey Run State Park in Parke County IN because at some point I'd like to do something, whether it's drawings, prints, large paper cutouts, or paintings, based off of ice on rock. I've never been to Turkey Run during the winter, but I'm glad I went despite there only being a high temperature today of 10 degrees. I'm especially glad that my brother likes to hang out with me and went along. Had he not, I'm not sure if I would have been as adventurous, nor do I think I would have enjoyed myself so much. I got some pretty nice photos in the process.

i've been productive lately

Give me all the abstracted landscapes...

My favorite part about Jane Lewis' paintings is the intentional and sparing use expressive color, paired with various grays, and lowly saturated tones. I'm also very fond of the gestural brushwork.
JANE LEWIS

"Beach I," Oil on canvas, 31.5 in x 31.5 in.

more

I've been reading/watching tutorials on quilting and it makes me want to quilt one of the microtexture compositions. It would be challenging, but naturally I'd be pumped about it. Over winter break my main project is to cleaning up the sides of the round paintings and get them to a point where they'll be ready to hang. I will be entering them into the student show in January. Too bad they wont be varnished by then :(

This guy = inspiration:

IAN HUNDLEY

Apparently, about a year ago, there was a fiber arts exhibition at ISU which he was a part of. I missed it, ugh.

Mike Glier

April 27, 2008: Wall St, New York, New York, 59°F

MIKE GLIER - ALONG A LINE

a series of paintings he did from four regions which fall on either side of 74°00W line of longitude.

How inspiring.

Sean McNulty; fractals

SEAN MCNULTY - EXTRA LARGE PAINTINGS

This guy does some really interesting work.

These abstract lanscapes that McNulty paints look like aerial images to me, and that's probably what they are inspired by if I had to guess. Sure, I certainly find aerial images to be interesting as well, but really only in their relation to microscopic rock textures. A lot of it has to do with the fact that it reminds me of fractals - no matter how far or close you are zoomed in or out, the image is seems to be repeated. It looks so similar that it seems uncanny. Last year, Vincent and I watched this video from the library about fractals and it nearly blew my mind. Goddamn, I love science. Learning about the repetition in coastlines really tied some things together inside my brain. I mean, of course I find everything to be significant haha.

This is a simplified explanation of what I've mentioned poorly:
APPLICATIONS OF FRACTALS

I wish I were prolific like this guy:

RUI SOUSA
I think I like this dude's style because it reminds me of how I draw humans when they come from my imagination. Perhaps this guy and I physically look similar to one another. Well, I just think he's a badass, that's all. Check it.

ANNE STAHL

Lately I've been looking at a lot of different artists, mostly contemporary artists, just to see what people are doing and are interested in. More so though, and in particular, I've been looking for artists whose work is similar, or maybe runs parallel to my own work. Most of what I've been looking at lately have been abstract paintings - specifically, paintings that artists are considering to be abstracted landscapes.

FRACTAL by ANNE STAHL

Of course fractals are interesting! I think that's why people are making paintings inspired by aerial images. These paintings she did were made nearly 10 years ago.

Good stuff.

BEAUTIFUL!

A Phytoplankton Bloom off Namibia

Satellite Images of Marine Phytoplankton Blooms

Yep, when I was a little kid, one thing I obsessed over was collecting rocks. I wanted to be a scientist of sorts (geologist or biologist). I still swear that if I could focus the left part of my brain a little better, I'd conduct scientific research. Alas, I can only truly stay focused on art related activities, therefore, I just make friends with scientists (they're the best company for me, anyway). Geology, in specific, is so inspiring.

A mystery person fixed my bike chain! Hmm, was it you?

ALEX EBEN MEYER

illustrations, sketches, sketch blog - good stuff.

I'm thinking about doing still lifes again in advanced painting. Still lifes are fun because I'm a control freak. I want to find things in dumpsters and in junk yards. I want to paint interiors and exteriors, lamps, couches, ceiling fans, etc. If I felt like collaging on depicted lampshades, or on the sides of painted buildings, then I would do that too.

a couple links

MEDIA BOOKMARKING

inspiration

COLOUR LOVERS

palettes and patterns (you can find me @ ugly_mouth)

scc106 is silent; this keyboard is noisy.

Ingrid Calame, Image: #297

I'd rather be painting right now. But soon, I will.

Sara took me to the IMA and it was a great time. We also toured the lily house and the lily garden, of which were both beautiful and interesting. The European design since 1985 exhibit was awesome. Looking at the art was inspirational, especially the layered drawing by Ingrid Calame, who I realize now makes images which are somewhat similar (yet completely different) to what I've been doing.

In the Giovanni Bellini and European Renaissance area of the museum they had a display that explained the different pigments which artists of that time would have used, how they would have used them, and also what they would have used as a means of application (i.e. brushes, quills). I came to the conclusion that painting is such an organic activity. I mean, I don't know how significant it may be to someone else because, yes, all kinds of things are that way - you know, of course the earth (and the universe) gives us everything that we need to make other things, do other things, survive in his sort of existence, haha... tangent.

Anyway, regardless of that, I thought about how there are plants and minerals that give us pigments; minerals are made up of elements; many raw pigments anymore are synthetically made in a lab by chemists. Then I came further to the conclusion that I'm very much inspired by science. Science is art?

For example, titanium white : TiO2 (titanium, oxygen), viridian green : Cr2O3 (chromium, oxygen), ultramarine blue : Na8Al6Si6O24S2 (sodium, aluminum, silicon, oxygen, sulfur) - Vincent would probably understand more about this than than I would, and about some of the processes which create these pigments. Reading about that sort of thing doesn't make it appear that difficult, but I think and just know it is, or has to be, because I don't remember much chemistry from high school. Thus, what exactly cadmium nitrate and sodium sulfide are without looking it up, I'm not completely sure (creates cadmium yellow). I'm not aware of technicalities, or potential dangers. Though, I'm not saying that I couldn't learn these kind of things if I really wanted to make my own pigments. It would make sense to me to hear of someone acquiring a BFA with minors in art history and chemistry. If I were a serious artist, looking to make a living off of art, this is what I would have done, it's too late now. Really, I think its just all incredibly interesting. Being an artist though, and thinking about this makes me think - man, thank you scientists.

Cobalt Violet

In class I've been working with acrylic paint. I've been painting on large sheets of paper and cutting up the pieces to create a new image. Today I seriously almost cut part of my thumb off doing this, and a little blood was involved. Anyway, this work is non-objective; it's just expressive and looks cool. Acrylic is wonderful for the things that it does that oil does not. I like the graphic quality in which one can obtain with acrylic paint. I think I want to work with oil, acrylic, watercolor and gouache in the fall and spring.

a distraction

Paul Cézanne, Great Pine, 1892-96

This is one of my favorite Cézanne paintings mostly because I appreciate the depth that is created by using and balancing warm, neutral and cool colors. This is a great example of Cézanne's mastery over color because as can be seen here, this balance causes the great pine to nearly pop out of the painting as it stands up against a periwinkle sky. I feel like I can walk back into those deep green, almost black shadows in the shrubbery and smaller trees.

Right now I wish I were painting or out on the bicycle... oh but soon enough, soon enough. Right now I'm working on an art history paper for my Italian Renaissance class.

precisionism

Ralston Crawford, Vertical Building, 1934
It kind of reminds me of how the world might have looked if i were my Grandpa Groff.

I decided today that I can't wait to start painting again - I mean intensively painting again.

under the microscope

Polarized Light Digital Image Gallery
A.K.A. the coolest thing I've ever stumbled upon.

good quote

Henri Matisse, Self-Portrait in a Striped Shirt, 1906

Matisse believed that color harmony should be directed towards the same principles as those governing music: "I cannot copy nature in a servile way", he wrote. "I must interpret nature and submit it to the spirit of the picture. When I have found the relationship of all the tones, the result must be a living harmony of tones, a harmony not unlike that of a musical composition."