I had been in the middle of a full sized Cinefield® when my computer of six years gave up the ghost. This rendered my needed printer into an expensive paper weight. I switched to doing a painting. This is 11×14 watercolor & tan paper.
“Maggie” 11×14
errata thought on the elderly: In media & especially television, a shorthand for “old people” they often will reference big band music (usually Duke Ellington or Benny Goodman). A few Rolling Stones albums just hit their 50th anniversary mark. If you do the math, an “old” person was not swinging their gal arround on the dancefloor to “Take the A Train” but rather Hendrix’s electro lament for a decades turmoil & new found freedoms.
I am currently in the middle of finishing up a labor intensive full sized Cinefield®. My cover for the latest Funki Porcini album Where the Sauce is Deluxe has been as enthusiastically embraced as the album itself. I have received queries about whether the piece or prints of it are available for sale.
I am not ready to part with the original and my initial thought of prints of it made me worry of a loss of intensity, reducing down my work to becoming akin to something one would buy at IKEA et al.
I was presented with the idea of making one print only available to the public. this idea appealed to me as unlike with the current trend of NFTs, here was a work of art one could have and hold. Only doing one copy makes it so that one is not merely buying a slightly pricier, better quality poster.
Of course it would be nice for this piece to find a home but the other part of my motive for this posting is to save anyone with questions about the piece some time.
Here is all the pertinent information:
This piece was used as the album cover by Funki Porcini’s same-named album (2022).
All the images were from photos that I personally took. There was no digital magic/manipulation. I used the traditional technique of scissors & adhesive applied with a brush.
There will only be two prints of this made, one of which will remain uncirculated in my personal archives.
The technical specs are as follows:
– 24×30 inches Printed on Archival semi-matte photo paper 95 lb.
– Cold press mounted and Custom Framed with Museum Glass in a Black Metal Frame
Throughout my oeuvre, emotion is my ultimate goal. I want the viewer to feel something. Music is my main source of inspiration regardless of subject matter or even medium.
I have pretty big ears, never restricting myself to one genre nor era.
Although I lean towards jazz & classical I do have some categorization defying things in heavy rotation too. Things like Kruder & Dorfmeister, Kina Rao and Funki Porcini.
Funki Porcini is an absolute favorite to whom I have listened to for years. His music encapsulates various moods. In lieu of one sonic voice ever present on every album which can lead to a feeling of heard one heard them all, he offers up instead, technique which he uses to great effect to create dense dreamlike works.
My Cinefield® vary, from cityscapes to floral explosions to abstracted colors and shapes. The commonality being their density and dreamlike quality.
I now have the pleasure of one of my Cinefield® being used as a cover for the forthcoming full length album by Funki Porcini. Both share the same title. As is always the case with my Cinefield®all the images I used were from photos which I personally took. There is no digital magic, just my trusty scissors, I applied adhesive with a brush. One difference in my methodology was in only listening to a specific soundtrack comprised of a pile of albums including the new one and a few other favorite of his as I worked. The piece is 11×14 inches.
I will put up details on where the album is available once its out.
Cinefield® – Where the Sauce is Deluxe 11×14
There is a special multi-night gig associated with this going on:
We will be doing the album launch with the Laserium at commonground in Coventry, four nights 28-31st January.
Artistic evolution is my constant mantra, with emotional resonance being my goal. I achieve if not both then at least the first by constantly challenging myself. I never want people to look at my work and after seeing a few pieces feel they have seen them all. Nor do I ever want to become the “…” guy in regards to what my voice is saying via images I use to do so.
Semi recently I started mixing it up with my Cinefield® works as I had previously been doing with my drawings & paintings.
The challenge I presented to myself this time was to use only one image and one of a limited color palette.
The initial wave of Pop art was portraying common objects or scenes, things which could easily be considered lowbrow of plebeian. It was not the objects portrayed which made a work Pop art, it was an ironic emotional detachment. Someone like Wayne Thiebaud often gets lumped in with the Pop artists for his wonderful paintings of cakes and other sweets. However there is painterly intent and definite emotion involved. He is not pop
He followed in tradition which started with the impressionists of showing objects that they encountered every day. Drinks and drinkers were often used as subject matter as cafes were de facto ‘offices” for artists and dealers.
Le Buver d’Absinthe (1859) by Edouard Manet
L’Absinthe (1876/6) by Edgar Degas
Buveur d’Absinthe (1901) by Pablo Picasso
Painted Bronze (Two Ale Cans) 1964 by Jasper Johns.
It occurred to me after I started my piece that I was working, a link in a long chain of artistic tradition. I had previously done flowers, faces and cityscapes and it was the novelty of subject which initially appealed to me though, not the tradition. Before anyone accuses me of pretension, I had gotten both a bottle of good whiskey and one of Absinthe for my birthday. I tried photographing the whisky bottle first but it was just a dark brown with no color variations, I next tried the Absinthe which worked better, this being my only impetus for using it.
I took three photos, not moving the bottle but standing in front of it, besides it and behind it. As is true with all my Cinefield® work, I only used photos that I personally took, working no digital magic. I used my trusty scissors and adhesive applies with a brush.
The work is 7×10. Soundtrack György Sándor playing Batrok’s Mikrokosmos books III-IV, kini Rao (various), Sun Ra Lanquidity.
Addendum: People are still under the impression that Absinthe was illegal either because of the wormwood or the high alcohol content. Neither of which was true. Some politicians in France had major interests in certain vineyards and importers/bottling concessions. Absinthe was cheaper and lasted longer so workers turned from wine to that. The outlawing of Absinthe was first and foremost a financial consideration.
I have been a fan of the music of John Schmersal since his days in Brainiac. Each of his subsequent bands has been different, the commonality being his ability to be genre defying, throwing whatever he enjoys into the mix.
He revisits one of the bands which also features Joey Galvan (drums) and Rick Lee (samples & sounds) both of whom possess equally cool musical pedigrees.
They just released a limited edition ep Prime Time / More Dismay on Blind Rage Records which features special guest star DANNY RAY THOMPSON from Sun-Ra on baritone sax.
It is a special picture disk. I had pleasure of doing the front & back cover plus the actual image on the disc all, of which are from my CINEFIELDS®
Now twenty days past my second vaccine, I can start dealing with things which had been on hold for year plus. The vents in my studio needed flushing/servicing. Because of this, I could not do a painting nor start a CINEFIELD® which would put sheets of tiny cut out components everywhere.
I did my nightly drawing but also continued to hone my Lyra chops. This was perfect medium for my situation as it was like painting but each piece was one session after which I could put equipment away.
Studio is back up and running and i have started a new CINEFIELD®. As these are time consuming, i decided to post some more of my Lyra pieces.
A painting of a woman (or anything) is not a woman but rather a thing unto itself, offering up an emotional pay off not limited to the specific real life moment of the subject. The subject is merely the starting point. Art allows for a great myriad of feelings to come forth, more than a photo. Onion like in layers, of emotional cadence, there is also the injection of the artist’s voice to the subject. This allows a viewer to return to a piece multiple times, finding new things and creating a different narratives in their head.
Emotion should not strive to encompasses any type of perfection, the same with beauty. I always aim for a truth in my work, honesty inherently being beautiful. Emotion, even the seemingly “negative” ones appeal to me to portray for this same reason.
This is my third tan paper piece. I was very pleased with it. It is my voice, the same effect as a musician switching instruments to play a different type of song.
For all my work regardless of medium, emotion is my main goal. One way to ensure this happens is fostering a constant evolution.
I received many great responses to my last collage and it is a personal favorite. For my next one, I knew that I wanted to do something as dense but also different.
I limited my color palette which I have done before but this time i went with darker, more somber colors. There is a return to a more outright sense of narrative in this piece too. The last piece was a beautiful scene but not story. To my core I will always be a city boy and now I have created another one to visit in my daydreams.
As with all my collages, there is no digital magic worked. I utilize the old school method of scissors & adhesive applied w/brush to photos which I personally took. (new camera for photo)
“A Million Ways To Die” 11×14 (the lines visible beneath pieces don’t mean anything , they were resting on piece scrap paper w/discarded sketch)
I finally had to bite the bullet and get a real camera to photograph my work. This coincides with a greater complexity in my collages. Gone now will be the caveat accompanying images of my work;
“I just used my phone to take the photo, it gives one the gist of the work but not all the dynamics.”
Being a complete luddite, it’s going to take a little bit to become proficient with my camera. The timing of getting it worked out perfectly though as I just completed my most complex work. Ideal thing with which to try out new camera.
As is always the case, the components of the piece are from photos which I personally took. I work no digital magic on the piece, utilizing old school method of scissors & adhesive applied with brush.
I try to alternate between doing my painting and collage. The idea for this one came to me during dinner (the original sketch on back of grocery list pad). I decided to change up my rhythm and do another collage before a painting. Going forward, it will be interesting to see what added vibrancy will be added to my collage as I will be using a far superior camera to photograph my source material.
I have greatly enjoyed upping my game with collage, refining my process. As is true with all my work, I do not want to be reduced down to the “..” guy. (i.e landscapes/nudes et al). With collage, when you find something that works, it is very tempting & easy to slip in what would be for a musician, pet-licks.
I would like to think all my works have an open ended narrative feel to them. For this piece, I wanted to try to maintain that feeling but with less easily identifiable components making up the piece. The color palette would once again be restricted but darker than what I have been using. As usual, I work no digital magic, only my trusty scissors and adhesive applied with brush to images which I personally took. The black atop I hand painted on, this being the first time I have tried painting combined with collage.
Paper Life Painting 