Back in Redford

What's been going on here at the Redford outpost studio? Well, when I left in February for the Wake the Dead show I didn't recall what a mess I'd left in the studio. It was in complete disarray when I got back, a normal studio symptom, so I spent the first couple days doing some spring cleaning and reorganizing. Once that was through I needed to reaccess where I was with work. What projects I need to finish off, and what new works I want to approach. During the two months I was away, I was continuosly reflecting on the work I had made out here last year and the work I felt good about progressing.

First off are my video documented art burial performances. I got these going right away last summer as an attempt to reach the viewer through the experience of the hunt, or discovering a treasure in a rugged environment. My intent is to parallel the experience of the artist into the void of discoving art with that of a viewer literally experiencing a voided or unknown landscape to discover art. Over the last four years I developed and researched how such an endevor could be achieved properly, settling upon detailed map information, gps logged coordinates, correct and durable art containers, and lastly, a documented video of the burial itself. I'm going to do more writing on these in the future. They are a huge amount of fun and are a fulfilling experience. There is much ground to cover here in Texas as Big Bend offers two large parks to participate in, and another in Mexico. Here's one of last year's videos for now:



Moving on, I had to get some more landscape panels built. I've decided to double the picture plane and reveal more of a panoramic view of this mountainscape region. Leaping Lizard Gallery in Terlingua has been showcasing a few of the landscapes from last year. I like the challenge of painting on site, the harsh conditions can speed up the process of delivering a picture, insert a few unexpected accidents, and gives me something to use oil paints on. Not to mention, it's one of the best ways to broaden the possibilities of color.



Lastly for this post, are a couple of acrylic cattle I needed to finish off. I left one alone, and reworked the other all while building up frames for both of them. They are the product of an interior studio campaign involving acrylic languages. I'm intending on pushing them forward into paintings done for prized cattle and rodeo bulls. I got my first commission piece for Benita, The Field Lab Longhorn, courtesy of John Wells. I'm looking forward to getting that started soon. For now I've got to travel back into civilization, stopping by the George Paul Memorial Bad Company Rodeo in Del Rio. Talk to you soon.