The Next Bit Of Unexpected Coolness

Pushing along my two pieces for a cool collaborative show with artist Jen Evans later this year.....  Right now I'm just messing around with the configurations/composition of some shapes.

One of the reasons I also make physical elements (versus just making some sketches) is that I can manipulate the spacing and relationships between the pieces/components quickly.  On a fairly regular basis, I'll tumble across an unexpected configuration/relationship.  Although I might not use in that particular work, I save it for a future piece.  The two ovals-with-arrows-in-the-center-pointing-at-stars is something that intrigues me and it will appear in a future piece.

So after playing around with various configurations, its time to adhere my various components to the canvas and start priming things so I can have them painted and dry prior to the exchange of work.

.....and boop, boop, boop three coats of paint.....

After the priming layers are dry, it is time to add some oil paint for color.

Now it has to dry for about a week before I add the next phase.

Now it's time to spread a thicker coat (impasto -for you aficionados of art vocabulary) of color of the face/head shape and then incise/write into the paint with the end of a nail.

My unofficial signal on when to stop working on a 'collaborative' piece is when I realize that I really want to start working on it.  I see tons of potential and want to dive in.  For me, that's the most opportune time to pass the piece of to another artist.  I've reached that point with this first starter, so it is time for me to cease and desist.

On to the other canvas......

Since I've seen Jen Evans incorporate a 'circular/oval motif' in some of her work, I decided to add some of my oval-esque figures/creatures/characters to the second canvas as a starting point for her.  Here are a couple of examples from two separate pieces (Within/Without and Mystic Guru):

Followed by two examples of Jen Evans' work to demonstrate that whole 'circle/oval thing' I was talking about.

My 'start' for Jen to work on includes ovals, arrows, and an old maze piece as the base canvas.

Time to adhere the ovals to the surface.

A few layers of priming to seal the fabric.

One last coat of primer.  Here's what it looked like before I removed it from the stretcher bars in order to attach to a different (more tightly stretched) canvas.

Until next time.....