Frontlines

The original Frontlines piece was conceived way back in 2012 as part of the teaser show for the original Merican-Tastic! show. (Link to the teaser show for Merican-Tastic! -You can see Frontlines in the 3rd and 6th images).  It has sat on a shelf in my studio untouched and unloved for years.  This past summer I cut out a portion of it and included it in my large mural Processionalization: Power Lunch With The Tasaday for my show Pop Culture Palimpsest.  Now what to do with the rest of the image....

How about this?

I am entertaining the notion of pairing Frontlines with one or more carved panels/canvases.

The relationship between the two panels might help generate ideas for what layers of imagery should be added to the canvas.

In fact, I think I have an idea for the 2nd layer of imagery, I just need to kind of flesh out the first layer.  No time like the present to dive in to the line work.

Although I do not think this first layer is complete, I'm sure that I am going to need to paint what is here to subdue how dominant the brick red and the green areas are before I can really make anything that resembles an informed decision on where to take the piece from here.  Right now those two colors just demand too much attention.  So let's dive in with some color...

A little easier to see what is going on compositionally, but I still need to add a few more colors.  Next time we check in with Frontlines, I should have enough areas roughed in with color to develop a sense of what the piece really needs to move forward.

Two-Part Harmony: Part Two (See What I Did There?)

As predicted in my earlier post about Two-Part Harmony, a 'Pew, Pew, Pew Cluster' did, in fact, occur.

I'll give the Pew Pew Pew a few days to dry, and then I'll start adding some colors and see what happens.

Action shots!!!

Back to work.

Time to add some appealing colors to the sex appeal in the upper right-hand corner.

Two-Part Harmony is starting to come together.  I need to hit a few more areas with color and add a little line work in a couple places, and that should finish up the first layer.  Then I will probably haze over the top portion (the green area) of the image.

Next time we'll take a look at Frontlines.

Dude Looking Up

Dude Looking Up -a new low for unimaginative working titles.

This 'dude' needs something to stand on.  I just happen to have the top of a hill with a Greek temple on it lying around the studio.  But then again, who doesn't?

After a few priming coats.

Normally this is the part when I would say something about adding a base layer of imagery.  However, it is not.  I was about to add a layer of imagery to this piece and a separate piece I am working on (with the working title of 'Once Upon A Time...').  I had both of them leaning up against Money-A-Tize (which was hanging on the wall) trying to figure out what I wanted to do next.  I suddenly saw a connection between the two pieces.

Then I also thought about adding a third panel which would/could be a wood carving.

Then I realized how much I was responding to the colors and the oval shape from Money-A-Tize (kind of a mix between a rising/setting sun and a slice of lemon on the rim of a glass.

This changes a lot of things...a four-panel piece?

Regardless of my fancy plans (and pants to match!), these canvases still need some layers of imagery/line work before I join them into one composition.  I'll close with a few images of their base layers...

Since I'm highly unsure of the direction these are gonna take, I'm not able to close with one of my vague 'Next time we'll check in and see XXXX take place'.  So I'll just close with until next time...