2021 Artist Statement: 

                                           CAVL Mixed Medium ART SERIES

 

Experimentation, exploration and progression are words that define my current process. When the words are translated into visual art, it becomes mixed medium. This involves a series of layers and of adding and subtracting these layers. Each decision is arrived at through a combination of previous experience, purposeful spontaneity also at times my own biases towards what I personally prefer in terms of color, shape, line, texture and so on. Regarding my personal artistic style emerging from this series, I pondered my bias of what I preferred or liked and discovered my preferred works were not widely liked by the general public or even my peers. The works that I don’t find particularly ‘successful’ are the ones that seem to be more appealing to the general public as well as my peers. In all fairness, this is not always the case. There have been rare occasions when the audience has overwhelmingly approved as much as I did. In other words, I managed to hit the nail straight on at least a few times. This anecdotal evidence is based on my Instagram account and the number of likes each image received over a period of time until I posted the next image. Understandably, this is rather subjective anecdotal evidence based upon a small sample of followers. Nevertheless, it is a platform where the whole world gets to participate. This inquiry into my own personal preferences and desire to develop as an artist doing it “my way” and how the general public votes yah or meh depends upon so many erroneous factors that it begs to be dismissed all together. I am curious and fascinated by what others prefer and feel an ‘ah- ha’ moment when the public and myself agree. To take a harder look at those images that resonated the most with people.

My Process:

Mixed medium has been an integral part of my art work since my art college days 1977 to 1981 up to now. That equates to approximately 44 years of exploring and mixing medium. The process has been played and experimented with over the years allowing intuition and biases to dictate. It has only been in the last two years that I have been able to work full time again as an artist and therefore accelerate my progress to the point where I am seriously ready to risk being vulnerable before the public. To lay bare as an artist and expose my authentic self.

Mixed medium:

The physical act or process starts after I have decided upon the image to create as in my most recent series with the acronym CAVL to represent the four broad themes: Carnival, Abstract, Vampire and Landscape

The particular images I chose were based on the broad themes. Each image dictates the types of medium I will mix such as graphite, ink, conte, chalk and oil pastel, gouache, water color, and acrylic paint. Choices of images under each theme were centered around composition and the subject matter.

The process is one of layering. Sometimes by using a matte fixative spray in between layers to hold the colors in place and at other times not using any fixative and allowing the different mediums to blend. How the medium is mixed and applied also makes a difference. Using different tools other than a traditional brush for blending the mediums in different ways produced unique textures.

For example: the first four images that started the series- Titled: Rolla Coasta(carnival), The shape of Things (abstract), If Keanu Reeves was a vampire… (vampire), and Somewhere in Newfoundland (landscape). These images are all mixed medium. I purposely chose to work with a standard paper size: 45 X 60 cm. The heavy watercolor paper works best which is able to withstand the rigorous process that goes with my particular method of application.

The mental process:

My Instagram account has helped me to understand how my images are perceived by the general public. To look closer at the types of combinations of medium combined with a particular subject matter that resonates not only with the general public, but with myself as well. I cannot say for sure why that is so, but only to pay closer attention to this particular combination of medium and subject matter and to push it to the next level. To emerge. The first experimental mixed medium series was an effort to demonstrate my ability to complete an extensive body of work consistently produced over time. Not only, but also consolidates my process, and methods. This series has helped identify the type of subject matter and process that works together and is also appealing to the viewer. This series lays a foundation for more ambitious project which would include extensive research into the subject matter and composition, working larger and developing a unique series for my first one man show.

The CAVAL series was my first serious attempt to complete an explorative project that developed as I progressed. This series evolved over time and I was able to reflect on it more so after its completion. The series consists of 4 themes repeated 12 times with a total of 48 images. The particular number of themes and repetitions are based on my own personal numerology.

The first theme I chose was carnival, but at the time, I did not fully realize the direction I was heading until I had completed the first picture which became the beginning of a unique series of 48 pictures. The first picture was similar to a seed being planted. The seed which spawned 48 more images. The second image was based on an abstract theme, the third image was from the vampire theme and the fourth, under the landscape theme. The four themes emerged and solidified afterwards when I had completed the fourth image as landscape theme. The choices of images were rather innocuous and cannot fully be explained without delving into more phycological aspects which I would prefer not to explain and leave it up to the viewer to find their own meaning and explanation. Looking at the 4 images side by side felt somehow different as opposed to viewing them individually. Once viewed side by side and then looking at each one individually, again seemed to beg the viewer to provide a deeper meaning or narrative. Thus began the development of the idea of a scene within a story and looking at the whole series as the big picture or story with each 4 themes repeated over and over using different images, but staying true to the theme; offering a dynamic experience for the viewer. The seemingly unrelated themes are now bound together by the viewer’s own creative imagination. Once the viewer understands the general idea then they are free to let their own imagination dictate what happens in each image and its relationship to the one next to it. To envision a story based on their own unique experiences and emotional response towards the images.