Late each winter, an arts organization of which I am a member (Tidewater Arts Alliance) sponsors a portfolio show. For the last few years the show has been exhibited at the Courthouse Galleries in Portsmouth, and for each of those years I've been unable to assemble the "portfolio, consisting of six pieces expounding on a theme, needed to enter. This time I was determined to do so, and began sketching out compositional concepts organized around the idea of "I found this (have you seen this before?)" because my studio is populated with objects that fit the bill, and new objects catch my eye quite regularly.
I sketched out seven, and found that the groupings of objects happened without much conscious thought, the assembling of the parts was more intuitive than analytical, much as the the acquisition of the objects had been in the first place. My first thought was to tie them together via palette, light, and format because I didn't see a lot of formal connections on that first day. So, I set up a little stand against the studio wall with the cork board because there aren't any windows along that wall, and it was furthest from the windows and skylights in the room, allowing me to control the introduction of light. Then, I set up the first still life, lit it, and got to work. Before I was finished, I took a picture of it before taking it apart and setting up the next, and so on, until I completed four.
fallen unreconciled
Somewhere along the line, the guidelines for the show were changed to four instead of six pieces, just in the nick of time, because as in every previous year, I wasn't going to have the requisite six by the entry deadline. Some day I'll figure out how that happens, but for now, I'm just grateful that I've got what I need to submit.
olderthantherocks the lucky one
So the story goes. I found this. Connected the dots. Painted. Have you seen this before? Watch out...
