Last minute changes

My paintings are finally finished and hung, but not before some last minute changes.  After getting the paintings all together and on the wall, it became blatantly apparent that the background color for the painting with the keys was much too dark.  The color was a deep reddish purple, drawn from the inside lining of the suitcase that when combined with the deep blue of the outside of the case made for a dark muddy mess that was inconsistent with the rest of the paintings.  I did some last minute research and found that a purple closer to lavender was also used in the 1940s, when this suitcase was most likely used (based on the date of the keys). The lavender makes for a significantly brighter painting that fits much better with the rest of the paintings.  They all have titles, too.

last class before the hanging

The last few days until everything has to be hung are here. Its extremely exciting; I can't wait to see everyone's work in the gallery. I brought some of my paintings over to the gallery and placed them next to my gray wall and I'm very please with how it looks. The colors look much much better against the gray than they did the white. I look forward to hanging them and finishing the last touches on the key suitcase.

Its crunch time. My work needs to be completed and hung exactly a week from today. Last week I bought the paint for my wall and the molding, the fact that the show is so soon is in credibly exciting. I look forward to seeing everyone's work in the gallery.

Progress

I need to add a few highlights and touch ups to the keys suitcase and it will be completed then I have a bit more work to do on Lady Baltimore. I plan to have the paintings completed by this coming Monday.  Yesterday I selected a neutral gray as the wall color for my exhibition then I will add white molding to the top. Getting all the final details done is exciting and stressful. I hope I don't forget anything!

19 days!

The show opens in 19 days and everything is to be hung in 15! Its just about much crunch time... exciting! I have to add detail to the keys and a few details on the suitcase of the blue case with the keys then that will be done. I've got a bit more work to do on the Lady Baltimore suitcase but it is progressing nicely. This week I will be planning out the wall color and deciding on moulding to frame my space. I will also build the backing frame for Lewis B. Klicker which is the painting on mdf board and cleaning up the other canvases and preparing them to be hung.

We are getting down to the wire and things are getting exciting. I've planned out the final tasks needed to be completed during each of the next three weeks. I have all of my paintings started and three finished and one is well on its way. I completely rewrote my artist statement and received extremely helpful feed back from some of my professors and am very pleased with were it is heading.

spring break

Over spring break, I made some progress on the blue suitcase with the keys and a more dynamic composition. This composition was chosen to accentuate the keys (which are very roughly rendered). It also gives the feel of movement and the dark colors suggests that the rapid movement is not necessarily a positive change. There is still a ways to go, but the painting is slowly growing on me.  I have also started my fifth painting one of the Lady Baltimore suitcase. I have chosen a light pink from a typical late 1960s early 70s color palette as the background color to give the feel of femininity and innocence.

The possibility of including some of my research in my exhibition has been on my mind the past few days. I think that given where I am in my life as an artist and the initial appearance of simplicity given by my project, it would be interesting and helpful to include the research that I've done concerning my suitcases. The research is also a part of the painting process that I find to be really interesting. What I find about each individual suitcase greatly informs each of my paintings and adds a degree of excitement and interest for me personally. I think viewers might enjoy this knowledge. The issue now is to find a way that shows some of the research without detracting from the simplicity of my exhibition and the viewer's experience. There may be some way to include the intentionality of my artistic choices in my artist statement; however, I may want to include some of the images I used, in which chase, it may be better to include a small pamphlet sitting to the side. Some suggested that I could include supplementary information through our artist statement videos or some other digital means. The video might be a good option since it is something that everyone is doing, but I'm hesitant to use technology to any large extent because my project is more traditional in medium and style.

Things are getting busy as spring break and the show opening approaches. I have a few finishing touches on my Carnegie case then I have to mount it to look similar to the canvas paintings since it is the only painting on mdf board. I have a dynamic composition in the works for the suitcase featuring the lock keys that emphasizes the unique objects. I'm a little uncertain, as the composition is different from the other paintings but I think that if I incorporate a similar style for the Lady Baltimore case and keep the background plain that there will be enough unifying features that there will not be a disconnect in the series.  

One of the next steps I am working on is the naming of each painting. The Carnegie painting, since I know the back story of the suitcase, will be titles "Lewis Beattie Klicker." I might include the year 1936 or the location, Avalon, Pennsylvania but I think that may change depending on what I do with the other paintings' titles. I'm hesitant to give too much information in the title. The Little Blue suitcase will be titled "Walt." I think this one will have a location since the name is so short.

I am also somewhat torn as to the possibility of showing my research and if I chose to do so, in what form. It would be nice to show the intentionality of my decisions but I don't want it to seem inconsistent with my concept.

In the past week or so I borrowed two new suitcases and they're very exciting. Each of the borrowed suitcases has unique details that have greatly influenced their paintings. The one suitcase is probably from the late 1940-early 50s and includes two lock keys from a the Eagle lock company that was in business from 1833 to 1954 in Terryville, CT. I'm trying a more dynamic composition for this painting that emphasizes that unique keys.
The second suitcase is part of a fashionable line of luggage called Lady Baltimore. It also includes the information card of the suitcase's previous owner. I'm unsure as to how best emphasize this detail but if offers many possibilities and and obvious title for the work.
The Carnegie suitcase is continuing to be a struggle but it is coming along and just about finished.... I hope.

Faculty critique

Today, I had my faculty critique.  I got some valuable feedback and look forward to getting some serious work done then figuring out some issues with exhibition.

The Little blue suitcase is finished! All that is left is to give it a name. I have to add a slight shadow to the Avocado and it will be completed.

I'm moving to finish the Carnegie suitcase but got held up with making a poor choice for the background color. Turns out the shade of blue I chose is horrible, absolutely, terrible. Now I'm waiting for it to dry. I'm taking a graphic design class and really wish I could command z that decision.

Moving on

I am just about finished with two of my paintings. The painting above needs a few last touches to the hardware and weathering the edges and it will be finished. I plan on working on the background of the avocado shaped and colors bag to finish it off before the end of the week as well as beginning the next painting.  I have been playing with some more dynamic compositions to create additional movement and interest for the show in general. Also, as a result of the cracking in the avocado painting, I'm going to hold off on painting the pattern until the rest of the paintings are complete. If there is time, then I will revisit the painting; however, I don't want to spend much more time on it when I still have two to three whole paintings to do.

I am continuing to look at van Gogh's shoe paintings. The article my outside critique suggested to me helped my to further develop my project, showing that each person can view a work differently.  One person my find a painting to be very philosophical, representing the deep struggle of a peasant woman or it my be perceived as telling the artists personal journey, or possibly its just a nice old pair of shoes. Regardless, the object, in my mind, is successful because it was thought provoking.

Deciding as a class what the theme of our exhibition will be is proving to be a difficult task.  Its hard not to be boring and typical while not thinking of something so abstract that others won't get it. 

One of my paintings is cracking, probably because of the amount of medium I used. My professor said its not a huge issue, but there is nothing I can do to fix it. Its a real bummer because its my favorite one so far. Such is life. 

Outside critique

Yesterday, I met with Bobby Rosenstock for an outside critique of my work. He offered some helpful suggestions including that I look into Van Gogh's paintings of peasant's shoes.  He also provided some helpful suggestions as to the composition of future paintings and developing the life of current paintings.  I'm most excited about the idea of naming each individual painting as a person's name and/or a place. I have some reservations as to whether that would detract from the message I'm trying to get across, but that aside, I love the idea and think it could give the paintings that little extra 'something' they might need.

emotional baggage?

     Yesterday I had a class critique.  The feed back was helpful and I look forward to setting up a critique with someone from outside of the college.  I plan on finishing off my 3 paintings that are already started to clear some room for the next three. I have mixed feelings about my project. In some ways I never want to look at another suitcase. But, at the same time, I love it and how it has developed.
     The actual result hasn't changed much but the depth and context behind it has grown and progressed quite nicely. Originally my thoughts about suitcases were that they signify travel or moving out or some other obvious action associated with a suitcase. However, I've realized that it signifies all of these things at once. A suitcase signifies both a beginning and an ending simultaneously. My paintings suggest a general feeling as a positive, exciting change or a negative, dreaded change or anything in between, but a lot of the meaning comes from the viewer's own experiences.  Suitcases are possibility, uncertainty, and change all rolled into one. It's exciting! I'm toying with the idea of entitling the body of work 'Emotional Baggage'...

Looking forward

     As the spring semester begins and my project kicks into high gear, it is helpful to look forward. In an attempt not to get bogged down and stressed with the amount of work left to do I've been thinking about the end result. What do I want my project to become; what will be a viewer's first reaction to my paintings; what will people remember about my work?
     Obviously, I want viewers to be impressed with my paintings. Mostly, I don't want my projects to be one where people say, she could have done better, this doesn't show her potential, you can tell that she didn't put in the time and effort. I want my project to be high quality, to showcase what I've learned, and to convey the depth of suitcases as an object.