Detail of one of my fused glass works. Private collection, Cambridge, MA. Basically, I was fooling with colors, knowing that it will look different after the work is fired. I did not anticipate the effect of the empty spaces between colors and how they will look. Click on the image to expand it.
Light passing through the glass and hitting white paper. Creates pastel like colors. Click on image to expand.
About: My art
In general, I like my art to reflect who I am. Whereas I used to work from photographs that no longer appeals to me. I like the art work to reflect how I look at things and the style that I have, as opposed to making some art work look like some photograph. That does not mean that I do not like photorealism or many works based on photographs. It's just not my cup of tea for now.
What I like about various mediums that I have worked with:
Working with oils - it is the medium in which I can get the most detail. Not that detail is the most important thing, ambiguity or a certain degree of looseness can be equally beguiling. When I think of absolute control with paints, I think of someone like Jan Van Huysum, painting flowers, or, for someone not familiar with him someone like Rembrandt at an early age. The examples are almost countless from Van Eyck to Caravaggio, Rubens and so on.
Other, absolute examples, of someone being loose with paints, whom I like, is Velazquez in the later works, or someone like a Boldini, again, there are many examples in this category.
Working with pastels - I like to draw with pastels, its a medium that lends itself to immediacy and color, that lends itself to working quickly with many colors. I even like not blending them. When I draw figures I like using it. It's a bit of a messy medium and not very permanent unless one is very careful and later keeps the drawing out of light. There are a number of pastel artists that had amazing control with this medium, among them - Maurice-Quentin de La Tour, (aka Prince des pastellistes,) or Jean Etienne Liotard. I like them but I also like many others not equally precise.
Working with glass - I have enjoyed going to churches and seeing stained glass, I liked seeing the effect of the glass when sunlight makes colors shimmer on the floor. I think that in this medium, with the fused glass, I have done my best art work. I do not like working with the glass because it is somewhat tedious but I like the end product. One thing I like about my fused glass work is that it can look somewhat different at different time of the day, depending on the light that comes behind the work. And it can look different if I slightly change my position relative to the glass. I abhor having the glass not in a window, like on a wall! Because of the way it can look different at different times, I think of the glass as being a bit moody and having its own emotions.
Photography - I carry a camera with me most everywhere I go, and am pretty shameless about using it. The camera that I use, is a Sony DSC-RX100. I have another larger Sony that I also use for portraits, with a 1.4 lens. For special occasions, I also like using film, I use a medium format camera, a Pentax 6x7.
Last, but not least something about money and goals- I have my qualms about saying that I am an 'artist,' but I think I have been pretty steadfast about on and off coming back to creating art works. I do not think that 'on my art' I could have had the material things I enjoy, or that I share with my family, but I do like coming back to art and do like some of the things that I have done. It takes money and time to create art. I am glad that I never think I create something because it might sell or someone might like it. I enjoy drawing people, with pastels, and I like some of my works as a reflection of who I was at a point in time. I am looking forward to some of the art things that I hope to do.
2/10/2015.