"New" Designs

I've been wanting to get back into geometric designs since I stopped working on the Eight Fold series. I tried some hexagonal based designs inspired by some I've seen from Lisa DeLong, Jeea Mirza, and others. I've been trying something new with the paintings I've been working on and I'm not loving it, so today I took a break from them to try something different. I tried a couple of new (to me) designs from this book.

It probably should have been obvious but pastels are not the best for precision work. We live and learn. It's my first real attempt at pastels.

100th Eight Fold

About two and a half years ago I began this series to see if there really was infinite possibility for variety of designs from one base. I recently finished the 100th design, it is not infinity of designs but there were times along the way that I never thought I'd get that far. I'm taking a break from the series to focus on other things for a while but I have many more ideas for designs and I'll come back to them in time.
For now I'm striking off in pursuit of different designs and silly though it may be, I'm quite excited. It has it's drawbacks at times but I love the freedom of being my own boss as an artist, if I want to go one direction, I can, and can also change on a whim in another direction.

C
watercolor
9x9in.
2015
Series: Eight Fold

Landscapes

I've been working for at least two years on my Eight Fold series, I decided that once I made it to one hundred different designs I'd do something else for a while. I'm rethinking that some because I'm now working on the 98th design and I still have so many other ideas for designs.
I started a landscape and now I want to do more, so I'm going after landscapes for as long as I feel like.
I feel like I'm a lot more eloquent when I'm not writing on this blog.
I'm really excited to work on landscapes and to find the images to work from. I'm very blessed to live in a very beautiful place, there's lots to choose from.

East Canyon

watercolor

9x12 in.

2015

Colors

I am constantly fascinated by color theory, by the way colors interact and influence one another. I've tried to document the process and I've missed days but I think it still gives you an idea, it's just so crazy how this color looks this way with these colors around them etc.

Eight Fold Show

It's been a while and I'm sorry. I've had quite a bit going on and honestly I'm out of the habit of blogging. I'm hoping to make up for that now though. My show just officially closed on the third, unofficially it will still be open for a little while longer. It's been great, from the opening reception and participating in the local art walk, I've gotten to to meet people and share my art with them.
To those who've come to see or tried to come and see the exhibit, a huge thanks, I really appreciate your support. To those who couldn't see it for whatever reason, here's the next best thing.

P.s. This is not the whole exhibit.

Eight Fold FAQs

So last night was the opening reception for my Eight Fold exhibit. It was really fun to be able to show my work off and talk to people about it. It also gave me insight into what questions people have about my work, that was enlightening, so here for those who see the exhibit when I'm not there, are some FAQs from last night, in the order that I remember them.

Q: Why is the exhibit called Eight Fold?
A: All of the pieces in the series shown in this exhibit are based on the same underlying pattern most of the facets of this pattern and the resulting pieces are eight based.

Q: Where did you get the base pattern/what started you on all this?
A: I went to a workshop given by Dr. Lisa DeLong of the Prince's School of Traditional Arts. She showed us the base pattern.

As for the start of my interest in Islamic art/designs, I can't remember exactly how it all started. I know it was while I was at BYU, almost certainly in classes with Wulf Barsch, through an introduction to Little Wooden Books. I'm not really certain how but here I am.

Q: How do you make everything so uniform and tight?
A: With a compass and a ruler/straight edge. With the question applied to the painted parts, I use watercolor washes, I use multiple brushes in various sizes, I let sections dry before painting around them so that there's no bleeding and when I do go over the lines I do my best to clean it up with some paper towel.

Q: Do you have a favorite?
A: No, there are currently close to sixty of these designs, I have ones that I like better than others, maybe some turned out better or I like the colors better but I don't really have a favorite.

We'll start with that, maybe I'll remember some more. Comment if you've got other questions.

Now Showing

So I've been saying that there are big things coming and it's super exciting.
May 12th through July 3rd the first fifteen paintings in my Eight Fold series will be on view at the Sprague Branch library in Salt Lake.

While that's happening my own mini gallery space is opening up at the Lamp Company. Check it out.

Pro tips and rookie mistakes

So I just delivered fifteen framed paintings for my upcoming show. I had everything ready I just needed to get the eye hooks in and the wire on the frames. I forgot how long it can take to do that by hand. Sufficed to say that I didn't listen to the advice to use a drill for pilot holes right away and wasted hours chipping away at the process when I could have been done well in advance. If you're putting in lots of screw eyes in, have a drill.
Also, I don't know why I always forget this but Michael's they're just never the place to go for anything related to art, always go to Utrecht/Blick!
That is all.

One more, remember that the post office is not open very long on Saturdays.

The progression of an Eight Fold painting

I thought I'd take you through the progression of one of the paintings in the Eight Fold series.
I start off with a design, I draw out the design and to keep track of the design I outline different sections in colored pencil. In this case I tried to keep pretty close to the colored pencil colors but I don't always.

Then I draw out the design on my watercolor block.

Then the colors come.

And the final piece.

LVIII

watercolor

9x9in.

2014

Series: Eight Fold

Show prep

I've started framing pieces for my upcoming show, it's going pretty well and I'm loving how things have been coming together, how the frames and the mating are working together. I've found myself thinking back to the last time I did this, for my first solo show, I was trying to get pieces finished, scrambling to get things framed... in not very great frames. It's so much different this time, I've had the pieces done for ages, I've got all my frames and I'm working my way through framing them. I'm so excited for it to come together.

IX
watercolor
9x9in
2013
Series: Eight Fold

It's coming!

So about a year ago I applied (I'm not sure that's the right word but I can't think of a better one) for a solo show, and I got that opportunity but the show was set for a year off and it's seemed so far off in the future. Now we're less than a month away from the start of the show and it's starting to feel more and more like a reality.
Today it gets that much more real, the frames arrived and I'm so excited, they weren't what I had originally hoped to get but I'm really excited about them now that I've seen them. I'm excited to make this happen, to have a show that's all my own, it's been a while. I'm excited for everyone who's always saying they want to see my art, here's something they can easily see!
This is happening, more to come!

Pictures of pictures

So there are so many things I've learned and adjusted to in the years since I've graduated, one of those things is to take better pictures of my work and to crop and edit them. I usually use IrfanView and crop the images I take of my pictures. I've recently learned a new trick on a different editing program. I use natural light to take my pictures, sometimes this is great and other times the light is not as great (cloudy days etc.), with this new editing trick (which I haven't actually gotten around to using much yet) it can make the colors more like they are in real life so that's cool.
Before:

 After:

LII

watercolor

18x18in

2014

Series: Eight Fold

It can make a real difference, though sadly I'm not sure if you can really tell with these two. There might be an edit but for now if you can't see it, just trust me that this can be pretty cool.