...Abstraction?

The newest painting project is a landscape, sorta - I have to do 10 drawings of the landscape from different perspectives, then choose one to paint, and abstract it "completely". I may draw from Abstract Expressionists such as Anselm Kiefer if I'd like, but I don't have to. Also, the title of the painting has to be the title of a book from a list Lynnette gave us. The painting does not have to be about the content of the book; it only has to have a connection to the titel. I chose the simple yet irresistible The Art of War by Sun Tzu.

This assignment is the first of its kind - it's very open ended. It's also the first non-observation based painting. So the decisions I make will come from my head. It will be a real test of creativity and decision making - and even harder, reconciling the two. At times I have a tendency to let my creativity get out of control when I actually have it in me, which makes my problem solving skills go bye-bye. It will be interesting to see what materializes.

I would like to take an approach similar to Ralph Steadman, a hero of mine. Bailey just got me an awesome book with a ton of his stuff in it. It really is much better to see an artist's work in a book than on a screen - but then it's also much better to see the works in person than in a book. In any case, I love the fact his style consists of very controlled parts as well as utterly chaotic ones. The muted shades and dark ink outlines he uses to color in his figures would be an interesting way to deal with my assignment, or so I think now. Only when I start painting will I be able to tell which direction it will take.


In other news, I have become increasingly clumsy as of late. I woke up this morning and immediately smashed my face on the wall for the first time ever. An all-time low.


Watched...
Visitor Q
Rocky I
Rocky II

listened to...
Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
Air (all)
Apollo Sunshine - Katonah