Back again

I had a big week. I met with  my next new Spine doctor. Started some big changes in the works, which I will tease and move on, for now. Kept my head down and worked on my sculpture. No photos this time, but it is almost ready for phase I, Building Blocks...

I may have run this into the ground already, but making a bronze sculpture can be as many steps as you want.  I could just sculpt a bike, for example, invest it, and cast it. Not recommended, but I could. The recommended Phase I is to get your Building Blocks ( BBs) together, make molulds of each, then and only. Then, assemble the sculpture into its appropriate investments. 

For the motorcycle I'm working on, the BBs are based on the shapes that may be useable. For future sculptures, as well as making sure I don't lose all my work if my investment fails. Each BB is carefully planned to make sure I get a quality mold, and I get the important information to fisher accurately.

Phase II is to assemble the sculpture into investments from the BBs. I'm planning on this bike being three investments, at least. 

Subsequent phases include cutting off sprues and vents, grinding, sanding, polishing, finishing, patinas, assembly, welding, and finally, mounting. Now you got everything but the secret bronzecaster handshake.

My spine doc and I agree that I'm not a candidate for surgery. Said I'm too strong. I coulda phoned in and told him that. That is about all I did learn, actually. We don't know what caused the cyst. In fact, this doc isn't convinced the last scans give th best view, so we took some more.  Might be getting injections. No feedback whatsoever on the pain part. My sense was that if I don't have burning shooting pain radiating down my extremities and the strength of a newborn, I'm not getting much fro this group. I think this was the wrong referral, but I may get the shots at some point. I didn't even do the local injection of steroids when I was a jock... Could be fun.

Couldn't help that feeling of déjà vu. Been down this road so many times. I need this to be over, but this piece may just be an exercise...a lil exercise never hurt anyone, right...?

I was accepted to the a Perpetuating a purpose show at an Open Door Art Studio. The Open Door is a not for profit studio for Differently abled folk.  The members curated this show. Absolutely honored to be represented in that room. The show is hanging for a month.

I'm also hanging at zpizza on High Street in the Short North. Amazing opportunity that just fell from my good friend Bubbles... Thanks, kid. That show will be up for the month of March .

That's all, folks. Stay tuned, big things soon come.

TBD

It is going so well. Work is hitting new highs every day. The company I work for has gone national during my tenure. And I'm one of the horses...We've got a lot of horses right now. These are all very, very good things.

The art is going well. I met with a gallery consultant, I guess you'd say. Let me back up on this one and set the table, though. My mother met a lady. She was getting some other work appraised at the ranch, and the lady saw one of my pieces and liked it.  We met, and after going through my portfolio, she said that I had potential; I just needed more work. Once I got enough pieces put together, she'd look in on me again. Potential on top of potential. So, I opened the gates and started a few more pieces, finished a couple, but I've also got a couple finding new homes, so they need to be replaced....all very good things.

The show at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame museum ends this spring. Some pieces are being moved to the National Motorcycle Museum at that time, so a whole new group will see the pieces that were accepted into that show. The curator of that show wants me to submit a motorcycle sculpture. Meaning, no promises, but more potential. It helps that I spend most Sundays working on it right beside him. This is a recent partial progress photo:

  I will also have pieces in the National Show. These are very good things.

Boom. Slightly herniated disk. In my neck, where I haven't gotten them before. Slightly herniated is relative, of course. Relative to how big of a baby I become when my neck hurts. Plus, this one comes with nasty ass headaches, muscular issues, and it jumps to a couple of other spots. Over time, I've discovered my low back is the likely source. MRI. X-rays. Back in the System. 

The dirty is an old diagnosis of spondelosthesis; a lumbar displacement type thing, Scoliosis, an old herniated disc, a lumbar herniated disc, and a synovial cyst. Back in the fuckin system.

On a new art tip, tho, I've been loving me some underpainting; a technique used by the dutch Masters to add contrast. The Pure One put me on that trail, when I saw his work last year. This piece is just a sketch, but a good example of underpainting with several fat, dark colors over a thinned out 'primer' coat:

So, OK, I've got to reset. Been there. Several times, in fact. Been thru more therapy hours than some PTs practicing. Thought I had it licked, for a minute. 

Hell with it. We got this. We've always had whatever I could let go of. Thank you for that. And for this. And for next time., 'cause I'm letttin' go of some stuff. Artin' like a fool. Posting here, more. 

Shorter posts.

Peace.

How I spent my summer

I haven't posted in a while, but fear not, big things are happening. In these times, you've just got to ride the wave the best you can. Which, in a nut shell, is how I spent my summer. 

Just over two years ago, after 26 years as a full time design professional, I went half time. I had been thinking about "brand" and what the next 25 years should look like, and possibly, the 25 after that, if they perfect that spinal replacement ray. Said reflection and thoughts took in the appropriate level of gratitude for a career that turned out to far exceed what I expected, and for an organization that made it possible. I wanted these thoughts of gratitude, and the notion of not having expectations, to frame my goals moving forward. 

When I was recovering from surgery for cancer in 2011, soon after I started this blog, I called it the year of the artist. In the years since, I've been wondering each year if I missed it, because the art experience  just keeps on getting better. My role as an Engineer gets sharper. 2014, in fact, could be the year of the artistic engineer. 

Enough babbling. More art. And gratitude. My mentor, Ric, curated the Two Wheels and a Motor show at the AMA Motorcyxle Museum; I've got nine paintings and a sculpture in the exhibition. The exhibition is being installed in the National Motorcycle Museum. I've also been working on a couple of commissions. I posted the final for 'Kona Sunset", but here it is again:

This was sold to an old friend, and I hope the good vibes resonate long.

I was asked to sculpt a figure for a good friends, of his daughter. This one is still way too early to share, but I will share the gratitude. 

My mentor and fellow bronze sculptor forged a relationship with the Columbus Idea Foundry. I, of course, plan to tag along. I went to their Open House in June, and met the founder of the Fallen Feather project, and I had to be a part of it. Then I find out the feathers are only native Ohio wood. Did I mention I'm a BRONZE sculptor...? LOL, anyway, Graham notified me of an Ohio soldier falling, Justin Helton, and I jumped in.

Step1, get the history of the soldier and await the direction of the muse. After looking at the blank, and finding what I could, I decided on a totem, with the eagle, a baseball, and his company. After finding too many different logos, I went with US Army. His name will wrap the spine of the feather. At this point, I'm hoping the grain of the wood is 'feathery'.

Step 2, remove everything not sculpture: 

Step 3, rinse, repeat, until satisfied:

Then, add his name, sand, and finish. The final sculpture was delivered Sept. 9, for installation in the Ohio Military Museum in Masillon, Ohio: 

 I'm absolutely humbled by the sacrifice of our different tribes in service of this country. I'm grateful Fallen Feather Project agreed to allow me to sculpt this. I felt like I was way over my skis throughout the arc of this piece, and I hope it serves.

More kengoodsonart to come. Peace.

kga happenings

It's funny how the word "stability" has come to be redefined over the last few years. for me, anyway. Stable person, stable job, stable life; for me, they've all changed in nature as much as in definition. The "New Normal" has turned into an amazing part time Job as an engineer, and an equally amazing nacent obsession with making stuff. 

I've spent most of 2014 painting with the goal of a solo show. In the Spring, I also started working on a sculpture of a 1918 Harley Davidson Board Track Racer. I had the opportunity to do two solo shows; I had one commitment, and was short listed for another spot. Both fell through, but that turned out for the best, as a couple of painting commissions took their place, almost immediately. A good friend asked me to paint his last vacation spot at sunset. Here's a progress photo:

 

Other opportunities are spinning around, and I'll post updates. Another good friend asked me to do a piece about he and his wife's daughter. She is adorable, and I can only pray I can capture this much cute. I've got really poorly rendered maquettes at this point, so I'll spare you.

I've been traveling a lot, doing assessments of Veteran's Administration Facilities. I'm struggling not to inflame a highly charged issue, but let me misappropriate some Chuck D. and say "don't believe the hype!" The point, for these purposes, is that these trips may have an impact on future projects, to slow play it as much as possible...I will say that I painted scenes across central Montana while a friend of mine drove. Surreal, though this work needs work. I'll post updates in the future,  though I also did this doodle of a calf waiting for his bottle feeding. It's a Rohrshach test,I know:

Finally, I've been sculpting random stuff. This is a new thing for me, and totally influenced by a number of my piers, including Ric Tewart, Walt Herrmann, and Chad Cochran. I've posted this on my page at www.facebook.com/kengoodsonart, but this is a solar powered lamp using repurposed wood and wire ( the galvanized container is just for scale):

So, in summary, I've pretty much flown off the rails... Seems  to me like it's just starting to get real...

Colors

I've got a confession; Color, to me, can be a pretty random thing, in terms of how different people seem to relate to it. Maybe  I'm a pop artist, but for me, it's more about how the color makes the painting feel, than the actual real life color. My goal, most of the time, is to try to capture a moment in time. If I'm plein air painting on a flat grey day, with the cooler colors, comes off that way from my palette. That warm,sunny day may get some fluorescent green, bright orange, making the finished product just flaming hot.

As I've been working with a couple of other artists on a weekly basis, I've. Been rethinking some general notions of composition, or hacks. An example is how I represent grey with green, blue, purple, or brown; or in a more classical model, how the renaissance painters would underpaint with greys, blacks, sienna, to render such brilliant work. 

it's worth looking a the same piece, done one Saturday morning, from each of our  perspectives. I'm just going to set the stage this way: is it setting the scene? Does it capture an instant?

The first:

Definitely like the contrast here. Good color rendering, seems pretty accurate.

The next:

I can see this piece going a lot of directions, just from its final presentation. How it's framed could change the mood of this piece, or the artist could keep working layers, and make a totally different piece.

Last:

Three grey outhouses in the snow. Three different points in time, from the use of color. These are the things I do love about painting...

Plein Air Saturday

If you were passing by Cup A Joe in the Short North, you may have seen a distinguished, silver haired gentleman painting a scene on the west side of Hight Street. That would not have been me. You may have also seen a dude in a sock hat with paint all over his jacket making a freak show on canvas. That would have been me. 

I've always claimed that everyone's an artist, it's simply a matter of finding your amuse, and following it. Yep, simple...sounds like I'm making jokes, But what else would you call it? If you've experienced art, up close and messy, when you're doing it to the best of you're ability, it sure feels simple. I've maintained that the only thing to do to let it out is to get the F out of the way. 

That's what I witnessed on this excursion, on this thing another friend calls Plein Air Painting. This thing I would have much preferred to experience in CBus when it was warmer...or on a beach in the Caribbean. But, the experience is part of the art, right? My friend and I had made a deal; he'll teach me to play guitar, and I'll do whatever I did...I'm not gonna call it teaching; let's call it getting out of the way.  

A lot of folk I talk to had an art class at one time or another. My friend, whom I'll just call DG,since he's got no idea I'm posting about him, is typical in that regard. What is atypical is that he is another engineer, besides being a musician. Two so called left brained types making art in the street, one who's been doing this as long as he can remember, the other, basically, changing instruments, and getting the F out of the way...

I am going to show you his painting so far, with out his permission, hop I don't get sued. Just keep in mind that neither piece is complete. So, DG's progress:

Nicely done, DG...shows a fine eye. A good start at perspective. Great use of color. 

Then, the freak show:

'Nuff said... Maybe I'm a better teacher than I am a painter.

To be continued...

Studies and styles

I went to see the George Bellows exhibition at the Columbus Museum of Art. mr. b is not only a Columbus product, but a New York artist as well. In every sense an extremely technical, polished painter and drawer. Amazing show, but that's not what this post is about.

I've been going back to my roots over the last few paintings. I had an art teacher in College, Babette duSang Jones, who taught  introduction to Painting. She had us pick up oil sticks and we would work them on newsprint. Mostly forgettable paintings, from me, anyway, but she would pile up desks, tables, whatever she had in the studio, and we would do our still life sketches and paintings. I recently decided to do some still life studies of my own. Wild flowers from my yard, arranged in a cool vase, resting on my messy sculpting bench. 

I'm not gonna lie, I am not crazy about either one of these paintings, but they did their job, there are usually many lessons in going down memory lane, but this one was about painting curvy glass, making actual straight lines, and painting the light

The first one, I managed one out of three, maybe two:

I'm going to call the next one a success, I've finally seen the light:

Looser or more refined

I would typically say that my sculpting and painting has been a celebration of loose, colorful, or sketchy, even. For my latest sculpture, "Seated", I am exploring how refined I can actually make a sculpture, and then, whether I actually feel its fit to show.  

This first photo is pretty close to the beginning. I won't actually Showa sculpture sooner than this level of completion anymore...they can change too radically;

This next photo was around the 50% stage for the face. Rockin' the dreads, but still needing some finihing;

This last photo, the face is close, the figure maybe 40%, but you may see the change, already;

Next time i post this sculpture will be right before I make the moulds for the bronze.