chelsea's blog

this weekend

cneman — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:47:29 +0000

this week

cneman — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 18:48:23 +0000

i think this weeks critiques went well, i was getting a lot of feedback on issues that i had been thinking about myself. between the layering, the colors, the forms and the words – which are getting better reviews than they had been in the past – and Im really happy about that. last night i put the finishing marks on three paintings making a total of five complete. tomorrow im hoping to run to home depot to build four more surfaces. this week i have to decide how im going to divide / group the paintings in the two different exhibition spaces.

wee

cneman — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:25:59 +0000

there have been a lot of comments on the relationship between the handwritten words and the free brushstrokes in the last few paintings. to answer some of the questions that were raised i tried to make a list of different ways to go about the painting process, to hopefully find some answers and/or new ways of working that would seem more cohesive. the list included scribbling the words/thoughts, writing with paint, painting two surfaces at the same time, painting with my eyes closed and painting with the palette knife. the answers i got were that building form was important to the success of the paintings, the layers added a lot of depth that has been missing in some. the splatters that happen with the palette knife can look too Jackson Pollock but they add great texture in layers. here are some visuals on what Ive been working on this week..

a new direction

cneman — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:06:51 +0000

hi folks, im sorry its been so long, i’ve decided to change direction and its led me away from the chaos of space and back to painting.. below are a couple of the newer works, the first two are 4×4′ and the third is 6×4′. i think in the most simple words, im painting while feeling. i think it lies in the realms of action painting and the abstract expressionist starting from the 1950′s. its a lot about being in one place with the objects im creating and getting in tune with my surges. its like making your mind blank and allowing your body to do the work. i limit my palette so as not to get distracted with the colors and let the painting ask for what it needs…

.i feel like a kook.

below is a work in progress . ? .

friday post.

cneman — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 19:54:53 +0000

over break i did a big painting of a landscape (4×6′)

(it was just for fun, but i thought id put it up)

i am very excited to start this semester. Im looking for a building/wall in town to make a collage for and hopefully project in the next 2 weeks. the questions i have to ask are who is my audience? and where, what context are they in? .. i think its going to be difficult but well see how it goes.. hopefully ill have chosen and taken pictures of the buildings by the end of the weekend so i can start making spaces on monday

weekly post

cneman — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:58:39 +0000

We had mock presentations this week for the December Review that I have on Tuesday morning. I think it went well. Everyones presentations were insightful as to where they were with their project, what led them there and what struggles they came across. I thought the entire process of putting together a presentation of my work was important, especially because I felt that my beginning/the start of my exploration was almost two years ago. Looking back at the questions I was asking and the issues that I was interested in, gave me a moment to pause and reflect on which issues I left behind in the process and which topics continue as a theme and area of study/exploration. During the preparation for this presentation I realized that artists I admired and artwork I made, that I thought were irrelevant, were very connected and of a continual trajectory that I hope to pursue. I received great feedback from the group, particularly the need to better convey all the thoughts that I have stirring in my mind. I need to find a way to not be overwhelmed with these large ideas of dimension, reality, consciousness and space and attempt to inform the panel with the key facts and better examples. I hope the tweaking that I’ve done to the presentation since the first one will make a difference in the clarity of my projects and the interests I have that drive it .

Aakash Nihalani

cneman — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:46:57 +0000

Nihalani and I share similar views on the purpose of our work (i haven’t talked to him in person but it sounds like it… space, reality )

Aakash on his work:

My street work consists mostly of isometric rectangles and squares. I selectively place these graphics around New York to highlight the unexpected contours and elegant geometry of the city itself. All execution of a piece is done on site with little to no planning.

For however briefly, I am trying to offer people a chance to step into a different New York than they are used to seeing, and in turn, momentarily escape from routine schedules and lives. We all need the opportunity to see the city more playfully, as a world dominated by the interplay of very basic color and shape. I try to create a new space within the existing space of our everyday world for people to enter freely, and unexpectedly ‘disconnect’ from their reality.

(via www.artistaday.com)

Gonzalo Papantonakis

cneman — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:21:59 +0000

i blogged about him last year- love his large scale works and his use of text .. Papantonakis is currently exhibiting at gallerynine5 in New York City, if your around take a peek the show ends Dec 5th.

“Sonata,” 96″ x 64″, Mixed media on 2 canvases

“Poppy Fields,” 50″ x 84″, Acrylic, oil and paper on canvas

“Blowin Grass,” 54″ x 46″, Mixed media on canvas

exhibited

cneman — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:59:08 +0000

one of the better results of the projections..

poetry

cneman — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:37:35 +0000

(via kindovermatter.blogspot.com)

sometimes, when i write in spanish into my paintings i feel like they could be poems. but i dont know much about poetry or would consider myself a poet so i hide them in the layers (i think its really admirable when writers & poets can share their inner thoughts) .. i’ve recently become very interested in reading more poetry, id love to see how i can integrate it into my work. a comfortable place for me to start are the poems of Rumi & Hafez (both persian poets)