(no subject)
Began work on epic self-portrait tonight. Well, "work" began weeks ago with construction and sketches. But actual painting began tonight. It's difficult to describe really. Painting is always somewhat of a zen experience for me. But this sort of goes beyond the zen and I'm not sure if it does so in a good or a bad way. Consider that the painting is wider than most doors in a house, and only a few inches shorter and you start to get the idea. 6'x 3' is huge in most any situation. 6x3 becomes absolutely MONSTROUS when you live in a reconverted attic. the damn thing is levered between my floor and my ceiling right now.
Also, being mildly allergic to mineral spirits/turpenoid is a bit unfortunate. It's not a terrible allergy but I run a fever after prolonged (2+ hour) exposure and I need to wash it off my hands or arms as I find it rather uncomfortable (slight burning sensation). So I just have to get everything out of my room every night (esp. the painting) so that I don't inhale fumes all night and suffocate in my sleep.
When higher level painting professors teach beginning level classes things like this happen. I don't shirk away from challenges but it seems to me that a full-body, full-figure, life-sized self portrait assignment is more realistically suited to a higher level course. I honestly don't mind. Art is born of inconvenience, but I'm getting tired of listening to my buddy Dan complain about this shit. Admittedly he is about 6 inches taller than me, but damn it, he made is own life harder by demanding to STAND for the portrait and by painting directly on plywood. Which at this scale weighs SIGNIFICANTLY more than a canvas + stretcher. So i get the joy of helping him move his shit around and listening to him complain, then having to lug my shit around by myself.
Walk home was epic with this thing. Thankfully the cross-brace in the back was a good hand-hold. Still, the thing was picking up breezes that I couldn't even FEEL on my face like they were hurricanes. I don't know what I'll do if it's raining when I have to get it BACK to school. I'll have to put varnish on this I guess to help protect it. I'm not excited about that because varnish is expensive and toxic. The better question now is what I'm going to do with the damn thing assuming it survives the process of painting and transportation to school for the critique on the 10th. I'd try to pawn it off on mom and dad if it weren't so gigantic. It would become the Senor Extrapolapakettle of the house. it might be worth doing just for that. I think it would need to be tied to the roof of the civic in order to be properly transported and that sounds almost hilariously inconvenient and implausible. Que the Mitch Hedberg bit about the guy riding down the freeway with the mattress on top of his car which he is HOLDING down with only his one free arm. Like if the wind catches this thing at 70mph then the tips of his fingers will be able to hold it down.
Bah, now is the time for sleep.
Also, being mildly allergic to mineral spirits/turpenoid is a bit unfortunate. It's not a terrible allergy but I run a fever after prolonged (2+ hour) exposure and I need to wash it off my hands or arms as I find it rather uncomfortable (slight burning sensation). So I just have to get everything out of my room every night (esp. the painting) so that I don't inhale fumes all night and suffocate in my sleep.
When higher level painting professors teach beginning level classes things like this happen. I don't shirk away from challenges but it seems to me that a full-body, full-figure, life-sized self portrait assignment is more realistically suited to a higher level course. I honestly don't mind. Art is born of inconvenience, but I'm getting tired of listening to my buddy Dan complain about this shit. Admittedly he is about 6 inches taller than me, but damn it, he made is own life harder by demanding to STAND for the portrait and by painting directly on plywood. Which at this scale weighs SIGNIFICANTLY more than a canvas + stretcher. So i get the joy of helping him move his shit around and listening to him complain, then having to lug my shit around by myself.
Walk home was epic with this thing. Thankfully the cross-brace in the back was a good hand-hold. Still, the thing was picking up breezes that I couldn't even FEEL on my face like they were hurricanes. I don't know what I'll do if it's raining when I have to get it BACK to school. I'll have to put varnish on this I guess to help protect it. I'm not excited about that because varnish is expensive and toxic. The better question now is what I'm going to do with the damn thing assuming it survives the process of painting and transportation to school for the critique on the 10th. I'd try to pawn it off on mom and dad if it weren't so gigantic. It would become the Senor Extrapolapakettle of the house. it might be worth doing just for that. I think it would need to be tied to the roof of the civic in order to be properly transported and that sounds almost hilariously inconvenient and implausible. Que the Mitch Hedberg bit about the guy riding down the freeway with the mattress on top of his car which he is HOLDING down with only his one free arm. Like if the wind catches this thing at 70mph then the tips of his fingers will be able to hold it down.
Bah, now is the time for sleep.