Jen Jovan Art Musings and Random Thoughts

Fault Line

8/19/2019

"Fault Line" - mixed media on 300 lb watercolor paper, 15 x 15. Ready to frame. Available here and at Artfinder.

I'm back in the studio this week after a marathon of painting during Stan Kurth's Freedom In Watermedia workshop. Four days, ten paintings and a tool box full of ideas and inspiration.

Today's piece is one completed early in the course, and was a lesson in cropping. It originally finished as a larger painting (15 x 22), but using a smaller mat to "audition" sections of the larger piece uncovered this square, which is a better composition than the full painting.

Cropping is a strategy used by many artists (including this one), but I've been away from painting on paper for a while, and this piece is a good example of why paper is more flexible than board. No saw needed to reduce this one to a better size. :)

Fault Line

You'd think a girl would need a long rest after workshop week, but Kurth's sketchbooks prompted me to begin a daily sketch practice - small studies in squares to locate shapes, color combinations and compositions which become muscle memory in the brain. I'm beginning with a study of Rufino Tamayo's works. First the characters and shapes, then the colors.

Kurth reminded us of how important it is to constantly, consistently study the works of other artists. My inner nerd would be in school forever if she could, so this gives me a reason to pull out the art books and create my own study program. I hope I am a nice teacher. Maybe I should bring myself an apple?

I'm really excited to get my copy of The Life He Remembers Began in Costa Rica: A Collection of Found Poems by Savannah Stoner. It is EXTRA special to be the cover art creator for this incredible collection (big smiles!), as the work inside is not just good, it is good, like deep in your bones good. Grab yourself a copy, take a selfie with the book and tag Savannah on facebook. It will make her day and help spread some good storytelling in the world. We can't get enough of that, right?

10 Comments

Carl Stoveland

8/19/2019 11:42:37 am

This is a great piece! In watercolor I often work on bigger paper and carry a couple of mats to find the composition. It makes a stronger painting for me compositionally and has the added bonus of knowing I end up with standard sizes for matting and framing. Funny as a photographer I prefer to crop my compositions in camera and do very little of it while editing. I think that is because composition is the first and last thing I consider when I shoot.

jen

8/19/2019 11:48:31 am

Thanks, Carl!

Normally I would be considering composition first. But this workshop was all about creating a library of elements on the paper before even beginning to compose, which sometimes didn't happen until the very last step! A painting "trust fall" with a deep reliance on gut feelings and instincts. There is an exquisite freedom in just creating marks and elements at first. Then those trusty mats "find" the treasures. :)

8/19/2019 04:42:47 pm

One of the best things you can do in painting is let the brain get out of the way early on and let instinct guide you. Sometimes I like this approach. Letting the painting find me rather than vice versa.

8/19/2019 04:48:21 pm

You are SO wise! If only I could remove my brain for an hour or two...ha ha!

Dotty Seiter link

8/19/2019 08:59:06 pm

Jen, LOVE that you auditioned sections of a larger piece to find the compositionally more elevated FAULT LINE piece. Ta da! As you know, I am a huge fan of working on paper for just that reason—the gift of unexpected and totally delightful found compositions within.

And: Cover Art Creator: OH MY GOSH! OUTSTANDING!

8/19/2019 10:01:28 pm

Dotty, you are the grand mistress of found compositions on paper!!!! And you ROCK IT!

Thank you...I so enjoyed creating the art, which is on reclaimed wood. The book is amazing, so a real feather in my cap! xo

Carol Edan link

8/20/2019 02:51:10 am

Thanks for the link, I always enjoy meeting artists that I hadn't heard of! What remarkable works. Wow you have 4 new paintings waiting! What a great way to study! You deserve an apple pie! Love finding gems in larger not so great works. I gather after cutting they would be mounted when framed?

8/20/2019 10:31:23 am

Hey Carol! "Meeting" new artists is a huge inspiration expander, don't you think? And apple pie - heck yes! With a scoop of ice cream, please!

Using 300 lb paper, the paintings can be torn along a straight edge rather than cut, preserving the deckled edges. This allows them to be floated within a mat or matted (mounted) as you mentioned, same as the intact larger piece would have been.

Stan Kurth link

8/20/2019 03:07:33 pm

Yes, give yourself an apple. You're good!

8/20/2019 03:13:01 pm

WOOT! (happily waving her arms around and doing a groovy little dance) Thank you, Grand Master Stan!

Fault Line

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