SEMESTER 2: WEEK 1

OK. Here goes. Semester 2. Was decompressing a bit last week with travel and PRSD (post-residency stress disorder :)  Last week I met with my mentor David Feinberg from the University of Minnesota. I get to be a teaching assistant to his painting class on Wednesday nights. Our first critique is tentatively scheduled for next Tuesday. I also am auditing an Art History Class at the U for Contemporary Art/Painting. I am also a bit surprised but in my preliminary research for a Semester 3 mentor, I received a very fast reply from New York artist April Gornik. Looks like she will be agreeable to mentoring next semester! Finished up my Residency summary and emailed to new advisor, Oscar Palacio. 

Spent a lot of studio time this week getting some canvases ready. I sanded and gessoed a bunch of masonite boards. I have never painted on this, but it was a common suggestion at the residency. Also painting on some smaller canvases because of residency suggestions. More on these later. 

I was a bit stumped starting this week. There's always a lot of mixed messages at the residency. Usually I will try some different things, but stay close to my advisor and 1 or 2 other professors. These next 3 I think will be part of a very large work. They are smaller, but I want to do a bunch that will add up to an actual landscape/scene. Was sort of inspired by Oscar's work and some other photographers. I guess these are a bunch of snapshots that will add up to some sort of collage kind of thing. Skies are always a good place for me to start painting when I am confused or distressed and needing to get started with out a clear path.

This next one is a study for the following painting. This one is on pre-made gesso board from the art store (for comparison to my own home made boards).  I am trying to get a thicker painterly effect going on this one. Lots of texture and brush strokes. (This is something that former advisor Hannah Barrett suggested in our last meeting.)

This weekend is also my first Chicago trip. I plan to make at least 2. This first one I will most likely be trying to get through the 2 big museums. I emailed Michael Newman (AIB professor) about other places to be looking at for my next trip.