Behind the Painting: Remodeling of the Fracture

This week's painting, Remodeling of the fracture., was titled after the TV show Bones. It was one of those shows I binge watched and Bones was always going on about the remodeling  of a fracture to solve a case. 

The painting is not based on the show, but rather I titled the piece based on HOW it was painted. Instead of keeping all my paintings or throwing away panels that I dislike, I paint over paintings that don't work. In this case, I used a stencil and made a new composition of chairs directly on the previous painting because it was unsuccessful. I allowed some of the old chair legs to remain around the floor area to be kind of confusing.Thus the title is describing the fact that this old painting, which I saw as a fracture, boo-boo, failed artwork, or what-have-you, was remodeled and healed into a new version.

I have done two other pieces based on social interactions and moments in TV shows. These are not done as fan art, but from my interest in human interactions and relationships. I included the two other paintings that are inspired by, or related, to TV shows. One called, The Selection., which is based on an X-Files episode where 5 people are chosen to go to a investigate a research facility in some remote area where people have gone insane. These selected two pairs and one other stood together posed in a circle, closer to those they knew, leaving gaps between those they did not. I found the division in the unity a good base for a painting.

The other painting, To look after., is based on the TV show Supernatural. In the referenced episode, three main characters are sitting/standing in a trio formation watching surveillance cameras to monitor some demons. I tried to capture a bit of their personalities with the body language I spoke of last week. When the time came to title this piece, because these characters look after each other and in that episode they saved some acquaintances from those demons, I wanted to focus on that family aspect of guarding, protecting, or babysitting. 

Remodeling of the fracture.

9 x 12 x 1.5 inches

Acrylic paint on wood panel with paper tag

2015

The selection.

8 x 10 x 1.5 inches

Acrylic paint on wood panel with paper tag

2014

To look after.

12 x 9 x 1 inches

Acrylic paint on wood panel with paper tag

2015

Behind the Painting: Public Expectations.

Public expectations., this week's focus, was drawn from my imagination. I was thinking about awkward moments and thought about waiting for an elevator. From that idea, this painting was born.

This is a perfect opportunity to say two things. One: I have painted chairs for so long (going on three years?!) that I am able to paint them from memory. Two: since I understand more or less how folding chairs look and work, I get to think about how to alter their appearance to add personality and emotion through body language. The direction each chair is facing and the angles of their limbs help to tell my stories.
 

This painting is literally two people waiting for an elevator or any other situation where you have no idea how to interact while you wait. These two chairs are clearly on slightly different pages. The right-hand chair is is facing the hypothetical wall/elevator/counter staring directly ahead and even has a slight tilt to the right, as if to say, “I like to keep to myself, if not away from others.” The other chair is angled towards the timid one, comfortable, perhaps even smiling or saying hello to the other chair. Or maybe this left-hand chair isn’t altogether wanting to interact, but it definitely has a more open and comfortable stance.

When it came to title this piece, I didn't want it to be about waiting for an elevator. It was about the grey area of interacting in public. What are the expectations? What are the standards? Am I expected to smile at every stranger EVEN when I am grumpy and want to punch someone? Is it okay to smile and chat? Our parents/the media spent so much effort preaching about stranger danger, when is it okay to move beyond that? And what if you prefer to just stand with your own thoughts?

 Public Expectations.

4 x 6 x 1 inches

Acrylic paint on wood panel with paper tag

2014

Behind the Painting: Their own kind of Presentation.

Last week, I mused about Seated Commentary., which is based on a photo. For my compositions, I draw upon arrangements and relationship dynamics from real life, photos, TV shows or from my imagination/intuition. This week's pick, Their own kind of presentation., is a painting based on an observation of people that I recorded in my sketchbook.

Their own kind of presentation. is based on an observation of parents watching a little league game. They all sat in their own chairs arranged in the corner of the field instead of on the bleachers where I, a nanny, was sitting. As an avid people watcher, I found it fun to watch them from afar. I felt a little left out, but then again, I didn’t belong over there. They might have been there for the shade and the comfort of their own chairs, but it seemed like a ritual of sorts and it fascinated me. This was clearly a chance to catch up with each other, so they were busy chatting away, as well as cheering for the kids. I recall two parents who were super intent on their conversation and barely paying attention to the game. Then there is the chair in the back that was either a dad who was mostly watching the game and standing there for proximity or another parent bending down to chit chat.

The sketch of their angled, messy arc is on the left-hand page of my sketchbook image below. The title is a refers to this presentation of theirs, the choices they made in how to appear and present themselves in public, which as an outsider was like watching a play of some sort. As a bonus, I included the right-hand page with sketches of some different positions of the boys playing little league. I prefer to translate positions of people, chairs or objects directly into my sketchbook as angles and folding chairs, to be recreated on a panel later. If there is a time crunch or I don't have my sketchbook, I will snap a photo instead.

 Their own kind of presentation.

12 x 16 x 1 inches

Acrylic paint on wood panel with paper tag

2014

Little League Baseball inspired sketches

Pencil and pen on paper
2014

Behind the Painting: Seated Commentary.

This piece, Seated Commentary., is based on a photo I snapped of some chairs scattered around California College of the Arts, where I attended college. There were a few groups of empty folding chairs around that May night in 2014 as I headed home from school. I remember it being late, so the vast building was fairly empty. Only folding chairs and other items were left behind to tell the story of the day. I quickly took a few pictures thinking I would turn them into paintings. I don't recall if the others were or not, but the picture below hibernated in my phone for over a year. Finally, this summer, I rediscovered the image and transformed it into a painting.

As I took the photo and now, I assume this particular arrangement of chairs to be the aftermath of a critique. In art school, critiques are a meeting to give feedback on others' current projects, finished or in-progress. I was interested in documenting found arrangements, especially a scenario I was familiar with. What captured my attention and caused me to finally turn this image into a painting was the two chairs in the bottom right corner who seemed to be whispering to each other. 

Focusing on these two chairs, I did a sketchbook study of the composition with pencil and watercolor to work on the chairs' body language. It is the one in the top left corner of the sketchbook image below. Using this as a reference, I sketched my painting onto a wood panel, adding chairs around the two whispering to create the sense of a class or a group of people.

To me, the arrangement mostly presents itself as two kids either talking instead of paying attention or quietly talking smack about the person presenting. Both are rather negative. When I went to title Seated Commentary. I had these two storylines in mind, though I didn’t want to make a negative, judgmental piece. I was staring at the painting thinking about giving feedback, rumors, gossiping and constructive criticism, when I suddenly came up with the title “sitting commentary” as a riff on “running commentary”. Because I paint chairs I thought I was oh so clever and I am fairly sure I laughed out loud. Eventually, I went with "seated" instead so the title wasn't about commenting on the action of sitting. This piece does bring up ideas of judgement and opinion. But what really strikes me is the intimacy between the two chairs in the corner. Those two trust each other, and I like to believe if they are in class that their little peanut gallery is constructive and kind, or perhaps they're just two people leaning on each other while they people watch in a park?

Seated Commentary.

8 x 10 x 1.5 inches

Acrylic paint on wood panel with paper tag

2015

 Sketchbook Studies
Watercolor and pencil on paper
2015

 Folding chairs at CCA

Cell phone image

2014

Behind the Painting: Should be.

My first painting to muse about depicts one chair sitting and thinking. It is entitled Should be. and was created in early 2014. I can’t recall if I painted this chair from observation or memory, but when it came time to title it, I saw it as a lone figure gazing off into the distance wondering: Who should I be when I grow up? How should I be? Shouldn’t I be better at this?  I should be better. I should be braver. I should be stronger. I should be this way. I should be that way.

Growing up, my mom emphasized that “bored” and “should” were really naughty words (along with swear words), and she informed me (to this day actually) that it is how you use words that makes them offensive or hurtful. “Should” can be used in a positive manner. Though, more often than not, I notice myself (and people I know) hurt by “shoulds” cropping up in conversation or spiraling in their minds. The word implies that what one did, said, thought, or is doing, saying, thinking is wrong or not good enough, even if that is completely untrue.

Should be. was included in my senior thesis show entitled Did others notice?. Not only did the title function as a nod at me noticing and documenting the chairs. noticed, but also referenced a self-conscious statement of worry. After harboring shame in my own psyche for many years, and knowing most people experience the feeling, I created the most universal, unspecific pieces about aspects of feelings of self-consciousness, awkwardness and shame to share proudly.

Should be.

8 x 10 x 1.5 inches

Acrylic paint on wood panel

2014

  Install shot of Did others notice?

2014

Behind the Painting Preamble

Before I delve behind some paintings, I want to share a little about how I think about my 60 or so (and counting!) chair paintings. Each of them tells a story through both text and image. I added tags with the titles of my paintings about a year ago so the titles fully became an integral part of the piece, instead of a label that may be overlooked. Sometimes a story or moment causes to me create a piece and sometimes I paint an arrangement and then the story becomes clear through working on the title (a process involving a thesaurus and lots of time staring at the piece). In the beginning (around 2013), I worked from observation; painting found and created arrangements of chairs. Now I can paint folding chairs from memory and I focus on expressing each characters’ body language and personality in order to help convey the moment, relationship, or concept that the piece is representing.

If you are stumbling upon this blog from somewhere other than my website or facebook page, see my artwork at www.luciadill.com