It has pained me to realize I haven't updated this in such a long time. I've been making paintings still, I just haven't been reporting here. I know I've needed to post here but I wasn't sure where to start after such a long time. So this is my start I suppose.

I've been making work, selling work, and often times buying work.

I bought a couple of Sloth prints, I would rather have the originals of course but the prints will do for the time being. http://iamsloth.com/

Also, I have my on eye a Mark Chadwick painting. All of his works are full of life. It seems as though you wouldn't need any other decoration in a room if you had just one of his paintings displayed in it. http://www.markchadwick.co.uk/abstract-fluid-painting-49

50/50/50

I've slowly graduated into adulthood and I've began noticing something. As a child when you get mail the world stops and turns into a mini Christmas. Whatever comes is something awesomely magical and always a big surprise. Mail has always been the highlight of my day until recently. Fun things stopped coming in the mail and suddenly, bills overpowered the mailbox. I know the bulk of my bill paying life has yet to come and I dread it.


While driving I got the idea of brightening the day of 50 random people through paint. The idea has evolved into simply this; 50 random people from all 50 states will get a small watercolor I have painted specifically for this project. The idea is to brighten the day of a random person, give them a surprise and hopefully they can do something to pass on the happiness in their own way.

Each painting fits easily in a standard envelope, is made from materials I already have and includes a note explaining the project. Since I don't buy new materials, except stamps and envelopes, I hope to encourage the simplicity of doing something for another person–a complete stranger. So far I've done six of these water colors; Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, New York, Oregon, and Texas. I urge them to write back to give me feedback, go to my facebook page to see the others and tag themselves in their new painting.

So far I've only heard from one person. I assumed some would just discard the painting, maybe even think it's creepy. I hope to hear from more though, it's nice to know if I've made a difference! If this project becomes successful I would like to expand it to other parts of the world, not just the US. It could have a big impact on people and maybe bring some people closer by forming a community of those you've gotten a painting. It's a pretty romantic notion, I know it may not happen but it's nice to strive towards something.

Splat One

Splat One by *buchanc3 on deviantART

genre: abstract

size: 12" x 12"

medium: acrylic and lacquer on canvas

date: May 28, 2009

influences: Jackson Pollock and De Stijl

technique:

I did this painting in an odd fashion, there could have been some much easier routes but I guess they all failed my mind during the process. I began with taping strips where I did not want the paint to be a visible splatter, these areas would end up bleeding under the tape. Then I splattered. Then I painted black areas with black nail polish. More splatters.

theme and reasoning: I wanted to explore negative space in splatters. Thus far I have not intentionally played with negative space

in an abstract form.

concept: As the subject here is exploring the use of positive and negative space, this is also

the concept. I wanted to see first hand the effects and the difference between a splatter on white and that same hue on black. Each play differently with other hues depending on what color surface they are on. I am normally drawn to black, though most of my paintings don't show it, and here really displays why. Each splatter is more noticeable and apparent when accompanied with such a dark value. Splash One could use more warm hues but those that are there seem to recede because of overlapping where they would normally jump forward. This painting is an experiment and has inspired later paintings.

Splat One has recieved a critique: http://readytofire.deviantart.com/critique/181720523

Splash Two and Splash Three

Splash Two by *buchanc3 on deviantART


Splash Three by *buchanc3 on deviantART

genre: abstract
size: 10” x 10”
medium: oil, acrylic, and candle wax on canvas
date: May 11, 2009

influences: Jackson Pollock and previous studies.

technique: This area is the most important with these two splash paintings. I began with the usual in my experimental, first a big splash of white oil paint; this time I covered most of the canvas in this base. Various hues were dripped and squirted. The addition of candle wax while the paint was wet is what created the most texture.

theme and reasoning: I felt the need to find a way to get more texture. When I heated the wax and dripped it on I found instant gratification. The texture achieved was much more than what I had expected and really bring depth to the piece.

concept: The concept of reaching further for something more is what inspired these two paintings. With Splash One I learned to create texture but I was not quite satisfied. These two paintings I did next to each other for a certain feel. Splash Two is composed of cool hues that tend to recede but the there is a warm opaque element in a few areas that lead this painting into Splash Three. In Splash Three the hues are all warm. They have an ability of coming forward even through the stark white. I was able to create a focal point with other colors besides white through the use of texture. Your eye is stalled in each area because of the amount of texture. When you have figured out that space white lines direct you to the next giving the viewer another area to evaluate that is similarly different than the last.

Splash One

genre: abstract
size: 30" x 24"
medium: oil and acrylic on canvas
date: May 10, 2009

influences: Jackson Pollock

technique: With Splash One I layed the canvas down and began to splash the paint on. I began with the white oil as a branching point and from there worked in color. I thinned the acrylics with water so they would be more tossable and threw them from one general area.

theme and reasoning: During this time I wanted to learn ways of creating texture and here I am again doing it through medium. It is a big experiment that has not ended yet. This is my first painting where I used this method of applying paint in a splashing fashion.

concept: The only concept is through aesthetics. Like many of my other experimental works, Splash One is a play on medium and color. Compositionally it could be shifted. I also would have like to see some warmer colors in the mix to really define a focal point. I would have also like to see a better use of the oil blob. If I would have thrown more paint into this area I would have seen a better turnout of texture. I learned things like this from doing this painting which makes it a complete success as learning is what I care about.

Series Five.1

Series Five.1 by *buchanc3 on deviantART

genre: abstract
size: 10" x 10"
medium: acrylic and oil on canvas
date: May 10, 2009

influences: Jackson Pollock

technique: I began with taking many long length strands of yarn dipped in white oil paint. I spread watered down red paint with a noodle strainer.

theme and reasoning: Series Five is a continuation of my experiments in mediums. I have felt it important to continue these small experiments to get a good feel of the interactions in paint.

concept: As the red acrylic does not mix with the white oil it forms in the spaces to create shapes that would otherwise be impossible to make. There are three planes here while only using two hues. The receding plane comes from raw canvas, the middle is also white but stands apart from the canvas, and the red represents the foreground. The two whites are the same in value but contrast because of the texture the oil paint creates.

My plan for Series Five is to gradually progress through the color scheme through many canvases.

**SOLD** Series Five.1 has been sold to Stacie Snoddon of Ontario

Naive

Naive by *buchanc3 on deviantART

genre: abstract
size: 10" x 10"
medium: lacquer and charcoal on canvas
date: May 10, 2009

influences: my peers

technique: Here, I made individual drops with various paints; nail polish and model paints. After I got the paint down I drew the ear with a charcoal pencil.

theme and reasoning: The main reason for doing this piece, like many other paintings, is to convey a message. I've noticed my peers getting lost in the world. Naive is very much related to Secondary Education. I've been seeing a pattern and noticed it most when elections were approaching. Our minds seem to not think for ourselves.

concept: I am most disgusted when people are not able to think for themselves. I have noticed many people hearing a random blurb on the news, not knowing the context or any other facts, and jumping to conclusions. People forming opinions on one single sentence that may or may not hold truth. They don't care if their knowledge of a subject is completely out of touch, they still voice it. It is people who can not form an opinion of their own and just go with the flow. These people are everywhere and are those who are able to vote, to make real decisions. It is something that should be addressed with our young people before they grow up to carry on the same mindlessness their parents do.

Naive hangs on the wall, waiting for a home..

Electronica

Electronica by *buchanc3 on deviantART

genre: abstract
size: 16" x 18"
medium: acrylic and CDs on lectromax
date: April 3, 2009

influence: music, Wassily Kandinsky

technique: I began with splashing the lectromax with white paint which was put through a noodle strainer, this gave me a very random lay of paint which is very important concerning this one. Then I broke CDs with my hands. By doing this, you get a variation of sizes and shapes, also very important. I applied these pieces with rubber cement.

theme and reasoning: I had been just starting to fall in love with electronic music for several reasons, one being the haphazardness that comes along with it. This genre is very diverse and is random in every aspect. There is a huge margin for creative freedom and this really inspired me. I felt the urge to explore music through paint and collaged material.

concept: Electronica's aesthetics are the driving concept. I took the music and translated what I was hearing into another form of art. The base color, white, started random and continued to be random. The broken CDs began random but did not stay that way. When I started arranging them I just wanted to fit them together, but then the concept really started to flow. I started to mimic the broken beats, the odd sounds through the placement of shards. Everything came together just as a song does.

Electronica hangs on the wall of my room and will be featured in an online Italian art magazine.

Experiment Two

Experiment Two by *buchanc3 on deviantART

genre: experimentally abstract

size:

medium: acrylic and oil on canvas

date: April 1, 2009

influences: Jackson Pollock

technique: Within the left portion white oil paint was the base coat. For the second step I drizzled black acrylic over top while the paint was still wet. This process was reversed on the opposite side which created a completely different affect. I used red oils without any thinner to make a focal point. To create a texture within this strip of color I used a palette knife to apply the medium in a thick fashion.

theme and reasoning: This was an experiment to find the effects of mixing two similar yet completely different mediums.

concept: The concept here is to explore new possibilities within mediums. Each move you make creates a different look, a different feel within the painting. Understanding the medium in which you work and the way it reacts with other mediums is very important. The left portion has a more clear and concise feel to the shapes, both positive and negative space have hard edges. The right side has the opposite effect. When the white oil was applied on top of the black acrylic the results are much less clear. The splatters have disintegrated outward and have created a fuzzy look. I will use these findings in future paintings.

Experiment Two is owned by Charlie Futerill in Staines, UK.

Secondary Education

Secondary Education by *buchanc3 on deviantART

genre: abstract
size: 10" x 10"
medium: acrylic and charcoal on canvas
date: April 8, 2009

influences: Jackson Pollock and fellow students

technique: For the splattered bit I was aiming for a certain look. Not a look like a usual splatter I make has, but more scattered, rounded, and smaller I would say. I watered down the paint and dripped it from about seven feet above. I squirted the paint through a fine noodle strainer, this is what I came up with.

theme and reasoning: The theme of Secondary Education is a the typical college life. I have been seeing this go on around me for some time now, and I have been part of this epidemic until recently. It seems what is going on here is going unnoticed.

concept: In Secondary Education and in my future painting Naïve, I had the thought in my head but I was not sure how to execute. This painting begins with two bold and opposing colors that catch your attention. Their direction is off putting yet it invites you to look further. Then you see the human form vomiting these vivid colors. As said above, there is something going on around me. Students pay roughly $13,000 to attend Ferris State University for two semesters. None of us actually have this money lying around, we have to borrow it from lenders who are very excited about you graduating and missing a payment because the economy is so terrible you can not find a job in the profession you just worked at least four years to get in to so they can raise your interest rates. That's beside the point... I see students every day cramming for tests. They put everything off until the night before because they are too lazy to open a book. Sure they may get the grade, but what are they really gaining from this? We take in the information and regergitate it onto the paper so our proffessor can pat us on the head and give us a passing grade. But after you are done stressing about the test, you have sat down on your couch to turn on trashy TV, then what? The information is lost. You have spent $300 per credit hour this semester and can't remember half of what you were tested on. This is today's secondary education. I was in this trance up until last year. College life has become everything other than a time to learn. We have adopted new values such as drinking and finding other ways to pass the time. Not many students sit down and think about what they just took it, really ponder it. This is what Secondary Education is about.

Representationally; the knowledge, the only way to succeed, the most important part of your young adult life, is being spewed out without a second thought. Color is used to show the significance of it all. The student is colorless, even opaque to express the lack of knowledge and his willingness to give it up. He's fading away because of his lifestyle.

This painting hangs next to my computer as a reminder.