Catching Up On Artmaking & Art Appreciation...

On Saturday afternoon I treated myself to the creative feast of attending 'Art Chicago' ~ An International Fair Of Contemporary And Modern Art at the Merchandise Mart. I was blessed with a free admission ticket by an elderly gentleman promoting one of the antique art galleries in the building - $20 admission was also an equivalent of my parking cost and I remembered the path of gratitude again...

What can I possibly say about hundreds of samples each exhibiting gallery tried to present.... collages, mixed media, fine art photography, assemblage, and found objects artwork, just to name the very few varieties of what a Creative Spirit can express through a human being. Couple of my favorite highlights ~ a found object assemblage titled 'Modern Heroes' created by joining together small plastic action heroes figures, not larger than couple of inches in height, into a shape of North and South Americas on resin. Oh, did I mention I could purchase this stunning piece for a bargain of $13, 500? Another artwork I had difficult time to say 'goodbye' to was described, in terms of mediums, as 'oil and wires,' however, I couldn't possibly conceive of oil paint being manipulated/utilized according to that description. Imagine a set of ten steel wires spaced in between one another about two inches apart.... the multicolored paint drip-drying in between the wires creating plastic, elongated shapes that fuse the layers and wires together ~ here's a good example of a picture being worth a thousand words (in digital format a thousand words is translated into a LOT of tedious scrolling down). This beautiful artwork was priced at $35,000 and I just couldn't walk away from it.... but, with much hesitation, I finally did.

The rest of the weekend was spent on catching up on couple of pieces I've been working on simultaneously, here's a little sample of my meanderings....

A New Bottle Is Born

I started working on a new bottle... I poured Golden Acrylics Indian Yellow Hue, Nickel Azo Yellow, and Interference Oxide Red down the bottle neck. I gave it some shakin' and spinnin' for couple of hours (letting the paint settle in different areas intermittently).

The following day I mixed Golden Hard Molding Paste with Liquid Paynes Grey and Heavy Body Acrylics Phthalo Blue (maybe someone could give me an advice on how to pronounce that fancy name...?). Next I applied the mixture to the surface of the bottle.

I used a Color Shaper and had a blast with making marks and removing paste-paint mixture while creating a rather haphazard pattern across the glass surface.
I keep you posted on the progress of this project as I continue to work on it.

NEXT PROJECT

Here I revisited the project from over a week ago, feel free to refer back to the post from

April 22, 2009 and see its beginnings. I spreaded a thin layer of Golden Liquid Acrylics Transparent Red Iron Oxide across the surface with a palette knife trying to create a circular, mandala-like shape.

Once the first paint layer was dry to the touch, I followed with an even thinner application of Iridescent Gold (Fine), making sure that the background color bleeds through.

All metallic paints dry quiet fast as the water particles evaporate, so if you want to manipulate with the still wet acrylics, act Fast. In the above photo I used a Color Shaper to inscribe into the wet Iridescent Gold layer, a Sanskrit sign pronounced 'Om' or 'Aum' by Tibetan Buddhists. I've incorporated that same sign into two other pieces before: April 13, 2009 and April 17, 2009. I will elaborate on the meaning of this sign and symbol in one of my future posts.

The good, ol' wire brush works its aging magic on a still slightly wet acrylic paint.... removing particles of paint, bleeding through the background color and paper, and smoothing out the edges. I've said it before and I'll repeat myself here again, wire brush can be an invaluable tool for your aging adventures, please keep in mind, that the type of brush I use is to be purchased at craft supplies places, NOT at hardware stores!

In the above photograph I applied Golden Liquid Acrylics Paynes Grey to the large stamp (I know, I know.... it is a big No-No to apply anything except ink to the rubber stamp... but I will experiment with applying clay if I feel the artwork needs it). Anyway, make sure you thoroughly wash the surface of your stamp with warm water and dish washing soap, don't let the acrylic dry on the surface!

I like the uneven paint distribution of the stamp's design, you can somewhat see its impressions on the surface of the project.... a little patina exudes more 'authentic' antique character of the piece.

Finally a applied two thick layers of Golden Self-Leveling Gel which drys to a gloss sheen. It may not be very well defined in a photograph, but adding layers of gel has somewhat altered the depth of Iridescent Gold, you can notice some hints of bronze hue inside. I played with pouring Self-Leveling Gel on other pieces in the past and each time there was more depth showing through, even though this particular medium is not very thick in its viscosity.

'Vedic Om'

Mixed Media on Wood, 12x12

Tatiana Kuzyk 5/2009

Finished piece, coated with Polymer Varnish with UVLS (Gloss).