Waiting Series: Artist Statement

WAITING SERIES

Artist Statement

When I began collecting images for the Waiting project, I was struck by the many contradictions found in the gestures of the waiting figures. Even though the figures stood in very close physical proximity to each other, it seemed apparent that there was a significant emotional distance between them. Each figure seemed locked within their own existence, unaware and unresponsive to the other figures surrounding them. Yet simultaneously, waiting in a line creates a situation where the gesture of one figure would directly lead to the next, creating a fluidity and visual relationship between all of the figures. Also, the presence of a line of waiting figures immediately implies the presence of a common goal between them. I was engaged by the individual and group anxiety that seemed to permeate such silent and still scenes.

Monotype Sketches

I began the project with small scale monotype sketches. This medium allowed me to quickly explore the range of gestures associated with waiting. In my research, I concluded that people essentially wait in three ways: 1) sitting, 2) leaning against any object that was available, and 3) standing straight. In analyzing the sitting and leaning figures, their gestures seemed too comfortable to be able to express the level of anxiety that I was looking for. I became the most interested in the standing figures, there was a discomfort and tension in their gestures and stances that seemed to clearly articulate the emotional tone I wanted to establish in the work.

Drawings

After completing the monotype sketches, I had a better sense of how I wanted to physically group and represent the figures. These drawings, executed with both etching ink and ink wash on printmaking paper gave me the opportunity to work out how I wanted to articulate the figures visually. I wanted to work more spontaneously in these drawings, and the unpredictable nature of the ink wash became a natural choice to bring this out. At the same time, the dryness and stiffness of the etching ink provided an anchor to the compositions. The completion of these drawings was a significant part of my transition back into the oil painting medium.

Black Paintings

Having spent a significant amount of time away from painting, I was excited to return to this medium. I began with paintings executed exclusively with black paint on panel. The concept behind these paintings was to create a situation that replicated the reductive method of working used in a monotype. The black paint was applied in very thin layers and then wiped away with a rag to achieve contrast.

I recognized as I worked on these paintings that the dull quality of the black paint was not giving me the range of depth and texture that I was looking for in these compositions. I searched for a way to use color as a means of creating more variety in the paintings, without assigning colors to individual figures or objects.

Color Paintings

Contrary to the black paintings, these new paintings were painted with thick layers of opaque paint, using tints of color to express both the background and figures. Direct painting methods with the brush were taken from the experience of creating the ink wash drawings.

While working on these color paintings, I started to become increasingly frustrated with my resource material. I had been assembling compositions from photographs, and this process proved to be extremely limiting. In viewing each photograph, I longed to see multiple points of view of each scene, yet because of the photographic medium this proved impossible. I realized that the only way I was going to be able to exert that level of control over my compositions was to create my own resource material from scratch.

Although this realization regarding my resource material demanded a new start in this project, this was a significant turning point where the work was able to develop a new level of specificity and direction.

Sculpture

I began with the construction of numerous small scale figure sculptures. Each figure was sculpted to represent a gesture associated with waiting. The figures were sculpted with very little detail, so that they were more open to visual possibilities. The casting process provided the opportunity to replicate each individual figure in large quantities, allowing for repetition of the same figure throughout various compositions. I developed a strong familiarity with these recurring figures, recognizing them in different contexts with each new composition.

Photographs

The compositions were dramatically lit to create high contrast within each scene. The long shadows served as a visual means to define a landscape without actually directly representing one. These blank landscapes allow the viewer to place the waiting figures at any place or point in time. After the lighting was set up, the figures were photographed in order to fabricate resource material to create prints and drawings. This process provided infinite possibilities in terms of composition and point of view of the scene.

Walnut Ink Drawings

From the photographs, I worked on ink drawings created with walnut ink and extremely heavy watercolor paper. The unpredictable nature of the walnut ink forced me to allow the ink to behave on its own at many points. Many effects were achieved by puddling the ink and water in large quanitities and allowing the ink to bleed in different directions.

As I developed these ink drawings, it became clear to me that the long shadows were serving other purposes as well. I started thinking about the shadows as tracks for each figure. Certain tracks would be intensely dark whereas others would be barely visible. Other times the tracks could overlap or merge with the track of another figure. The visual result of this change was that the shadows became more graphic and focused, providing a stark contrast against the pure white of the background. This visual sensibility in the ink drawings made for a natural transition into the use of the sugarlift and aquatint medium in the intaglio prints.

Intaglio Prints

In the intaglio prints, the careful use of tone through the sugarlift technique and biting of the plate allowed the graphic sensibility to be carried to a new level of subtlety. This medium also allowed for a more direct, simplified approach to the figures. The bleeds of the ink drawings was no longer present, and the figures relied on the subtleties of the aquatint to achieve variation of tone.

As the prints progressed, it became clear to me that the tracks of the figures were becoming more important than the figures themselves. In this way, the focus of the project redirected itself towards the tracks of the figures as a means of visually portraying the path of each individual.

Monochrome Paintings

The completion of the ink drawings and intaglio prints provided a natural segway back into oil painting. The oil paint medium and surface presented an interesting dilemma. Where the intaglio prints relied on plate tone to create atmosphere, the ink drawings relied on the white of the paper. To achieve this atmosphere of white in the oil paintings, multiple layers of white with thin, subtle tints of color were created. The complemetary pairing of purple and yellow provided the stark contrast necessary to separate the figures from the background. The figures are directly painted with a dry brush in conjunction with smearing and wiping with a cotton rag to achieve various levels of tone.

When I began collecting images for the Waiting project, I was struck by the many contradictions found in the gestures of the waiting figures. Even though the figures stood in very close physical proximity to each other, it seemed apparent that there was a significant emotional distance between them. Each figure seemed locked within their own existence, unaware and unresponsive to the other figures surrounding them. Yet simultaneously, waiting in a line creates a situation where the gesture of one figure would directly lead to the next, creating a fluidity and visual relationship between all of the figures. Also, the presence of a line of waiting figures immediately implies the presence of a common goal between them. I was engaged by the individual and group anxiety that seemed to permeate such silent and still scenes.
	Monotype Sketches I began the project with small scale monotype sketches. This medium allowed me to quickly explore the range of gestures associated with waiting. In my research, I concluded that people essentially wait in three ways: 1) sitting, 2) leaning against any object that was available, and 3) standing straight. In analyzing the sitting and leaning figures, their gestures seemed too comfortable to be able to express the level of anxiety that I was looking for. I became the most interested in the standing figures, there was a discomfort and tension in their gestures and stances that seemed to clearly articulate the emotional tone I wanted to establish in the work.
	Drawings After completing the monotype sketches, I had a better sense of how I wanted to physically group and represent the figures. These drawings, executed with both etching ink and ink wash on printmaking paper gave me the opportunity to work out how I wanted to articulate the figures visually. I wanted to work more spontaneously in these drawings, and the unpredictable nature of the ink wash became a natural choice to bring this out. At the same time, the dryness and stiffness of the etching ink provided an anchor to the compositions. The completion of these drawings was a significant part of my transition back into the oil painting medium.
	Black Paintings Having spent a significant amount of time away from painting, I was excited to return to this medium. I began with paintings executed exclusively with black paint on panel. The concept behind these paintings was to create a situation that replicated the reductive method of working used in a monotype. The black paint was applied in very thin layers and then wiped away with a rag to achieve contrast. I recognized as I worked on these paintings that the dull quality of the black paint was not giving me the range of depth and texture that I was looking for in these compositions. I searched for a way to use color as a means of creating more variety in the paintings, without assigning colors to individual figures or objects.
	Color Paintings Contrary to the black paintings, these new paintings were painted with thick layers of opaque paint, using tints of color to express both the background and figures. Direct painting methods with the brush were taken from the experience of creating the ink wash drawings. While working on these color paintings, I started to become increasingly frustrated with my resource material. I had been assembling compositions from photographs, and this process proved to be extremely limiting. In viewing each photograph, I longed to see multiple points of view of each scene, yet because of the photographic medium this proved impossible. I realized that the only way I was going to be able to exert that level of control over my compositions was to create my own resource material from scratch. Although this realization regarding my resource material demanded a new start in this project, this was a significant turning point where the work was able to develop a new level of specificity and direction.
	Sculpture I began with the construction of numerous small scale figure sculptures. Each figure was sculpted to represent a gesture associated with waiting. The figures were sculpted with very little detail, so that they were more open to visual possibilities. The casting process provided the opportunity to replicate each individual figure in large quantities, allowing for repetition of the same figure throughout various compositions. I developed a strong familiarity with these recurring figures, recognizing them in different contexts with each new composition.
	Photographs The compositions were dramatically lit to create high contrast within each scene. The long shadows served as a visual means to define a landscape without actually directly representing one. These blank landscapes allow the viewer to place the waiting figures at any place or point in time. After the lighting was set up, the figures were photographed in order to fabricate resource material to create prints and drawings. This process provided infinite possibilities in terms of composition and point of view of the scene.
	Walnut Ink Drawings From the photographs, I worked on ink drawings created with walnut ink and extremely heavy watercolor paper. The unpredictable nature of the walnut ink forced me to allow the ink to behave on its own at many points. Many effects were achieved by puddling the ink and water in large quanitities and allowing the ink to bleed in different directions. As I developed these ink drawings, it became clear to me that the long shadows were serving other purposes as well. I started thinking about the shadows as tracks for each figure. Certain tracks would be intensely dark whereas others would be barely visible. Other times the tracks could overlap or merge with the track of another figure. The visual result of this change was that the shadows became more graphic and focused, providing a stark contrast against the pure white of the background. This visual sensibility in the ink drawings made for a natural transition into the use of the sugarlift and aquatint medium in the intaglio prints.
	Intaglio Prints In the intaglio prints, the careful use of tone through the sugarlift technique and biting of the plate allowed the graphic sensibility to be carried to a new level of subtlety. This medium also allowed for a more direct, simplified approach to the figures. The bleeds of the ink drawings was no longer present, and the figures relied on the subtleties of the aquatint to achieve variation of tone. As the prints progressed, it became clear to me that the tracks of the figures were becoming more important than the figures themselves. In this way, the focus of the project redirected itself towards the tracks of the figures as a means of visually portraying the path of each individual.
	Monochrome Paintings The completion of the ink drawings and intaglio prints provided a natural segway back into oil painting. The oil paint medium and surface presented an interesting dilemma. Where the intaglio prints relied on plate tone to create atmosphere, the ink drawings relied on the white of the paper. To achieve this atmosphere of white in the oil paintings, multiple layers of white with thin, subtle tints of color were created. The complemetary pairing of purple and yellow provided the stark contrast necessary to separate the figures from the background. The figures are directly painted with a dry brush in conjunction with smearing and wiping with a cotton rag to achieve various levels of tone.