That's exactly what one of my painting teachers said to me in art school---that I shouldn't try breaking the rules till I'd mastered them. He likened it to trying to play jazz before you could play music well at all. If I remember correctly, we had this discussion because I wanted to use drips in my painting, haha. Seems so ridiculous now. I know what he meant, but I also know what you mean. BREAK 'EM!
The funny thing about your teacher’s example is that a lot of jazz musicians learned to play music by… playing jazz. I do think there’s wisdom in learning the conventions, but there’s the danger that you get stuck doing it the conventional way for the rest of your life.
The borders remind me of the old peel-apart Polaroid films when you "reverse peeled" the film as to retain the paper spacer between the negative and the positive (yes, instant film does have a negative)
Chemical photography is so weird and tactile. It's amazing it was perfected to such a point that anyone could get a good print, in color even! When you get back to it as a craft you can feel how sensitive and sketchy it is! When photography appeared it took painters a while to find their place, which included painting things you couldn’t take a photo of. Turns out you can get some of that in the darkroom too, stuff you can’t take a photo of. I have friends who make 16mm films and process the footage with coffee grounds to develop it. It’s neat when you get the process back in your hands! (and wearing gloves is important sometimes)
I’m finding that I only want to use hands-on tools for art these days. Experimenting on a computer can be fun too, but it’s a disembodied experience. As you say, the process is super sensitive and even small deviations from the rules yield wildly different results. I definitely want to try the coffee developer soon.
Coming from a printmaking background, I've learned to expect "mistakes" of varying degrees pretty much every time I print. Sometimes the works with the biggest mistakes are the most interesting!
I feel the exact same way. If you want clinical perfection, just print it from a computer. I’m not sure I would have been as open to “ruined prints” when I was younger, but after years of looking at abstract painting and thinking about the role of chance in art, I find it thrilling now.
I don’t want to ruin your appreciation of Julian Schnabel, but it’s actually a giant photo that he splattered paint on. That said, I still stand by it—he’s an amazing artist and a great film director as well.
I also love Gerhardt Richter’s paint on photo work. I’m not familiar with Wolfgang Tillman’s work, but I’ve been very interested in experimenting with chemigrams (camera-less photo prints).
Thanks Shelley! I do love a grasshopper. This one was as big as my thumb and just hanging on one of our chairs. I used some extender tubes to get super close and was amazed by all the details in its armor.
Love the idea of breaking rules right away!
These are absolutely gorgeous. Stuff the rules 🖤
That's exactly what one of my painting teachers said to me in art school---that I shouldn't try breaking the rules till I'd mastered them. He likened it to trying to play jazz before you could play music well at all. If I remember correctly, we had this discussion because I wanted to use drips in my painting, haha. Seems so ridiculous now. I know what he meant, but I also know what you mean. BREAK 'EM!
The funny thing about your teacher’s example is that a lot of jazz musicians learned to play music by… playing jazz. I do think there’s wisdom in learning the conventions, but there’s the danger that you get stuck doing it the conventional way for the rest of your life.
Exactly. And the danger is great, because that's what most people end up doing!
The borders remind me of the old peel-apart Polaroid films when you "reverse peeled" the film as to retain the paper spacer between the negative and the positive (yes, instant film does have a negative)
Great , the first one reminds me of Eraserhead !
You’re right! It kind of has that glowing black and white quality.
Love analogue , it’s a kind of alchemy . ⚒️👍👍
These rock!
Thanks man!
Chemical photography is so weird and tactile. It's amazing it was perfected to such a point that anyone could get a good print, in color even! When you get back to it as a craft you can feel how sensitive and sketchy it is! When photography appeared it took painters a while to find their place, which included painting things you couldn’t take a photo of. Turns out you can get some of that in the darkroom too, stuff you can’t take a photo of. I have friends who make 16mm films and process the footage with coffee grounds to develop it. It’s neat when you get the process back in your hands! (and wearing gloves is important sometimes)
I’m finding that I only want to use hands-on tools for art these days. Experimenting on a computer can be fun too, but it’s a disembodied experience. As you say, the process is super sensitive and even small deviations from the rules yield wildly different results. I definitely want to try the coffee developer soon.
Coming from a printmaking background, I've learned to expect "mistakes" of varying degrees pretty much every time I print. Sometimes the works with the biggest mistakes are the most interesting!
I feel the exact same way. If you want clinical perfection, just print it from a computer. I’m not sure I would have been as open to “ruined prints” when I was younger, but after years of looking at abstract painting and thinking about the role of chance in art, I find it thrilling now.
Very cool! That surfing painting is unreal
Julian Schnabel is on another level.
Honestly! It almost looked like a photo. Thanks for sharing man - you often put me on to new artists
I don’t want to ruin your appreciation of Julian Schnabel, but it’s actually a giant photo that he splattered paint on. That said, I still stand by it—he’s an amazing artist and a great film director as well.
I also love Gerhardt Richter’s paint on photo work. I’m not familiar with Wolfgang Tillman’s work, but I’ve been very interested in experimenting with chemigrams (camera-less photo prints).
Love your subject. Grasshoppers seem so regal.
Thanks Shelley! I do love a grasshopper. This one was as big as my thumb and just hanging on one of our chairs. I used some extender tubes to get super close and was amazed by all the details in its armor.
These are so cool!!
Thanks Sarah!
Beautiful! Feel like my whole art practice is a happy accident 🌱
your brain is so cool