Robert Reeves: Oil & Dust

I’ve gone and gotten myself booked for three shows this Summer.  I’ll be posting dates and times, but for now I’m doing a lot of prep work.  I’ve got plans for some large scale monochromatic drawings.  Drawings big enough to crawl around on.  Additionally I’ve made a bit of an adventurous materials purchase and it’s time to make sure it was money well-spent.  While I was waiting I hit the charcoals and dug out my old litho crayons to get the process moving.

They’re just ideas, but you’ve got to start somewhere. 

 Litho crayons are an old standby of mine.  They can take a bit of patience if you’re not comfortable working with water-based mediums.  You can attain some great variations in value if you spend just a little time though.

 Charcoals are still a personal favorite though.  I really need to try out making my own.  If you’ve done it let me know how it went.

Lots to do… lots to do.
Keep up your momentum.

Cheers,

R

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I’ve been very delinquent in my writing these days.  It seems like there’s never enough time.  That would seem to be my sign that it’s time for some reorganization: mental and otherwise.  Just another form of Spring cleaning I suppose.

Amidst all this mental flotsam and jetsam every now and then you get a gem.  A real treasure.  In this case I got two.  I don’t typically spend a lot of time on faces.  I’m more interested in gesture and the figure itself as a general rule.  Sometimes though you just find yourself doing something for no apparent reason other than it seemed like the thing to do at the time.  In one case I had no intention of doing that drawing when I started working.  I just turned around looked at the paper sideways and started drawing.  I’d say it’s a step away from my normal fare.  I didn’t have any models or photo references so I’m looking to do it again.  I’d toyed with this idea a while back and even went as far as taking a few shots with a model (who bears no resemblance to this woman), but it was never right.  I hadn’t really thought about it lately until Saturday afternoon while I was working on some cleaning in the studio and picking at some other sketches when I just started drawing.  When I stopped I had her…

I’m calling her The Smooth Talker.  She’ll join the rest of the miscreants around the table having cocktails w/ the Crimson King and The Numbers Man.  I’m still not 100% sure what or who they all are so when they show up I try to be accommodating.
I’m really enjoying the illustrative style that’s coming through with these charcoals.

Did I mention I love charcoals?

The next is a piece I was wanting to do, but wasn’t considering getting started on it until later this month.  I was rather taken by a still frame from a video made of my friend, Brent Houzenga while he was working on a piece outside of the Hive Gallery in Los Angeles recently.  You can check the video here.  See if you can pinpoint the time of the still I was working from. Also if you would, please, take a second and zoom in on the photo.  The reduction of the image in this post takes a lot away from the eyes.

In both cases I was a little taken aback by my sudden urges to work on these piece and even more  so by the outcomes.  Even though I feel a little divergent at times I think there’s a place where these styles of mine will come together… Make something new.  I think this is a good place to be right now.

Cheers

R

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It took nearly 8 months, but I’ve finally managed to finish the 6 large-sized paintings I’ve been working on for Aviva here in Des Moines.  I’m pretty proud of my accomplishment and can’t wait to see them paired with their sister pieces being created by Andrea Myklebust and Stanton Sears.  The entire installation will be nearly 50ft across and will include 12 pieces in total.

In truth there’s just a leeeetle more tweaking I’d like to do on a couple of them, but I’m calling it good “for the most part”.  I’m trying to get them out of the studio before I do something rash.  You can only look at finished work for so long before you start to find more fault than I already have.  Just looking at these photos makes me itch to go downstairs and start picking…

I’ve got a truckload of work that’s been coming in during my tenure working on these pieces and some that’s dropped into my lap since.  I’m not complaining because it keeps me busy and is giving me the opportunity to try some new ideas.  Also being really really busy keeps me from getting too caught up with little things and from dwelling too much on some other things.  Idle hands and all that… So I’m happy for the work and as always grateful for the opportunity to be doing something I love.  

Here’s to keeping up the momentum.

Cheers,

R

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so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

William Carlos Williams

I’ve always liked that one.  It speaks to me about the moment of inspiration.  That time when, after a seemingly endless period of effort, something happens and it’s the jumping off point of something very important.  Although I’m not necessarily a religious person anymore I can’t seem to get over the fact that things sure do have a funny way of coming together at just the right (or wrong) time.  The last few weeks have been a good example of this and some very unpleasant things have come to pass.  But as things seem to go other doors have opened juuuuust a hair and because of that additional light I have been shown other possibilities that I had lost sight of.  You toil and toil and you get desperate and then you see a picture or hear a song on the radio or an old friend comes up in conversation…  BANG!  You see the logic in it all just for a second.  Best to go with it.  It’s how my painting The Numbers Man came up last year.

I kinda like that guy…

And it’s how I came to a conclusion today.  There are details that still keep it from becoming more than a conclusion.  They balance everything on the head of a pin.  I’m not sure which way things will go, but it gives me a larger sense of purpose and a more open playing field. Sometimes it’s hard to see in which ways you bind yourself.  I really realized today. While I’ve been thinking about making a change I hadn’t really taken it far enough.  It’s funny how you can say things to others and it makes perfect sense, but you don’t automatically apply it to yourself as well.  I know I’ve been harping on this topic on and off for a while.

Simplify Simplify Simplify.

What could be more simple than a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens?

Bawk Bawk

Cheers
R

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Every now and then you have to take a step away from what you’re working on… and work on something else.  This is a piece I’ve been wanting to do for a while, but I’ve been so wrapped up that I haven’t had the time to really explore the idea.

I painted a piece a while back and I was fairly happy with it, but I always felt like I’d missed the mark a bit.  I was trying to get a feeling across, but it really didn’t solidify in that piece.  Later on talking with a friend we came across a print of the same piece after the first application of paint.  He said, “I wish you would’ve stopped painting right there”.  So did I.  Every since I’ve been wanting to go back and try again.

So there you have it.  I do prefer it to my first effort.  I think it’s a step in reconciling some of the more figurative, monochromatic work with the architectural stuff.  It’s like when your left brain and right brain touch.  Little flashes go off.

Cheers,

R

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Maintenance.

But I’m getting out on a rant here…

I love Possibility.  It’s one of my favorite things.

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Just a quick note to show you the latest updates on one of my current commissioned pieces.
Aviva Commission: Chicago in-progress

Cheers,

R

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Enthusiasm.  As a child and even into adulthood my level of enthusiasm for certain things has been a source of inspiration to some… a severe irritant to others.  If you get me on the right topic I’ll latch onto it and run it into the ground and beat it into a fine pulp.  I remember one evening after a particular instance in college in which I’d been put down a bit for over-talking a subject I was particularly jazzed about an older friend said, “I hope you never lose your youthful exuberance no matter what anyone says about it”.  I heard that loud and clear not only because it in some way validated my total geekdom, but because it was the key to something.  It took someone else to confirm for me that there was value in what I’d been led to believe was a character flaw.

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I feel like I’m always trying to get myself organized.  I do all sorts of things to try and keep myself on the straight and narrow, but it seems like once I get a system set up for myself something comes along and changes things in such a way as to ruin the relevancy of said system.  I’d like to say that it’s the fault of the Universe, but ultimately it’s probably a testament to my inadequate organizational skills coupled with a sheer lack of time.
We’re working on that “time” part.

As the work’s started piling up I’m rehashing my routines to fit my current situation.  I think that’s the key although obviously I’m no expert. Perhaps it’s supposed to work the other way around.  A solid routine is important.  It helps bring order out of chaos.  Not to that I’m altogether against a healthy dose of Chaos.  I do have two sons.  I’m trying to set aside certain times for certain activities although at this point I’m trying to stay flexible.  When I had the studio outside of the home it seemed easier for some reason.  I’m willing to bet it has something to do with the presence of the amenities of the Home itself.  At the studio I didn’t have a computer, television, refrigerator… Only the materials, a stereo, a coffee maker & some seats.  It wasn’t necessarily comfortable.  That kept me on the move and probably kept me more focused.
I have issues with focus.  Ask anyon….
Holy Mother of Pearl! That potato looks just like Richard Nixon!


Where was I?  Right… Focus.  See what I mean?

I think what got me to realize this was the sheer amount of work I’m looking at right now and how much more I’d like to do.  It’s a wonderful problem to have, but it made me realize just how unfocused I’d become.  It made me consider just how much I need to further simplify my life and my processes.  A good little bit of self-realization that I keep coming back to.  We could all use a dose of that from time to time.  I’ve got three pieces in the works on my current commission list and three more to go.  I’ve got ample time, but that’s no reason not to keep moving forward. One mustn’t lose momentum.

I’m on the last nit-picky bits of the Singapore painting.  About 3/4 of the way through the NYC piece and 1/3 of the way done with Chicago.  I’m starting preliminary drawings on the rest.  I’m also blowing through paint, brushes, and carpenter’s pencils at an impressive rate.  Perhaps if I cared for my brushes a bit more… Mostly I just use them to death and move on (I know a few people like that).  I’m rotating the current three pieces on and off the easels allowing them a bit of time to dry and allowing myself a bit of time to contemplate my next steps.  The process is working well enough so far although by the end I’d like to have all six up side by side.  In my current studio that pretty much means looking at them in the round.  You do what you can with what you’ve got.

So here are the updated shots.  I’ll let you know when I’ve made my final decisions about the rest.

Cheers,

R

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I’ve just returned from a great week in Dublin and London.  My camera’s full.  So’s my imagination.  I’m exhausted.  I’m probably sick.  I’m not overly thrilled to be returning to the day job.  I’m so glad I went and I’m just as glad to be home.  I’m even more glad I had good company along.  Good traveling companions are hard to find.
Thanks, Monica.

I’ve got a ton of pics to sort through.  Most of them won’t be useful to my current project, but there’s always future work to consider.  I’m hoping to get the field narrowed down by the end of the week.  I desperately need to get back into the studio and start digging in.
If I keep digging like this I’ll find myself in China.
(note to self: find a better way to get to China)


I’d love to post all the shots I took and tell the stories of all the wonderful people I met, but there’s just no time.  Let me sum up one of the more entertaining evenings: 17yr old Jameson, Irish hotel owner, Italian restaurateur, glass eye, plans to save a night club at 4am.
Yep… Only in Dublin.

I loved it.  The people were fantastic.  The food and drink, amazing.  The history overwhelming.  Everything a good vacation should include.  Some would add warmer weather and sandy beaches… to each their own.  Give me full pint, a good story, and a hot meal and I’m in Heaven.
Plus they have the Francis Bacon studio in the Hugh Lane Gallery.  Each little dirty odd and end reconstructed meticulously to give you a little insight into the mind of a true original.  He definitely had a screw loose, but you’ve got to hand it to him: He was brilliant.
See for yourself Francis Bacon Image Search Results

London was much as I remembered it: Stately, crowded, fast-paced.  Not for the timid.  A definite must-see.

At any rate I’ve got a ton of thinking to do about which of these shots will fit the bill for the Aviva commissioned pieces and which ones I’ll be marking for future reference.

I’ve got a web album posted if you want to see more: London – Dublin 2010

Cheers,

R

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