Comments on: A Few Recent Drawings. http://stephencanino.com/2005/06/10/5/ A New York Based Painter Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:20:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: john mumford http://stephencanino.com/2005/06/10/5/#comment-14 john mumford Tue, 21 Jun 2005 10:44:51 +0000 http://stephencanino.com/2005/06/10/5/#comment-14 i forgot to mention that your depth of field in your drawings is a bit stronger than in your paintings, you seem to be overcoming this- to great effect- in the most recent work, keep it up, it suits you. -john i forgot to mention that your depth of field in your drawings is a bit stronger than in your paintings, you seem to be overcoming this- to great effect- in the most recent work, keep it up, it suits you.

-john

]]> By: John Mumford http://stephencanino.com/2005/06/10/5/#comment-13 John Mumford Mon, 20 Jun 2005 19:08:59 +0000 http://stephencanino.com/2005/06/10/5/#comment-13 Steve, To describe your drawings I would say fresh crisp living line. Your drawing is at its best when it retains a Zen like immediacy. Your better drawings would look just as good in intaglio, or other print systems. Sadly, paint by its very nature, is wet, inconsistent, and lumpy. You have lost the sharpness of your drawing through your painting technique. Look at the areas on your paintings where you have cut and pasted bits of painted canvas- these portions of your pieces, when well done, are fantastic. Sharp transitions would help your paintings look a lot neater. You should be able to work through this with time. If you want to make your paintings more like your drawings, I suggest you study some paintings or monoprints which retain that feeling of immediacy with colour and try to integrate those ideas to your pieces. Though not fully appropriate for your style of painting (but an artist well known to both of us), Schiele was a master at painting with a strong fluidity while retaining the importance of line. His best works, in my opinion, were watercolours early in his career. Notice how messy paint strokes are hemmed in by heavy line. Messy is not wrong if it not just looks, but is, intentional. His later oils were very different. It seems he struggled with oils; they were very heavy for his line. Another person you might be able to study is Sammy Peters www.sammypeters.com. He has some similar use of colour, but he lacks the tension of your pieces (and for that reason his pieces sit on the design side of art rather than the intellectual). Beware the trappings of design. Know the difference! You might want to try painting larger on a faster surface (e.g. smooth plastered canvass, gesso board). I also think India ink would suit you very well. Try to bring that strong line of your drawings into your paintings. As an experiment, you could do a paint-by-numbers style drawing with a smallish brush in dark paint and fill in the colour. However, you are working through some great ideas. You have moved well away from my comfort zone and into a very unusual exploration of pattern and colour. This frankly frightens me. This is very good. You work has moved and challenged me- that is very hard to do. Kick in the ass, John Mumford Steve,

To describe your drawings I would say fresh crisp living line. Your drawing is at its best when it retains a Zen like immediacy. Your better drawings would look just as good in intaglio, or other print systems. Sadly, paint by its very nature, is wet, inconsistent, and lumpy. You have lost the sharpness of your drawing through your painting technique.

Look at the areas on your paintings where you have cut and pasted bits of painted canvas- these portions of your pieces, when well done, are fantastic. Sharp transitions would help your paintings look a lot neater. You should be able to work through this with time. If you want to make your paintings more like your drawings, I suggest you study some paintings or monoprints which retain that feeling of immediacy with colour and try to integrate those ideas to your pieces. Though not fully appropriate for your style of painting (but an artist well known to both of us), Schiele was a master at painting with a strong fluidity while retaining the importance of line. His best works, in my opinion, were watercolours early in his career. Notice how messy paint strokes are hemmed in by heavy line. Messy is not wrong if it not just looks, but is, intentional. His later oils were very different. It seems he struggled with oils; they were very heavy for his line.

Another person you might be able to study is Sammy Peters http://www.sammypeters.com. He has some similar use of colour, but he lacks the tension of your pieces (and for that reason his pieces sit on the design side of art rather than the intellectual). Beware the trappings of design. Know the difference!

You might want to try painting larger on a faster surface (e.g. smooth plastered canvass, gesso board). I also think India ink would suit you very well. Try to bring that strong line of your drawings into your paintings. As an experiment, you could do a paint-by-numbers style drawing with a smallish brush in dark paint and fill in the colour.

However, you are working through some great ideas. You have moved well away from my comfort zone and into a very unusual exploration of pattern and colour. This frankly frightens me. This is very good. You work has moved and challenged me- that is very hard to do.

Kick in the ass,
John Mumford

]]>