in the studio

POSTED ON Thursday, May 21, 2015 - 20:03

What was on the wall wednesday.

I have begun making sets of panel drawings that can be paired in different ways. This is the start. We'll see just how many I make and how many of them feel successful enough to add to a multipanel presentation.

My process allows each to be independent and I'm open to that always being the case. But the joining of many pieces that have a common criteria but are not made to BE together will make for an interesting result.

Looking forward to continue the drawing and see what develops.

 

four square drawings
POSTED ON Sunday, April 19, 2015 - 18:52

Working on these two new panels. Working dark earth. The image isn't the best.

Both drawings following the same rules as the twins before. Two 12 x 12 inch panels one drawing is made on a primed wood surface and the other on mounted watercolor paper. The panels have two tonal profiles. One is a wash the other a sold rich dense hue. The long lines have some very subtle moments due to my value choice. The shorts use a pearlescent ink which makes the texture directional.

These two pieces are hanging on the wall in my studio. Tomorrow I'll see what is next if anything.

long and short dark earth, drawing by Stella Untalan
POSTED ON Sunday, April 12, 2015 - 20:08

Today I worked on this card to determine hue for the ink in my most recent drawings. I use this often when I work with new pigments and materials. I keep the cards sometimes with annotations for reference.

I look at the marks now and again just for the joy of it.

color tests
POSTED ON Sunday, April 12, 2015 - 18:59

I've had to fight for time in the studio lately.

The good news is I'm getting there and I'm making drawings. I have a series of colored squares I have been working on. They can stand alone, work in tandem, or be arranged in groups in multiples of two. These are in a subset series of measurement drawings that are long and short.

This is what was on the wall last wednesday. I've drawn on a third square but I'm not sure that it is finished. I have a feeling that it is done but waiting is good for clarity. I have a studio day on Saturday so I'll be able to reassess. 

the newest of the squares
POSTED ON Sunday, April 12, 2015 - 18:55

The short lines have begun.

In this group of drawings the short lines are made on watercolor paper mounted to a board. This is the first in the pair. The green feels like spring. Looking forward to what transpires as the marks continue.

Already the drawing appears differently based on the angle from which it is viewed.

the short version green lines
POSTED ON Sunday, March 22, 2015 - 21:48

The earth is so dark right now. Still moist from our most recent melted snow. Applying my dark earth color awakened the smell of the forest floor to me. Dark, covered with pine needles compressed by my boots.

This image shows the application of the dark earth.

adding color to the panel
POSTED ON Sunday, March 22, 2015 - 21:17

One of the essential parts of making art is getting ready to make art. The rituals of opening new materials, sanding surfaces, applying sealers and grounds are all necessary to get in the art making state of mind.

I'm prepping two new panels for drawings. As with my previous drawings in this series one drawing will be made directly on the wood surface and the other will be made on watercolor paper mounted to the panel surface. To protect the paper from the wood surface it needs a gesso layer and a protective bonding agent.

two panels being prepped for substrates
POSTED ON Wednesday, March 11, 2015 - 22:47

Two drawings. It took me much longer than usual to make this pair.

They began as a pair from the very begining. I purchased the two panels at the same time. I unpacked them at the same time. I applied a drawing surface to them both at the same time. 

square orange twins by Stella Untalan
POSTED ON Tuesday, March 10, 2015 - 21:38

Yesterday was the first full day in my studio in a while. Freezing cold temperatures and the job had kept me away. Still it didn't take long to choose a challenge for the day.

I have been working on two orange panels for several months. What I wanted to do with them has made itself known in waves of clarity and cloudiness. I began clearly enough with dense and tonal backgrounds of orange. I almost wanted to leave them in their first state. I wasn't brave enough. I would come to the conclusion later they weren't really finished.

POSTED ON Thursday, February 26, 2015 - 15:47

Trying to get something started.

I cut some sheets of Yupo to size. Working on seeing what happens when I make a series of about 40 drawings and arrange them in a grid. These are the first two in the series.

I'm about to work on two new pieces within the same framework. I never know what this ink will do. I haven't done any of these monochrome measurement drawings with magenta before. So much is new in drawing and experience. Off to make some more.

repetitive drawing in magenta by Stella Untalan

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