Test Pattern (return to square one)

So after nearly a year of electronic detritus, white noise, and cigar box guitar-building I've circled back to the Test Pattern paintings. My goal is to work on these exclusively over the next couple of months. Anyway, here's the first new one. I did the 4 x 4" study for this one last August and looking at it again last week I felt it still held up. The dimensions for the different elements were transcribed to an 8 x 8 x 1-3/8" panel, then the newly-painted/collaged elements were attached (more about the process here.) Comparing the study to the finished piece you'll notice that I goofed up the dimensions in the upper right corner. It's okay - after a bit of angst & recalculation I think I'm happy with how it turned out.

Test Pattern - Desert Fox (study). 2009.
collage, gesso, gouache, enamel, and pastel on paper. 4 x 4"


photo of study with transcribed panel


Test Pattern - Desert Fox. 2010.
acrylic, collage, pastel, gesso, and gouache on panel.
8 x 8 x 1-3/8"

Connecting the Dots

Recently I realized that the Test Pattern pieces that I've been working on seem to relate to a series of small charcoal on gessoed paper drawings from 2004. These drawings, which were done in response to some serious back surgeries that my niece was undergoing at the time, began as stacked vertebrae-like forms arranged either vertically or horizontally on a square-ish white ground. Eventually they morphed into something different (electrical circuits? building blocks? floor plans? game boards?) until they got too studied and fussy and the project ground to a halt after a month or so. Anyway, they got filed away and I hadn't really thought about them until recently, when I was thinking about the Test Patterns. Maybe it's the square ground or some of the solid blocky forms of the later drawings, but I can't help thinking there's a connection between the two bodies of works.

I like it when stuff like that happens - those "ah-ha!" moments when the dots get connected:

Test Pattern - The Blue One

Here's the latest Test Pattern. I started this piece last month and finished it last week after returning from vacation. It doesn't have a title yet and I'm not quite settled on the orientation; so far I like how it reads with the large black square in the upper right.



Below is the the study that this piece is based on. I added bands of lighter/darker blue at the top of the finished piece to give the composition a bit more depth and have the piece read as more squares-within-squares.

Test Patterns (Mea Cupla)

Another from the Test Pattern series. It's curious to me how many of these are turning out sideways. Here's the original collage study with it's "proper" orientation of two stacked rows of vertical bands:



Below is the completed 8 x 8" painting. It took a good bit of fussing to get the left half of the piece to work - I had to tinker with the hues of the blue bands to get them to relate to the blue form at the bottom center, and to get just the right right-leaning slant so that all of the forms balanced. I also mirrored the pink & red forms from the upper right in the dark vertical band at the top center:



For comparison here's the original collage study rotated to match the orientation of the finished painting:


I've been thinking about the differences between the small collage studies and the (slightly) larger panel paintings. One thing I've noticed is the larger pieces are much more dense - the forms are usually more opaque and delineated, whereas the smaller collages are more fluid and offhand. In both cases I think it works okay - the larger pieces seem more solid and hold the wall better while the smaller studies are more intimate and sexy. Anyway, just my thoughts - yours?

Test Patterns Test Patterns Test Patterns

Here's another Test Pattern painting that I finished yesterday. The first image below is the original 4 x 3-1/4" collage that I did last week and the following three images are of the completed 6-1/2 x 8" painting. Media includes collage, gouache, acrylic, ink, gesso, and colored pencil on laminated panel. I think I prefer a horizontal orientation for this one- it reads more as a landscape and seems more balanced than it does vertically.

original collage

finished painting

Finally, another Test Pattern collage study - I'll probably do a larger painting from this one as well (after I finish the one I'm currently working on - stay tuned...):

More Test Patterns (again)

Here's another larger Test Pattern. I used this piece as a starting point and although the colors and brushwork came out differently, I think I'm happy with the end result- this one is 12 x 12 inches square:




I also did a third 12 x 12 in. piece that just didn't work out - I altered the composition somewhat from the original study, and then couldn't get the colors to match up to my satisfaction. I still had hopes that the piece would pull together when I added the final collage element but nope, it just didn't work - the overall composition was static and just had no "bounce" and the dark green square at the top center was too dominant. Oh, well - time to break out the power tools, sand it down, and start over again:

More Test Patterns

As I mentioned in an earlier post I've been working on a series of small works partially inspired by color television test patterns - here's another batch that I've recently completed:







I also decided to use one of the small Test Patterns as a starting point for a larger piece. First I glued up and cut out a 8 x 8 x 1-3/8" laminated plywood panel and attached a ground of white bristol board. Then, using the smaller piece as a template I sketched out the composition on the larger panel, doubling the size of all of the elements of the original 4 x 4" piece.




Next I began the process of trying to replicate the various color elements using colored tissue paper, gouache, gesso, acrylic, oil pastel, and ink. This turned out to be a lot more difficult than I anticipated - how hard can it be to duplicate a color that's right in front of you? Pretty #*&@% difficult if you can't remember the various layers and combinations of media that you used in the first place.

The image below shows the first step in trying to duplicate the reddish bands that are at the top of the original piece. Once completed each color element was glued to the surface of the panel, pressed to dry, and the excess collaged material trimmed from the edges.


Here's the finished piece - I think I'm happy with how it turned out although I think I prefer the green field at the top and the red field at the bottom.

Yo La Tengo - From a Motel 6