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...):

Found Friday 4

Test Patterns Update

Indulge me, dear reader, for another Test Pattern update. First up is another recently completed panel piece. Since my last misfire I've decided to scale these down a bit from 12 inches to 8 inches - this latest piece is 8 x 6-1/2 inches.

Here's the original collage that I used as a starting point:


Below is the completed 8 x 6-1/2 in. panel painting. A few differences: The colors are a bit more saturated and less chalky than the original. Also, I slightly altered the composition - I just couldn't get that light green washy vertical band at the bottom center to work so I reduced that area to an emerald green/lemon yellow field, which I then counterbalanced by giving the brownish checkerboard elements at the far right a bit more weight and definition.



I'm also attempting a salvage operation on my previous misfire. I sanded down the entire surface of the piece and then repainted and sanded the upper right corner - that dark green area at the right center kept bugging me so I made it a bit smaller and squared it off. The jury's still out on this piece - I'll keep it around the workroom and see if it grows on me or not. The distressed green surface reminds me of the leaves of our waterlogged tomato plants.

Found Friday 3

inside cover from an 1840's New Testament

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:

Found Friday 2

Found Friday 1

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