John says:
Many of the small works I paint are no more than paint tests. Cindy cuts them out and mats them and makes them art.
John says:
These three paintings represent a technique I’ve been playing with for about 2 years now. The technique involves masking off areas, applying a wash and repeating as necessary. The number of layers determines how detailed it can become. More layers provide more detail, but each additional layer degrades the freshness. Keeping the number of layers to a minimum forces me to find the shapes that best represent what I’m trying to convey.
“Street Music” was probably my first single layer (only one layer of mask). “Underwood” is a more recent 3-layer piece.
Cindy says:
“Folders” was the first painting that uses what John calls ‘Mac’s Gray’. It is his own mix of pigments and is included in his color wheel and palette. They called him ‘Mac’ in the Navy, and it stuck.
Find tips on making neutral tones on John’s Blog, “Many Ways to Gray“. Watch for more about ‘Mac’s Gray’, and other ‘magic mixes’ coming up in part 4 of this topic.
This group of abstracts are geometrics. “Flat Earth Proof” is about tangents. “Nautilus” and “Out to Sea” are based on the Golden Ratio.
John says:
In Geometric paintings I like to design in pencil and then ‘dam off’ areas using thick masking fluid applied with a ruling pen. This creates areas where I can work in very wet and let the pigments find their own art. I get them wet to a flow state, drop in pigment, and use gravity and time to influence the result.
Cindy says:
John likes math. He likes to apply it to practical things, constantly seeking. I’m liking that his math skills (and passion for it) found a way into his art.
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