Art and Horses

Living in the "Horse Capital of the World" a lot of things get connected to horses, and art is no exception. Even though I am not an equine artist, I am fortunate to have recently been be a part of two local fundraisers that have horses as their theme. Horsetails was initiated to raise money for the Lexington Philharmonic Foundation's Partners in Education initiative and took place during the recent World Equestrian Games. It was an intriguing concept with an exciting range of top notch artists contributing. I recommend you go to the www.Horsetails2010.com website to read about it and see the art.

Horse Mania 2010 has been going on for months and is about to reach its climax with the live auction this Friday at the Keeneland Sales Pavilion. This is the same facility that hosts the sales of some of the racing worlds top thoroughbreds. The event is organized by LexArts, and proceeds go to many local charities. Again, I encourage you to visit their website www.HorseMania2010.com for a look at an amazing menagerie.

An added bonus with both events was the publication of an excellent book. I feel privileged to have been included.

Horsetails book cover and my two-page spread

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Water Series

"Winter Water"
acrylic, Tyvek and pastel on panel
29.625" x 32.675 "

I've been busy with several projects lately, including local fund raisers Horsemania and Horsetails . More about those later. For now I'm uploading the latest in my "Water" series. I'm still finding lots of room to explore with this theme. Current works are tending more toward the abstract.

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Water Gardens

"Water Garden 12"
acrylic, Tyvek and pastel on panel
18" x 18"

This is the final piece for the New Editions Gallery exhibit next month. I'm excited about the way the grid composition has evolved. And thinking about this series last night I started getting a clearer idea how representational elements might be incorporated in the future.

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Water Gardens

"Water Garden 11"
acrylic, Tyvek and pastel on panel
18" x 18"

This painting is a little larger than the last four in this series. "Water Gardens" is actually a subset of the "Water" theme I am exploring. I'm curious to see where it all goes. I can see both more abstraction and the addition of figurative elements as possibilities. The idea is to keep the subject as a focal point, interspersed with other series, until it seems time to let it go.

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Water Series

"Water Garden 10"
acrylic, Tyvek and pastel on panel
12" x 12"

I am continuing to develop work based on the theme of water. These four small pieces will be part of a group exhibit at New Editions Gallery in the Fall.

As I have mentioned before, water is fundamental to life on this planet, yet we often take it for granted - especially in the developed world. Because we are so connected to this simple molecule we ignore our mutual dependence to our own peril. When we do take notice, it can evoke both beauty and fear. This psychological tension is part of the power of our relationship to water - a seemingly endless source of inspiration, metaphor and myth. Yet, as with all things pertaining to life, the sustaining principle is balance, which I believe is best nurtured through awareness and appreciation. My hope is that these works can be received and enjoyed on simple experiential terms as well as serve to draw attention to the ideas I am exploring with them.

Stylistically I have taken multiple aspects of the subject, from microscopic views to abstracted patterns, and juxtaposed them in the same plane. The effect I'm after is a broad meditative impression with many potential passages of attention, rather than a single focal point or narrative. The compositional device of an asymmetrical grid holds the varied elements together and further states the message of dynamic balance.

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Water Series

"Water Garden 2"
acrylic and Tyvek on panel
33" x 51"

This is the second in the "water" series. I have also finished three smaller pieces in this series since. I'm happy to say The University of Kentucky Hospital has asked for two of them for their new facility.

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Current Exhibit

Here are a few shots from the current two-person show at Logsdon 1909 Gallery in Chicago, IL, and the joint statement:

SUBTEXT

Information is a hallmark of our age. And whether intentional or imagined, every exchange of information carries multiple layers of implication and interpretation. In these two diverse bodies of work, found object constructions by Lucinda Alston Chapman and acrylic and Tyvek paintings by Philip High, both artists have lifted elements from the vocabulary of form and function we typically associate with written communication and reassembled them into new visual syntax. In this context, once familiar symbols become abstracted and are more about potential than point. From alphabet blocks and carved books to undecipherable script and dissected letter-forms, our graphic expectations are playfully subverted and reveal the deeper subtexts of imagination, perception and subjective relationships.

You can see more pictures at Flickr.

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Water

"Water Garden"
acrylic and Tyvek on panel
39" x 32"

This is the first in a new series of paintings. The subject of water has unconsciously emerged in my work many times over the years so I have decided to address it directly. Water is such an integral part of our lives, and life in general, that we take it for granted, to our own peril. These meditations on the beauty and mystery of water are meant to explore it's relationship to our physical, emotional and spiritual selves. Hopefully they will also help inspire and cultivate an appreciation for our dependence on the availability of this simple yet powerful substance.

This particular painting was based on a photograph I took at the University of Kentucky Arboretum, a wonderful botanical garden I am grateful to have nearby. I have included the original photo and my digital "sketch" to illustrate how I might develop an observation into an abstraction. I am also pleased to announce that this piece will be featured on the "Happy-Place" website, a design/lifestyle online store opening later this Spring.

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Even More "RED"

The red theme seems to have grabbed my imagination. I actually started this piece last year but was never completely satisfied with it. After some extensive reworking I think it's finished now. The title is "Atmospheric Sequence I" and it represents an idea I've been interested in for some time, putting together multiple views of the same "scene" with slight variations - like frames from a movie that suggest the passage of time. They are temporarily held in suspension for individual examination, but also merge into one dynamic, if indefinite, stereo "field," forever flickering in the imagination between two slightly out of phase points of perception.
"Atmospheric Sequence I"
Acrylic and Tyvek on two attached panels

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More "RED"

This painting is also going in the "RED" exhibit at Mary Rezny's. The title is "Sensory Data Array 02" and it was actually done awhile back for an exhibit at Logsdon 1909, in Chicago. The obvious connection here is the color. The piece is part of a series in which I am exploring the juxtaposition of chaos (free gesture) and order (pattern). A portion of the first painting in the series is used as the header background for this blog. The other three pieces can be found on my portfolio website www.philiphigh.com.

For me, painting is part pure sensory enjoyment, part puzzle-play and part contemplation point. While some artists purposely distance themselves from titles, I like to provide some clue as to what I was thinking before, during or after the process. Or simply offer a suggestion as to where someone else might start their exploration. But I also try to keep the titles cryptic enough to leave room for interpretation. The image isn't meant to illustrate the concept but to serve as an anchor point for individual experience. Plus, I like words almost as much as images and just enjoy the added resonance.

In the case of this series, the titles carry the same pairing of concepts as the images - "Sensory" for the raw color and gesture and "Array" for the ordered grid pattern. The word "Data" suggests the computer-centered world of tools and knowledge (technology) we have built around ourselves for protection against the limits of our understanding and the potentially overwhelming forces of nature. I know, it's a lot to read into a simple arrangement of colorful circles. It's not mandatory for enjoyment, but it's there if you want it.

painting - "Sensory Data Array 02"
acrylic and Tyvek on panel.

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New Work

Friend, artist and photographer, Mary S, Rezny, is having an invitational exhibit in her studio in a couple of weeks. The title of the show is "Red." My take on the theme is this recently finished piece which I've called, "Sailor's Delight." The reference is two-fold: first the weather aphorism "Red sky at morning, sailor take warning. red sky at night, sailor's delight," second, the row of light dots in the lower right resemble harbor lights. I sometimes struggle with titles for abstract paintings. There are always the risks of being too literal, or too esoteric, or too... cute. I usually wind up making some reference that I feel gives people a starting point to engage the painting. I'm not really so concerned where they end up though. If someone finds their imagination and emotions activated by the piece, that alone is a good thing. Especially if they are unaccustomed to looking at the world this way. My goals are to challenge and reward viewers in a ways that are both intellectually stimulating and emotionally satisfying. No, it's not cutting edge, but I'm still finding lot's of room to explore here. Hopefully others will too.

This is a small piece, only 9" x 10." The medium is acrylic and Tyvek on a wood panel.

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Concrete

These quirky little objects, the tallest of which is about 7," were recently donated to a local (in my neighborhood, actually) not-for-profit organization, The Living Arts & Science Center (LASC), to be included in their annual art auction fund raiser. Donating art to charitable auctions is a sometimes contentious subject among artists and deserves a discussion of it's own. Since this writing is about the art work, I'll leave that for another time.

I've been intrigued by concrete as an art medium for several years and belong to a Google Group called Artconcrete that discusses the subject. The group was started by Canadian artist and jeweler, Andrew Goss. Check out his blog at http://artconcrete.blogspot.com/ for information and links if you are interested. He's done a great job of showing the potential for the medium, including writing a book geared toward small scale work, titled "Concrete Handbook for Artists," also available through his web sites.

The bud vases were some of my first experiments and I had tons of fun doing them. Along with concrete, they incorporate found laboratory glass (I'm a hopeless scavenger treasure-hunter), tile grout, copper leaf and wire and a chemical patina. Maybe I can go into the process more another time. I kept to a smaller scale both for manageable experimentation and practical working conditions. Everything was done in my regular painting/design space where setup and clean up are major issues. Concrete dust and buckets of water are not entirely compatible with paint, paper and computers! I've sold several through galleries in Lexington and Chicago but this is their first really public outing. Unless you count the ETSY store that I neglected into auto-extinction.

The 6 6/8" diameter rings in the photo to the right were among my first trials. No other use for them has been found to date, but I'm looking! The shape resulted from found plastic packaging that I used for a mould. The colors are from different pigments , aggregates and finishes.

In the last photo, an ancient-future, radio-wanna-be, rock-boat, is just a playful temporary construction made from pieces of my first disastrous attempts with concrete. TIP: make plenty of room for failure, it's so instructive - and can be fun!

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Evolution

Here is sequential look at the evolution of a digital/traditional hybrid piece. The steps were not preplanned. The process was an experiment with no particular end in mind except discovery. Some might see that as a metaphor for life I suppose. In any case, I enjoy watching things grow. I'm not sure what to do with this particular species. A poster series maybe? I'm open to suggestions.

Click images to enlarge

1) I started with a ballpoint pen sketch, one of my favorite mediums.
2) After scanning, I converted it to vector art and posterized layers in CorelDraw. Not much difference visually but an important technical step.


3) Then I exported it to a Photoshop file, opened it in that program and tried some color. Since I had separated the various shades of gray into unique layers in step 2 I could easily alter their colors individually.
4) A little filter magic - OK, a lot!


5) Finally I scanned part of a painting for the background and recolored it to harmonize with the rest.

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Abstraction

All art is abstract. The most photo-realistic painting of Uncle George is not Uncle George. It is a two dimensional summary of the artist's observations. As is a photograph. The level of detail required for a satisfactory representation depends largely on culture and personal experience, ranging from petroglyphs to holograms. Both of which rock BTW [groan]. What takes an image or object beyond familiarity and gives it value as art are it's abstract elements: composition, color, materials, imagination, insight, attitude, skill, etc. One of the great gifts of abstract art is to simply recognize and publicly acknowledge this fact. From this acknowledgment follows the insight that any of these elements can be appreciated on their own.

I love abstraction and have been known to get misty in front of a late period Diebenkorn, but recently I've felt the urge to get my figurative drawing skills back in shape. Along with that, a few trips to the library reminded me of my deep appreciation for John Singer Sargent. Combining these conditions I produced a ballpoint pen sketch from a Sargent painting. To deepen the double looking-glass effect, the subject of Sargent's painting is another artist looking at photographs from which to paint a landscape. Does this represent some kind of conceptual hologram? Or is that too abstract?


TOP - painting: "Green Filter"
BOTTOM - sketch after Sargent

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August Memory on a Winter's Day

Some thoughts from a warmer time.
A crazy day. Multiple deadlines seemed to spring up from nowhere and collide. This afternoon a much needed shower drifted through and left behind a pleasant, cooler, if humid, evening. But the work day is not over. Before starting my next project I decided to just sit still for 10 min. and listen. I opened the studio door and put my chair a few feet from the screen, facing the night air. A chorus of creatures flooded my head and the city seemed quiet by comparison. Somehow it reminded me that life, even in its subtle beauty, can be chaotic, even violent. Here is nature, pouring forth sounds and seeds with no inventory and only one thought - grow. But this is just the beginning - the edge, foaming up from an unseen river of restless searching, living, and dying. Above this rises the stillness of coherence, intention, and infinite expansion. Within that frame every mark has its message. None of what we usually think of as art was born in this room today, but perhaps much was conceived in these few moments.
Painting: "Rain-wet Street"

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Waking Up

Paintings are like dreams: constructed with pieces of familiar reality, but out of context. This gives them a "set apart" quality that arouses curiosity and fuels the imagination. If you let them, they can become windows into the subtexts of your own life.
Painting: "Dreamstalk"

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Beginning in The Middle

"Now" sits here conspicuously between the past and the future. There is no other starting point. Although I have recorded my thoughts, both verbal and visual, for some time, I am just "now" getting around to this form. In an attempt to stretch the meaning of "spontaneous" I will refer to those earlier notes at times. So, here goes.
Illustration: "Contemplation"

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