New Introductions

 Okay, I did it! I made an introductory video - such an awkward thing to do, but I've heard it is nice to have. After nearly 6 tries, I captured one that I liked. So, there we go! I am finding that doing a video diary of sorts from the studio is kind of therapeutic. I am often over whelmed buy the amount of material that I am moving through in the studio in any given week, month, or season. I am starting to enjoy this as part of a routine to help me to organize and keep track of these investigations or aesthetic experiments. I have often thought that it would be great to open up the studio, to make stuff and show the process. The successes, surprises, as well as the challenges and failures. I am working alone, and am hoping that this connects with someone! So, onward! I am discovering that after the initial set up, tech failures, learning curve, and creating a digital studio amongst the clutter and creative refuse of the studio, that I think this should be able to be incorporated into my daily process, and as I continue, it is becoming more normal. The introduction in for me I suppose - this new creative space, tech included, is welcoming me to create and share. So I am, so am I. Poetics aside, this is pretty fun! Here is my first introduction video: 

Paintstew is hopping!

This week, I decided to create videos for all the works that I have in-process. It is a nice process, as I have been trying out some new hardware - the Stream Deck. After a quick set up, and some trials, I was able to create some new content for my YouTube channel.

To date, 8-9 series of works since last fall - all in various states of resolution and discovery. The process of introducing them to an audience was helpful and enlightening. I think in the end, the process of tracking these sets in this way will help me to focus and hone my process. So far, folks have been pretty receptive. I am hoping to up my production game as I make more of these. Already, I created custom thumbnails for each with my watermark! 21st Century studio here I come! Here is a recent addition:

Sketchbook inspiration from an inattentive dad

 The studio is popping this week as I found some old sketches from about 3 years ago - pre-pandemic. I found myself taking my awesome teenage children to Taekwondo 3s a week. Well, I was consistently the parent with his head in his sketchbook. The 9 x 12 sketches were compositions of ink-drawn shapes, symbols, letterforms, and abstract bubble-like forms. I think I remember at the time that I was attempting to make these drawings as I make paintings - the layering of elements. I made many of these using Rocket book: find it here as it was very convenient, and I was experimenting with cataloging sketches in my google drive. I ended up with 20-30 rectangular, vertical compositions. That was several years ago...

As it happens often in the studio, I stumble across something from the past that triggers a blast of inspiration. This is what happened, and I began transferring these small drawings on to 18 x 24, 140lb cold press watercolor paper. I always wondered what they would look like large. I had tried in the past to simply print them out large (13 x 19) but something was missing. I had the realization that maybe I should hand-reproduce them using the original images, transparencies, an overhead projector, and my favorite Molotow Blackliner pen. So, here's the first video explaining it all: