When I was in my final year of school we were asked to present a Senior Thesis that consisted of 8 large paintings demonstrating a single concept - in other words, a series. Since I was under the Diebenkorn spell and only had 8 weeks to complete the assignment, my work was quite abstract and built around the grid.
At the time my understanding of what a series was - and why an artist might consider working that way - was heavily influenced by my inexperienced views and the Modernism and Post-Modernism concepts that dominated the curriculum - in other words, I was faking it to a certain extent, repeating myself in different colors and textures without really appreciating what I was trying to do.
I've said before that in my growth as an artist I often do not immediately understand certain ideas, and only years later, as my skill level, comprehension and experience matures, am I able to grasp a deeper understanding of the work of the artist. Working in a series is one of those concepts.
Right now I work with two specific approaches - the Mile Post Series and the Landscapes of the Interior West . I consider both a Series - in that they explore unique ideas in different ways and yet are connected conceptually through subject matter. With this post I want to use a group of paintings from the Interior West series, built around the cattle guards that are iconic in the open west.
I began the first cattle guard painting with a clear image of what I wanted to achieve. On a recent location-scouting drive we rounded a curve in the road and suddenly the scene presented itself. The light was perfect. Late in the year, before the snow falls, there is rich color in the sagebrush and the red and gray cinders: the oblique light of the sun is so low in the horizon it defines edges, bounces across surfaces and dances in what is otherwise a drab landscape. There was something about the light, and the idea of the empty road and distant vista - this unique physical space - that I wanted to communicate through a painting.
Cattle Guard, 20" x 24" © 2011
While the oil paint on first Cattle Guard painting was wet, I was happy with the surface quality. But as the work dried - and those of you who work in oil paint appreciate this - dimension diminished, colors flattened, and texture disappeared. (This is also a consequence of using a lighter weight cotton commercial canvas that does not have the weave of linen.)
As I studied the painting over several days, I was disappointed by some of my paint application technique, particularly edges that became more visually hard as the paint dried. These were primarily sections dominated by palette knife work - which I inattentively rely on in an effort to create texture on a - my apologies to all those commercial canvas manufacturers out there - but on a surface quality that just doesn't cut it. Perhaps if I had not felt so strongly about what I was trying to accomplish, I wouldn't have been so hyper-critical - but I knew what I wanted my painting surface to look like, not just the pieces of a composition, and I also realized how working through a series of this same subject matter - much in the way I work with the Mile Post Series - would help me explore subtle variations of my visual goal.
Yellow Cattle Guard, and Yellow Cattle Guard - Late November 2011 developed as I tried to work out issues I wanted to improve.
Yellow Cattle Guard, 12" x 18" © 2011
Yellow Cattle Guard - Late November 2011, 8" x 16" © 2011
The locations are different ( between the Cattle Guard painting and the Yellow Cattle Guard painting), but the concept is the same. Yellow Cattle Guard is painted on a Signature linen panel, and the Late November version is on a Ray-Mar linen panel prepped with flake white which was allowed to dry for several weeks. For me, having the right surface really allows the full expression of what I am trying to say.
When you choose to work in a series, the benefits are far more subtle and unique to each circumstance than you might initially assume - you are not repeating an idea over and over, but creating room for your ideas to develop in a variety of ways. You notice details in your execution that you've overlooked because you are not so tightly focused upon compositional problems. You learn the surfaces and solve the issues of previous work. You discover happy accidents and - particularly important to me - continued joy in putting paint successfully on a surface.
It's probably safe to say that all artists start out at a universally equal place - the desire to create something out of shape and color and give it meaning. But the work of the artist evolves from there. Words, instructions, generalizations, examples cannot convey the experience of looking at a work of art that impacts our emotions, just as you cannot use words to describe what Yo-Yo Ma creates with the cello. We must each discover our own sensory language. Working in a series is - for this artist - one way to get there.
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Enjoyed this post very much and also viewing your delightful paintings. I love the light in these. Hoping to do a series of works with a red patterned dress I own - I just find it very inspiring - hanging, draped over a chair and maybe even being worn LOL
Posted by: bridget hunter | January 11, 2012 at 05:37 AM
This all locations look really different and The yellow cattle guard is painted on a signature line it look really great with white line panel.
Posted by: descuento viaje | January 11, 2012 at 02:03 AM
Sue, your paintings are beautiful and evocative. Having just returned from a drive and hike in New Mexico this last Sunday, cattle guards loom large in my experience. You have captured the space and texture of the landscape so well!
Rebecca
Posted by: Rebecca Nolda | January 10, 2012 at 12:07 PM
Amen and well said. A series is a way for me to frame an investigation. A series opens up ideas as much as it edits out others.
Posted by: Patrick Gracewood | January 08, 2012 at 10:14 PM
Wow. The later works have so much more life, light and even joy, and the surface textures are terrific. We're so fortunate that you are able to explain your art journey so well. Great post.
Posted by: Jo-Ann Sanborn | January 05, 2012 at 04:55 AM