TRon PHotography

For the majority of my art making,
I focus on depicting images,
based off of real life and photos that I've taken,
in the form of drawings and paintings.
The photographs that I gather are almost equal in importance
visually and conceptually in comparison to my 2-d work.
Below are two albums that include collections of my summer photo taking
for my Intro to Photo class as well as a
second album that focuses on themes and personal style embraced in my documentation.
ChCheck eeet out!!


Album#1 Summer IntroPhoto

Album#2 Personal Photo Trends


 Enjoy!

iNPRogress

   This is the 3'x3' colored pencil piece I'm currently developing for the 'Dry-Run' DAAPWorks practice show.  DAAPWorks is the final art show of graduating seniors in the Fine Arts program... it's kiiiiindaABigDeal. Anyway, I have a short amount of time to finish this piece and I'm not even sure what I'm going to add to it.  I Vaguely know that I'm adding layers of more craft paper to the sides to continue drawing onto and transitioning with brick mortar cutouts that made me Hate exacto-ing. Regardless of its unfinished state, I'm pretty pleased with it...

 

Any suggestions? oR

wish me luckk

"Real"ity tV

The existence, concept, and interaction on the public that Reality shows 
embody greatly influences my thesis work.
   One aspect is the role of the audience in viewing Reality shows as well as in my own version of exploitation of reality. Through my research I’ve gathered that a major attraction in Reality tv is that it has a story line meant to entice viewers with its drama and characters. McKay supports this conclusion in reference to a report that, “claims that the continued success of these shows is dependent upon the “outrageousness of the content’ “(McKay). The audience becomes invested in the outcomes because the show is created almost completely to cater to and make them feel included. Consequently, the audience gains power over the show as, “networks strive to reach the next level of shock value for their audiences”(McKay) when initially the show had power them. I am very excited to explore the condition of documentation and its appeal to audiences.
    Reality shows, “collapsing boundaries between news and entertainment”(Hall)
and their degree of actual documentation...
It is uncertain how much depicted is actual reality but when legitimate documentation is presented, the content is no longer a plot for entertainment, it is raw and independent from predetermined success. The dynamic of relying on pure documentation as entertainment intrigues me and directly affects my thesis and artwork in general. This makes for a promising endeavor of combining
Real life social interaction to appeal to the viewer
while also being very attentive of the aspect and technique of Reality shows.
         Fortunately, MyWork differs from what I am inspired by..  
what I present is something new and lively, with a different kind of context, subjects, and characters. I reveal a lifestyle that is on the fringe of the norm, exposing a domain less represented by the media and other outlets. In doing so, I maintain a commitment to interesting content while, similarly to Reality tv, expressing common human themes of social interaction, community, and narrative progression.

McKay, Hollie. “Trashy MTV Reality Shows Primarily Use Women to Trash Women, Study Shows”. Fox News: Entertainment, 2011. Web. 21 Feb. 2012

ARtshow: AliceHopKiNs

   I've never seen Rohs St Cafe so packed.. everyroom, even the Big one, so much so that it was difficult to maneuver within.. all gathered for their scrumptuous coffee and community, but more for the Open Mic and Open Art Night, with Alice Hopkins as the main Featured Artist.  The space is warm and inviting with old wood paneling and large windows, connected to a church.  A nonprofit, free event, organized by a different fellow Daap associate, Lindsey Nelson,
whom organized the evening and provided space for others' to hang artwork and teamed up with Alice, also a DAAP associate and dear friend of mine, to hang her 2-d pieces for viewing while visitors absorb tunes from the stage in the other room.  The audience was mostly cliche college campus coffee shop goers, and I mean that in the most neutral and observant way, whom appreciate the arts and hanging out amidst the chill setting.

                                           http://alicefitchhopkins.tumblr.com/

   Alice's body of work was simple, yet effectively intriguing, well thought out, and well executed.  She had an underlying concept that kept the pieces consistent but each piece managed to stand on its own.  Her skill at mark making and wonky figure interpretations as her trademark were well established.  I am familiar with her style and methods of art-making, but regardless, was taken aback by the unexpected form her work adopted for the show.  It was new and inventive in the media and presentation for her, and I was impressed.  Furthermore, she KilLed an open mic performance with her band mate of 'the Better of their Blunders', being the amazing vocalist she is AsWell. tHReaT!
To show at this venue, One would need to contact Lindsey Nelson, or talk to one of the charming barista's about whom to speak to with inquiries. They are a casual and accepting outlet for art and community and I think that many could qualify to display artwork at Rohs St Cafe.
http://www.rohsstreetcafe.com/
...I may be Next! backoff!
...hah. .. ..

HowTo: Decisions inStyLe

Yet again, I am in the position of being requested/(required) to include a segment on this blog thing that I'm not sure I would naturally be inclined to.  But as usual, I will 'make it work' and it Will be informative and interesting and You,(whoWillwant toread it) Will be So grateful that I included it.

  To enable myself to feature a 'howto' segment, I made the attempt to view my artwork as if I were Not so familiar with it, a part of the unbiased audience.  I went so far as to contemplate in terms of someone not so artisticly experienced and It occurred to me that this person may wonder curiously, how I decided to depict each image differently, as they all vary in styles.  

   In General, I begin by sorting through photos, perhaps a series from one recent event, and chose which ones are the most intriguing to me, visually.  

When I've committed to an image, I then asses what is so intriguing about it 

and what feature I'd like to highlight, 

whether it be a visual aspect in the photo, 

subject matter such as a narrative or characters, 

or a concept of my thesis including 

documentation or the entertainment aspect.  

At this point, I know what my goal of illustrating the image is and am formulating ideas to best portray its purpose. 

  For instance, the first drawing below, I knew I wanted to relay the experience of hanging out under the streetlights on an urban sidewalk. So, I maintained the view point of through One's eyes that would be sitting on the curb, looking at the street lights and their shoes on the dingy ground. This is the composition I arrived at. The style and media I chose to create the outside night environment consisted of ink washes, with fluid, transparent layers for the streetlights, and splotchy layers on the sidewalk created with ink and added texture with colored pencil also used to detail the view of shoes. 

  For the third drawing down, my main priority was to exaggerate 

the artificial golden streetlight cast upon the whole scene 

and to capture the candidness of the moment. I simply outlined the basic composition 

and created an environment from the streetlight glow to encapsulate the figures 

caught in a lurid white flash. I halted development so as to suggest the briefness of the moment in action and in a time line and also the unexpected documentation.

  If there was question as to whether an artist has reasons for their decision making, I think most do, but half the time we do not realize them because they are subconscious, automatic, and practiced. Hopefully I've given some insight into a subject you've been craving, or given rise to inspiration.. it's always refreshing when someOne can do that for Another. cheers.

iNitialThesis ARtwoRk

      It is my mission to document moments that compose our lives but become lost because they are not preserved beyond the incident when witnessed. I give my, “attention to instants that would otherwise have passed by unobserved.." (Power). What I am doing is capturing fleeting moments and documenting the quality of tone felt during the interval and within the environment.  I believe them to be dynamic to view aesthetically, to become a part of, and to be entertained by.  

 

Below are a few examples of my work from this year that I am most confident with.  They are all ink wash illustrations on paper varying around 15"x21" and similarly with vertical compositions. 

        

Power, Kevin. Viggo Mortensen: Sign Language. Smart Art Press: Santa Monica, CA, 2002.

My ARtist Statement

 SO, as I've just shared and endorsed my fellowARtistfRiend's thesis, I should pRobably exploit myOWn...

..Most up to date 'statement', describing my Thesis work: 

                                                                                                                                                                                          
Here is the opportunity to become a spectator.  To peer into a portal and experience through another’s perspective.  Daily, the media confronts with vapid, diluted content presented extravagantly to entertain…  My reproach: ‘Don’t miss out!’  Follow the progression for a quick fix of a vivacious eve: This depicts Real life material.  Simply view the simulation of these moments encapsulated with ink, frozen in suggestive stills, enticing with a camera flash recollection, distorted to suggest the inherent mood and semblance accordingly.  Presented to preserve selected impressions and documenting enhanced depictions to ensure the spectators’ experience and the voyeurs’ fulfillment.  Finally, enablement to abandon the monotonous blur of the media’s attempt and enjoy the enlivened lifestyle evinced naturally.  

                                                                                                                                                                                                   

alittle ambiguous, targeting eloquence and intrigue- a more straightforward version is introduced in: http://plethroa.blogspot.com/2012/02/intro-to-my-aspiration.html

ArtistiNterview; AlyssaParr

Some other inspiring work that I am within proximity of almost daily, is by a fellow artist and classmate of mine at DAAP by the name of Alyssa Parr.
We are both preparing for our thesis' as fine arts students and I find her concept and methodology to be unique, clever, interesting, and intriguing.

To view the interview I forced her to partake in to fill me in on her work, click the following link:
http://plethroa.blogspot.com/p/artistinterview-alyssaparr.html

TwoShows

TestingTesting, is my  brain  onn?

I don't know but I have to make a 'comparative analysis' of two galleries in Cincinnati I have fortunately actually visited recently. Actually, despite the required analysis, the experiences were MostDelightful and I would have noted the artful excursions on here anyway. We'll just pretend...

The first show I attended on January 20, 2012 (Iknow this because ofa pamphlet Istashed andfound)
was at the Carl Saloway Gallery
'John Cage: a centennial celebration with friends'
http://www.solwaygallery.com/

The second show I attended on February 3, 2012 (also using a souvenir of a postcard flyer as reference) was a collection of work by my fabulous and talented artist of a friend,
Emily Sites and separately, Abby King, 'Lightness of Being' Emerging Artists exhibition
at the Malton Gallery
http://www.maltonartgallery.com/index.php


For the 'comparative analysis' segment of this post,
please refer to the flowing link:
http://plethroa.blogspot.com/p/twoshows-1and2.html

ArtistsINfluence; Eric Fischl

Alright,alright, ...
MustMust absorb some other artists influence.
I'm really bad about this. But I've conceded that doing so will assist me in breaking free from my creative constraints, which all of us creators of concepts and aesthetics must constantly challenge ourselves with, ... must Grow with my concept and Further its exploration with media, new approaches on perspective and technique.

I've been urged to look up this artist multiple times..

Now i Know WHY- 

-Eric Fischl

whom I can see relates in documenting, especially dynamic off moments.

his application of the media, how he uses it to achieve what is desired for That particular image, active compositions, and engaging perspectives 

 are aspects I should note

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=eric+fischl&view=detail&id=F6C2B75028308E6EA7C65C11B680717966A90070&first=0&FORM=IDFRIR

doesnt overwork scene, conveys environment, selective detail (faces)

..reavealing only so much information..

 

THIS is the epitome of how I tenaciously Desire to depict a Crowd scene; seperate layers, interacting, seductive composition, inclusive viewpoint- revealing much content but effective- through continued color scheme, consistent style of application, separating layers with Slight shape, value, and tone variations

"Fischl's suburban upbringing provided him with a backdrop of alcoholism and a country club culture obsessed with image over content."

(from official website Bio) 

...my work can relate. CHeers.  

HowTo: MaintaiN aCReative miNd

Well, ThiS sounds like a promising title. IN this segment I'll supply some tips on how to further a concept visually, or at least, give examples of what I do, and how to support and maintain creativity, and to stay oUT of an artistic rut.

For the past year, I've been struggling with all of these issues and have discovered ways to troubleshoot them to a certain degree, and I hope they can assist whomever may be having the same roadblocks.

First of all, it is very important to always be stretching and flexing your creative brain, figuratively.  Meaning, not sticking with one medium, topic, or piece for too long, because you may lose practice in other areas of thinking and execution.  It's always a good idea to have multiple projects going to 'keep creative juices flowing'.
For example, over a summer I created 'exercises' and 'assignments' for myself to do, \
such as, 'draw Anxiety' or 'summarize your day' or 'western theme'
One could use mark making, different media, color, content, theme, composition
to emote whatever the artist's interpretation of the assignment is.

When working on furthering a specific concept,
One must start out by identifying the goal, purpose, intent of the artwork
and how to best represent that objective.
Or identify an aspect you'd like to change or further and troubleshoot it
with methods and practice.
For example, with my thesis, I work from photos constantly, but I do Not
wish to replicate the images exactly, which is difficult for me.
So, I purposely seek photos to illustrate that I can establish a plan
of execution in style and content that varies from the precise photo.

Intro to my Aspiration..

Funny, as i post this, documenting what I've accomplished So far, all I can think about is the countless things that I have Yet to do! 

Regardless, andmoving Onward!!-
--> For the past couple months I've been illustrating with ink washes, movie still-like scenes of evening escapades.  -->Focusing on depicting social interaction and embracing the atmosphere- all together simulating the experience of narrative through the eyes of the artist, Me.  I gather material through my own ventures into the night and illustrate the photos.
The most recent series was taken at O'Bryon's Pub,
a Most entertaining excursion, aPlethora of useful and dynamic images resulting...

 

..I'd say that this selection is a very accurate summary of the types of compositions and content and visual style that I document

Here we go

So, this whole blog thing seems like a potential Awesome void to vent, file, record, declare, create, and Holllaa in to.. Yet- 

iShould consider it as such but an 'assignment' turns anything seemingly neutral or even apPealing into something to avoid. Perhaps also resulting from my tendency to Not want to do what I am told.. 

..blah blah... but thats what this place is for, right?  

Hmm.. objective= document inspiration, thought processes, and progress for artsake, 

because I do Not keep track of intriguing findings and notable life sources when they are discovered. Cool, a purpose, defined Too, that should help. 

Kaythanks FirstPost kayByyee