Electronica

Electronica by *buchanc3 on deviantART

genre: abstract
size: 16" x 18"
medium: acrylic and CDs on lectromax
date: April 3, 2009

influence: music, Wassily Kandinsky

technique: I began with splashing the lectromax with white paint which was put through a noodle strainer, this gave me a very random lay of paint which is very important concerning this one. Then I broke CDs with my hands. By doing this, you get a variation of sizes and shapes, also very important. I applied these pieces with rubber cement.

theme and reasoning: I had been just starting to fall in love with electronic music for several reasons, one being the haphazardness that comes along with it. This genre is very diverse and is random in every aspect. There is a huge margin for creative freedom and this really inspired me. I felt the urge to explore music through paint and collaged material.

concept: Electronica's aesthetics are the driving concept. I took the music and translated what I was hearing into another form of art. The base color, white, started random and continued to be random. The broken CDs began random but did not stay that way. When I started arranging them I just wanted to fit them together, but then the concept really started to flow. I started to mimic the broken beats, the odd sounds through the placement of shards. Everything came together just as a song does.

Electronica hangs on the wall of my room and will be featured in an online Italian art magazine.

Experiment Two

Experiment Two by *buchanc3 on deviantART

genre: experimentally abstract

size:

medium: acrylic and oil on canvas

date: April 1, 2009

influences: Jackson Pollock

technique: Within the left portion white oil paint was the base coat. For the second step I drizzled black acrylic over top while the paint was still wet. This process was reversed on the opposite side which created a completely different affect. I used red oils without any thinner to make a focal point. To create a texture within this strip of color I used a palette knife to apply the medium in a thick fashion.

theme and reasoning: This was an experiment to find the effects of mixing two similar yet completely different mediums.

concept: The concept here is to explore new possibilities within mediums. Each move you make creates a different look, a different feel within the painting. Understanding the medium in which you work and the way it reacts with other mediums is very important. The left portion has a more clear and concise feel to the shapes, both positive and negative space have hard edges. The right side has the opposite effect. When the white oil was applied on top of the black acrylic the results are much less clear. The splatters have disintegrated outward and have created a fuzzy look. I will use these findings in future paintings.

Experiment Two is owned by Charlie Futerill in Staines, UK.

Secondary Education

Secondary Education by *buchanc3 on deviantART

genre: abstract
size: 10" x 10"
medium: acrylic and charcoal on canvas
date: April 8, 2009

influences: Jackson Pollock and fellow students

technique: For the splattered bit I was aiming for a certain look. Not a look like a usual splatter I make has, but more scattered, rounded, and smaller I would say. I watered down the paint and dripped it from about seven feet above. I squirted the paint through a fine noodle strainer, this is what I came up with.

theme and reasoning: The theme of Secondary Education is a the typical college life. I have been seeing this go on around me for some time now, and I have been part of this epidemic until recently. It seems what is going on here is going unnoticed.

concept: In Secondary Education and in my future painting Naïve, I had the thought in my head but I was not sure how to execute. This painting begins with two bold and opposing colors that catch your attention. Their direction is off putting yet it invites you to look further. Then you see the human form vomiting these vivid colors. As said above, there is something going on around me. Students pay roughly $13,000 to attend Ferris State University for two semesters. None of us actually have this money lying around, we have to borrow it from lenders who are very excited about you graduating and missing a payment because the economy is so terrible you can not find a job in the profession you just worked at least four years to get in to so they can raise your interest rates. That's beside the point... I see students every day cramming for tests. They put everything off until the night before because they are too lazy to open a book. Sure they may get the grade, but what are they really gaining from this? We take in the information and regergitate it onto the paper so our proffessor can pat us on the head and give us a passing grade. But after you are done stressing about the test, you have sat down on your couch to turn on trashy TV, then what? The information is lost. You have spent $300 per credit hour this semester and can't remember half of what you were tested on. This is today's secondary education. I was in this trance up until last year. College life has become everything other than a time to learn. We have adopted new values such as drinking and finding other ways to pass the time. Not many students sit down and think about what they just took it, really ponder it. This is what Secondary Education is about.

Representationally; the knowledge, the only way to succeed, the most important part of your young adult life, is being spewed out without a second thought. Color is used to show the significance of it all. The student is colorless, even opaque to express the lack of knowledge and his willingness to give it up. He's fading away because of his lifestyle.

This painting hangs next to my computer as a reminder.

Series Four.1.2

Series Four.1.2 by *buchanc3 on deviantART

genre: abstract
size: 5" x 7"
medium: watercolor on watercolor paper
date: April 7, 2009

influence: Jackson Pollock

technique: Brush strokes in a vertical fashion, splatters over top.

theme and reasoning: Conflicting colors play against each other. They provide many possibilities in concept.

concept: Considering concept, aesthetics was my only concern. This could easily be interpreted into something with deeper meaning than cool and warm colors. I just liked the way they interact with each other, being opposites. Vertical line creates a sort of unity between the two as it was one of the similarities in them. No matter which way you hang these paintings, each will have line to relate to. As far as unity goes, the black splatters also accomplish this. It is a very obvious solution to making them similar, but I like the turn out.

Series Four.1.2 is hanging on the wall here in Big Rapids, Michigan.

Experiment One

Experiment One by *buchanc3 on deviantART

genre: experimentally abstract
size: 12" x 12"
medium: acrylic and lacquer on canvas
date: February 1, 2009

influence: Jackson Pollock

technique: Experiment One's color was applied using a drip method. Each blue spot was placed individually from around ten feet above the canvas. Orange was applied quickly and more randomly. Let the paint dry for a day or two so the top layer of the thick paint dries. I then put it in the bathtub and turned on the shower. The pressure from the water beats extra texture into the paint. After about a week of drying, I dripped clear lacquer over it.

theme and reasoning: Experimentally Abstract may or may not be a new term. When I began trying to classify this painting it was difficult to find a genre where it fit easily. I settled upon Experimentally Abstract.

concept: The concept is not a message about some issue or how tough life is. The concept is an experiment in the making of the painting. It is and experiment in the application of paint in a new way and realizing new effects throughout the new process. The biggest experimental step was turning the shower on the canvas. I had texture in mind and new this would do something to the paint, I just didn't know the exact outcome. Another small experiment was the use of color. I only used two three colors, each complimenting each other. The depth created using color and texture was surprising and mostly unplanned. That's what makes Experiment One an Experimentally Abstract piece.

This painting hangs in our bathroom where it was born.

Series Three.1.2

Series Three.1 by *buchanc3 on deviantART

Series Three.2 by *buchanc3 on deviantART

genre: abstract
size: 12" x 12"
medium: oil on canvas
date: January 20, 2009

influences: Colorist artists

technique: Short, quick brush strokes is the method I used for this series and I really like the outcome.

theme and reasoning: I wanted to do a series completely based upon the placement of color. So here, I intended to move color around the two canvases to experiment.

concept: As established above, color was the sole concept in Series Three. By placing warm colors within cool you create a focal point that jumps off the canvas. These paintings are an experiment for me as I am still new in painting with oils. It is beneficial to see the way the colors bounce off each other and is a simple but highly useful tool in any medium.

Series Three.1.2 is owned by Laura Mispelon in Clarkston Michigan.

Series Two.1.2.3

Series Two.1.2.3 by *buchanc3 on deviantART

genre: abstract expressionism
size: 9" x 11"
medium: acrylic and oil on canvas
date: February 10, 2009

influence: Jackson Pollack

technique: Each canvas started with a color base coat in oils. After they dried, I began applying acrylic colors from a squeeze bottle. I find I have much more control concerning expressionistic pieces while using a bottle rather than a brush. Each color was applied right after the last without any dry time, this allowed for merging of colors. The acrylic paint was thick enough though to stop the colors from bleeding together.

theme and reasoning: I classify this series as abstract expressionism because there wasn't a thought process concerning the action lines. The initial strokes of these works were spontaneous but I continued them consciously.

concept: This was my first abstract work where I used a color for the negative space. Though the background is greatly overpowered and almost completely lost in 1 and 2, 3 has the opposite effect. 3's background is covered with orange which makes it pop and grab the attention of the viewer. This painting is an experiment with color and eye movement. Naturally, one's eye is led from left to right. With the combination of curved line and the orange color, your eye does the opposite of the norm. The viewer's eye may start at the left but it immediately searches for an anchor to focus on. After you've found a comfortable spot to start in the orange panel, the white lines peak through the others and create an abstract chiaroscuro to move the eye about. Series Two.1.2.3 is also an experiment with layering color in the abstract form. It helps to understand complimentary and like colors together to establish new ways of provoking eye movement.

Series Two.1.2.3 was a Christmas present for Kate Raymond.