New work.

I have been working on finishing up a couple of new pieces when the time is available. And there has not been lots of it lately. My brother and I are painting a house for some friends. Big house too. So there goes much of the time that I would typically be using for my own work. But it is good to be working. And the views around the house are jaw dropping. There are times that I just stop and do nothing but stare at the clouds and fields that seem to spread out to eternity.

Thinking through quite a few new ideas for the show in October. From here on out all photos that I post will be in black and white. Don't want to give too much away before the show. Keep everyone on their toes.

Starting next Saturday I plan on posting photos once a week with new photos of work and sketches for the October show.

For now though, I am getting ready to head off to St. Louis for the Cards-Astros game. Then on Sunday we are heading north to U.P. of Michigan to visit some friends for the week. Lots of windshield time this week! 12+ hour car ride with the family. Please pray for my sanity, humility and patience. God help us all!

Cheers,
Jason

new painting in the works

Kind of changing things up a bit. Using a bit less color in combination with grays. Also doing a variation with shades of oatmeal. Yes. I said oatmeal. The next time you decide to make yourself a bowl take a moment to look at the various shades and tints that delicious bowl of warm goodness has to offer.

Seriously though. Just using the oatmeal as a color reference. Not really going to start spreading it onto my paintings. Wait a minute...briliant. No, not really, mold would end up being an issue and that would throw off my whole color scheme.

Diggin' this...

PACOVOLUME "CookieMachine" from discograph on Vimeo.

Launch Number One - Ella

Sayin' good bye....

to cardboard. It has become quite apparent that cardboard does not hold up well to humidity and temperature changes. In the form of a box being shipped it works just fine. When stapled to a wooden support, not so good. So with this post I am saying good by to my dearest cardboard. Our time together has been wonderful and the memories will last a life time and...okay that's enough.

No worries, I have a new love. Salvaged lumber. Ahhhhh, so lovely and mature...sorry wrong direction. Anyway, I am becoming quite fond of this type of lumber. The surface is weathered and probably has many stories to tell. I am amazed and fascinated with the texture and patina of the surface. This isn't that cheap laminated junk that disguises itself as wood when really all it is just sawdust glued together with a pieces of wood grain-like wallpaper slapped on top of it. No this is the real-deal. Stuff like pine, oak, maple and walnut as well as all sorts of plywood. And yes, I am "all geeked-up" on this stuff. Very geeked-up.

So today I fired up the table saw and began cutting down all sorts of boards that I have salvaged from a variety of places. Some from a table and dresser I found during spring clean up week here in Rushville, some from a head and foot board I picked up from the dumpster at the H.E.L.P. Center. Other pieces came from dumpster raids after the stage and sets were torn down following our annual spring musical at Rushville-Industry High School. Some are from a piece of furniture from my own home I disassembled recently.

I spent a good portion of the day cutting, measuring, gluing and assembling different supports for upcoming paintings. Most of these new surfaces are much smaller than the ones I have been working with. The largest support is 36" x say 30". Some of the smaller ones are around 26" x 16".

The next time you get ready to pitch that old dresser or maybe you saw one on the curb in your neighborhood, give me a shout. If you live close by I will come and pick it up. So with this I say, so long my dearest cardboard, I will never forget you.

Launch took place.

Yesterday evening we launched Ella's house from our street. I still have video to upload but here is a shot of the girls making their cardboard houses. I suppose I should fill in some gaps here. Last week we went to see the new Pixar film UP. If you are not familiar with the movie it is about an elderly man who is a balloon saleman. He basically gets fed up with the world and decides to fill up hundreds of balloons with helium and lift his house like a hot air balloon. There is much more to the story but that will get you started.

Sooooooooo, the girls and I decided to make small houses made from cereal boxes and then attach balloons to them and let them go. I probably enjoyed as much if not more than they did. Ella's went off without a hitch, Paige's on the other hand...blown into a tree. We made a new one and launched it a day later. We also put a little note inside to anyone who might find them. All we know is that they were last seen floating east out of Rushville. So there you go.
Cheers!

Project Deuce

This is number two of the big projects to mark off my summer to-do list. I started building this computer table back in Feb. and have not done much with it since. Well...we finally moved our youngest daughter upstairs with her big sister and so bugun the process of turning her former bedroom into my wifes studio/workspace/office/i now have two doors to shut and can hide out/studio.

I spent many an hour repairing the cracked and damaged plaster walls, then we painted over the former pale green with a cool grey. Very nice indeed. I just wish it was me moving my painting stuff in instead of Christy and all of her fabrics.

Anyway, the table is made from 100% recyled lumber. The top is made of plywood and hardwood scraps that I saved from the dumpster at the high school which I work. The base is made from reclaimed 5 and a quarter tongue and groove pine flooring. I am in the process of waxing the top and shelves with beeswax and the base will be painted in the near future. Any suggestions on color?

Enjoy!