What’s shakin’ at Rodzart

What’s shakin’ at Rodzart 7-16-2010

July 16, 2010 on 11:19 pm | In Da Newz from Rod | No Comments

What’s shakin’ at Rodzart 07-16-2010.

Hi Folks. Happy Friday! I hope everyone has had a good week. This was a slow week in the studio. I’m afraid I only completed one painting this week. Sometimes I see paintings everywhere I look and sometimes I don’t. It’s been a pretty prolific year so far, so I guess I was due for a slump eventually.

I had two other paintings finished, but after a little reflection, they ended up on the dud stack. This brings up an interesting point to mention. A large percentage of my paintings never see the light of day. Whenever I feel a painting is finished, before I put my name on it, I walk away from it for a day or two. Then when I come back to it, I often see parts that need to be changed, or, as happened this week, I decide the entire concept of the painting sucks.

I’ve got a stack of canvases in the corner of the studio, which I call the dud stack. Since none of these paintings are signed, there’s no concrete way to trace them back to me. With any luck at all, that ought to drive some art historian’s crazy some day…lol. Actually, I keep them around because sometimes I go thorough the stack and review the paintings. Sometimes I’m able to see where the painting went wrong, and how I can improve them in the future. Every painting starts out as a masterpiece, but very very few ever end up that way.

The new painting for this week is a 17 X 5 inch acrylic on cardboard called:

Expression 1062. I don’t usually paint on cardboard, but lately I’ve felt like it. I rather like the rhythm in this painting. I hope you will too.

My work is often compared to other artists, so I thought this week I’d do a quick contrast and compare between myself and a few of the artists who’ve influenced me a lot.

First let’s look at Piet Mondrian. Now, I do sometimes create paintings which are very similar to Mondrian’s. The big difference between him and me however, is his paintings were designed with mathematical precision. In mine, the placement of the lines and color forms are all based on my own artistic decisions. In other words I put still where I like it. Sometimes the lines aren’t exactly straight, and sometimes the edges aren’t sharp.

Next we can look at Marc Rothko. First we have to keep in mind that Rothko wasn’t the only person to paint color forms. A lot of people did during the early abstract expressionist era. In my paintings, once again, all of the color selection and placement and the shape of the color form are strictly a matter of artistic choice. In my color form paintings, I’m seeking to create a mood. This is the biggest factor in my selection of colors.

The artist I’m most compared to is Jackson Pollock. I really dislike the term “splatter paintings” or “drip paintings” or even “action paintings”. I very much prefer to think of these as “Line paintings”, since they’re primarily constructed by building up a succession of lines. These paintings, however, don’t happen by accident. They’re all planned and executed in a deliberate manner. Neither Pollock nor I, just blindly throw paint at a canvas. The big difference between Pollock and myself is that Pollock’s paintings are vastly more complex than mine. I make a conscious effort in all my work to keep in simple, and to convey whatever message the painting has in the least amount of image as possible.

So, there you have it. However, rather than saying my work is reminiscent of previous artists, I prefer to think that there work was a premonition of me.
In art, and really in all forms of endeavor, today is built upon the accomplishments of yesterday.

It’s been six months since the earthquake in Haiti. Even though it’s faded from the news, the need is still great. Please keep in mind that Haiti has been screwed over by probably every major power in the world. Let’s not let them get hosed again. If you’ve got a few bucks to spare, how about spending them on Haiti. There’s a lot of good programs going on, my two favorites are, as always, Doctors without borders, they’ve got a link below. Also, The Clinton-Bush Haiti fund.

If you happen to be in the Brandon area, please remember that I’ve got six paintings hanging in “The Art of Hair” salon at 10963 Causeway Blvd., in Brandon. So, I hope you’ll drop by and check them out, and maybe get some great hair styling while you’re them.

Here’s a couple of sites I hope you’ll visit and support:
Doctors without Borders.
Katsel Tsi Chen Cho Kyi Ling Buddhist Meditation center.

I’m also on Twitter
Myspace and
Facebook
Look me up there if ya feel like it.

I hope everyone has a peaceful and prosperous week. See ya next time.

Rod

Here’s some links I hope you’ll remember:

For original paintings, or to inquire about a commissioned painting, just email me at info@rodzart.com

My original paintings can also be acquired through: http://www.socurio.com/myloft/rodzart Socurio.com.

For original paintings sold at auction go to:
http://www.artbyus.com/auctions.php?a=6&b=85

Original works on paper can be purchased at:
http://rodzart.etsy.com

To buy prints on paper or canvas, mouse pads, mugs, refrigerator magnets, etc. check out:
http://www.artwanted.com/rodzart>
http://rodzart2.deviantart.com/gallery/>

For other cool stuff like T-shirts, clocks or travel mugs try my Cafepress site http://www.cafepress.com/rodzart

To obtain fine art prints, framed or unframed:
http://rod-schneider.artistwebsites.com
http://rod-schneider.fineartamerica.com