For my first art related visit, I was able to go to one of my uncle's art gallery displays on our Monday off, which was a treat since he hadn't done one in almost seven years. He deals with a more contemporary approach to his work, and this particular display dealt mostly with the use of paint on canvas and wood. The majority of his work was similar to what I remember he had produced the last time he had a show, which was a series of shapes and painted piece work that bear a striking resemblance to mandalas and targets. He used contrasting colors to bring the layers in and out, and the colors schemes were pretty engaging to look at. The gallery itself was fairly small, and plain, but he had it all to himself so all eyes were on Bruce Buchanan. I wanted to buy a piece of his, but I'm not really well off enough to do so. My mom got one of his big pieces so he said he'd be more than happy to send me something original, which was uplifting to hear. There were only about 30 people there throughout the two hour showing, but it was fun to go to something besides one of the AU galleries and see what happens in the more general scene.

While I was visiting him in Cleveland, I also got to talk to him about for a bit about my own artwork from this semester, and some of the pieces I've done in the past. He actively looks at all my works through Facebook, and he was happy to engage me about them. I got some good information, mainly about the direction of what I want my work to mean, and a few pointers in general landscape design. He actually does commissions for building drawings and design as well, so it was great to see some of his sketching and blueprint designs when we hung out after the show.

 I'll get a picture up of some of his work once I rip the photos off my camera. On Friday night this week though, I plan on trying to go the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago when I pass through to Wisconsin for weekend. I think it'll be pretty great if we get a chance to stop in

I liked the lighthouse, so I did some free work

I've just ordered Emmet Gowin's most comprehensive book on his work, Changing the Earth. I chose this book because, besides showing a good deal of his professional work, it talks about why he chose to  go to these specific locations and take these photographs. From the premise, the book sounds quite political in its direction, and I think that while I share many of the views Gowin is going for with his own work, after reading I'll probably realize that his reasons for his art are a bit more deep than my own. In any case, it does discuss the corruption and scarring of the Earth that mankind has been causing over the past few centuries, but I imagine that I'll learn more than I originally bargained for.

My own piece is coming along alright. I've been away from school and class and haven't worked on it as much as I'd like to. As the semester is officially in its second half, I feel the need to try and churn my works out a little quicker than with the laxness I've accepted throughout the first half. Hopefully I'll have this piece done by next Friday, thats the goal at least. After which I'll go back and finish my previous city scape piece.

This needs a bit of cleanup and refinement but this piece is essentially finished. I may add more in at a later point, but I haven't decided yet. I'm getting a good amount of ideas from just examining pictures that have to deal with natural landscapes and then trying to break them down into a format that suits my own. The inspiration for the last two pieces that I drew came from wanting to show a landscape that had been changed by man's touch. Since its difficult to create a landscape without reference, I searched for images of the Grand Canyon for my initial piece since I was focusing on the American for the scene. For my second piece, I decided to show our destruction in another part of the world by focusing on the ocean. For this I referenced images of the Italian and Greek coasts as the Mediterranean sea level has been steadily dropping for the last few decades.The cliffs are aesthetically eye catching when comparing the height differences to sea level. The barren cliffs jutting under the city indicate how global warming and our need for fresh water are lowering sea levels each year. What was once a stunning chain of easily traversable peninsulas is now rough hike with rough waves and undertow below.

My updated first piece of this series now has some beginning texture to it to emphasize the details between nature and man made structure. In my artist statement I hope to clarify whats been the focus of my work in more detail, but I am having a good time getting closer to the finals stages of my work. With the comments made during my critique session I intend to tweak and add a few things along the way to ensure the viewer can relate to my work more clearly. 

Going in a new direction, I'd like to start looking at the topic of man's effect on nature. What I've laid out so far in this first piece is some scenery similar to the grand canyon and a large highway road running right through it. I've got some futuristic telephone type lines following it as well on their path towards civilization. I'm really going towards trying to make a contrast with the rugged, natural forms of nature in comparison with the sleek, smooth forms of manmade technology strewn among it. I would really like the viewer to realize this difference and get the impression that mankind is intruding on the beauty of nature. This depiction goes along similarly with Emmet Gowin's aerial pictures of how the progress of man has scarred the earth forever with its constructions of convenience and methods of plundering the planet for its treasures such as oil or fresh water. Even though he was a photographer, I'd like to share this feeling with the viewer, but in a style more similar to what I've been working with

Apparently I only drafted this on Monday so its late now, great

I'm still looking to get some type of contrast to show the presence of man impeding on nature and what they have done to change it. When I was browsing the internet for some inspiration one thing that really struck me was a single image that showed a scene of nature and then the abrupt change in environment from forest to city. I really liked this set of images by Ilkka Haslo showing his ideas on the preservation of what nature we have left and how man is striving to save it, but its somewhat the opposite of what I'm going for myself.Gowin does a better job of portraying the brutality and ignorance of man and what they've subjected nature to, Haslo goes for more of a cherishing effect of what little natural settings we have left