“Art is the demonstration that the ordinary is extraordinary.” – Amédée Ozenfant

| ssemchuk

May 30, 2016

In 2013 I attended Series Summer Art School at Red Deer College and worked under the instruction of Jen Mallinson for a week playing with her plaster technique that combined acrylic paint, plaster and an assortment of other materials to create unique backgrounds. In Jen’s work, she would often complete her pieces with beautiful charcoal figure drawings. I left the week long workshop with a number of panels ready to go. This weekend I finished one of those panels. The results are below.

Series WIP, Aug 1, 2013, Mixed Media on Panel, 20" X 20"
Series WIP, Aug 1, 2013, Mixed Media on Panel, 20″ X 20″

 

Cowering Cups, May 28, 2016, Mixed Media on Panel, 20" X 20"
Cowering Cups, May 28, 2016, Mixed Media on Panel, 20″ X 20″

11 thoughts on ““Art is the demonstration that the ordinary is extraordinary.” – Amédée Ozenfant”

    1. Absolutely! It’s a common practice practice in our house to sympathise with the everyday objects around us. I like to think I’m helping my kids learn empathy – they seem to think I’m a little strange…

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      1. tee hee. makes me chuckle. I guess young kids would get it, then as they develop their ‘rational’ capacities, not so cool to chat with cups. Then as adults we need to ‘grow down’ all over again.

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  2. I hope someday I develop the “creative vision” required to create such interesting textured backgrounds and put them to such good use. I do like your “cowering cups” — and I’m wondering what is it they fear? Are they worried about hot drinks being poured inside them? Scared of being dropped and broken? Whenever a painting can spark my imagination, I consider it a definite success.

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    1. In looking at it more, I wonder if they are afraid of the strong light being directed on them from the right. The strong shadows and the drippy brown areas of the background almost create an ominous feeling – like they’ve been huddling in the darkness of an old cupboard and now the door is being opened to expose them to the harsh light of day. The title came about spontaneously as I was renaming the image file in order to upload it – I had been thinking of towering cups, but then cowering just seemed more appropriate. After reading the comments here, I feel like I now understand WHY it’s appropriate. Thank you for your observations!

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      1. Sometimes those “spontaneous”, sort of “gut reaction” decisions prove to be the right ones. You’ve really brought those cups to light, and I can imagine them huddling in the cupboard, the shock of light, the worry about what might befall them next. Love the painting…and the stories it tells.

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      2. I agree – I think it’s in the spontaneous decisions that a person is able to bypass the left brain and access the far less verbal right brain where ideas are born.

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    1. Thank you! I had been a little ambivalent about this background – unsure of what I thought of it and no idea what I would do with it – until last week. I think sometimes it’s a matter of time before the right combination of ideas comes together to create something entirely new.

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      1. you’re welcome! and that’s it exactly about Time. I’ve had work sit for a couple years…. before the right idea and solutions dawned on me. Then, voila.

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