Author: ssemchuk

“We only see what we look at. To look is an act of choice.” – John Berger

| ssemchuk

January 16, 2017

My work from the last two weeks:

Panel 1 WIP, Jan 14, 2017, Mixed Media on Birch Panel, 11″ X 14″
Panel 2 WIP, Jan 14, 2017, Mixed Media on Birch Panel, 11″ X 14″
Panel 3 WIP, Jan 14, 2017, Mixed Media on Birch Panel, 11″ X 14″
Striped Lemon, Jan 14, 2017, Mixed Media on Masonite, 10" X 8"
Striped Lemon, Jan 14, 2017, Mixed Media on Masonite, 10″ X 8″

The latest in the 6″ X 6″ Circle Composition series:

Circle Composition 13 WIP, Jan 14, 2017, Oil on Canvas, 6" X 6"
Circle Composition 13 WIP, Jan 14, 2017, Oil on Canvas, 6″ X 6″

 

And my daily drawing challenge so far:

January 1, 2017
January 2, 2017
Jan 3
January 4, 2017
January 5, 2017
January 6, 2017
January 7, 2017
January 8, 2017
January 9, 2017
January 10, 2017
January 11, 2017
January 12, 2017
January 13, 2017
January 14, 2017
January 15, 2017
When I did my drawing a day project back in July, I decided to use the same medium all month – black drawing pens and a bit of watercolour. I used a small watercolour sketchbook to work in that had 28 pages to which I added 3 more small sheets that I tucked in the back to contain the entire month’s work. I’m carrying both of these ideas over into this new project. I’m using a 2017 Moleskine planner set that consists of 12 small 3.5 x 5 soft cover books. Each has a different colour cover and a page for each day and they can all be contained in a hardcover. The lines on the pages don’t bother me, but the show-through from one page to the next does. So I’m experimenting with gessoing every second spread to avoid that. For the month of January I’ve chosen graphite as my medium. It’s been awhile since I’ve messed with graphite and I’m enjoying it so far. I’m not as fond of the way the graphite responds to the gesso on the pages, but I’m working with it and trying different things – sanding the gesso a little and using harder pencils, or just dispensing with the gesso and accepting whatever show through results. So far it’s going well. Two weeks in, 50 to go.

 

“Let frustration fuel inspiration.” – Sonia Boyce

| ssemchuk

January 2, 2017

Panel 1 WIP, Jan 1, 2017, Acrylic on Birch Panel, 11″ X 14″
Panel 2 WIP, Jan 1, 2017, Acrylic on Birch Panel, 11″ X 14″
Panel 3 WIP, Jan 1, 2017, Acrylic on Birch Panel, 11″ X 14″

This is a group of three panels that currently don’t look like much, but will hopefully evolve into something interesting. I want to play a little with shallow space, text and layers. I’ve started them in acrylic, but will shift to oils with cold wax medium to see if I can work with translucency as well. I have a lovely vision – time will tell how close I manage to come to what is in my head.

With the beginning of the new year, I’m full of ambition. I want to make 2017 a more prolific year than I’ve had for awhile and I am focussing both on developing skills and on experimentation. This isn’t anything new, but I have a renewed energy to bring it about. I intend to draw daily this year and post at least some of the images to Instagram and some here as well from time to time. When I look around my studio I see too many unfinished pieces, so I will be trying to finish work on them. And I seem to have developed a habit of painting over canvases and boards repeatedly if I’m not fond of how they look – again – this idea of layers that I find intriguing. We’ll see what other trends come out of the year. It’s a new year and I feel there are endless possibilities ahead. We’ll see how they unfold…

“To embrace luck, you have to enhance your tolerance for ambiguity.” – Twyla Tharp

| ssemchuk

December 19, 2016

Circle Composition Six, Dec 17, 2016, Oil on Canvas, 6” X 6”
Circle Composition Six, Dec 17, 2016, Oil on Canvas, 6” X 6”

I managed to work on three different pieces this weekend. This one was looking so much like a bullseye that I decided to add the eye.

More Reclaimed Pears, Dec 17, 2016, Mixed Media on Panel, 11” X 14”
More Reclaimed Pears, Dec 17, 2016, Mixed Media on Panel, 11” X 14”

Possibly too colourful, but I thought I’d try a different approach and this is where I ended up.

Seven Apples, Dec 17, 2016, Oil on Canvas, 48” X 36”
Seven Apples, Dec 17, 2016, Oil on Canvas, 48” X 36”

And I have decided that this is now finished. Unless of course I decide to come back to it at some point. For now though, it’s done.

“There is no learning without having to pose a question. And a question requires doubt.” – Richard Feynman

| ssemchuk

November 1, 2016

Reclaimed Lemons, Oct 29, 2016, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 14" X 14"
Reclaimed Lemons, Oct 29, 2016, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 14″ X 14″

 

Circle Composition Four WIP, Oct 29, 2016, Oil on Canvas, 6" X 6"
Circle Composition Four WIP, Oct 29, 2016, Oil on Canvas, 6″ X 6″

 

Circle Composition Seven WIP, Oct 29, 2016, Oil on Canvas, 6" X 6"
Circle Composition Seven WIP, Oct 29, 2016, Oil on Canvas, 6″ X 6″

Another reclaimed canvas – this time with lemons. Again, not that pleased, but it is what it is. I played a bit more with my 6″ X 6″ canvases too. And I think those went a little better…

“There’s a blaze of light In every word. It doesn’t matter which you heard. The holy or the broken Hallelujah” Leonard Cohen, Hallelujah

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October 24, 2016

Another painting on a reclaimed panel – not as successful as last week though – I seem to struggle with the illusion of volume when I’m dealing with darker coloured objects. Or maybe it was the variation of the colour of the apples that threw me. Either way, I need to go back and try another one of these next week, eliminating one of these two factors so that I can work through this. Hopefully I’ll do better next time. It’s all about learning…

Moderately Reclaimed Apples, Oct 22, 2016, Oil on Canvas Board, 14" X 11"
Moderately Reclaimed Apples, Oct 22, 2016, Oil on Canvas Board, 14″ X 11″

 

Moderately Reclaimed Apples Underway 2
Moderately Reclaimed Apples Underway 2

My new work commute has me listening to podcasts and I have a new favourite – Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell. And this episode, which in Malcolm’s words is about “the role that time and iteration play in the production of genius, and how some of the most memorable works of art had modest and undistinguished births.” Very interesting.

 

“When bankers get together for dinner, they discuss Art. When artists get together for dinner, they discuss Money” – Oscar Wilde

| ssemchuk

October 17, 2016

Reclaimed Pears, Oct 15, 2016, Oil on Canvas Board, 11" X 14"
Reclaimed Pears, Oct 15, 2016, Oil on Canvas Board, 11″ X 14″

 

Sketchbook Orange, Oct 11, 2016, Graphite & India Ink on Paper, 10.5" X 13.5"
Sketchbook Orange, Oct 11, 2016, Graphite & India Ink on Paper, 10.5″ X 13.5″
Sketchbook Pear, Oct 14, 2016, Charcoal & India Ink on Paper, 10.5" X 13.5"
Sketchbook Pear, Oct 14, 2016, Charcoal & India Ink on Paper, 10.5″ X 13.5″

This week I spent a little time drawing fruit and then painted more fruit on the weekend. I reclaimed a canvas board that I’d previously been playing around with and decided to incorporate what was already there into the new image. I like this idea and may have to try it again soon. It somehow makes it all seem less precious – probably because it’s not a blank canvas that I’m beginning with. And maybe the fact that I’m recycling something that wasn’t really anything to begin with. (if that makes sense) I took a few pictures along the way. Lots of glare on the finished piece – hopefully I can get a better shot of it down the road.

Reclaimed Pears Underway 1
Reclaimed Pears Underway 1

 

Reclaimed Pears Underway 2
Reclaimed Pears Underway 2

“Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” —Aristotle

| ssemchuk

October 10, 2016

The Box, 1994, Acrylic on Masonite, 22.5" X 24"
The Box, 1994, Acrylic on Masonite, 22.5″ X 24″

 

Venus Averaged, 1995, Acrylic on Canvas, 33" X 45"
Venus Averaged, 1995, Acrylic on Canvas, 33″ X 45″

 

I spent the weekend out of town visiting family. With no time at home to paint, instead I’m posting two paintings from long ago that I found hanging on the walls of my mom’s and my sister’s homes. Both of them make me think I should play with similar ideas again.

The top image was an exercise in rendering shallow depth and a variety of textures with a still life built in a pizza box. There are so many things about this image that leave room for improvement.

Venus Averaged was one in a series of images inspired by the work of Chuck Close. My take on it was to break Venus up into a grid and then lay down the average of the colours that appear within that grid onto my canvas in the same grid location. Once complete, is the image still recognizable as Venus? Pushed further, at one point does the image become unrecognizable? It’s a little like seeing someone you know from a distance – how much detail do you need in order to recognize them? There were a few other canvases in this series but I don’t recall if I ever formed any answers to these questions.

Back home today I was able to spend a little time drawing and making notes about shadows.

a bit of practice working on creating volume
a bit of practice working on creating volume