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fun and struggles in the studio

Posted in Art, art on paper, laelia e. mitchell, Work in Progress, work on paper with tags abstract, Art, Drawing, laelia e. mitchell on February 13, 2012 by laelia e. mitchell

that’s the sum total of my experiences in the studio as of late. i go … i draw … i have fun. i go … i draw … i struggle. and it’s like that, all the time. some days the ideas flow with grace and fluidity like it’s a gift from the ether. other days (like saturday) i draw and i might as well be dumping the cat box on the paper it’s so horrendous. there seems to be no way i can gauge the day or my temperament.

the drawing below is from one of the studio days that left me feeling like i know wtf i’m doing. my mark making is developing into some weird language of repetition and movement and it seems to make sense to me. i used a charcoal pencil then smudged. i made 4 pages of this. one page i added a gel medium to each mark and topped it with some oil stick. i’ll photograph it and share next time.

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They Might be Giants

Posted in abstract, Art, art on paper, expressionism, expressionist, figurative, gesture, monotype, narrative art, Painting, printmaking, technique, Tom Bennett, work on paper with tags abstract, Art, expressionism, figure, giants, james ensor, monotype, Painting, paper, printmaking, Tom Bennett on February 9, 2012 by Tom Bennett

Unless you’ve been having a pedicure under a rock the last few days, you’ll know the football NY Giants beat the NE Patriots to win the superbowl for the 2nd time in 4 years. Without going into an analysis of the season and the game itself and bore most of you, I’ll just say, as a New Yorker, this team is cardiac-arrest-fun with its habit of coming back from the dead and pulling out a win at the last minute.

Mario Manningham came up with, arguably perhaps, the game-changing catch along the sideline. The play was expressionist in its execution.

Tom Bennett

Uploaded with [URL=http://imageshack.us]ImageShack.us[/URL]
Manningham, monotype, 20′ x 16″

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The Fat and the Thin in the Corner

Posted in Art, art on paper, expressionism, expressionist, figurative, mixed media, monotype, nude, oil painting, Painting, printmaking, technique, Tom Bennett, work on paper with tags abstract, Art, expressionist nude, figure, mixed media, monotype, nude, oil painting, Painting, paper, printmaking, Tom Bennett on February 2, 2012 by Tom Bennett

More paintings made from monotypes. These two pieces I finished a couple of days ago and I’m of two minds about them. The first, In the Corner, may be a tad too defined in the figure. I’m not sure I’m pushing the abstraction enough. The second painting I’m on the fence about as well. How’s that for mixed metaphor cliches?

Tom Bennett

In the Corner, oil over monotype on paper, 28″ x 20″

The Fat and the Thin, oil over monotype on paper, 20″ x 16″

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a late post

Posted in Art, art on paper, Drawing, laelia e. mitchell, mixed media, Work in Progress, work on paper with tags Art, doodle, Drawing, laelia e. mitchell on January 30, 2012 by laelia e. mitchell

spending a couple days in the studio this week has refreshed my soul. even though i didn’t really make any art on one of those days, i was able to putz around and feel that creative movement is steadily chugging along. it’s really about the little movements towards making work that eventually end up with work getting made. huh? well … you know what i mean. just something everyday eventually gets a big pile of art made. i have a few drawings done and some canvas on the wall in the studio with a first pass of mars black … where it’s going? not effing clue

ink, graphite, acrylic and oil stick on paper

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Hidden Defect and Lauren’s Underbelly

Posted in abstract, Art, art on paper, expressionism, expressionist, figurative, mixed media, monotype, nude, oil painting, Painting, printmaking, technique, Tom Bennett, work on paper with tags abstract, Art, art on paper, expressionist figure, expressionist nude, figure, mixed media, monotype, nude, Painting, printmaking, Tom Bennett on January 26, 2012 by Tom Bennett

Two more explorations in the current series. The one called Lauren’s Underbelly got its title from the happy little fact that the underpainting/monotype was a portrait of a pregnant woman. She apparently gave birth to this painting. It’s a girl!

Hidden Defect, oil into monotype on paper, 22′ x 16″

Lauren’s Underbelly, oil into monotype on paper, 18″ x 12″

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Ectoplasmic Monotype/Painting

Posted in abstract, Art, art on paper, expressionism, expressionist, figurative, mixed media, monotype, nude, oil painting, Painting, printmaking, technique, Tom Bennett, work on paper with tags abstract, Art, ectoplasm, expressionist nude, figure, kodak, mixed media, monotype, nude, oil over monotype, Painting, Photography, printmaking, Tom Bennett on January 19, 2012 by Tom Bennett

This piece has a photographic feel and Kodak is on its death bed. That’s a sad thought.

Ektachromoplasm, oil over monotype on paper, 20″ x 16″

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Basement in Baltimore

Posted in abstract, Art, art on paper, figurative, monotype, Painting, printmaking, technique, Tom Bennett, work on paper with tags abstract, Art, expressionist figure painting, expressionist nude, figure, monotype, nude, oil over monotype, oil painting, Painting, paper, printmaking, Tom Bennett on January 12, 2012 by Tom Bennett

I’ve been in Baltimore caring for my parents for a week and have been painting in the basement of the house I’m staying in. Here are some of the results.
I had the opportunity to take advantage of my father Harry’s experienced eye for design. He’s 92 years old. I asked him what he thought of the 1st piece below while I was still working through unresolved stages. He looked at it, covered an area with his hand and said, “get rid of this shape. These things don’t mean anything.” A title was born.

Tom Bennett

These Things Don’t Mean Anything, oil on monotpye, paper, 18″ x9″

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

Below, I’ve posted a photo of an original monotype and the subsequent over-painting.

First stage: Original monotype on paper

figure 1993, monotype,

Final stage:

Figure 1-11-12, oil on paper, 2012,

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i’m back with a new project

Posted in Art, art on paper, digital, laelia e. mitchell, Photography with tags Art, Drawing, laelia e. mitchell, Photography on January 9, 2012 by laelia e. mitchell

as I started the new year, i felt it important that i have a disciplined small project to keep me on track. I bought a new sketchbook and commanded myself to draw something everyday. as the new year approached, i was excited and kinda nervous. drawing was out of my comfort zone. i’m a photographer. maybe my self imposed limits needed to be stretched. my good fortune came through twitter where @stelth opined “should I do a drawing a day?” to which I replied ”yes and I’ll join you”

i am using the iphone and paper based drawings in this project. it’s a terrific exercise for me to open up and play. it’s helping to be part of a group … accountability.

todays sketch has yet to materialize, however here’s a link to the project and yesterday’s sketch

drawing a day

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First Two Stages

Posted in abstract, Art, art on paper, Drawing, expressionism, expressionist, figurative, mixed media, monotype, nude, oil painting, Painting, printmaking, technique, Tom Bennett, Work in Progress, work on paper with tags Art, Drawing, expressionist figure, mixed media, monotype, oil on monotype, oil painting, Painting, printmaking, reworked print, Tom Bennett on January 5, 2012 by Tom Bennett

Photos of the first stages of the process I’m exploring with these current reworked monotypes-to-paintings.
The monotype is an ancient relic from the early 90′s. Drawing over the image and reintegrating the underlying forms with the new marks, I then bring in paint of varying viscosities with brush and knife. The recontextualization of form may be overtly reconsidered or more likely metamorphosizes ‘organically’ (for lack of better pompous phrasing). Here much of the original is obliterated yet structurally the new image is recognizably built on form that is now rendered abstract. I’m away from my studio this week and won’t be reworking this until I get back, so this current unresolved stage will have to ferment like a soft wheel of gouda, also known as my head.

stage2male-female.jpg stage 2

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Injected Meaning

Posted in abstract, Art, art on paper, expressionism, expressionist, figurative, mixed media, monotype, nude, oil painting, Painting, printmaking, Tom Bennett, work on paper with tags Art, expressionism, expressionist figure, expressionist nude, figure, monotype, nude, oil on monotype, oil on paper, Painting, paper, printmaking, Tom Bennett on December 29, 2011 by Tom Bennett

My apologies for the mediocre photo, I left my equipment in Baltimore over the Christmas holiday and was forced to use my iPhone.

Happy New Year. If you get wasted, hope its a good time.

Tom Bennett

Injected Meaning, monotype reintroduced with oil paint, on Rives BFK paper, 24″ x 18″

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Nice and Easy

Posted in Art, art on paper, expressionism, figurative, mixed media, monotype, nude, oil painting, Painting, printmaking, technique, Tom Bennett, work on paper with tags abstract, Art, expressionist nude, figure, mixed media, monotype, nude, oil over monotype, oil painting, Painting, printmaking, Tom Bennett on December 22, 2011 by Tom Bennett

When taking monotypes and working back into them with other media, I intend to allow the under-print to be an integral part of the process and have a dialogue with the fresh mark making. With this piece I fear I have pushed to far with the paint and the literal form. The most overt area revealing the print is the space on the right with amorphous cell-like blobs. That said, I like the spotty abstracted relationships and may accept this as sort of a red-headed step child, even though she’s a brunette.

Tom Bennett

Nice and Easy, oil on monotype, rives bfk paper, 20″ x 16″

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taking a break

Posted in art on paper, laelia e. mitchell, Work in Progress with tags Art, Drawing, studio on December 19, 2011 by laelia e. mitchell

so … i’m in the studio today and will be packing up some supplies to take with me for the holiday break. i’ll be in the southern vermont area with very limited internet service so I’ll likely pass on next monday’s post. in the meantime, i’m thinking about my practice and how i’m moving away from photography and how it feels. if one has spent 30+ years in one discipline, how do you move through the discomfort of transition?

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Work in Progress: Konja

Posted in Art, art on paper, expressionist, figurative, mixed media, monotype, nude, oil painting, Painting, printmaking, Tom Bennett, work on paper with tags abstract, Art, figure, monotype, nude, oil on paper, oil over monotype, Painting, printmaking, Tom Bennett on December 15, 2011 by Tom Bennett

A monotype currently being revisited. Something about this makes me think of, remember fondly, my experiences in Turkey. I can’t tell you why.

WIP: Konja, 2003-2011, oil paint over oil based monotype on paper, 24″ x 18″

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today’s studio play

Posted in art on paper, Drawing, laelia e. mitchell with tags Art, laelia e. mitchell, works on paper on December 12, 2011 by laelia e. mitchell

messing around with watercolors today

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Cave from the Archives

Posted in Art, art on paper, expressionist, monotype, printmaking, Tom Bennett, work on paper with tags abstract, Art, art on paper, cave, monotype, monotype printmaking, paper, printmaking, Tom Bennett on December 8, 2011 by Tom Bennett

The last week and a half has been a blur of illness and commercial work. I have nothing new finished to post. So here’s an older monotype from the archives.

Deep South, 2009, monotype, 18″ x 12″
Private collection

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Oil Paint Over Older Monotype: Age Before Beauty

Posted in abstract, Art, art on paper, expressionist, figurative, Miscellaneous, mixed media, monotype, nude, oil painting, Painting, printmaking, Tom Bennett, work on paper with tags abstract, Art, expressionist figure painting, figurative painting, figure, mixed media, monotype, nude, Painting, printmaking, Tom Bennett on November 24, 2011 by Tom Bennett

Happy Thanksgiving.

Age Before Beauty, 1993-2011, oil study into monotype on paper. 20″ x 16″

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new work … no pics, yet

Posted in Art, art on paper, laelia e. mitchell, monotype with tags Art, Drawing, laelia e. mitchell, printmaking on November 21, 2011 by laelia e. mitchell

i’ve been working with the monotype as a means for creative development and i’m finding the process to be a great way to both have fun AND mine some deeper ideas. i’m not a trained printmaker and my forays into the plastic arts in college were abysmal. yet, this time, i’m finding a real draw to printmaking in particular. i can only guess it’s my inner finger painting child screaming for more attention … yet, it might be a bit more. my drive to pick up my camera has dropped to all time lows and i spend more time drawing and playing with paints and papers than ever before. additionally, i find little interest in looking a contemporary photography. it all seems so contrived and well .. i dunno. i’m sure to find my way back sometime.

so… while i’ve samples of this new direction, they’re all at my studio and i’ve not had a moment to foto them for this entry ( i know … what a loser) i’ll be sure to post some soon

in the meantime …. this is a detail of an ink scroll 4″ x 48″

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Hedy

Posted in Art, art on paper, figurative, monotype, nude, oil painting, Painting, printmaking, Tom Bennett, work on paper with tags abstract, Art, expressionist nude, figure, mixed media, monotype, nude, oil over monotype, oil painting, Painting, paper, Tom Bennett on November 17, 2011 by Tom Bennett

Leafing through the archives of not-quite successful prints, I came across a good candidate. I didn’t document it in its original stage, as I haven’t really done for most of the pieces in this series, but suppose I should. I will, however, search for a slide of it, which I am almost positive I have catalogued somewhere in the cave I call my studio.

I’m not isolating the printmaking paper with hide glue or gesso or anything. It should last at least until a meteor hits the earth, destroying civilization as we know it.