Horsing around

To my amazement I am renewed with vigor with my project and super stoked about the gear and Dragonframe capture program. I spent some time re-arranging my set up and took a bunch of stuff out of the space and to the studio for painting.

Here is as empty as it will be for the month this long week-end as I spruce up items in the studio to be returned tomorrow and revamped for the CAOS media Release on Tuesday morning.

I was horsing around, got a few hundred out of 666 frames shot of the horse walking. The space gets really hot with the lights and I shut it down for the evening taking the majority of the gear with me to set up in the studio to work on the effects shots this long week-end.

I snuck in a quick visit to the Telus Spark science centre for some inspiration. First to visit my pal Ola as she hosted a felting creature event in the exhibition hall, so cool. The show is all about animatronic effects for Hollywood. Fitting/good timing for my project. There was an original 1930's Willis H. O'Brein stop motion armature on display. DINORIFIC!

Elephantitis

Not the skin thickening disease........ something much nicer.
The transformation of my elephant mannequin.

Here is the little guy after assembly. He has a dark brown wooden finish and is fairly glossy. I animated him  doing a walk first on 2's then I turned off the front light and allowed him to become a moving silhouette on 1's.

I covered him in a copper acrylic paint. I allowed the texture of my rapid brush lines to remain. I didn't even sand him first since any damage that lifts the paint will reveal the undercoat in an interesting way. Shiney!

I quickly put on a thin second coat of copper and while it was still tacky I dripped over a blue  patina solution made of ammonia which instantly aged the copper.

I did some touch ups and another patina treatment. As it dried it was gritty and chalky and I felt it necessary to put a protective coating on it so that it doesn't wear off too quickly during my handling for my animation.

The coating may protect it but it did change the look quite a bit. It appeared to eat through in some areas giving it a deeper look and texture. I am pretty happy with how it is looking. I think I am going to silver leaf the tusks before I carry onto the next stage. And rub in some blacks to pop some of the crevices. I also re-attached the tail using a bent sewing pin. I intend on painting in the eyes in yellow and using plasticine disks on top so that he can look around.

Moving in to the window box

 I was awarded a Calgary Cultural Capital of Canada 2012 Artist in Residency.  It is part of the Calgary Animated Objects Society (CAOS) festival line up. I am in the Untitled Arts Society +15 Gallery window space in the Epcor Centre for Performing Arts in a make shift animation studio working on a new piece.

Here is the fish bowl as I just start moving my gear in.

And more stuff still. Lots of wood going into the window display.

I hung a big black out drape to control the light from spilling in. As well, I put up some Tibetan flags for cheer and a bit of diffusion.

Here are some of the wooden mannikins I intend on bringing to life using stop motion animation techniques.

Here is the shot from my Grandpa chair inside the box setting a focal length on my elephant.
More to come as the residency progresses :)

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Plasticine recipe

Here it is for those who want it, my DIY plasticine recipe.

What you will need:

-A big pot to mix it all in over heat since you need to liquify the wax and petroleum jelly. 
-Gloves and safety equipment. It's your house and your skin.This stuff is hot and may splatter and is flamable so be weary. 
-I also wear glasses, but safety glasses might help in case of hot oil/wax spashes.
-A kitchen scale to measure out the ingredients. 
-A spoon to do the mixing, long handle one works best. It should be sturdy as the mixture becomes stiff and will bend even the metal ones. 
-Containers to pour the finished product in to cool. 
-Good ventilation or a dust mask since you probably don't want any of the greasy fumes and powdered dirt coating your lungs. 

Now for the ingredients:

4 lbs. of wax (I used a blend of mycrocrystaline wax and sculpting wax)
10 lbs. of fine grain Ball clay
750 ml of mineral oil
2 lbs of petroleum jelly (approx. 3 containers full)

This is what 10 lbs. of the clay powder looks like ready to go.

Here's the method, I like to have everything ready to go before I begin, like an good cook. I made two batches one after the other. The first batch was great. I cleaned out the container and made a second batch right afterward. *The second batch had more clay added to have a finer grain option.

Get the pot on the stove and melt the wax.

 If mixing waxes give it a really good stir to blend them together once liquid.

Then add the goopy jelly and stir until it melts into the wax.

Wear gloves here, its hot grease and if it splatters you may regret it. The mineral oil is already a liquid and doesn't need any heating so I add it at now.

Gently add no more than a quarter of the ball clay to the liquid and give it a good stir until it is smooth making sure you have no clumps.

Add more of the dirt, it will start thickening up so you need to keep stirring it.

When I add the clay it sits on top, scoop deep and circulate from the hot bottom and it will belnd much easier.

Add the final bit of clay and it will be really thick. Keep it on the heat to help it along as you stir it until well mized.

Scoop it out of the hot pot and into a bucket to cool.

Batch 1 is done and its as smooth as cream cheese when it is still warm.

Cleanliness is next to godliness, so clean up while it is still hot, it will be much easier.

I made a second batch and topped up the first bucket and filled a second. This site makes me one happy artist!

If you have any other questions feel free to give me a shout and I'll help you out.

Ciao for now!








 

Calgary Skyline Project - 3

The show must go on.

I was super ill and losing time and now I had the speed bump getting the text the right size to fit all the names and had to start over.

I had to do an all night er to get some distance between me and failure. Here is how far along I got before taking a much needed break. Eyes crossed, hand cramp and headache starting... but progress is being made in the name of art.

Due the the angle of working on the wall my hand was cramped and I couldn't hold my materials any longer. But I had to keep working like a marathon runner using all my stamina in order to meet the specified deadline.

 BAM! I got home the next morning for a quick nap just after 6 am. But I had the first panel completed and able to show the people who needed to see something. I felt like a champ over this initial victory.

After my evening animation class I rushed back over to my studio to crank out hundreds of more names on the back panel. At this point I really lost steam and instead of wrecking what I had done and pushing through on virtually no sleep, I did what any smart, self respecting, creative would do and I took a nap.

Here is a shot taken with my iphone to show a bit more detail of names that make up the texture of the silhouette.

I go back to the studio for one more all day session so that I can have it ready when I meet the photographer at 8pm to snap the photos to send to the designer.  Some of the lighter whites are because I had to start with a new pen and when the paint first comes out it is pure white and gradually it gets a bit darker. Once the image is put into photoshop it can be edited to even out these tones.

I cut the pieces in half where the binding would be to make it easier to work with and photograph. Later, we may stretch the pieces to display at the publication release event. Its a labor intensive part and falls outside of the expenses of the budget, so I'm not entirely certain if it will be done.

Another view of the two panels form the other side. We re-hung the works on the far wall in my studio to be photographed.

Here is Sean at the far end of my studio after meticulously setting up and measuring then taking many large format long exposures without us moving an inch. I was excited to finally be done, as I waited for the thumbs up that we didn't need any changes or a re-shoot.

The next day I was estatic! I pulled off the impossible!

Both the Designer and the Calgary 2012 rep sent me very supportive emails full of praise after seeing the delivered final image. It made my day, and it really made all the hard work and lack of sleep worth it. I cant wait to see the finished publication!

Calgary Skyline project - 2

There is a deadline to make! I may be in a residency full time during the day and teaching most evenings but that leaves a few weary hours at night to complete the task. I want this, and there is no chance that I will fail once I put my mind to something.  So for a few days I worked without sleep into the wee hours to get it done for the very short timeline.

 Here is the mock up in reverse colours that I used to plan out the piece on  much grander scale.

I charted out the buildings in charcoal on the black primed canvas. The area was measured and outlined in pencil and measures 54 inches in height by 76 3/4 inches in width. The publication will be nine inches tall so the final work will be reduced 6 times.

I used a level and this long stick to maintain accuracy in the horizontal axis and vertical axis.

Here is the back page panels sketched out in charcoal.

The canvas is stretched and stapled right to the drywall.The entire length of the piece took up the majority of my studio wall.

I set up some time lapse photography of me working the first run, here is a still form that series. As you can see the letters are large enough to read, I'm working from a print out of a list with 1700+ names on it, checking them off one by one.

After this night of work, I realized that at this scale of text there would be no way to fit all the names on the piece. I sat back and looked for a while, sucked it up...... I got brave, and painted over it!  This starting occurs when you are doing something you've never done before. I wanted it to turn awesome so it had to be done! Time was ticking away.

Artist talk - Calgary Public Art

PublicArt 101 - Professional Development Series 

Artist-in-Residence Programs 

In this session, we will explore and discuss artist-in-residence programs and opportunities both in Calgary and worldwide. Presenting artists will share their experiences of working in local and international residence programs, and present information on what's involved in the application and funding process.

When: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Where: Cliff Bungalow Arts Centre, 2105 Cliff Street SW

Presenting artists include:

Brian Batista, Calgary Allied Arts Foundation, St(art) Residency

An artist based in Calgary, Brian holds a BFA with Distinction from the Alberta College of Art and Design. He was part of the exhibition 7 BY 7: RISING TALENTS at Stride (2009) and his first solo exhibition, Sacred Images, was held at the Untitled Arts Society Gallery. Brian recently showed his series "Divine Inspiration" at the Stride Gallery. www.brianbatista.com

Dick Averns, Calgary 2012 AiR Program

Currently maintaining a practice in Calgary and teaching at ACAD, Dick is actively involved in exhibiting through public institutions, artist-run centres, public art projects and via performative events. His interdisciplinary approach invariably places the audience as a central component to works that thematically engage with the commodification of space. www.averns.com

Rachel Duckhouse, Watershed+ Artist Residency

A visual artist based in the UK, Rachel studied at Leeds College of Art and Winchester School of Art and has been a practicing artist for 14 years. She specialises in drawing and printmaking and her recent etchings, screen prints and drawings are abstract, geometric works that explore 'how things fit together'. www.rachelduckhouse.co.uk

Yvonne Mullock, International Residencies

Graduating from the fine art department at Glasgow School of Art, Yvonne's creative practice has developed into a research-led multi-disciplinary approach that spans interests in nature, landscape and craft - making sculptures, drawings, films and textile works for both gallery and site specific installations.Yvonne has participated in residencies in Scotland, England, United States and Canada.www.yvonnemullock.co.uk

Space is limited to 75 people. Please register in advance.

Contact: Evan Woolley, Program Coordinator, Public Art Program

evan.woolley@calgary.ca / 403-476-4329

♬ Roll out... ♬

I grabbed the remaining supplies that were necessary to undertake this project and got down to the studio for a late night session to get me back on track with this project.

To begin, I had some ordering to do to open up the long wall in my studio. Stacked my paintings, moved a bunch of stuff around and took a load to the Epcor UAS +15 space that I will be in residency for, for the next 2 months.

Play this Ludacris video "roll out" to add to the feeling of this process blog :)

I rolled out the canvas and stapled it along the wall. Got the flat black onto the paint roller and began to roll it out......................
Lots of splatter.
Doesn't matter.
The wall is blacker.
The job's done faster.
 ♬ Roll out, Roll out, Roll out!  ♬