12x12 for $144 VI

My 12x12 this year was based on a section of this photograph I took in 2010 on the grounds of Planet Bluegrass during the RockyGrass music festival.

Rock Wall II, acrylic on panel

 6x6's (sold for $36) by the students of Escuela Del Sol

Two of my favorite pieces from the auction exhibition Prelude

John Garrett, Fall Song, paper, metal, wire, trinkets, beads on board

"Fall Song plays with the idea of translating marks in one system to marks in another system. In this case, the marks become objects which are held together in plied wires. It covers a range from the mundane to the poetic."

Reyes Padilla (one of my studio mates), Synesthetic #11, acrylic on canvas

"Synesthesia: a concomitant sensation; especially: a subjective sensation or image of a sense (as of color) other than the one (as of sound) being stimulated.

Using the synesthetic condition that allows me to see sound, my paintings are representations of the music I listen to while I paint."

12x12 for $144 V

This year, my 12x12 was inspired by a knot on the right side of the wood panel, which I've left untouched throughout the process of creating the artwork. Looking at the organic shape led to me thinking about satellite images of the Earth and the mixture of patterns and colors we don't realize are there when we are on the ground.

...

6x6s by the students of Escuela del Sol

12x12 for $144 IV

My piece for  this year's 12x12 fundraiser at the Harwood Art Center

Abstract Topography, gouache, graphite, wood sealant, 2013

The original shape came from a sketchbook drawing of the bottom part of a squash; the rest just came to me as I thought about how to morph the shape into something more.

6x6s made by kids from Escuela del Sol Montessori School

12x12 for $144 III

I missed the deadline for getting in the show this year, but here are some of this year's pieces.

6x6s

12x12s

12x12 for $144 II

I participated in the Harwood Art Center's 12x12 fundraising exhibition again this year. I began my piece by printing out reversed photographs on wax paper then experimenting with transferring them to the wood surface to see what the result was. The process was based off a technique I learned in printmaking class, in which the artist prints an image and transfers it to another surface by rubbing it with acetone. The acetone process works best when the image is printed on a laser printer. With an ink-jet printer, I can get the same result using wax paper.

12 x 12 for $144

At the beginning of November I asked to be in an art show called the 12x12. The show is a fundraiser for the Harwood Art Center in Albuquerque. It is not your typical art fundraiser; the show is carefully curated, participants are limited, and people flock to the exhibition in a rush to guess who did what and get their hands on a prized piece of artwork. All purchases are made anonymously, so people buy from the heart; the artist's name is revealed only after a piece has sold, and only to the buyer (and those of you reading this.) Each piece is priced at $144, a dollar per square inch. After picking up the 12x12 piece of plywood artists are given complete creative freedom, the only restriction being the size. I completed my piece in about 2 days; it is an abstract representation of rock formations I had photographed earlier this summer. I plan to do a larger version of it in the near future. "Harwood has been creating the kind of event in which artists want to be asked to participate." The house band was Le Chat Lunatique, a local group who plays variations of gypsy jazz. The show opened December 3rd and runs through the 22nd.

Plywood at the Harwood