Eugene Von Bruenchenhein

On Saturday I went to the Intuit Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art to catch the last day of the Eugene Von Bruenchenhein exhibit, From the Wand of the Genii. I first discovered Von Bruenchenhein in the book Sublime Spaces and Visionary Worlds, which was recommended by a colleague.

While his fowl bone sculptures are fascinating, it’s his painting that captures my imagination.  The works on exhibit at Intuit were largely comprised of his towers, colorfully patterned fantastical architecture created with corrugated cardboard dipped into paint along the edges. But what really fascinates me are the paintings he did before 1960, in which you can make out some kind of primeval creatures and plant life in the midst of abstract, cosmic chaos. It’s positively Lovecraftian, in the greatest sense of the term.

A few years back I toyed with a novel about an artist who painted strange, almost maddening things. When I first saw a Von Bruenchenhein, I felt like I had seen the kind of painting I visualized my character producing. Seeing these paintings in person inspires me to take on that novel again.

More about Eugene Von Breunchenhein can be found at http://www.vonbruenchenhein.com/, and his works are also found at the Carl Hammer Gallery.

New Art Piece

A few months ago I posted this piece and mentioned that I was looking for something else to add, and a way to incorporate color.

"Duets"

This is what I finally decided to do. I added the blue background, then some red-orange for the wings. I still felt like I needed something in the center, so I tried a little pinstriping. Overall, I’m satisfied with this piece. I titled it “Duet”.

All images © Eric Battaglia 2011

Devil and the Halloween Party

The devil tried to crash the Halloween party, but had a little trouble getting through the door.

Just a little sketch I worked up, toying with some other ideas.
Happy Halloween!

Lauren Gray, Pyrography Artist

Lauren Gray does some fantastic pyrography work. She has a classic style and natural subject matter that somehow still carries a sense of the modern. She’s mastered tonality, and her work has kind of a reflective, moody quality. While her most recent work is with casein paint and pencil, she’s got prints of some of her pyrography pieces available at her etsy store, The Haunted Hollow Tree.

50/50 Pilsen Show

Photo by Mandy McGee

I made these bookmarks to sell at the craft show.

 

Friday October 14th was the last day of the 50/50 Pilsen (Chicago) art and craft show, and the only night for the art show. We had a lot of people there, and the show overall was a terrific event. The art show was scheduled to coincide with the Second Friday Art Walk, which happens on Halsted St. on the second Friday of the month.

I’ll be posting those bookmarks pictured up there to Etsy soon.

Scott Marr, Pyrography Artist

Two weeks ago I was writing about pyrography artists working in an unconventional way.  Recently I discovered Scott Marr, an Australian artist who does some interesting work blending natural pigments with pyrography.

Coming up Friday night, the 50/50 Pilsen art show.  This is the second portion of the 50/50 Pilsen show, which explores and blurs the boundary between art and craft.  I’m working on the finishing touches for a number of pieces I’ve been preparing this summer.

Pyrography Artist Blair Mclean

Yesterday I talked about the dearth of pyrographers kicking it up a notch to create a higher art.  I found this guy Blair Mclean on YouTube and thought I’d point out his work as an example of the concept that I strive for.  He does some incredible straight-line images of architecture and landscapes that kind of put me in mind of art deco and Peter Kuper.  Instead of traditional burners, he uses a torch and metal straight edges.  This is awesome stuff, check out these videos of his process.

Crafty Art

I’m counting the days down until the craft fair portion of 50/50 Pilsen, and thinking a little bit about where craft and art meet.  Art almost always involves a degree of craftsmanship, unless it’s purely conceptual. The work I’ve been doing recently involves a medium that puts most people in mind of boy scouts, grandparents, and kitschy outdoor country scenes.  Pyrography doesn’t have the popularity of, say, screenprinting, and it is far more time-consuming without the possibility of mass-production. But there’s a lot of possibility in the medium, because of the range of possible markings, from fine-detail to thicker, deeper burns.

Since the theme of this show is where art meets craft, I’ve been exploring the craftier elements of my woodburning, but really, I’m far more interested in how to incorporate this craft into paintings and drawings. Now, plenty of people consider pyrography a serious art, and so do I, but does it get the same respect as painting or sculpture? This past spring I was at the Art Chicago show at Merchandise Mart, and saw one example of pyrography. I’ve found a few cool woodburn artists trolling around the web, but ultimately, where I draw the line is whether someone is creating original subject matter with a discernible style. I’ll be interested in hearing some of the comments of the Pilsen arts community, because at this show I’ll be focusing almost exclusively on woodburn art.

We’ll see what we’ll see.

50/50 Pilsen Sneak Preview

The Snail Seller

 

Medusa

 

The big show coming up for me in October is 50/50 Pilsen, which Mandy and friends are putting together.  Last year’s show was a huge success, and we’re hoping to build up excitement for this one.  While I’ve a few ideas for the craft portion of the show, what I’ve really been focusing on is a body of work for the art opening on Friday, October 14th. These two pieces are mixed media: woodburn on basswood and birch panels, with gauche and pencil.

All images © Eric Battaglia 2011

The Value of Tedium

I’ve been working on a project that requires some very repetitive detailed patterns. After a couple of hours, I’ve realized I’ve completed 10% of what I need done.  In short, it’s a very tedious process.

I’ve always been detail oriented to a certain degree. When I first envision an image, the detail pops out at me, but what comes out in the initial sketch is usually just a basic outline. That’s mainly from the haste of getting the idea out on paper. Then I can solidify the actual patterns and particulars during the execution of the actual piece.  And sometimes I end up committing myself to a pattern that is more than I had originally anticipated, and can eventually become very time-consuming and dull to replicate.  I almost always like the end results, provided I didn’t take any random shortcuts along the way.

There’s a number of artists that inspire me to carry on with my process, and take it even further.  For years, I’ve followed the work of Richard Kirk, who uses a meticulous and antique process called silverpoint,  which is actually drawing with silver wire on a specially prepared support.  And then just yesterday I took inspiration from wood sculptor Maskull Lasserre, who I discovered courtesy of the Dudecraft blog.

I think there’s a lot to learn from working at the detailed level. It definitely teaches patience, which I tend to run short on, but also the value of perseverance. I know from experience that the work I’m doing will pay off in the final result. And that’s a lesson for life.