I’ve been commissioned to create a new painting at 42″ square that looks something like this older painting of mine from 2005. A lot of artists shy away from commissions, but I rather enjoy them.

For one, it’s such a relief to be able to make work that I know I won’t have to store. Seriously.

But perhaps more importantly, it’s great to be able to create work that’s somewhat pre-determined. I still have to think and make decisions while I paint, but the range of decisions has been reduced greatly. So much of my work takes place within a defined set of constraints that I guess this seems relatively natural and comfortable for me.

02062498
alkyd, thread and beeswax on wood panel
5 5/8″ x 5 5/8″
1998

A small piece from ten years ago — I was working a lot back then with small wood panels. The surfaces had delicate alkyd glazes, which were then obfuscated by a thick layer of beeswax into which I embedded thread and/or dental floss. This was when that open horizon area started to form as a theme in my work.

My dentist bought one of the pieces with dental floss embedded and hung it in front of one of the chairs at his office. For a time, I was always seated in that room, and had a view of my piece while I was being worked on.

Recently, Steve was wondering how to hang his small works on paper for his upcoming show. I suggested archival tape hinges, floating the pieces off the wall on small wooden blocks. This, of course, leaves the question of how those small wooden blocks attach to the wall. A quick rumble through my flat files turned up a variety of methods I have used over the years to build similar blocks that I used to mount to the back of panels. I’d recommend poplar as a wood choice for this. Home Depot has little racks of nice poplar boards – they are clear-grained and light in color. It’s also a soft enough wood that it takes well to the things you need to do to it, and sands up nicely without too much effort.

The one below is great if you need the piece to be really snug against the wall and not go out of level every time a door closes, or something. I used these keyhole hangers a lot when I was making bent panel pieces that would protrude off the wall – having the ability to snug the screw up meant that the mounting block wouldn’t sag off the wall because of the leverage.

The one below is simple and cheap, but would require a two-layer block for Steve, so I don’t think it’s practical.

This one is closer. The sawtooth hanger has been hammered flat, and a square has been carved out of the block using a chisel. Not too tough, but a little labor-intensive, especially considering the number of these things I think he has.

Baby bear thinks this one is just right. Flattened sawtooth over a quick hole made with a paddle bit.

For a while in 1998 and 1999, I was dabbling with candy as a medium. Moistening certain kinds of candy will get it to stick to almost anything. For instance, the windows at Seattle Center:

01062299
gummi bears on glass
8″ X 216″

Or a gallery wall:

01120398
starburst on gallery wall
60″ x 120″

On the floor are the wrappers of the starburst. As I unwrapped and stuck them to the wall, I let the wrappers fall, creating a matched color banding at the bottom of the piece, albeit much more organic than the arrangement of the starburst themselves.

This work was silly in a way, but had something to say about process and the alteration of spaces. And – as unsophisticated as the available palettes of candy are – something to say about the use of color, too.