A long while back I was dealing with a new idea, how to create a larger version of some of the small works I had been creating for the past couple years. For a couple years I had been creating works on standard paper sized scale but had wanted more but hadn’t come up with exactly HOW it was going to work. Being that I barely ever even made work on paper, I refuse to call them drawings as they are pigment and a binder on a substrate which is in mechanical terms…painting. After I had finished a number of large works as you can see in the past entries here, dealing with scaling the shape that I simply call THE SHAPE, and growing how I see it through new works that call into form the many creative ways to make this specific design. Yet I knew I was being called to create something that was a new development in landscape for myself. I only knew I had to somehow incorporate the shape within the work. A few works on the singular sheets had alluded to what I was about to create, but I was definitely still learning to trust the ideas that were pouring through me. Once I got the first set of sheets all taped up and attached to the wall. I began the drawing, just asking as I was working on where things needed to go. I got through the line drawing phase of it. Once the lines were drawn, I knew within what the title of the work was going to be. It was as God had kept the ultimate scene from the film 2010 in my psyche since the first time I saw it as a kid. That film has always had a deep connection with me but I never knew it was going to show up in my work. Once I knew the title…USE THEM TOGETHER, USE THEM IN PEACE… I could see what was before me. My SHAPE had become the monolith from the film. The method of creation.
After the first work, and all the time coloring it with immense pressure on the pencils which also brought forth a new way of using the pencils. I was giving myself injuries to my left hand from all the pressure, so I had to find new ways of using the pencils, which I did by wrapping the pencil in a microfiber towel to give the bulk I needed but couldn’t find anywhere else…unless it was for a bunch of money which I didn’t have. Once I began wrapping the pencil, the injuries were a thing of the past. It’s wild how I began by using all the pressure I could, to now using the least amount of pressure and enjoying the work all the same. So many ideas fueling new works. I constantly look forward to the next work whilst enjoying the present moment to its fullest. Here’s the series of eight works that created the first grouping of paintings on paper. I look forward to seeing them soon in their own installation.
Each painting consists of 28 Sheets of Paper all attached in the back with packing tape. You can see the landscape changing with each work. To the last where we are zoomed in on the brown field of a tree canopy. Each work is 44 X 60 Inches.
Since I created this group, I have created another two series of eight works each. So much to enjoy. Have a blessed day!
J
Don’t forget the instagram page where you can be more up to date on what I am sharing. @jeffreymcollins
