Week Five: Gluing, Painting, Auto Store

  I’m pretty much settled in the studio now. I have the projects that Dennis has me working on, if I have the materials to keep working, I’m pretty much set. I’ve been working on the hanging pieces and finished painting the first three with regular acrylic paint. Dennis had cut out more shapes for Twist #10, so I was able to glue those together. I was able to work more on the fluorescent color paint for the other hanging pieces.

 On Tuesday I went on another field trip. We went to an auto parts store for art supplies. The commission piece Dennis is working on, the bases are getting a buffing agent applied to them. The same buffing agent as you would put on cars. We did stop at an A.C Moore to get another color of fluorescent paint.

 Later that day I did have a conversation with Dennis about when he became a full-time artist and how he’s able to continue his work. This was important for me to understand what kind of work goes into maintaining a studio and what it really means to be a full-time artist.

Fluorescent Hanging Piece

  Wednesday, I cut more plywood with Dennis so he could make more layers for Twist #10 for me to glue together. I had started to sand another piece that had been glued together, I also continued painting the layers on the hanging pieces with the fluorescent paint. After using the brushes I’ve been leaving them in a separate cup with a little bit of water to allow the paint to get off the brush but not damaging the brush itself. I’ve learned I need to be careful with this because water does evaporate. When I came in on Monday after leaving the brushes there all weekend. The water had dried and the leftover paint had hardened. I washed the brushes and luckily was able to take off most of the hardened paint. Just something I need to watch out for in the future.

 Thursday, I continued painting. I’m close to finishing the painting with the fluorescent paint and will soon put those back together. From there, I’m not sure what the next step will be for the piece. I was able to glue another set for Twist #10. There are about 11 sets glued together out of what I think will be 30.  

Twist #10 in progress
Photo Credit: Dennis Beach

 The highlights this week was that ANY store can have art supplies. It is kind of funny to think about going to an auto shop to get art supplies, but if it works why not? I did remember of a contemporary artist Yakime Akela Brown that uses car paint for his sculptural paintings, to get an iridescent look. I also remembered during one of my classes, while I was working with sheet metal I was suggested to use motor oil to give the metal a darker color and a protective coating for a project. This is just another example that I can look beyond the typical art store for supplies. The other highlight was my conversation with Dennis. That being a full-time artist is a lot of work with sometimes getting little in return. It put another perspective on the art world I will be entering on my own soon.    

Me leaving for a week for vacation!
😄😄
See Y'all in a week.