Dordrecht residency, week one

Okay, so perhaps now I'll be able to catch up on things... I was also thinking that part of what wasn't working in the way I was approaching this before was trying to write too much on the spot, not reflecting back enough. Perhaps symtommatic of my general way of approaching work, or continuing to work without really thinking things through enough, a weakness brought on during three years of grad school. So, I don't have the luxury of working nonstop, so a refocusing on quality is in order.

The residency in Dordrecht was fine, though in no way was it necessary for me to be in Holland for this. The funny thing about this is that the studio is situated in a large former Catholic grade school, with a number of other studios that are given out by the city government. So, naturally, the studios are full of older artists, while younger artists wait out their deaths, apparently. So the older artists seem mistrustful of the younger artists, while the younger artists resent the older ones for making traditional work. So I was pretty much left to my own devices, which was good in one way but bad in others. Sort of like seeing a movie by yourself, and continuing to do so all day, every day for a month.

The studio itself was really nice, one large room with big walls to work on, and another room off of it, the size of a bedroom, with the shower, kitchen, bed and desk. The bathroom was down the hall, in a sort of creapy hallway. The city was nice enough, good for walking and bike rides, and close to Rotterdam. I did get out for a few trips, which made it worthwhile too, to check out a country I've never been to before.



studio


studio


bedroom


bedroom


I had decided, before I left, that I would work on a series of long drawings, 75cm high and of varying lengths, derived from the imagery of piles and collections I was working on. I was able to get rolls of paper pretty easily in town, and set to work quickly, not really plotting out much, just getting a feel for working.









After this first day or so, I decided to work over these, and starting some new ones on the floor. Part of the idea was to keep it loose but also to try a variety of media (oils and acrylic, spray paint, oil bars, charcoal, washes, varnish) and applications (brush, pour, spray, roller, masking out) and see what quality of surfaces I could get.


















I think I was also becoming more interested in color, in more vibrant, annoying colors, which seems to have come and gone in my work in the last ten years, it seems like it gets too annoying and I retreat back into more muted colors, monochromatic work, or to stark black and white. Again, this seemed like a good opportunity to confront this again...