Solutions: don't take the obvious for granted

A view of my Daily Observations photo archive

Earlier this afternoon, I hit a wall with a new painting that I'm working on. Well, not so much a wall as a door to which I had the right shaped key, but that key had been cut wrong, making entry a little difficult. I started thinking about how to solve the issue that I was having by doing what I usually do; refer to other paintings of mine for clues. I'll often look to other artists' work, as well. This habit has been ingrained in me since high school. It's often hard to turn off this part of my thought process when viewing artwork, especially when the work has some resonance with mine. I try to be aware of my thought patterns in these situations because I can miss out on really looking at the work. 

This afternoon's issue was something that came up during the last painting session I had, three days ago, on Friday. Towards the end of that session, I had the unmistakable feeling that I had reached that first point where I didn't know what to do afterwards. The painting needed something to push it forward, but what that was, I hadn't a clue. When I came in today, it was still taunting me, daring me to even think about a solution. After doing a little prep work on three other panels, the possible solution hit: why not take a look through some of the hundreds of photos I've taken that make up my ongoing Daily Observations project? I've done it a couple of times in the past, but using the photos to work out a painting problem is generally nowhere near the top of my list. Anyway, I got on my laptop to look at some shots and within a couple of minutes, I had what I thought was my solution. Not bad at all. 

When I make use of a source outside of my own work for problem solving, it's never with the intent of direct copying something into my painting. I'm just looking for some way into a solution, something that will trigger a response within me that will lead to a way forward. In general, it's both a form and a feeling. I'm not looking at the photos and thinking, "Ah, ha, that's the exact thing I need to use!" More often, it takes elements from several sources to comprise a workable solution. It's good that this time, I was able to come up with something that made sense fairly quickly. Now, I have to deal with the new question(s) that my solution brought up. 

TM

...for what I want to see

New painting in progress

Last night, I had a bit of a revelation about where I am right now with my work. There is now an overwhelming need for less density in the paintings, or perhaps a different type of density. I'm not sure what that will look like, but it will be different from what I've been making lately. I came to this realization after making connections between my recent work with the densely layered compositions of glyphs and my current emotional state.

The past few days have been rough, emotionally. The death of Walter Wallace at the hands of Philadelphia Police is the latest in a too-long line of similar events that did not need to escalate to an extra-judicial execution in the street. He was having a mental health crisis, had a knife and approached the police, who fatally shot him ten times from at least ten feet away. 

This didn't have to happen. Wallace didn't have to be killed in front of his mother, family and neighbors like that. I keep asking myself, "Why couldn't they at least shoot him in the leg, incapacitate him and de-escalate the situation and get things under control?" The outcome is always the same with Black lives when it comes to policing; shoot to kill, maybe ask questions later. 

Standing in front of a newly repainted work last night, I realized that I really needed to step back and re-evaluate things. I took some white paint and covered up all but one pink, blob-like form. When the white dried, I made a loose grid of lines with an acrylic marker, over which I brushed some matte medium, smearing and blurring the grid. I looked up an album of the Daily Observation photos in my photo stream and sought out something that I could use from one or more of those shots. I found a couple of curvilinear forms that loosely replicated and over those, placed a reddish blob form in the lower left corner. 

I felt such a relief looking at this relatively pared down image! All of the denseness underneath showed through in the textures, but other than that, this painting now breathed like it hadn't before. The heaviness was gone. I realized in that moment that I wanted and needed to move to a different phase of this project with the glyphs; that I needed to focus on some of the other surfaces and instances of marks that I see every day in the streets. So far, I've been concentrating on the 'communication' aspect of this work, which has a very graphic feeling to it. The painted, multi-layered systems I make are full of a type of tension that I like, but that same density now feels overwhelming to me. 

I'm sure that my emotional state has finally caught up to what I've been doing in the paintings and it's just too much. Between the ongoing problems associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, the continuing social strife brought about by the killings of Black men, women and children by police authorities and the current toxic political climate, I'm just feeling overwhelmed. I've been fairly successful at keeping myself focusing energy on painting, but now, I need to change the energy of my paintings to reflect the breathing room I need, instead of the suffocating mournful feelings that keep coming back because of everything going on. 

TM

 

New studio/POST 2015

1241 Carpenter Street is the new address for my attempting alchemy.

My studio is now located at 1241 Carpenter Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, #200. Come by and visit on Oct. 3rd or 4th during the first weekend of the Philadelphia Open Studio Tours and while you're here, stop by the studios of several other artists in the building, in addition to guest artists. I will have a selection of new and older works, plus possibly some new works in progress. Visit my POST artist page here: Tim McFarlane: POST

My building is also a stop on the Philadelphia Open Studio Trolley Tours, so if you or someone you know is interested in a guided tour of artist's studios that weekend, find more information here: http://philaopenstudios.org/post/guided-tours

If the trolley tours aren't your thing, and you aren't driving, my studio has plenty of public transportation options nearby, including the Broad Street Subway (Ellsworth/Federal stop), nearby bus routes including the 64 (east and west on Washington Ave.), 4 (north/south on Broad Street), 23 on 12th St. (south) and 11th St. (north).

Throwback: Stratum I (2007)

Stratum I, 2007, acrylic on canvas, 60" x 72"

This painting was first shown during my 2007 solo exhibition at the Philadelphia Art Alliance. 

Untitled Still No. 4 (gold)

Untitled Still No. 4 (gold)

Photo collage

New edit of a photo that I took last winter as part of a self portrait project. 

Moving the studio, pt. 1

For the past month, all I've been packing, packing, culling, packing, culling doing more packing and generally being overwhelmed with the amount of work that I have with me. That, and the fact that the new studio will be much smaller than my present one. Although I've gotten rid of some old work that I really didn't need to keep around any more, it feels like I've barely made a dent. It feels like I have way too much work with me.

I knew that this move was going to cause me to have to make some changes and adjust to a new reality and it's already happening. I'm going to have to re-evaluate my relationship to the amount of work that I make. I can't help myself most of the time, because, well, this is what I do. However,  seeing how much work I've made over the past thirteen years that I'll be moving puts things into perspective a bit. It seems like I need to slow down with the quantity of work that I make and find a way to sell more.

Change...

The time has come. After 13 good years here in Old City, I will be relocating my studio during the first week of August. Another entity in the building is expanding and I can't compete on price in that area, so I'm going. My landlord was nice enough to give me 8 months notice back in March (my lease officially ends at the end of December). I started looking around almost as soon as I found out. I just found a new work space yesterday. It's smaller than my present space and will require some very creative storage solutions because of the amount of work that I have with me. One upside is that my new studio will be only 2 blocks from my apartment, so that's a good thing. I've wanted to have a space really close to where I live for a while now, and thankfully my timing was really good. 

So, of course there are the expected mix of emotions: some sadness for having to leave such a good space that has been instrumental in helping me make some of my best work, so far. On the other hand, this move is a chance to shake things up a bit and make room for new things to happen. I feel like I was more ready for this to happen than I previously thought. I mean, the writing was on the wall, with all of the new construction of high-end condos going on at 3rd & Market, not even a half block away, I was going to have to move sooner or later. Thankfully, several things fell into place, including my landlord's generous notice and some funds becoming available to make relocating easier than it could have been. 

I'm still unsure about how I'm going to deal with the size of the space that I'm moving into, but I'm going to have to make it work. I've looked around a bit at a variety of potential studio spaces and having to re-enter the studio rental market after 13 years was a little tough in terms of how far my present budget will go. However, the convenience of being this close to home is a huge plus for me. The storage issue, however, is going to present some challenges. I'm working out something with my new landlord which is going to ease the problem, but I know that I'm gong to have to cull some much older work in order to make this new situation work without having to look at another monthly bill for storage on top of rent. I'm working on that issue and already have some potential solutions. Tomorrow, I'm going to begin the process of looking at everything that I have in the studio and determining what I want and what I should keep of the pre-2000 paintings. Then, I have to determine exactly what to do with works that are the weak links. I'm sure that I'll be destroying some things that I know I don't need to have around any more, as I have in the past. Culling artwork every so often is a good practice and it has helped me a lot in years gone by. It's time to get moving on to the next phase of my art life. 

Everything Happens At Once

Everything Happens At Once, 2013, acrylic on panel, 72" x 48" (diptych-two panels, 36" x 48" each)

A favorite of mine from 2013, shown here by itself and in an installation photo from my 2013 solo exhibition, Presence, at the Bridgette Mayer Gallery. On the left is Large Green Mirror, 2013, acrylic on panel, 48" x 36".

Summer Show at BMG

 A bit of promo that I made up for my works in the Summer Show (group exhibition) at the Bridgette Mayer Gallery. The show continues until August 29th and the gallery's summer hours are: Monday-Friday, 10am-6pm. 

Signal To Sound

Signal To Sound, 2015, acrylic on panel, 20" x 16"

One of five new paintings in the 2015 Summer Show at the Bridgette Mayer Gallery through August 29th. When you plan on visiting the exhibition, please note that the gallery has begun operating on its summer hours: Monday-Friday, 10am-6pm. 

TimMcFarlane.com

2015 Summer Show at BMG

I Don't Know What Happened, But..., 2015, acrylic on panel, 20" x 16"

This is one of five new paintings making their exhibition debut in the 2015 Summer Show at the Bridgette Mayer Gallery. I am showing these new works alongside that of other gallery artists. The opening reception is Friday, June 5th from 6-7:30pm. The Summer Show continues until August 29th, 2015. 

TimMcFarlane.com

Throwback...

 September, 2013-posing with Pink Mirror (2012) at the Bridgette Mayer Gallery during my solo exhibition, Presence. 

Artist interview on 365Artists/365Days

There's a new interview with me published on 365Artists/365Days.com: Tim McFarlane-Philadelphia, PA

Untitled-2014

Untitled, 2014, acrylic on paper, 30 x 22 inches

On the studio wall 4.30.15

On the studio wall-new painting

20 x 16 inches,  acrylic on panel

Small Orange Mirror

Small Orange Mirror, 2013, acrylic on panel, 16 x 20 inches

SMO, one of my favorite paintings from 2013, has found a new home in Napa, California, thanks to Bridgette Mayer Art Advisors.

Website Updated!

I spent a good chunk of yesterday updating my artist website and even managed to revise my artist statement without giving myself a headache, lol!

There are two new sections on my site: ‘Installation Photos’ and ‘Studio Visit’.

The Installation Photos section contains shots of my work in various exhibition and other spaces. Studio Visit has photos of my studio space and works in progress. It gives visitors to my site a curated glimpse inside the studio and see a little of my process if they don’t visit or aren’t aware of my social media outlets, which is where I post most of those documentation shots.  

Visit TimMcFarlane.com to see what’s new!

Endings = Beginnings

A couple of years ago, I felt like I was on the verge of having to move my studio because of renovations going on in the building. The renovations were going to be starting right as my lease was going to be up. Luckily, I was able to keep the space. However, this year will see a big change because I found out this week that my lease won't be renewed at the end of the year. The short version is one of simple economics (as usual): someone else in the building is expanding their business, there's no more space and there's no way that I can match or beat what they will be willing and able to pay.

The good part of this is that my landlord has given me an eight month notice (my lease is up at the end of December) and I can leave beforehand with no consequences. So there's time to save a little and hopefully find a suitable work space option.

When my landlord texted me last week wanting to set up a meeting, having to leave the space was on the list of possible topics in my mind. I've been mentally preparing myself for this for the past 13 years, so it's not such a shock. I'm surprised that I was able to stay in Old City this long, considering the gentrification that took hold before I even moved my studio there.

Anyway, endings make for beginnings, and I have no choice but to embrace this change, so may as well get to it...

Studio 4.01.15

Detail-work in progress on panel

Detail-work on paper

Call, response, dialogue

'Philadelphia Freedom' continues

A shot from 'Philadelphia Freedom', on view at the Philip Slein Gallery in St. Louis for one more week. This show features works by Philadelphia-based painters and includes work by Charles Burwell, myself, Steve Riedell, Rebecca Rutstein and Erik Spehn. 'Philadelphia Freedom' closes on March 28th. 

In the background is a painting by Rebecca Rutstein titled Caught in a Dream, 2012-13, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 60 inches. 

Foreground: Two of my paintings in the show: (left) Release, 2014, acrylic on panel, 30 x 24 inches

(right) An Adjustment of Means, 2013, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60 inches

(photo courtesy of the Philip Slein Gallery)