Seahorses, Fireflies and Beaches at Sunset

Recent Happenings:

We have been meeting more and more of the friendly neighbourhood PSM regulars, as we have recently started setting up shop on the Portland Saturday Market side as well as our usual Skidmore location.

I have been delegating stretching our canvas prints to other people in our company or friends, as the last time I stretched these prints, my hand was out of commission for over a week. I injured it after having stretched about 100 prints, and it hurt so badly, I couldn't open a door or flick a lighter, let alone draw for my usual 6 hours a day. So no stretching for me! - Many thanks to my friends who have been picking up my slack.

I will be painting live next month for a local charity, and I plan to paint in numbers. The piece will be auctioned off at the end of the show, so this might be a good way to get an original numberism drawing without having to pay a couple grand to do so.... I will devote another post to that next week. It will be August 12th, in Portland.

* We will be at Last Thursday tomorrow with all the new work I refer to below. :) Come see us.

I have a few new pieces to speak of (come on Sienna, get to the good stuff! ) ;)

From a recent comission, here is my newest scratchboard etching, which is currently titled "Seahorse", unless one of you have a cleverer name for it. I wanted to draw the seahorse with the remaining population, as they have recently entered into the endangered species list, but there are no accurate figures curently. (Anyone who knows good resources for genome data, please send me links, as I have a frog to draw that I could use that information with.)

Anyway, so the seahorse itself is drawn with the numbers of the clock, 1 - 12, which I think is relevant, seeing as their time here has a ticking clock these days. The sea grass I drew with the number 12000, to signify the 12000 square miles of sea grass destroyed in the last decade. With those two pieces of data combined, I think I got around the fact that there is no hard data on their estimated population, while still getting my point across.

Below, is the finished scratchboard, with watercolour wash, as well as some detail images.




You can purchase this at our FrogFaith gallery at www.FrogFaith.com/gallery , my Etsy account at www.SiennaMorris.Etsy.com

Next up is a new piece from my Math and Science series. My friend, Traci, (who is a killer stylist at the Chameleon Salon) let me use her beautiful daugher, McKenna, as the model.
The Firefly's abdomens are drawn with the chemical formula for their bioluminescence, C12H13N203S2. The light emitted from the fireflies (the jar and everything in it that is visable due to light), is drawn with the speed of light, 299792458 m/s. The girl is drawn with the numbers of the clock, 1 - 12, to signfiy time in her fleeting moment. All my people will always be drawn with time.

Completed piece and details below. Buy a print at www.FrogFaith.com/gallery







Next up is actually an oldy... kind of. I drew this etching of Cannon Beach a couple of months ago and never got around to getting a good scan of it in full colour. I'm finally printing it now. I used a local photographer that you can find at PSM for the refernce photo of the beach. I am a terrible person, because I can't seem to find his contact info right now, but I promise to let you know as soon as I get it. :)

Completed piece and details below. Buy a print at www.FrogFaith.com/gallery

C25H52

(Fibonacci's Snail. Click Here To Learn About Fibonacci's Sequence)


The Universe is a complex and awe-inspiring place. It continues to challenge and surprise us at every turn, opening up new perspectives and opportunities the longer we look.

As far back as we can look into our history, we have been awe inspired by the seemingly magical world around us. Magnets. Perfect Spirals. Rainbows. Animals that live in unlivable conditions; at the Oceans floor around lava flow, worms in solid ice. The Universe thrives, against all odds. Not to mention meteors and the complex Celestial world above us.

In the past, we attributed these things to gods, magics, karma. Now, we are able to watch in wonder at our world, and then take a closer look, inspecting and decoding these wonders into something we can understand, something we can track and predict. Beneath the surface is a world teaming with information: numbers, genomes, orbital patterns. It can all be tracked. Those things we don't understand now, we will later. Our understanding evolves, and grows exponentially.


(Click Here to see a diagram of the temperature of Plasma on a candle.)

I'm just an artist. A human being with a lot of curiosity and an addiction to drawing and numbers. I'm trying to bridge the gap between the wonder we see in our every day lives and the fact that it is made of reliable, organized information. After all, it's the numbers, the code that make it beautiful.

These are 2 of my newest pieces that I will be showing in August and September with Portland City Art at Pioneer Place in Portland Oregon. They are from the Science and Math portion of the show, and are an effort to show that the beauty we see in the world around us has a method. This is the secrets beneath the beauty.

"C25H52"
14" x 11" Scratch Board Numberism etching.



The Candle wax is drawn with the molecular make up of Paraffin ( C25H52). The flame is drawn with the temperature of plasma at it's different points on a candle (800 C - 1400 C). The woman is drawn with the numbers of the clock, 1 - 12, signifying time in this fleeting moment. All of my people in my Science and Math series will be drawn with time, as this is all we have, and all we can hope for. We are experiencing this moment as sentient human life against all odds. We might as well take advantage of it while we can.


Details:



"Fibonacci's Snail"
4" x 7" Scratch Board Numberism Etching



Fibonaccis Sequence maps out a naturally occuring phenonenon that we see in nature and space. Pine Cones, Pineapples, Snails, the arrangement of seeds on a sunflower. They all follow the pattern perfectly.

Mathematically speaking, you simply start with 0 and 1 , add the two numbers to get your next number and do so again and again, adding the last 2 numbers.
0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 610 987 1597 2584 4181 6765 10946 ...
Creating a perfect spiral. This drawing is drawn with these numbers.




Detail:




Both of these pieces are available as prints on our FrogFaith online gallery at www.FrogFaith.com/gallery

I will be exhibiting these along with the rest of my Evening Series and Math & Science Series at Pioneer Place in Portland Oregon, August and September 2010. More information coming soon. These are Numberism drawings etched on Scratch Board.

A Rainy Day Wildfire Group Show

This month, 150 Portland Artists exhibit their original artwork based on the theme, "A Rainy Day Wildfire", in celebration of Portland City Art's One year Anniversary. I am one of them. I am extremely excited about this piece. It has been challenging and rewarding and I can't wait to show it off. It is a Scratch Board Numberism drawing, focusing on the reward of passion and the possibilities of a rainy day....

Next Thursday, April 15th, is the opening night of the show at the Olympic Mills Commerce Center from 5pm - 10pm. The Artwork will hang until May.




Thursday, April 15th, 2010
5pm - 10pm

OMCC
107 S.E. Washington St.
Portland, Or. 97214


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List of Artists that will be at the show:

Adam Brock Ciresi, Adam Sheppard, Allan Ott, Alexandra Becker-Black, Alison Gayne, Amelia Opie, Amy Matteson, Andrew Young, Angela Gay, Anna Magruder, Anna Velouria Martinez, Ashley Costa, Azad Sadjadi, Ben Pink, Brent Wear, Brigette, Carly Bodnar, Carol Munro, Carolina Medina-Dupaix, Carrie Hardison, Chris Gaslin, Christine Lee, Christopher Himes, Christy, Chuck E. Bloom, Connie Cheifetz, Constance Jackson, Dafna Margalit, Dang, David Inkpen, Dele Mercier, Dianna Fontes-fontes, Dona White, Drew Anderson, Edward Juan, Elise O’Keefe, Emilee Monson, Erika Dean, Erika Lee Sears, Gary Hirsch, Gabe Flores, Haley Robinson, Heidi Wirz, Howard Jacobs, Isaac Holk, Jason Coatney, Jason Edward Davis, Jason Kappus, Jason Vance Dickason, Jenn Feeney, Jennifer Gleach, Jes Bronk, Jocelyn Jillett, Jodie Anderson, Joel Barber, Johnny Tragedy, Jon Rigby, Jonathon Hill-Jacquard, Julia Skerry, Julie Blackman, Karah Bruce-Larkin, Karen Stafford, Kathleen McLain, Kathleen Schildmeyer, Kelly Keigwin, Kelly Williams, Kenny Spurlock, Kerosene Rose, Kindra Crick, Leslie Foeller, Lindsey, Liv Rainey-Smith, Lois Montgomery, Luna Littleleaf, Maitland Jones, Malynda Shook, Mark Randall, Marlena Hatchel, Martha Wallulis, Mathew Barta, Matt di Leo, Matt Schlosky, Michelle Renee Tuffias, Mike Ashland, Mrrranda Tarrow, Misha Capecchi, Misty Ray, Natasha Bacca, Nicholas Orr, Nico Bella, Noel Gayne Reynolds, Paige Lehmann, Pam Nichols, Paul Wolfe, Paula Goodbar, Rebecca Shapiro, Rich Mackin, Richard Schemmerer, Rodrigo Graham, Roscoe Hall II, Rox Geer, Ryan Kennelly, Sabina Haque, Sam Arneson, Sam Roloff, Sara McCormick, Sarah Cruse, Sarah Glover, Scott Raymond, Shawn Demarest, Sienna Morris, Susie Jones, Tara Gelien, Theresa Andreas O’Leary, Tyler Corbett, Tyson Stanger, Virginia Parks, Vonda Roloff, Zach Roy.

Progress on A Rainy Day Wildfire...

I'm working on my new piece for Portland City Art's April show, themed, "A Rainy Day Wildfire".
This is the largest I've worked in scratch board so far (16 x 20), and poses all it's own challenges. Working in scratch board has been interesting so far. I'm drawing light, only light, and ignoring the shadows, which is the opposite of what I'm used to.

For this piece, I plan to finish it in black and white with red lighting filtering through an open window (There will probably also be some blue tones). This will be the first real attempt with this styling, which is what I plan for the next series, which will be the couple series to the last Perpetual Motion series, focusing on all those moments we cherish and revel in once the sun sets.

My photographer friend, Benjamin Frothingham took the photo for me. At one point, I wasn't sure if we were going to get the shot. First I lost my male model, then once I had a new male model, I lost my female model, found another one, and the guy dropped out. At the end of the night, my original photographer had gone home for the night and we were left with two girls and no photographer. Benjamin came to my rescue and shot the piece for me, and in the end, I decided to use what I had, the two girls. It's a moment I haven't captured so far with numberism, and one that is perfect for the piece, actually.

So after all the half stops and reversals, we got the shot, and I am now diligently working on it so that it will be ready for the show on April 15th.

It's 16 x 20 inches, and so far, I've drawn about 2 inches. There's much work to be done! You can assume that I'll be in my drawing room all next week and hardly reachable.

Here's a quick snap shot of the candle. (I won't be posting the finished piece online until after the show, so if you want to see it, you'll have to come.) :)

The image below is about 2.5 inches tall.




Also, I will be at Swan Day working on this today from 12 - 5pm at the Portland Expo Center. Seven of my originals are hanging (some new). They gave me a nice wide space for me and my booth, so I also have prints with me, including some of my limited editions (a new 30" x 24" limited of Transitional).
Tab and co are set up at Skidmore Saturday Market in our usual place with the rest of our prints.



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299792458

I've been feeling a little low lately. Generally if I don't get to work, I go a little nuts. If I don't get to draw, I get worse. Apparently, if I don't get to draw numberism for too long... well you can probably tell when talking to me that it's been too long.

I have a handful of ideas/plans I am working on or planning to work on that are sitting in front of me. I haven't quite decided how I'm going to attack them or in which order. So, stuck in a stalemate of artistic frustration, I needed an outlet. I needed the calm of numberism. I needed to key in and have nothing in the world exist besides numbers; gloriously simple, reliable numbers.

I don't draw fire or elementals nearly enough, so I decided to draw a candle. This is drawn with the number 299792458, which is the speed of light.

299792458 m/s

I am enjoying it and I can start to feel my mind center, finding clarity in the busy mess my mind has made for me to sift through. I hadn't realized just how helpful numberism is to me. I set up all the trouble in the world, and it knocks it down. Against the madness I am capable of creating, numberism consistently finds a way to quiet the storm. I don't know where I'd be without it.


This is one of those ideas I mentioned before. One of the many. Using formulas or equations to represent scientific theory through hopefully leading illustrations of the numbers' context...

There are more ideas.

One has to do with music... another with literature.... another with anatomy.... another with transportation.... another with time... time time time.....

I couldn't begin to assume which one will win out in the end, and I'm beginning to think that I will end up working on more than one...