Topstitch Show
The exhibition at Topstitch was a lot of fun and well attended.
It opened on First Friday in Philly and was mentioned in an article about the night in the City Paper. I’m very proud of the show. I took a few risks: painting in a new style, trying to portray an abstract idea with realistic figures, and getting it all done in three months with everything else I had going on. I currently don’t have any future shows scheduled so if you want to see my work in person, stop by the Topstitch Boutique 54 N. 3rd St Philadelphia PA 19106.
In addition to the paintings, prints of all the works are available for $20 each. You can buy them at Topstitch or contact me here.
First some pictures from the night before of the paintings on the wall.
Photos from opening night. Great crowd. Try and guess which one’s my dad.
Don’t ask me who’s the guy in the last picture. Well, you can ask me, but I don’t know.
If you haven’t seen them before, here’s the paintings from the show.
What I did on my Summer Vacation
Sometimes success comes down to a last-minute decision. In late June, with the deadline for the show approaching, my wife and 8-month-old son and I went down to the Outer Banks to spend a week with some friends. Just before we hit the road for a seven-hour drive, I grabbed six of the smaller canvases for the show, and stuffed my watercolors and brushes in an Art Bin and threw it all in the back of the car.
A quick note about the show:
My next solo exhibition will be at the Topstitch Boutique, 54 N 3rd St (near Market) Philadelphia PA, 19106.
Opening reception on 8/6. Show will be up all through August and all through September. Stop by Tues – Sat: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM; Sun: 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Back to the story.
We got to the rental house on a Saturday. Sunday night I decided that yes, I would definitely paint on vacation. My son gets up at 7 and then takes a nap from 8 – 9/10. As part of vacation, I took care of him in the morning so Trish could sleep late. After he went down at 8 I went out to paint.
I set up a card table on a balcony, filled an empty plastic container with water, played some Paul Van Dyk on my iPhone, put on some sun tan lotion and started painting. It was about 100 degrees out and I had to keep sweat from dripping onto the paintings, but it was a real pleasure painting outside.
I was very tentative not being in my studio with my typical set-up. I also wasn’t exactly sure how I wanted to paint these paintings. Because of the set up, I wasn’t able to paint in the order of techniques that I wanted, with the splatters first, the fabric second, etc.
This actually had an effect on the finished pieces. Since the concept was so abstract, there were aspects of the paintings I had to figure out while I painted instead of before I painted. Because of this I didn’t know how they’d turn out till I was done them all.
So each piece built off the previous piece and since I painted them all simultaneously, and none from start to finish, portions of each affected they way each other came out. The whole process was evolutionary.
Anyway, so it was scary doing the first one because I couldn’t really afford to spend the time to redo it. I worked on painting the skin and hair added some small splatters, thinking I could add more robust splatters when I got back home.
I got through it and I really liked how it turned out. Of course now I’ve painted more pieces, I see that those later works are more finished, more smooth, but I like the first one because of what was happening while I was painting it, the spontaneity and energy that is evident from my tentativeness and perseverance.
I had finished what I wanted for the day. But now that the canvas had gone from blank to halfway finished image, I really wanted to complete the piece. When they’re in a half-finished stage they kind of call to me until they’re done. But I had to move on and paint the same portion of the other paintings in order to get them all done in time. And it was time for my son to wake up and he and my wife and friends and I had some beach to go to see.
The next day, buoyed by having been disciplined to have painted the first one, I painted the next.
The second painting was with a model I was working with for the first time and it was here that I realized the challenge of a new model. Or, I should say the advantages of working with models repeatedly. I wasn’t consciously aware that it made it easier to paint the images. I painted the second one and I used some familiar techniques on the hair to help balance it out and keep me moving. Note: the picture below was taking a couple of weeks later after I had added the fabric.
Wednesday I realized that if I painted two that day and two the next, then I’d have Friday to go back and work on the finishing touches on that called to me. Theoretically I could have all six of the small pieces completed. On vacation.
On Wednesday I painted the blue and orange paintings, one with a model I’d painted a few times and another new model. I was really comfortable by this point and liking the way the paintings were turning out. Also getting a little more bold with my splatters.
Looking at four paintings in-progress was powerful and really gave me confidence I could get the whole show done by the end of June.
Thursday, it was tough working on the last two because I was getting more complex with the skin, working in many colors (as opposed to the first four which were variation on one color, or at least using very similar colors). You can see the yellow painting uses combinations of many colors, in ways I’ve never done before.
On the last painting, the turquoise one, I really hit a groove and if I had time I would have done them all over using the technique I used on the last one. I wet the entire shadow, distributed the turquoise, then dropped in some yellow and orange for the warm areas I wanted to project towards the viewer. (Cool colors like blue, purple, green recede while warm colors like red, orange, and yellow project (or look closer to the viewer. Use warm colors on the cheeks and tips of noses and shoulders that should look like they’re closer)). Since it was all wet, it blended well and dried really organically. I made a note to keep this in mind when I painted the skin on the large pieces. In retrospect, I didn’t do that as much as I wanted, but those paintings kind of dictated how they wanted to turn out. (I used to be annoyed when I’d hear other artists talk about their work dictating how it would turn out, but now I see what they meant and there’s really no other way to explain it). I’m definitely going to try and use that technique again, it actually solves a problem I long struggled with: when the model in my reference is more in shadow than I want and I want to show subtleties in the mid-tones and shadows to communicate the form and the expression the body language conveys I can use this technique.
So Thursday was a long morning. Remember, it was about 100 degrees out and mentally, working with all those colors in a loose but controlled way was taxing. I got it all done before my boy woke up from his second nap. I was pretty proud. I treated myself to a long swim in the pool and then took the boy out there for some swimming.
I didn’t get back to painting on Friday, but I had accomplished a lot more than I had expected to on a week of vacation and was feeling confident about the show. Very grateful that I decided to bring the canvases and paints.
Between the painting and spending all that time with the wife taking out boy to the beach and to the pool for his first time, it may have been my best vacation ever.
Next post. I’ll show you how I got started on the large pieces, and spent a week in a world of abstract splatters. It was a lot of fun.
The show is August 6th to September 30th at Topstitch Boutique. 54 N 3rd St, Philadelphia PA
Fluid Beauty: Streams of Consciousness a solo exhibition 8/6 – 9/30 by Steve Cleff at Topstitch Boutique
My next solo exhibition will be at the Topstitch Boutique, 54 N 3rd St (near Market) Philadelphia PA, 19106.
Opening reception on 8/6. Show will be up all through August and all through September. Stop by Tues – Sat: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM; Sun: 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
About Fluid Beauty: Streams of Consciousness
There’s a freedom that comes with being underwater
that is unlike anything else we experience.
Being unburdened from the limitations of our typical physical
experience allows thought to become action.
It allows our bodies to mimic our minds when we’re alone in our
heads, where our thoughts can go in any direction,
where one moment naturally flows into the next until
we find ourselves
somewhere we didn’t plan to be.
A stream of consciousness.
it’s these times when we are connected
to a reality that is limited only by
our imagination.
I thought it would be interesting to try to
capture these types of thoughts in images.
The poses and colors and jewelry* have specific meaning and inspiration,
but these images aren’t meant to be representations of those ideas.
This series of paintings is highly dependent on your interpretation.
I hope the longer you look at these images the more you learn about your thoughts
and stream of consciousness and connect to your own limitless imagination.
Or, at the very least, you find them pleasing to look at.
*The jewelry in the images comes from the artists who contribute to the Topstitch Boutique, a special place in Philly PA that’s very feminine and exists only because of the imagination of its owners and the other artists who contribute their skill and vision.
Fluid Beauty Streams of Consciousness Part 5
Catching up on documenting the progress.
Previously on 6/5/10 I struggled and ultimately succeeded on finalizing the concept, how I’d represent the concept, and how I’d create paintings that worked:
- Independently as a stand-alone paintings, in case someone bought only one
- As a group conceptually, so the paintings support the concept of levels of consciousness (as defined by vMemes (too long to explain, try Google for now)
- As an installation in the Topstitch Boutique, so they work with the layout of the boutique, the colors, the jewelry, the clothes, and the awesome people who work and shop there
With all that done, it’s time to start to figure out how I’d create paintings that looked like women swimming underwater and also looked like concepts or ideas that represent different levels of consciousness.
This relies a lot on color, so I began with color studies (having already shot reference, selected the 13 images, and done some value studies (see Part 3)
Here are the color studies I did.
Fluid Beauty Streams of Consciousness Part 4
From 6/5/10: Phew. I am spent. Just figured out which images represent which levels of consciousness. Also, which jewelry also represents these levels.
I was stuck, but close to solving everything. I went to the boutique and took some pictures of the jewelry there and instinct + some research into symbolism + a little inspiration = all the answers I needed.
There was an especially tricky part: arranging the pieces in a way that presented the paintings in the order I wanted and fit within the layout of the boutique. It was further complicated by the fact I had already drawn images on the canvases (which are different sizes), limiting the ways I could arrange the canvases within the boutique. It wasn’t working and it appeared that I’d have to present the paintings out of order to fit them on the walls. I looked like I’d have to arrange them out of order. I spoke with my wife, Trish and she gave me some advice which was: do what is right for the art, not the architecture of the boutique. I was set to have the painting’s be out of order, but I took another look at the measurements I had to work with and fortune stepped in — I realized I had a measurement error, forcing me to rearrange the order of the work yet again, but this time I came up with a new configuration that allowed me to put the paintings in order.
Too much thinking. Now off to rest, then draw.
And then paint. A lot. Quickly.
Fluid Beauty: Streams of Consciousness Part 3
All the drawings are on canvases but two. That includes the oval canvases. Those are going to be amazing. Can’t wait to paint these.
I am still working out the details of the theme – levels of consciousness and how to represent them. I broke down the vMemes of Sprial Dynamics into one-word ideas. I’ve been trying to get a stronger understanding of those for about 7 years and this gave me a great opportunity to do that. For me, I don’t really understand something until I try to draw it.
I’m still finalizing how to represent those ideas. I think the jewelry and the colors and possibly the styles are the tools I’ll use. It’s interesting because normally I’d use the pose. I’m still going back and forth over a lot in my head.
More this weekend. Go Flyers.
Here’s some pictures of what I’ve been working on.
Next solo exhibition part 2
Update: the theme’s moved onto levels of consciousness. Wading through some Ken Wilber for inspiration: http://wilber.shambhala.com/html/books/psych_model/psych_model1.cfm/
Promise to reformat this later
Here’s a quick update on what I’ve been doing to work on my new solo exhibition. I’ll fill in more details soon, but it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve updated and I wanted to capture all this work and how I went about it. The art direction I came up with is to have women underwater. Still need an underlying theme.
5/15 Measured the space so I can later figure out how many paintings I’m doing and what sizes they’ll be.
5/18 Shoot with Mosh. I had it set up before I knew I’d have this show, but I was able to sketch out some ideas and work in some shots for the new show.
5/20 On a hunch, remembering some shots from the past, I reviewed old shoots and found a few dozen shots that would work for the series
5/21 Shoot with Lilah. I set this up quickly specifically for the show.
5/23 Reviewed inspiration including the book Waterdance by Howard Schatz. Reviewed space measurements.
I came up with many, many option for the paintings ranging from six to eighteen paintings with various combos of
large and small. Not sure what I’m going to do.
5/24 Chose to do seven large paintings and six small. Thinking about underlying themes, looking at alchemical transformation and the seven shakras.
5/25 Didn’t get to work on the project. Spent all day at a client meeting, then caught up with a friend for drinks. Wound up at the same place as all the Philadelphia Eagles’ wives. I told Trish when I got home and she asked if Kendra was there. I didn’t even think to look.
5/26 I put together some poses for a shoot with models who typically work with Topstitch Boutique where the show is. More on this in a future post. Reviewed themes again. Still haven’t picked one. I looked at Masaru Emoto’s work with water crystals, closer, but not the right fit.
5/27 I shoot with two of the models who work with the boutique. Great shoot, especially considering I had only met one for a few minutes prior and met the other right then and we had an hour to work in two shoots. And I was shooting at the boutique. I’m pretty happy with how it all turned out. Hope to work with the models again. One of the models asks me the name of the show, I don’t have an answer, but this leads to finding the theme. I begin a four day weekend.
5/28 In the shower (where all ideas arrive) I figure out the name of the show, which will determine the theme. I was thinking that the alchemy and the shakras are for future shows. This should be something about thoughts, I was trying to put my finger on something. There’s a word I was looking for to describe thoughts floating through water. I thought about currents, but I want to save that for another series, because something called currents should be about timely things. So, not thoughts, not currents. Stream … stream … of consciousness. That’s it. Fluid Beauty: Stream of Consciousness. The women will represent the types of thoughts that happen in a stream of consciousness. Revelations, tangents, memories. (I need four more …). Later in the day I look at the hundred or so shots I have from recent and past shoots that could work and pick seven for large paintings, and six for smaller paintings. I edit them and print. I also varnish three paintings for a group show I’m in on 6/4. More about that in a future post.
5/29 I buy canvases. It’s a long story that no other than I will care about, but I go to one store online, then another, then I go to Blick Art on 13th and Chestnut where I should just have gone in the first place. I buy four 24 x 36 canvases, three 24 by 30 canvases, four oval 20 by 24 inch canvases and two oval 16 by 20. Later that day I drop off the varnished paintings at the gallery I’m showing at. That night I put on the first of three coats of super magic primer that turns any surface into a watercolor surface. I spend lots of time with Trish and Patrick. I work a lot on setting up the June 12th session of Dr. Sketchy’s Philly. The Flyers lose, but it’s an awesome game.
5/30 I put on the second coat of primer. I also spend a ton of time with Trish and Patrick including a nice lunch at Bistro Americana, which we think is a front because we’re the only customers ever there when we go. Patrick and I play a lot. I set up the hammock. I finish this months promo flier for Dr. Sketchy’s Philly. I make steaks. Trish makes pasta and mustard greens. It’s delicious.
5/31 I put on the last coat of primer after a day hanging out with Patrick and going for a long walk in town and get some water ice. I write many emails about Dr. Sketchy’s Philly June 12th session. I make Steveburgers. I draw four pictures on the largest canvases. The Flyers lose. Another great game though. Tomorrow night I plan to catch up with Gary who made the video two posts below, so I’m not sure if I’ll get the other drawings on canvas. I’m kinda on schedule. The plan was to get everything put figured out, shot, painting numbers and sizes planned, drawings on canvas ready so I can being painting in June. I need to get all the paintings done in June.
More soon. Next time with pictures.
The next evolution in Fluid Beauty
First, a note -
Prints of most all of the images from the Fluid Beauty: Reflections and Expressions show will be available soon for purchase. The prints are 12 x 18 and will be $20 + shipping. I’ll have pictures of the prints here.
Update on the next show –
First Friday, May 7th, I went to the space where I’ll be showing in August and September, Topstitch Boutique. After speaking with one of the owners of the boutique about what their themes and qualities are, I got some great ideas, and then spoke to Trish about it on the phone on the way home. One word I heard stuck out – “nautical.” And so, the images from the show are going to be of women underwater. It’s always hard for me to describe what I’m doing but I’ll try to give you a sense of it: water elementals that represent feminine qualities and ideas. I’m going to use my “splatters” to represent bubbles/water in some paintings and possibly use them as clothes in others. I may also have flowing fabric in the style of some of the pieces in the last show.
Saturday, May 15th, (after a night at the Wachovia Center watching the Flyers win game 7 on TV!) I stopped by the space to take measurements. With these, I can spec out how many paintings I’ll be doing.
Saturday and Sunday I finished a painting that may be in one of the two group shows that I may be contributing to for June. Next entry I’ll post that painting and two others I’ve finished since the Amberella show.
I’m going to use a combination of new photos and existing photos as reference for the work. I’ve sent out some messages to models I’ve worked with to set up shoots for next week. We’ll see if that works. Also, I’m going to try and shoot with some of the models who regularly work with the boutique where I’m showing. The boutique sells some really interesting jewelry and clothes. I’m going to incorporate some of the jewelry in the paintings.
Before I can do anything, I have to sketch out how many paintings I’m doing and what the basic idea of each painting will be. I’m hoping to do that tonight, but I’m going to see my friend do her new one-woman-show and also the boy is sick.
I’ve got a shoot scheduled for tomorrow night, it was set up before I got this new show, but I’m going to shoot some for this new work.
Next time I post, I’ll show some sketches and explain a little about how I’m coming up with images.
Video from the Gallery Show
My friend, filmmaker Gary Irwin (of GI Creative) shot and cut this short video of my painting process. Working with Gary a few years ago helped me realize a dream of getting into the IMDB.
I am completely floored by Gary’s talent and so grateful to have this video that captures this awesome time in my life.
Some of the paintings that were shown in-progress in the video:
Auction is over, show closing reception on Saturday 5/1 at 5PM
The gallery show continues, with a closing reception this Saturday at the Amberella Gallery at 5 PM. There’s a Restaurant Weekend event starting at 3 PM right in the Piazza where the gallery is, so come for the food, stay for the art.
The Amanda Palmer painting auction has ended, with a final bid at $950 which helped 95 people get counseling. If you bid, shared, or tweeted thank you very much. You’ve helped a lot of people. Special thanks to Stoya, Amanda Palmer and her team, Neil Gaiman and Kim Sherrell and everyone who helped spread awareness of the auction. News on the next one soon.
I’ll write more soon about the show and the three paintings I’m working on now for my next show.
Oh – and a hardbound book collecting all the paintings in the show is available at the gallery.
Hope to see you on Saturday