Say What?

Here is my final post for today. Yet another abstract piece. This is my most recent one in this vein. I plan to continue in this direction for awhile. Hopefully they will get bigger, and there will be some reduction woodcuts of this type as well. Oil on canvas, 16"x20", title: Say What?

Yeah, But

Another new abstract work. Oil on canvas; 18"x24", title: Yeah, But

If Then

Well, it has been awhile since I have posted new work. I am kind of going a new direction now. Actually, I am revisiting an old direction. I will be doing some woodcuts in this vein as well. This painting is oil on canvas, 18"x24". It is called, "If Then"

Mowing for the Last Time

Mowing the lawn with an old push mower. Don't need to use gas, no noise... perhaps I would be better off to do it this way. This a new woodcut that I just finished printing this morning. Image size is aprox. 5"x10"

Autumn's Last Breath

I figured it was time for another color print. Here is a small one (about 3"x4.5"). This is a three block (one for each color) woodcut print.

I think the title is kind of peotic... I may even write a poem about it. Someday.

Pride and Joy

Thought I'd put up a better view of this one... this is the one that received the award at the beginning of the month.

Pride and Joy, woodcut, 19"x25"

Standing on Holy Ground

This is a woodcut print I did for my church. It is part of a series I am working on. The theme of the series deals with various ministries of the church. This one is about corporate prayer. It is really not curved at the bottom... that is just my poor camera skills. Since it is larger I had to take a picture of this one instead of scanning it. The apoximate size is 16"x17"

Putting Your Heart into It

How does a person tell if an artist has put his or her heart into a work of art? There are ways to objectify "heart" in art. Asian cultures use this as one of the defining ways to evaluate art. Art is not math and was never meant to be. If my art class were a "math" class I could simply measure out proportions on the drawing and compare these with the thing they were trying to draw. It would be either right or wrong. I believe this issue of heart is of primary importance. There are ways to look at the "heart" one puts in one's work. Some of the things I look at in art to discern the artist's heart is the amount of expression put in the work, also, the amount of time spent on the work. The thing I am most passionate about is the thing on which I will spend the most time. I have had much experience at making art and in looking at other people's work and I feel I am pretty perceptive in knowing how much time is spent on a work of art. My work does not lie, it will tell me and others if I was lazy with it or if I rushed it to completion. Also, one can compare this issue of heart to love. If I am in love with someone I will serve that person, spend time with that person, I will take risks for that person. Art that is safe and doesn't take risks shows there is not much heart in it. Also, I can look at process (sketches, research, studies, etc...) and tell if I am putting my heart into my work. What are your thoughts? What are some ways to objectively look at art and tell weather or not the artist put his/her heart into it?

Ten Years Ago

A Gentle Visitor, woodcut 8"x10". I did this piece in grad school aproximately ten years ago this month. Oh how simple things were in grad school, how I long for those days again.

Article About My Work

The Olivet University homepage recently featured an article about my work. 

Pride and Joy

Here is the winning (2nd place and purchase award) piece from this year's Grethchen Charlton Gallery Fall Juried Show. It is a woodcut, 18"x24".

Coffee Drinker

Here is an older woodcut. I have some new stuff to post but I just haven't been able to get pictures of them as of yet. This one is called the Coffee Drinker. It is about 5"x7". 

Snowy Evening, graphite on bristol paper, 9"x11"
Ok, I know it has been awhile since I have posted. I finished a large woodcut and will post it soon, it is in a show now.

Time to start something new and big...

I am in the process of beginning a new woodcut... this one is going to be a big one! Here are the beginnings of the print... these are the sketches. One day I was just thinking about the relationship between us and the earth. God created us from the dust of the earth. In my holistic view of things I believe there is a genuine connection between farming and art and spirituality.

Logo

Here is my new logo... for now. I just finished this over the weekend.

When is a Painting Finished?

Been thinking about painting lately. When is one finished? How do I go about the process of painting? I've been looking for rules and boundaries within which I can work. Then it came to me, the painting provides its own boundaries. I am often looking for the boundaries so I can be comfortable and have some kind of peace in the process of making art. So I wrote this poem... hope it makes you think about your working process.

Just begin a painting
and the next day work on it
and the day after that, work on it some more.
Begin to make shapes, mold the painting
Form it
Go where it wants to go for awhile.
Then make it do your bidding, wrestle with it in the night.

Sit silently and let it speak.
Tell it to shut up and you do the talking for awhile.
And the next day, work on it some more.
Look for patterns and edges and shapes and forms
Let your brush dance upon the peaks and valleys of the canvas.
Finally, it is morning.
The painting has had its say.
You have developed every conceivable area of the field,
To lay in one more stroke would mean you've gone too far.

It is finished.

My work in McClain's Gallery

Hey, McClain's Printmaking Supplies recently added some of my work to their 2008 gallery! Check it out: McClain's 2008 Gallery

Farmer Reading Time

Woodcut Print, 6.5"x9"

well how 'bout that...

Someone recently wrote about my work on their blog... check it out here:
article

Another card example

Here is another 5"x7" woodcut greeting card. The image is 3"x5" printed on Japanese mulberry paper.
Here is a haiku that I wrote to go along with this print:

The trees dance at night
When no one is watching them
Shadows get tangled

Woodcut greeting card

Here is a new woodcut I just finished this morning. I printed it on mulberry paper and pasted it on the cover of a greeting card. Cards can be used for thank you notes, letters, or any occasion. It is nice to recieve a card in the mail instead of another e-mail. There is just something about being able to hold a piece of art in your hand and read a note or letter from a friend or relative. I will be glad to create small woodcuts on commision and put them on a card for you. If you are interested just send me an e-mail with a picture of what you want on the card. The initial 3.5" x5" image will cost $15.00, after that each card (as many as you like) will be $2.00 plus postage.

Between the Rows

Finally, another woodcut. The image size is 6"x12"
This image reminds me of a poem. I beleive it is by Michael Card:
In stillness and simplicity
I lose myself in finding thee
For you o Lord are close to me
In stillness and simplicity

Still working...

I am currently working on a new woodcut. It is going to be black and white. The image is of a gardener hoeing between the rows. My work seems to be going more and more in the direction of depicting the rural life. Perhaps that is because this is the kind of life I want to live.

By the way, all the work on this blog is available for sale. If you are interested shoot me an e-mail: garthoma@gmail.com

Three Pears

Another oil. This time I am trying my hand at glazing. 10"x8"

Oranges

Here is another new small painting. I am getting into painting for awhile. I really enjoy the immediacy of doing these small oil paintings.
Oranges, oil on canvas board, 6"x8"

Big Jim

Here is another small oil painting: 5"x7"

The Scarf

Ok, Ok, I know this is not a woodcut... it is, however, a study for a woodcut that I plan to make some day. This is a small oil painting (5"x7") based on a sketch I did of a woman on the Metra train from Chicago. Painting gives me a chance to work more in values rather than the stark contrasts of the woodcut.

Setting Sun

Woodcut 9.5" x 12.5"

Solitaire

Reduction Color Woodcut 8"x10"

Winter Tree

Reduction color woodcut; 5.5" x 6"

Certain Slant of Light

woodcut 5.5"x8"

Drawing Class

woodcut 6.5"x7.5"

TV and Corn Chips

Woodcut 8"x10"

Porch Song Woodcut

Reduction Woodcut on Mulberry 4"x5.5"