Ben Pines

2010-02-03T15:45:00.002-05:00

Hello! These are photos of my last critique at IU.

Madrid, May 2009

2009-06-02T22:24:00.004-04:00

The top image is the statue of Velazquez, in front of the Velazquez entrance to the Prado Museum. The museum's outstanding collection of Spanish and Italian baroque inspired me. Experiencing first-hand what you consider the best work ever done in your field is truly inspiring.

The lower photo was taken in the courtyard of the Escorial, a monastery/palace located in the mountains about an hour outside of Madrid. As I read in a guide book, the clear mountain air has left the massive 16th century stone building looking new. There are more great paintings; some great frescos by Luca Giordano, including a huge tour-de-force ceiling; a room full of old maps with various interesting conceptions of the earth's geography; and a crypt with elaborate memorials to many of Spain's kings.

I hope to be able to return to Madrid, and spend more than a week there next time.

2009-05-03T13:40:00.003-04:00

Here are a couple of photos of the setup for my pre-oral exam. The large one with the people waving represents my most reecnt effort.

critique

2009-04-01T23:24:00.002-04:00

Here's a view of the setup for my critique this past Tuesday. The larger one has the most figures I have put into a painting. Personally, I like the feeling of it.

2009-02-17T00:49:00.003-05:00

Here's a quick update on some of what I've been working on. Photo lighting is not too good, but gives an idea. Along with these paintings is a portrait commission still relatively early in its development.

Lot of flu going around here. I've had about a week of barely feeling energetic enough to stand up. But it's had the welcome effect of reintroducing some gratitude for my usual comparatively good health and life.

And it's nice to have a blog to talk to! (But facebook looks kind of complicated.)

IU MFA Painting Show

2009-01-16T21:58:00.003-05:00

Here are the three paintings I have on display at the IU Graduate Painting show. The top two paintings ("Tall" and "Morgan Hall") are about 24"x17" and 38"x22", the bottom one ("The Breeze" - after the Dr. Dog song!) is 34"x48".

In my opinion it is a good show, I am proud to be a part of it.

2009-01-04T10:50:00.000-05:00

2008-12-25T20:41:00.002-05:00

I hope my Christian friends are enjoying a wonderful Christmas day. It was sunny and cold here, and quiet, with students away for the holidays.

Stretched a small (22"x28") canvas today, but when I primed the linen it bent into a potato chip, and warped one of the stretcher bars. Frederix lightweight stretchers are too lightweight!

Here's another portrait I'm working on. I'm working on portraits in preparation for a commission I am pleased to have gotten, and also to get in better shape for paiting in general.

new portrait

2008-12-21T17:21:00.002-05:00

It's a new portrait I've been working on. Next I guess I'll work some more on that one I posted a couple of days ago.

Happy Winter Solstice 2008! Here in Indiana we're on Eastern time, but pretty far west, so it's still light at 5:30. Back in Philly, it gets dark at 4:00 this time of year. It's much easier on the Seasonal Affective Disorder out here.

2008-12-18T09:08:00.002-05:00

Here's a photo of a painting I am working on. It's got a way to go, but I wanted to indicate on this blog that I am actually doing some work. Three or so other paintings also in progress, will post photos soon.

Everything outside is covered with a thin coat of ice. I hope it's less slippery today so I can go for a walk.

2008-12-03T10:34:00.003-05:00

It's been awhile since I have posted anything. I have been spending some time resting, under the weather, getting adjusted. I'm thinking about my widely different, seemingly contradictory impulses, most notably appearing along an axis of Buddhist piety and Hebrew Bible wrath. Anyway it's good to spend some time in bed when necessary, and I'm excited about getting some serious painting back into the mix. I need to be sure to eat enough food, such as CVS honey roasted cashews.

Re-read Tom Wolfe's The Painted Word, a fun and fundamental essay. Listened to Steve Martin's biography of his stand-up career, Born Standing Up, on CD. It's well crafted, like a Rockwell painting, and has a fully-committed feeling I find exemplary.

First Critique Nov. 4

2008-11-07T16:59:00.004-05:00

I had my first critique on Election Day. The photos above are from what I showed.

Every semester each graduate painting student shows a body of work to an audience of painting faculty members, fellow grad. students and undergrads, and interested local attendees. The critique is a big part of the program. Faculty comments on the work shown are usually very insightful and useful. The student first makes a short statement about the work; the content and length of the statement is left entirely to the student, although instructors may request more information. After the student's statement the faculty begine their discussion.

Many of the critiques feel quite negative, but the intention is constructive. Mine was no exception. I had generally considered all the paintings unfinished, in progress, but in my statement I did not mention this, to see what reaction the paintings would bring as is. I was considering a question of degree of finish that I wanted to explore; how satisfactory were the paintings as-is? The response was: not at all satisfactory. People commented on the plastic Barbie doll-like immobility of the disengendered figures, and the extreme difference in attention to the figure as compared with the setting. Almost all of the figures were female, but it is true that I did not pay much attention to gender. Why not? I was interested in the life force of the figure first. Does gender cut all the way to the core of what it is to be human? I really didn't think it was that weird to take such a dispassionate stance, but the audience seemed to. The paintings were also compared to 3D computer modeling exercises and engineering problems.

I would say now that I made a lot of relatively large paintings, but in retrospect I spread my energy too thin in doing so. I will need to put in more time on each painting. Again, I was curious about what response the paintings would get as they were; I really was not sure.

Realizing that McCain's head was on tv at around midnight to give his concession speech was a great feeling.

Halliburton took your Social Security

2008-10-20T18:07:00.002-04:00

Here are a couple of in-progress photos.

Turning chillier here, though today was kind of warm. It's turning toward winter. Lots of allergies/ cold-related sneezing going on, but I'm pretty solid now.

Halliburton stole our Social Security. That was awhile ago. So many more lives lost, money stolen, unregulated filth dumped since then. Keep it in mind as you contemplate voting for the Third Term.

2008-10-04T17:48:00.002-04:00

Here are two paintings I'm working on.

Please wish my sister Sarah a Happy Birthday (October 2)!

I'm reading Balthus' memoir Vanished Splendors. Next I'll try to find Delacroix's Journal pas en Francais.

2008-09-26T19:24:00.002-04:00

Wonderful, sunny late Summer-early Autumn day. Warm and breezy, now it's cooling off. Did some house cleaning, drew on a canvas for a painting, and went out landscape painting with my friend at Bryant Park. Kids were playing, a woman was walking her big tan-white dog. Went over to my field and painted some more later. Farmers' Market tomorrow: apples, peppers, tomatoes ( I hope).

Lots of reading, writing, thinking to do for my one academic class. Suffered through working on this class material yesterday, threw off that yoke today. Deadline's coming up next Wednesday. I'll have to do it this weekend. Bought a ruled notebook to keep class notes separate from my sketchbook.

This campus is really beautiful.

Time to get some dinner. Walk home as the sun sets.

2008-09-21T18:54:00.002-04:00

Out painting, got caught in a passing storm. I heard the thunder coming, and the sky behind me was a strange middle blue mixed with orange, while the sky ahead of me was very bright, with slightly violet clouds.

When I heard the thunder I wondered when I would decide to pack it in. Maybe it would not rain at all where I was, so I stayed put. It kept thundering, and I noticed drops of rain staining the unprimed linen canvas I had brought with me (and decided not to use). It was still bright and sunny where I was. I got rained on a little but made it back to the studio before the worst of the heavy thunderstorm passed through.

On his website home page Drew Ernst quotes Bo Bartlett: "Art is a personal practice, like meditation. Art allows the artist the opportunity to awaken into deeper levels of reality. In the best cases, it also allows the artist the opportunity to assist the viewer in the process of 'waking up.'"

my new landscape

2008-09-20T16:38:00.000-04:00

My new landscape, on another beautiful afternoon here in Bloomington. There's a tailgate party going on in the field across from the one I was painting in. Football game tonight. People called me "Bob Ross" but I got some nice comments.

Working on the Yoga painting in the studio. The figure looks female now, which I am glad about.

Fresh veggies from the Farmer's Market for dinner tonight!

2008-09-18T10:48:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of studio views with paintings in progress. In the large painting in the lower photo I just painted out another figure that was in the center. Originally there were 3 figures; I'm a cruel author, I keep killing off my characters. Actually I need to study figure poses and relationships in greater depth so I can make a more solid composition from the start.

In that same photo, the next painting to the right is a figure doing a half-moon, a yoga pose. The next painting over, with the problematic yellow ochre background, is the current state of the remains of the first painting I started here, with the putto in the upper right corner. The putto's gone. Figure relationships in paintings are tricky.

I might leave these paintings for awhile and start some new ones. Actually I'll probably work on the yoga one some more. It is somewhat painful to leave paintings in such unresolved condition, but I feel the need to expand in breadth before sinking more into these particular scenarios. Find my characters and setting a little better.

landscape

2008-09-16T16:27:00.000-04:00

A beautiful late summer/early fall day here in Bloomington. Went out and painted this landscape, in the field I mentioned in the previous posting, earlier this afternoon. Had an informative studio meeting yesterday with Eve Mansdorf, who suggested I do some plein air work.

I want to pass along a note on another topic.

This is a quote from an article in the New York Times describing John McCain's VP pick Sarah Palin's interview with ABC:
"Ms. Palin was clearly caught off guard when Mr. Gibson asked, "Do you agree with the Bush doctrine?" Seeking direction, and perhaps time to formulate an answer, Ms. Palin leaned back, smiled stiffly and said, "In what respect, Charlie?" Initially unwilling to define the doctrine, Mr. Gibson said, "What doyou interpret it to be?" Ms. Palin asked, "His world view?" Mr. Gibson said, "No, the Bush doctrine, enunciated September 2002,before the Iraq war."

I don't know what the "Bush doctrine" is either. But I'm not running for the second-highest elected office in the most powerful country in the world.

It can be hard to care about such things when it's so nice out, but we need to care at least a little. It is too easy not to register and vote.

2008-09-14T17:42:00.000-04:00

About two blocks north of the fine arts studio building is a freight train track. If you go west for a couple of blocks, make a right onto Fess Street and walk under the underpass, you see a few blocks of undeveloped land. Suddenly the landscape looks rural, or from a previous time. (If you're facing to the right; to the left there is more student housing.) Yesterday was a warm, sunny day, and I felt an emotionally compelling feeling of summer turning to fall in the air, so I walked over, and took some photographs. The photo to the left may not capture what I have described but I was drawn to the composition so I posted it.

Sleepy from eating too much for lunch (and dinner last night too). Also from reading assigned reading and working on work for my one academic (non-studio) class this morning and afternoon. I wanted to do that work slowly and thoughtfully to really get a feeling for how I might fit into the world of teaching. But I surely do not miss being assigned what to read!

Actually, I see it clearing up now so I might go run some errands.

Did some pretty poor work, slowly too, on a painting.

color chart

2008-09-06T14:38:00.000-04:00

I did a color chart this past Saturday. I hadn't done one since I started painting primarily with acrylics. There are more subtle options in oils, but I like starting with these generally intense, chromatic colors and mixing what I want from them.

Above the color chart is a photocopy of a reproduction of Poussin's Parnassus, the story of the Greek gods in their realm. To the right of that is the lyric sheet (titled "Know No New News") for Dr. Dog's Fate, a pop music album I like.

Working on my third painting now, with paintings 1 and 2 still open for alteration. I am finding it necessary to settle in a little. I want to do a large amount of what I consider good quality work; getting frantic about it (as I saw myself beginning to do) will not work.

second post

2008-09-04T21:38:00.000-04:00

I am reworking the image shown last time. I'll post a photo later in the process.

A couple of classes have added to my graduate school experience. I think the thing to do is to keep working hard, and to speak as clearly and honestly as I can.

Kleindorfer's Hardware is a great place to fill your hardware needs if you're in Bloomington. Had a problem with my new staple gun; they took care of it with no difficulty, and I got the other stuff I was looking for. Bicycled back home a different way. Great to be able to explore.

Now it's off to a late dinner: can of beans, green pepper, corn and or potato chips. Is this what you put in a blog?

Hello from Bloomington

2008-09-02T19:58:00.000-04:00

Thanks for checking out my blog! I would like to set this up as a way to update friends and family on my progress as I enjoy this wonderful opportunity to develop my work.

Bloomington seems to be a very liveable city. You can get what you need and go where you want by bicycle, for the most part, but a lot of people still use big cars to get around. The Saturday Morning Farmers' Market on West 7th Street is a great place to get delicious fresh vegetables, check out some live music, and register to vote.

My first painting here is about finished. The first night I was here I wanted to paint an image of a figure falling like a lead weight from the upper right corner of the canvas, toward another standing figure.

The falling figure would have to have been thrown or launched in some way not to fall straight down. The standing figure is standing on a stone balcony with a low wall with a Greek entablature design in it. The artist Poussin's classical, timelessness exploration was on my mind. I'm not suggesting that I have confused this simple effort with a Poussin. But I'm doing what I can. What I want to.

Watching movies by my favorite directors, Ozu and Miyazaki. Watched Ozu's Early Summer with Donald Richie's excellent commentary for the first time the other night. Truly great.