Claiborne Colombo is an artist, Creative and Design Director based on Lopez Island, WA.
NOTES
Making art and designing things where the land meets the sea. A visual record of art, life, design, and inspiration among all other things…
Collage.
"Leonis mixes eras, codes and genres, causing improbable and impromptu meetings. Creations putting our collective memory bad for better ask us about our day."
Collage by Leonis Ogour
Fun, poignant, and racey.
Barbra Kruger-esque.
Work in review.
New journal, check. New pen, check. Work up on walls, check. Time to pull up the chair and get busy.
The beauty of writing an artist statement is the challenge it provides: taking a step back and looking at your own work objectively. You step into the role of a viewer and make observations, notice themes, and try to thread it all together into a cohesive thought. So far I've been switching between two different processes. The first one is just going through, piece by piece, and writing what I see. The second (happens coincidingly) is a mind map of high-level themes.
Honestly, the first process is a little boring. I try to make it fun by making the description feel like a narrative. I needed to take a nap after evaluating two pieces. I get more excited about the high-level themes. Below are some of the themes I've been thinking of:
Legacy, topography, order and chaos, control and unpredictability, intuition and precision, juxtaposition and cohesiveness . . .
Legacy (human need to leave their mark) and topography (mapping the relationships of a landscape) have been at the forefront of my mind when looking at everything together and something that stands out from previous bodies of work.
I need to dig deeper into all of it but it's exciting to unearth what motivates me and discover what my work is truly trying to address. When I am working I just go - a lot of it is lead by intuition. I act like a composer and am more concerned with flow. Now it's time for me to act like an architect and evaluate structure and figure out why that flow works.
Order & chaos.
Thomas Hammer, takeover on @UpriseNYC
“One of the most satisfying aspects of being an artist is to be able to create order from chaos. I always keep a few finished works hanging in my studio to remind myself of this.” #ThomasHammer #UAtakeover
it's always super refreshing to see other artist thinking about the same themes i consider in my own artwork. order & chaos are at the top of my mind whenever i am making. for me, watercolor has always been chaotic. trying to impose order by containing it always interest me. mixed media is a precise application and takes a lot of consideration. pretty opposite processes working together.
Details matter.
Close ups from HEADSPACE series
There are different ways a viewer interacts with work. The bold pieces send an emotional response that jolts through the body. It's like being shocked by a static piece of clothing fresh out of the dryer – tolerable but surprising.
Lisa Solberg, Camel Two
Then there are the more unsuspecting works that from afar are nothing of great interest. But, the second you step closer you see a glint of something unexpected and it pulls you in.
My mixed-media work tends to fall in the latter category and that is intentional.
If interest is peaked, I want to reward that curiosity by unlocking a world that otherwise would've gone unnoticed. These worlds open up a not-so-secret-garden of thoughts, emotions, and intimacy. I want to connect on a deeper more personal level. I don't want to create quick hits that rapidly fade. I want to create work that lingers and makes you think even once you've left.
Follow your gut.
Nationale, Portland OR
"Our first tenet of art collecting is simple: if you see a piece and you can't stop thinking about it for days or weeks, then you should consider buying it—much more than buying something because the artist is popular. Use your intuition to always buy what you love, but also don't shy away from difficult imagery—you may learn the most from having those more challenging pieces in your daily life."
Great perspective on how and why you should purchase art.
¡NEW WORK! up in the shop.
It has been a while since I've updated my shop and the majority of the paintings had sold. Great problem to have and a good motivator for getting some new stuff up. There had been a lot of paintings that were 90% there and just needed the final touches. Yesterday was very productive. I refreshed the shop and posted new artwork in my gallery. Feels like spring cleaning and I am excited to see what this year will bring.
Photographing work means a messy studio
Lots of artist tape was used during this period
Watercolor meet wood.
Trying out watercolor on new surfaces. We'll see how this experiment goes.
Gel pens on point.
new work with metallic marks.
playing with metallic gel pens like i'm back in middle school.
squiggles and triangles.
Working in pen.
working in pen is a lot like watercolor. you can't hide the fuck ups. you have to embrace them or leave them and move on. here's to letting go and messing up a bunch of paintings.
i have to always tell myself its only paper. its okay if you mess up. it doesn't matter. i still hate fucking up though. but at least it's just paper.
Latest works.
hustling in the new year with the start of some new work. #art #abstract #watercolor
the base of new work. watercolor on now its time to do some mixed-media magic.
“Creative people are by nature curious.
Curiosity is never satisfied.
Once curiosity becomes satisfied,
then it becomes complacency.”
– Jim Riswold
All mixed up.
loving getting back into mixed media. the watercolor serves as a nice foundation for a narrative to come to life.
Neon craze.
Work in progress, August 2015
I used to work in only earth tones but sometime there's beauty in loudness.
Patience and duckies.
Make Way For Ducklings, 2015
Occasionally I work on commission. What I like about these projects is that they get me to step out of my normal style and stretch in other ways. Having worked in the abstract realm for so long it is an adjustment to work in the world of realism. The process pushes me out of my comfort zone. Eyes, feathers and webbed feet? This piece for a nursery required practice and a lot of attention to detail. I got to use methods I don't normally bring into my practice (dry brush) and I really focused on refinement. Happy with how it turned out and even happier for the new momma!
Go big and plank.
This weekend I finally unrolled my paper and explored what it means to go big. Other than some technical difficulties it went well. Whenever you work at a new scale there is an adjustment phase. This one especially requires some tools to get the paper to stay flat. I also need to scale my process so I can lift the paper to get the drips that I love. Thank goodness for handy husband. We are brainstorming on some ideas to allow me to do this easily.