Let the light pierce through the darkness Close all old accounts, turn a new leaf Re-learn that old lesson of friendship Kill nor be killed, settle for lessening Amidst us of this fossilized hatred
The Solar Post Light
Bringing The Light of Day into The Night
Perhaps that time has not come yet when our, Gods would listen to the beats in our hearts, peace and happiness spread their glow, perhaps we would have to force Mother Time?.
Penumbra: Between Shadow and Light
“Penumbra,” 2005 | Oil on Canvas | 72″ x 120″
Artist: ƒ Michael Wells | http://www.rawpaint.com
Status: Private collection, San Francisco, California
The artist, ƒ Michael Wells, came upon the word “penumbra” (the gradient boundary between shadow and light) while looking at photographs of sun spots on-line. In that context, the term is used to designate the immense walls of plasma that surround the darker and ‘cooler’ “umbra” that appear as openings in the solar face. The idea for a large painting of undulating, glowing red was already in the works and the word was adopted as an appropriate title for the work.
This video was shot in the summer of 2005 in the work’s final phases. Wells calls this type of painting a “Light Modulator.” The paintings are built up in translucent layers of color over a period of months. The final layer of paint is applied thickly with a pallet knife and then evenly distributed across the surface with thousands of cross-hatching strokes of a house painters brush. When the surface has been smoothed, the wet paint is textured to final effect.
Wells uses a variety of instruments for this phase. In this instance an 8 foot long industrial strip brush made with nylon bristles hand shaped by removing bristle sections at regular intervals. As is shown, the Light Modulators go through several “revisions” during the open time of the paint — usually a matter of hours. The paint is textured in one continuous motion and then the artist steps down from the working platform to look at the result. Often the form isn’t ‘quite right’ or perhaps a bristle has worked loose and needs to be removed. This process is repeated numerous times until a desired effect is achieved. Between each texturing sequence the previous movement is “canceled” by texturing the paint vertically usually with a house painter’s brush.
Wells’ oeuvre is not limited to one particular type of painting. However, he has been painting Light Modulators since 1988. Light Modulators — a sort of post-minimalism — use incident light reflecting off the textured surface to create the illusion of
three dimensions in space. As Wells states, “I’m trying to achieve as much as possible with as little as possible. I want the impact of these paintings to be direct, immediate and visceral.” The layers of underlying color often also shows through the textured layer adding an additional element of depth. When viewed in real life with bifocal vision this “3D” effect is almost startling. Viewers often site down the planar surface of the canvas, wood or aluminum upon which Wells works just to reassure themselves that the surface is, in fact, flat. Moreover, there is an element of perceived movement as the viewer walks past the work and changes position in relation to the light source.
Wells is represented by Limn and Big Pagoda in San Franciso, and DIVA in Seattle.
For more information, he can be reached through his web site http://www.rawpaint.com
More work can be seen here:
http://www.localbizblogs.com/offrampstudios
Video Production by Symmetric Media
http://www.localbizblogs.com/symmetry
Duration : 0:3:0
The best.
The best.
Beautiful. I was …
Beautiful. I was really pleasantly surprised at how the painting turned out. I am sure it is stunning in person.
A gigantic plastic …
A gigantic plastic bristle brush.
great piece but …
great piece but would like to know what kind of tool you used at the end to get that comb effect. very nicely done.
Nice work! Keep it …
Nice work! Keep it up.
Awesome Effect!
Awesome Effect!
I would like to try …
I would like to try th same, it was really marvelous to watch that effect, god job!!!Just wanted to know that at the end have you used any stick or exactly what should be used to get a proper and same effect???
Great technique! I …
Great technique! I love how it seems to be moving when the light hits it! NICE
and finally, my …
and finally, my rother, played , overlapped, and overlayed, sound is also an artform
or a platform
watch?v=hnRxvIwb_UI
they’ve always had before….
And it moves, …
And it moves, almost like a curtain on a lighted stage, the solar winds blowing it ever so slightly. That’s a fascinating technique. Oh, and the music by Orbital also adds to the whole “eclipse” scenario, as well. Awesome, totally awesome.
But art is actually …
But art is actually, afterall, up to interpretation. Anyway, you nailed it! The painting is shimmering like the Northern Lights, or earth in the penumbra during an eclipse.
When I made that …
When I made that comment, at that very moment, we were in the middle of an eclipse, either solar or lunar, I forget, but earth was in the Penumbra. I wanted to capture that moment in time, just as you captured the light wavelengths in the painting. Too bad youtube posts don’t have a time and date stamp, which would make my vague art of commenting on youtube videos more understandable.
Intriguging. Not …
Intriguging. Not sure what you’re saying, but I’d like to. Care to elaborate?
Cadimum red and …
Cadimum red and Cadimum red deep.
typo: “deep” should …
typo: “deep” should have been “dip”
Not a full wall …
Not a full wall from floor to ceiling because the brush would have to be able to move below floor level and above ceiling level to get the waves. If you notice, in the video I’m working on a platform which allows the brush to deep below the level of my feet without striking the floor.
I thought I replied …
I thought I replied to this when you posted it a month ago, tony, but it hasn’t shown up. The answer is, yes, it is painted in oil. The painting sold and is in a private collection in San Francisco.
I was wondering if …
I was wondering if this can work on a wall.
That was eye …
That was eye opening! I love it! I’m an abstract painter and have never attempted anything like this. I assume this was oil – can I ask what colors you were using and where this piece is now?
indeed, when will …
indeed, when will the time be Umbra? 2/3 in a circle