untitled (/2°; lines and dots series) Painting

The “at 1/2 degree” body of work originated out of a desire to see the visual effect some semi-translucent material might have on a simple field of color when laid on that field in varying thicknesses. The material selected to promote this effect was ordinary paraffin wax. For example, a horizontal plane with deep blue applied and tilted as some theoretic angle, say at 1/2 degree, with wax heated and poured onto this field. Where thin the image below the wax layer would appear more clearly visible; where more thickly applied a greater opacity would result, obscuring and modifying in interesting ways how we see and interpret the image below. The current lines and dots series grew from this simple, essential visual curiosity. This work is cast paraffin wax that uses oil paint to pigment the wax for color. Extremely well-built, they are cast onto a .375 thick plywood panel that has .75 thick x 1.25 wide interlocking oak frame screwed every 4” to the panel, and then a .5-spacing wire mesh hardware cloth stapled to both sides of the panel before wax is then cast onto each face. They are hung securely on the wall using 2 German-engineered, high-quality hangers (included) rated for either 50 or 75 pounds each depending upon the actual weight of the panel. D-rings mounted to the backs of the panel serve as the secure device from which the panels are hung.