Shatter #2

"Shatter #2" ~ Ed Buziak (2012)

The above piece is one of a new and ongoing series of works using Conté Carrés (square) hard crayons on intentionally folded papers. There is almost a necessity to view these folded works with side-lighting so the three-dimensional nature of the folded paper reveals itself with the subtle tonal changes between the random angular planes in either light or shadow depending on the direction of the light.

I have worked with Conté Carrés crayons since my art college days back in 1962. From the Blick materials website http://www.dickblick.com/products/conte-crayons/ …

• “Invented in France in 1795 by Nicolas-Jacques Conté especially for drawing and sketching, Conté Crayons are made from a blend of natural pigments, kaolin clay, and graphite. The Conté crayon has been used by many of the world’s greatest artists, including Picasso, Delacroix, and Degas.
• The rich, vivid colors of Conté Crayons mix together nicely, and a range of effects can be consistently produced. They are well suited for use on newsprint, bristol, toned paper or heavily grained surfaces. Their rich opacity makes them ideal for work on darker papers and their quality ensures the longevity of drawings. Conté crayons are waxier and much firmer than soft pastels, so they produce little dust and are easy to control.”

My Conté crayons date from the 1930s and belonged to my wife’s uncle George who was a noted local artist in Devon between the two World Wars. I also use his extensive sets of Rembrandt soft pastels as well as a cache of assorted art papers of various tints and textures… all probably unavailable nowadays if I need to purchase more sheets to continue certain themes.

The variation in tone and pattern of the individual black and white crayon strokes was made by using the underlying texture of the corrugated “cardboard packaging” backing sheet I worked on and changing the angle of media to backing sheets between each application of line.

Image © 2012 Ed Buziak

Crowd Scene #1

“Crowd Scene #1” ~ Ed Buziak (2012)

This image is close to the final stage of my first piece of artwork for 2012. I’ve been working on it for a couple of weeks and this view reflects how I’ve been destroying the original patches of color and crayon strokes. The work is being done with Talens “Rembrandt” soft pastels on Arches Platine paper and measures 30 x 22 inches (77 x 56 cms)… if anyone is perhaps thinking of it for their wall!

I have long admired the dynamic use of color in the works of Scottish artist Alan Davie (I bought one of his lithographs “Celtic Dreamboat II” in the early ’70s which I still have); and that of Bernard Cohen whose work I also bought a small example of again in the ’70s but which was unfortunately destroyed by a careless UK removals firm when we came to France a decade ago. Bernard Cohen’s involved use of complex line being almost hypnotically absorbing and sometimes, despite my implied effect, being soothing as one may feel when exploring a maze with time on your hands but no fear of getting lost in the dark.

And then there is Jackson Pollock  whose paintings defined a new Abstract Expressionist movement in American modern art in the 1940/50s. As his work has sold for as much as $140,000,000 – to a Mexican tycoon – the only chance of his work in my hands is a book or exhibition catalog! Pollock’s technique of pouring and dripping paint is thought to be one of the origins of the term “action painting” and with this technique, Pollock was able to achieve a more immediate means of creating art, the paint literally flowing from his chosen tools and containers onto the canvas which he walked and danced across at times.

The impression I am trying to communicate is one of a very crowded thoroughfare, seen from above, with an uncountable number of people coming and going about their business but with a sense of chaos. It is an imaginative scene I dread being caught up in, in reality… having not visited a city of any real size for more than 25 years… and on that occasion when I got near the center, I turned around and retreated to my distant, but calm, village abode.

**I will update this page when I have decided the piece is finished… and has been signed.

** This is now for sale on Saatchi Online for $900… http://www.saatchionline.com/art/Drawing-Pastel-Crowd-Scene-1-2012/395193/1474067/view

Image © 2012 Ed Buziak