cool red warm blue: October 2014

My little collection of Apple computers has, over time, made appearances as still life objects in my paintings. I include many of them in this post. In fact, the computer's role in motion capture has become an important theme in my work in recent years. You can see examples here:

http://cargocollective.com/andrewsconklin/Motion-Capture-Studio-Paintings-Chicago

I find the early iMacs in particular beautifully designed, very paintable, and interesting in that they epitomize the computer graphics revolution of the last generation, a movement that coincided with Helen's and my education as visual artists. In our own training as draftsmen and painters in art school and college, the computer played only a tangential role, though, over time the powerful technology has proved of great assistance in planning and testing compositions.

There is another side to their inclusion in my work, having to do with what I see as the 'rivalry' between the traditional reliance on my own eye and analog tools to make art, and the digital tools, that, while adding convenience, insert their own aesthetic into the process. For my part, I prefer to keep my process mostly free of electronic technology, working out paintings from live models and still life objects observed directly before me in the studio. Of course, as the technology becomes ever more impressive and useful, I anticipate its advantages will eventually overcome my resistance.