Art: Blank Encyclopedias

This poor, neglected site. I tell ya what.

I’ve had a lot going on. Been making tons of art, writing & submitting too much (apparently) unpublishable poetry. Basically I’ve been enjoying an extended period of experimental creation. Plus my partner & I are opening a store. <— [Much more to come on that last one later.]

I think we all make this plans, resolutions-of-sorts. Like, I’m gonna do this, commit to this, and this time I’m gonna follow through on every bit of it. And, well, occasionally that works out.

So one of those things I’m gonna do, is post my art more regularly. I mean, I make plenty of it. Might as well chronicle, throw it out there, get my creations seen by a few eyes other than my own. It feels like maybe I’ve made this plan before…?

Well, I’m making good on it in this very moment anyway.

This series is titled Blank Encyclopedias.

The concept is that they’re a set of encyclopedias, templates, that need to be filled. Writing, sketching, collage, etc. Stick to entries that begin with the letter on the cover? Or select one based on the first initial of your name and just go hog-wild with the content. Whatever. They’re blank until someone fills them.

The artwork is acrylic on canvas-covered blank journals/sketchbooks with unlined paper.

Process-wise, I gave myself permission to just go freeform with the imagery, no planning. This is me playing with hand lettering & typography, directly applying stark-white acrylic to the black covers, making bold marks. I then added neon washes for color.

I decided to make these Blank Encyclopedias 2-sided. So if the A is flipped over on a short edge, the Z is upright. The same with the B and Y. And so on. [I’ve filled a few of my personal journals like this: writing on only one side of the page, flipping the journal over & then writing on the back.]