December 17, 2005

TINSQUO's Second Anniversary


Sometimes it’s good to reacquaint with the basics. So today - the second anniversary TINSQUO's launch - I find myself posting sketches from the first live model figure drawing I’ve done in years and assessing what’s transpired on the site in the past twelve months.

The occasion for figure sketching was December’s Draw-a-thon at Fix in Williamsburg.

“In a strange way I noticed that it purified the experience of my eye and I would make drawings of my own for years to come.”

Reading that earlier in the week from Bob Dylan‘s autobiography, Chronicles Volume One, seemed a trigger to assess the world with eyes that do not presuppose.

In my quest to continue to refine the presentation of an artist’s process as an appreciable work in and of itself, several new permutations have evolved since this time last year:

The institution of Process Posts offer unedited glimpses into the exploration of certain themes or forms. “Latenight Paintings” was one of my favorites, as was “Pack Mentality.”

In August the site commenced the What It Takes (WIT) series. Spearheaded by editor Janna Olson, the interview series is an investigation into how different artists working in various media construct their lives to facilitate creative pursuit. Thriftshop Theatre Workshop founder Gina DeMayo was the inaugural installment. In October’s edition, Jazz musician Jenny Scheinman provided another particularly generous glimpse into her approach.

October also saw the completion of an oil, “Goya Moment.” With this painting the fractal concept of the site (outlined on the newly revamped about page) fulfilled its envisioning. Digital stop-action distilled the many months that went into creating this painting into a single minute (viewable via QT at 8.5MB).

Posts of note:

The Year In Palettes offers a scrollable snapshot of a year in the life of my acrylic palette in calendar form. (Look for the 2005 version the first week of January).

• The post generating the highest traffic day for TINSQUO this year was on July 28th. Titled “Everybody I Know,” it acknowledges the day that the official number of American military fatalities in Iraq equaled the total number of people I think I’ve met to date in the course of my lifetime. Since then the number of dead has significantly exceeded the totality of my acquaintanceships.

A Horse With No Name coupled a Hawai'i photo essay with a story I continue to fancy.

• The post Barnaby Furnas generated a lot of foot traffic. Literally. During the weeks that Furnas’ painting “Apocalypse” hung in the Lever House lobby, search engines delivered scores of people to this brief essay on the powerful piece. New Yorkers (and I’m sure a few tourists) googled their artistic curiosity until the painting vanished from its Park Avenue lobby, taking the traffic in tow.

Julian Schnabel Is A Laughing Matter unmasked the painter/director’s incisive bit of performance art in Sydney Pollock’s documentary, “Sketches Of Frank Gehry.”

Like most artists, I like my most recent work the best. Nonetheless, my fondness remains unabated for the painting “custodian weave” and the drawing “whipstall wherewithall.” For a while, the title “flush_truckee_strandee” became a popular country jingle in our household. (Feel free to croon your own tune.)

All In All, the sophomore jinx has been averted. I’ll continue seeking to “purify the experience of my eyes” and look forward to TINSQUO’s third year in 2006. Thanks for your many e-mails and viewership. The new oil is underway and its first stop-action installment will post soon.

Posted by mark at December 17, 2005 04:09 PM