blinded by the light - chatoyancy

There appears in nature, certain stones that resemble a cat's eye. Light reflects through parallel bands of fibrous material. This phenomenon is known as chatoyancy.

Not all stones are useful for making paint, however, I sometimes find myself drawn to certain minerals for other reasons that initially may seem remote, but then  their relevance becomes apparent.

Such is the case with a stone called "Cat's Eye".
Here is a picture of it:

I have purchased this stone for my father and myself. One of it's greatest characteristics is it's ability to protect. Recently I became interested in another version of Cat's Eye, called Hawk's Eye. Hawk's Eye is red and in addition to the same guarding property of Cat's Eye, it is "very grounding". I carry Hawk's Eye with me daily, both for it's stability enhancing effect in a rough work world, and for the reminder of it's incredibly brilliant example of chatoyancy...

I enjoy staring at these stones daily. They are extremely soothing to the eyes. 

One day i was passing a wire sculpture on campus. The sculpture was capturing the light that was so pleasing and relaxing to my eyes. The late morning light was reflecting on parallel "bands" of wires and creating chatoyancy!

That is how I interpreted it loosely. But I was amazed that a similar effect was created with entirely different materials. 

an AZURED day in tom irizarry studio

Productive day in the studio. It all began with work on the blue sky in a painting.
Most of my clouds are made from azurite, a  mineral found in various areas world-wide.
I processed the making of azurite from the Congo - a gorgeous shade of deep blue with green as well as processing of a crystal stone from China which was more blue and  saturated in color.

Here is a rare example of a dazzling azurite crystal from Mexico. Stones like this are very easy to crush and make into beautiful pure blue pigment. However a specimen of this quality should be preserved,  since  it is an excellent example of pure azurite crystal formation (with exception of tiny spot of malachite). Here is the stone I am talking about (it's only 100g):

azurite crystal 100g from Mexico

Even crystal stones must be washed and purified. Here is the green blue that I washed out the purer blue pigment bowl:

azurite cleaned in casein green blue, grade 3

let them be left

oil on canvas   18 x 22 inches  2014

Finally here is the painting, I added the azurite sky to:

BRAZIL RED (LAKE)

I  have been working with a pigment called brazil. It comes from the wood of the brazil tree in the country of Brazil. Mixed with tempera, it yields a weird pulpy substance, a red that ranges from blue red to yellow red depending on the mordant. The dye is extracted from the wood pulp with lye. It is then precipitated with  alum to give it body, and becomes a lake. This is more like a strange pulpy lake requiring quite a bit of medium as the material seemingly expands when wet. It is also called Natural Red 24. Brazil was used in the Middle Ages in european art.

The shades of red are incredibly delicate and nuanced. It reminds me of an ethereal colorant like canthaxathin that is extracted from flamingo feathers and seashells... like a french vermillion made rosy. I wanted to capture a specific glowing light using brazil, because it's soft saturated tones capture most closely the light at dawn. The very first light of day must be a color that is warm, like home, and the heart, yet radiant beyond imagining, as it gives birth to the day.

morning's minion  14 x 18 inches oil on canvas

THE AFTERLIFE AFTER RENOVATION

An ongoing and endless upheaval of my studio took place the last few years.
The new studio is now accomplished and I can pour all the intensity into my work!


Here is a brief description of what I do:

Tom Irizarry is an historic method-oil painter, meaning he uses materials and methods that were in use prior to the Industrial Revolution, and before the creation of modern colors.

An unusually beautiful palette - historic colors consist of pigments used in 14th - 19th century European painting. Colors are made from raw materials and minerals incorporating techniques based on more than 35 years painting.

It is very rare indeed to find an artist who has an understanding of and uses methods and techniques from the 16th century. The work of art increases in intensity or vibration, and communicates on more than one level.

Elements of the earth - air and land, combine with various shapes and types of light. I aim to capture a visual and interior experience of dusk or dawn of a particular kind of light as something very intimate and personal.

Paintings vary from 9 x 12 inches on panel (large inventory) to 6 x 8 feet on canvas. Viewers describe a profound feeling from the paintings, regardless of the size. I receive many comments about the unusual colors, and feelings viewers experience when looking at a painting.


Venetian method, pigment preparation, resin mediums, essential oil varnishes, oils, lakes, tempera, mineral pigments.

Delicate Breathing  oil on canvas 14 x 18 x 1.5 inches   2014

Landscape and Inscape   oil on canvas 22 x 26 inches

Golden Echo    oil on canvas   4 x 38 x 2 inches

PINK is the NAVY BLUE of India

Have you noticed the bright balls of tissue paper pink hanging on the trees yet?
GET READY, it's just about the right time to see them.

One of the most beautiful cherry blossom trees in Chelsea, NYC, is on 8th avenue between 24 and 25 street. It should be in full bloom this week. What an awesome sight! Also worth noting in Newark, NJ, a spectacular grouping of cherry blossom trees in Branch Brook Park, that I don't think have opened yet...
http://newark1.com/branchbrook/

Historically pink was actually a color used for infant boys. It referred back to the British minute men of the civil war and the tinge of red was borne from the brave red coats... Blue was the female infant's color since it referred to the pure Virgin Mary's mantle. Funny how times and attitudes change. But I am a big believer in PINK!

Yes the famous quote by Diana Vreeland heads this post. Remember Robert Redford wearing a pink shirt in one of his films - was it The Great Gatsby?

Years ago I bought a painting for $5.00 on the street in Greenwich Village. Every year this time I take it out to admire a very ambitious rendering of the cherry blossom trees that an unknown artist depicted.
It is one of my favorite paintings. Stay tuned here. I will post it next week when the blossoms really appear.

I say it's time for pink to have a come back! Where is the chivalry of our times?

At least we can act like it exists...

hmm do I feel an inkling for a pink painting....

until then here is a photo I shot of "my hood" in downtown brooklyn recently, on a lovely PINK morning:
PINK BROOKLYN

 

After Winter Tempest, Magical Spring

A calm Spring. It is all we can hope for isn't it? Winter has taken a toll on us in the USA, but also terrible things happened globally - the tragedy in Japan, the flood in Australia. 

As though that were not bad enough, the economy continues to tank and more and more people find it difficult to make a living. Every week I hear about someone being layed off.  The stress level is beyond imagining.

My God, the times we live in! How does one keep it together? 
Art. 
Beauty. 
We can experience these for no cost. Their generous spirit feeds hungry souls wore out by an overworked world and a furious Gaia. They embody what is eternal and reflect the master of the universe himself.

Early Spring brought a new energy to me. I produced a new painting,  Relique of a Sunken Day. It is a large canvas, 4.5 x 6 feet, historic pigments and oil. The pigments used in this painting are  realgar (Pompei red, a deep orange color used often Pompein wall paintings), indigo, stack white, cinnabar, carbon black, lead-tin yellow, azurite and lapis lazuli. The medium used was a heat bodied walnut oil made by Jame C. Groves. I also used my own production of HB walnut oil. 

The congealing effect of Grove's HB oil imparts unique qualities into the oil paint enabling unusual freedom in the handling of paint akin to using a resin, however no resin is present, furthermore, it's qualities surpass stand oil's limitations. After years of research, I have found Mr. Grove's formulas to be of the best quality and performance and more successful than any historical formula that I have tried. Oil paint becomes workable in such a way as to achieve paint strokes as Rembrandt and others achieved, that could not otherwise be done in oil. I made a similar formula years ago using copal. I strongly recommend his product. Here is a link to his historic mediums:
http://www.jamescgroves.com/mediums.htm

Relique set me on a new path.  I am continuing this theme with new work. 

As the vernal equinox approaches, be kind to yourself. Take notice of the new light. Let it energize you. You'll be surprised what you can do...

Making the Old, New Again

Working with historical processes can be tricky, especially when using them to create work in another century. But there is a method to my madness....

Many still adhere to the myth  that oil or some other binder is required to grind or mull the material into paint.  Only water and alcohol are needed when "grinding" the material into a pigment. The paint is made from the pigment and binder, thus being "rubbed up" simply with a palette knife. The historical etchings of the studio boy in the background "grinding pigments into paint," is in fact, not what he is doing and is an improper use of the term grinding. He is "grinding" the materials into pigment, when it is soon thereafter bottled, shelved, and taken down later by the artist to be used in any variety of binders - tempera, glue, or oil, to make paint. Thanks to James C. Groves, a brilliant painter and creator of historical mediums and heat-bodied oils, who uncovered this major point.

Historical pigments have innate beauty. They pose a challenge in understanding how to use them and create them.  Pigments such as azurite, verdigris and madder lake,  reveal unique problems with light fastness and other pigment compatibility. In this regard, their modern day chemical replacements are superior yet lacking in the innate beauty of mineral and organic colors.  Methods of preserving problem colors were known or we would not have surviving examples. 

Historical texts are useful only in so much as the practicing artist is able to understand them, by means of his own methodology. Then history is no longer a hindrance in uncovering some of these mysteries. They have brought a whole new freedom in my art, which is important to me. I have control over color and varnishes like no other contemporary artist. Another dimension arises - that of the materials themselves - alchemical if you will, yet controlled entirely by the artist and akin to him and therefore appreciated in a metaphysical way.

Love of materials led me to fabricating giclees of the highest quality.  Rooftop is my first giclee in a limited edition of 50 from an original oil painting. Pictured below,  it is printed on acid-free photo rag paper with special pigment inks. Both ensure a longevity of approximately 120 years. This is extended by another 100 years by using a special UV varnish on the works. The photo shows layers of pigment ink in the rag paper, almost like oil paint lays on the original painting.The challenge here was creating luminance that is unmatched by mineral pigments, in a digital platform.

The image took about a year to perfect using my own  Epson Stylus Pro printer. Check back soon for the next giclee project; a landscape titled Jackself.