J.T. Kirkland – Vermont Studio Center, Part III

In this post, artist J.T. Kirkland shares his struggles in the creative process. The post also includes photos of the work.

“Before I left for VSC, I decided that I wanted to spend the majority of my time experimenting with painting on plywood. I came up with a set of rules for myself to follow and prepped about 20 pieces of maple and walnut plywood to work with. I often work in a rule-based manner and I was excited about the rules for these paintings:…..

As I began working in this direction I quickly discovered that my plan was flawed. Fellow resident, Tracy Helgeson, helped me understand the problem by pointing out that not only was painting fairly new to me, but in this work I was trying to work with three dimensions (the panel), woodgrain (color and composition), color (the paint), and holes. In other words, I was taking on more than I could realistically handle and as a result I was becoming frustrated with the work as a whole. She made the suggestion that I simplify. I took her advice and things began to go much better.”　

To read the complete post click here. Browse the blog to view more of Kirkland’s work.

Image in post is Kirkland’s Not Yet Titled #3 (Acrylic paint, polyacrylic on walnut plywood, 16″ x 16″ x 1″, 2010)