(m)ark ph(e)lan is (me).

nowhere

2010-09-30T13:25:00.002-05:00

i wrote the following as a comment to a post here:

http://soloroadtrip.com/

i recently came back from a trip to nowhere, and everywhere. 6,000 miles. me and my lovely new bride in a 1954 ford coupe. i didn’t have to sell my (yukon) saab to get it. and i didn’t have to run away to make it happen. well, i did, a little bit. but i planned the 3 week runaway for more than a year. i can’t imagine doing that trip in anything else. there’s a certain smack it gives to your lips to pilot a machine older than you across america. there’s a certain ‘rightness’ about seeing a country so steeped in history and hard work and ingenuity in a car such as this. the view out the windshield changes the feel of the movie enough to make it epic rather than simply long. there’s a certain satisfaction to knowing you can fix it if it breaks. and a certain pleasantness to the afternoon that it does leave you by the side of the road with your trunk unpacked, tools out, forcing you to prove it. and a certain peacefulness to changing the oil in the yard of a friend’s small farm in kansas. i’ve been back just a little longer than i was gone, and i already feel late for that same destination. everywhere, but nowhere in particular.

i'm not really as bad at blogging as you might think

2010-06-21T15:03:00.003-05:00

i've just mostly stopped typing words, and have been blogging with pictures. go here:

http://howwayleadson.tumblr.com/

not sure i've given up on this place entirely, but i am definitely feeling the photoblog a lot more right now.

new kicks

2010-03-23T13:47:00.004-05:00

i am such a shoe slut. seriously. i need help. but, until i get professional intervention, i will continue to indulge. these are the latest:

oiled suede doc martens long wings. ooh yeah.

and for those of you who don't know, i could wear a different pair of shoes everyday for 6 weeks without a repeat. someday i might actually do that...

the contextually conflicted post

2010-03-15T08:51:00.003-05:00

this blog was never intended to by about me. i mean, it's about the art i make, mostly. and later this summer, it'll be about a fabulous road trip, and hopefully contain lots of photos of said road trip.

in the meantime, i haven't really been making much art. my life is such right now that i haven't figured out how to make time for it. mostly because i have been concentrating on my health. i have changed the way i eat. i have been seeing a chiropractor. i have been exercising. i have been being good to myself. so, it isn't for a pat on the back that i write about specifics. and it isn't about making this place a weight loss diary. but, it's what i am doing right now. and i am hoping that it somehow fits in with all the other stuff that i am concerned with when i look back at it later on. so it is in that context that i will mention that last week i pedaled about 100 miles. for the first time in...forever. and it felt really good. really good. and i hope to do the same this week. i have lost about 20 pounds in 40 days. it's a good start. but it's barely cracked the surface. i am down 5 1/2 inches around my middle. my legs feel good. my left leg feels. which is something. i hesitate to go into it too much more. but i really don't have anyplace else to document this.

and i am so bad at blogging. i am not about to start another.

nothing is as nothing does

2010-02-17T10:10:00.002-05:00

is it a legitimate blog post if i come here to tell you that i have been up to precisely nothing artistically? does that count?

or, rather, i have been deeply engrossed in a performance piece about lack of activity as an exercise in self-centering.

woolrich, hanna, and brooks

2010-01-12T15:45:00.004-05:00

i've been thinking a lot about quality lately. it may seem to you that i have been thinking about fashion. hanna hats, woolrich coats, pendleton shirts, dickies boots. but it really isn't fashion. i mean, i think a lot of my recent acquisitions are pretty freakin' dope, but fashion (form) has almost been secondary in the choosing of these items. to be historically accurate, i have had the hanna hat forever. and i didn't buy it. it was a gift. but it did sort of set the stage for the rest and get the ball rolling, to be butcherously metaphoric. all the items i mentioned (a few of which are shown in the photo above) are vigorously rooted in quality. that woolrich jacket is about 10 years older than me. and it's pretty much brand new. i wonder if there were ever any pheasant actually in the kidney pockets. they were lined with plastic when i got the jacket in the mail... the pendleton shirt i am wearing now is newer, but was still probably made when i was in grade school. and it looks like it came right off the rack. the brooks bag is new. but brooks has been making bomb proof stuff for more than a century, so i am fairly certain this waxed cotton and leather vision of loveliness will be around longer than me. the dickies boots may seem a little out of context in this conversation, but these things are bomb proof, and water proof, with just a little mink oil.

legacy has been a topic on my mind lately, especially related to my art. but i guess it can't help but spill over into other areas too. and in terms of clothing, i suppose legacy is best recognized as quality. to a certain extent though, legacy and quality are kin. woolrich has a legacy that only exists because of its quality merchandise. well, that and maybe a little 21st century marketing thrown in. pendleton is the same, been around a long time, known for making plain good stuff. except maybe those flag shirts...

it's all related though. legacy, quality, time. how you are remembered depends on how well you spent your time. as i gain what i hope is a little bit of wisdom (just a little), i would like to think that my perspective gives me a viewpoint from which i can use what i have learned to live the best life i can, and make the best work i can. standing here in between those that came before me (thank you, dad. miss you TONS) and where i am going i hope i have enough of a grasp on what they have done to pull at least a little bit of it back into the present, and leave it as the past for someone else's future.

gosh, it's been a while

2009-12-15T16:17:00.002-05:00

it's been a while since i posted here, i guess. i haven't been terribly active in the studio, although i have a ton of ideas in my head. i have been active making improvements on the house, and organizing the new shop and the new studio.

i have been looking for ways to make a living making art, and making less art. seems kinda counter-productive, no? except, it's almost as if i am at a point where if i can't support myself making art, i don't want to make it. which is a little childish really, but here i am nonetheless.

i just feel this incredible drive to MAKE. and i am discouraged that i have to spend so much of my time working that i don't have time to get out all the stuff in my head.

instead of looking for ways to support myself art making, maybe i should be looking for ways to survive without sleep. i might get somewhere with that...

gathering of the faithful '09

2009-10-28T11:48:00.002-05:00

the gathering was a couple weeks ago. good times as always. my new poster fairly rules, if i do say so myself.

pocono '64

2009-10-07T09:55:00.002-05:00

i did this one using a couple plates from another print, and some new hand carved text. i am going to start mixing up the text and image plates to make some different combinations of my posters. just to keep things interesting...

solo show in brooklyn

2009-08-06T14:26:00.001-05:00

i have a show of 14 new and old pieces at aeon logic gallery in brooklyn from 8/8-8/18/09. come on out and check it.

http://aeonlogicartgallery.site90.net/

the good life with an old truck

2009-08-03T08:20:00.003-05:00

finally got the old truck just about ready to hit the road. i am stoked to bomb around in the ol' girl. over the winter we (me & b) installed new plugs, wires, cap, rotor, points, condensor, ignition switch (which i think was the problem all along...). the this past weekend we got the old exhaust cut out, and new exhaust installed up to and including a pair of cherry bomb 'glas pack mufflers. still need some tail pipe to finish it off. but it sounds pretty good. we'll see how she does hauling boxes during the upcoming move. but i did keep my priorities in order. i got the hula girl mounted on the dash before the official maiden voyage...

my new website

2009-07-06T08:28:00.002-05:00

so, i finally have a viable website up and running. still a work in progress, it will hold all my art categorized by medium, and provide a way for you, dear reader, to purchase the ones you fall in love with. you can check it out below, and make note of it in the right sidebar of this blog.

www.markphelanart.com

Postscript

2009-06-25T20:46:00.001-05:00

postscript: monotype, pronto plate lithography, mixed media, 22x30

ct60

2009-05-18T20:15:00.001-05:00

orange '58

2009-04-24T12:03:00.001-05:00

linocut, 2 color, 12x18 with hand carved type.

bigfoot lives!

2009-04-03T13:56:00.002-05:00

bigfoot lives! 24x18 1 color relief print

leaving home, going home

2009-03-26T20:26:00.002-05:00

leaving home, going home, 30x22, monotype with mixed media

the black helicopters of the bridgewater triangle

2009-03-05T21:53:00.003-05:00

the black helicopters of the bridgewater triangle, 24x18, relief print

the giant pterodactyl of bird hill

2009-02-22T16:38:00.001-05:00

18x24 relief print

the red headed hitchhiker of route 44

2009-02-14T19:24:00.004-05:00

ver 4
2 color relief print on grey paper

ver 3
2 color relief print on cream paper

ver 2
1 color relief print on white paper with water color additions

ver 1

1 color relief print on white paper

a breath away

2009-02-09T13:59:00.004-05:00

a breath away. 22x30 monotype and mixed media.

a discourse between earth and sky; part II

2009-02-04T10:26:00.001-05:00

a discourse between earth and sky II, 22x30, monotype and mixed media

a discourse between earth and sky; part I

2009-02-04T10:24:00.001-05:00

a discourse between earth and sky I, 22x30, monotype and mixed media

identify yourself!

2009-01-28T14:00:00.005-05:00

it's so easy. once you DO your calling, it's so easy to just say, "i am a truckdriver." "i am a mechanic." "i am a teacher." "i am an artist."

i know truckdrivers. they drive trucks and get a paycheck every week or two. mechanics too. i know some. they turn their wrenches, they get a paycheck. teachers are the same. they pass on knowledge and understanding, do what they do, get some meager compensation for it. they do it because they have the call. because they need to. and they get paid to.

so many people identify themselves by what they do with the majority of their time, or by what they do to earn money. "i'm a barista." "i'm a cashier." people who dig in the earth looking for old stuff call themselves archeologists. folks who look after other folks and recommend medications and treat maladies and sign their name illegibly call themselves doctors. by this identification process, i am not an artist. i am an apparel buyer or a keeper of records. i am not an artist.

there, i said it. i am not an artist. i make art, but i am not an artist. or maybe, we need to rethink our position on this whole identity thing. maybe people who drives trucks across this great wide country, delivering milk and fruit and potatoes and oreos to grocery stores, and spend their off hours sitting at old wooden benches under bright lights, moving tiny gears and springs inside the body of an old clock should call themselves horologists. maybe people who fix cars and trucks during the day and also play in bands in small, smoky, dark bars at night should call themselves musicians. maybe people who make coffee for other people on one of those kooky retail schedules and still manage to ride their bikes 300 miles a week, gutting out grueling climbs, rising at 5AM to simply get a ride in, should call themselves cyclists.

maybe people who devolop planograms for apparel sections in retail stores, and track warranty claims, and make spread sheets to keep track of department budgets, and who also make pictures with things like paper and canvas and pencil and ink and paint and pain and tears and laughter, should call themselves artists.

maybe we should identify ourselves with our callings rather than our occupations. someday, we could be lucky enough to identify ourselves with our occupation and our calling because they will be the same. live the dream, or die trying.

people notice!

2008-12-22T13:42:00.003-05:00

i was mentioned in an interview with albert wang, the curator and director of Iao Projects and Iao: ABC.

It's a two-way street. We had a lot of artists submit portfolios online. At first, Shadna and I chose to use Craigslist as a way of discovering up-and-coming artists who are completely unknown. For example, I was able to discover the works of Boston-area printmaker Mark Phelan through this venue. He is represented also by Aeon Logic Art Gallery in Brooklyn as well, which we have encouraged. Phelan is an extremely solid mixed-media printmaker whose private imagery and fantastic surrealism caught my eye with its rather post-modern storytelling similar to a novel by John Barth. I recommend the viewer to catch his work to see what I mean in that respect.

you can read the whole interview here:

http://theconfroom.blogspot.com/

don't worry about him. he's just a puffer.

2008-12-07T08:47:00.003-05:00

don't worry about him. he's just a puffer.

monotype and mixed media. 22x30

aeonlogic gallery and my first show in nyc!

2008-11-07T11:48:00.004-05:00

here is a piece that i wrote for another blog that i contribute to:

a new contributor with a new outlook
i got an invititation from shadna to contribute to this blog. i suppose he is looking for some new perspectives and some insight into the minds of the artists he and his galleries represent. but for me, this was an incredibly difficult exercise to wrap my head around. i used to say that if i could use words as an effective means of communication, i wouldn't need to make the pictures i make. but that's sort of a cop-out. now, i'm not going to give you a step-by-step process, pointing out each nuance of thought because that would rob you of some of the magic. you don't really WANT to know how a magician pulls off that perfect trick, do you? i didn't think so. but, it might be good to know just enough to make yourself even more curious.so, when i was accepted to the inaugural show of a gallery to debut in brooklyn this weekend, i decided to take the opportunity to give both you and me a better understanding of what goes on in this more than slightly disturbed brain. aeonlogic gallery will be opening tomorrow at 4 malcolm x blvd in brooklyn, and feature not only work by artists, but also a statement of motivation to make the art. it's a bit of a rejection of photos of poop that seem to be altogether a bit too prevalent in the art world these days, and an attempt at a return to a more human approach to storytelling. i am not an expert in all things art-worldly by any means, and so if i am missing the point of poop photography, i apologize. but i do like what this gallery is trying to do. so when i was invited to participate, i accepted happily despite the fact that i would have to stretch beyond my comfort zone and try to make sense of my work for the benefit of the audience, if not for my own. below is an excerpt from my attempt at the logic behind my work. i hope i didn't give away too much of myself. i like to be a little mysterious...

I wish I were a storyteller. I wish I were articulate enough to bend the ears and capture the imaginations of those around me with my tales of life and love and legacy, to have my words flow from my lips like a mountain stream trickling around rocks and roots, collecting into a crystal clear mirrored pool in the valley.I am not. There is this disconnect between my brain and my heart, between my brain and my soul. I have tremendous difficulty deciphering my own hopes and dreams, let alone spinning a yarn that will hold captive the minds of others.But sometimes, things click. The pawls align, the gears engage, and an image flows from my hand like that stream from the mountaintop. Collecting its tributaries one after the other, building in volume and strength, becoming a powerful river until it pours onto paper like so much water into that lake in the valley. Often, I have to keep these images close by, constantly looking for that place in my mind or my heart or my soul where they might have come from. But they don’t seem to fit anywhere very neatly. They do, however fit in between. Between my heart and soul, between my heart and mind, between waking and dreams, between disappointment and regret, between life and death, between sin and redemption.They narrate for me what my words could not; what my mind or heart or soul could not have done alone. They pull from all sources the shattered pieces and make them whole, to make available to the viewer that which sloshes around inside me like a whirlpool. When asked what my work is about, I used to say that if I had the words to describe it, I wouldn’t need to make the pictures to begin with. But that is a cheap cop out. It isn’t true. My work is about where people live. Not on the mountaintop, or the pool in the valley, but on the slopes. In between.Maybe I am a storyteller…

something for kate

2008-10-27T21:49:00.003-05:00

monotype and mixed media, 22x30

the gathering

2008-10-16T21:08:00.002-05:00

2 color linocut with handcut type. 12x18 on 15x22 somerset satin.

coffee mugs

2008-10-06T09:00:00.002-05:00

when was the last time you actually WASHED the coffee mug on your desk at work? i don't mean a casual rinse to remove the weekend's dust. i mean a full on soap and sponge wash. why would you? if the mug gets filled, then emptied into your gullet, what's the point? consider the stains 'patina.' they add character. and there is hardly any risk of contracting any sort of yuckiness. i think...

really, this comes up because i am so bored with my current mug that i have no use for maintaining it. i have been very interested in vintage diner mugs, and those cool old mugs that fade from tan to brown (my mom could tell you what that style is actually called) and mugs with logos from defunct businesses, and such. i like things with a little character i guess. things that can tell a story.

i guess i like things that remind me that what i do is a good thing. story telling reminds us of where we came from, and can hopefully give us a glimpse of where we are going. just a little hint of it.

secret keeping

2008-10-05T14:19:00.004-05:00

i carry a burden
that is not my own,
i carry it for another; its weight is shown
in the way my back bends
as i bear it to my eternal home.

a new look and turning gears.

2008-09-29T13:53:00.002-05:00

so many experiences in uncharted territory, so much travel, so much sorrow, so much joy.

all good for new stories to tell...keep an eye open.

works on paper

2008-07-01T18:39:00.006-05:00

something for kate, 22x30

i'm so sorry. 22x30

g-love floats. 30x30 monotype and mixed media on panel. commission for LIVE NATION concert series. sold at auction, 11/11/2008

secret keeping- monotype and mixed media, 22x30

these things take time, 20x28

softly soaring through, 20x28

ignarus aspurnatum seminare, 22x30

a trope for entropy, 22x30

husker du? 20x28

sometimes i forget how to breathe, 20x28

upon this rock, 20x28

you had to be there, 20x28

this house, 28x22

a tear in the fabric, 22x26

echo, 22x26

static

2008-05-13T21:07:00.002-05:00

monotype and mixed media, 22x28

softly soaring through

2008-05-13T21:00:00.003-05:00

this one is a little victory for hope. and happy accidents.

monotype and mixed media, 20x28

these things take time

2008-05-08T21:58:00.002-05:00

these things take time, 20x28, monotype with mixed media.

watch out, here comes that phelan guy

2008-04-25T08:27:00.001-05:00

show at herrell's opens may 3rd

2008-04-01T10:49:00.002-05:00

come out and see some of my new work at herrell's allston cafe at 155 brighton ave, allston, ma 02134. the show opens may 3rd and runs through the 16th, with an opening party on the 3rd from 7-9 pm. herrell's will be providing some tasty goodness, so you know it's worth the trip.

http://herrellsallstoncafe.com/default.aspx

hope to see you there.

parentheses or bookends?

2008-03-31T11:39:00.002-05:00

...or maybe just a monster of our own making.

22x30, monotype with mixed media

i'm so sorry

2008-03-12T21:18:00.003-05:00

what more could possibly be said?

22x30, monotype with mixed media.

a trope for entropy

2008-03-11T21:53:00.006-05:00

it still hits a little too close to home.

22x30, monotype with mixed media.

what dreams may come

2008-03-11T21:50:00.003-05:00

i can't help but wonder.

18x24 on 22x30 paper. hard ground and spit bite etching, colored pencil and photo collage, monoprint.

ignarus aspurnatum seminare

2008-03-04T12:48:00.002-05:00

you think you know, but you don't. you can't possibly.

monotype, mixed media. 20 x 28

it is finished

2008-03-04T12:20:00.002-05:00

the title isn't as simple as it seems. it took me a year and a half to be satisfied with the idea that i am done with this one.

pronto plate, chine colle, mica dust, akua on paper. 20 x 28 1/2.

loss of innocense

2008-03-04T12:17:00.003-05:00

sometimes, i mourn for my childhood; it was so good.

hardground etching, inking ala poupee, chine colle with burned paper, imbedded grass. ~8x10

direction

2008-03-04T12:12:00.006-05:00

sometimes people move in different directions. when they are tied together so tightly,

this can be very painful indeed.

4 1/2 x 12, hardground, softground, spit bite, drypoint. edition 6

make art and stay away from the computer

2008-02-27T15:39:00.003-05:00

so i 'met' this guy named abraham a while ago. i say 'met' because i have never actually seen him in person, or heard his voice. but i did answer a classified ad he placed looking for artists to apply for spots in a show. he answered me, and we have been exchanging emails for about 6 weeks. he digs my new stuff, the monotypes of despair...and we are working on putting together a show to include me and a few others in nyc. possibly one in beijing too. so we shall see. it might be the beginning of something.

i bring it up now to let all 3 people who read this know that i will probably be spending a little more time here as i make art, then upload it here for abraham to view. he hasn't asked me to be accountable to him, but it seems like a good motivator in some ways. so i am doing it this way to be accountable but leave him off the hook. and to say that while i may be posting here more often, i will hopefully be doing less of the hanging-out-on-the-computer-wasting-time junk.

i just finished another piece that i'll have up here in a day or so. and i have several more on the easels as we speak.

fingers crossed...

husker du?

2008-01-10T12:49:00.001-05:00

do you remember?

what a moron

2008-01-09T09:05:00.001-05:00

i finished a new piece, and i quite like it, but i am a moron when it comes to actually remembering to put the memory card back in my camera after taking it out to load pics on to the computer, so i take pictures of my prints and then have no way to transfer them. so yeah, i am a dope. but i guess none of you needed me to tell you that...

...pic of the new print to come, by the way. soonish.

genius or nuts?

2007-12-11T16:33:00.000-05:00

i read about a guy named john casey who grew up in salem. he's lived in the bay area for the last 10 years or so, and makes some pretty wacky stuff. check him out at:
www.bunnywax.com

he quotes his dad as saying to him, "you're either a genius, or completely nuts."

what do you think?

art shows or, nothing good happens after midnight

2007-12-11T11:07:00.001-05:00

Hung a show at this place last night:

http://www.espressoroyale.com/

736 Comm Ave Boston. Through January 4th, 2008

The good thing is that I got a bit of exposure in the middle of the city, across from BU, near Fenway and Kenmore square, in a café bulging with the hipster chic day in and day out. The bad thing is that I had to hang the show last night after closing. The place closes at 11PM. Good grief. So I get there at 11, my ever helpful compatriot Becky (heretofore known simply as Cecil) happily, yet sleepily plodding along beside me. I was met at the door by none other than Adrian Emberley, of Adrian Emberley and the Urban Anthropologists, who was nice and sweet and offered me the two best walls to hang my stuff. Cecil and I unloaded the art from the car, laid it out in order to hang and got to work. Basically, I stood on chairs and Cecil handed me a picture, and I hung it on the hook, made it straight, and moved on to the next one. The whole shebang took about half an hour, and aside from one picture hanging a little low, looked pretty good. Adrian assured me that she would adjust the height of that one picture when her boss returned with the allen wrench tools in the morning.

While I hung the show, Adrian and her coworkers hung out at the back of the galley shaped store, sprawled out on cushy chairs and sofas, seemingly jaded and rather uninterested altogether. But when I was finished with my work, the whole crew made a trek up to the front of the store to see what I had to offer. Immediate response from the lot of them was very positive with pleasant little missives offered up unsolicited. Pleasantries were exchanged, an agreement was made for a time to pick the work up, and we said our goodnights. As I drove away, I noticed that the staff was still interested in my stuff, standing on tip toes to catch a small detail, each piece occupied by one or 3 people. Cecil made sure I stayed awake for the ride home by singing along to Christmas songs on the radio, and I was in my own warm bed by 12:30.

I was expecting much worse to tell you the truth. I figured I was in for hours and hours of misery. But it really wasn’t that bad. Now if coffee ACTUALLY made up for a lack of sleep.

coffee

2007-12-05T09:16:00.000-05:00

coffee. it's a sacred thing. or very nearly. and i dont understand how so many people can abide such bad coffee. but here i am at my desk, at work, drinking really REALLY bad coffee. at least i have my own half & half, and not the skim milk that everyone else uses. life is too short to consume bad food and drink.

i need to figure out a way to convert these coffee troglodytes.

so, what's the point?

2007-11-20T14:38:00.000-05:00

does pain make us wiser? or does it just make us hurt?

it's a locke

2007-11-14T13:46:00.000-05:00

there is a local artist named steve locke. he does some interesting things with mail art. he also does some interesting things with large grid paintings. but i think the most important work he does is carrying on the legacy of his mother. she is quoted as saying to him in a cleveland museum, "i think God made the artist because there are things He wants him to see." i like the notion of that.

i hate it when she's right.

2007-11-12T08:56:00.001-05:00

you know, sometimes you like to operate under the blissfully ignorant assumption that you can do everything. the unfortunate truth is that there just isnt enough time in the day to get everything done that rattles around in my head. and prof. dunn is right. you have to concentrate on the one thing, and get it done.

so which 'one thing' do i give my attention now?

uggh. it would be so much easier without the need for employment or for sleep. then i could get so much more done.

exposure

2007-11-06T16:09:00.000-05:00

i got a little local exposure by being featured on this website:

http://www.labellarue.com/newartist.html

hopefully it'll do some good. maybe i'll get a relief print commision from it or something.

holy sheep!

2007-11-02T07:22:00.000-05:00

i have been so busy, i haven't even had a chance to think about what to write here. but i can tell you that i have been searching all over this electronic landscape of ours looking for opportunities to break through. according to the most prevelent definition of the term 'emerging artist' it defines this particular person as 26-31, probably in grad school, making good work, and likely has many years of even better work ahead of them. apparently, many collectors stick to this definition rather like crazy glue. they get all paranoid about collecting work from a particluar artist who may have more time on this planet behind them than ahead, thinking that they will have time to amass a large bit of their work for cheap money and cash in later. wouldn't you rather cash in on some old guy making brilliant stuff that no one has ever seen, get it for cheap, and cash in quicker once he kicks the bucket? or, what if the young artist gets hit by a bus on his way to drop off your new piece? it'll never be worth more than a couple bucks, because he never made a name for himself. i think i am going to have to start lying about my age. or maybe collectors could just start buying art they like and making their own decisions based on their own aesthetic. i know i have my best work ahead of me, but i am definitely older than 31, and i haven't even got to grad school yet. it seems i am done before i even started. in the art world, you would think there would be plenty of room for non conformity and individualism; room to respect people for telling their life experiences through their art whenever they have the opportunity to. but it seems to me that it is the narrowest of narrow roads to travel.

that is really irritating. i will continue to plug along, and not let the naysaying idiots ruin my day; i know that i have good things to say through my work. but good grief, when are people going to start to think for themselves?

baaah, baaaah, baaaaaah...

hot rod posters

2007-10-24T14:19:00.000-05:00

i decided that i wanted the newest series of linocuts to be reminiscent of drag racing posters in the northeast in the 50s and 60s. i wanted them to be graphically strong, and i wanted them to include text. i also wanted the text to be done in the pronto plate lithography method as an experiment of its effectiveness.

this is the first completed proof in what will be an edition of 20 with 5 artist proofs. the 5 proofs already have homes, so you can forget about that (haha). the edition should be ready for sale and shipping in a week.

i love it when a plan comes together.

i know the images i will use for the next one, but i am struggling with colors. i am thinking red and yellow with black text, but i'm not sure. maybe the subject will tell me...

is it just a hoax?

2007-10-24T11:17:00.000-05:00

it might be a new brand. it might be a social experiment of monumental proportions. it might just be the best commentary on conspicuous consumption in a long time...

hoax. it's nothing. really.

who doesn't like cupcakes

2007-10-19T09:38:00.000-05:00

well, when you have to wait in line for 72,000 hours, and they charge you 50 bucks for one, you'd think people would complain.

instead, folks wait overnight for 20 minutes in the store to get their hands on a new release, and maybe a slice of pizza. insane. and of course, yes, that is me in the pic, and yes i did spend 50 bucks for a t-shirt. no, it wasn't for me. it was for my partner in crime, that snazzy lookin' chick with the funky hat; none other than k-dog herself. she is such a fashion addict, and i am her pusher...

2007-10-18T09:28:00.000-05:00

the best part of a field trip to nyc, with art in the chelsea galleries that made me sure humanity was indeed in a handbasket to hell? sushi from dean and deluca eaten in central park, no doubt.

ooooooh...

2007-10-18T08:25:00.000-05:00

i am full of so many good ideas. i love this little creative explosion. i just hope i can do them justice.

i'm gonna be rich

2007-10-17T08:24:00.001-05:00

well, i did get my 'million dollar idea' but i'm not sure a million bucks makes you rich anymore.

just stay tuned for the launch of the new brand of the century. and once you see it, if you have to ask...

new print in the works

2007-10-17T08:20:00.001-05:00

so i finally finished carving the plate for the first in the 'vintage drags' series, and i am thinking it came out pretty darn good. it is 2 color, using the puzzle plate method, which allows more than one color with only carving one plate. just the thing for a guy who has trouble getting out of bed in the morning.

i pulled 2 proofs monday. one on white paper, the other on the cream-ish paper that i will use for the edition. i now have to get the text ready to go. i will be using the 'pronto plate' method. i just might have to do a tech piece on that. it's a super cool little technique with all kinds of possibilities.

no pics til the edition is done. sorry, you'll just have to wait.

the new me

2007-10-11T15:42:00.000-05:00

gonna try to post something most every day, and lest you worry that it will be useless drivel (certainly not from me), i give you this from the whitney museum's faq section;

"Can I submit materials for consideration for the 2008 Biennial?

Unfortunately, no. The Whitney Biennial is not a juried exhibition, and, therefore, there is no submission process."

see i decided to get all bold and cocky like most artists and just start submitting my work to any place that is worthy of it, and see what kind of shows i can get into. i am convinced that is how it happens, you have to be a cocky SOB with a smile,' of course my stuff rocks. i made it. all the cool kids think it's fright, you should represent me, holmes. if you pass, you're gonna kick your own teeth in someday soon for missing out.' or something like that.

anyway, if you make good stuff, start shoving it down people's throats. it's the only way they will ever know you made it.

which leads me to wonder, how do the curators for the biennial choose the work to include? it's not who you know, it's who you...

or something like that.

all stories are love stories

2007-10-10T15:12:00.002-05:00

you MUST read eureka street, a great novel with the best opening sentence ever...

on the earth and i

2007-10-10T14:13:00.000-05:00

back in the swing. life is beginning to resemble normal again. no more getting kicked in the boys for me for a while i hope.

new work coming soon. relief prints in the hot rod world, resembling drag racing posters of bygone days...monotypes in the style of general gow himself reflecting on the sucky suckfest of divorce and seperation and the impact of all that on kids and having to admit to yourself and your kids that in some way you are a frickin' failure...but it makes for some trippy art, don't it?

...made it to the final round in artistswanted.org contest for a solo show at white box. keep your digits crossed for me homies...

also working on a solo gig in the RI for the spring. and a group show there too with my ink monkey bros and sisses...all the cool kids are hangin' there ya know.

had some stuff in a show at school this fall too. always well organized and tragically underattended. we need to do something about the attendance of these school events at the akilian. think out loud about this with me will ya?

killer new pad, if you havent seen it yet, hit me up for an invite and we'll knock back a couple IBCs. my studio there rocks, and i have cellar space for an acid bath for etching. sadly, no space for setting things on fire. much to linda's chagrin.

have i mentioned that my 'roommate' rocks? she's a ruler.

patience is a virtue

2007-02-26T09:15:00.000-05:00

so, there is more coming soon, i promise.

life has been more complicated than i ever imagined it could be.

but work has begun again, and i am building the fire inside.

winds of change

2007-01-21T14:11:00.000-05:00

things are really tough around here lately. i'm not sure i will be able to take any classes this semester. i think i need to concentrate on holding things together. not really sure how to do that either, though...

intersession slumber

2007-01-17T14:08:00.000-05:00

i haven't forgotten about this place. i have just been a little art sleepy during break. semester starts for me on thursday though, so i will wake up soon.

i haven't made art in a month.

i can't decide if that's good or bad.

end of semester artist's statement

2006-12-17T20:12:00.000-05:00

this is what i learned in school this semester.

Mark Phelan
Artist’s Statement
Fall 2006, Relief Printing

This semester started out as a lesson in discipline for me. I wanted to work my way through a lengthy period with good plans and drawings and end up with good results on the other side. However, my emotions got the better of me, and I ended up spending most of the semester working in a different medium, and with no real plan, shooting from the hip, and drawing what I felt inside me. I do not have regret concerning the latter part of this statement, because I feel that I connected to a part of me that has been previously hidden. But I did discover that I am not as naturally disciplined as I once thought. It took real work for me to turn this semester around and complete the required assignments. I found myself almost resentful of the fact that I had to get them done.
It’s interesting when a person finds something new about himself. Whether good or bad, if he can then find a way to use it as a tool, it can be a very powerful thing. I found that when I work from raw emotion, I have a very difficult time dealing with the world around me. I have a tough time at home. I have a tough time at work. I even have a tough time at school, where I want to be most, if the work to be done there is not exactly what I want to be working on at the time. The monotypes that I worked on simultaneously with the assigned work got me in touch with something that I didn’t know previously existed. It is a hard thing to deal with. This untamed emotion welling up from down there somewhere. I don’t even know why I feel it. I do know that it needs to make its way out on paper as soon as I can make it happen. . I also found out that when it comes down to it, I can get that assigned work done, and do it fairly well. But it does feel like work.
Beyond that, I did learn a few things about technique in relief printing. I learned that when I pay close attention to composition, the print comes out well. I learned that when I make a piece that I want to make it comes out well. And I learned that when I take a few deep breaths, and start carving that linoleum with my knife, I am quieted. The process is cathartic, and the rest I find in it is revealed in the prints I make.

But I do wonder how often I will be put in the position of having to make something that I am not connected to in some way. I wonder if I will need to leash that emotion and save it somewhere while other work gets done. I wonder if it fair to ask an artist to do this.

This semester I learned how to feel through my work, and I learned how to wonder.

sometimes, i forget how to breathe

2006-12-08T19:41:00.000-05:00

i love this one. i don't know what else to say. sometimes, i forget how to speak.

'sometimes, i forget how to breathe'

'sometimes, i forget how to breathe' detail

you had to be there

2006-12-07T19:33:00.000-05:00

this is what happens when you drink blue liquid from beakers. or maybe when you have one too many white russians. or something. you had to be there. or there. or maybe it's more ominous than that. or more hopeful. or something.

'you had to be there'

'you had to be there' detail

upon this rock

2006-12-06T19:17:00.000-05:00

'upon this rock'

finished another. not too many words. i'll let the pictures tell the story. like i've had to say way too many times, "if i was good with words, i wouldn't NEED to make these pictures." it's just what i do.

'upon this rock' detail

2006-12-06T08:32:00.001-05:00

those images on the right are getting cut off, and it's driving me nuts. i can't figure out how to fix them. argh!

show opening

2006-12-06T00:05:00.000-05:00

went to the print and pottery show opening this afternoon. got to do a little mingling and networking. all for the good no doubt, but i'm a bit uncomfortable with all that.

i saw the gallery director a couple hours after the show closed, and she said that there is someone interested in 'this house' (previously untitled). i was kinda hoping to hold on to all the monotypes until they are done and can be shown together, but i might work something out. we'll see. i'm supposed to let her know, and start the negotiations. it's weird how some buyers want to remain somewhat anonymous. makes you wonder if it's your mom buying it to make you feel good. we shall see...

annual print and pottery show

2006-12-03T00:05:00.000-05:00

massasoit college opens its annual print and pottery show monday, with a reception tuesday from 12:30 to 1:30. i got several pieces in, including 2 of the italy prints, the caryatid print, and a preview of 4 of my new monotype drawings. hopefully this will cement the solo show that i am trying to land in the same gallery this coming spring. the akilian gallery is part of the milton art museum, which is housed currently inside the campus of massasoit.
details of the show are listed here:

http://www.massasoit.mass.edu/news/news_details.cfm?nID=212

info on the museum here:

http://www.massasoit.mass.edu/milton_art/index.htm

and here are a few pics of the show, before it opens:

a few of mine:

'echo' and 'upon this rock'

'this house' and 'a tear in the fabric'

'the caryatid rests, 'gheto vechio', and 'gondola'

and a peak at some other artists' work:

mallory powell

beth gilmore and brittany halstead

liz delorey

karen hays

karen hays

this stuff in on sale cheap! most linocuts and monotypes are priced from $20 to $50.

so, this one is untitled for now, but it's done.

2006-11-24T21:52:00.000-05:00

i don't quite know what to call this one yet, but it's part of the story for sure. i'm not sure how it fits in yet, i haven't even decided what it means to me. hot off the press i guess.

untitled

detail 1

detail 2

greek women sure were strong

2006-11-22T19:29:00.001-05:00

in greek architecture, a caryatid is a sculpted column formed to look like a woman in some rather uncomfortable position, and to me, i thought this one needed a break.

'the caryatid rests'

linocut from relief class

2006-11-22T19:25:00.000-05:00

here's the first print from relief printing class this fall.
single color linocut with 3 color chine colle.

'of life and the knowledge of good and evil'

in progress

2006-11-22T19:22:00.000-05:00

i've been experimenting with a new technique for photographic printmaking, and this is an example. still in progress, it needs a couple details worked out. the photo images are printed by making a plate from a specially treated velum that is used to put a photocopy onto. then you use a rubberized ink to print with. the funniest part is that you need to treat the plate with toothpaste and water in order for the non pigmented areas to resist the ink. crazy, and i love it.

into thy hands...

a tear in the fabric

2006-11-22T19:16:00.000-05:00

a tear in the fabric

sometimes i just see stuff in my head and i have to get it onto paper before i go nuts. i could tell you what this one is about, but i'd be making it up.

fabric; detail

fabric; detail

i'm just a dreamboat, i guess.

2006-11-22T18:26:00.000-05:00

echo; detail

lately, the free form side of me has been winning and i have been experimenting a bit with drawings over monotype backgrounds. as i make the backgrounds, i try to concentrate on what i am thinking about or feeling inside, i want the way that the ink flows across the plate to reflect what's going on with me. then, as they dry, i just sit back and look. the background pretty much tells me what to make from it. then i dive in with pen, pencil, paint, and marker, and get results that i am relatively happy with.

i wish i could articulate my process a little better. but if i could write well, i wouldn't need to make these pictures. i have 2 completed, one on the easel right now, and about 8 or 10 more in my head. this one is called 'echo' and probably has something to do with self image and the delicate balance of the world, or something like that.

echo

echo; detail

echo; detail

gorilla marketing

2006-11-21T20:40:00.001-05:00

i have been thinking about a marketing scheme to promote my art in a bit of a semi legal guerilla type fashion, but i am also rethinking the general gow pseudonym as an identity for myself. anyway, i like the images, but i am not sure of the identity. here they are for now. this blog is a mess, really disorganized, and in no particular order. but i figure it is best to have it down on 'paper' in any case.

heart, mind, and soul

2006-11-03T22:30:00.000-05:00

for my first show, i wanted to create a work about the fragility of the connection between two people and the effort it takes to make it all work. this series of seven drypoint etchings is what i came up with. not as 'mature' as my newer work, it definitely reveals a good bit of compositional simplicity, but the naivete reveals something real about what was going on with me at the time. i made these in the fall of 2005, about a year ago.

your heart

your mind

your soul

in our next life, love me this way

my soul

my mind

my heart

blast from the past

2006-11-02T22:11:00.000-05:00

i did a little experimentation with drypoint etching on plexiglas a couple semesters ago, and i liked the way i could essentially draw on the plate to get a very natural line. i will be taking an in depth intaglio class next semester and working with this technique among others, hopefully using copper plate to get softer, more predictable lines, and better results. here are a few random prints. to follow is a group that i did as a series of 7.

christmas nap

i am not ashamed

one man's work^

art show recovery

2006-06-19T22:25:00.000-05:00

the show went swell. great turn out. great music. great people. great food (thank you, mom!).

charlie and i each sold some work, and i am particularly happy with the reactions that mine got.

i'll show some below, and hopefully i'll get my hands on some more pics from the evening.

i sold two of this print, 'burano' 11x15 linocut and water color additions on paper.

sold one of these, 'gheto vechio' 11x15, linocut on paper.

and i may have a buyer for one of these, 'gondola' 11x15 two color linocut on paper.

i guess folks like venice. i may need to go back again for more inspiration.

here's one more,

'andy warhol's jesus, or jesus loves the little children'
linocut and chine colle on paper, 22x30.

sorry for the reflection from the flash.

anyway, karen and i have another show at the stoughton public library running from july 1 through august 31. i think i will show my 3 monotypes, which you havent seen yet, and the 3 venice prints. karen is showing her accordian book opened to the full length of 14 feet. should be good exposure to a new audience and someplace for the work to hang before the print show at school in september.

thanks to all who ventured out, it was a great evening.

mark

party time!

2006-06-08T10:36:00.000-05:00

hot rod art

2006-06-04T17:58:00.000-05:00

I recently began a series of prints of hot rods and custom cars that I have some affinity to. Once I completed the first proofs, I posted a tech article on the HAMB where I spend far too much time looking at hot rod stuff. It is a great place to hang out if you are an old car junky, and they are very supportive of the arts, hosting a Friday Art Show each week. I have posted the article below as it appears on the HAMB. Check the HAMB out here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/

So after many years of watching with awe the art that is posted on the Friday art show every week, and after being continually impressed with the quality of the tech posts that come through here every week, I have decided to do my own brand of tech- ART TECH. Now I don’t usually make car related art. Most of my stuff lately has been soul searching stuff, not wuite self portrait work in the stricted ‘Rembrandt’ sense, but definitely about me. And I have been exploring with some printmaking methods that are a bit ‘out there.’

But I do often work in linoleum for printmaking because it makes such a nice simple looking picture. I love the high contrast of single color prints in black and white.

I have been thinking for quite some time about what I would do if I ever tried anything with auto related art, and I decided that I would do lino cuts of cars that really blow me away. I have a short list and I will work from that. There are a couple here on the HAMB that slay me every time I see them so I figured I would start with one of those. And what car could better exemplify the HAMB than Bob Bleed’s roadster? It has a great history, strong family ties, and still runs strong today, evolving as time goes by, getting better with age. There are a couple others too, that will come later, including av8paul’s roadster and kevin lee’s (grimlok) modified. I think the Calori coupe will probably make its way to paper soon too.

Anyway, I thought that I would chronicle the process for my own contribution to keeping this board about cars, art, and the process of creating something other than drama.

Oh, one last thing before we get to the tech; I will be printing an edition of 30 of each of these plates. Number 1 from the edition will go to a HAMB Auction to raise money to keep Ryan’s little bench racing effort afloat, the others will go to the classifieds to be offered for sale. So keep an eye out. Now on with the show.

First, we start with a sheet of linoleum, untreated (you can’t really use flooring tiles), and transfer the image you are using to the sheet with carbon paper. What you don’t see here is the drawing I did from a photo of Bob’s car that was then transferred to the lino.

Next, I bust out the tool kit

And get started. Watch out, these suckers are sharp.

Now I start carving, cutting away the areas I want to stay white, leaving that which will be black. After about 2 or 3 hours, it’s starting to look like something.

And then I carve some more. After another couple hours, it looks like this.

At this point I put some ink on a plexi plate and roll out out smooth with a brayer. Once the ink is nice and velvety, I roll it onto the lino plate with the brayer. I didn’t really show this step because I figured no one would really be interested in seeing a black splotch on plexi and newspaper. The next step is probably the best. Pulling the first print is like Christmas morning. You really get a chance to see what you’ve done. The ink that I use at home is a water based intaglio ink, and to print relief needs an oil additive. This process takes a little work to get going and I usually have to pull 3 or 4 prints to get the look I want. I am using Akua Intaglio Lamp Black for this particular edition.

When I have access to the press at school, I use a beautiful Praga printmaking press from Canada. When I am home, I use an old bookbinding press from the late 1800s. These presses were originally used to hold the pieces of a book together while it was glued and sewn together. For my purposes, it prints relief plates like my linocut quite well. It does require a good deal of elbow grease to get a good impression on the paper, a sure sign is a nice little embossing around the edges.

I lay the plate and paper in the press, making a little sandwich with a piece of cardboard and a couple felt blankets. The blankets go on top, allowing the paper to conform to the plate and create that embossing.

Wind the wheel clockwise, pushing the top plate down into the base, and then wind it back out again. Pull the paper off the plate and voila! A nice little linocut print of Bleed’s roadster. This is the second pull I took. I made a few more cuts after the first pull. This is a good example of why you should make several proofs before starting the edition with your good paper though, because if you look under the grille, you can see a white area. That was caused by a little shard of linoleum that was cut away. It got stuck in the wet ink and I never saw it. No problem, wipe it away, and re-ink the plate and pull another. In this state, the plate is ready to print the edition, so now I will tear my good paper to size and print the edition tomorrow.

Look for the edition to be available in the classifieds in the next day or two. I will probably bring some with me to the HAMB Drags too.

Oh, and if I make a print based on your car, you get a print too, if you want it. So Bob, if you see this, PM me and I’ll send one out to you.

Hope you liked a glimpse into my workshop. I can’t chop the top of a 37 Chevy, but I like to contribute if I can. Thanks for looking.

Mark

the old ends and the new begins

2006-05-12T22:39:00.000-05:00

well, the semester is finally over. it couldn't have come at a better time. i think that i produced some pretty good work, at least my final crit went well. i could be extremely critical of my pieces, but if i project a little perspective into the situation, i realize that my critical attitude toward my own work is probably due to fatigue.

anyway, now that school is over, i can take precisely one day to enjoy the lack of responsibility. then i must begin to plan the party. the collective is hosting our second show, the art party, saturday night june 17th from 7 to 10. at the same venue as before, it will mostly feature the work that we created over the course of this spring semester at massasoit. charlie, karen, and i all took the same printmaking seminar, and came away with amazingly different results. we have also invited another artist from easton, erin davis. we met erin seriptiously in the printmaking seminar. with a couple shows under my belt, i think that i can relax a bit and enjoy this one a little more than the one last fall. i hope you all can make it. i will send invititaions out to as many as i can to remind you. i think we'll be a bit old fashioned, and go potluck, get our friends and family to make a few dishes. maybe charlie can lean on his sources for some nice wine...

so june 17th 7 to 10 pm. be there. look for a flyer or a post card soon. also check back for a preview or two of the work that will be exhibited.

mark

Down to the Wire

2005-10-04T21:03:00.000-05:00

Note to self- next time you plan to have a show of your work, HAVE THE WORK before you plan the show.

I have been nearly killing myself to get everything ready for the show. Late nights at the printing studio at school to get everything printed (still not done). Long evenings in the home studio doing what I can here. Plus, trying to keep up on the homework. It's enough to drive you batty.

Have no fear, however, because I am not so easily daunted. I will have evrything done in time. Hopefully by tomorrow night, so that I am ready to set up Saturday.

I'm glad that our expectations for this event are rather low key. It'll be hard to disappoint folks that way.

Unless they all think that my work sucks. that would suck.

I think it's pretty good stuff. An interesting journey through the discovery of drypoint as a medium to tell my story. I think you can SEE the discovery in it. Think of this as a preview of what's to come. I have learned so much from this experience that I want to include in my next series of work. In fact, I have many different 'series' in my head. So I'll be busy for some time to come.

Anyway, check us out this Sunday. See above and below for more information.

a.r.t.@n.r.t.

2005-09-13T23:20:00.000-05:00

Art Show Update

2005-09-13T23:08:00.000-05:00

As with most things in life, art is ever changing. Many times, what you have planned is the farthest thing from what actually happens. Remember when I told you that our show would be all about works inspired from spending time in the great outdoors? Ya, well, no. Didn't happen. Don't get me wrong, we've been pretty busy. It's just that things didn't go according to plan. Sometimes you get better art that way anyway.

I'm pretty happy with the stuff I have been working on, and the others have turned out some really cool stuff too. So there will be plenty to see.

We did make one concrete decision that will become reality. We are going to have FUN with this event and not let it stress us out. We want to have a party for our family, friends, and community and just enjoy ourselves and our time with you. So to this end, we have decided to have the show only for one day, Sunday October 9th from 3 until 6pm. We will serve some great refreshments, and open up the gallery to spend some time with you. I really hope you can make it. See the flyer elsewhere on this site for specifics. If you need directions, visit www.nrtofeaston.org to get you there.

new york part 2

2005-04-05T13:01:00.000-05:00

New York

2005-04-04T14:38:00.000-05:00

I went to New York while the Gates project was up. It was my first trip to the city and I had a blast. I also got to check out the Guggenheim and many of the galleries in Chelsea. What a hoot. A few more pictures to come.

A little presedential campaign history

2005-04-04T14:19:00.000-05:00

Long ago, when Adelaide Stevenson was on the old campaign trail, A woman once said to him, "Sir, you have the vote of every thinking American!"

Mr. Stevenson responded, "That's not enough. I need a majority." I wonder if that's why he lost.

But it makes me think. And that's the whole idea I am sure. Art is made when thoughts are put into some sort of physical medium. At least good art is. When you sit in front of that easel, think about what you want to accomplish. If you know you want to create a work of beauty by imitating nature, or the human body, good. If you want to express an obscure political or social point of view, good. If you want to tell your life's story, good. Just think about what it is you are doing, and do it well. To your best ability. That's what it's all about.

art in the outdoors

2005-04-04T13:58:00.000-05:00

It's finally spring! Remember those spring weekend days when mom rolled you out of bed, served you cold cereal, made you clean your room, then kicked you out of the house until sunset? I was fortunate enough to have woods out my back door, so I romped around through the brush, built tree houses, swam in the river, and threw together leantos to hold my club meetings. Well, it's time to get outside again, and that is just what we in the Collective will be doing.

October 7-10, 2005 The Jenny Lind Street Collective will present Art In The Outdoors at Natural Resources Trust on Main Street in North Easton. Please refer back often for updates concerning gallery hours and featured works.

The new collective

2005-04-04T13:45:00.000-05:00

So, it's finally off the ground, this little effort of ours. I am excited to announce the formation of up and coming artists in this special little town of Easton, Massachusetts. Our town, so rich in history, has always been supportive of art, music, and architecture.
We are pleased to be involved in this community in the way we know how, through making the best art possible.