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The majority of the works presented here were completed in
2003. With the ART Hive buzzing with activity daily, I find
myself doing more work and experimenting more with my process.
I am now fully recognizing the value of sharing space with other
artists.
The "Baby
Pictures" series began in January. Studiomate Brian
Wootan had introduced to me the construction material called
"bender board". Throughout my painting career, I've
sought out ways to break from the norm of a rectangular flat
canvas to create objects as much as images for the wall. This
new material allowed me to essentially create any shape I wanted
to, be freely irregular in my carpentry (I'm a terrible carpenter)
and experiment further with canvas stretching strategies.
To the curious as to the subject of the paintings... no, Cassandra
and I are not due to be parents soon. However, it was interesting
to see that the images I would find in the initial markings
continued to focus into being children of different sorts.
I videotaped the process of painting while working on these
pieces. I have created short movies presenting each and hope
to have them here for your viewing soon. Best bet, as time has
been at a minimum, is to come to the open house on the 26th
of April where these videos will be shown.
The "Couple
Series" originated from a desire to create pleasant
paintings and to explore the complexities of landscape painting.
This was a project started in 2002. I had a number of very nice
wooden frames donated to me by past UT instructor David Plourde.
Unfortunately, I never had a chance to use them as none of the
works I made fit. So, I bought or made canvases specifically
to fit each of the frames I had. I began the drawings with the
canvases in the frames. My thought was that their elaborate
quality would inspire elaborate work. Once I began painting,
I would take them out so as not to damage the frames, but would
return them to the frames as they dried so that I could continue
to view them as finished pieces at each step in the painting
process.
Painting took a hiatus in February as I transformed
my painting space into an illustration space. I had been commissioned
by the RGU Group to
create illustrations for a children's book about the armadillo.
You can view the pictures online here.
If you would like to be notified when the book is published
or to request a signed edition, please write: njensen@austin.rr.com
Immediately following shipment of the armadillo
illustrations, the desks went away and the easels came back
to the studio space. America was in the midst of going to war.
After six intensive weeks of tight, slow, and cute watercolors,
my tensions, frustrations, and helplessness with the world situation
combined with my need to make full, rough, gestural marks. The
remaining works on this site are the product of such merging.
Chalk and pastels were flying into little bits as I attacked
and beat on the surplus of scrap matboard I had about. I began
to concentrate more fully on matching the rhythms of the music
being played with the rhythm and intensity of my marking. I
also began once again to attempt to practice circular breathing
methods while working.
I hope that you enjoy this return to the non-thumbnail
style of art presentation on the web. For those of you that
have asked... Yes, I am cleaning up dead links and returning
some of my earlier web experiements to the website soon.
BTW - I need to make some cash quick to pay Uncle
Sam so if you see something you like, get it now while the prices
are good. I am currently pursuing exhibit possibilities in Houston,
Dallas and San Antonio. This action, I believe, will get things
going in new and positive directions. I'm excited for the possibilities.
Thank you for your time and interest,
Nathan Jensen
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