In Serious Trouble – Cast Your Vote! Vote here or on Facebook or Linked-in or email me leonejean@aol.com

Which piece of art do you think will sell:

When I was down at the Texas National, the Art Department at Stephen F. Austin State University asked me if I would be willing to make and donate a piece of art for their annual auction to raise funds for scholarships that go to art students.  Good cause so naturally I said yes.

They then handed me a 12″ square of white washed wood and told me that was what I had to make into a piece of art. The auction is called the 12 x 12 Art Auction & Scholarship Fundraiser.  So I haul the square home and start to mull over what I am going to do with this 12 inch square of wood that is whitewashed.

Option One:

A foot by a foot by a foot.  A moment of hilarity leaps into my brain and I think, how funny it would be to mark out a ruler along the top of the piece and then take a plaster cast of my foot and mount it on the square so you get a foot by a foot.  This struck me as per genius.

Option Two:

My brother comes by and I tell him my plan.  He is looking at the block and then says, “Joe jr’s foot is just about 12 inches long maybe he would do it for you.”  This is even a better idea, I think.  My nephew comes by, I measure his foot, it is in fact a foot long!  I then ask him if he will let me ink the bottom on his foot and will he then press it on to the block.  He agrees.

Game Changer:

Okay I have the whole scheme going in my head about how this is going to work out and how funny it will be.  Then a little thought flickers through my head: “Exactly how many crazed people will be attending this auction that think this is a good idea and want to hang it on their wall?”

This stupid thought then makes me re-think my whole plan.  After all they are trying to raise money and the foot thing will either be a boom or bust.  Not a lot of middle ground with it I think.  So what will sell.

Option Three:

Well it is Texas and anything Texas will probably sell.  So I come up with a new idea.  I will make a piece called “A Lone Star Fourth of July”.  That should sell.

I begin to paint a Texas Flag on to the block.

I find a photo of the State flag of Texas and then begin to block it out on the square.

Almost done, needs touch up.

Now the plan is to then take some photos that I took in New York City of the fireworks they do annually on the 4th of July.  The absolute best!  I will then take sections of the fireworks, print them on the transparent emulsion transfer medium that I used to make Rainy Day Panes, (see post  11-22-15) and slide them on top of the Lone Star State Flag.

I realize that the painting is too bright and I need to make it look old.  Hey what are sanders for.

After judicious sanding, the piece now looks old.

At this point, I finally go and look at the photographs I took of the fireworks in NYC in 2011 and 2012.  The plan was put the white fireworks on the blue section, red and blue fire works on the white section and yellow fireworks on the red section.  Sounded good.  But, remember we make plans, the Gods laugh.  I have no GOOD shots of the blue, red or yellow fireworks.  This project is DOOMED.  I have to ship it in 7 days.

Okay people VOTE:  Should I return to my original plan, Option 1 (Plaster Cast), move to Option 2 (inking my nephew’s foot) or Option 3, try to make the flag idea work.  I could probably photoshop color on to the white fireworks.  You can vote here, or on Facebook or on linked-in or email me leonejean@aol.com