The new ChrisBeachamPaints and ChrisBeacham websites

I've moved my old Sandvox based site over to Wordpress (Twenty Fourteen theme) and I like it. It took a while but I think it's cleaner and more attractive. Go to chrisbeachampaints.com and let me know what you think.

I've also established chrisbeacham.com as my personal site that I'm using to sell myself after moving to Brooklyn without a job. It's also Wordpress using the Portfolio theme Ditto on letting me know what you think.

You never can tell

So Karen and I have given away most of our work because we had no place to keep it. It's gone to family, friends, workmates and acquaintances. This one I posted about in 2013 (see below). My older son liked it so he took it. But before he did he rotated it counterclockwise and made it into an abstract landscape (if that makes sense). Certainly is more interesting. If you own any of my paintings feel free to turn them any way you want!

In Brooklyn & about back to painting!

There's been no art making for a long time. Art thinking, yes, but no art making. Many reasons but the best excuse is no good studio access.

Those days are over -- we move into the new place in Park Slope, Brooklyn tomorrow. We won't have a big studio but it'll be good enough with good light. Hopefully I'll be able to post a new thing or two soon.

Now to find a job....but before that two more B&W (or sort of) that I haven't posted.

Earlier black and white pieces

I've posted some of the black and white pieces that I've been doing with graphite powder. I was actually doing some B&W before that, just in a different format and medium. So here are a couple of them.

24 x 28 Untitled

This is black acrylic and white ink on plywood. I'm not sure why I started doing these pieces but I did a number of them.

24 x 24 Untitled

This one is similar though not as successful I think.

11 x 15

And here's one more on paper. All acrylic I think.

More the black and white (mostly) things I've been working on...

These generally all begin with watercolor paper. I rub wax (just on old candle) on the paper where I don't want the graphite powder to adhere. Then I rub the powder on the paper, lots sometimes, less other times. The powder really sticks to the wax (you'll see very black there), but how much powder sticks to the raw paper varies. Next step: spray fixative on the piece -- usually a couple of times. Then I start using various tools to scrape away wax leaving the white paper showing. That's pretty much it in a nut shell.

Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. Maybe they're just boring, other times hopeless. I've been working with some of the those that are bit boring and cutting them in ways. I think I'll start trying to also cut and rearrange, collage, whatevah -- basically mixed media.

Here are a few examples:

15 x 22. Cut and backed with black paper

14 x 17. Cut and backed with white paper

14 x 17. Cut and backed with black paper

This one of the left has one variation. I have cherry stain powder used in woodworking (I used to make furniture). I'll spread a bit of the stain powder and add a bit of water. It creates various shades of color as you see on the left.

I've also put it on a white background. I'm not sure which works better.



Lastly, the one below just follows the basic formula I described above.

14 x 17