"Shape, Color, and Line"
Clay Monoprint, Oil Paint, and Clay Slip
18" x 20"
I am interested in Kandinsky's 1928 work, "On the Points," viewable at:
https://www.wikiart.org/en/wassily-kandinsky/on-the-points-1928
His work, now found in Paris, focuses on shape, color, and line, all consistently important to the artist. My work here explores some of the same elements, obviously modified for the different mediums.
The primary two clay slips utilized in the work shown here were colored by Venetian Red and Pthalo Blue pigments. (Those colors are impacted here by the color of the clay itself, as well as the ratio of the pigment to the clay. This photograph was also taken before the print has completed dried, during which the colors will change somewhat.)
Phthalocyanine Blue is a crystalline, synthetic pigment first created in the late 1920s, and sold commercial beginning in the mid-thirties under the trade name, Monastral. At the turn of the century, it was the most produced pigment.
It would be reasonable to think of rust when viewing Venetian Red. The pigment was initially made from almost pure iron oxide, specifically matching the iron oxides shades found in Venice. However, today's pigments will often use synthetic red iron oxide.
The pigment was quite popular in Italian Rennaissance paintings, and English armies utilized Venetian red dyes for their uniforms through much of the 1800s, giving us the term Redcoats. The pigment is quite durable, with 16,000-year-old similarly-colored cave paintings in France still vibrant. Fortunately, iron is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust, so we have an excellent source for red pigments readily available. Or is that red-ily?