Falling Forward
Tim McFarlane Studio Newsletter, September 2024
It’s Tuesday afternoon after Labor Day and summer almost already seems miles away in the rear view mirror. There’s a couple of weeks left in the season, but as we all know from vacations being things of the recent past, school having started and the new exhibition season ramping up, fall is here.
With that said, this newsletter is starting with an announcement of my second solo exhibition of the year, opening in October:
Black Drawings and Other Things You Didn’t Know About will consist of recent “Black Drawings” paintings, other works that were completed over the past four years (some never exhibited previously), a couple of new wall-based installations and two new large works on panel.
The show will be on view October 14-December 18, 2024, with an opening reception on Thursday, October 16th, from 5:30pm-7:30pm, in The Gallery at Mercer County Community College, located in West Windsor, New Jersey, just east of Trenton, NJ. All works on view will be available through the Bridgette Mayer Gallery.
I’m very much looking forward to exploring some interesting visual conversations between works in this show and I hope that some of you’ll be able to experience it in person!
Summer studio
This summer was one of lots of experimentation, letting go and finding new paths through the reuse of materials.
It’s not new to this year, but above are a couple of pages from one of my unorthodox sketchbooks, in reality an old gardening book I purchased from a second-hand store years ago for about $2. I’ve worked on it in fits and starts, but this summer, I paid more attention to it and went at it a bit more. I’m a fan of having marks to work against, in this case the type and photos, while making a new document of some kind.
In case you’re wondering, the original book is House and Garden’s Complete Book of Gardens, published in 1955.
Continuing the theme, I’ve also used pages from magazines that a design firm in my studio building was getting rid of. There’s no specific goal here except to play, reuse and birth something new.
I’ve been having fun with what I call “free form collages” making use of magazine pages, drawings, paint skins, acrylic paint and more. I’ve already made a larger piece using some of the ideas above that’ll be in the Mercer County Community College show I mentioned above. I’m thinking of these as sketches, in the hopes of developing more works over the fall and winter.
Ideas of collage has been part of my work for a while now. Many of my paintings since 2013 feature fractures of images across surfaces in many ways, like with the use of insets to house marks counteracting other actions around them. Lately I’ve begun thinking about deeper connections between how experiences of the exterior world collide with our processing of events, and how that comes out materially in my work.
I keep thinking of the concept of “third places” and how they impact our lives. Third places are basically anywhere that’s not home or work where we can gather and interact with people outside of school or work. Think parks, barbershops, libraries and more. Collage is the bringing together of materials that were this or that, but now make up something altogether different, a third thing, so to speak.
Photographer C. Nancy Evans contacted me in July about taking part in her project of photographing artists in their studio. These are two of my favorites from the series.
Catching up
Last week, I had the opportunity to properly catch up with friend and former co-worker, David Parker, at the Sheraton Philadelphia-Downtown, where four of my paintings are on exhibit in the lobby, now through December. I hadn’t been back to the space since first helping to install the works back in late May. It was a thrill walking through the lobby doors to see these large works taking space on an even larger wall. It was even better being able to sit down, have breakfast and be able to look at them. Feeling very grateful.
Walking and falling but still moving forward
The inspiration for this month’s newsletter title comes from Laurie Anderson’s song, “Walking and Falling” from her album, Big Science. I really like Laurie Anderson’s poetic way song writing, performances and just the way she speaks.I don’t know her at all, but from interviews I’ve seen with her, I also admire her as a human being. She’s one of those artists who amazes me with her curiosity, how she reaches out with and stretches ideas. Continuously questioning and searching.
top right: Majestic Radicals, 2023, acrylic on canvas, 50” x 70”
Bottom left: New Status Update, 2023, mixed media on panel, 20” x 16”
Bottom right: Walk With Me, 2023, acrylic, spray paint on canvas, 50” x 50”
Yes, I know it’s early, but I have to make sure that If you’re thinking about bringing a piece of original art into your life or as a gift for a lived one for the holidays, consider one of my paintings or works on paper (including prints). There are nearly 50 recent works available directly on my artist page on the Bridgette Mayer Gallery website. Gallery contact: (Phone) 215.413.8893, (email) bmayer@bmayerart.com
Exit Summer
We caught a last day at the beach on Labor Day over in Strathmere, NJ. It’s a pretty laid back beach community that’s a world away from the Wildwood/Atlantic City boardwalks and beaches to the north.
It was a perfect weather day with it not being too hot and the water was just right, as well. The cherry on top was the sunset from both the beach and bayside. The colors of the sky were so amazing! What you see here is what I saw, no editing of any sort was made to these shots.
In the meantime, I’ve updated some things on my website (it’s a constant work-in-progress), so give a visit when you have a chance: TimMcFarlane.com
That’s about it for now, thanks for reading and I’ll be back in October, just in time for sweater weather!
I love the description of collages as a third thing. Lovely end of summer beach photos, Tim!
Two solo shows in one year! The work you are making is great. I love seeing all they ways you approach your work.