Fun in the Sun (18" x 24" by 2" deep)

Upon first examination, "Fun in the Sun" is just as the title implies, a light hearted look at fun in the sun and on the beach. However, buried under the layers of paint, some completely hidden are my personal subversive fears and concerns about clean, safe, water being destroyed by our culture's oil dependency and general profligacy. Of course my fear is based in reality. The Deepwater Horizon disaster on April 20th, 2010 and the subsequent Brobdingnagian oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico has all but been forgotten, though dead turtles and poupoises continue to wash ashore in Alabama, Louisiana and Florida, and marshlands continue to die as well.

I hope the "WATERWORKS" will serve to remind people that they depend on oceans and marshlands, not just for fun, but for their very lives.

More Waterworks

Two new mixed media distressed paintings

Clean Water, mixed media distressed paint, July 16, 2011(8" x 8")

I'm still hopping to put together a show of all "The Waterworks," including the mixed media distressed paintings, photo montages, and pastels. Meanwhile, these very small artworks should move better than the larger pieces. So, I'm cranking them out.

Life Without Clean Safe Water, mixed media distressed paint, July 16, 2011 (8" x 8")

"All These Thoughts"

I finished the first in a new batch of the small mixed media distressed paintings yesterday. All of these little works (part of a larger body of mixed media distressed paintings) are 8 x 8 inch squares. Hopefully many people will be able to purchase these inexpensive artworks. I so enjoy the process of working on the distressed paintings because of their accidental nature. It is so difficult to predict what will happen in each layer of the painting, and I maintain control over that through hard-lined division of space based on the American Precisionist paintings of people like Charles Demuth. This batch of paintings is part of the "Waterworks," all art about WATER in capital letters, the ocean, fresh water lakes, rivers! Because I live near two beaches and coastal water systems I have become supremely aware of the threat our litter and use of dirty energy poses to water, to all aquatic life, and by extension to all life on earth, including each and every human being. My hope is that everyone becomes more aware of the necessity of unpolluted water to their very existence on this earth!

Safe Beach

John Bittinger Klomp, "Safe Beach" (12" x 14")

This is the first frame I have sculpted. I made it as part of a lesson in Mixed Media taught at Lighthouse Art Center. There are many connections with other artists that build/make their own frames or containers for their artwork. Joseph Cornell's assemblage provides wonderful historical examples of constructed containers/boxes.

Joseph Cornell, "Unititled (Tilly Losch)" 1935-38*

Instead of starting from scratch, I bought a small raw wood frame and sculpted with craft clay over top. I glued actual beach sand and shells to the clay, gilded and stained the finished product. I'm pleased with the results, but want to take this further. In the future I will do more of these frames and boxes with found objects, gild and distress them in ways similar to the paintings that will go in them.




*Joseph Cornell (American, 1903-1972). Untitled (Tilly Losch), ca. 1935–38. Box construction. 10 x 9 1/4 x 2 1/8 in. (25.4 x 23.5 x 5.4 cm). Found at About.com, http://arthistory.about.com/od/from_exhibitions/ig/jcsfmoma_1107/jcni_02.htm. The Robert Lehrman Art Trust, Courtesy Aimee and Robert Lehrman, Washington, D.C. Photo: Mark Gulezian/Quicksilver. © The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation / Licensed by VAGA, New York. It is known that use of copyrighted images for one time scholarly porposes is lawful under USA copyright.

Waterworks, April 11, 2011

The latest in this body of work is titled "Water Sports." It is larger than the other most recent mixed media distressed paintings,16 inches x 16 inches.

Waterworks, April 6, 2011

Safe H20 #2

Another of 4 small mixed media distressed paintings (8" x 8") - I worked back and forth on this one, photographing the image, adding type to the photographed image, printing it out, cutting, and laminating pieces into the original. Using more distressed paint, shooting, printing, cutting and laminating.

Waterworks, April 1, 2011

Such beautiful water. The color was overwhelming. It is clean, clear, aqua. Will we be able to keep it that way? The distressing indicates the possibility of decay because we make layers of garbage, trash and poisons. The gold is for the richness we have now.

Safe H2O (8” x 8”)

The latest of the “Waterworks” - one of five different small mixed media distressed paintings plus one 20” x 20” painting - I’ve also decided to make prints of some of these images. These new paintings are central balanced designs, and the next four will be asymmetrical balance.

Sold at Arts United Art Exhibit in Fort Lauderdale

Waterworks #5

It’s south Florida water at its best, part of “The Waterworks,” this mixed media distressed painting sold last night at the "Art Explosion" opening on Sunrise.

Let’s all work to keep our water and air clean and clear!

Peace on Earth

During the Christmas season, 2010, Lighthouse Art Center where I teach sponsored an Exhibition that was underwritten by Mrs. Kathryn W. Davis. Ms. Davis is 103 years old and she continues to do her own work. The winner of first place in the exhibit, Ahni Sallaway brought her work all the way from Annapolis, Maryland. For that exhibit I created a mixed media distressed painting titled “Pacem in Terris.” I’ve since discovered that for many people the title conjures visions of Pope John XXIII encyclical of the same title in which he outlines his ideas for establishing world peace. I have no problem with that. However, my vision was to stress inclusiveness of all religion and human spirituality under God, who resides with all of us, no matter our religion. I know immediately that makes me something other than Christian in the mind of many a fundamentalist. Sad, isn’t that. I doubt that Jesus himself would see it their way.

Peace to all.

The Waterworks

Last April 20, 2010, the day of the Deepwater Horizon Disaster, I was taking pictures on the beach in south Florida. I looked down at my feet and put the shutter on auto repeat for the first time as the waves washed back and forth over my feet. I created a photomontage from those pictures, which I documented in “The Artwork of John Bittinger Klomp.” After that I made more photomontages based on photographs taken at every beach I visited. Additionally, I recommenced a series of mixed media paintings that rely heavily on distressed paint surfaces. I had done many works using the technique back in the 1980’s and 90’s. Most of these new works are based on water. Coincidentally all of my pastel drawings and gay themed photomontages are about water as well. So, I’ve decided to call all my artwork, “The Waterworks.”

In this particular journal, I will detail the creation of that part of “The Waterworks” based on the mixed media distressed paint technique. I began making a set of small 8” x 8” artworks because these could be done more quickly than larger works. The example above is the second of the eight small pieces finished in the past three months. I will add images of the other mixed media distressed paintings during the next several weeks, as well as larger artworks as I make them.