Dustin Blankenship (chuckbees)
stacks
India ink on Stonehenge paper,
38in x 50in
The WIP theme relates more to my overall development as an artist and is not necessarily limited to this one piece. Doodles on folders and notebooks in sixth grade eventually transitioned to formal sketchbooks in high school. I would fill page after page with black ink and it never felt like anything. It was just a way to pass the time and it kept my mind occupied. For twenty years that's all it was. Then I learned how to screen print and it changed my perspective as to what I had been creating for all of that time. I wondered how I could use all of those doodles, introduce color, and start to build layers. But when I went back to those sketchbooks I wasn't happy with the source material. So, my focus switched back to doodling. Only this time it felt more like drawing. I wasn't just filling blank space. Now I was considering composition, pattern, scale, and complexity. Certainly there has been evolution in my style, but that evolution is not complete, and it may never be. Black lines on everything is the only goal.
Dustin Bowen
What does it mean to be relentless?
Acrylic and Paint Marker on panel,
18in x 24in
True experimentation doesn't come from staying in your comfort zone or straying away from risks. For years I focused on the medium of collage to bring my ideas and feelings into a visual form. This piece is both a new direction and a return to the most basic artist skills. For years I would doodle, sketch and scribble in the margins of notebooks, inside covers of journals and on the backs of post it notes. I would often focus on repetitive marks, lines and shapes that would eventually start to look like other things and then I would make them come to life. In this piece I wanted to start by just mark making, alternating line types, shapes, sharp points, expressive marks and then just see what happened. I put in the time and here we are. The final piece is both the beginning and the end. The work is never done.
Lindsay Farrell
Spirit Portrait of a Friend
Acrylic on plywood,
21in x 28.5in
Spirit Portrait is my interpretation of Feminine Connection, whose presence has grounded me through difficult moments. I painted her as a figure made of clouds—soft, intuitive, and shifting—framed by her two dogs, who embody companionship and protection. She leans into a cactus, a symbol of her ability to face discomfort with openness instead of resistance. Against the dark backdrop, her presence becomes a gentle but unwavering force: a reminder that resilience can be tender and courageous at the same time. I drew reference from, and listened to “The Divine Feminine” by Mac Miller during the first conception of this painting. I don’t consider this piece complete. There is something missing still and I’m still working on what exactly it is.