My Sketchbook- Purse Series

I was looking through my old sketchbooks today and came across this really intimate little series of pen and ink drawings that I that I did sometime around the mid 2000's. Some are more straightforward imaginings of coin purses, and others get downright bizarre. I thought they were interesting enough to scan and post here.

Sketchbook: Purse Series #1

Sketchbook: Purse Series #2

Sketchbook: Purse Series #3

Sketchbook: Purse Series #4

Sketchbook: Purse Series #5

Sketchbook: Purse Series #6

Sketchbook: Purse Series #7

Sketchbook: Purse Series #8

Sketchbook: Purse Series #9

Sketchbook: Purse Series #10

Paul Booker- "Uncharted Waters" June 2013

Friday was the opening reception for my two-person exhibition at the Anya Tish gallery in Houston. The show was called "Uncharted Waters". I focused completely on sculpture for this exhibition. I only had three months to prepare for this show so I've been doing nothing but artwork 24/7 lately. It's nice to finally get a break and catch up on housework, yardwork and maybe even pay more attention to my neglected blog.

Here are some works from the show:

Pink and Gold Hexagons #1, 2013, ink, lexan, steel pins

Pink and Gold Hexagons #1 (angled view), 2013, ink, lexan, steel pins

Pink and Gold Hexagons #1 (detail view), 2013, ink, lexan, steel pins

Meander #2, 2013, ink, lexan, steel pins

Meander #2 (side view), 2013, ink, lexan, steel pins

Clear Frames: Double Cantilever, 2013, ink, lexan, steel pins

Clear Frames: Double Cantilever (detail view), 2013, ink, lexan, steel pins

Clear Frames: Dome Shaped Grid, 2013, ink, lexan, steel pins

Clear Frames: Double Cantilever and Dome Shaped Grid (installation view), 3013

Curved Amber Rectangles #1, 2011, ink, lexan, steel pins

Curved Amber Rectangles #2, 2011, ink, lexan, steel pins

Curved Amber Rectangles #3, 2011, ink, lexan, steel pins

Paul Booker- "Meander" March 2013

My exhibition at Cris Worley Fine Arts in Dallas has been up for a few weeks, but I am just now getting around to posting a few images from the show.

"White Rectangles on Black: Center Grouping"- 2013  Ink, Oil Enamel, Polyurethane

"Meander"- 2013- Ink, Lexan Steel Pins

Side View- "Meander"- 2013

- "

Detail Image- "Meander"- 2013

Left to Right: "Blue Rectangles on Yellow", "Blue Rectangles on White", "Meander"

Detail Image- "Current: Blue Rectangles on Yellow"- 2013

"White Rectangles on Amber: Three Obstacles"- 2013  Ink, Oil Enamel, Polyurethane

Left to Right: "Magenta Rectangles on Red", "Blue Rectangles on Yellow"

Detail Image- "Current: Magenta Rectangles on Red"- 2013

Keystone Shapes: Tilted Half Dome 2010

Paul Booker
Keystone Shapes: Tilted Half Dome- Detail View  2010
Lexan, Ink, Steel Pins

Two Islands:Side View

Paul Booker

Two Islands: Side View 2005
Lexan, Ink, Steel Pins

Yellow Arrows: Cluster- Right Edge

 

Paul Booker

Yellow Arrows: Cluster- Right Edge    2010

Ink, Watercolor on Bristol

18" X 14"

Red Arrows: Three Clusters

Paul Booker
Red Arrows: Three Clusters    2010
Ink, Lexan, Steel Pins mounted on wall
approx. 60" x 48" x 10"

Red Arrows: Three Clusters- Side View
I installed this at my gallery last weekend. For these pieces that spread across the wall, I have a general idea for the location of the clusters in relation to one another, but the layout of the piece depends mostly upon the architectural space in which the piece is going to be installed. For example, when I created this piece in my studio it was largely horizontal, but here it was adapted for a space that is largely vertical.

Cloud Forms: Pinks and Blues

Paul Booker
Cloudforms:Pinks and Blues    2010
Ink, Watercolor on Paper
22" x 30" 

Instabilities in a Heated Layer

This painting got its name and began from an image in the book, "An Album of Fluid Motion". But the image slightly changed with each new layer of oil enamel and is now mostly unrecognizable from the original photo. The image here is tiny, I would suggest clicking on it to enlarge it.

Paul Booker

Instabilities in a Heated Layer    2010

Ink, Oil Enamel, Polyurethane on Panel

8" x 24"

Blue Rectangles: Waveform #2

 

Paul Booker

Blue Rectangles: Waveform #2  (detail image)  2010  

Ink, Lexan, Steel Pins

Balloon Form #2

This is one of the first pieces I've done on canvas in a decade or so. The pen usually doesn't work on canvas because of the rough texture of it, but I put about five layers of primer on the canvas and sanded it until it was completely smooth.

Paul Booker
Balloon Form #2      2010
Ink, Watercolor on Canvas
19"x 19"

Current: Blue Rectangles on Red

Here is another I just finished from the series called Current. This one also has about eight layers of oil enamel rectangles, which means it has about forty layers of clear polyurethane sandwiched in-between. The lower layers of blue turn green because of the natural slight yellow tint of the polyurethane.

Paul Booker
Current: Blue Rectangles on Red    2010
Ink, Oil Enamel, Polyurethane on Panel
16"x 12"

Current: Blue Rectangles on Green

I think I am calling this piece done. It is a small piece, but these oil enamel paintings are usually about six months in the making.

I have only used a single color of blue in this painting. It has about eight layers of blue oil enamel on it and there are five layers of clear polyurethane between each layer of oil enamel, which is slightly yellow in tone and is what turns the successive layers of blue oil enamel green. So in total, there are about forty layers of polyurethane on the painting, which floats the top layers of blue about 1/8" inch above the surface of the panel. 

Current: Blue Rectangles on Green     2010
Ink, Oil Enamel, Polyurethane on Panel
8" x 12"

Keystone Shapes: Balloon Form

These are two views of a currently unfinished piece.

Keystone Shapes: Balloon Form    (unfinished)
Lexan, Ink, Steel Pins
12"x 12" x 10"

Red Arrows: Tunnel- Bottom Right Corner

I finished this piece a few days ago. I photographed a bunch of things I have around the studio yesterday, both finished and unfinished work. I'll be uploading some things as I get them edited.

Red Arrows: Tunnel- Bottom Right Corner   2010
Watercolor and Ink on Bristol
18"x14"

Keystone Shapes

One from the new series of sculpture.

Keystone Shapes: Tilted Half Dome
Lexan, Ink, Steel pins 
16"x 18"x 12"

Something New

This blog started as an outlet for me to focus on things outside my own artwork, and usually things outside the topic of visual art in general... I guess it stems from the idea of the shoeless cobbler or even the landscaper who has a crappy lawn. We all get tired of looking at what we do all day...
 
But I think I might start including personal images.  A kind of sketchbook. Some images might be finished pieces, but most won't, other things might be reference photos or detail images of larger works... I think seeing these pieces I've been looking at for dozens (if not hundreds) of hours in a context outside my studio might be interesting and refreshing. We will see how it goes.

Balloon Form
Watercolor and Ink on Paper
22"x30"

New work in Houston

A recent exhibition of the work of Simeen Farhat and myself at the Anya Tish gallery in Houston. Here are some of my images from the show.

Balloon Form: Spiral #2 (Side View) 2009
Ink, Lexan, Steel Pins

 

Balloon Form: Spiral #2 (Detail) 2009

Ink, Lexan, Steel Pins

 

Black Arrows: Circular Column  2009

Ink, Lexan, Steel Pins

Red Arrows: Two Clusters (Detail)   2009

Ink, Lexan, Steel Pins

Amber Bars: Sloping Structure   2009

Ink, Lexan, Steel Pins

Blue Rectangles: Waveform #4    2009

Ink, Lexan, Steel Pins