"What were you trying to spell?"

When I was in marching band, my parents sat in the stands at St. Charles High School and watched our formations on the field. When I was collected to go home, they commented on how nice we sounded and looked. Then Dad asked the question, "What were you trying to spell?" That's just it. We weren't trying to spell anything and that was my Dad's sense of humor.

Sometimes marching band formations can be a little like abstract art. The formations are rehearsed and engrained, then music is added and rehearsed, it starts to look better but sounds shaky, and then it is complete at game time performance with the hope it looks and sounds like it was intended to look and sound. From the four pictures I took, the process was the same.

The title of my piece is called, Color #1, because I wasn't trying to "spell" anything. It was just an exploration into using tape for more than just a border- and I love to play with color. If you are looking for something in it, there really was no intention of making anything in particular. Just art. It would have went the same way for my reply if he asked me again, "Dad, we weren't trying to spell anything."

Abstract art process

Materials: 5x7 Image on

Strathmore Windmill Watercolor Paper

140 lb, 11x14

Paint Tape

Prang Watercolor Ovals

Faber-Castell Gelatos

Faber-Castell Cakes

Foundation/Formation

Add Color

Dress Rehearsal

 

Final Performance