Honey in the Hive

Art supplies emit potential art energy. It’s impossible not to detect their vibrations when you notice them. It follows that the glowing center of that energy galaxy is an art supply store. Behold the prismatic array of various brands of paint, spinning there like hundreds of engaged chakkras on their spotless shelves, calling out to your consumer pleasure receptors. Anyway, it was during one such supply mission years ago in my doodling-during-office-meetings phase that I found the templates section. I brought home one of those little green plastic templates with circles, squares, and hexagons of various sizes (up to about an inch) and started messing around. I was already pattern guy and this tool just furthered my interest in abstract geometric compositions.

“Archipelago” - acrylic on canvas (sold)

“Amplifier” - pen and colored pencil on paper

Then of course I had to bust out my compass.

“Inner Workings” - acrylic on canvas (sold)

I became especially fixated on hexagons and how they interacted with one another, with circles and rectangles, stumbling upon their potential for 3D effects. What an pleasing shape. I came to further admire beehives and game boards. Soon I was craving bigger hexagons but large templates for those did not appear to exist. I found a company in Louisiana that would custom cut plexiglass for me, so I designed two hexagon template set and they cut them for me. I was in business!

A whole series of drawings and then paintings poured forth. Things got bigger.

“The Rift” - acrylic on canvas (collection of the artist)

“Emergence Refraction” - acrylic on canvas

“Slice of Gear Cake” - acrylic on canvas (sold)

Hexagons connected like the intricate reinforced girder lacework of late 19th century Bridges and arcades. One hexagon drawing connected to three others. The thought appeared: “What if I had 16 connected drawings?” I’d like to have some words with the entity that generated that thought. Turns out seamlessly connecting 16 drawings on paper to a secure backing strata involves a whole lot of unexpected engineering and furrowed brows.

After the massive half year-long “Vibration Lands” project (featuring templates and many of my previously-developed patterns), during a phone call I was messing about with a pen and paper, connecting hand-drawn hexagons. That led to what became the “Freeform Hexa” series of paintings on paper.

I found I could sort of vaguely guide the push and pull of the design, as though it were expanding and contracting in places. Fun! I made more, playing with various color combinations. On the tenth piece, I thought to introduce the element of gradients, with a sequence of every other hexagon getting progressively lighter, darker, or morphing into a different color. Whoa. What if I tried a bigger piece like that?

Well that turned out great, if I do say so. Such a sense of movement, more so than in my template-based pieces. Ok, then what if I want to go bigger with this free form hexagon intermingled gradient thing? A month later I had a completed canvas and some aching arm hands. Ok! So what if (you can see how I keep getting into trouble) I connected it to another one? Another month and so much paint later:

“Symphony Wave” - acrylic on canvas (diptych)

So many, many waves of choreographed dancing hexagons (and a few errant pentagons and septagons). Must take a breather from all this painting. But I do like this process. How about trying it using my old pals, the colored pencils? And what if the waves were more wavelike?

Andrew Chalfen: Blog

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