Keeping the Promise (For Now)

Hi all:

So, as the title of this post says, I'm going to attempt to keep my promise and post more frequently.  I just got back from vacation, I sent out my official new website announcement this evening, so no time like the present, right?  Yep, I agree.

I've been thinking about it and I feel like my blog followers are the truly "special" folks who are really invested in my work, exploits, shenanigans, etc.  And, while I post pictures regularly to Instagram and Facebook, I feel like this should be the place where you get a little something extra.  Maybe it's works-in-progress, a finished piece before the rest of the cyber-universe gets to see it, or maybe something just for you.  I've done this in the past to varying degrees, but I've never made it part of the blog's mission.  Well, now it is.

To that end, while I was traveling last week, I did a lot of shooting.  And, while I posted a lot of images up to my various social media accounts, this one I held back.  Part of the reason is it needed a little photo editing love, and the other reason is I think I may want to do something with it, but haven't decided.  It has no title yet and is hot off the presses, so let me know what you think.

I did a ton of shooting with my vintage plastic camera as well, so expect some new images from that in the near future (both straight and mixed media).  Otherwise, stay cool out there and more to come very, very soon.

-Marc

New and Improved...

Hi everyone:

Welcome to the new and improved blog.  I know it's been a long time since you've seen postings from me.  The reasons for this are many and varied, but its partly because I've been working on providing a better visual experience for everyone - both here and on my website.  While the website itself obviously received a major face-lift, the blog will basically operate the same way.  You'll see updates on my work, upcoming shows and other art-related goodies - but with a slightly refreshed look.

Stay tuned for some upcoming show announcements and other updates.  And as always, thanks for your support.

-Marc

On To The Next One

Hi everyone:

Just a quick note to thank everyone who has come out to see "Man Made" at Gallery Plan B in DC.  There's still a week left for those of you who haven't made it there yet, and it's a great group of work.   The show has been selling quite well in general, and in fact, I purchased a piece myself from the show - only the second time I've ever purchased from a show I've been in.  Drop by if you can... it will be worth the trip.

In the meantime, I'm gearing up for Gallery Plan B's "Year End Show."  This one is just a big art extravaganza... it's a showcase for all of the gallery's artists and it's their largest group show of the year.  The coolest part is that the show is constantly changing because when a piece is purchased, it goes home with the buyer that day and a new piece (either by that artist or by someone else) is put up in its place.   I like to go more than once for this very reason... each visit is a completely unique experience.

Information is as follows:

Year-End Group Show
Gallery Plan B
November 28 - December 24th
Opening Reception on Saturday, December 6th, 6-8 pm

The work is already safely in the gallery, and several of my pieces will be included.  Some work you may have seen before, but others will be new.  The reception for this one is always a great party, so mark your calendars!

That's all for now.  Lots of other new work in the pipeline - so more very, very soon!

-Marc

Too long, but maybe worth the wait

Hi all:

Well, I just took a look and realized I hadn't written a post since April!  APRIL!  Wow.  A few things have happened since then, which I'll get to in a bit, but apologies for being so absent.  Many of you have seen updates via Facebook, so that makes me feel a little better, but I'm going to try and be better about posting here as well.

Lots of stuff happening here, as I'm sure there is with each and every one of you.   Lots of traveling, exploring and photographing has been happening of late, and the latter relates to the main news I'm about to relay.  After all, that's why you guys are here, right?

The first piece of news to share is that I am now fully and exclusively represented in stock by Aurora Photos.  Previously, I was signed on simply to their iPhoneography category.  But, they've made some changes over the past few months and after having some conversations with them, we decided to expand our relationship a bit.   I've been holding some images back until their internal changes took place, but now that they have, I am feverishly providing them images.  So, keep on eye on Aurora Photos in the coming months for some new photographs perfectly suited for everyone's publishing needs!  Ok, maybe not everyone's, but someone's!

The second item on the agenda is to mention that I have an upcoming show.   This one will be with my now old friends at Gallery Plan B, my favorite gallery in Washington DC.  I have 4 brand new pieces I'll be showing, and they are quite different from what I've shown in the past.  And when I say brand new, I mean that some of the prints are drying...RIGHT NOW.  So, if you're a DC-local, come on out for some wine, some art and a generally awesome time.  Even if you're not local; drive, fly, teleport, whatever...!  I'll be there, so stop by and say hello.

Gallery Plan B
1530 14th Street NW
Washington, DC
Opening Reception:  Saturday, October 18th, 2014
Time:  6-8pm

That's the main stuff for now.  Watch for the official show announcement to be posted here in the next couple of weeks.  Otherwise, take care of yourselves, enjoy the start of your autumn (for those of you that are fortunate enough to have autumn) and keep checking back for more news!

-Marc

New and Very Different

Hi everyone:

I can't believe I haven't popped in to say hello since November!  Seeing as how it's now April, that may be a record for the longest I've been away, but I can assure you I have a pretty solid excuse.

For those of you that don't know, I ended up needing carpal tunnel surgery after a very long and difficult project at work.  And since using the computer is what caused the problem in the first place, I needed to take a break from that for a bit.  Creating new work was also not happening for a while.  But, I'm about 95% better now and actually have some new images to share.

Some of you have seen these new images on Facebook, but here is where the die-hard fans (if you're out there) get some background info on these.

First up, we have a re-worked oldie, but goodie:

After the image in my last post, I felt like it was time to experiment with some new techniques. I was digging through some old files and found this polaroid image.  It's one I've always liked and in fact, I did a large 11x14 inch c-print of this image about 15 years ago.   This 669 print seemed like the perfect candidate to experiment with, and here I ended up using wax crayons (furniture crayons to be specific) on top of the print itself.   I kinda like how it turned out...and though it's clearly a one-off, I get the feeling that executing this image may be an important step...because...


next up, we have a piece that could be a new direction for me.

The origins of this image go back quite a long time...probably 8 or 9 years.  The original photo this is derived from was actually a contact print from a pinhole negative.  I also rediscovered this image in my old files, and decided to play with it a bit...cutting it out, scanning it and then putting it through my normal process to arrive at a rice paper print.  But then something happened...the rice paper print didn't work properly, but the remnant ink it was transferred from had exactly the look I was going for.  In every other case, I've thrown those remnants away...it never even occurred to me to use them.  But, in this case, it worked quite well, and from there, I went to town with some charcoal...something I hadn't used since I was in art school close to 20 years ago!  I kind of consider this image the 3rd in a trilogy of work that extends back a long way...both of the others were mixed-media self-portraits of a sort, and I look at this piece in a similar way.  It was a fun experience and I must admit that I'm quite pleased with the results.

I have a feeling that I'll be doing more work like this in the future.  Some fun discoveries happened along the way and this is a method for me to incorporate some other things into my work in an effective way.  I like them, and I hope you do too.

And a promise...I will post again sometime next week...even if I don't have anything interesting to say.

Be well,

Marc 

Flurry of Activity

Hi everyone:

It's been quite a while…in fact, I didn't realize how long until I looked at the date of my last post.  Sorry for the long delay - lots going on and life has been preventing me from creating new work.  But, things have finally begun to calm down and today was one of my most prolific in a very, very long time.

First on the list is a brand new print.  And when I say brand new, I mean only a few hours hold.   I've been planning this one for quite some time…months actually.  It's an image I took while I was in Iceland last year, and as soon as I got the film back, I knew that it would be next in the queue for this series.   It turned into a bit of a struggle, but thankfully the image ended up looking much better dry than wet, and overall, I'm pretty pleased.

I still don't have a title for it…and honestly, I'm kinda open to suggestions on this one.  I've never done this before, but feel free to make some suggestions in the comments below.  As an added incentive, if I decide to take anyone's suggestion, that person will receive a free artist's proof of this image.  However, "if" is the operative word…I still reserve the right to come up with one on my own, but I feel like if someone ends up helping out, the least I can do is repay the favor.

Besides a new print, I also managed to do some shooting today - both plastic camera for the painterly series, and some digital images for the vintage toy series.  More to come on those soon, but sufficed to say, there's lots of new work in the pipeline.

Finally, I'll be showing at Gallery Plan B in Washington, DC again - this time for an end of year/holiday show.   Opening reception will be on December 7th, so all you local peeps, mark your calendars.  I'll post the official digital invite as soon as it's available.

So, start suggesting those titles.  One small piece of advice…I would take a look at my website at www.sirinsky.com to get a sense of how I typically title my work.  Just go into the FOTO portfolio, click on an image and roll over the "image info" tab on the lower right.

More to come soon, and in the meantime, good luck!

-Marc

Shaping Up Quite Nicely

Hi everyone:

Well, it has definitely been a while!  Nice to talk to y'all again.  In honor of how things have been lately, the blogging music today is The Chaos by the Futureheads.  Pretty much sums it all up.  But, lots to report and lots to show you.

The exhibition at Gallery Plan B went quite well…as I mentioned in my last post, there were some nice reviews and the work was very well-received overall.  The work being featured was a select group from my ongoing "Foto" (A.K.A "Painterly) series, and a couple of works sold, including one of the earliest pieces I created.  Positive feedback + sales = a very good first outing at this space.  I look forward to working with them more in the future.

In the meantime, I've been working on this vintage toy series.  It was going really smoothly for a while, but then I hit a bit of a speed bump…a play on words that I shall explain.  The issue I've run into is that most of the toys that have made for compelling imagery are vehicles.  There are a couple of images I've done outside of that which look outstanding on their own, but don't really work well with the rest of the series.  I may need to hold those out for either the next series, or show them as singles. But, a working title for the others popped into my head a few days ago, and I can't seem to shake it…which likely means it will stick.  So, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the initial group of images from the "Vehicular Manslaughter" series.

There will definitely be more, but I'm feeling like this is a good start and will give y'all a feel for where things are headed.  This is my first ever all digital photo series, so the workflow is taking some getting used to.  Instant gratification is not something my work has ever lent itself to…at a minimum, it's been a both a film and digital process, but oftentimes, there is a printmaking component thrown in as well.  But, I'm still agonizing over each and every image, which in my opinion, is the way it should be.

I must admit it has been nice to not have to wait a month for a final image, but have no fear, the other processes and styles of work I've spent years cultivating aren't going anywhere.  This is just a fun little break from the norm.  It's been a blast so far, and I look forward to sharing more of it with you as it becomes available.

Summer is officially over, but the weather here is still nice and toasty.  Go enjoy the last remnants before it's all gone!

-Marc