RESUME
BIO
Chuck’s visual language is texture and its connection to nature. It is a textural response ranging from the softness of a rose petal, the hardness of a rock, or the atmosphere of a distant mountain range.
Utilizing customized plaster mixes, Chuck buries personal items such as feathers, jute and paper leaving an imprint evocative of spirits and our connection to each other through our ancestry. Each stage of the process is a symbolic ritual and the outcomes are spontaneous. Additional infusions of sumi ink, rust solutions, and various colorations reveal a stain-like presence giving visibility to that which is felt but not seen.
Chuck’s work leaves room for the viewer to make discoveries on their own-a vision quest of potential and an active participant in a greater spiritual sense.
Utilizing customized plaster mixes, Chuck buries personal items such as feathers, jute and paper leaving an imprint evocative of spirits and our connection to each other through our ancestry. Each stage of the process is a symbolic ritual and the outcomes are spontaneous. Additional infusions of sumi ink, rust solutions, and various colorations reveal a stain-like presence giving visibility to that which is felt but not seen.
Chuck’s work leaves room for the viewer to make discoveries on their own-a vision quest of potential and an active participant in a greater spiritual sense.
PROCESS
So, how do I record my experience?
In the past I did mostly large-scale paintings with oil paint, tar, tea bags, acrylic paints, rust solutions, sumi ink, and patterns on canvas. Setting up the surface with gesso layers were intrinsic to that work. I added plaster to my selection of media because I liked the way it stained, imprinted, veiled and reflected light like the gemstones I hunt for occasionally. Plaster has this profound connection to nature in the way it can record the art experience like the lichen patinas on a rock wall. I realized that kind of contrast often caught my eye and lead me to investigate the cause further. Working with these patinas requires some planning in setting up the substrate of plaster to accept added layers of processes to develop more naturally and physically.
In the past I did mostly large-scale paintings with oil paint, tar, tea bags, acrylic paints, rust solutions, sumi ink, and patterns on canvas. Setting up the surface with gesso layers were intrinsic to that work. I added plaster to my selection of media because I liked the way it stained, imprinted, veiled and reflected light like the gemstones I hunt for occasionally. Plaster has this profound connection to nature in the way it can record the art experience like the lichen patinas on a rock wall. I realized that kind of contrast often caught my eye and lead me to investigate the cause further. Working with these patinas requires some planning in setting up the substrate of plaster to accept added layers of processes to develop more naturally and physically.
- I use plaster to set up a base that can accept imprints or stains when wet. I can also add pigments and other items like wood pulp and sand to adjust the surface texture from rough to suede smooth
- I steep feathers, shop rags, and other items with a rust solution and sumi ink to pick up the stain of these objects-a recording of their presence.
- I add layers of colored venetian plaster that has more marble in the mixture and can be burnished and polished evoking an internal luminescence.
- I find objects in nature that catch my eye and make Gelli prints of them, transfer them to Lino blocks and carve the image adding some additional line work
- I transfer Lino block prints of patterns on to the plaster surface in a way that resembles language or script, but also adds abstract form and movement to capture a story experience. This may appear as bands of sediment like lines on paper or grid-like blocks that resemble building blocks of architecture.
- I drizzle liquid stains along the multiple textured surfaces to immolate a trace of natural water movement, erosion, or transformation over time.
- I can carve lines, shapes, and patterns back into the underlying layers revealing different colored layers and /or grout the lines back in with different colored plasters or paint tracing out repetitive patterns that resemble iconic text like language.
- I can veil plaster over other raised Lino block prints, leaving only the higher layers of the print poking through like an embossment.
RESUME
Personal
Education
- Native of California
- Born 1958
- Educated in Hayward, Sacramento, China, and Berkeley
- Married to Diane Williams
- Goal: to continue the evolution as an exhibiting artist, educator, and art community advocate
- Singulart Online Gallery, Paris, France
- Manhattan Artists International, New York, NY
- Seager Gray Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
Education
- Cold Wax Workshop by Jerry Mclaughlin and Rebecca Crowell, Skopelos, Greece, 2019
- Cold Wax Workshop by Jerry McLaughlin, MD ( Gearbox Gallery, Jen Tough Gallery), Benicia, CA, 2017
- John F Kennedy University, Master of Fine Arts and Consciousness, 2003
- China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China, 2001
- California State University, Sacramento, CA, Art Classes, 1997-99
- University of California, Hayward, CA, BS Degree in Business Administration with Accounting Option, 1981
- Arts Benicia Board Member, Benicia, CA, 2017-present
- California State Fair, Award of Excellence & Two Merits, Sacramento, CA, 2016
- Castro Valley Sanitary District, 10th Annual Recycled Art Contest, First Prize, Castro Valley, CA, 2007
- Juror, Solano County Fair, Vallejo, 2004
- California State Fair, Award of Excellence, Sacramento, CA, 2003
- Renee de Rosa Art and Nature Preserve, Docent, Napa, CA, 1997
- Artists of the Bay Area, Curated by Jen Tough, Jen Tough Gallery, NM 2021
- Wild Lands, Curated by Gina Tuzzi, Jen Tough Gallery, Sante Fe, NM 2021
- Dream National Juried Exhibition Catalog, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 2018
- Flora & Fauna, National Juried Exhibition Catalog, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 2017
- Benicia Open Studios Catalog, Benicia, CA, 2017
- Plaster and Fine Art, Instructor, I AN I Studio, Benicia, CA 2022
- A Sense of Place, Instructor, Marin MOCA, San Rafael, CA, 2022
- A Sense of Place, Santa Fe Artist's Getaway, Santa Fe, NM, 2021-2022
- A Sense of Place, Instructor, Art Center Morro Bay, Morro Bay, CA, 2021-2022
- Monumental Painting, Instructor, Jen Tough Gallery, Benicia, CA, 2019
- Abstract Painting and the Spirit in Nature, Instructor, Gualala Art Center, Gualala, CA 2019
- Painting Bold, Instructor, Jen Tough Gallery, Benicia, CA, 2019-2020
- Developing Your Signature Style in Abstract Painting, Instructor, Marin MOCA, Novato, CA, 2019-2020
- Big Painting Workshops, Instructor, I AN I Studio, Benicia, CA, 2018
- Pacific Northwest Art School, Instructor, Whidbey Island, WA, 2018
- Arts Benicia Classes, Instructor, Benicia, CA, 2016-2017
- I AN I Studio, Instructor, Benicia, CA, 2007-present
- City of Concord Parks and Recreation, Instructor, Concord, CA, 2006-2007
- John F Kennedy Graduate School for Holistic Studies, Graduate Student Mentor, 2004-2006
- National University, Adjunct Professor, Sacramento, CA, 2003-2007
- Arts Benicia, Stretcher Bar Instructor, Benicia, CA, 2002
- Robert Semple Elementary School, Instructor, Art Day, Benicia, CA, 2001-2003
- Singulart Online Gallery, 2020-present
- realART Gallery, Agoura Hills, CA, 2020-present
- North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM), 2016-present
- Arts Benicia, Benicia, CA, 1997-present
- Gualala Art Center, Gualala, CA, 2019
- Marin MOCA Museum, Marin, CA, 2019
- Blue Line Gallery, Roseville, CA, 2017
- Main Street Artists, Quincy, CA, 2014-2017
- Arts & Culture Program, Bay Area, 2013-present
- Gallery 621, Benicia, CA, 2011-2013