Tangle Improv II

Date2016

MediumWater based oils, acrylics and tempra paint

Dimensions24 × 28 in. (61 × 71.1 cm) Framed Size: 25 1/2 × 31 1/2 in. (64.8 × 80 cm)

Credit LineDC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Art Bank Collection

Object numberDCCAH2017.024.1

ClassificationsPaintings

Locations

Councilmember Vincent C. Gray (1350 Penn Ave NW, 406)

DescriptionSimmons-Hodges approach to painting is - painting a simplified or stylized figure, abstracted just enough in line or shape, and realistic enough to capture a moment to draw you in. She wants her viewers to be stimulated, as well as understand what is being expressed. The "Tangle Improv Series" consisted of three paintings: a clarinet, guitar, and a base player. "Tangle Improv I" was sold to an art patron in Tennessee, and "Tangle Improv II and III" are part of CAH’s 2017 Art Bank Collection. The idea of making a series happened after Simmons-Hodges had completed the clarinet player. Her son posed for the painting using her granddaughter's clarinet and for the guitar player using his guitar. The base player was totally from Simmons-Hodges’ imagination. A Jazz trio was what she had in her head from the start! She also wanted to do something different unlike any of her other paintings. A year earlier Simmons-Hodges bought a Meditative Drawing Kit on tangle art. The kit came with a book to demonstrate how to draw repeated patterns in ink on small cards; a "Zen" style of drawing helps to relax the mind as one focuses on the meditative act of drawing. She loves to listen to jazz as she paints, it relaxes her mind; what a perfect blending! In her painting "Tangle Improv II," instead of using ink, she used black tempera drawing pens for the tangle art patterns, water based oils for skin tones and acrylic paints for the rest of the painting. The juxta positioned triangular shapes repeated in blue, green, and purple along with the patterns add a rhythmic energy to the composition.