(Source: supersonicelectronic)
(Source: supersonicelectronic)
There just isn’t enough time to devote to processes of creative execution; at least not as much as I used to have! I have a few new ideas for social paintings. But I find that I can only develop them over the course of several days. Anyways, I am glad to have the liberty of at least some creative time. These guys were borrowed from some earlier works of Degas.
This wonderful painting was commissioned by a friend. I seem to recall that he had no particular preference for what I painted, so I took the liberty to explore new styles and mediums.
Revisiting the compositional idea from a previous series, this painting explores the nuances and intricacies of unspoken communication. Whilst working in downtown San Diego during the time that I created this composition, I was struck by a clear, observable pattern. There was an apparently direct correlation between the amount of clothing worn by business professionals and their level of success. The women who appeared to be the most successful wore short skirts and low-cut blouses. Whereas the most successful men wore dress shirts, neck-ties, cuff-links, business suits and had very little visible skin. I incorporated these observations into a painting that commented on this wardrobe paradox and left an open ended question as to the relationship of the two subjects in the painting. This is a very large painting that is now in the home of a private collector.
One of the many portraits that I did in my college studio. Sometimes the paintings look better before they are finished.
Thinking about the source of my visual aspirations, I created a composition that contained homages to my favorite artists. To begin with, I was initially inspired by the painting by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres which bears the same name. That was the starting point, but I continued by unwrapping my subconscious, a practice of the young Salvador Dali. Recognizing the female form as the source of my artistic inspirations, I copied a portion of another Diego Velazquez painting: ” St John the Evangelist at Patmos”, it is bearly visible beneath the portrait of Dali. Rather blasphemous and irreverent, I was equating my visual inspirations to be as devine as those of St John. All of this was painted over one of the multitudes of ‘Obey’ posters given to me by Shepard Fairey.
I can remember painting it in my dorm room, I didn’t have space or an easel, so i just propped it up on top of my drawers. This painting was first displayed at an extremely conservative University where I had to cover the ‘private parts’ with tape before it could be hung in the gallery. When I later tried to remove the tape, a layer of paint came with it. However, the effect is rather intriguing.
A study after one of Diego Velasquez’s studies for his painting that is sometimes referred to as ‘Three Men at a Table’. I found this study of particular interest because it contained a woman in the middle seat, yet many of his biographers have claimed that the final painting is an allegory of Velasquez’s life. Where he, as the painter would be seated at as the fourth person at the table and each of the people seated at the table represent him at a stage of his life.
This painting marked an important event in my progress as an artist. It was during the initial stages of this painting that I bumped the coffee table, knocking a large brush loaded with red oil paint onto our cream colored rug. At that moment I realized this would be the last oil (large) painting that I could do while we live in this little apartment. But it looks great hanging on the wall above our dinner table.
This painting is from a very strategic modeling session. My wife and I planned out each pose based on our favorite figurative paintings throughout art history. This pose was taken from The Toilet of Venus ( aka ‘The Rokeby Venus’) by Diego Velasquez (1599 - 1660), 337 years before I painted this!
At the end of a fantastic memorial day weekend filled with weddings, sight seeing , great food, friends, movies and fun, Danielle and I thought that a painting would be the best way to top off the weekend. A world traveling friend had brought some new paints and brushes (from China) during the week as well as some clothes from Thailand. Here is Danielle (looking purposefully cheerful for this painting), wearing a fine linen shirt and hiking pants. I was especially pleased with this painting since I have not been painting with watercolors in quite some time. This painting seemed to emanate from that divine source of inspiration that Salvador Dali claims must be present for a masterpiece to be created.
