Painting on Fabric

I liked the idea of translating some of my skull still-life into a more wearable form. And in a moment of madness I started painting on an old T shirt that was doomed to be chopped up for scrap.

 I liked the effect and after trying it a few more times, I found some fabric paint that moved and acted like ink or charcoal ( which was the intention) examples below:

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My adventures in Printmaking

Some prints I made in late college.

I really enjoyed aspects of printmaking and there is a good chance had I taken it earlier in college that I would have changed majors from painting to printmaking. I prefer the linear aspect of drawing to the more sculptural of painting. And as someone who has never been very comfortable with color... its a good fit.

But at the same time, I am not very tidy or patient, and there is a lot of that involved as well.

 Let's just say most of my plates were dirty, fingerprint-y and imprecise. As seen above.

V

Inspirations : Jenny Saville

If you asked me who my favorite figure painter is I would answer Jenny Saville with no question.

I had the opportunity to see a career retrospective in Oxford this past June and it was amazing. Her scale for one thing is... amazing. It is so big, like over ten feet, and no photo can do that justice. I could have sat in front of these paintings for hours every day and still not feel like I saw everything.

Unlike a lot of other large scale artists, the detail and technique in describing and expressing the figure is not lost on such a massive canvas. There is an old adage that basically if you aren't a great painter, then paint big.

Jenny Saville is not that painter, even nose to canvas, every inch is interesting and complex and realized.

She is the kind of painter that inspires and defeats you at the same time.

More Nudes with Skulls

The first painting here was inspired by the swan neck and torsion of 20's Art Deco ladies. Overall I was really happy with this painting and it was supposed to be the start of a series. I never liked the others and painted over all of them, so she is all alone.

1. Oil
2. Watercolor/ink
3. Charcoal

Another in the women with skull water color series, this is actually just a cropped close up on the face.

 Charcoal from my pink legging phase....which may return.....

So by now you can probably see some themes- basically a central figure in a semi-provocative pose, hidden face, and next to no background. These are all older works, but the themes still hold my interest- newer work to come soon!

V

Skulls and Nudes in watercolor....

I try to stay diverse- always working in different mediums.
Sometimes I feel like painting, other times drawing, and so I like to have the option.

This series ties in a lot of the elements I like: expressive nudes, masks, and a mix of pinup/fashion spread and something more dangerous. I like taking more traditional "male-gaze-y" elements and turning them on their head, adding mystery to the subject matter. The nudity is less objectifying and more threatening.

So below are some of my "nudes with skulls series", they are watercolor and mixed media.

(The picture quality on these is not ideal, better images to come!)

and more....

wolves

Inspirations today....

I love wolf imagery.

And before you groan and say "Ye gads so typical! The wolves are always howling in front of a dreamcatcher and some lightning" I will stop you and say"No way friendo, I like them more like this"

 and this....

and this....

See? Wolves and Werewolves can actually be cool in art, without dreamcatchers or the stink of a Hot Topic.

Day One

My First Blog Post. 

So I plan to primarily use this blog as a digital portfolio. But I also like the idea of having a platform to talk about art, show sketches and/or works in progress, and to discuss other artists and inspirations found all over. For the last year and a half I have been working on being more coherent in art making and in my writing. My missions have been starting series, applying myself, and completing ( or working toward completing) them. It was something I never mastered in college, and upon graduating I barely lifted a pen or paintbrush for years. So it has been something of an uphill slog, but one that has been positive overall. So let's get started shall we?

I love bones.

There is something about the color and the texture that just fascinates me. When I began this series I acquired a number of bones through ebay. The initial concept was to incorporate the bones into drawings with nudes. I love the figure, specifically the female figure regardless of age or size, and I find there is something so captivating about a body with a masked face. We humans spend most of our time looking almost exclusively at each other's faces and that is one of the key ways we communicate. Removing the face, the eyes, the expression, completing alters how we understand and perceive of each other. It makes us unable to empathize, and it also makes us vulnerable. I like that. So the early concepts and drawings all dealt with the bones and the figures together. But once on canvas, working in oil, I felt the bones were dynamic and visually interesting enough to go solo. 

The bulk of these paintings are 18x34 and larger. Oil, with some mixed media here and there. 

Coyote:

Deer

MISC.