Memento WaterColor

Sorry I have not been posting lately, started with a bang and then... fizzle. I realized part if the reason was simply that I ran out of artwork that I wanted to post about. So I have had to make some more. 

With that being said, here are some skull studies in watercolor mixed media. 

Enjoy: 

* apologies for image quality, they are all midday light with an iphone. 

Inspirations: Ghada Amer

The first time I saw Ghada Amer's work live I just went crazy for it.

A lot of it can be found in the permanent collection of the feminist wing at the Brooklyn Museum.

I love textiles and the illustrative way she stitches on canvas just feels so new and fresh.  There is something clever about the time it takes to break down what you are looking at, and the shock when you do. I enjoy when artists come right up to the line of "art" and " pornography" and straddle it, inviting the viewer to decide.

It's like a smutty magic eye. Enjoy!

Pin up Girls

Some Ladies from old Dr. Sketchy's Classes here in Providence and in NYC.
Picture quality is not great on these...

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