Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Wood Panel Spring Break Underpainting



So again I started with the more organic action painting, splatter, abstraction. very therapeutic process that enables me to release any potential for "artist block." After prepping the canvas in this manner I moved on to locating large areas of color, lights and shadows. I am again working from a crappy polaroid photo so a flash and distorted tones prove an obstacle again. I start out very flat again, isolation certain ambiguous planes.




adding some saturated tones and laying down second coats.

this photograph was taken at night so it appears much darker.as you can see more rendering of piano, block, figure and birds has occurred. More shadows on the figure. must create some sort of horizon line to push depth.
detail of some of the texture in the block.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

perspective


I encountered many obstacles in this piece. I wanted to be playful with the whacky illusion of space in a dimensionless atmosphere. Based on a lot of the critique papers I was able to acknowledge that the intent was not achieved. I realized I was painting the figures much too flat and spent the majority of my time pushing them back into this imaginary space. when it came to rendering the wall and conduit, a more cartoonish, loose, and incomplete effect occurred. this piece is still very unfinished especially in these aspects. the flaking wall was intentional but I can understand why it reads as "not thought out." overall I am kind of disappointed in the final presentation of this piece and hope to work out the issues in the next piece


finally achieving some sort of depth, working past the flatness and pushing figures back in space. This proves rather difficult since I am working from a flash Polaroid photograph with real poor form definition. mostly guess work.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Some folk I really need to study!

David Kassan has been a recent influence, I finally remembered his name and was able to grab a bunch of shots. These are great, this guy is crazy goodSean Cheetham another contemporary oil painter that wrestles with figure and space

Saturday, February 27, 2010

progression

Definition. still no where near pleasing me. I started the raw umber underpainting and worked it completely out on the canvas three times. Every attempt I would wipe out and start over with the intention of rendering the figures smaller in their space. I feel limited on this canvas and wish I could work as large as I am on a much larger surface.
letting it flow
first color after underpainting, kind of garbage
bleach out
Canvas prep
Sutro Island

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Hung Liu Has inspired my work. The way in which she applies the paint in a very drippy manner and yet still achieves detail and form is rather fascinating.Her subject matter almost always incorporates figure and a made up space.
I know there is a point in which we must stray from the mainstream uber famous artists like Klimt but there is a part of me that will never let go of his work. That and I am also influenced by Egon Schiele who was mentored by Klimt. Again the focus on the figure and the interaction with a made up space is very key.
David Choe's work has a lot of the same elements as mine. layering is rather apparent and shape scribbling often adorns his background. something about lines that aren't too straight or too rendered gets me going.
Gail introduced me to Zak Smith. His work is similar and influential to mine in that he works from photos of friends and images he has taken. Because he leaves the figures black and white, the background acts more as a design and intricate shape work than just the documentation of their space.

All of these artists capture emotional expression in their own way, all of which are unique and all of which are effective. I failed to mention Jenny Saville, Robert Bechtle, Lautrec, Cassatt, and most importantly the artists I encounter everyday, my roommate is a huge influence as well as some artist I practice collaborative pieces with. I am also influenced by the books I read. More often than not, the passages from a Haruki Murakami book will inspire me to paint.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010





some poor shots of some of the stuff at the Greenhouse in West portal. Mr. Love has stuff there too so check it (that just bought me a slap in the face). It is only up for another week so hurry