Both of these are mostly done. Really, many of my paintings I don’t consider “done”. I don’t even like to use the word ‘done’, sounds like I’m making roast beef. Usually, when I look at something I’ve done, I only see how it fails, how I can improve it…Unless it’s sat around for long enough. Artwork I’ve made that is 5 years old or more, I can actually look at objectively. It’s as if another person made it. When it’s ‘matured’, or possibly, I’ve matured or become a different person, I can look at it and see what is truly good or bad about it.
Alas, poor Yorick...I knew him not /
Hamlet mourns Yorick in the cemetary after his death. Yorick was the court jester from when Hamlet was a child, so Hamlet did know Yorick well. Later in the play, or it may be the same scene, I never actually read or saw Hamlet on the stage, (I know, my cultural upbringing has a lot of holes in it….but I know every Nine Inch Nails song), but later…Hamlet says, “To be or not to be, that is the question”, which is the very essence of the Memento Mori and Vanitas paintings. Life is fleeting, time is short and our worldly existence is temporary and possibly insignificant in the larger scheme of things, what ever scheme the Universe may be finagling .
The picture below was taken by my self of myself, while working on this new piece of a skeletal Beauty Queen moments after she is crowned most beautiful, the tiara on her head, the roses clutched against her bosom, and black bone dust streaming down from her hollow eyes. I already have a title for it, borrowed from Iggy Pop’s song, LUst for Life. There is a line in it that I always liked, “ I’m worth a million in prizes”, that’s the title.
Venus and Violet Vanitas /
Our local Restore, Habitat for Humanities resale shop, has a tons of bad, faded art in beautiful frames. I scooped up this ornate beauty for $11, painted int with gold enamel and then a black rub. I think it fits this little Vanitas painting beautifully. You can see this piece in a group show at the Grand Opera House in Delaware this October. Show runs through January.
Peonies (Memory of Spring) /
2021, 21 x 38 inches, oil on panel
This painting took about 6 weeks so complete. It started from a photo which I took of a bouquet, I had the print enlarged to the size of the canvas, traced it, started painting, then changed almost every element of the photo. The photo which I intended to reproduce exactly, (which felt like cheating…I’ll get back to that), didn’t work and flower by flower I replaced all but one of the original blooms. What looks good in a photo will not necessarily look good in painting.
Many artists, including the masters, have used reproduction methods to complete paintings. Photo projections, camera obscura, tracing, are all methods used to get the image onto the panel prior to painting. Vermeer, Carvaggio, Rembrandt were all likely users of camera obscura and yet this is looked down on? does it diminish the final work because a photographic method was used in the creation of a painting? I used to think that an artwork had to be done by hand alone from start to finish, but I have given up on that. If I can use a method of getting my idea on the panel or canvas faster then I’ll use it. I know I can draw free hand from start to finish, but how does this benefit me if it takes me 3 times as long? Anyway, every painting I’ve done using a projection or from a tracing, I have ended up changing so much it didn’t really resemble the source material anyway, so why not cheat a little. Using a reference or source material is necessary whether it’s from life, memory, a photo, or another piece of art.
Peonies - 2 /
Another attempt at painting peonies. It’s June, peonies are in season. I took about 50 pictures of these flowers, some of a bouquet from Whole Foods and some at the NY Botanical Gardens. I had one picture enlarged that I liked with the intention of drawing and painting it, but quickly swapped out some of the blooms for better ones. ….every painting is like a puzzle. Trying to figure out what is going to work and how to make something I like given a set of set of parameters. Parameters like, size, palette, content, what I can do with my current skills.
3 Moods of Medusa /
Medusa's Dream - Asbury Park Mural Project /
Medusa’s Dream is a painting from my Gods and Monsters series that I made about 5 years ago. It’s born again in this Asbury Park mural that can be found on Cookman Ave. near Main St. 14 artists were selected to create murals for the city. It was a fun weekend making this vibrant Goddess. Worth the trip to Asbury to see these new murals and the existing ones on the boardwalk and around town.
The third picture is the second version of this image, painted in oils, 3 x 3 ft. Soon to find a new home.
