Imagery - On Canvas

That untitled piece, and other news.

2007-03-10T16:52:00.000-05:00

I've decided on a title for that painting of mine that a few of you made suggestions on via Flickr. They were some really nice suggestions all around but I'm taking a simple and vague route by identifying what inspired it's creation. So from hereon out it's known as "Seventeenth".

Moreover, there's going to be four more paintings similar to this. A whole series covering the different seasons. Winter and spring are almost done and I'll post those later on.

My work is somehow generating buzz, too. Apparently my aunt took a painting I gave her for Christmas into a frame shop in Traverse City and the people working there got fairly excited about it. When probed for information about the artist my aunt finally gave me up and said I hadn't been painting for very long at all. She reported that one of the women there said my situation sounds similar to that of Jack Vettriano, and my piece looked similar to some of his earliest work, before he started painting people. My aunt had no clue who Vettriano was but for me it's a pretty humbling, and wholly embarrassing compliment. I bring it up simply as way of sequeing to the fact that if you love paintings then you should really look into Vettriano's work. Edward Hopper and Jack Vettriano are two of my favorite painters. I'll never be like either of them because I'm not solely dedicated to paint, but it's still nice to wonder about sometimes.

Untitled Piece.

2007-02-22T21:26:00.000-05:00

I "finished" this piece earlier this evening and thought I'd share. I may yet add a few little things here and there, such as a few more leaves drifting downward on the left side and/or a few more reeds growing up around the rose on the right side.

There were no specific metaphors of any kind floating through my brain while working on this, just feelings. But if you're interested in sharing what you get from the painting then be my guest, I would love to hear what everyone thinks.

Also, I'm at a loss here. I can't really find a fitting name for this piece so if you'd like to throw some suggestions out there it'd be much appreciated.

"Four Corners."

2007-02-22T21:14:00.000-05:00

Last month I put "Four Corners" on display here and opened up discussion about what it meant to everyone else who looked it over.

Some great interpretations came in through the comments field as well as in my Flickr email box. From a bug, to blood, to a black hole I'm impressed with the scale of thought people have put into looking at that little ol' piece. But updates must continue, which means new pieces must be put on display for new discussion. So with that in mind I'd like anyone who previously commented before to drop me a line here to place your vote as to whether or not you want to know what its meaning is, or if you would rather not know at all and just continue the mystery. If you want to know but but the votes don't go in your favor then no worries, I'll email you privately to clue you in on the whole deal.

"Moonlight Mountains."

2007-02-03T23:17:00.000-05:00

The title isn't terribly original, I'm aware, but naming pieces is still a new concept to me. Until recently my style consisted mostly of painting for my own amusement and then putting the finished pieces into dark, protected corners someplace else to forget about them until I happened to stumble across them again.

This piece is no longer in my possession as it was created specifically to gift to someone else for Christmas. To my understanding she enjoyed it to a large degree; in all fairness, however, it's perfectly plausible I could have thrown a jar of paint against a clean canvas and she would have had a similar reaction because we're close friends. To either end, I'm pleased with how this one turned out.

No interpretations needed behind this one as it's simplistic in design: night time, mountains, with trippy little clouds and a trippy little moon. Where Bob Ross would make "Happy Trees" I make "Relatively Trippy Trees" I suppose. I enjoy giving a very slight ethereal edge to things without screaming "Hey look at this egotistical piece of post-modern ethereal crap!"

I can't remember the canvas dimensions (it is without a doubt the most common of sizes) but it's acrylic paint on a medium grain and done entirely with palette knives with the exception of one cloud and the base layer of the moon itself where I used a basic, cheap brush.

"Four Corners" interpretations.

2007-02-03T23:10:00.000-05:00

It looks like an imagining of the formation of a black hole in deep space that's sucking the matter from a solar system into its maw.
A cross between a flower and an insect.
A game of billiards on dirtied felt in a dive bar.

Those are three unique perspectives out of a small handful thus far. Do you have any ideas?

Four Corners.

2007-01-25T16:02:00.000-05:00

Right out of the gate I'm going to share a bit on my current-favorite piece titled "Four Corners."

The image is a bit blurry but the point comes across just the same. First of all, when I started painting this little piece I had a specific image in mind. Through the process of it all I realized that if I warp the center in just the right way there was a possibility that it could take one a subtle variance in meaning when it's alternated and viewed from each of the four sides.

"Four Corners" is special to me because out of a decade of painting off and on (only one year painting on a regular, fevered basis...hence the lack of "skill") this is the first item that isn't directly identifiable to those who see it. Everyone has drawn their own idea and that tickles me a bit. Without intending to, this was the first thing I made that feels like a real "art piece."

Over time I'll trackback to this post in subsequent writings to look into the various ideas brought up. How it'll work is simple: leave a comment with your interpretation on this post. Every few comments that crop up will be gathered and talked about in a later post. The trackback on each piece will ensure that even if this post is buried then it'll still be easy to get to if you want to comment to yourselves about it or add something new for me to address. At some point down the road I'll reveal what my intent was and what each of the four sides means, and ultimately why it's "Four Corners" instead of "Four Sides."

Now for the painting itself. It's a 6x6" piece of cheap canvas. Not a single brush was implemented, just one palette knife, an old pencil, and a Sharpie marker. The base layer is Vert Clair (Light Green) spread across the area then streaked outward in a radiating pattern from the center. Then I laid down the center with a Sharpie. I like using a simple permanent marker when I can because it gives a nice shine. I have various coatings I could have used over some black paint but I like to reserve those for more detailed work. With the old pencil I streaked some Phthalo Green and Burnt Sienna out along the dried streak pattern of the base and finally dotted in the two white spots. And that's that.