I had an entire long post ready to go but thanks to an app crash, I’ll give you the highlights.
I wasn’t going to share this painting. I didn’t think it worthy, but people started to like it, so, here we are.
There’s two themes going on here. First, there’s a piece of Papayrus at Harvard (this is not the Dan Brown / Da Vinci Code angle) that has a line where Jesus calls Mary Magdalene “my Wife”. Imagine that? Going from fallen prostitute to the equal (or better than, in the words of Paul) of Jesus. The documentary I watched “The Gospel of Mary“, started the ball rolling on this idea. I was originally going to paint just her.
As an aside, and from a historical perspective since I’m not religious (there’s a long story involving an ex-wife that caused me to be like the hit R.E.M song with God), I’m fascinated by what got in the Bible, what got left out (Gnosticism, Council of Nicea, etc.), and the power-plays that took place to put down Mary (labeling her a prostitute). So painting this had a lot to do with egalité, as the French would say.
Next I came across a Mark Twain quote that made me pause:
“But who prays for Satan? Who, in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most?”
I thought, “who better to bring the word of God to the first and last sinner?” So I had Mary confronting the great vvrym and closing the loop on this Christianity thing – a denouement of sorts, but without the 80’s soundtrack.
The painting had a working title of “Prom Dress Mary and the Pompadour (fixed) Dragon“. That title should explain why I wasn’t going to post it at first. Anyway, here it is.
This #painting was inspired by my fascination with #Viking culture. The whole concept of living day to day not knowing whether it was going to be your last seems so much more exciting than being assured you are getting up today, tomorrow, and the next day, with the firm realiziation that you will be doing PowerPoint or some other banal thing to pay divorce debt. But I digress…
Viking culture, it’s loud, in your face, mystical, even… primal. The #dragon is central to this culture. Níõhöggr, a dragon in the Völuspá; Jörmungandr, the #Midgard Serpent, who will begin #Ragnarök; Fáfnir, of the Völsung Cycle and the Drekki in the Gesta Danorum, are examples of wyrms that litter #Norse literature and theology.
This artwork is inspired by Norse jewelry design. It also serves as a proof of concept for a path I want to follow; combining manuscript illumination, 3D design, other elements of the Dark Ages… and #cake #decorating.
The composition is mixed media. Really, it’s mostly acrylic paint on canvas, but given depth through the use of gels and such. I also used a spare icing thingy I had laying around. What can I say? Cutting edge?
Anyway, I hope you like it. I’ve taken several types of photos in different light to show off its metallic character. I used a piece of broken blue glass for the eye. In future art, I’m going to use gems and stones and whatnot to give it a Medieval feel.
Like most of my paintings, this one started off in another direction. I tend to go where my artistic Muse takes me, so planning is the first thing out the window.
I started playing around on the canvas and eventually ended up with this. The scene in the painting is ostensibly a forest under the night sky, in abstract form, of course. I named it ‘Aurora’ because it reminded me of a bucket list item, seeing the Aurora Borealis.
A variety of techniques went into the creation of the artwork. I assume they have proper names in the art world, but I used a combination of wet canvas / color bleed, spatter (as the result of playing air-drummer while my favorite music was on), and using black gesso to fill in the branches.
Overall, I’m going with a win for the rescue of the painting. 18×24, acrylic on canvas, April 30, 2017.
Night Light is the first attempt to create the scene I was envisioning as a painting. I realized too late, that I had made the street lamp too big relative to what I wanted to happen around it. I would have needed a canvas three times the size to keep the perspective of what is in my head. I therefore made the reluctant decision to leave it as is and start another canvas using the street light theme.
In the meantime, I hope you like the results of this one, as it has a few quirks to it. Also, I hope you stick around for what will be the ultimate realization of the vision I have for the scene.
The scene here is reminiscent of what I see when I go for my evening walks. I’m infatuated with light, and any unusual display of it will stop me in my tracks. It’s kind of like “Shiny Object Syndrome”, only literally. There’s a tree and street light combination on the corner of my block that inspired this painting.
This is 18″x24″, acrylic paint on canvas, April 27, 2017.
Close up of Winter’s Odium, Looking Head-onI’m being told that, as an artist, I need to explain my work and process more. This bit of advice comes from a source that I came across when trying to figure out how to break into the big leagues of the art world – besides spending tens of thousands on a BFA/MFA which will get me connections. I’ve never liked networking, which explains job-hunting difficulties in the past. Plus, a degree in the arts isn’t my cup of tea. I’d rather draw exclusively on the creativity inside and discover things on my own – like the measurements involved in the human face, or the structure of leaves.
Winter’s OdiumBut I digress. About my latest work, at first glance, it looks like a kid had a tantrum while holding paint. Yet there is a lot more going on in the work than initially presents itself.
Like an onion, but not an ogre, this painting has layers. The overall theme of the work is the transition from winter to spring.
Initially, the painting was inspired by a cherry tree I saw when coming off the escalator at Federal Center SW, in DC. It was way too early, and the tree’s blossoms were interacting with a nearby streetlight in an awesome way. Yes, it’s the little things in life.
Winter’s Odium, Side Angle, Close UpMy idea was to paint the tree / light combo as if I were a passenger in a car speeding by. I’m still going to do another work based on this idea, but for this one, a shiny object was thrown in my way early in the process.
If you know me, I have a morbid side. I’ll wait for the eye rolls and statements of strenuous affirmation to stop…. Okay, I love crime shows (‘Dexter’ anyone?, ‘Forensic Files’?) and horror movies.
How It Looks on a Wall, Left AngleSo I was watching ‘Midnight Meat Train’, a slasher flick that made its way back onto Netflix after years of being absent. The movie is about a butcher harvesting humans on late night trains in NYC for a group of primordial monsters.
What does this have to do with the painting? I’m getting there 🙂 There is this part in the movie where this girl is being dragged along the bloody floor of the train. A thought occurred to me, so I paused the movie. I looked at the scene, and then looked at my painting. I cocked my head sideways, and then rotated the painting 90 degrees. I had it! I would paint the death of winter in the colors of spring.
How It Looks on a Wall, Right AngleThere’s another part of the movie that talks about art, which resonated with me, but I don’t want to stray off topic too much. So this girl is being dragged along the bloody floor, I thought to myself that it looks like winter being dragged off by spring. The hands were the trees, while the floor was time. You can see the result under the layers of color; look for the red and bone colors.
The next day, as my depression was at a momentary winter of its discontent, I thought maybe I should brighten up the scene, turn it to spring – but in an abstract sense. I broke out the colors, et voila. Greens and pinks symbolize the blooming of spring.
Head-on Shot with Overhead LightOver the succeeding days, I added light; which I’m infatuated with. You can see the sunlight reflected in the yellows and the flashes of white. The white was inspired by what happens when you’re riding (hopefully not driving) in a car with your eyes closed and the Sun is flashing through the trees.
So that is it in a nutshell. I really don’t pre-plan my work – beyond thinking about how something should go in my head. Once the paint starts flying, as in this case literally all over the room (security deposit revoked), I go where my instincts tell me to go.
Winter’s Odium, March 2017, 18″ x 24″. Acrylic on canvas. The variety of angles shows how it could look on your wall. For Sale, $600 (I need to make up that security deposit).
It’s not my worst, there’s a couple I haven’t shown anyone. Still, I’m putting this one aside. I can’t think of how I can make it work, so I’m moving on. On the positive side, I have done something for March; which has not been the greatest month for me.
About it? It started as a concept called Fruit Fly. I was going to do oranges with gossamer wings – don’t ask, sometimes I don’t know where my ideas come from. I eventually abandoned that, and went with Butterflies, since it’s Spring. The title evolved from the original fruit (sliced oranges), the wine-like background, and the beverage I was drinking at the time.
Let’s entertain for a moment that someday, I will paint well enough to earn a spot in the Met; even if it’s in the restrooms. When curators look at my body of work, they will see that my realism paintings tend to be utilitarian and dark. They will dissect my state of mind during the creation of the painting and find things with which to create parallels.
Take ‘Moving On’, my latest, as an example. They’ll say there’s a certain eerie loneliness about it. References and connections will be made to social issues and mental illness. They’ll wonder why I’ve painted Vermeer’s ‘Woman Holding a Balance’ as the only thing hanging on the wall, really the only detailed object. The relative emptiness of the rest of the scene stands in stark contrast to the focused area.
If I had to make up a backstory as to the inspiration, I’d say the painting is about ending one journey and beginning another. In this case, the woman is moving out; from a failed relationship, or something else – it’s all in the viewer’s mind.
There is irony in the fact I stopped work on it today, March 11, 2017, which would have been the two year anniversary of my last relationship – A wonderful woman, she dodged a bullet. I wish her the best.
But the painting is not really about any of this. Realism is boring, tedious work. I like rapid, flowing strokes and not contained or restrained lines. I want the brush to dance on the canvas, which is why I got bored and decided to go back to abstract acrylics.
Today I managed to give away two survival backpacks to the homeless.
Yesterday, I couldn’t find anyone; so I left that pack at work. Today, I ran into Kizzie, who is wheel-chair bound and hangs out under the 3rd Street bridge by the SBA building. I gave her money for lunch in addition to the pack. Maybe she can hang out in a warm restaurant.
Less than two minutes later, I ran into Stan, who hangs out by the NASA building. He’s been down on his luck, so I went back to the office to get the other survival pack, and also gave him something for lunch. Stan said he’s getting ready to get his life in order, so I wish him the best.
For those who don’t know. I’m using proceeds from current and future art sales to put together backpacks of survival items, blankets, ponchos, toiletries and so forth. I call this project ‘Art for the Homeless’.
Why am I saying anything about it? Not out of self-promotion, I assure you. The public tends to only pay attention to what is immediately in their attention sphere, which ends up being Kim Kardashian and other non-critical stories. Raising awareness of the homeless is a worthy cause – a cause you can help too.
I’ve been doing random acts of kindness for the homeless for a while now, 2-3 lunches instead of just mine, coffee for my man hanging in Starbucks to keep warm, a buck or two here and there…
I’m going to say this up front, I’m not tooting my own horn.
I firmly believe that in telling people you do these acts of kindness; it lessens the value of the act with any higher powers that may be out there. I’d rather keep it simple, but I have a project that is growing.
You see, I’m putting together backpacks for the homeless in the Washington D.C. and Maryland area.
In each backpack is a warm blanket, a Mylar blanket for the cold nights, a magnesium Firestarter, two pairs of socks, a rain poncho, a copy of the ‘SAS Survival Guide’, basic toiletries, food & water, and a little extra for train fare (in case it gets too cold out – you can ride the Metro all day). If I find camping / survival deals on Amazon, I’ll include them in the bags.
Why do this?
I’m an artist at heart, and I want my work to mean something; not just end up (possibly) making someone millions in the future when I’m long departed. Selling art now to fund this program seems to be a very cool thing in my mind.
Most homeless don’t want to be where they are. Some have problems with drugs, alcohol, or mental health issues. Others have been out on the fringe of society for so long that they don’t know or want to reintegrate with society. I give them the benefit of the doubt in every case.
How you fit in?
I’m going to sell each original work I do for $99 dollars plus shipping. If you purchase a work, I’ll give you the opportunity to add extra donations to the purchase via PayPal (how I can take credit cards and keep my inbox safe). All of this money will all go to making packs for the homeless.
So far each backpack is averaging around $50, even by trolling Amazon for the $10 backpacks and blankets. If the project grows too big, I’ll have to start a non-profit.
I’ll have the first four ready to go on Monday (most of the initial gear is en-route). My plan is to carry one to work or each time I go into the city. When I find a suitable candidate (I can tell between those truly in need and the ones that get in a Lexus at the end of the day), I’ll give them the pack.
Final note,
You don’t have to buy my art to do this, you can do it on your own too.
This piece was initially the result of a dream. I went through many versions in my head before I settled on something I could actually execute on canvas. The overall tone comes from my subconscious, of course – that sense of helplessness in a world bigger than you. The subject is a girl trapped in a well, the moonlight streaming down to comfort her in her prison. She’s not seen another soul for decades, yet still wonders if someone will come to her rescue. Humanity, it seems, has passed the girl by, yet Nature, in a moment of tenderness has forged a place for her in the natural order.
20 x 24, abstract mixed media (spray paint and acrylics) on canvas, February 2017.
Squareset is an abstract representation of a sunset using strictly horizontal strokes (kind of a thing I’m developing). This is mostly a test set for color, but I think it stands on it’s own. I don’t know if no-impressionism is a ‘thing’; if not, I’ll plant that flag. If you like it, let me know in the comments, and I’ll make more.
This painting is about #depression. I could waste words trying to be eloquent about it but depression is a soul-killing illness that people joke about but don’t really understand or think is a real illness (as recently observed at work). The flowering trees represent the beauty of the world, the ladies on promenade humanity, and the force in the background? Churchill’s ‘black dog’, that force which is the destroyer of worlds.
I was inspired by Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream,’ although I did not borrow from this great artist per se. What more is there? This is an #acrylic #painting on canvas. 18 x 24. Available.
In other news, I’ve planned it out, I should have a studio by December 2018. I’m working for the man to pay off my divorce debt, so that is why it will take a minute to get set up. All my fans will be invited to stop in and share a glass of wine. However, I won’t know you’re a fan unless you say something 😉
God Bless!
Blessed Be!
Alhamdulillah!
Sukhi Hotu!
Have a great day!
Postscript: Apparently a major social media company isn’t impressed with art or maybe is anti-depression. Regardless, my promotion was canceled. They (the company) would not say exactly why, save that it didn’t meet with their guidelines.
This is the first post since I’ve been doing this that has been rejected. So if someone complained that it wasn’t happy enough, thank you! Depression is a serious topic. Maybe my art is nouveau-degenerate, but then again, art is supposed to make a statement.
