artist

It’s Been a Minute

by
A woman with dark hair tied up in a bun is crouched on the ground, holding a long sword over her shoulder. With intense makeup and bold red lipstick, she wears a serious expression. It’s been a minute since she trained here, in an outdoor concrete area with walls, clad in her sleeveless outfit.

I just looked at my site and saw my last article was published in April of 2018, almost a year ago. For those that held on, thank you!

Where did I go? The short answer is ‘nowhere’; which is both true and ironic. I’ve been working a lot. Since being mortal is part of the human condition, I had to eat, pay rent, etc., and as we all know, art doesn’t a living make, unless you know people, have rich parents, or are talented enough to rise above the noise of the global art market – a billion artists souls vying for your eyeball time.

I haven’t been painting on canvas, per se. Like her musical sister in 2013, that Muse packed her bags and left me for brighter pigments. I’ve had a canvas on by easel since April, but all I’ve managed to do is hit it now and then with a duster and compressed air.

I have been exploring the other arts, like digital illustration, writing, and painting miniatures (which I did as a teenager). I’ve also been taking the aforesaid miniatures and composing photographic scenes, which is fun in itself.

Here’s some of the work I’ve been doing. I usually post to Instagram first, but since I’m paying for this site, I might as well use it, eh?

So, have I been productive? That depends on what one considers art. I’ll leave that for you to decide. Some day, canvas muse may come back, or rekindle as the musical muse did briefly, but I’ll always be doing something creative.

Lost Mews-ing

by

Channeling the Black Dog today, which is why this subject is dark.

The #painting is heavily influenced by two things: #Strangerthings the TV show (also #Strangerthings2) & H.P. #Lovecraft. I’m calling it ‘Lost #Mews-ings’ (after the #cat in the show)… at least until I pick a different title.

It’s not my best work, because a lot is lost between what I envision in my head and what appears on the canvas. I’m also using a Monet reference model again. Why? Monet is awesome, and I don’t have my pose-able figurines yet. They should be here after Christmas. Someday I should actually sketch these things out, then paint, but that’s part of the fun – brain to canvas.

Also, this started as a challenge to paint a flashlight beam. I don’t know if I achieved that. I’ll let you tell me.

#art #acrylic #horror #scifi #tentacle

The Watcher

by

My favorite time of the year is here, Fall/Halloween. I’ve geared up the darker art to celebrate. This one I call “the Watcher”. I love gargoyles, so I painted one. The bushes are a combination of fantasy and berries I encounter on my daily walks. 

Techniques used include spray paint, acrylic paint, brushwork, finger-painting,  and the use of these styrofoam balls one can find in a craft store.

I wanted to do rain, but you can’t have a full moon in view with rain falling, apparently. I wanted to keep that accuracy.

Nature Rocks

by


I may add some highlights to the Roses, but I’m bored, and as Rey found out when turning over her scavenged goods on Jakku, what was worth four rations yesterday, is only worth 1/2 today.

About the painting:

The idea stems from an audial affair I had with an old friend, Concrete Blonde. Concrete Blonde, for those wondering, is an 80’s band fronted by still smoking hot bassist Johnette Napolitano. Her gothic voice, driving rythym, and intense lyrics sucked me right back in as I was navigating my music collection.  

I was listening to the song ‘Caroline’ a lot, especially on my many recent road trips. One day, curious, I pulled up the video…

…And I sort of became inspired. So, the rocker in the painting is Johnette, although I’m horrible at 1:1 realism, and she’s wearing the dress from the video. I took artistic license with the guitar, sue me.  Here’s a still:


The roses? The song ‘Caroline’ is from the album ‘Bloodlettng’, which is chock full of roses. It’s been remastered for its 20th anniversary, by the way:


So that is the story. I guess you could call it fan art? Really, it’s stream of consciousness painting to good music. 

As for the title? Nature does rock. It fits and I’m a fan.

Parity Lost

by
A surreal painting titled "Parity Lost" features a blue-skinned figure with dark wings kneeling and gazing into a large vessel. A woman with curly hair peers out from the vessel, swathed in pink fabric and surrounded by trailing vines. Abstract pink clouds form the ethereal background.

“Everyone knew the war would one day end. It had raged for eons since Lucifer decided he would rather own his house than pay rent. The sides of light and darkness had fought themselves to a standstill. “If only God’s pets could see the ethereal ruin that lay in between their Starbucks and obsession with the Kardashians,” most angels mused to themselves as the conflict went on.   

What no one expected, was for the war to end today. No one foresaw that the strongest of the Angels would exercise her free will, just as Lucifer had at the beginning of time. She had grown weary of the routine, the constant pressure of vigilance, of maintaining the balance, and had decided to do something about it. She would become what God loved most – human.
As her wings relented under the blade, tremors shook the ethereal, summoning Lucifer to her side. He loved her, this angel, his greatest threat. He had held her in greater esteem than those braggarts Michael and Gabriel. She, who had fought him to an aeons-long standstill, had earned his respect, and worse, corrupted the purity of his hate with love, however selfish.

She had chosen to become mortal, a contemptible, imperfect, creature that had what all angels desired. Now, the balance had shifted. He had loathed the favorites of God, he had achieved self-actualization through his torment of them – and now she was one of them! Could he go on destroying them? His heart sank at the only conclusion he could reach. The war was over.”

Kamikazbees

by
A vibrant painting depicts two Kamikazbees collecting nectar from the dark red center of a bright yellow and white flower. The close-up perspective and warm colors highlight the intricate details of these determined bees and the delicate flower petals.


Kamikazbees is the result of a thought I had while on the throne of seclusion. I was thinking of World War II, as I am usually found doing, then thought of bees coming in for a landing on a flower. I made the sunflower look like the Rising Sun flag (of the Japanese Empire). As I was painting, I thought of the title that would fit the action.

The painting itself is a little jejune, and so I may take a break from painting, so I can recharge my creative battery. It’s a sunflower, with bees beginning to land. I actually learned quite about bees during the research. The legs, antennae, and even the wings are a result of that intellectual dive. 

The vitals: 16×20, acrylic on canvas. There’s some texture there, but the photo doesn’t show it. May 2017.

Let’s Talk Commissions

by
A vibrant collage of various artistic paintings. Images include colorful abstract patterns, nature scenes, a close-up of an eye, a deer, a person with a torch, floral designs, a silhouette of a couple against a sunset, and a woman with a headscarf. Let's talk commissions for your unique art needs!


I do commission work. If you’ve got something in mind, need something big, different from my norm, etc., I will take on the job.

You’ll notice that my art generally is in the 16×20 or 18×24 range.  This is due to storage issues. I’ve done two bigger works, each at 30-something by forty-something (below), and have had to store them on my walls since there’s only so much space for keeping these paintings dry and temperature controlled. 

Unity, 2016

This isn’t to say I wouldn’t mind painting bigger canvases, but until I get my studio set up, slated for February 2018, I can only take commissions for bigger work.

Firefly, 2016 (A light-based, 3-D Painting / Sculpture)

So yeah, big canvases are not a problem. I use a formula to calculate the price, basically a base of the canvas size times hours invested, plus materials and the dreaded beast – shipping. 

If you are interested in having something painted, by all means contact me. If you have a reference picture that would be super-awesome. We can set up a conference call to discuss the work desired.

Note, my Achilles heel is doing realistic paintings of people. Animals? No problem. Concept or abstract art? Also, no problem. I will do portraits but can’t guarantee they will be spot on. Let’s go to the studio for a reference (below):


Now, granted this was painted two years ago when I was just starting (hopefully I’ve gotten better), but there are things I would do better/different now. Luckily, payment sort of fell through (they broke up), so I don’t feel bad about the work.

So actual portraits are a roll of the dice, enhanced portraits (kind of like Hollywood – based on actual people / events) are doable. Landscapes, flowers, animals, or abstract? The sky is the limit.

If you’re interested in hiring me to do commission work, send me an email using the contact form.

Aurora 

by
A vibrant painting depicts a night sky filled with green and white splashes resembling stars, nebulas, and hints of an aurora. Below, a forest of leafless trees is rendered in dark red hues, creating a striking contrast against the illuminated, cosmic background.

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.

Squareset

by
A vibrant abstract painting, titled "Squareset," depicts a sunset over a forested landscape. The sky is filled with orange and yellow bursts of color representing the sunset, while below, the forest is rendered in deep blues and purples.

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.

#Abstract #Landscape #Acrylic #Painting

use-mesmall

Eater of Worlds

by
An abstract painting featuring a large, blue face with a wide-open mouth, from which a trail extends. Figures walk on the trail towards the eater of worlds. Red and pink flowers surround the scene. The background is filled with swirling blue, green, and yellow patterns.

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 😉

dsc_0473_usefin

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.

Here’s the cryptic messages they sent.

Majesty

by
A colorfully painted depiction of a lion's face, composed of vibrant brushstrokes in shades of orange, blue, green, and yellow. The lion's eyes and facial features are abstractly represented, blending into the textured background to convey its majesty.

The interesting thing about this piece is it was accomplished with nothing but short horizontal strokes of the brush. I also limited myself to metallic paints. This limits choice to blue, green, purple, copper, bronze, gold and white; so lighting was also a challenge.

I’m happy with the painting, it’s a good first step into a style I would like to pursue for a while, but am really unhappy with the way this artwork presents itself on film.  If you are standing  near it, the natural light does really wonderful things that photographs can’t capture and the metallic feel is lost in the transfer to film.  I’ll have to invest in bettering my skills.

Majesty refers to the Lion and it’s place as the ‘King of the Animals.’  Even lounging in the grass of the Savannah, the lion exudes comfort in being the Apex Predator.  Conversely, humans are only a 2.2 on the 1-5 scale.  The fun fact is that we humans maintain our perch over the animals due to our rational thinking and technology.  Without these two things, we are grouped with the likes of pigs and sardines.

Anyway, this is 16″ x 20″ and is an #acrylic #painting on canvas.

dsc_0431

Being Koi

by
A close-up photo of a mosaic artwork featuring two green shapes resembling organic forms, possibly cells, amidst a background of multicolored, reflective, broken glass pieces. Red fragments are scattered between the green shapes, adding contrast.

This started as something else, then I had the idea to use crushed glass, self-leveling clear gel, other gels, and acrylic paint on canvas board. It really just came together as a pond with a Koi fish inside. 


Top Down View

I started with a base of deeper color, then laid the crushed glass, and held it in place with clear gel.


(Viewed at an angle)

The lillies were originally rocks but morphed into the former when I went away from a flowing river concept.


(Lilly closeup)

The lillies are made from gold and metallic colors, filled with clear gel, and dusted with a translucent white gel to represent reflection.


(Close up of Koi)

In full light, I’m sure that it will sparkle more.

11″ x 14″ and is currently available.