I am deep into working on my next Cinefield.
It is a pleasure to find myself the featured artist on Doodlewash. This pretty much gives my philosophy and evolution as an artist:
Tag: Biography
Drella
Picasso’s name still carries much power, although not for the reasons it formally had. Now, he is an aspiration for people. The imagined life, doing very little but acting as one imagines a famous artists to act via cues from TV and movies. Paying for huge bar & restaurant bills via scribbling on a napkin, grabbing your dealer’s or someone else’s wife’s breast and other such bad behavior, all done to endless applause.
Think what you want about the man, he actually worked hard. Those who daydream of reaching his level would give up even earlier than their eventual quitting if they knew the amount of work required to attempt to scale up to his heights.
The best art and artists have an aspect to them in which each fan recreates it in the image they need, their own meanings, regardless of accuracy.
Andy Warhol is another whose name has become totemic for many. The interesting thing about him is that he seems to be made by admirers (and some detractors) into a myriad of bewigged pixies.
With Picasso, whether one is fan or not, the various ways in which he is portrayed always have a main component of him being the conqueror.
Andy though, is legion. Some admirers see him as what he offered up to the world, the public face. Others wanted to dig a little deeper and went by his published diaries, which most likely had been done for eventual public consumption. A further put on or enigma, depending upon which camp one is in.
There is the parable about the six blind men and the elephant. This perfectly sums up Andy. Assuredly, we are told he was:
Master manipulator, someone whose other-worldly boho mien was a sort of act which amused him to do, a long con performance piece.
A true artist whose cool emotional detachment was birthed out of the initial ideas behind pop-art and the booming post war years of consumerism.
An on the spectrum man-child, whose wonderment at some of life’s more mundane aspects truly enchanted him.
Each of these members of an army of Andys have a plausible explanation as to why they are the true Andy.
He achieved such fame and was in the game for so long. There was a sharp eyed cleverness behind everything he did. Part of his genius was in letting others talk for him.
Early on he found a way to to do a put on to the art world which amused him. This was facilitated by letting critics, fans and peers do the talking, coming up with the theories and meanings amongst themselves.
He was a sort of naif. Handlers and an inner circle took care of all practical matters, while he walked through life in a dream like enchantment.
It was all an act which allowed an artist who was mediocre in execution of work and its promotion in the traditional manner to accrue power and money while secretly laughing behind his wig and shades.
Interestingly, the further forward in time we move, the clearer picture of which was the true Andy is formed. All the various Andy’s which people hold dear were aspects of him.
I am actually not a fan. Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing a giant silkscreen by Rauschenberg which i greatly admired. This combined with fact that every time I watch a documentary on anything going on in the 1970’s from clothes, music, photography, night life et al, at the very least during montages, Andy can be seen watching the crowd.
It served to make me think of the nature of his fame.
Don’t hate the player, hate the game
Quick sketch on newsprint
CINEFIELD® Carousing
Often when you read a biography on artists, in any medium, I have noticed a commonality. There seems to be a career sweet spot. This is when they have established their voice, have an audience and can comfortably exist while serving the process. They are not necessarily as big as they will become.
What makes this the sweet spot is the ability to still 100% follow one’s own North Star. No consideration is given towards audience nor critic expectations. New directions can be taken, old ones dropped.
The tragedy of all of this is that this phase is often recognized by the artist only well after the fact.
I am lucky to recognize that I am in the sweet spot. With no forced upon restrictions nor expectations, I experiment. Even when it is a direction I decide not to go in, this freedom fosters evolution.
My last Cinefield®, I wanted to make more rhythmic than previous ones. With this one, I wanted a greater density. I went with a more limited color palette as to make it more noticeable. I tried several new things with this piece which will now just be part of my regular process.
With all my Cinefield® works, I only use photos which I personally took. Another different thing for this one, I only used two photos (in general with these works I don’t use too many, but this is even less). The piece is 11×17 inches. No digital magic just scissors and adhesive applied with a tiny brush.
Errata: copyright. People, especially with visual work, prominently display copyright notices. Definitely copyright your work, before you post it anywhere, before you submit it anywhere. However, the watermarks and notices are a distraction and according to many gallerists and editors I have spoken with, the mark of an amateur. To have the notice on edge of paper, it can be clipped off. To have giant watermark, your are wrecking effect of your piece.
Some might complain that to copyright everything one puts out can be cost prohibitive. With drawings, things where an artists hand is so blatantly present, it is not necessary. As for the rest, it actually makes an artist assess their work better. No one hits a bullseye each and every time. If you are considering copyrighting a work w/its accompanying fee, you have to be more honest with yourself.
Copyright is not a forcefield which will prevent people from lifting an image you created. It gives you a quick recourse to take back what is yours. Generation Instagram feels that if it is online and they like it, it’s a victimless crime to use it as content. Copyright allows you to get it back quicker or really drop the hammer should someone actually be monetizing one of your creations.
February 3
Compulsively, I read biographies on painters/artists and movements. I never restrict myself in regards to medium nor era. I notice that starting at about the time right before the impressionists, there was a common occurrence. A lot of artists had the same life trajectory with variations according to their personal temperaments and artistic voices.
There would be the years of learning followed by chrysalises period from which they would emerge with the base of what would become their distinct individual voice. Often, this would be followed by years of trudging forward while suffering through various slings and arrows of critics and the general public.
If lucky to still be alive, then once through this phase is the first blush of fame. Often times the fame would grow but it becomes sort of a trap. An artist starts to second guess themselves trying to hold onto all their hard fought for gains. This includes the temptation and pressure to merely repeat what had brought them their initial laurels.
From an artists point of view it becomes pandering where one pantomimes the familiar as to hear applause. Galleries don’t want to risk sales by the artist striking off in new direction. There is the danger that critics won’t understand or appreciate any deviation from what they like about an artist.
Even artists who mange to navigate all of this, when you read their biographies or “the letters of” type books they all comment on the same sweet spot of their careers.
It is when enough “fame” has finally happened so that they have met all of life’s basic needs (food, clothes, shelter et al) and can buy art supplies without having to think about the impact of any purchases on the rest of their lifestyle. The long gestated voice is recognized and appreciated but not to the degree that there can be no further evolution to it.
With no distractions from practical considerations towards daily living nor external pressures of audience, gallery or critics the artist is free to explore and follow their own North star.
This golden time is too often recognized only after it has passed.
In an attempt to buck the trend I try to take advantage of it as often as possible. Aside from a way of showing appreciation for my situation, it also fosters evolution.
Rarely do I do studies before doing a painting. This time I decided to, as to play around a little with compositional balance. Also, I decided to greatly increase the size of my work from the usual 11×14 inches to 25×30. when I paint it is usually flat upon my table. Because of the size, this time it was on an easel.
I have a great, heavy wood and brass easel which could be used for massive sized pieces. As I worked on lower sections of this piece, I sat on a stool with my feet on the bottom cross bar of the easel so that it looked like I was a windsurfer.
With my paints I always use half pan sets. I had been given a few tubes as a gift and decided to use those too. they required very much a different touch.
overall, I was very pleased with the results of this piece.
All Night Music &Dance
For my last collage the emphasis was just on doing something lush & beautiful. With this one I wanted to return to my often achieved effect of an open ended narrative. I also have in mind the desire to collage when on the road. With my density achieved via so many small components the amount of time it takes to do the piece would mean that on a shorter trip I would only (if even) be able to do a collage and not also paintings, sculptures et al.
Right now I have two styles of collage. I have mainly been doing my denser mosaic style. The other style incorporates larger pieces and I achieve the density I prefer in my works via distortions of lines and parts. This style is perfect for on the road, while the challenge of getting my preferred density will keep me away from mere mannerisms.
As is always the case with my collages, there is no digital magic. I use my trusty scissors and adhesive applied with brush to photos which I personally took.
“All Night Music & Dance” 11×14
She Knows
All the mediums which I work in are of equal importance to me. I get as much pay off putting pencil nubbin to scrap paper as an accomplished portrait. One of my biggest joys of which I never tire is portraying flesh via paint.
I never think in terms of “beauty” in the traditional sense of the word. Western idealized beauty very quickly becomes boring (same old-same old). I would rather an emotion which is real because truth is always beautiful. It is for this reason I largely prefer to work with people in my life as there is a trust there and they feel free to let their emotions be real in front of me.
For my painting I only ever use natural sunlight. I noticed at the start of this work that where the sun is when is starting to change. It appears the summer has snuck away.
“She Knows” 9×12 Watercolor & Paint
Rochelle
A painting of a woman (or anything) is not a woman but rather a thing unto itself, offering up an emotional pay off not limited to the specific real life moment of the subject. The subject is merely the starting point. Art allows for a great myriad of feelings to come forth, more than a photo. Onion like in layers, of emotional cadence, there is also the injection of the artist’s voice to the subject. This allows a viewer to return to a piece multiple times, finding new things and creating a different narratives in their head.
Emotion should not strive to encompasses any type of perfection, the same with beauty. I always aim for a truth in my work, honesty inherently being beautiful. Emotion, even the seemingly “negative” ones appeal to me to portray for this same reason.
This is my third tan paper piece. I was very pleased with it. It is my voice, the same effect as a musician switching instruments to play a different type of song.
“Rochelle” 9×12 Watercolor & Tan Paper
A Million Ways to Die
For all my work regardless of medium, emotion is my main goal. One way to ensure this happens is fostering a constant evolution.
I received many great responses to my last collage and it is a personal favorite. For my next one, I knew that I wanted to do something as dense but also different.
I limited my color palette which I have done before but this time i went with darker, more somber colors. There is a return to a more outright sense of narrative in this piece too. The last piece was a beautiful scene but not story. To my core I will always be a city boy and now I have created another one to visit in my daydreams.
As with all my collages, there is no digital magic worked. I utilize the old school method of scissors & adhesive applied w/brush to photos which I personally took. (new camera for photo)
“A Million Ways To Die” 11×14 (the lines visible beneath pieces don’t mean anything , they were resting on piece scrap paper w/discarded sketch)
Ils s’appellent zabbahdoo 2
I greatly admire the work of Jenny Saville. I was given one of those huge, beautiful coffee table books on her work. She works in a very different manner than I (this book was not of her recent work, so I am only speaking of this moment of time, no idea if she has changed). For some of her portraits, she would take photos from medical books of grimacing mouths and use those for subject’s mouth as opposed to just painting the subject’s mouth as it was. A lot of portraits in the book were pieces where the subject looked as they are in real life but a lot of the attributes were Frankensteined on from other source material.
I have no desire to work in this manner, i do not know that I even could. But, it did inspire me to do another of my close up portraits. One of the genre of portraits I do is a compositionally tight shot so that it is not necessarily immediately apparent what the viewer is looking at. One of my great joys is in portraying flesh in my works. With these type of portraits, it forces one to really nail the effect as the viewer does not have the usual visual clues which serve as a short hand in revealing what they are looking at (i.e an identifiable limb such as a hand or foot et al).
My original conception for this piece was to had a bit of canvas on either side of the body which would have been a different color and served as a clue. I decided to tighten the shot into more of a zoom.
I am very pleased with results. Long story short, this photo was not taken w/my new camera but rather my phone. You very much get a sense of the flesh and the blood below the surface, in person there is even more going on.
“Ils s’appellent Zabbahdoo 2” 9×12 Watercolor & paper
You Know It’s True
I have greatly enjoyed upping my game with collage, refining my process. As is true with all my work, I do not want to be reduced down to the “..” guy. (i.e landscapes/nudes et al). With collage, when you find something that works, it is very tempting & easy to slip in what would be for a musician, pet-licks.
I would like to think all my works have an open ended narrative feel to them. For this piece, I wanted to try to maintain that feeling but with less easily identifiable components making up the piece. The color palette would once again be restricted but darker than what I have been using. As usual, I work no digital magic, only my trusty scissors and adhesive applied with brush to images which I personally took. The black atop I hand painted on, this being the first time I have tried painting combined with collage.
“You Know It’s True” 11×17
Paper Life Painting 