Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
The Coconut Head
The Coconut Head. Oil and sand on canvas, 20"x26". This was painted from a staged photo of a beat up coconut washed up on the beach in Marco Island, FL. The painting, started almost two years ago and essentially completed a year later, had been sitting on my improvised "work in progress" rack ever since while I was racking my brain for a way to at least not ruin it, if not make it better. Finally, last week I summoned courage enough to put some finishing touches on it and called it a painting. Hence the completion date.
Monday, April 26, 2010
The Blue Lip Rising
aka Vozneseniye Sinegubogo Gamadrila, for those of you who can read Russian. 19" x 26", oil on canvas. In a bizarre combination, this painting was inspired by some of the flat-colored yet amazingly expressive canvases by Joan Miro and a certain politically incorrect poem most of you Russian speakers must have recently seen on the internet. Started in the heat of the last presidential campaign and completed in early summer of 2009, this painting remains my last finished work to date, before I went to write my first novel (and then the second one, nonstop) To quote incomparable Forrest Gump, "and that's all I have to say about that."
Fish Eats Bird
20"x26", oil on unprimed canvas. This was painted in one layer and one sitting, on a rainy Sunday, under the influence of a series of Joan Miro's "anti-paintings" on unprimed canvas that I saw at a MoMA exhibition. I saw a lot of Joan Miro's work before, and I like it a lot - in my book, he's a solid Surrealist No. 2, coming right after The Great Man himself - but here I was amazed how you can achieve a pretty stunning effect using the most basic of technical means. My hands started itching right away, hence this humble effort.
Heart Full of Holes
Oil on canvas, 9" x 12". This is obviously Mark Knopfler-inspired. For those of you who are not lifelong fans, here's a link to the lyrics: http://www.songs-lyrics.net/so-Mark-Knopfler-lyrics-Kill-to-Get-Crimson-lyrics-Heart-Full-of-Holes-lyrics-sdmlfete.html As I learned more about color theory, I wanted to do a real color job, unlike most of what I painted before. Well, I guess the colors it does have. This is a small painting that was originally intended as a study for a larger canvas. However, I spent an inordinate amount of time at it working out small details, and now the itch is gone. If I ever run out of fresh ideas and decide to come back to the subject, I am sure I'll be able to do a better job, now that I see what I did wrong and how to make it better (Oh, the power of hindsight ...). While I am reasonably happy with the heart itself, this is my first attempt at painting water, and it shows. Anyway, thank you for looking.
Upward Mobility
Oil on canvas, 19" x 13". Oh, that torturous move upward ... My daughter called this one "Zigzugla" on account of its twisted shape. Here's yet another example of a great idea killed by incapable hands. Almost no one recognizes this for what it is: a human body, feet up, making its way upward through a length of armored aluminum cable.
Breakthrough
Oil on canvas, 26"x 20". Basically, this is an interplay of shadows on my bathroom wall (oh, the bathroom, the mother of all genius!). Except for the RPG shot through the head, of course - or whatever you think it may be. That part is all me.
Self-Portrait as an Electric Chair Lamp
Oil on canvas, 19" x 10". This is my first attempt at a human face - let alone my own. Let alone distorted. The painting had been in the works for over 6 months and was essentially completed in the fall of 2007. It took another six months for me to finally have the courage to admit it to myself that I cannot make it any better. I started this painting well before learning how to paint backgrounds, move along the color wheel, or mix semineutrals. Additionally, as I realized only recently, the perspective of the puddle in the lower part is wrong too. Make your own opinions, it is what is. Personally, as is often the case, I love the concept but pretty much hate the execution. It was a lot of fun though and I do not regret a thing. Hopefully, I'll do better next time.
Two Medium Pizzas
Oil on board, two separate pieces, about 16"x 24" each. The pizzas themselves are separate pieces of wood glued onto the cutting boards. The carpentry work is all mine too, so they are kind of crooked.
Madonna with Child
Oil on board. This is my own modern take on the eternal topic. The alternative name, The Duck, was suggested by my two kids who, while I was clumsily pretending to be a carpenter, said it looked like a duck. I had neither the nerve nor audacity to reassure them. I believe this is the best thing I've painted so far, and I am immensely proud of it. This composition took over 6 months to finish, involved numerous false starts and revealed new and unexpected turns every step of the way. In the end, it basically painted itself.
The Foot
Oil on canvas, 12" x 10". It's a small canvas that took a lot of time and effort. Now, two years down the road, I clearly see what is wrong with it technically, and how to fix it, but I decided to leave it as is. It's a milestone alright.
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