portraits 2009 |
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acrylic,house
paints and colored pencil on 11x14 watercolor paper |
By
way of an explanation for this series of portraits,let me step back
a bit first.About 20 years ago,a woman that I knew asked me a simple
question,"why don't you ever just create something right out of
your head?".What she was referring to was the vast photographic
files that I kept to use as reference material for whatever ideas did
come bubbling to the surface.Whether it was a painting or a cartoon,I
had to find just the right reference material to fit the idea that existed
in my mind's eye.I hadn't yet learned to trust my instincts and just
go for it,which I actually did about a year later.At that time I had
hit a brick wall creatively and just couldn't work.I had gotten so bogged
down by all of the things that I had learned about painting in college
that the blank canvas stopped me dead in my tracks.All of the fun had
gone out of it completely.Another friend suggested that I just let all
of that go and just paint.What??Let it go??Form,color,content,gesture,ART
HISTORY?!!Blasphemy....but then,the truth of what he was sayng hit me
like a runaway train and I spent the next year breaking every rule that
I was taught,including tossing aside that huge photo reference file,creating
some of the worst art of my life and loving every damned minute of it.At
the end of that tunnel I found my way back to trusting my own instincts
and actually started having fun painting again.I'm not one of those
'artiste' types who needs to paint to excorcise some demons or get the
poison out,that's a load of horseshit as far as I'm concerned.I know
that it's definitely therapeutic for many artists out there,myself included
especially when I am in the midst of throwing paint around the studio
like a madman possessed,and I certainly don't wish to lessen the seriousness
of their art by saying this.I've always just wanted to create something
that will engage the viewer,maybe make them think a little bit and hopefully
just connect with it on whatever level they're comfortable with.So for
the better part of the last twenty years the only time that I have used
any type of photographic reference material has been for tattooing,caricatures
and the occasional odd t-shirt design.Otherwise I just let the paint
fly and go with what I find there.Well,jump to the full present now
and I've recently started working on a series of pieces for Boneyard,a
show paying homage to a place near and dear to my heart as I have been
going there since I was a child,the Oak Grove Cemetery in Fall River,Ma.I
decided to base a series on some photos I've taken of the place.Rather
than just do some landscapes per se I decided to flip the images upside
down and approach them with the same mad action painting that starts
all of my other current work.The simple act of flipping the image upside
down changes my connection to these familiar images in such a way that
I can see them abstractly.Once they are done,I flip them right side
up and go from there.(you'll be able to see more of that series once
the show is up,I will not be posting any of them before then).I've been
wanting to try and do some portraits for a while but my method of working
has kept that from happening.How am I supposed to do a portrait if I
don't ever paint from life?!Well,starting the Boneyard series gave me
the key that I needed to open that door.I've begun working with photos
again,turned upside down so as not to get distracted by familiarity
with my subjects.I'll leave it at that for now and you can decide for
yourself just how I am doing with this.Feel free to contact me with
any feedback.Thanks. |
caitlyn |
andrea |
mac |
me and big doug |
self portrait |
dad |
nana |
self portrait with vera |
you are listening to 'uncle tony' from 'messy creatures' by the jim
charette sound project available at bandcamp.com |