Man, Animal Watercolors...
I decided to post these together because I don't believe that either of them really have the merit to stand alone. Each is smaller than their wood counterpart and carry with them less of an impact of details. With that said, I really like how they turned out. The first was the vulture which has in it a conceptual basis. The second is the surfer which was more or less a fun painting to get done before the show last Friday.
WiseMan, Octopus...
I have had quite a bit of feedback about this piece. To this point it is the most attention grabbing, and perhaps most well done of the series. The color scheme and composition for this painting very from the template I was using for the first several 'man, animal' paintings. WiseMan, Octopus was sold the day after it was finished, but if you would like prints of it just give me a holler.
Caveman, Dodo...
I did this little guy last night. I am preparing for a showing this Friday where I want to feature my 'Man, Animal' series. The hope is that I can sell some of the work and actually have some money.
On the Wings of an Eagle...
I hope there is little explanation needed for this painting. It developed while eating brunch at Radial Cafe in Atlanta with my roommate. We were discussing some of the ideas I was working on and after some discussion back and forth this imagery came about. The Chinese man riding an eagle. There is so much going on in this painting so if you have any questions feel free to ask.
Girl, Snake
The Found Wood 'man, animal' series has led up to this current related series. This painting is not on found wood, and it is not simply about the imagery.
Girl, Snake is the work of concept about identity. It is about how we see ourselves as human beings, and finding our identity in the whole of our reality.
The subsequent pieces will follow the same theme in that they will contain the familiar 'man, animal,' be conceptually driven, and will be painted on canvas.
Enjoy.
Man, Rooster
This is the one! It is the last in the series on found wood, and it went off with a bang. This final piece brought together everything from the previous four. The beauty of the textured background, the imagery of 'man, animal,' the color of 'Lady, Goldfish' and the skill of the brushwork. Along with it comes the added bonus of some conceptual compositing. The idea at play is about the man positioned as if attempting to fly and the rooster laying on the grass with no obvious intention to move. The man is overweight, and most definitely will not be flying of his own accord and the rooster, which rarely flies anyway, is simply laying on the ground in apathy. There is a discord between the reality of each character, and the intentions of each.
Boy, Wolf Girl, Pterodactyl Baby, Brontosaurus Lady, Goldfish
Lady, Goldfish
This old lady was like a breath of fresh air for me. If you know my work, then you know that I use very little color. Most of the work is earth tones and greys, but this lady pushed me into a brand spankin' new color zone! Thank goodness too.She is lacking some technique with the brushwork, but she is beautiful to me.
Baby, Brontosaurus
This one is actually a disgrace! The painting lacks color and form and unity. It's all part of the process though. Sometimes you get a good one, sometimes you don't. Really I want to throw this small (scary looking) child off a bridge, but that's not safe...
Rob Bell...the Heretic
Love Wins. That's what they say, and that's what they hate.I haven't actually read the book, yet. Though, I had attended Mars Hill for nearly a year when I lived in the great state of Michigan.
I hated Mars, and I loved Mars. I was challenged, and I grew. I was offended, and I found truth.
This is my response to the 'controversy' surrounding Rob Bell, especially with the advent of his new book "Love Wins."
Playing on the great iconography of older traditions of christianity, I have begun a new iconography. Hopefully this will be read as a play on the tradition, and a play on the controversy.' Rob Bell as saint, and his objectors as saints.
I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that Rob Bell hasn't performed any miracles, that he has his short-comings, and that he even makes mistakes. But dang it, what makes him worthy of being hated so much?
Anyway... the fire represents condemnation, not of God, but of man. The Gold Leaf represents holiness- not of righteousness, but of the Love of God. The halos are the sanctification of man through the nature of the Love of the Creator. The blue skies are the 'gateway' to heaven. It is narrow, but as God's love is infinite, the gateway to heaven is certainly large enough to accept the whole of humanity. The earth, as seen in the imagery, is of a size that fits through the gates of heaven. The Love of God is big enough for the world, the world just has to accept it.
Kadamaian Stream Toad
This is a rendering of the 'Near Threatened' Kadamaian Stream Toad.The resource was taken from ARKive.
This is another project from school. The parameters were as follows: On illustration board Use Watercolor Use Colored Pencil Blend the colored pencil over the watercolor with some sort of solvent. Render with perfect precision without success (this part I made up for effect)
I like how it turned out mostly. For the duration of the project I was freaking out about how bad it was, which it still is, but there was no need to fret as I did. I overreact very well. The toad himself is absolutely dashing- a specimen of pure delight. The leaves on the other hand are almost as if someone took a crayon to the board.
Also, I should mention, the composition is a bust, which no one-not even my professor- had mentioned to me before hand. Jay loves to critique, but the most I get out of him is, 'Yeah, sounds good, just work on it and it should be fine.' That's what he says, then my grade comes around, and that's a story in and of itself. There is also a component of my openness to critique. This goes back to a revelation I had in grade school.
I had very few friends before my junior and senior years, and I always wondered what it was about me that was so different. Without too much consideration I could name many several things that set me apart from my peers. Still, my wonder lingered, until it hit me. After I realized that there were people who were willing to be my friends, and that they truly did accept me as a person, my stand-off-ishness was queerly apparent.
Teasing was never a part of my daily experience, but neither was friendship, and that confused me to no end. Finally it had come to me, the reason wasn't my difference, it was my seeming arrogance. I didn't talk to people, so they didn't know how to talk to me- part of that is an awful social awkwardness that has slowly been dying.
So here is to the Kadamaian Stream Toad- the metaphor to my 'near threatened' social awkwardness. Hopefully, the soon extinct social awkwardness, but perhaps it would be best to have a resurrection of the Toad, and to see the beauty in what it is.
Sin and Sanctification
Did the sketch at church today then finished it while porch sittin in this outrageously beautiful Georgia weather.
Its about the nature of 'sin' and sanctification. Unfortunately the face too closely resembles that of the iconic and irritating image of Jesus.
My Poker Face...
Here is the first real art piece of my SCAD career, if school could be considered a career. Unfortunately my grade on this project was a lousy B. I think that is due to the pen illustration not having a full range of blacks and whites. Jay, my professor, is a great guy but sometimes he doesn't really let you know what he wants from an assignment unless you have a deep discussion with him about every move you make. That being said, I had to miss a couple classes due to unfortunate things, and was unable to speak with him about the whole process.
Though the grade is unfortunate, the artwork is awesome.
Click on the images to enjoy even more...I guess.
Poker Face 1- Prisma Color Black and White, Verithin Black and White. 8"x6"
Poker Face 2- Micron Pen, Old Old India Ink. 8"x6"
A Visual Commentary...
I sat down in church today, not in a seat but, on the floor. There was an obtuse corner that begged for my attention. The light shining from the tall window was directly on my lap, in a fashion that yearned for creation. Ruth and I have been creating a booklet throughout this quarter, and I hadn't constructed a page all week. Last week I did my page while running slides for the service, and it seemed fitting for me to create again this day.
I sat on the floor in the wide corner and set my things all around me. The worship music began, and my worship painting followed. My worship this morning was more of a confession, a pouring out of my heart to God.
Below is my attempt at concept...tell me what you think.
Here we have the visual and the editorial. Yes! I do believe that I am a fan of this work after all. John Hendrix, SooJin Buzelli, and Chris Buzelli were special guests at the Atlanta campus of Savannah College of Art and Design, and they all did their part in inspiring me.
Chris said that 'Concept is King,' which is a phrase that is now covering my sketch-book. They sunk in because I am somewhat of a literal thinker. I draw what I see and hear. Little for me is conceptual.
The Golf Course...
The Golf Course behind the apartments here at Colonial Homes have been a constant and consistent place of awe. The way the sky plays with the tops of the trees, the subtle color in the faithful leaves, and the amazing textures in the earth form an Eden of visual pleasure. Not lying, every time I drive by there I fall in love again.
It's a love that is predicated on the beauty of the view, but a love that I cherish as it continues to resurrect itself.
So Saturday- 6 days after the 'snow storm'- I went out to soak in the beauty, and to capture, in as much as is possible, the glory of the view.
It was a chilly afternoon, but the sun was perfect, and the trees were begging for me to join them and bask in warmth of the light.
As I was 'snapping' away, this vantage point of the golf course was new and intimate. I had always given the trees in the center all of my attention. They were, to me, the epitome of the beauty in this place, and then I saw these trees, in this space, singing a song I hadn't yet heard.
If I had left before capturing the immaculate texture of the earth, I would have walked away empty. Immaculate in the sense that in all of the darks and lights, and lines and shapes, and the crazy randomness, everything worked together in a perfect collaboration of beauty.
As I walked back to the house I laughed. On the one side of the street there was ice everywhere, as if the snow storm had come in the night before, and on the other side was green grass and warm reflected light. I laughed.
Watercolor Booklet...
So I have this idea. I want to illustrate worship (obviously it is not an original idea, but hey...). I want to see how people worship this power in the universe we call God. I want to experience a different face of humility-
A different face of beauty-
A different side of God.
So I am doing just that. I am going to be attending services at church's all around Atlanta and illustrating in watercolor (at least watercolor for now) the way the people worship.
And, just for the occasion[s] I made, and bound, this watercolor booklet.
My friend Ruth and I have been in a booklet making frenzy lately, and it just so happens to have coincided with my new found interest.
The laces tie it shut!
The front cover flips all the way around-i.e. stays out of my way
Thank you for helping me figure this out Ruth.
Homeless not Hopeless (thankful)
I saw man after work one day. He was standing in the median on Buford Highway. I am one to see what's on the surface of things, to notice the homeless and have my heart broken. I have a friend who looks at things beyond the conventional, let's say easy, initial thoughts.
There are so many people who are hopeless in the world. There is a lack of hope. Can I say this another way, perhaps we can look at it in this light, there is a lack of hope in the air. I said the same thing three times, 'hope'fully my point is coming across.
I see the homeless, and I think hopeless.
I stopped my car that night, it was raining. I had some left-over pizza from work that I was bringing home, but the man's sign asked for food.
I gave him my bag of pizza, and what happened is he took my hand, looked me in the eyes, and simply said, 'thank you.' I was filled with hope, this man was full of hope.
Let's approach this again. I see the homeless, and I think hopeless. I see my classmates, and I see hope for the future (i.e. a job, a family, etc.)
But I fail to take their hands, look them in the eyes, and get to know them.
I hope for hope in the hearts of everyone I meet. I hope that hope can well up in me, and overflow to those around me. I hope, for the hope of glory found in the freedom of Grace in the ghost who walks on water.