Thursday, October 26, 2006

Picasso at 80

I was looking though a XXe Siecle Revue for ideas and saw a photo of Picasso at 80 or so. I decided to do a portrait based on the photo but wanted to do something with the background. I made a series of woodcuts based on small sections of Picasso's paintings from that time, all combinations of a man's hand and a woman's breast. I choose one of the woodcuts to make a "wallpaper".

Mixed media on canvas. Acrylics, pen, charcoal, woodcut and collage.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Leaf Festival

I just got back from the Leaf Festival in Black Mountain, NC. What a great experience! Random, unedited photos are here.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Two more...

Two pieces related to my depression.

The first of these is from a very bad night, August 8th I think. I sat in my backyard crying and began writing using black ink and a nib. I wrote quickly and sloppily and tore out the pages as I finished. I'm not sure how much you can read but it represents the worst night of my depression. Before you try to have me committed understand that my therapist thought the writings were fairly normal and nothing to worry about. He was concerned that the words reflect a good deal of self loathing. Duh!

Mixed media on canvas. Pen, ink and paper, acrylics, collage.

The second takes me back to Robert Rauschenberg. I had great fun making this and it may not be finished yet. I kept looking at it hoping it would tell me what it was. Finally it said "The International Flag of Depression". Go figure.

Mixed media on plywood. Old Oriental rug, acrylics, ink, pieces of china, leaf prints, and cutouts from a Tawainese book on Buddhism.



Saturday, October 14, 2006

Wood Panels

I took two discarded cabinet doors and started painting late one night. The next morning I was shocked to see that they weren't too bad. Robert Rauschenberg claimed that he used fatigue, lack of sleep and Jack Daniels as a means to get himself into the right frame of mind for painting. Perhaps lack of sleep and wine works just as well.

I'm not sure how they will be hung.

Un-named as yet. Acrylics on plywood cabinet doors.

Cover Up

The plan for this piece was a pure collage. Then I started painting, dripping, playing and manipulating. I began to see that covering the reality shown in the articles was appropriate. Has there ever been an administration that manipulated what we are told more that Bush II? Yellow cake from Niger, Saddam and bin Laden as best buddies, "Mission Accomplished", WMDs, no spying on Americans without a warrant, "We do not torture", etc, etc.

As the bumper sticker says, "If you're not angry you're not paying attention."

"Coverup" Mixed media, collage (WSJ, NYT, N&O) on canvas.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

"I hate wasting paint" revisited

You might (probably not) remember when I posted an earlier version of this. This is the "final" version and I hope you like it.

"Red Leaves." Mixed media, acrylics and ink on paper.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Repost

I have also become interested in Buddhism and meditation (the painting and the Buddhism both reactions to depression). After a very angry piece on Bush and his comrades in crime I felt I needed something peaceful. I started a piece with the idea that it would reflect a Rumi poem. Rumi was a mystical Sufi poet in the 13th century and his poetry is magical. He wasn't Buddhist of course but he is very sympatico.

It is the second thing I ever did last April when I started painting. It took forever to finish. I painted, then sanded off the paint. Painted over, tried this and that. I never got tired of it or frustrated. I knew the quote I was going to use and that seemed to keep me calm.

I posted this earlier but the picture was terrible. The surface of the piece is very smooth -- I sanded it with 1600 grit wet/dry sandpaper leaving it like glass. The top right corner is done using "crackle" available at your local Lowe's or Home Depot.

"Rumi #1" Mixed media, acrylic and latex house paint on discarded plywood cabinet front. Finished with hard wood floor varnish.

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Subtlety

Here's another subtle political piece. ;-)

Our commander and chief declared "Mission Accomplished" on May 1, 2003. Of the US military deaths in Iraq, 2,613 as of the end of July, 2,324 occurred after that.

Exactly what was the mission?

"The Math of War" Mixed media collage on canvas, acrylics and ink. The caskets were made from a painting of mine that I digitized, multiplied and then printed on a Xerox color printer.

What happens when you play

Maggi came over the other day and we painted together on the front porch. I always loosen up when I paint with M. I just start throwing paint up there, sometimes with disasterous results. Not this time, I like it! The dripping paint part was great fun.

I'm not sure what it is or what to call it but that is unimportant. I just need to decide if I should cut off the rough edges of the plywood or not.

Unnamed. Acrylics on plywood.

Friday, October 06, 2006

All the text..

For those (anybody out there?) who want to see all the text of the Medusa piece...here it is. Compliments of Phil's photography.

An example of the quality



So how good are the new photos? Go back and look at my earliest posts where you'll see my attempt at photoing this work.

"Three Medusas or Orwell just got the Year Wrong" Mixed media, oil and latex house paint on discarded plywood cabinet front, collage, picture wire, finished with hard wood floor sealant.


Wow. Look at how clear the eye in the middle is.

Ah, Finally

My friend Phil Psilos took high quality photos (10 megapixel!)of my better work and fixed any problems in Photoshop on his Mac. So expect to see some more regular posting of works.

I'm trying to get ready for my Nov-Dec show at the Carrboro Town Hall show. I should have 20-25 pieces ready for showing.

Here's one that I've played with for several months. It's finally come together and I'm pretty pleased with it.

"Primordial" Mixed media on mat board. Acrylics, ink, dried flowers.