Saturday, June 25, 2011

Impressionistic

 I've really been painting a LOT lately. All week long I've just been hitting the canvas first thing in the morning and not stopping until late in the evening. So far it appears to be paying off because now some of my friends have taken an interest in my work and have agreed to purchase a couple of my paintings. Today, I figured I'd take the day off from painting and allow my mind to rest. Of course, I do still have a ton of ideas running through my head.

Here is one recent painting of mine titled "First Impression." It is my own version of an impressionistic seascape. I spent a good four hours on layering different colors for the building, water and sky.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Don't Get Stoned

I sketched out what appear to be some random stones/rocks. I got the image in my head earlier today while I was pondering the many reasons behind a person's substance abuse and all of the slang/vernacular that goes along with it. I wasn't thinking about anyone in particular. One of the phrases people like to throw around is "Are you stoned or something?" The first time I heard that phrase was in some movie and then later all throughout high school. I've always wondered why people associate an inanimate stone with an altered state of consciousness. Hmmm.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Obscurity 1 & 2

Been reading up on Jackson Pollock and Picasso. Fascinating artists. I painted these two pieces earlier today. I've been painting up a storm lately and have a lot of paintings piling up in my room. I feel it would be far too time consuming to try and post pics of every single one of them on here. So, for now, here are two of 'em. I used acrylic and charcoal pencil on printer paper. I have titled them "Obscurity" and "Obscurity II." Obscurity is a concept with which I have become interested in. It can take on so many meanings but it is rare when people really analyze such a concept.


Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Skeletal Arm Sketch

I've been studying a few anatomy books and sketching out different limbs, muscles, bones. It really does help provide a better understanding and appreciation of the human form. And it is a great way to improve one's drawing skills. This one is a simple graphite arm sketch.

Over Ripe


I consider this one to be a prelude to all other still life/figurative paintings of mine that have yet to be created.

A Bunch


This still life painting turned out better than I thought it would. I am quite proud of it.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Secluded Artist

I have been somewhat secluded from things for the past couple of weeks. Well, secluded from the things that most people tend to take for granted in a modern society. But I am remaining as focused as I can be on my art and art related ideas. I find that I am drastically improving in my drawing skills and color mixing skills. I don't quite know what I will create with such improvements but I know it will be something on a grand scale. For now, I shall just continue to draw as much as I can and paint as much as possible. I've mainly been using cardboard boxes as canvases due to the fact that I cannot afford real canvas, stretched or unstretched. Besides, I like having the freedom to do with a box what I may and cardboard is just as durable/frail as any linen canvas. I've also been learning a lot from the Van Gogh biography I've been reading. He was very diligent with his drawing and painting. He knew that he wasn't very good at it in the beginning but kept practicing and practicing. He put up with a lot of criticism in his lifetime, the worst of it came from his mentors. It is a shame that he insisted on cutting his life short. There were plenty of other misunderstood artists during that time that persisted and continued creating well into old age. Perhaps it was just his schizophrenia/depression that got the better of him.


Here are some recent pieces of mine. The first pic is of two small paintings. A blue building titled "Building No. 1" and a black building titled "Building No. 2". Both were done in gouache paint on a recycled cola box. I tried to really make them stand out and convey a deep emotional context. That is also why I painted a red background for both of them. The second pic is just a charcoal figure sketch titled "Talk Now." It reminds me a lot of some picasso-like abstract figure. His work has also been influencing me as much as Van Gogh's. But I've yet to read a Picasso biography. I definitely will in the near future. I hacen't sold many pieces lately but that is mostly because I have been studying a lot of different drawing and painting techniques in order to expand my repertoire and add more depth to the canvas. I do see myself selling a ton of sketches and small abstracts on ebay and in person soon. I'll update on here with a few links once I'm ready to start selling again.