Tramp l'oil

oil - 40x48 inches

This is not a statement against having one’s flesh inked. I just think the motivations and results are often at odds. People often get tattoos in order to feel unique, owning the bodies they were born into without choice. Selecting a generic design from a book however, seems to only reinforce conformity.

You may recognize the references to Velázquez, particularly in the pose and the cupid tattoo. The Rokeby Venus by Velázquez was vandalized by a feminist in 1914. The slashes the Venus endured are suggested here in the fabric folds.

Velazquez - The Rokeby Venus, with vandalism overlay

I’ve been experimenting with chalk based mediums lately and here’s a prepared medium that I coincidentally used.

Rublev Velazquez Medium

resin crystals and rubber blobs

I make many of my own materials and while damar never daunted me, I was reluctant with regard to Regalrez. Damar is the traditional varnish but it has some problems with application and aging. The National Gallery of Art has developed a varnish using Regalrez, a synthetic resin. Gamblin markets a Regalrez varnish under the name Gamvar but the price is ridiculously high. Fortunately, the varnish components are somewhat readily obtainable. There’s a rubber component added to aid in elasticity and brushability. Also, a UV blocker may be easily added to the finished varnish.

I’ve used several other varnishes, both synthetic and natural. Golden’s MSA is perhaps the worst I’ve used and a damar/mastic blend was one of the best. Regalrez features a low molecular weight, low refractive index, clarity, and easy solubility should removal be necessary. The varnish can also be applied as soon as the painting is dry due to the weak solvent and the resin not cross-linking with the drying oil.

I happened to have a couple of empty Jack Daniel’s bottles for storing the prepared solution.

resin and rubber steeping in solvent

At the time of this writing, I’ve varnished a dozen or so paintings with this, some large and some small. It has a long open time that allows it to be brushed out evenly. Once dry, it has a nicely natural sheen without looking like a hazy plastic layer as so many other varnishes do.

Across the River Same

oil - 72x52 inches

This painting is revisits an idea I’ve explored before in a painting of the same title – Across the River Same. Both build on a thought from the Greek philosopher Heraclitus some 2,500 years ago, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”

The subject matter comes from a conversation I had with myself about storage buildings. I was expressing my hatred for these blights on the landscape as blatant examples of a materialistic culture. I also asked myself if perhaps the persistence of possessions offered something intangible. Beyond nostalgia, I believe objects serve our souls, wrapped themselves in matter. Things are magic, allowing us to recover and relive; they are extensions of our corporeal identity.

Sometimes a rug just ties the room together too.

Bout Poster - 17x11 inches

Seat Yourself

oil - 50x50 inches

A private conversation in a public place was the prompt for this painting. The cropped exit sign, broken Dos Equis bottle, table and chair legs, and more subtle hints throughout, all give hints as to the topic of this conversation.

Seat Yourself - detail

VI Art Walk 2011

17x11 inches

Virginia Intermont College hosts our first Art Walk on November 11, 2011. The event includes artwork from students and faculty in locations across the comfortably walkable campus. Theatre performances of Shakespeare’s The Tempest are also happening the same weekend.

Little City or Bust

Bout Poster - 17x11 inches

The bout title was just bursting with possibilities. Come to the bout on October 8th and get a poster while you’re there.

 The illustration went through some revisions so you might like to see a crop of an earlier version

The design was made entirely in Adobe Illustrator CS5 and no bulge filters were used.

Across the River Same

oil - 44x72 inches

Heraclitus said we cannot step into the same river twice. We hold on to things as representations of moments, people, places, and past self-images. This fictional, née mythological Atlas Storage facility bears these things we cannot bear to lose.

Prometheus Band

After seeing another artist’s painting of Prometheus bound, I started thinking about how I could make the subject my own. I also had in my head an image of one of my generic drone types cutting a little rug. By the time it all came together I had cast one of my favorite local bands, Annabelle’s Curse, as Prometheus and painter and picker Sam Morrow as Man. My go-to bar, Machiavelli’s, sets the stage. My friend Brian Andrews plays Epimetheus in the background across from Pandora.

Prometheus is called the Fire Bringer and in some readings of the myth this fire is the very spark of consciousness. Music here is not only the metaphor but the conduit for this fire.
Much of my work is about the alienation and dehumanization of worker drones. Music, and art in general, can remind and remold us – making us more human.

I usually have a few colors that I become enchanted with during a painting. Cobalt Turquoise Light was a favorite here.