Solo Duet

Solo Duet, aprox. 5 x 3 ft., mixed media

This is another improv piece. With this gallery opening looming I needed to do something without a plan. It felt good to do and thats what I needed. I plan to cut it down to be a diptych (which I did to my first improv painting). Visit viddler or youtube to see the process of this painting!

(I recommend viddler quality wise but it takes a bit longer to upload so go to youtube if its not up yet!)

Accidents are the best part of being an artist. I learned this when i worked as a ceramics studio assistant. Now whenever something I didn't plan happens I know the piece will be special. In this case I took an oil pastel and drew something, didn't like it and used water based materials on top of it. This created a vein like effect underneath the skin of the figure.



Another happy accident is the figure highlighted in this painting. I sketched her from a Lucian Freud painting while I was collecting visual data of different kinds of body-types. In my monoprint class I ended up trying to make a print from my drawing. It failed but I liked the plate I used. This particular process is a xerox transfer process, so the photo copy of the chosen image is the plate.



Underneath this woman is a quick sketch of a framed portrait of a man in a top hat. I didn't like where that was going (I have tried to insert him before, he is a perfect voyeur for my subjects, yet he never seems works out).


I have this piece hanging next to the area where I am painting in my apartment (look below). Mary Cassatt was a huge influence on my life growing up. My parents did a wonderful job of throwing me into the art world when I was very young. My family has a special love for Cassatt, not only because of her beautiful artwork, but also because she pioneered the path that my mother and I are now (and have been) walking.

I had to share how physically overwhelmed my living space is with ART. I will be hanging most of it a week from tomorrow at Flourish Studios. Wish me luck!