"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance."--Aristotle
Since I have been working at the gallery, I don't have a lot of things to keep me busy, so I spend my time reading, writing, sketching, and thinking. And my brain has been exploding with ideas that I want to paint. One reason I have this blog is to give myself a storage space so I don't lose track of potential painting ideas.
A while back I had a brilliant notion that I should paint a picture of my living room and hang it in my living room. In fact, I thought it would be sort of cool to do this throughout my house. But I didn't want them to be cheesy photo-realistic attempts. So I abstracted them almost beyond the point of recognition.
A while back I had a brilliant notion that I should paint a picture of my living room and hang it in my living room. In fact, I thought it would be sort of cool to do this throughout my house. But I didn't want them to be cheesy photo-realistic attempts. So I abstracted them almost beyond the point of recognition.
 |  |
 |  |
It reminds me of the time I became temporarily fixated on the interior paintings of Lichtenstein. I love the cartoon-like aspects of them, the way they are simultaneously flat and yet have perspective. Here are a few examples:
 |  |  |
I attempted a few of my own interiors in this style. On the first two, I included a somewhat three-dimensional piece of furniture that extruded from the canvas about six inches. And the third one, which is from the Bartlett House in Malakoff, had some interesting geometric overlapping shapes.
 |  |  |
In addition to my interest in interior spaces, I have a fascination for furniture, too. Over the span of my artistic life, I have painted a couple dozen chair and sofa portraits.
"A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy?"--Albert Einstein
Yesterday I went to my friend Roger's apartment. It is a fabulous space in a pink Art Deco building. And it is jam packed with all kinds of stuff! I totally went into sensory overload! So, of course, now I must paint a portrait of it, because honestly, that is how I think of these spaces, as though they are alive.
I am forming a group of artist friends here and we are going to work on some projects together in the coming weeks. I am so excited! As Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort."
I am forming a group of artist friends here and we are going to work on some projects together in the coming weeks. I am so excited! As Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort."
RSS Feed
