Cubism the art form pioneered by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso is something that has fascinated me since I was introduced to it. I love this art form and it is one that transformed the art landscape. Naturally it was something that I had to play around with. I am right now only working with charcoal pencil on paper to execute my cubist vision. I want to take my time before I transition to color. So I will be painting black and white paintings for a while. The apple was a simple painting to start with. But I wanted to paint the next one "Sitting on the floor" for a while and figured cubist painting would be a great way to capture the image. Hope you all enjoy this....looks like I am stuck in this zone for a bit. These are all 9" x 12" paintings done with charcoal on acid free charcoal paper.
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Hi Everyone, as many of you may have noticed I have been updating content onto the store starting with my oil pastels. I am now starting to add in the acrylics which naturally start at a significantly lower price point (due to a smaller size and no framing) and is sold and shipped as is without framing. I am guessing most of you would like to take care of the framing at your end.
I have been asked if the oil pastels can be sold without the frames. While it probably could be shipped so if done very delicately, it would become a significanct hassle for you the customer. The reason for this is the following, oil pastels never dries and is done on art sand paper. Even after years you can smudge the painting just by touching the surface. For this purpose I have each painting carefully framed after consulting with professional framers. I make sure to use all acid free material to ensure that the used framing supplies do not impact the painting and all paintings are framed under UV protected anti glare glass. At most angle you wouldn't even notice the glass. It also has a dust cover at the back to ensure no dust enters the framed region. Naturally all this adds approximately $170 to the painting. If you don't care about an original, I will soon have prints of the originals so thanks for your patience until that happens. I felt I had to convey the purpose behind the framing on the oil pastel paintings because most people are not aware about how to handle this medium Interesting fact: Last year I visited the Phoenix art museum and they had a "pastel" portrait there. Regular pastels are more like chalk almost pure color pigment and binder, oil pastels (the one I use) are a little stickier from the wax and not as delicate as pastels. At the museum they said the pastels are so delicate that every time they try to move it some of it flakes off the painting. Therefore around 50 years ago they fixed the place for that painting and it has never been moved since. Don't worry though, my oil pastel work is a lot sturdier and tools such as fixatives and so on have evolve that I use on my art work. If you do have any questions along these lines feel free to ask me. It help me be deeply engage with my art work and history. Granted the movie of this name was terrible but thats not what I want to talk about. Since my website launched I have been frantically updating it, working on tweaks, changes and additions. Today there are two new tabs the first is "Story book" talks about what inspired each painting. The second is the "Store" yay !. I now have a store on Etsy where one can purchase the originals. I am still working on the prints so they will soon be listed soon. Until then I hope you will all enjoy the updates and thanks for your support.
Hi followers, thank you all for your overwhelming support and suggestions for my new website. My blog that was originally on blogger has also now permanently moved to this webspace and that includes all the earlier posts. I am extremely excited about this move. Please feel free to comment and share you views as always. Thanks !!!
Window 3, inspired by the windows in Prague this particular picture fascinated me with its stone facade and the gorgeous stained mirrors that reflect the sky and the scenery. The hint of stains seen in the lower third of the window, make for fine details. I guess I am making progress with the window series after all. The second in the window series. I love a bright day specially when viewed from a window while reading a book. This is what drew me to this subject. It has all the right ingredients to attract one to get up and go for a walk. As you may all know water is one of my favorite subjects and of course what goes hand in had is another fluid medium that is light itself. This painting's focus is really the lights and the way it lends itself to beautify this scene. David Hockney is one of my favorite painters. His clean lines, almost flat paintings with a dose of texture to arouse the curiosity had gotten me deeply intrigued with his painting style. After a lot of thought and research into his style I have produced my own version of a flat painting. There was a lot of masking tape and care to create this work but the end result is acceptable. Inspired by his work of "Pool with two figures" I tried to produce what I can only describe as a prequel to it. "Hesitation" takes the main subject staring down at the pool but just younger, staring down at the pool this time in his backyard. I guess painting is all about creating that story. I call it "Hesitation" because as I would construct the story, he contemplates on getting into the water to swim while being at the same time being completely fascinated but the water itself. As time went by he has become successful and moved to LA as seen in the work of David Hockney. I am not even remotely close to the precision of this master painter. His original was 84" x 120" and mine is a minuscule 8" x 10". Achieving a level of flatness to the image is satisfactory but there is a long road to cover studying this style. If you are an artist, then in essence you have been fascinated by the work of one or more artists who have inspired you. I tend to sit for hours together, admire and ponder how some of my favorite artists achieve the effects, the inspiration and the passion in their work. It is never easy to achieve and imitation and repeating some of their masterpieces tells you the level of patience and effort gone into the work. Along those lines any help to accelerate that learning process is typically appreciated. As an artist we do tend to get wrapped in the style which lies within our comfort zone. It is hard to push to adopt another style. Nevertheless I find that it exposes me to new techniques, ideas and visions to view the subject you paint. The Forger’s Masterclass is a TV show hosted by John Myatt a British art forger from the 90’s who takes you through the styles and techniques on different painters as he tutors three candidates through a few hours of a class. I wouldn’t say he is well versed in the styles of all the different painters but I do believe he inspires one to be open to new techniques. There are about a dozen episodes on YouTube which artists could benefit from. I definitely found it useful.
Sometimes you see a place, a picture, a person in action and think "that's just perfect, I can look at that forever..". That is how I felt when I was browsing through Pinterest and came across this picture. The lady standing, the window behind her full of assorted objects, the hanging light fixtures, the glare of the skies reflection and the building across the street on the glass behind her, everything works. Naturally I had to paint this scene. I did however change certain aspects, I made the lady's waist thinner which made her posture look upright. I also flared her skirt a bit which highlights her better. I change the tiled pavement to line coming out towards the viewer to direct the gaze to the window. I completely enjoyed painting this composition and will be one of my all time favorites. This was done on a 8" x 10" canvas using Galleria acrylics. I guess I am in a fruit drawing roll right now. Of all the fruits I am really fascinated by the pear because I think it has a beautiful shape and character to its skin. Combining that with the leaves and the depth within such a small frame made me fascinated by this. This is one of my favorite pictures that I have painted. |
AuthorI am a self taught artist working with oil pastels, charcoal and acrylics. In my blog I share what inspires me and my work. Archives
November 2016
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