Venus->Olympia->.....Kendra?

Referencing art history is a huge part of my series. So for my portrait of a rich housewife, I based my composition and pose on Venus and Olympia. These pantings have different types of women, different messages, but seen through the scope of a time are very similar. I hope to bring yet another type of woman to this pose. The obvious sexuality speaks for itself. But this housewife is not a symbol, a goddess, or a hooker. She *could* be any of these things...but above all, she is a real person in 21st century America. Which, in essence, is what I'm trying to communicate. Visual aids:

Venus of Urbino - Titian

Olympia - Manet
And mine :)

G-rated close up : )

It's so hard to photograph oil paintings...especially one this big. This painting is 6.5' x 4' It looks much better in person. So come see it! Art Crawl Oct 8-10!

Now What?

Alright. So here he is. He's done. One problem, what to do with the background? Is this why art professors always stay to work on the whole piece at the same time?

Anyway, here he is in all his Ed Hardy glory:

Almost Done

Gorilla Juicehead Guido? He's coming along!

Decisions.

I've never been very good at them. That being said. Here was my one "done" painting when I considered it done:

And now:

I think it's officially done now! *Celebrate*

In Progress (more than one at a time fits this status)

The way I paint is...sporadic. Maybe this is not best. But it is how I cope with paint that takes a while to dry and the constant frustration. This frustration comes from working, re-working, continuing to work one little inch on the canvas. And after all this working...it's not perfect. Well, what gives? So here's another morsel of a piece to ponder on. This is my portrait of an "intellectual" person. Referencing Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson's portrait of Jean-Baptiste Belley (below).

And here's my contemporary take on heroic thinking:

In Progress

Here's a sneak peak of a new one I'm working on. The main reference is David's painting of Napoleon:

The composition is still on it's way....

Somehow Francis Bacon worked his way into my painting... Just a rough draft now, more to come.

Lighting a Fire

For those of you who've been following this blog, you know that early this year, I came off the road to domesticate yet again and get started on my portfolio for grad school application. The first few months I was home I didn't touch a paintbrush. A mix between being busy getting settled into my new place and laziness coupled with the thought that I had almost a year to complete 20 paintings resulted in me wasting a lot of time. Well now, my friends, I am feeling stressed. 6 paintings started. 1 completely done. 20 by winter. Yikes, indeed. I've started giving myself deadlines and disappointing friends by being antisocial. This week has been productive. And something that I have completely lost the feeling of, inspiration by a fellow artist, has come back into my life. Lighting a fire, so to speak.

I first heard of contemporary oil painter Luke Hillestad through a friend from high school. I looked at his work and was amazed by the way he evoked the classic masters of the medium but with a new, fresh dramatic light. I reached out to him (via Facebook) and he responded that day which really shocked me. A talented successful artist being open and willing to communicate with others?!?! No way! He mentioned a talk he was giving at the Vine Art Center about his time spent in Norway studying under Odd Nerdrum. I got to go, and boy was I happy I did. His paintings are beautiful online. But in person....they are much more emotional and lifelike. Much like my reaction when seeing my first Vermeer in person. I had always thought of Vermeer as incredibly talented, but a rough painter. However, in person, you literally are waiting for the subject to move off the canvas. Being so close to these masterful works was so inspiring. Please check out Luke's webpage and if you have the chance to see his work in person, I would highly suggest it. Such a local talent is hard to find!