Good Omens

Erin wanted a "Mum" piece to take to college look over her - so I devised the "Talismans and Good Omens" for her. To be continued...

In the Water - Grapevine 2009 - Acrylic, plaster and polyurethane on board (4'X3')

This was a lot of fun. The red backgound was so gorgeous it took all my courage to start splattering the blue paints and gels across it. The gels were just the right consistency and flowed like very soft butter - a very sensual experiencing creating this work. The building plaster on the bottom creates a wonderful gritty contrast to the smooth gels above. The entire work is covered in layers of polyurethane to create the smooth "behind the glass" finish. The waves on the polyurethane were created by masking off areas of the painting and spraying varnish directly onto the dry polyurethane finish. It just breaks the surface and prevents the finish from being overly glossy. I really love this painting and could sit and look at it for hours.

New York Museums - 10 small paintings - Grapevine - Acrylic on canvas (1'X.75')

A work in progress.
I've completed 5 of the pieces: Awelding mask from Moma; the "grafitti" wall inside Moma(I need tofind the guy's name); an impression of the Richard Serra's in Moma - they were totally gorgeous - the kids and I loved how whispers and noises carried along the counters of the great sheets of core ten steel;a section of the lights in the entrance of the Whitney and an exit light in the Whitney.
Still working my way through the rest of the design. More pics to be added.

Countries and Lands - August 2009 - Grapevine, Sculpey Clay and Acrylic on Red Oak (4'X3.5')

The green soldiers on topof the painting were graciously supplied by Rob and Julie Hadley. Lizann's star cookie cutter lived at our house for almost a year. Thanks to all of you.

Travelling through Utah inspired me to create a US flag of based on the colors of its geological formations. I struggled to incorporate the yellows, oranges and reds without loosing the Amerinca flag. I only discovered the Quino reds a couple of months after I'd completed the work.

I used molds and stamps that the kids had created many years ago. I also molded and carved many of the images specifically for this work.


The Cocopelli man, the petroglyphs, and a number of Navajo images comestraigh out of the trip to Utah. The green soldier molds, Coca-Cola, Micky Mouse, guns and car images are just so All American. I have included our Grapevine address and paid homage Cam too. Many images and many hours of working and baking and rebaking clay molds and tiles.

Prufrock - June 2010 - Grapevine - Acrylic on canvas (4'X3.5')

I started Prufrock in 2008 and just couldn't make headway with the image. I knew I wanted to express T.S Eliot's "Prufrock" part of "The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock" in paint. The beauty and the decadence, the naked gorgeousness of modern man.

I'm hoping this is the first of 3 - Alfred and J. to follow.






The layers of gel and modelling paste that form the bulk of the body were worked and worked to get as close I could to the feel of metal without loosing the organic nature of the decaying flesh.

He is fatter than he seems - corsetted in to meet the demands of a set taken with artificial beauty; fighting the bulges that age brings on.



Prufrock's shoe is purposely female - on the androgenous body. Single simple brushstrokes that I dreamt about and practised over and over before committing to the canvas.

artlife

"HipHopBuggi" - Grapevine - 2008 (Red Oak, music boxes with crank handles, computer and printer parts and various found items. 9"X4"X4")

This item came out of Erin's love for taking things apart, and our newly discovered interest in the "SteamPunk" movement. Erin and I spent a rainy cold Staurday afternoon taking a hammer and skrewdrivers to a printer a boombox and and an old computer. We had such fun with taking it all apart and I couldn't bear to throw all those glorious bits away. We started talking about putting the bits back together in random ways.I had found some old music boxes with crank handles that play "Love Story", "What a Wonderful World" and "Moon River". And so the "HipHopBuggi" was born.