Tuesday, March 27, 2007

"Don't Touch Us"




In old circus sideshow pictures, the subjects are posed very scientifically, without self or personality. They are stripped to nothing more than their physical selves. Their bodies are all the audience craves, and so it is given. I don't know anyone that would not at least look at one of the pictures, let alone pour over it - appreciating the shocking deformities. It is an odd, perverse curiosity, ogling the deformity of another (one that I am guilty of).
What if you were to look at the PEOPLE, not just their BODIES? What would Siamese twins be like? They can never exist as anything but a binary unit, by their very physical nature(s). For these girls, they have naturally fallen into a dominant and a submissive relationship. One twin is protective and strong, shielding the delicate and tender sister. They are so inexorably intertwined. One half always depends on the other.
I wonder if they talk to each other, or do they communicate through some kind of telepathy? I wonder if they say "I" or "We" when referring to themselves...
ps - when I was painting this, in my mind I always thought of their names as Belladonna and Oleander.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Shrug




The cliche is "to feel the weight of the world on your shoulders". But what if it was the moon? Such a desolate, beautiful place. Would you want to carry it, or would you want to shrug?


watercolor, graphite, paper

original - SOLD

Monday, March 19, 2007

"Nevermore"




This is "Nevermore". She is a stray little raven with a message (thank you, Poe). When I was first doing sketches for this pieces, I did not have a background planned. But the more I looked at her, the more I realized she needed to be somewhere. Also, I needed to explain where she got the thread.


watercolor, graphite, paper

original - SOLD

Trust Me




The only name I could possible give this piece is "Trust Me". She looks so open and pleading, but there is also something sinister and creepy about her, too.

I tend to have 2 types of characters - ones that are placed in a context, and ones that stand alone. There are positives and negatives to both types of creations. A character with a context, like a related background, tell an entire story. For each of these pieces, I agonize over every detail. Sketch after sketch, I work out the nuances of the figure and struggle with proper perspective. In the character without context pieces, the figure and the background are more spontaneous. They are less perfect, and more open to interpretation. I do not give you the surroundings that would give them more meaning. I leave it for the viewer to form more of their own oppinions.

This picture is an example of the later. I did very few sketches of this centaur, and none of them included the background. The colors and feel were very spontaneous. All that I knew is that I wanted to convey a feeling of coolness, isolation, and desire. The ground looks like something from a dream, and she may be in the fog or in twilight. But without context, that is open to interpretation. I didn't know that I was going to surround her with a purple bush and flowers, but once she was drawn, I knew she needed some folliage. Classically, centaurs are nature focused and wild. Though she is not a classic centaur, she still needed some reference to her environment, and wild, flowery, stark bushes seemed to fit the bill.

Would you trust her?

watercolor, graphite, paper

original - SOLD

Friday, March 16, 2007

"A Perfect Field"





This girl had no idea that she was going to find the perfect field. She was lost and wandering, and she stumbled upon a place that is lush and green and full, and she could enjoy it in solitude. But now, someone is intruding on her peace. She curls herself up protectively and awaits the next paragraph...
Watercolor and graphite.


watercolor, graphite, paper

original - SOLD

"Black Ballarina"




This picture is one of my first attempts at watercolors, and I am really happy with how it turned out. Watercolor is so easy to use because it lends a power of suggestion - the way the water pulls and settles adds texture and dimension that I have a hard time achieving with other mediums.

For a long time, I have had a hard time figuring out what I want to say in my art. Putting an idea in the flat sometimes undermines what you are trying to say. In these pieces, I am less specific about what I am trying to say. I am letting the images speak for themselves instead of my trying to convey my meaning through art.

I feel like this one is saying "I may be some alone and some sad, but I am indifferent to what you think." There is a (Jackson Brown?) song that says "in the end there is one dance you'll do alone." There is a sadness to that, but also a feeling of complete freedom and independence. In the end, you are the only one you know you have.