have at it. let me know what you think. I don't have a title yet for it.
I'll start.
I like the mood, but I don't like the weird bloby shadow, with it's tentacle like bits coming off. Wait maybe i like that now. I like tentacles and it adds to the creepiness What do you think? I think the shadow looks like a blob and not a shadow.
Now contact me so I can let you be an 'Author' to post your work and let folks critique it.
All you need is a Gmail account, which is free. sure they spy on you, but hey, what are ya gonna do?
hey! so, i like it. yes, has a good mood and nothing stands out as being really disruptive. i like the shadow (if it was there or not originally seems inconsequential) it seems to me to personify the figure's psyche. the tentacle things seem like they could relate to the thing around the figure's neck (what's that? bondage thingy?) so.. questions: is the neck thing supposed to be a point of focus? is it a specific thing with a specific point in the work or something vague? would the piece have the same effect if it were omitted?
ReplyDeleteand i guess with those questions... i mean that i am a fan of subtlety. in general i'm sure my work is too subtle, but i wonder sometimes if more can't be said with less? or maybe not! :)
ReplyDeletei like subtle too. which is why i like your work. i think sometimes it would be great if we could strike right in the middle. This up coming show that this piece is going to be in is going to be up front and, well, obvious. 'The Secret Lives of Humans' part of it is putting secrets, or private things in the open because we all have them. So why do other folks criticize folks? oh, and it's rope, so, yes bondage thingy. i think sometimes and with somethings i am subtle. but then again i like things spelled out and obvious because i don't always get the writing between the lines. i don't like the feeling of not getting the joke when everyone else does. i like the stories behind things their histories. As painters we do something private and then hang it on the wall and then folks get it or not and i guess it doesn't matter if they do.
DeleteThank you for your comments they have given me lots to think about. and i like the shadow a lot more now. I hope you post some of your work. or at least keep commenting.
hey, i think it sounded like i don't think you ever 'subtle'- which isn't true. And in general the subjects/elements of most paintings, my own included, are probably 'obvious.' and i also don't mean to poo poo the concept of your upcoming show. i guess that 'striking a balance' thing has something to do with keeping that conceptual or story element which interests you (universal you) and made you do the painting in the first place... but giving the viewer reasons to keep looking beyond that one bit. (the formal elements i guess)
Deleteanyway!! i have really no idea what I'm saying. and, as you know, i obfuscate so much in every aspect of my life that looking at something directly is not so much what I'm good at :)
maybe it's just that within your concept, with such strong stories, there could be the potential for the overall painting to be secondary to the idea. not that it is. or not that it shouldn't be if that's the intention.... :) and now i will stop word vomiting all over your blog.
i love your word vomit! i was a bit tired and had NPR in the back ground when i responded. i never thought you thought all my work obvious or spelling it out. it is (being obvious) been something you've commented on in the past about other work and i do take it to heart. in a good way. it's made me stop and think. i'm always 'how do i get this thought or emotion across with out being too obvious'. when it came to this show i had to say 'it's gonna be obvious, but fuck it its what i wanna do.' but maybe i still feel a little insecure about it.
Deletealso, i'm trying to loosen up, and maybe play with the paint more but not fuss over it, because like you said, it's also about the story.
Rodger had one of your paintings out yesterday. a larger one. cut out pine trees and so much more. i do love your work. I'll see maybe a group of creatures going after another with a sword and i'll get the gist of it and then i know now that there is more of a story behind it. even where you got the idea of the sword... why are they fighting?
Thank you for your word vomit and keep it up. also we need to get together for photo shoot!
J.
ReplyDeleteCommenting on student work is one thing, but commenting on the work of a person who has found a path and has been doing wonderful work for some time is treacherous, I think! In a way, I think it may be best just to let the person find their own way...but since you seem to be intent on this, I'll offer my own observations on this piece...
My comment is that I like the subject, mood and mysterious quality. It evokes a psychological question in my mind. Why is he nude in the basement? Why is there a sheet on the floor etc. I like being made to think like this...The shadow is Munch-like ("Puberty") and doesn't bother me at all.
What I don't like is the medium. You know how much I love your acrylics but have never warmed to the watercolors. I think this is just a personal preference, though. The only watercolors I have ever really liked were Church and Winslow Homer's...and who can compete with those!!!
You acrylics (and oils- hard to tell in your case, which is a good thing!)-they have the same compelling mental qualities, but also great textural qualities, sublime color nuances and solid drawing. I inevitably contrast your watercolors with them, and don't get the same thrill looking at the works on paper...
I understand the need to switch gears and media on occasion- and that w/c gives you the opportunity to get an ideas realized more quickly- so it is probably good for you to do them.
Of course, you know I am a huge fan of your work- and you as well!
I'll try to post something in a week or so- it is actually a painting I have some questions about- the "darkest" I have done in some time and will welcome candid comments from you and others who may venture into this group!
F. you are right. i am rather intent on this project. I think a lot of artists just want feed back and hopefully a few years after school the comments of fellow contemporary artists won't throw any one off their path too much. I think also sometimes we may have a nagging feeling in the back of our head and the encouragement from a college might help. Maybe since you teach, or did you were constantly around artists wanting opinons and talking about them, but in all my jobs there are few artists to talk with. Sarah Hunter has always shared her opinion with me but usually it's 'good job' sometimes i get the non arts to say 'i like this but not that'. it's more about dialog then actual shit slinging. i think also it's why this is voluntary and though, i think talking about a show an artist has hung for the public is one thing, but i wouldn't go to say your or Sarah's site and take a painting and say 'lets tare this appart'. it's still all sensitive.
DeleteInteresting your thoughts on my works on paper. i'm not surprised, you've never really commented on them before. for me they keep me loose in my paintings, which i still think are too tight. I realize compared to your work or many others mine isn't 'tight' but it feels that way to me. some of my paintings in this show will be a little looser, but not all. and there will be works on paper. it does sound like a preference. but i also see others works on paper that use jsut a few lines or tine shade of color and it says so much and i feel like i over work my works on paper. they aren't true water colors because i use india ink, pen and acrylic wash. i haven't found a great word for them. i do appreciate your opinion on them. :)
and i hope we will forgive all for typos and poor grammer. us being visual folks regardless.
Some artists find something and are content to do variations on it the rest of their lives- and that is fine for them. I've never felt comfortable with that approach although the basic love of form and light has never ebbed.
DeleteI recently saw Joe Sweeny posting a bunch of Sargent watercolors which astounded me...so I have to add him to my list.
True, you are doing "colored drawing" more than watercolor- keep doing them, I'm sure it is part of what makes you the vital artist you are!
pardon the typos...can't see the whole thing until you post it!!!
ReplyDelete*"your acrylics" and * "to get an idea realized"....
OK, I'm not going to read everyone elses comments so as not to be influenced. I'll do that later. Initial reaction, I didn't notice the blob. Well I did but it made me think of an oil spill stain on a concrete floor.As always, I love your use of light and how strong it makes each of your paintings. Also knowing this is one of many give s it some sort of strength, or - I can't think of a word. I like minimal use of color too.
ReplyDeleteok well, i love your drawing style but i dont like the image. i just imagined it without the neck rope and its amzing how its the detail bothering me and i love it otherwise. to me it implies, in the cuteness vs. neck rope, a sense of humor with s&m which i guess i just dont share...
ReplyDeletebut the aesthetics of the drawing are really awesome, no question. This is a content taste issue completely.but i know youre really passionate about the series. i do think the narrative with these is going to outweigh the aesthetics for a lot of people, not in a negative way, but it stands out as being about a taboo sexuality, and with a specific tone, which'll go strongly in different directions for people.
ok that was critical! now you should tell me how i need to stop painting foot thick paintings and didnt ever do enough dishes.
you gave me the best laugh i've had in a long time. i'd just like to set up a time laps camera on your easel. you do have a hundred finished paintings for every one you've done. don't worry about the dishes... i love you more then clean dishes.
Deletemy mood changes with how i feel about showing them i guess. but i made a decision that i wanted to paint or draw what i want. and for this show i wanted secrets. most are at least a little sexual. that wasn't totally the intention. i wonder what life would be like if we as a society were as open about sex as we are about violence. i remember a a Simpsons episode of a take on Dr. Moreau's island. after all the shots of killings two characters are going to have sex and it cuts to someone saying 'i wonder if after all this violence FOX will censor the beautiful act of love making' and they do. of course that isn't even BDSM...
i also am envious or like the idea of innocents and prudishness. i little. sometimes i think if those that are (and i don't mean you, you've always been very accepting of my oddities) punish or ostrastize those that aren't prudish then there are problems. but i also think (and i am in no way advocating sex with those under 18) that people make children to be so innocent. children can be mean. ... but that's another conversation. it was something i was thinking about on the way home.
ok, i am thrown about the kids. ut we should talk about that sometime!
DeleteI think my second thinking thinking of a voyeur approach for us prudish is a cool thing and got me psyched to see the series. but still for me its going to be hard to see the aesthetic values, which are really great, alongside the content.
boy! now i read you saying you were insecure about being so open with these, but again, youre obviously really passionate about them and have to go for it. i think other people will have negative reactions, but maybe we're really prudes and should look at this. you know im a big prude.
ReplyDeleteyou and i have already talked about those things before i think. and i appreciate all of your feed back. i really respect all of your art.one day i hope to have one. and i love that sometimes you are very open about things where sometimes others would hold back. also, if i really didn't think i couldn't handle what anyone says about what i do i wouldn't show it. maybe a little worried about my mom...
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