Looong Break

Yeah, I ditched this blog for a while, but now I want to make it move again. I wanted to do some serious art and explore some subjects outside my norm, horror. I have done so and still am a HUGE advocate for nudes and dispelling the myth that ANY body part is wrong inappropriate, or obscene. Even an erection is just another body part when viewed logically. The idea that the human body is dirty comes from religion and has plagued us for far too long. I say, end it now! To that end, I painted many many nudes and showed them at a very successful art show in Donelson TN it was a blast and I laughed at every scandalized face. In this post, I have provided some of my contributions. I would love to hear your opinions.

Sold!

Sold!

Sold!

Look out! This last one is too much for many people!

I warned you!

Some quotes to take with these images.

This one is in some ways, my greatest work. It forced me to push past the cultural stigmas I have been programmed with and the fear of  offending people with controversy. 

It is good taste, and good taste alone, that possesses the power to sterilize and is always the first handicap to any creative functioning. Salvador Dali

I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life - and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do. Georgia O'Keeffe

Follow the path of the unsafe, independent thinker. Expose your ideas to the danger of controversy. Speak your mind and fear less the label of 'crackpot' than the stigma of conformity. Thomas J. Watson

Portraits

Portrait painting is one of if not the most challenging things an artist can undertake. Capturing the essence of a person requires an accuracy and attention to detail that few artists have. The work can be very rewarding, but it takes time to master and is not for everyone. I rarely do it, it isn't something I feel a natural passion for, but when a client requests it I am always happy to do it.

This portrait is of the great Boris Karloff in full makeup for the original Universal Mummy movies. I am a big fan of his and he had such an iconic look I had to draw him. This image was done in pencil.  

This image was a speed painting done for one of my classes and depicts the actor Vincent Price. It only took two hours and is only vaguely accurate, but it was more about color and teaching the students how to to do things than it was about the final results. 

This speed painting was of a local photographer friend of mine Jeffrey Nelson. It was done for practice sake and as a gift to him. 

Another great actor, Sidney Poitier. This pencil when I was a student. 

Digital Landscape Painting

Landscapes are not a favorite of mine, but this speed painting I did to teach my students how it works was a fun one. We used a photo of a very unusual view to guide us and then painting it in under two hours.

Food of the Gods

I created this painting based on the mythology of Greek Gods and the legend that their immortal nature was due to a magical fruit they eat. Religion and gods historically include human sacrifice and so I made the fruit into human hearts. The rams skull and the snakes are both references to common symbols of gods and the symbols associated with them. Some of the symbolism used is to address regions dark past and present and how it seems incapable of existing without sacrifice in one form or another. Human lives must be taken in order for the gods to exist and if they are not taken in ceremony they are taken in war and hate crimes.