Litmus Gallery's "Anything Goes" Opening. Nov. 1, 2013

A few photos from the opening reception. It seemed to be a good turn out, despite the rainy weather. The overall reception to my work was also really good. I got quite a few compliments. Jim Fatata, head of the Litmus gallery, was very complimentary on my work and that I had entered nudes. A lot of nice people there at the Litmus Gallery. I'm very glad to have been a part of the show. They closing reception will be Friday Dec. 6 from 6-9 PM. The exhibit is open Saturdays from 10 AM-2 PM, or by appointment. 

Beaufort County Arts Council's 49th Annual Fine Arts Show, Washington, NC

As you enter the Arts Council, you can see my parting there in the corner.  

  Images from the Beaufort County Arts Council's 49th Annual Fine Arts Show, in Washington, NC. This show will run from October 24, 2013 tho December 20, 2013. I submitted four paintings and two were selected for the show. I was awarded an Honorable Mention for "Secret Life of the Sun"

"Secret Life of the Sun" 

Caught a few people looking at "Ordinary Day Petition." 

A few folks near "Untitled."  The painting was not selected for the main show, but was hung as part of the non-winning entries.  

"Fortune In Your Own Words" was also hung in the non-winning entries portion of the show.

     I suppose it is human nature, or perhaps the area I am in, but people seem hesitant to look at my work. Maybe they don't want to be seen looking at nudes. Maybe it's some repressed cultural thing, that people can't see nudes in art differently than nudity. Maybe they cannot separate a nude body from sexuality. My intent in painting these figures is not to make sexual or erotic art. I'm certainly not trying to make anything "dirty" or pornographic. If someone takes that away from viewing my art, I'm sorry that they have misinterpreted. It also means they probably have misjudged. I can't do anything about that unless they wish to discuss it with me further, and I would welcome that opportunity. 

    There is a long history of the nude human form in art, in various forms. I would speculate that one of the first things to be drawn or otherwise represented in art was a human form. I am continuing in that tradition in my own work. I do it because I think the human body is beautiful. Because I think it is inspiring. Because I like to draw, paint and photograph the human form. And because I am human too. 

    So when I go to shows that display my art, or open my studio as part of First Fridays at the Wayne Co. Arts Council, I don't get too terribly offended when people look past my work. They may take a quick glance or make a remark about the colors, but rarely linger and observe. I understand. I get it. It makes them uncomfortable, for any number of reasons. Maybe it's because they are uncomfortable with their own bodies. Maybe they are uncomfortable with nudity. Maybe they can't separate nudity and sexuality. Maybe they don't want anyone seeing them. Maybe it effects them in some other way. Maybe they just don't like what I do. It's fine. Really.

    I make the art that I want to make. I make my art for me. I make art because I have to make art. It's one of the reasons I exist. I make art. 

    That being said, it is incredibly awesome to receive recognition and accolades and even awards for my work. It is an amazing feeling to have someone tell you that they like...even love your work. It is one of the most unbelievable things when someone tells you that you are one of their favorite artist. (Thank you, I am humbled.) 

   So I thank the juror for selecting my work. I thank the Beaufort Arts Council for hanging my work. I thank the beautiful people at the Wayne County Arts Council for supporting my work. I thank all my friends and family who have supported me and my art. I thank everyone who has taken the time to talk to me about my art. I thank anyone who has read this blog. And I thank the special people who have inspired me in art and life. 

   Thank you all.

       

Beaufort Co. Arts Council Juried Art Show

   I entered four paintings in the Beaufort Co. Arts Council's Juried Art Show and received two awards. My painting "Secret Life of the Sun" was named honorable mention. My painting "Ordinary Day Petition" won First Place in the Oils and Acrylics painting category. I am extremely pleased and humbled.

First Place in Oils and Acrylics.

Honorable Mention.

"Fortune In Your Own Words"

2012. 36" x 60". Acrylic & charcoal.

(detail) 

"Untitled"

2012. 24" x 26". Acrylic & charcoal.

First painting in my figure studies/paintings series.

3 Painting Selected for Litmus Gallery & Studios "Anything Goes" juried exhibit

   I submitted three paintings to the Litmus Gallery & Studios "Anything Goes" juried exhibit and all three were selected. I am very pleased by the news. This is very encouraging. The Litmus Gallery is located at 312 W. Cabarrus Street in Raleigh, NC. The exhibit will be opens Saturdays 10AM-2PM or by appointment, running the month of November. Opening reception is Nov. 1, 2013, and close reception is Dec. 6, 2013. For more information got to http://www.litmusgallery.com/

 The following are the submitted/selected paintings.

"The Smell of Cigarettes & Swimming Pools"

"No Lucky Number"

"Of Beginnings (Sam & Part of My Tooth)"

"You're Still in There"

2013. 48" x 48". Acrylic & charcoal.

   This is the second self portrait I have done. The photos I used for reference was taken about 4 months and 40 lbs. ago. I struggled with this painting for a while. I started and stopped and started again several times. I kept drawing and redrawing, painting and repainting, over and over.
    Self portraits are difficult for me. You have to deal with the image you see with your eyes, the image you see in your head, and the image you see on the canvas. It's easy to lie to yourself and make yourself  "prettier."  But I think it's important to be honest with yourself. I don't look like this anymore, but I did. I wasn't happy in life, and I reflect that in the painting. Maybe that is another reason why it was difficult to portray.
   I'm not completely happy with the "finished" painting, but then I'm almost never happy with any "finished" painting, because to me, they are never "finished." I think a lot of artist can identify with that statement.
    It again took a great deal of courage to do this painting, but I felt I had to do it. Like all my paintings, there is a great deal of my psychology, my emotions in this painting, but with the pose and subject, it's easier to see. It is a reflection of an unhappy, point in my life, but also, a point where I was beginning to make some major changes.

"Like Lost Messages in Glass"

2013. 48" x 48". Acrylic & charcoal. 

Work in progress. Early October, 2013.

10.07.13

10.08.13

10.09.13

After a couple of weeks of "artist block" I am finally getting back in the

groove. I tried to work through the block but nothing flowed. It happens from time to time and I just try to work through it. Sometimes I can work through the block, sometimes I can't. I try not to let it get me down. It can be frustrating, it can get annoying and it can get infuriating. It happens and I work through it or take a break. I did a little of both. But now I'm back at work and it's coming along. I've been working hard in the studio and am very pleased that I'm out of the rut, artistically.

10.10.13

10.11.13

"Where I Found You"

2013. Acrylic & charcoal.  48" x 60" + 48" x 60".

In Studio. 09/20/2013

In Studio. 09/20/2013.

This week has been long. I was stuck in lock down on a military base next to the naval yards where the tragic shootings took place in D.C. on Monday for hours. At different times during the day, we didn't know if it was safe to go outside because or rumors that there were still other possible shooters unaccounted for in the area. Tuesday and Wednesday I drove to look at grad schools in PA and in DE, then back to NC. Yesterday I found out that a solo show I was supposed to have at the school I graduated from was canceled and has to be rescheduled because the school email system did not deliver  the files of the images I sent to my former professors. But I'm back in studio today, working and pushing through. Things happen, both good and bad. Things we want to happen and things we don't. It's life and I'm trying to make the best of it all.

"The Smell of Cigarettes and Swimming Pools"

2013. 30" x 40". Acrylic & charcoal.


I spent about a week working on this painting and filmed the process. I am going to have a friend edit the video and add some music. Music will also be by some friends of mine. So that is something to look forward to in the not too distant future.

My First Official Case of Censorship

The image above is called "Let me Know the Struggle Ends." I entered it in an online art competiton on the Facebook page of Fawn Review Magazine, in  an open competition for any and all comers. I posted the link on my personal Facebook page asking my friends to share and "like." The image recieved several "likes" and after being posted for around two hours was deleted by Facebook and removed from the competition. I was informed in a very polite e-mail from the editor of Fawn Review of this occurance and invited to submit another image. This is not Fawn Review's fault, but Facebook's or someone who took offense to this image. It is censorship. I have been censored. By Facebook. Had this image been the other way round, with the male figure on bottum, bare chested and the female on top, breast obscured, would it be such a "problem"? I don't know, I can't answer that.
 But there it is: My first official case of censorship. And a friend of mine once told me, you aren't really a real Artist until you have been censored. So, the question is; How do I add this to my resume?

The Sampson Arts Council 5th Annual Juried Art Show

 Pictures from the Sampson Arts Council's 5th Annual Juried Art Show in Clinton, NC. My painting "I Hope This Town Gets Bigger in All the Right Ways" was selected for the show. The Council gave all the participating artist identification tags. Most of the enteries were paintings or photographs. Mine was one of two pure abstract works.

A Short Video of me Painting

A short video of me painting, then taking a moment to look contemplative.

 The music is Aphex Twin's "Avril 14th." 

"Ordinary Day Petition"

2013. 36" x 48". Acrylic & charcoal. 

"When the Wind Spoke in Cinders"

2012/13. 24" x 36". Acrylic & charcoal.

(I recently went back and reworked this piece. I was never really satisfied with the early version. I am pleased now and feel it fits into my larger  body of  work.)

"Automotive Augury"

2012. 22" x 24" Acrylic & Charcoal. 

"Let Me Know the Struggle Ends"

2013. 48" x 60". Acrylic & charcoal.

In Studio 08.24.13

Self portrait in studio. 08.24.13.

My studio floor. It's famous around the Arts Council building. 

"Always Almost Always"

2013. 36" x 48". Acrylic & charcoal. 

"Silly .Old .Bare."

36" x 60". 2013. Acrylic & charcoal.



It took me a lot of courage to paint this self portrait, and more to post it. I have struggled all my life with my weight and with self image issues, never really feeling comfortable in my own skin. I'm also fairly modest by nature. But inspired by my models/friends, I put myself in front of the camera and posed. I finished this in May and have lost some weight since. This is me, accepting who I am and celebrating my own body, my own beauty, even though I struggle to believe it  sometimes. But we all do. And we are all beautiful. 

"Secret Life of the Sun"

2013. 36" x 60". Acrylic & charcoal.

   

"They Pass In and Out of Your Life Like Ghosts"

"They Pass In and Out of Your Life Like Ghosts"

36" x 60"

Acrylic & Charcoal. 

2013

"No Lucky Number"

"No Lucky Number"
24" x 36"
Acrylic and charcoal
2012/13

Me in studio, May 2013

My friend Steve Herring shot these photos of me in my studio Friday, May 3rd, 2013.

"I.W.D.Y." selected for the Arts Council of Wayne County's 34th NATIONAL JURIED FINE ART SHOW

I submitted two paintings to this year's 34th NATIONAL JURIED FINE ART SHOW at the Arts Council of Wayne County, in Goldsboro, NC. My painting "I.W.D.Y" was selected for the show. Here are some photos.