boo

"The Intruders"

15x30 - oil on canvas

I love dollhouses. I never had one growing up. Well I made one out of shoe boxes once. 

It wasnt the elegant fantasy I wanted, but why ruin my sense of reality right?

Being the hermit I am, my home is my castle. I spend most my time inside, and a lot of time in my head.

With this girl, I seen a crown that looked like a Victorian dollhouse. 

Her home is haunted with unwanted guest, that she dosent know how to be rid of.

I spent some time deciding whether too give her tears or not. 

Shes sad, but in a way she is used to them being there.

New Print

Just updated my web store.

"My Poor Baby"

Giclee print

on smooth art paper

edition of 25

you can get one HERE <-----

share your light

"Flutter"

15x30 - oil on canvas

I talked about moths in one of previous post, as I was painting this piece, so I wont go back into it.

BUT I will say that I think I made myself a little more comfortable with these guys in the process. One night a moth got into our house, and instead of smashing it out of fear, I chased it around my house, caught it and released it outside! I did scream the whole time, but hey its a step.

I had a hard time naming this piece. 

She ended up looking so sad, as if shes apologetic for attracted them. 

As they get too close they just end up dying.

Chantilly lace and a pretty face

"Chantilly"

11x14 - oil on canvas

I love lace. Im a sucker for it. 

So lace was written in my book. 

I had seen in my head a white lace cloak, and I sketched this up.

To me she represents death. 

the ghost in you

"Residue"

16x20 - oil on canvas

This piece is a little different than my normal pieces. And this piece was one that I felt I was pushing to keep how I saw it in my head. 

I wanted her to feel engulfed in darkness. 

This was another piece inspired by old photographs. 

Weve all seen the photos with "ghosts" in the photos. That look like there is just spot on the camera lens. Or the smokey looking room. 

I came across "ectoplasm" photos. 

Im not into the whole paranomal thing, and didnt actually know ectoplasm was a real term, I thought it was just some made up thing in Ghostbusters. 

So I came across some photos and found them interesting.

  ektos, (Greek) meaning "outside", and plasma, meaning "something formed or molded") 

Ectoplasm is said to be produced by physical mediums when in a trance state. This material is excreted as a gauze-like substance from orifices on the medium's body and spiritual entities are said to drape this substance over their nonphysical body, enabling them to interact in our physical universe.

like I said I dont personally believe in stuff like this, I just think its interesting.

The girl in the piece isnt exactly possessed by a spirit or anything like that. I feel the ectoplasm represents being haunted by your inner ghosts and the release of them.

I think maybe too I was compelled to do this piece, because I was in a subconscious purging while working on all these pieces.

Would you like to hold my baby?

"Darling"

20x24 - oil on canvas

This was inspired from old Victorian photographs. 

Proper little darling girls, their hair in perfect curls, in their best clothes.

But she has a different baby than the rest of the girls.  

April and I were talking about bugs (over lunch of course)

She was telling me about a book she read, I dont remember the name, but it was gross and maggots had something to do with part of the story.  We also came up with the title to our show then. 

Well when I got home I drew this sketch up.

Im not all to familiar with what a maggot actually looks like. And since it was going to be painted so big, I figured I had to know. So I google imaged "maggot".....I dont recommend anyone to do that. So gross.

I was having a hard time finding anything that wasnt making me feel ill, so I stopped my search and just did my best painting from memory. 

shes one of my other favorites.

She kind of reminds me and myself as a girl, with my beat up ragged doll. That I loved no matter how bad it looked.

sweet the sting

"Supersedure"

18x24 - oil on canvas

I may have mentioned my dislike of bugs before. 

I really dont understand why I scream like a little girl when a bug is near.

And of course the more legs the bug has the louder the shriek is.

Ive been trying to overcome this and embrace them. 

And although creepy, insects are so interesting!

 So I wrote bugs down in my sketchbook.

Im actually not to afraid of bees. Looking at them dosent give me the heebie jeebies.

So this wasnt too horrible.

This painting almost didnt make it. I Started it and didnt like it. So I put it aside and counted it out of the show pieces. But as the show got closer, I kept looking at it unfinished and felt like I quit, so I started back up with it, and       I'm happy I did. 

The title is the term for when the worker bees overtake the queen bee and kill her. Either because she is getting old, or not doing a good job. They surround her and roll her into a ball and suffocate her. 

I read about this after the piece was finished and was researching about bees, to find a title.

Which is odd because the dress I painted is based off Marie Antoinette's wedding dress.

oops

"To Die For"

18x24 - oil on canvas

so in the Victorian era, the poison arsenic was wrongly used in many occasions.

It was used in color pigments, like Emerald and Paris green. which was used for clothing and wallpaper. 

Used in edible "beauty wafers" women would ingest to improve their complexion. 

And once accidentally used in place of sugar

In 1858 an estimated 20 people died when sweets were accidentally made with arsenic.

The incident was named "The Bradford sweets poisoning"

 "Humbug Billy", sold sweets from a stall in central Bradford. 

He purchased his supplies from Joseph Neal, who made the sweets or "lozenges".  The lozenges were peppermint Humbugs, made of peppermint oil, sugar and gum. At the time sugar was expensive and so Neal would substitute a cheaper substance known as "daft" for the sugar. 

Neal sent for one of his helpers one day to collect the "daft' from the pharmacy.

Well, on this day, the usual pharmacist wasnt there, and the fill-in accidentally sold 12 pounds of arsenic to Neals helper. 

The Arsenic was then used in making the lozenges, they were sold and posioned over 200 people, killing 20.

So I just kinda played off this, just instead of using the "humbugs" I used cake. 

Because cake is fun to paint.

dream a little dream

I thought it'll be fun to do a brief explanation to some of the pieces from the show.

So Im starting with this piece, which is my favorite from the show.

"A Song Never Heard"

24x36 - oil on canvas

I often dream about playing pianos. The dreams are always so magical and wonderful. 

I can play these elaborate songs, but as Im playing them, I think how am I doing this?

One dream I was playing an upright, and as I started to hit the keys, these magical plants started to grow out of the piano. They looked like a cross between crystals and normal plants and flowers, which is usually how the plants look like in my dreams. Each note played the plants grew in accordance. It was so beautiful. 

I painted it in a more classic way, playing off the many classical iconic paintings of women at the piano. 

I used one of Renoir's paintings as an inspiration/ reference. 

Since the song I played in my dream wasnt real, I didnt paint notes on the sheet. 

Someone asked me what was dripping out of the piano, and I told them it represented magic. 

Last Sneak Peak!

1 more before the opening on Saturday.

"My Poor Baby"

16x20 - oil on canvas

this one came about as an accident really. I was sketching up a face, and I didnt like it so I started to black out the eyes. The face had a doll like look to it, so 1-2-3 this happened. And its one of my favorite pieces for the show.

In my previous post I talked about my love for dolls. Well I had 1 favorite doll. well it was actually a monster. Anyway I loved that thing so much, I called it my baby and took it everywhere with me.

I was always leaving it places. It would get taken by boys and thrown around. Someone once stole it and I found it in a pile of dirt on my street. It even fell in the toilet. So It got washed a ton, and eventually its eyes were washed off. So my baby had no eyes, and I would draw them on. 

I had no conscious thought about this, until after  the painting was finished. But I thought the connection was interesting.  

sneak Peak/New Print!

time for another sneak peak! 

The show is getting closer, and the guys at 1xrun are helping to promote the show by releasing a print of one of the pieces from the show.

"Memento Mori"

24x36 

oil on canvas

"Memento Mori" is an old saying, basically meaning "remember your mortality"

The 2 tall figures in black are "Plague Doctors". 

This was a typical way they would dress, completely covered (understandable of course).

But the most fascinating part is the masks they would wear. 

The "beak" served as a vessel for scented substances, like amber, mint leaves, cloves, rose petals and myrrh. 

They  thought this would protect them from "Miasmatic bad air", which was a theory that certain diseases where being spread through the air. 

I also read somewhere that they would wear red goggles to ward off evil, Im not sure if thats true, but its all very interesting.

The hat was part of symbolizing their profession, and the sticks were used so they didnt have to touch the patient.

so being fascinated by all this, they made my list of inspiration.

The girl in the piece dosent represent a plague victim, I just like the juxtaposition of a sweet little girl with these 2 tall    shadowing figures, like life and death.

 In my head I feel like they are her friends. 

so this piece will be released as a print through 1xrun on July 4th.

And the original will be available at the show on July 9th @ 323east

#16 sneak peak

well I finished up my last painting the other day! And with a month until the show, this is the most prepared Ive been for a show with this many pieces. All my pre-planning and geeky list making paid off.

 Heres a little sneak peak of #16.

I cant get over how great it felt to just let go and let the pieces come out as they want. 

well as much as Id like to say Im all set for the show, I still have framing, varnishing and scanning to take care of.

I also plan on making some victorian-esque dolls for fun. 

oh I also will be releasing a few new prints for the show, so more info soon!

can I take your photograph

old photographs have always inspired me. And the old Victorian photos grab me the most.

There is an unsettling feeling to them. Maybe its because they aren't smiling, or because they are long gone. 

Or perhaps its unknowing who they are most times.  

Photographs were very expensive then, and most times the only way they could get a photograph of someone was after they had past. And with the high death rate of children then, there was a trend of photographing the dead as if they were still living. Propped up or sitting with family. Theres no mistaking that this is unsettling, as is a lot of things pertaining to the Victorian era. 

These things have a hand in my newest pieces. 

Sneak Peak...kinda

This piece was used for the flyer, so I guess its not really a sneak peak.

"Her Black Heart"

24x36

oil on canvas

This was the first piece I finished for the show. I finished it back in November I think, and she was a perfect start.

With all the pieces that will be in the show, they are all based off visuals and feelings arising when you look at certain  things.  I think at the time I sketched this one, the oil leak was still in  my subconscious perhaps. 

As i mentioned in a previous post, none of these pieces have any particular meaning, well none that I know of.

Maybe deep down they come from something, but maybe not. 

inspiration

preparing for this upcoming show, couldn't have been easier. I basically made a list of things I like. Words, objects, events, dreams Ive had, music etc. then sketched things that came to mind when thinking about them. I wanted to take a break from all seriousness, and just have fun. I found working on these pieces to be the most therapeutic work Ive ever done. It actually felt like a subconscious purging. Working so closely with April on the show has added to the pleasantness. Her approach to her work  and the overall innocence to it, helped me remember to not get too controlling. 

The theme grew on its own. We both like the same things, and conversing about our obsessions it all came out in the work. 

Beautiful Monstrosities

click the images to see them bigger

watch out for a flood of sneak peaks, and other fun info in the days to come. 

also make sure you check out Aprils blog for sneak peaks as well. 

inbetween

Havent posted in a while. Its been a crazy month, and the craziness is going to continue for a while. 

Ive been working on finishing up my last pieces for "Beautiful Monstrosities". Still working out of my basement, but as long as no creepy crawlers come to visit me Im fine and getting work done. Im starting to have my "pre-show dreams" always happens. Its always the same too, I always show up too late and miss the opening. 

within the next couple days I will have actual sneak peaks and the promo stuff. 

here is where I hide. my makeshift studio

its an absolute mess, but it serves its purpose. 

cant wait until my actual studio is done, so I dont have to work out of boxes. 

Next show

July 9th happening @ 323 East in Royal Oak, Michigan

We are currently working on the promo stuff and will soon have an actual flyer. 

I will be posting sneak peaks soon. 

we are both super excited for this show, and are going all out for it! It will be a great show I promise ;)

so far so good

well this winter hasnt been too unbearable. I did take all last week off from painting due too the extreme cold in my studio. But things are starting to thaw out and Im getting back too it.  Heres a little sketch and a WIP shot. This particular piece is going towards our July show "Beautiful Monstrosities" .

great shows lined up so far for the year

Next up in April: Quentin vs Coen. oh yes!

oh and all the pieces from the John Hughes tribute show @ gallery1988 are now up and available online. here.

www.gallery1988.com 

becoming friends with moths

not really. 

For the show in July, there will be lots of inspiration from things that creep me out. Mixed in with things that I think are beautiful. 

Bugs creep me out. I have used bugs in a few pieces in the past, and I always hate searching for reference images.

While searching for Moth images, I kept getting goose bumps thinking they were flying around my head. 

But after looking at so many I dont get shivers. But they can still keep their distance thank you very much.