UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #57 (New Year)

“Phoenix”

Rose wood (antique) and Feathers 

102x77cm 

ABOUT THIS ART OBJECT:

The phoenix is a mythical bird who after wandering the desert for 500 years, was believed to have consumed itself by fire, only to rise again from its own ashes with renewed strength.

I feel that the phoenix is appropriate to New Year because a new year arises from the old year.  It is a time of renewal when resolutions are made for the coming year.

Artistic techniques used in the art object:

This art object was born from my coming by two incidentals.  The first occurred on my return from camping at Carnarvon National Park which is located in Queensland's central highlands.   While driving along the road I happened upon a large freshly killed bird whose magnificent feathers I salvaged.  The second was a part of an antique Chinese rosewood lamp that was kicking around the house but was too good to throw away.
When I salvaged the feathers, somehow I knew how I would set them to good effect and honour their beauty.  I drilled holes into the rosewood lamp base and set thin wooden skewers in the direction I wanted the feathers to stand.  I then glued them in place and inserted the shaft of each feather onto the skewers.  Little had to be done after that other than polishing the rosewood.   Thus a phoenix was born.

I think that this symbolizes the New Year and I would like to thank those who follow my blog for their support and wish them all the very best for 2013.

I also want to say that a 2013 calendar features one of my paintings which is a great honour.  The National Rural Health Alliance that produced the calendar is Australia’s peak non-government body for rural and remote health and the Alliance’s vision is good health and wellbeing in rural and remote Australia.  The calendar is available to you FREE of charge from nrha@ruralhealth.org.au  -  if you would like one sent to you – just email them.  If you would like to read about my painting that is featured in the calendar, go to Understanding Abstract Art #4 on this blog.  It’s title is “Up”.

 http://www.buderimartstudio.com

UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #56 (Christmas)

“The Black Madonna” – #1 and #2 -Two Sculptures

#1  Cement – plaster cast from clay

#2  Clay, Das and Paint  

35cm high approx.  (both) 

The Story of the two Madonnas: 

Like all good stories it starts with “Once upon a time...” and being Christmas time, it is about the Madonna.

This was a time just before I went to study art therapy at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, USA.  Although I had a strong academic understanding in psychology and art I was required to complete a small sculpture course to fulfil the art requirements.  This is where “The Black Madonn #1” was born.  She was fashioned in clay and then covered in plaster of paris and finally cast in cement.

Before I left Australia, I took photos of her and in the first year of being in Louisville, I started another “Madonna” in clay, however because of the way she was built it was not possible to fire her in a kiln because I did not have the equipment or the space to do so.

Upon my return to Australia a few years later, I discovered that my “Madonna #2” had not travelled very well.  The sculpture was smashed in over 70 pieces.  I reconstructed her using Das which is a self drying synthetic clay which served to stick the whole head together.   I then painted her with black matt acrylic to cover the obvious damage.  She thus became “The Black Madonna”.  Her fragile state remains today as she is impossible to fire. 

Both Madonnas are similar but have character differences.

Artistic techniques used in these sculptures:

I am not a sculptor so I can’t talk about techniques in depth.  Nevertheless I am artistic and I really enjoy doing these two pieces for my own self expression.

Thus ends the Christmas story of the two Madonnas. 

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful 2013 and thank you for your support over the last year.

http://www.buderimartstudio.com 

UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #55

Title:   “Soft Glances” 

(Pastel, Oil and Fibreglass Resin on Masonite)

61x92cm

Highly Commended in the Garden City Art Prize

THE IDEA and TECHNIQUES  BEHIND THE PAINTING

As opposed to last week’s portrait, this painting is not a portrait of anyone.  The face emerges from a background of tertiary amber colours in oil paint.  The face is drawn with pastels.  It is purely an experimental piece but was successful in that it was highly commended by the judges in the Garden City Art Prize.  The painting was finished in a coat of fibreglass resin.  I used the resin which has a similar finish as Liquid Glass, a product that is available in art and some hardware store.  However I was uncomfortable about continuing to use it because I feared that it may not be healthy for me to use without a protective mask.  Since I find masks difficult to wear, I ceased using that type of finish although it looked great and really enhanced the colours. 

These days it’s acceptable to outsource different techniques and I suppose I could do this, however I tend to like to do my own art making and do not find it as satisfying to get someone else to do a stage for me.  This is probably because the process of art making is as important to me as the finished product.  However I produced only a couple of these paintings and then disbandoned the technique and style which is very different to the way I typically paint which is now my brand signature.

This painting style also proved financially successful – it seems that people like to “see” something in a painting. However it is ironical that people will listen to a piece of music and at the end they never say, “What was that about?” but when they look at art they seem to need to have a clear visual story for them to interpret and appreciate.  Without that they seem to be lost.  I suppose that is the reason I write this blog - in the hope that people will not rely on visual cues in order to appreciate and enjoy abstract art.

The hereunder is my only photo of the complete painting.  As you can see the high finish on the painting reflected the flash.

http://www.buderimartstudio.com 

UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT ART #54

Title:   “Portrait of Cheyne” 

(Acrylic)

76x76cm

THE IDEA BEHIND THE PAINTING

I have painted several members of my family over my art career.  Although I prefer to paint abstract paintings, I don’t approach a portrait in that way.  In fact I am very representative when it comes to portraits.  The reason for this is that I want to represent each individual as I literally “see” them.  If I was to represent them abstractly, there would be a different interpretation of the subject by each different viewer.  My family members are important and precious to me and I want them represented in an unequivocal way.  A portrait painter has the power to portray their subject in a favourable or unfavourable light – I do not want to cast good or bad impressions on my family.  Therefore I paint them literally from a photo.  I can see some people throw up their hands and exclaim “A photograph!” but get over it, I know my family as well as anyone and that is the most convenient way of replicating their image in this busy world.

Artistic techniques used in the painting:

I chose acrylics for Cheyne’s portrait.  Her personality is best reflected in a medium that yields strong colours. 

Cheyne has blue eyes.  At some stage she had an item of clothing that looked particularly good on her.  It was a tee-shirt that parodied the super hero “Superman”.  The blue colour of that tee-shirt was very flattering and brought out the colour of her eyes.  I accurately matched that colour for the background of this painting.  I deliberately left a white area – a space into which she could evolve and grow.  Also the white area balances the overall composition.

Western artists throughout the ages have used grids to transfer images from one surface to another larger surface.   Also painters have over hundreds of years used projection devices (camera obscura was discovered as far back as the 4^th century BC).  Leonardo and Vermeer both have been thought to use these devices from time to time to get an exact image onto another surface.  Most of the very large life-like portraits that are popular in recent times have been done with projectors.

I used a grid to scale up Cheyne’s image onto the canvas.  The photo from which the portrait was taken was a very free and relaxed representation of her taken at the beach.  It captures a playful, happy aspect of her personality.

We all possess an “internalized image” of ourselves formed from experiences we have had throught out our life.  I have known people who are extremely beautiful who do not believe that they are so.  It is important for me when I do a portrait to represent that person as they are and not in the abstract because they may interpret this abstraction as a negative image whereas I might be conveying something completely different.  This is why I am scrupulous in getting a “true” likeness of my subject.  The photo from which I take a portrait also provides what I want to depict.  It is not selected at random but reflects certain aspects of the subject’s personality that I want represented in the portrait.

I love the freedom in which Julian Freud (the famous British artist whose paintings I greatly admire) paints but isn’t each portrait which he produces also a reflection of him?  Each artist approaches their artwork in different ways and I have just explained the way I choose to approach the portraits I do of my family.  Perhaps at a future time I will become more abstract in my approach - time will tell.

http://www.buderimartstudio.com 

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