Well here is an odd update. As I progress with this medical problem, and kept trying to find some comfort as I worked....I have discovered that those ratings for pencil lead, you know like HB - 2H - etc. also has something to do with age. ha. I kept trying to sketch and draw thru all this even though I wasn't getting much done. With the new meds I am taking I am also getting hand tremors or shakes. So this is all kind of like learning to draw again. I also found the lead in the pencils I have used for decades was driving me crazy as I would place a line down on even the smoothest bond paper I use for roughs and sketching out ideas. The HB which is a middle ground was driving me nuts. So in the last few days I have tried out all the different leads I have around here, which is quite a backlog of lead types. Oh I know some people will think I am crazy and can't tell the difference in the feel, but I can. Hell I even have paper on my computer tablet because I can't stand the feel of the plastic on the stylus against the plastic on the Wacom tablet. I know it is a small thing, or it should be. But it happens. So bare with me as I work thru some of this and come out on the other side. It's like learning to draw all over again in some aspects. Also the paintings above are ancient history. Back when I thought I was going to chase a fine art career I painted. These paintings represent a period I was going thru as I dealt with some issues from being a veteran. Well I have dug these paintings out to take some photos of them to actually enter into a show....veterans doing art about the war, specifically VietNam. But more on all that as it progresses.
Just be kind when you look at them, they are probably close to thirty years old now, and are huge.....three by six feet is the average. Hell I even used to build my own canvases. Also the lighting on these are kind of weird as I was experimenting with some really shiny paint to bring in metal since they are about the war.
Back in the day when I regularly used pencils, I recall being able to tell the differrence between different pencil leads. And I am no artist. I totally believe *you* are able to feel a difference.
ReplyDeleteWhen I look at your pictures I click to zoom and view them first and look at the image title after. For these I viewed them from bottom (closest to text) to top (farthest from text).
For what it is worth, although I am not experienced at viewing abstract art I’ll give you my impressions of the color pieces pre and post knowing the titles.
BeyondAvalon – I felt I maybe needed to see this in full size. I was left confused by what I was viewing both before and after seeing the image title.
HereIronSteelMeltMenSurvive on first viewing seemed a mix of anger and violence based on the color palette and had what appeared to be a humanoid figure in the lower right. After reading the image title, the red and yellow colors in the lower left look like flames, the dark gray blocky shapes seem like iron or steel objects (tanks, vehicles, guns?) that have lost their original shape while the humanoid figure (seems masculine due to blocky shape) remains identifiably human though with individual features possibly erased or maybe he is an image of everyman in combat.
kneelingB4God – on first viewing I saw this as a historical scene predominantly based on the Christian imagery of the cross and stained glass. Despite knowing the colored fragments were likely broken stained glass raining down. For some reason, possible because of your statement that they were inspired by your war experience and because I viewed HereIronSteelMeltMenSurvive first, I saw the stained glass as fragments of the warrior’s war experience shown in shards of color. This interpretation made me think of a fantasy theme (despite the Christian imagery) of a warrior scarred from his experiences in the Color War Crusade, which is just a phrase that popped into my head, and these shards are bits of his memory. On reading the title it was clear that your intent was to incorporate Christian imagery and motifs, but somehow the non-Christian interpretation still sticks in my head as well.
These are different than other pieces I’ve seen by you, but there still is something interesting to me there. Thanks for sharing!
Tools of the trade, only you know what will work for you, and I hope you can find what will work for you.
ReplyDeleteAs for your paintings, have you considered having them auctioned off?
I have see art like yours go for big bucks, who knows?
I hope you can get relief for your hands.
Lloyd, Loyal Legionnaire.
Thanks everyone for understanding. Believe me I will work thru all this stuff, hopefully coming out on the other side with a good production schedule and able to draw as well if not better. ha.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the great comments on the paintings too. It is strange to visit a past part of life sometimes thru the works created at that time.
Socrates....well done, I must of done something right as mostly your views were very very close to what I thought I was doing at the time.
All interesting for sure as we see things thru each others eyes....such is the world of art.
Thanks Lloyd, yea if these make it into the art show I will be putting a price tag on them. I really need the money now as the medical bills are starting to pile up really fast!!