More from the "darkside"

I've been having such fun lately, painting a series of small faces from dark places. These are late night creations conjured up from the subconscious or perhaps from faded memories. I often realize after finishing one, that it's reminiscent of dream images - or someone from my past. I don't take them too seriously. I just let them happen. And to Jeanne at Artit, the winter of our/their discontent shall now roll into the spring of our content. Did that make sense to anyone besides me?

#1
(each is less than 8 inches square)

#2

Most of my artist friends hate them! I've carted them to a few places, and then finally displayed them as alter egos at a recent "meet the artist" event for a local arts guild. Surprise!!! I sold two of them and the man who bought them said he is displaying them next to a large landscape of mine he purchased last year. Weird juxtaposition - but hey - why not?

#6

I'm not titling them, instead I will number them ala Jonathan Borofsky, another of my favorite artists. I still remember what a profound experience it was to enter his one man show - an installation at MOMA in NYC back in the late 70's. Definitely an experience rather than a viewing.

#7

If you're wondering where the missing numbers are, they were either sold or given away before I thought to photograph them (my bad). I can't believe I did that...

#4
(yeah - this one is truly scary)

#8
(This one grew a frame...)

Here's the official website for Borofsky, with tons of photos of his various installations. But no photograph can possibly do justice to his art which is multi-media: drawings and sculpture, projected images, kinetic pieces, sound and changing imagery. He truly creates an entire environment - a universe of Borofsky.

Here's a short video that offers just a taste - a tip of the iceberg so to speak - of one of his major installations:

A landscape - and images from my dark side

Run for Cover, 12x18, acrylic on panel

Shortly before displaying this one, I asked an artist working in the gallery to give me a title. She asks "What sort of titles do you like?" to which I replied: "I like ambiguous - almost arbitrary titles." Run for Cover was her first offering and I like it. This is another landscape from my Midwestern photography collection. I love that flat horizon and the strength of the trees against (for me) a flat sky. The values are true to the original photo, but I took liberties with the palette.
Here it is in a cut down recycled frame that I bought for $1.50. Sometimes you get what you pay for... ha ha.. I may do a larger version on one of my deep cradle panels as I'm not wild about it framed, but as it was done on a flat panel - and, well you get the idea.

...from my new alter egos series... #008, 5 x 6 acrylic on panel, donated to Currahee Artists Guild Miniatures Fundraiser

Also from the alter egos series: Ode to Georg Baselitz, 9 x 12 acrylic on mounted wood panel

I've always loved the quirky work of Modernist Georg Baselitz (below) who often turned his subjects ass over tin cups (upside-down) - well - he turned the paintings upside-down that is. His influences range from classical art to art brut, and he has often depicted angst ridden characters and ghastly scenes - but my favorites are the primitive carved wooden busts and inverted heads.

I love the pattern here - and how it seems to overwhelm the face, like an attack of polka dots... It's titled: "In the Forest" and it was painted in 1992.
Here's one of his carved heads: "Sonderling" done in 1993. Such pathos.
And one more... titled "Cubistic Gas Mask"