Month: May 2012

Screaming Into The Wind

I have just finished this oil sketch (18 by 24) of Philoctetes, post snake bite, post festering wound and most pitifully, post abandonment by his brothers in arms. There a several variations on how the snake came to bite the master archer, but what seems consistent is the fact that the stench from the wound proved too great an ordeal for his comrades to endure. In a startling act of betrayal, they abandon our hero on the island of Lemnos. Alone with a painful wound, Philoctetes’ rage festers.

It is this moment I chose to paint, one of impotent anger and resentment. 

Philoctetes
oil on cardboard
18×24

I painted this image on cardboard, a material I really enjoy painting on. The lushness of oil color on pedestrian cardboard really satisfies some aesthetic instinct. I love how the oil glides upon the surface, canvas no matter how fine, snags my brush. I love panels, but they are costly , with cardboard I can screw up with very little anxiety. I’m eager to try copper panels, as was the tradition during the Renaissance , but I know nothing about  their preparation. Until that  time, cardboard is readily available.

I was keen to keep this painting a simple sketch, I did not labor over a drawing in order to prepare. I am trying to be more free ( more brave?) and just lightly pencil my idea and begin the sketch.  There are of course flaws, most particularly concerning anatomy, I do not have a model, save my own reflection. It is quite difficult to twist and turn and sketch away. I have tried snapping an image of myself, but all I come up with is some sort of sordid image in front of the mirror.

Hopeless really, I need a model, must work on that.

I love to put together extensive preparatory renderings but at time that becomes burdensome. I decided Philoctetes could survive the experiment, he has been through a great deal already, one more trial could hardly cause much harm.


Dispatch from the Underworld, same neighborhood, different block.

I have switched gears just a bit, focusing on the Greek underworld of Hades instead of the Mesoamerican Xibalba.

It is most likely only a temporary distraction prompted by our  having recently purchasing a beta fish which we named Orpheus. He is a handsome fellow blue, pink and red and he inspired the palette a bit.

This latest watercolor (on paper , 18 by 24 inches) depicts that moment when Orpheus is so very  close to his goal, fleeing with fair Euryidice to the land of the living,alas he loses nerve,looks back and all is lost. It is a horrible story, made gorgeous by Gluck and countless visual artists.

Once again I try my hand at entering the visual conversation; once again I’m not sure what to think of the result.

My very dear friend Ken came to visit me this week, driving from LA to this underworld called San Diego. He felt I was depressed, for multiple reasons, but most particularly for my latest series of paintings. I’m not sure if I am depressed, but I do feel as if I am in a state of transition, a limbo not unlike that of Euryidice.

Difference being my limbo will most likely pass.

Orpheus and Euryidice
Orpheus and Euryidice

Doubt is imagined as a withered blue crone.

detail of Doubt, Orpheus and the unfortunate Euryidice

The following is a detail of the demon(ess).

detail of demon

The following is a detail of Mercury, reminding Eurydice she must return. I had forgotten Mercury was part of the narrative, happy he is as he is always one of the hottest gods around.

detail of Mercury

As I mentioned I was inspired by my beta fish for  some of the coloring; but as I found myself  painting the vegetation of Hades it began to resemble the Magic Rocks of my childhood. Those odd little bits of childish chemistry had somehow sizzled upon my decidedly unscientific little brain. Here they are popping out of the crevices of the underworld.

Although I had wanted to avoid hellfire, I hadn’t realized Magic Rocks came from Hell.

If interested and if you have 59 seconds to spare, follow this link for a video clip of Magic Rocks in action,

 Well I must go, it is Memorial Day weekend, a big deal in that David takes off for any holiday he can. So I must prepare.

Take care,

Leonard

Judas Iscariot, Man of Sorrows

I have just finished this small painting  (11 by 20 inches), in that it is watercolor and gouache it moved along pretty nicely.

The theme of Judas is one I want to explore. On Good Friday I did a study of the Deposition, I want to develop that image. Before I leave this earth I want to have painted at least one Deposition, all of my favorite painters have painted the scene,and I want to add my feeble version to that visual conversation. My thought is to add Judas to the scene, perhaps replacing the fair and lovely Evangelist John (perhaps not). The Theotokis will still be present, a mother’s love would never allow her to leave the side of her child; but adding Judas is my attempt to play upon the theme of Redemption. I am not speaking exclusively of Christian redemption but of redemption as understood by a humanist. “Everyman” as a wretch needing succor.

In fact I have painted my Judas not heroically as is my tendency but as “Everyman”; in many ways it is a self portrait.

The First Martyr, Judas Iscariot

I’m going to return to my oil paintings this evening, I have three going in various stages of completion. Judas will be on my mind, his  frail humanity, his failures and his weaknesses. All attributes I understand and can relate to. I want to redeem this man, so hated that it is difficult to even bring him up (particularly amongst the traditionally faithful).

But I want to, as a boy I would secretly weep for him during  the Passion service.

I still feel for him.

Take care,

LG

Update from the Underworld

It has been a bit since I last posted, it isn’t that I haven’t been painting, but I have been hesitant to post the progress.

Insecurity perhaps.

I had started a new painting in anticipation of a show in LA, a show I have participated in before devoted to work on paper. Most of my recent work aside from the maquettes have been oil on canvas. The following image is something I am considering submitting. I believe I am close to finished, perhaps some enhancements here and there, but for now, finished.

Clive Hicks-Jenkins has repeatedly suggested to consider all work as a basis for another, scraps of random sketches proving a rich resource for more developed work. I believe him, most particularly when I see his own admirable sketches. Alas, my own scribbles are  often merely that, scribbles. But some do prove inspirational. The following painting was inspired by a very random “scribble-note” taken in a class devoted to Mesoamerican art and culture. That class has been the original impetus for this latest body of work devoted to the Popol huh;the admittedly  clumsy scribble  acting as a  guide for several paintings, this one in particular. 

Memories from Teotihuacan
detail from Memories of Teotihuacan

In this image we have the Hero Twins redeeming the honor of their vanquished father the Maize God. The Lord of the Underworld taunts their valiant effort, but he will indeed suffer the consequence of his hubris. The mother of the Hero twins Xquic looks on.

detail of slain Maize God

As noted this is a detail of Hun Hunahpu, the slain Maize God. In actuality the sacrificial gash would have been horizontal for those nerdy enough to care upon such Meso-minutia.

The following is the sketch that I was speaking about.

I happily spent yesterday in LA, I know I have been trapped in the boondocks a bit too long when LA seems the epicenter of urban sophistication. Such snarkiness aside, LACMA is one of my favorite museums and a really marvelous show devoted to women surrealist living in Mexico is soon to close, for more info, follow this In Wonderland link. It was a truly spectacular show, Leonora Carrington is my new idol, I knew her work essentially from one painting at the Met; having experienced so many of her paintings I am a convert to her cult.

All praise Leonora!

Another show I was eager to catch was Children of the Plumed Serpent, the Legacy of Quetzalcoatl. It was as I had hoped spectacular. It was very rich in luxury goods traded amongst different Mesoamerican people, polychromed pottery, dazzling gold work, mind boggling micro mosaics. Stunning. This funny little fellow, a censer is crafted to resemble a scribe, I figured  visitors to this site would be tickled by his pen and little shell holding pigment. He is in remarkable shape, 30 or so inches,  a handsome little bugger.

Effigy Censer, Maya, AD 1200-1500

The following is a fragment of a censer, he is so grave and  impressive.  I was very drawn to him, he will feature somewhere , somehow in a painting or drawing .

Censer Fragment, Mayan, AD 1200-1500

Although I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent in my old hometown, I am happy to be back in the studio. My little pug-dog Rose was quite peeved with my audacity-how dare I leave her in the care of her nanny? all day!  It has taken most of the day for her to “speak ” to me again, I’ve promised her I will lock myself in the studio, a slave to painting and to pugs.

Take care and have a marvelous weekend,

LG