Paintings in Progress
A few months ago I decided a couple of things. First I decided I’m going to become a “famous” artist (which basically means I want to get in to Juxtapoz magazine— not sure how long this will take, but I’ll do it)! Second, I decided to try to learn to create art in a completely foreign medium (acrylic paint). I’ve been a doddle-y oil-painter for the last few years, but the fumes and cleanup have led to big literal and figurative headaches. I finished my first acrylic painting in time to give away as a Festivus gift (Dec. 2010).
Back to the first decision (become a famous artist), I’ve been making lists and plotting steps to get myself where I want to be. Watching lots of acrylic painting technique videos on artistsnetwork.tv, youtube, ustream… reading technique and color theory books, and so on. My fiance gave me a gift-certificate to sign up for a painting class of my choice at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria (missed a few classes but still learned a great deal, and am ready to take another)! So I feel like phase 1 (edge-a-muck-ate) is well underway, and I’m gearing up for phase 2: make some art!
I decided I need to have a cohesive/thematic body of work that’s ready to “show” at a gallery/coffee-shop/what-have-you — 10 to 15 pieces that have something in common, or share a common thread… So I struggled a while, trying to think about themes and how pieces could tie in with each other. Eventually, looking back through some old sketches, I realized perhaps I was making this more difficult than it needed to be. Perhaps “cohesive” doesn’t need to be so rigidly defined. So I finally just picked 12 drawings that I will soon be turning into paintings that will compliment a couple paintings that already are paintings… that I will be using to try to get my first show.
Here are the drawings I’ve chosen:
The universal element is simply the style. :)
