Recent work, early 2021

I’m still stealing images from Uniqlo ads and using them as a drawing reference.

The people (characters?) in these ads are very neutral. They exhibit limited emotion. They aren’t particularly sexy. If they are in a real space (instead of a brightly colored void) they don’t really engage with the space - so it’s like they’re already art objects before I paint them.

When I was working with these before, I printed the images onto canvas and then “composited” paint onto them in layered geometric and organic shapes. I like that series a lot, but if I’m honest I was using the paint because I felt a little guilty for not painting “for real”.

I get a bug to paint “real” things once in a while, but it passes after a couple of quick works. After that it feels like I’m just brushing my teeth without the reward of a minty fresh feeling.

So for these newer pieces I’m doing my layering and integrating digitally. It’s faster and more satisfying.

I’m blending these images with photography, snapshots really, and geometric patterns.

I start with a sketch…

And paint…

And then composite with random-ish photos from the world clipped and cropped by layers of geometry.

I’m enjoying the results. Layers of incidental meaning emerge from the correlation of imagery. The flat geometric shapes create interesting spaces and accidental shapes as patterns from the images intersect.

I am printing these too.

I make a print on watercolor paper as a sort of proof, and then make a final on canvas. Recently I reached out to an old friend in Greensboro and had one of my images printed onto 4′ × 6′ silk fabric.

Now things are getting interesting. I’d love to do 9 more of these and take over the lobby of a hotel with them.