Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Works on Display

Hello all, just wanted to quickly give you an update, long overdue, about some news I've just received. Five of my paintings will be on display in Vernon, CT, at Art Center East for their exhibit, People and Places. The show features over 70 works of various artists, and will run from July 27th til August 19th. Opening reception Sunday, July 23rd, 2pm-4pm. $5 suggested donation. More information on their website: here

Among my pieces will be my final school project, "Dawn". For the final project, students were instructed to paint a portrait involving hands. After discussion between me and my studio-mate, with whom I collaborated on the project, we decided to create a painting around the theme of dawn. 


Not at all an unknown theme in art history, we looked to great painters of the past whom we admire for inspiration on the subject. Among them were William-Adolphe Bouguereau, and Herbert James Draper, pictured below:


These are some examples of academic painting at its best. But, to take a slightly more original view on the theme, we also explored Pictorialist photography, where we got some ideas for costumes and props. I also liked the slightly quieter poses, contrasted with a more dramatic tonal composition:


After digging through the treasures at the antique markets around Florence, we settled on a golden-yellow headband, after the sun, and a gold plate, which reflects light back into the shadows around the face. Our model for Dawn is slowly lifting and offering this plate, standing against a dark background reminiscent of the sky at twilight, just before the sunrise.

And that's the story behind "Dawn", hope you enjoyed. Here is the final painting, as it was on display at my last solo show: