The Paintings, etc. of Andrew Marathas

NEW BLOG!

2010-04-09T15:58:00.006-05:00

Head on over to my new blog for the latest news on the life and times of Andrew Marathas! Don't miss out! Consider this blog otherwise and irrevocably...

CLICK HERE! NEW BLOG!

...CLOSED.

-Andrew

Illustration Theme Show: "ZOMBIES"

2010-02-05T13:47:00.001-05:00

MONTSERRAT'S ILLUSTRATION DEPT. THEME SHOW,
2010
"ZOMBIES"

Montserrat College of Art
301 Gallery
301 Cabot Street
Beverly, MA
01915

February 8th, 11:00 am - 18th, 2010. 2:00 pm

(awards ceremony on the 17th)

The Hardcover Plan!

2009-10-21T19:42:00.004-05:00

Hey, Providence is great! What else can I say, really? I'm pretty easy to please, though, to be fair. All I need, conceivably, is a supply of paint, a computer with internet access, and the occasional disconnect from it all to go on a long walk to somewhere just far enough away to seem unreasonable.

Providence, for the moment, has all of these things. So, I'm happy.

I'm heading over to the local Utrecht in the morning to apply for a position there. That would be fine by me, working in an arts supply store, fielding art-related questions, being around paint and paintbrushes all the time. Yep, that's fine. I hope it works out. I'm optimistic.

Other than that, there isn't anything earth-shattering to make mention of. The city is great. I'm excited for the winter weather. I'm probably bound to get a bike or something - cheap car, maybe. Who knows?

I should mention that I have plans to put together print package for a 100(ish) page hardcover of some select works of mine from the past year, which will include a wide variety of pieces, complete with little bits of writing - all that kind of stuff. I'm pretty excited about that and the Kickstarter (kickstarter.com) effort that I'm going to throw behind that project. So, WATCH FOR IT. Contributing to the cause by pledging will undoubtedly get you original artwork, exclusive access to creepy video sessions of my paintings in process, and even some of the pieces that will show up in the book - not to mention: the actual book, if you pledge a certain amount.

In conjunction with that is a plan to release some poster-sized prints of my work.

I have a ridiculous stock of high res images of all of my work, as some of you are aware. So, I'm putting all of that to a relatively good use. Right? I think so.

Hey, that's exciting!

I also have somewhat far off plans to figure out either a graphic novel or a children's book or some kind of publication dummy. Watch for that. I suppose "vague plans" is a better way of presenting that. They might not be that far off, but they sure are flaky at the moment.

Hm.

A big move, and some work - not to mention: KC Quilty.

2009-10-16T12:14:00.005-05:00

I haven't invested in a good post in some time. For that I apologize! Busy, busy, busy.

Most recently, I've been keeping up with a move to Providence, as well as getting work together for a Halloween Show in Boston (thanks to all who came out, and sorry to those who missed out for my not blogging about it previously). Beyond that, it's been more of the same of constant and enjoyable painting - not to mention: changing around the format and tone of this blog. Ugh, I hate that word - blog. Doesn't everyone else? Makes me want to puke.

Take a look and tell me what you think...

Here is a change of pace for you: KC Quilty (http://www.myspace.com/kcquilty") is due to release their upcoming album "Clover/Coriander". Here is some of the album art (made by yours truly).

If you like their sound and you like the artwork, jump in and contribute to the cause of getting the album out there! Check out their kickstarter, why don't you? They're close to their goal and can use your help to match and even surpass their goals. DO IT.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/473325289/kc-quilty-needs-1000-to-release-clover-coriander

That's pretty much all I have, for now. Expect more paintings in the near future. The future is unknown. The truth is out there. Here are some paintings to play the entry out:

Paintings from camp, with love!

2009-08-19T21:00:00.003-05:00

Pressure-treated scraps, imagined landscapes, and the inevitability of the seasons shaping your work.

2009-05-24T12:03:00.006-05:00

After a moderately long sting of working almost entirely digital, I've finally gotten back into sitting down with a pile of scraps and spending an extended period of time painting odd, imagined things of varying importance. This is good!

***

My camp stint is coming up fairly soon - in a month's time or so. Fitting camp into my year this year has been pretty arduous and full of doubts. So, I'm pretty excited and nervous for it, now that it's actually happening.

I'm pretty much spending this very hazy and undefined period before camp to get as much decent painting done as I can. After camp, my future is fairly unknown, so, I would love to come back from camp to a large body of new (and perhaps old) work that I can show. I have to make decisions about how I want to show my work, next time. I have this hesitation for continuously showing my older work. The whole thing starts feeling like a traveling expo.

BLUE YELLOW RED

2009-05-08T14:58:00.003-05:00

Here's some of my recent digital work, which is more or less to pass the time and further steer my work around a bit as I plan for the future and get ready to leave for Connecticut in a few weeks.

The decision was not a very complicated or comprehensive a process to come to, but I've been working in what I suppose you could call a series of pieces consisting primarily of red, yellow, and blue. I really like the limitations and generally feel like this kind of paring down really gives me a clearer idea of the tendencies within my own work.

The pieces usually arrive at some kind of finish within a half hour - or fifteen minutes, even. I like how quickly they come about. I feel like there's a better kind of honesty in working these really quickly that, like the limitations of color, allow me a kind of clarity for the whole damn thing!

What do you think?

The arrival of warm weather and the continuation of painting weird stuff...

2009-04-27T18:35:00.009-05:00

The warm weather has arrived, just in time!

I must sheepishly admit that it's been a while since my last post, which was probably at some point in January or February. I will be better about this.

I had pretty much gotten into the swing of painting so much in a short amount of time that the idea of throwing stuff up on this blog seemed, unduly, to be something that could altogether throw me off track.

I got carried away!

Sorry!

I feel like I've been taking bolder steps with my work ever since bringing my site together, in the sense that I think that I'm really pushing the bounds for my own sensibilities and likable aesthetics. I'm pretty much allowing fully this process of healthy doubt, where I overuse symbols, try out really punchy and, potentially, annoying color choices, and genuinely try to tie in some kind of personal, social commentary or cliche.

It's a complicated and oft enlightening process. At least, I'd like to think that it is!

Why it is that I feel like this bold process is due, mainly, to my site's completion is something I have yet to really solidify as an opinion, but I think it's just the overall chaos that comes from me trying to place my artwork, specifically with my website, in terms of what I want to accomplish with it.

Inherently, this kind of personal doubt for or double-take of my work has allowed me a kind of frantic freedom, almost, where I'm allowing myself in my own confusion to go crazy with color and form, not to mention the conceptual freedom. The span of time from when I first started on this path of this kind of weird, bastardized, objective-yet-not kind of painting has allowed me to take the concepts to completely interesting or completely boring levels, and I feel like this is altogether rewarding.

I'm beginning to use a more superficial stroke, lately, in the sense that I take these maybe obnoxious globs of paint and fill out areas and shapes almost forcibly, and I don't necessarily attribute that to an unknowing kind of glib tendency as much as I feel like it's the byproduct of working to figure out where my work is going, if that isn't too confusing or obvious!

I feel like my work, in general, is becoming more obvious and maybe more obnoxious than it used to be. I don't mean that as a complete negative, but I'm looking to add more control to my work. There was a time, recently, when I was just pretty much letting the work go where it wanted to, and, in a sense, the work started lending to itself a lot more and became less effected by external, new concepts and ideas.

I consider myself to be in the awkward throes of trying to add some kind of control to the approach, even if it is entirely limited. I hope that isn't too vague.

All of this is pretty much an explanation for how I'm looking to find "a place" for my work, whatever that means. I'm pretty much trying to glean some kind of rationality or reason from an otherwise unreasonable or irrational process.

In any event, I'm looking forward to this summer (who isn't??), but I have a few things that I need to decide on before I can become really excited for it - that's intentionally vague, for the sake of my decision making process!

I always feel like I produce the best stuff when it's warmer out. At least, I've come to enjoy thinking of my work in terms of seasons, especially warm seasons. So, this summer will be no different! Plus, like I said, I says: who doesn't get excited for warm weather?

2009-01-25T21:12:00.002-05:00

Here's a quick and lazy upload, for you.

I'm touching around with a sort of approach and a kind of palette that I normally shy away from, for one reason or another. I'm not sure how I feel about this batch...

...I kinda like it, but I feel like I was just too lazy in certain areas. I'm didn't change the water cup the entire day, basically, and ended up with this constant greening that you can't really see in the photographs (dim light, etc. - looks green, anyways).

More to come, for sure - most of these are unfinished, anyways.

-Andrew

2009-01-20T13:07:00.003-05:00

Hey- facebook wouldn't let me upload more images to my albums, inexplicably! I don't understand it...

In any event, here's some of my stuff from the past couple of days.

I should have a statement, soon. I'm still thinking about my work and my opinion of it, as well as taking into account how that opinion has changed over time. There are elements of mystery for me with my work, where I'm either not entirely sure of some of the things that I do or am altogether doubtful of whether I'm doing x thing for y reason, if that makes any sense. Thankfully, I'm starting to work most of that out, and I'm starting to realize some of the tendencies I have with painting and where I can categorize those - whether they be legitimate and intensive or floppy and uninspired.

I can say this: I feel like I'm using the trends in my work now more to allow for this seamless progression of symbols and personal "fads" I guess you could call them. I feel like there's more of a focus now on systematic applications of paint and systematic adherence to either typical compositions or atypical compositions. I'm also dealing a lot with random lines of colors, but that's fairly obvious, I guess...

There's also a piece in this batch that I'm fairly confident owners of corgis, specifically, would find interesting!

The process continues!

We have a new president!

Take care,

Andrew

New work -- 7January, 2009

2009-01-07T14:35:00.003-05:00

Just a brief uploading of paintings.

I feel really great about this especially new work. I feel like I'm painting a lot more than I used to, if that translates well enough. I feel like I'm cutting the binding threads on a lot of the conventions in my work that typically lent to itself. I like my work lending to itself, to a certain point. I feel like it allows for a certain kind of evolution within the work, but I don't like when it stagnates, basically. That makes me feel like I'm being lazy with it, and painting is my least favorite thing to feel lazy with.

I'm experimenting with a Pthalo blue, too, I should add. I've basically stuck to various kinds of cobalts and ceruleans. So, the change is refreshing. Mixing the blues is awesome, and mixing Pthalo with white is pretty electrifying. We'll see how I feel about it, ultimately.

I also have some irridescents that I'm playing with, but I don't have any of that up to any confident speed. On that note, I should also say that found some incredible leafing pigment. It's almost invariably toxic, and potentially full of lead. I'm extremely hesitant to use any of it, and I think it needs an oil medium, anyways.

Here's the work! I still have to work out my thoughts on the figures, but I really like them. I use this stupid, white outline, and then fill in the blanks with this kind of sloppy rendering. I'm more interested in applying something so complicated on the horizons I've kept empty for a while. It's pretty liberating...

New work -- 4 January, 2009

2009-01-04T19:55:00.005-05:00

2009, already? Yipes!

With that realized, though, I've started trying some new things with some of the old things with my work.

After my recent, small show, I started getting the feeling that I'm gearing up to, in some form, work "larger" - whatever that means for my work. I might take it to larger surfaces, larger schemes and complexities, more generalized or specific themes, etc. or just a huge combination of everything. I'm starting to break from my norms of application. Now, I really want to start exploring with my concepts - maybe start exploring with NO concepts.

All of that really ties in with what I want to do with my work, ultimately, for the time being, which is a difficult enough thing to deliberate, on it's own. What's my motivation? - etc.

Also, for anyone who missed the announcement in December-- ANDREWMARATHAS.COM

Which reminds me! I'm also refining my statement. I truthfully loathe the one that I've put up as a placeholder, but, at the same time, I'm still, as I said, trying to work through why I do the work that I do. What are my motivations, now? I know what they used to be, but it's important for me, as most of you know pretty well, to constantly scrutinize the "why"s.

In any case, let me know what you think about this newer stuff. I should mention that I've decided to use this blog as a messy depot for all kinds of images of my work - the finished scans, the "I made this", handheld pieces, etc. etc. I think it gives a more full impression of the whole thing.

I should also advise to click the images for a larger version, as some of the extreme verticals are nearly impossible to accommodate in blog format. The files themselves are big.

Take care,

Andrew

2008-10-30T18:10:00.003-05:00

Hi!

Admittedly, I've been pretty lax about updating everyone with how things are progressing,...

...but they're progressing well!

Expect an official, aptly-named website!

For your excitement:
andrewmarathas.com

***

In any case, here are some of the things I've been working on. I'm hunkered down in a basement, playing around with different things and working at vastly different scales. The large fish number is about 2.5x4 feet, if you can believe it.

I'm more or less painting, while at the same time working on tying my site together. It's proving to be pretty cumbersome a process - in a good way! Basically, I'll be working on the site - specifically, the gallery sections - and I'll be inspired with a new idea from my paintings or other artists' websites or anything really, and I'll want to bring it all back to square-one - either that or I'll just start painting too much, and some of my older stuff starts to drift off as being irrelevant. I don't think it's irrelevant, really.

Anyways, here it is:

Take care,

Andrew

2008-09-27T12:53:00.002-05:00

2008-07-31T13:47:00.003-05:00

So, here is more flash work I've been setting up as samples for curious kids.

The process of sitting and drawing with a tablet is fun, and it's great for working around with color with a strange sort of throwaway feeling to it (in the sense that, if I don't like it, I can get rid of it easily enough).

I miss painting with this frequency, though.

More to come...

Take care,

Andrew

2008-06-30T23:09:00.002-05:00

It's a little bit late, and I'm a bit tired, but I thought that I would post some things that I've been working on at camp.

I've been playing around in flash, to get the much desired "you kids can do this, too!" effect.

I hope it's working. They're becoming more inspired to investigate this strange world of working with colors, animation, and tablets.

Hopefully...

Anyways, what do you think?

Take care,

Andrew

Some obligatory new stuff...

2008-06-05T00:36:00.002-05:00

I've been telling myself for weeks that - hey, I haven't posted any new work, even though I've been working consistently enough to show something.

So, here's some work.

I'm drawing inspiration from everywhere, lately, trying new things, letting go of or changing old things, keeping up with the process, and just generally playing away with a supply of paint that is dwindling (I need to buy more and possibly better paint).

I really like the sense of freedom that I feel with the whole thing, and I hope that enjoyment shows through more than anything.

In other news, I'm getting ready to make a huge push to get an actual website up. Although, it isn't keeping me awake at night. Although, although, it probably will keep me up at night when I get to work on it.

In completely separate - although, maybe not - news, I'm off to camp on the 19th for two months. I'm curious to see how my work will change, through the great experience. Time will tell.

Let me know what you think. As always, sorry for the lazy documentation. I'll get around to tightening up the presentation a bit...maybe...

Take care,

Andrew

2008-04-10T10:19:00.005-05:00

So, here are a few new pieces that I've been working on. I also have a larger one that I am really enjoying working on, but my camera absolutely devours batteries - to the point of me running out of them - and it's just too big to piece together on the scanner.

I'm just really enjoying the process, though, as usual. There's this aimlessness with the whole thing that really lends its hand to what I actually paint and how I actually paint it, and all of that is mixed in with my opinions of my life and hopes for the future. So, it's all pretty dynamic and purely spontaneous, which is good. It really lets me break out of norms that I set for myself, or, at the very least, appreciate when I do something stupid, which I feel is important.

Beyond that, though, I'm really focusing in on what I want to do with my work. The most obvious thing to note is that I do want to make a living doing the work that I feel good about - which is to say the work that I blog about, and not the work I get a paycheck for.

I do know that I eventually want to have a show with the work I've accumulated.

I do know that I want to take the time to write some sort of fleshed out statement - there's a lot in my head, in the way of talking about my artwork. Things have changed, since I first started working on wood.

***

2008-04-02T21:03:00.004-05:00

Hi!

Here's some new work from the past couple of weeks. I just recently picked up some new surfaces to work with, which has me pretty inspired. I also managed to hop down to NYC, this past week, catching awesome work at the Whitney Biennial, The New Museum, and The Armory Show.

It was extremely inspiring and reassuring, and also a huge outlet for me to bounce off the walls. I've spent the winter pretty cooped up with my artwork. So, it was basically good to get out there and take in some of the world.

March, finally!

2008-03-02T21:39:00.006-05:00

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm ready for this cold weather to be over. I always get excited for the prospect of clearing out the dregs of winter, really shaking out those rugs, and feeling the excitement of a new spring.

That being said, here's new artwork. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been working, believe it or not, which is something I'll get into later. The pencil drawings are from my downtime, there, where I just grab some computer paper to pass the time.

Take care,

Andrew

2008-01-17T18:17:00.000-05:00

So, the past few weeks have yielded a ton of more or less everything. I've been painting consistently through it, but I've been pretty busy in other arenas - holidays, family events, finding a real-person job to feel gratified about, trying to restructure myself into a fully-functioning person, whatever that mans. Barring the weather, it's been pretty nice. I'm just about to the point where I can't wait for it to get warmer.

Anyways, I'm feeling happy with my work and the rate and consistency with which I am working. I don't really think there's been more than an hour that goes by, while I'm here, that I don't stop by on my paintings to play around. Chock it up to having a bit of cabin fever. I like the things I'm trying, the things I'm coming to terms with in my work that further reflects on my life (and the things in my life I'm coming to terms with).

So, here's the latest batch. Included within are some pieces on paper, if you can believe it.

Oh, and I think I've made a decision about how I like presenting my work - at least, one way I like showing my work. I definitely enjoy the low-light photographs. What seems like a lazy method is actually something I like the look of more than scans. What do you think? Sorry if they're blurry, and I do want to eliminate some of those unplanned shadows. The work on paper is just piss-poor lighting, but I wanted to get these up here.

Also, the ones that seem somehow upside down are oriented the right way. Don't be fooled. I am pretentious.

Take care,

Andrew

2008-01-14T22:55:00.000-05:00

2007-12-30T17:37:00.001-05:00

2007-12-19T03:00:00.000-05:00

So, here's a funny break from my normal sort of work. I remember a while ago my roommate wanted a painting of a bud light can. I also remember a while ago someone asking my innocently enough if I still had the stuff to sit down and do a still life. So, I painted a beer can as a Christmas present. I'm happy with the results, all around.

More generally, I'm trying to keep my normal pace of working as the holidays draw closer, and, more specifically, as each day goes on. I have to kick myself out of the mindset that I'm still in school. Truthfully, I really just genuinely want to take advantage of as much time as I can to push towards what I have in my head of where I want to be. Obvious stuff - and also vague - but I'll elaborate more when I scan in more work later on this week.

Take care,

Andrew

The motherload

2007-12-02T10:43:00.001-05:00

Howdy, folks. I just thought that I would dispel any fears that I haven't been doing any artwork. I've been doing the opposite, in all actuality - painting until I'm too tired to do anything else. Is there such thing as painting too much? There's a stack of paintings in my room that speaks in some direction. I just need to figure out which - either too much or I'm just not doing enough with it. haha

I have, however, to my credit, cleared out some of my paintings and have shipped them across the country. I got into a show! I've been, as I always do with inspiring possibilities in my life as it pertains to art, gossiping about it for a while now. Here's a link to the site:

http://www.brianmarki.com/

It'll be interesting to see where those pieces I sent out end up. I'll be fine if they come back, knowing that they flew all the way across the US to the pacific northwest. What a trip.

Anyways, here's my new stuff. I'm really just letting myself experiment with the paint and line and how I handle the wood. I'm also dangerously diving back into methods I used before senior year - rejecting some things, but somewhat taking a liking to most of it. Who knows?

Anyways, that's all I got for now. I am pooched.

Who wants to fly to Oregon with me?

Take care,

Andrew

2007-11-21T13:54:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving, guys!

Take care,

Andrew

2007-11-08T11:05:00.001-05:00

Hey! I forgot a couple! I can't believe I forgot these - two of my favorites - when they were practically sitting right next to me...

Anyways, enjoy!

Take care,

Andrew

*edit* Sorry for the extremely poor photo of the larger painting. I honestly just got lazy with it at 1:30 AM. haha

2007-11-08T01:25:00.000-05:00

Hello, again! So, I've been painting pretty consistently, still, which is nice. There's nothing better to shake any of the doubts you might have about what you're doing than to just keep doing it, right? Right. haha

Anyways, here are my latest pieces. They're in no specific order and the sizes really range from 15 inches down to a meager 2 inches. Some are finished, some aren't. Some are in stages where I presently like them, but know that I could continue them. Who knows? I like where they're all going or are, basically.

One thing I should comment on is that I feel like there's a distinct split in my method that's pretty apparent lately. I'm always having fun with "it" ("it being painting), but I find myself either painting with a complete absurdity in mind or a complete intention in mind, which isn't what it's always been up until now. Every so often, I'll run into the old, meditative, motor skill type of painting method I used to accommodate, but, for the most part, my paintings are being filled with more and more meaning, for lack of a better term. I'm too tired to elaborate on that right now, though.

More to come!

Take care,

Andrew

New work as of 10.25.07

2007-10-25T07:51:00.000-05:00

Hey all,

I went and did it. I collected enough energy to photograph my standing work and ship it on to this blog. In advance, I apologize for the poor quality of the photographs. I like scanning my work, strangely enough, partly because my camera - while nice - bows the images when I get moderately close in.

In any case, I feel good about where my work is going. I'm feeling good about it because I'm letting it take me wherever it wants to go, basically. It's still as meditative a process as it was back in Beverly, and it's exciting for me to see how the process is or isn't affected by my every day life. I'm becoming more daring with color, I'm speeding some pieces up, slowing some down. I'm more or less letting it lead me, if that makes any sense.

Although, admittedly, I do have to say at this point that this post is fairly self serving in the sense that I need to remind myself that I am doing work - I am being creative and productive. Truthfully, I feel pretty petrified by this vibe that I'm surrounded by the mindset that what I'm doing just ain't worth it; and, even if it is, it's some sort of fluke or exploitation. Know what I mean? It's tough to explain, perhaps. I guess what I mean is that, for all the support that I get, a lot of it seems half-hearted. Who knows? Screw it, though. I have fun doing what I'm doing, and hopefully that will get me through.

Anyways, I'll stop being a downer. Here're my recent pieces. Thanks for looking. :)

Take care,

Andrew

New place, new art!

2007-10-08T17:21:00.001-05:00

So, I've found myself in a new apartment in a new town. I'm still struggling to make the dream of doing what I love for a living, but it's a good struggle. I just have to keep working for myself.

Anyways, here's a glimpse at some of the stuff I'm working on!

Take care,

Andrew

2007-08-31T14:40:00.001-05:00

So, my summer is drawing to a close. I'm almost completely moved out of my Easton house and into my new, Brookline apartment. Of course, that "almost" basically implies that it will take me one, fell swoop to move out. So, the first trip to take my stuff there should, ideally, be the only trip. I don't have much, and I've used a few late spring-summer cleanings to make sure of that.
I'm extremely excited to be moving so close to the city, but I'm still a little bit nervous. I'm skating by in the biggest way, in terms of money, and I'm not even spending any, yet. I'm basically thinking of all the things I have to pay for over the next year, incrementally, and it's pretty daunting. Luckily, I'm still painting and still have a drive to make a living doing that. I've heard that's something of a rarity. Who knows? I'm looking forward to getting close to Boston and looking for opportunities with my work.

In any case, this is probably the last painting update I'll give from here. So, consider these, for the most part, the last paintings of summer 2007!

Thanks for looking.

Take care,

Andrew

"Hours" ($60)
"Lord of the Sea" ($75)
"Marathai" ($70)
"Shepard" ($80)
"Solarize rise" ($40)
"Black Balloon" ($40)
"Dog days" ($25)
"Bolt Nation" ($25)
"The Death of the Easter Bunny" ($65)
"FEEl" ($25)

Works in progress and some minor finishes!!

2007-08-23T11:50:00.001-05:00

Alright folks, here are some pieces I've been working on over the past couple of weeks. Some are still in progress, which I'm sure to see through. Overall, considering it's coming to a close, I'm glad to say that I've been working consistently throughout the summer. I've had sobering moments with jobs and money, but I've kept true to plodding along with my work.

In any case, I'm really try to play around with what I can do with my work and how far I can push the bounds of staying happy with what I'm trying to do with it.

Per usual, thanks for looking and sorry for the bad scans.

Take care,

Andrew

"In" ($50)

"Carl" (WIP)

"Whassat" ($30)

"Mu" ($40)
"Money stinx..." ($80)
"Laserjet" (WIP)
"Exit" ($30)

"bebe" ($35)

"snakessnakessnakes" ($40)

2007-08-08T20:24:00.001-05:00

Lastly, and standing alone due to being an outrageously bad scan (trust me...a photo on my powershot would've been worse), here's an updated picture of this painting. Careful folks - someone's already looking at this one to buy.

ARTFORSALEARTFORSALE gogo! Fund my sweet, sweet move-out this way, so I don't have to break my back as a laborer. hehe

Take care,

Andrew

"Dys" ($250)

more work!

2007-08-08T19:59:00.000-05:00

Sorry for some of these being cruddy scans, but I really wanted to get these up here - primarily, to share these with people, but also to offer them up for sale! That's right! All of these are for sale. I'm moving Brookline in the fall and could really use the money. Plus, I like the thought of my work going out into the world. It's almost as good as the initial act of painting. Anyways, here they are, ready for your viewing and priced accordingly. haha

Take care (almost wrote "Love," there...strange...maybe not, though,

Love,

Andrew

p.s. These prices are completely flexible. Help fund my move-out!

"Daydream Believer" ($150)
"Mir" ($150)
"Rage" ($170)
"Just a simple plan to keep you awake..." ($165)

"Space and Time series" ($40)

"Butts" ($70)
"Palm Face" ($40)
"Winter in summer" ($40)
"Summer from Main St., from the passenger seat, after the fact" ($45)
"Jesus, don't worry..." ($60)
"Eternal II" ($35)
"Eternal III" ($35)
"Shipt" (only half of the painting, due to scanner restrictions) ($70)
"Three Blimps" ($30)
"Grafdase" (nfs)

2007-07-20T11:46:00.000-05:00

Whoops! I forgot this one, when uploading the others. I have more of these weird, figurative ones on the way.

Take care,

Andrew

2007-07-18T18:13:00.000-05:00

Here are a few new pieces I brought up, today. I've been eating hamburgers and hot dogs, ever since I bought too many for my graduation party. Thankfully, they're almost gone. Don't get me wrong - I love cookout food, but there's just something about preparing and eating that sort of thing that's a bit maddening. Anyways, I like how those two came out and am satisfied with the other two as well.

Per usual, I'm not sure where I'm taking this stuff. I just like the meditative act of listening to music loudly and painting more than one piece at a time.

Thanks for looking.

Take care,

Andrew

New stuff, as of July 2007...

2007-07-16T19:42:00.000-05:00

Here's some of the newer stuff I've been chewing on, lately. I've been trying to really shake things up with my work - incorporating things that I've done before with the newer methods I came to enjoy in senior year. I hope these aren't horrible abominations. I feel good about them.

Take care and thanks for looking,

Andrew

p.s. The two with the uncharacteristically fully-handled figures aren't recent, but I've been meaning to scan them. I did them while working at Buck's Rock, last year. They're a good frame of reference for the rest of the work, I guess.

2007-06-24T22:59:00.000-05:00

So, my graduation party was incredible. It was an awesome assortment of people I care about, another chance for me to spread the wings of my project (so to speak), and, most importantly, a beautiful day. Plus, it was an opportunity for me to show the people I care about what I've been doing with my time away and money spent. Anyways, here's a picture of my work hanging, nailed to the back of my house (don't worry...those shingles are coming down, soon.......hmmm...more surfaces to work on? Maybe...)...

...and here's my dog, Dozer. He likes sleeping, almost more than I do. Hey, I was uploading pictures and he just happened to fall asleep next to me. Can you blame me?

Thanks for looking. It means a lot.

Take care,

Andrew

Working on the ol' portfolio...

2007-06-22T01:12:00.000-05:00

So, I've been making the most conscious of efforts to make the work that I'm eventually going to show on my website the most well-rounded collection of work I can muster. Even more than that, I'm trying to display my abilities in a way that's true to home. I don't want to fake anything, which is funny because these designs are mock-ups - nothing more than exercises that mean absolutely nothing beyond the aesthetic of the design. What do you think?

It's late. This is all I got, for tonight.

Take care and, as always, thanks for looking,

Andrew

2007-06-20T01:05:00.000-05:00

I just thought that I would show some of the progress I've made with the paintings, thus far. I feel really great about them, but haven't been doing too, too much work on them. It's been really touch and go, because I've been on the hunt for a decent, fun job, which is a little tricky to scout out. Granted, I am relying on craigslist and monster, which I guess haven't really done me wrong. We'll see. I sent my resume out to a ton of people. So, again, we'll see on that.

Anyways, here they are. Thanks for looking. Sorry for the orientation on a couple of those. I'm lazy, at the moment. If you have a laptop, flip it to the right direction. It'll make it feel like you're holding the piece itself

Take care,

Andrew

***

I added a wash and a moon to this one. I also added a very, very weird city to the right hand side of the piece. I'm sure I'll have a picture of it, soon. I like where this one is going. It's really....weird.

***

This is how this one remains, at the moment. I'm unsure of where it's going, but it's a fun little piece and this picture doesn't do justice to those awesome, awesome colors. The nail is kinda funky, too.

***

I still have to figure out what to write in that speech bubble. I love where this piece is going, though. Maybe I won't write anything in there. Who knows? I should. Meh.

***

I'm experimenting with the strength of ballpoint pen through paint, with this one. When I say "experiment", I mean that I'm running out of wood and I'm trying to paint on a piece that I foolishly drew on with ballpoint pen. We'll see how this one turns out...

***

I painted this little guy for a friend of mine. It has some specifics to it that you probably just wouldn't get. If you would get it, you'd already get it. Get it? I like it, though...

2007-06-02T14:57:00.000-05:00

Pictures of the process. Thank goodness, I've found my niche again. I also found silver spraypaint. hehe

Take care,

Andrew

Thank god, I've started working again...

2007-06-01T19:44:00.000-05:00

So, after a long reprieve from working and a short time spent in Beverly graduating, I'm back at home and back at the grindstone, and I've decided to up the ante on my own way of working a little bit. I've moved to working in my typical fashion of extreme formats, but now am seeing what I can do with the horizontal. Not only that, but I'm taking the advice of a friend of mine to work bigger throughout.

On that note, I've been thinking recently of trying to market myself to do custom murals. The way I see things now, I work relatively fast and relatively completely. I have something distinct going on in my work and really think that I might be able to make some sort of income doing that. Who knows, though? I'm all about thinking of crazy things I can do with my work to make it a living. I'm trying not to think about everything too much, though, lest I go crazy. Anyone in my neck of the woods want a unique, refreshing mural?

Anyways, as usual, thanks for looking.

Take care,

Andrew

Thesis show

2007-05-09T01:41:00.000-05:00

Here's the second installment of my work from this year. Sorry for some of the lame photography, but I really wanted to get this work up here for some people to see. Some are excluded, for various reasons. I'll have some gallery pictures up, this weekend.

Purchase inquiries welcome - andrewmarathas@yahoo.com

Take care,

Andrew

2007-04-18T16:06:00.000-05:00

Here's another fun, little thing I did in MS paint, real quick. Per usual, saving it as a Jpeg produced a crappy quality, but it mushed the clouds pretty nicely, which kind of inspires me to find some sort of happy accident dynamic in MS paint. haha

I love happy accidents and, even more than that, getting a handle for them. In any case, this is more of the same - a fun little color exercise in MS paint. I like how this one came out. My goals with MS paint are as of right now no more than a sketchbook device.

Take care,

Andrew

2007-04-17T19:17:00.000-05:00

So, here's another MS paint bit. I decided to head over to a website called illustrationfriday. Basically, it's a site that offers fun, weekly assignments to just play around with, which is a nice place to get some exercise.

This week was "fortune", apparently. Thanks for looking.

Take care,

Andrew

2007-04-16T23:47:00.000-05:00

I made this a while ago on Artpad. It took me a while to get a free, effective screen capture program. It still came out kind of crappy in quality, but I still enjoy it.

Take care,

Andrew

2007-04-16T23:15:00.000-05:00

I've always liked MS paint. I hate the way that it makes Jpegs look like Jpegs, but I've always liked the quickness of it. I work quick. I like seeing the colors and shapes fast - quick. Sorry for the crappy quality, nonetheless, but it is MS paint.

I used it a lot, when I was younger. I remember myself and my brother doing this little, amazing, crappy, intensive, campy comic book drawings in the program, back when it was revolutionary and altogether simple and cruddy. You know the type - bad proportions, unsure of any medium or handling, etc. etc. Between then and now, though, has been dominated by Photoshop. It's nice to get back to the quickness of Paint.

You'll probably end up seeing more of these quick things. I like how it came out. The evolution of the piece was nice, too - it changed a lot, as you can probably tell.

Take care,

Andrew

2007-03-25T20:02:00.000-05:00

Here's more of that series that I'm working on. I thought that I would take to opportunity to throw these mid-process pieces in with the rest of these "finishes", because it gives me the opportunity to talk about my concept of a finish.

Basically, my excitement for working comes from not really knowing where the piece will end up. I've always considered there to be multiple "finishes" for a piece. I guess a more appropriate way of describing it would be that there are moments while working when everything just feels cohesive enough to leave it be. You can work past that, but then you're working on a new piece, if that makes any sense. You're taking it past one direction's end and bringing it to a new place. All of that is really exciting for me. So, with these, because I stopped, I'll come back to them and work off what's there and eventually come to a "good spot"; and that's just really fun.

So, here they are. I'm playing with colors. I'm layering and making a mess, all the while not knowing exactly where it'll end up. I guess that's not really the most efficient way of completing an assignment-based piece (which this one isn't, but it could be), but I think my true success will come from being able to do that. Get a commission, work more in the vein of that commission, and find a synthesis or compromise between that and the way I just happen upon or work towards a "good spot". I think I'll get there.

Take care,

Andrew

2007-03-25T14:30:00.000-05:00

These two are the last ones I'll post up here for a bit. These are my most recent pieces, from a series that I'm working on. They're different from the others because I'm working on this nice, hard cardboard. It's close to masonite, but is more absorbent and has this nice paper bag quality to it.

I'm really looking to get a fresh way of working with these. I want them to group with my previous body of work, while at the same time be distinctive. I like what they look like together, so far (there are about 8 or so). So, we'll see how this one goes. The subject matter in each is more of the same - flat horizon line, free form concepts.

Take care,

Andrew

2007-03-25T14:26:00.000-05:00

Power Rangers!

So, this piece was one where I started using pencil pretty extensively in the painting, and really just trying to accentuate the way that the medium acts, separate from the paint. This is also one of the first where I actually use hand-written text.

As for the content, I just got carried away and had fun with it. I had five little objects down at the bottom. So, I decided to paint a lightning bolt and paint them their individual colors. The speech bubbles were kind of an afterthought, but really help the composition along.

As for the surface, I love the presence of the wood. It's pretty large and pretty deeply set against the wall. I think it's 2 inches deep. It's a clunky piece of wood, and I'm curious to see how it looks with everything else.

Take care,

Andrew

2007-03-25T14:25:00.000-05:00

This is also one of my favorite pieces from this year. It has a nice, small size, and I just really enjoy the colors. I also like how much I worked the medium into the piece. Everything in the piece is on the same level, which is nice. The pencil has the same quality as the paint. Everything is just rich.

Nice.

Take care,

Andrew

2007-03-25T14:19:00.000-05:00

This is another one of my smaller pieces. Like the others, it's really simple in its execution and is really meant as an exercise in conveying my way of working to a smaller scale. Even more than that, I've found that I like the finished quality of these small pieces. It's almost like it's more fun to hold them in your hand than look at them. They're a lot like matchbox cars, in that respect. Go figure.

Maybe I'll start painting matchbox cars...

Take care,

Andrew

2007-03-25T14:16:00.000-05:00

This is a mailbox vomiting. Let me know at any time in these posts if you need me to go further into detail with how it was made, why it was made, etc. For now, this is a sick mailbox.

Take care,

Andrew

2007-03-25T13:52:00.000-05:00

This is one of my favorite pieces from this year. I like the surface I worked on (which, as you can tell from the scan, is quite difficult). I like the simplicity of color. I also like the way that I handled to figures in a subtractive, scraping way. I just really like this piece and I don't think I have much more to say about it.

I found the wood in my basement in Easton. It was really old and called for a lot of gesso to keep it from fragmenting under my brush.

Take care,

Andrew

2007-03-25T13:50:00.000-05:00

This one also needs its levels fixed. Sorry about that. This piece is the estranged cousin of the "W P P" series. It's really just kind of weird. I like the colors and the content, for the most part. When I first finished it, I hid it away for months. I just don't think I was ready to look at it, yet. It's just really strange, but I like it. There are some wonky parts that fall down. There are some spots that are somewhat transparent, but, on the whole, I like this one. It's just really strange.

Take care,

Andrew

2007-03-25T13:46:00.000-05:00

Speaking of loud skies, this is one of my later pieces from last semester, also. I like this one because I'm really just cutting loose and playing with color. Even more than that, I like it because I can't distinguish - in some spots - which layer of color is over which other layer of color. I didn't spend a whole lot of time on this one, but there was some pretty intensive layering going on.

This is also from the "W P P" series. The figures I intentionally left kind of scratchy and nondescript.

Take care,

Andrew

2007-03-25T13:43:00.000-05:00

This piece is also a "W P P" piece. Here, I had to knock back the colors. What started as a deliberate attempt to create the most local color I could ended up being pretty obnoxious. I didn't like how lame it looked. So, I knocked it back with some variation.

Once I had the ground plane and sky where I wanted it, I almost literally dotted those red things on there in a matter of minutes, without much thought. I like the way this one turned out. That crack is nice. I also like the quality of clouds and the richness of the sky, in general. You won't see me using that loud blue too often. I usually go for a softer approach.

Take care,

Andrew

2007-03-25T13:39:00.000-05:00

Another of the "white primer plank" pieces, this one really didn't scan all that well; but, what can you do? The yellow of the background is this really punches, strange, light yellow, and it's only accentuated by the items in distress at the bottom.

One thing to note here is that this was one of my last pieces of the fall semester, but, admittedly, I've started arranging these posts by grouping the surfaces. Sorry. I'm scatterbrained, even in this.

Anyways, there isn't too much to note about this one. I'm using color sparingly but with an intellect to which, exact color I want to use. Also, the figures in this one are the way in which I've come to draw figures, even now. I saw no point in fine-tuning the way a figure looks, if I'm painting or drawing them that small. Even beyond that, I think there's a nice quality to it. I also started using strange speech bubbles. I have since stopped using them, but I might go back to them.

Take care,

Andrew

2007-03-25T13:36:00.000-05:00

I really like this one. It's come a long way from its start, and it's probably one of the only pieces that I've come back to more than five times. Funnily enough, I started this one in a rush, trying to get that one, last piece in before class at 12:30. It started as just clouds, light, and a ground plane, but I liked it immediately.

I feel like the decisions made since then, though somewhat without meaning, really bring everything together.

This is one of the "white primer plank" pieces.

Take care,

Andrew

2007-03-25T13:31:00.000-05:00

I've decided that I'm going to stop titling these posts, at least for now. I mean, this site automatically uses my first sentence. Why bother?

Anyways, I thought that I would throw this strange one in the mix. It's really weird. I started with the ground plane, then the tunnel, then the cavern. It took me a while and a couple break to actually think of what to put in there. Of course, a sneaker should go in the hole.

What I like most about this piece is the color, which didn't come over so great through the scanner. Rest assured, however, that the colors are pretty vital. I might be able to fix that with a levels adjustment.

I feel like reference for the sneaker would've ruined the piece, but maybe not. I like the way I basically molded and sculpted the tunnel and hole into this one. You can probably see the scrape markings.

Take care,

Andrew

2007-03-25T13:27:00.000-05:00

Oops! I almost forgot this piece! This piece is the one that was meant to follow that horizontal, trapezoidal piece!

One thing to note about this piece is that the color that I used for the background is not normally in my paintings. That color, which I do enjoy greatly, is usually found in the paintings of my friend K.C. Lee. I had an urge to use it one night. So, I did. I like the results. I feel like it's the closest in being as loud as my cadmium red.

So, this is a person at a mailbox, if you can't see that. It's pretty obscured by it's size, but I like it. It looks great, when hung with the rest of 'em.

Take care,

Andrew

More sky chairs?

2007-03-25T13:22:00.000-05:00

This is the other "301 wood" piece. It's also one of my favorite pieces from this year, especially in terms of how I handled the sky and ground plan. It's also one of my few horizontal formatted pieces. Besides that, there isn't too much to tell about this. At this point in the year, I was getting ready for the first show and I was being more intensive about preparing the wood to paint on it - multiple layers of gesso, ample dry time, etc. So, some of these are lacking wood grain, for that reason.

To digress a bit, I'm not sure what ultimately drives me to paint the skies the way that I do - the decisions to make it colorful or gray or full of clouds or flat. It's really just a reaction to my immediate visual memory. So, if I recently saw a nice sunrise or sunset, I'll repeat it in a painting. If it's been raining for days, the sky will be gray. I guess that's my explanation for that one - not that you really asked for it. You got it anyways, though.

Take care,

Andrew

2007-03-25T13:17:00.000-05:00

This is another piece that I have to fix the levels on. Also, it's one of the few - well, two - pieces that I have scanned that are from the "I took this piece of wood from 301" series. I saw this piece of wood and knew that it would either be really easy to work on or something of a challenge.

It turned out to be really easy, when I didn't think too much about it. Actually, I remember with this one wanting to pool my transparent gesso in the holes and then back-light it. The gesso ended up cracking, though. So, that was a no-go. I still want to do that, though.

In any case, I really need to fix the levels, because this piece has some of my favorite colors in it. It's also quite primary. I think I was thinking about Van Allsburg when I drew the boats in there. I have "Wreck of the Zephyr", which is probably one of my favorites by him.

Take care,

Andrew

Blue!

2007-03-25T13:12:00.000-05:00

I thought that I'd cover this piece next, mainly because it's so mysterious, even to me. I can't remember when, exactly, I did it. I also can't remember where I got the wood. What I do remember is that I had a thought about cadmium red, and how I never really use any punchy cool colors.

So, that's basically what this is - a fun experiment in using a loud blue, and letting the rest of the piece be something free-form. I still don't see it as effective as that damned red, but it's close. It has a nice, vibrant quality. I think I could've been more sparing with it, though - really make it pop by using very little of it. Who knows? I can try again, later. I like this piece, though. That flying brain is hard to spot, but fun when you do.

Take care,

Andrew

2007-03-25T13:06:00.000-05:00

This is the brother piece to that shark piece. I mean "brother" in the sense that was in the same batch of wood. I associate the pieces that I do with the wood that they came from. I have a "shingle" series, a "white primer plank" series, a "I took this from 301's wood shop" series, and - this - the "I can't remember where I got them, but I only got two pieces" series. I think these came from my house.

In any event, I don't really like this piece. I don't really like what I did with the sky. I think I got lazy with it and marked it finished too early. I tried fixing the ground plane with graphite, but that only made my efforts look even more transparent.

I like the piece of wood, though.

Take care,

Andrew

We're going to need a bigger boat...

2007-03-25T13:00:00.000-05:00

I like this piece. It's simple and is an example of me really playing with the surface of the wood. I know that I said that I didn't intend to use clever conventions, but I also said that I fail at it with some instances. This is one of those instances. I think it's quiet enough a use to let pass.

To balance that out, I really just enjoy the size of this piece and the way that it was cut. I didn't cut it. I don't cut any of the wood I work on. I want to eliminate any sort of planning that could come from that. Because of that, I end up getting pieces like this, that are a weird size and are definitely not square. I end up with mistake cuts like the one on the bottom, and the piece of wood is altogether made more distinctive. I like it.

Take care,

Andrew

Wait, is that perspective? I don't use that...

2007-03-25T12:43:00.000-05:00

This piece is among my larger pieces. Not only that, but I consider this piece to be one of the more cohesive in terms of actually hinting at some sort of underlying story. The environment is somewhat creepy, but altogether unsurprising. It's a lifesaver in what, as opposed to a chair in the sky, etc.

I like this piece, though. I feel like I really started getting a feeling for layering color confidently and unexpectedly, which is cool. Not only that, but I used india ink much like I would paint. So, I like the effect I got. Again, I'm doubling back and contradicting myself - another successful ink piece! How will you ever believe me, after that? You'll just have to trust me, I guess.

I have to fix the levels on this image. It's a lot brighter, and that gray on that bright yellow is too awesome.

Take care,

Andrew

"Is that a blue wave?"

2007-03-25T12:37:00.000-05:00

At a certain point, I decided to take all of the broken, interesting pieces of wood from my pile of scraps and use them for paintings. At first, it was more just playing around - color studies, I guess you could call them; but I ultimately ended up liking them as paintings.

With this one, I'm really just thinking about a painting I did in my sophomore year and just running with that motif. All the while, however, I have no real end in mind. I'm just playing with how my way of working reacts with the wood and the shape of the surface.

I love this piece, but this (and the next post's piece) make hanging my work extremely tough to arrange. Triangles are the pieces that make or break the setup.

Take care,

Andrew

Last one before bed...

2007-03-25T02:19:00.000-05:00

I originally thought that I had scanned these images so that the file-size would be somewhat uniform. As you can see, I was a bit off in that respect. In any case, these are grouped with that loud, red piece in being the smallest pieces in the overall series. They're certainly the smallest series I have.

I like these because they forced me into a smaller surface. Through that, I was allowed to really push the limits of my conveying my style and way of working to a smaller surface. I like them, because, even though they are extremely small (about an inch and a half tall), they still feel like one of my larger paintings. Besides that, I just like the primary colors. I feel that you can be equally successful with with using primaries to using complementaries - if not, more so. I think that hints at the enjoyment I get from using every color in every painting, and helps to fill out a sort of naturalness of light within the painting. What's local color if you use every color?

Take care,

Andrew

How could I forget the sky ladder?

2007-03-25T02:02:00.000-05:00

How could I forget the sky ladder? Oh, how I wish I could. Well, I shouldn't really say that, because I do like some things about this piece. Ultimately, however, I feel that this holds hands with the balancing act piece. In the falls down in the same, essential way that the balancing act falls down, except that it's in a more complex form. The balancing act is a simple use of a transparent concept on top of fun, successful way of working, while this is that use of transparent concepts, but more plentiful in the actual number of elements. It's almost like I was too scatter-brained for my own good, and funneled that into my work in a wonky way.

Nonetheless, it's part of a process. So, I love it. Per usual, I enjoy the sky and the ground-plane. I might just take the ladder and the balloons out. Maybe I'll just scrap the balloons. I kind of like the ladder, too.

Also, as a brief aside, I've just realized that you can click on the image to get a larger version. I thought about going back and editing my posts to act like I knew what was going on, but where's the fun in erasing your mistakes?

Take care,

Andrew

The sky-chair! How could I forget?!

2007-03-25T01:49:00.000-05:00

I don't really call this one "The sky chair", but it's a good way of remembering which one it is. Admittedly, this one is proof that I'm not being very chronological with these posts, as this was done way before the car farm and even before the spaceship one. Of course, I could be getting that wrong - how confusing.

Nonetheless, this is one of my smaller works and is what I consider to be one of my more comfortable pieces. I still haven't completely broken loose with my color and the way I'm going about working the piece, but I'm having fun. I'm painting to paint, not really giving a whole lot of thought as to where the "end" of the piece is.

A funny thing to note about this is the fact that one of the main criticisms that it receives is the lack of intention or mystery surrounding the hole. That's funny, because I consider it's lack of meaning in the piece essential for it being there, if that makes sense. It shows quite well the way that I work through and around the wood, instead of necessarily with it. My argument was that my entire intention was to try to get away from any clever conventions. I fail at avoiding it, sometimes, but it is something I aim for with my way of working.

I later made a piece that quietly emphasized a knothole in the wood. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. I think I like it. I might actually love it. I usually talk more about things I don't like. I wish I had scanned it. I'll have to get around to it. Who knows?

One final thing to note about this piece is that I painted the sides that nice, cadmium red. I painted the sides of all my pieces before the fall show, but have since stopped doing that. It isn't that I don't like the sides of my pieces painted, but that I haven't gotten around to it. I will, I'm sure. I consider these works being objects to be very important, in terms of how they hang.

Take care,

Andrew

"Balancing Act" is not going to be the working title for this one...

2007-03-25T01:41:00.000-05:00

So, this one, like the painting of the car and the farm and the sky and the muddy water paint, is too small. I guess that's something we'll both have to get used to, as the files are a bit larger.

Getting past that for now, this painting was done shortly after my break from wood to canvas. This was also the last I did using dirty water. Although, I could be wrong. Again, ignorance is bliss - you won't know.

Around this time I started getting comfortable with the new way I was working. I had a way of applying the paint to the wood, I had a certain motif, in terms of the colors I used, etc. I enjoy this piece, but not as much as most of my others. The reason for that is that this is basically the epitome of the danger of my way of working. I'm figuring things out: how to work, what things to employ, etc. etc. At a certain point, it's borderline a type of math, which I think rings through here. I know what I like seeing in a picture. I know how to do it, for the most part. So, when it comes time for the picture to actually depict something, I get lazy and use simple compositional tricks and simple solutions. I like it, but not as much as most. It's what I want to avoid.

I like the sky, though.

Take care,

Andrew

That is a Death Star, yes.

2007-03-25T01:31:00.000-05:00

One thing that I should note is that, while posting these, I'm really trying to keep some sort of chronological order going, considering that I do want to illustrate the gradual process that has taken me from September to now. I'm sure I'll get some spots wrong, but you'll never know that. Ignorance is bliss.

Anyways, this is a Death Star and a banana. I decided to go back at one point and give canvas another try. I like the way that this came out a lot, and I loved the process, but have since had trouble warming up to canvas. It just isn't the same consistency that I'm comfortable with.

This one is somewhere around 10 inches wide, I believe. It isn't too large. Then again, I have few large pieces - something I'm going to change soon, I assure you.

That's no moon...

Take care,

Andrew

Why a farm and a car? Who knows?

2007-03-25T01:22:00.000-05:00

I really have to get around to cropping that white bar out of this image...

Anyways, I like painting skies. There's something about the free-form nature of clouds, light, and air that accommodates my way of working. It's probably the easiest link of my visual memory to my hand. The same could be said about the way that I handle landscapes, but that's more basic, I think.

This piece was the result of my snagging some wooden shingles from my house in Easton and just pumping out a large volume of pieces in a short amount of time. More than that, it was one of the later pieces of the "shingle" series. By that time, my water (which I usually neglect) had become muddy from failed india ink attempts and my poor care for my steel pens (I'm one of those jerks that just rinses it in my water cup, instead of buying de-ink solutions). While working on this piece - with the understanding of what was happening to my color because of the muddy water - I came to enjoy limiting the range of colors and brightnesses I could achieve. I ran with that for a while, but have since come back to enjoying the options provided by having clean water and a limitless supply of colors at my disposal. Go figure.

I wish this image was a little larger, so you could appreciate the surface I worked through. It's about a foot and a half tall, to give you some sort of perspective on its scale.

Take care,

Andrew

That damned cadmium red and that damned worm

2007-03-25T01:07:00.000-05:00

After posting that last blog, keeping in mind the piece that it was about and the devices mentioned, it's funny to bring these two up, because, with the last piece, I ended up breaking the bottom of the plank of wood intentionally and then painting on it. I like the effect so much that I used it for these two.

One thing to note is that all of the paintings I'll post up here have no real sketch phase. Although, now I use a sketch phase for general ideas. When I paint, I usually just jump into it and really try to just paint, instead of planning everything out and using tricks to get there. I'll have an initial concept, but it changes by the end of it, which I like.

Anyways, these two pieces are funny to me because they really emphasize the two devices I talked about in the last post. The red one is not only the loudest of my pieces (because of that cadmium red), but also one of my smallest, only being about 1"x1". When all of my pieces are hanging together, that one is the absolute loudest, which I find awesome. The worm one is funny because I consider it to be the only one of my pieces that uses ink that actually uses it, if that makes any sense. I can't really imagine a better medium for that worm, and, beyond that, I can't imagine having the courage now to try that again. So, that one holds a special spot in my body of work. It's also pretty small, but not worth talking about in that respect.

Another brief note: I don't really title my pieces. That isn't because I want them all to be mysteriously "untitled", but because I just haven't thought of titles for them. I'd probably just end up naming them very plainly or very in a very strange and very personal manner. I'm sure I'll get around to it.

Take care,

Andrew

Space: Above and Beyond was such a great show...

2007-03-25T00:59:00.000-05:00

Running in the vein of my early pieces meant for shows that I, for some reason or another, never handed in to show: this is one of my early pieces meant for a show that I, for some reason or another, never handed in to show. I usually hear about shows along the grapevine and usually, altogether too late.

Nonetheless, I like this piece because of the red. I love using cadmium colors because they are just really, really loud. They can make your piece worth a damn and I have yet to get bored of the effect. In any case, here, I've already come to terms with the fact that I like working on wood and that it's more accommodating for my tendencies to use dry brush. Canvas is nice, but it lacks this element of surprise that wood has. Paper is the same way, unless it has a wacky tooth to it. I like happy accidents and wood just does that for me.

A brief aside to this one is that I used india ink - something that you won't see a lot in my later work, as I made a switch to pencil. I still have yet to pin down the reason for it. I think it has something to do with ink being extremely final and loud, where pencil can just kind of hang out on the painting. I like being loud with color, but not with line. Go figure.

Take care,

Andrew

Four out five ain't bad, I guess.

2007-03-25T00:52:00.000-05:00

So, these are what I would call the first of my year-long series, where I'm really just playing around with the medium. Even more than playing, I'm discovering more the colors I like to use, the surfaces I prefer, and the compositions that I'm comfortable with. From there, I was able to really test my boundaries, in terms of what I'm comfortable with.

As an aside: "chorizo" is not only a form of sausage, but is also the character name of a shaman who I play with in World of Warcraft. My friends and I think it's funny to incorporate other people's names in our work. Why restrict the names of the people we know virtually?

There is a fifth to the series that was missing when I went to scan them. They were all originally meant for a small works' show at my school, but I ultimately decided not to hand them in for show.

Take care,

Andrew

To preface:

2007-03-25T00:35:00.000-05:00

The work that will initially show up in this blog is special to me in the sense that it is the most important work that I've done in terms of coming to realize what I want to do with my artwork - the way I want to work, what subjects I want to deal with, how much I want to work, how much I want to repeat myself or not at all, etc. - and, more importantly, how all of that plays its role in who I am as a person - how exactly it's important to me that I find enjoyment in my work and how exactly important it is to me that other people enjoy it as well. Which, I should say: I do hope you enjoy the work that I post here.

I consider this work to be a mapping of the person I am, day to day; a reflection of my visual memory that shows the things that I like seeing and repeating in paint and pencil (or pastel, or oils, or watercolor, or collage, or sculpture, or doodles in class, or digital work, etc. etc. etc.), the things that I find funny or dire or happy or just altogether interesting by themselves. It's a process that I hope will continue to keep my motivation high and enthusiasm for creating never-ending. I'm pretty confident, in that respect, that I've created for myself a way of working that will not only keep me interested, but will also keep others interested; if for nothing but the intensity at which I scrutinize my own work and way of working, despite never really worrying about what people feel about it.

It's an evolving process and I can only hope that the work I'll submit to this blog will shake and move over time, push and pull and repeat itself, all the while keeping that sense of myself and my hand that I find interesting.

Take care,

Andrew