I will post more updates about the mugshot paintings as I progress. As for now I need to prep the surfaces to paint on, and that will take a while. Thanks for reading.
Friday, December 12, 2008
more about mug shots
I have now taken pictures of 12 people all responding to my craigslist postings for models. I have a couple more this next week. I think this is a bad time to start a new project because I am spending so much time applying for jobs. An anonymous person responded to one of my postings, I would be interested to know who the person is. I didn't think I would like teaching art until I started to teach. Now I love it so maybe I should just find a full time teaching job so I don't have to do all the meetings,.... actually I really like meeting, at least the ones I have been in and the type that get things done. I figure I won't know what I will like until I try it and right now it is a good reason to move out of Utah and experience something new.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Mug Shots
That's right I am working on a series of Mug Shot paintings, this is the first drawing for the series. I am thinking of doing at least 20 to start off, nice thing about these, it is endless on how many I can paint.... much like everything else people paint. Anyways here is my artist statement with the mugshots and I will start painting beginning next year, projected time to paint all 20 is about a year possibly more depending on if I teach or not. Thanks for checking out my blog. I need to be better at doing this.
With this mug shot the guy loved the Big Lebowski, still have not seen the movie, dont know if I will but he fits the profile, and he is an official dudeist minister.
Artist Statement:
In the mid 19th century Allan Pinkerton started using photographs for booking criminals and created a database of known offenders. The information contained within the booking photograph or ‘mug shot’ covered names, booking number, and location of arrest. These booking numbers were associated with a file that contained detailed information about the individual convict.
Traditionally, portraits have been a resemblance or likeness of a person. Occasionally portraits had props in them to provide a sense of context. When photography was invented, the demand for painted portraits declined significantly. Photography made it possible to capture the appearance of a person without the time required to generate a painted portrait.
Portraits have always fascinated me due to the intricacies involved in capturing the likeness of an individual. In order to explore the application of contemporary art to a traditional portrait I have decided to create a series of paintings that involve mug shots.
These portraits include a label on the text-board that contains an abstract description of the individual and a number associated with the individuals ‘booking file.’
‘Mug shots’ are viewed in a negative context by society. They generally label an individual as incapable of operating according to a set of laws or guidelines adopted by the rest of that society. The label or concept of a criminal is fairly static. Society has developed a biased view of what criminal appearance, behavior, and personality should be.
The portraits are still traditional ‘mug shots’ with poor lighting, authentic expression, and captured without the subject being ready for the photograph. They attempt to capture an image of the individual as they would be if they were actually booked as a criminal.
The only non-traditional portion of the ‘mug shots’ are the abstract labels. These labels are based on the individual answers to a series of personal questions. The labels are designed to evoke a controversial response from the viewer as they may not be in agreement with the labels or the booking file found with each portrait.
In the mid 19th century Allan Pinkerton started using photographs for booking criminals and created a database of known offenders. The information contained within the booking photograph or ‘mug shot’ covered names, booking number, and location of arrest. These booking numbers were associated with a file that contained detailed information about the individual convict.
Traditionally, portraits have been a resemblance or likeness of a person. Occasionally portraits had props in them to provide a sense of context. When photography was invented, the demand for painted portraits declined significantly. Photography made it possible to capture the appearance of a person without the time required to generate a painted portrait.
Portraits have always fascinated me due to the intricacies involved in capturing the likeness of an individual. In order to explore the application of contemporary art to a traditional portrait I have decided to create a series of paintings that involve mug shots.
These portraits include a label on the text-board that contains an abstract description of the individual and a number associated with the individuals ‘booking file.’
‘Mug shots’ are viewed in a negative context by society. They generally label an individual as incapable of operating according to a set of laws or guidelines adopted by the rest of that society. The label or concept of a criminal is fairly static. Society has developed a biased view of what criminal appearance, behavior, and personality should be.
The portraits are still traditional ‘mug shots’ with poor lighting, authentic expression, and captured without the subject being ready for the photograph. They attempt to capture an image of the individual as they would be if they were actually booked as a criminal.
The only non-traditional portion of the ‘mug shots’ are the abstract labels. These labels are based on the individual answers to a series of personal questions. The labels are designed to evoke a controversial response from the viewer as they may not be in agreement with the labels or the booking file found with each portrait.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Applying for jobs
Tis the season to apply for teaching jobs! I will apply for some teaching positions because I really enjoy teaching and seeing the light go on in a students head. I really enjoy the students I have this semester, no one is slacking and they really want to learn and grow even being non majors.
I had another conversation with my wife about my art the other day. She asked me is I would be willing to just work on paintings that sell like fruit and landscapes, or work on "idea" or artistic paintings and be poor. Hmmm, good question, I was trained on how to Illustrate, or work for a client. Their is a part of me that just wants to paint for the rest of my life, so I guess I wouldn't have a problem with painting things that sell. But I also know better than that. I know almost anything can sell in this world, it is getting it into the right market and to the right people that can make the difference. So why do I have to choose, I guess if I want to stay in Utah (which I don't) then painting fruit and landscapes and selling them cheep would be a good plan. Thing is I, as stated previously, don't want to fall through the cracks of history. But then again will I roll over in my grave if I am not found in "the great history books"? I doubt it. So maybe working on paintings and trying to support my family isn't that bad of an idea. It is true I would rather paint the rest of my life then become the next Jeff Koons, not that I think his art is bad, but he is definitely on the edge of what art is or could be.
Thing is, contemporary art is so foreign to most people, at least here in Utah, which isn't saying much. Not that Utah is a sucky place, I like it and it is a good place to raise ones children. But it is a bit sheltered when it comes to the art world. I have had multiple people tell me that I am addicted to pornography because I paint or draw nude people. I ask them which is more pornographic, my painting or a picture in Maxim Magazine? I know which is more sexually stimulating, a hot chick on Maxim Magazine. But hay I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion. Now some art is definitely pornographic like John Currin, he is a fantastic painter and has some interesting things to say with his paintings. I am just not so keen on his subject matter a bit too steep for even me. Most people in Utah have never heard of these artists, why would they come to Utah, they would probably get stoned to death. I don't know how foreign contemp art is outside of Utah so I won't say much about it. People here in Utah love having a landscape or still life painting in their house, very few are into non representational or figure painting unless it has Jesus in it or some type of religious story. So I really want to move out of here so my kids can have a better understanding of life and culture outside of Mormonism.
The only way my wife would move back east is if I get a teaching job out there, so I will be applying to many jobs out there so we can be near a city and really experience culture. If I don't get a teaching job we will probably move to NM or CO possibly AZ. It is an exciting time in our lives.
I have some new ideas for paintings. I had a melt down (very short, 2 sec melt down) a couple of days ago about what I should paint. I went to the UofU and had a chat with Chad Crane about my problem. He stated that my problem has been that I love to paint for paint. I don't let a theory guide my painting. He said when you are working on a concept one painting cant do it all. A process starts to emerge and you have multiple paintings that are similar because they are guided by a concept and not how the paint is applied. Maybe that is my problem, I have finally hit a wall with a desire to paint. Don't get me wrong I love painting but I now get bored with painting fruit and landscapes, even people that are just sitting there. So I brain stormed some ideas and I will post them on here when I work on some. Can't share the idea because I am really excited about what is going to happen.
I had another conversation with my wife about my art the other day. She asked me is I would be willing to just work on paintings that sell like fruit and landscapes, or work on "idea" or artistic paintings and be poor. Hmmm, good question, I was trained on how to Illustrate, or work for a client. Their is a part of me that just wants to paint for the rest of my life, so I guess I wouldn't have a problem with painting things that sell. But I also know better than that. I know almost anything can sell in this world, it is getting it into the right market and to the right people that can make the difference. So why do I have to choose, I guess if I want to stay in Utah (which I don't) then painting fruit and landscapes and selling them cheep would be a good plan. Thing is I, as stated previously, don't want to fall through the cracks of history. But then again will I roll over in my grave if I am not found in "the great history books"? I doubt it. So maybe working on paintings and trying to support my family isn't that bad of an idea. It is true I would rather paint the rest of my life then become the next Jeff Koons, not that I think his art is bad, but he is definitely on the edge of what art is or could be.
Thing is, contemporary art is so foreign to most people, at least here in Utah, which isn't saying much. Not that Utah is a sucky place, I like it and it is a good place to raise ones children. But it is a bit sheltered when it comes to the art world. I have had multiple people tell me that I am addicted to pornography because I paint or draw nude people. I ask them which is more pornographic, my painting or a picture in Maxim Magazine? I know which is more sexually stimulating, a hot chick on Maxim Magazine. But hay I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion. Now some art is definitely pornographic like John Currin, he is a fantastic painter and has some interesting things to say with his paintings. I am just not so keen on his subject matter a bit too steep for even me. Most people in Utah have never heard of these artists, why would they come to Utah, they would probably get stoned to death. I don't know how foreign contemp art is outside of Utah so I won't say much about it. People here in Utah love having a landscape or still life painting in their house, very few are into non representational or figure painting unless it has Jesus in it or some type of religious story. So I really want to move out of here so my kids can have a better understanding of life and culture outside of Mormonism.
The only way my wife would move back east is if I get a teaching job out there, so I will be applying to many jobs out there so we can be near a city and really experience culture. If I don't get a teaching job we will probably move to NM or CO possibly AZ. It is an exciting time in our lives.
I have some new ideas for paintings. I had a melt down (very short, 2 sec melt down) a couple of days ago about what I should paint. I went to the UofU and had a chat with Chad Crane about my problem. He stated that my problem has been that I love to paint for paint. I don't let a theory guide my painting. He said when you are working on a concept one painting cant do it all. A process starts to emerge and you have multiple paintings that are similar because they are guided by a concept and not how the paint is applied. Maybe that is my problem, I have finally hit a wall with a desire to paint. Don't get me wrong I love painting but I now get bored with painting fruit and landscapes, even people that are just sitting there. So I brain stormed some ideas and I will post them on here when I work on some. Can't share the idea because I am really excited about what is going to happen.
Friday, August 1, 2008
applied for four art shows got into one
The life of an artist can be very discouraging if you let it. I wish success to all artists good or bad especially if you love doing it. Every one should be able to do what they love to do, if it were so, I think their would be less violence, hatred, and stress. I love painting, some days I can only paint for a couple of hours, other days I could paint and not eat or sleep. Currently I am reading "The Art Spirit" by Robert Henri. I love the book, great in sites on how to paint and what to paint. I agree with him stating that awards and juried competitions should not exists because then that gives the artist a false view of what the public wants. Competitions are usually juried by older more established artists, along with all their baggage and biasses. I applied for 4 art shows last month from around the country, I received 3 no's and one yes. This tells me that outside the state of Utah (which is really not saying much when it comes to an art market, except that Utah wants cheep art generally speaking) I have a small chance of success. The problem is I don't believe that at all, I know that when I get into other art markets I will be successful..... what ever that means. lol.
Success to me means to provide for my family by creating the best artwork I possibly can. My only question is: Will my paintings provide for my family or will teaching? I am a firm believer in God. I love him and I know he loves me, currently he isn't telling me which direction I should take to provide for my family. He had no problem telling me to apply to the University of Utah's Master program, amazingly enough I got in. But now he is silent which I am ok with, but this is my thought process. If God lets me know that I should paint to provide for my family everything will always end up the way he wants for my family. If he says he wants me to teach at a college, everything will work out. (Faith is awesome, I love trying it and learning from it) But he is silent so I guess I get to choose, the only problem is that I trust God more than myself so I am taking that leap of faith.
In a way I guess you could say I made a deal with God (one sided of coarse because he isn't telling me anything). But I believe he will follow though, sometimes we need to just work like it all counts on us when in reality, it was Gods desire for us to do what we are doing in that moment. Here it is: I will paint and provide for my family to the best of my ability until March of 2009. If we make close to or round about 30000 by that time I will continue to paint and provide for my family. If we do not make that much then I will look for a full time job to provide. My wife is up for it so it is a go. So pray for me if you want me to continue to paint full time.
Some other good news. I got into the Rive Gauche Gallery in Scottsdale Arizona. Fredric is an amazing man, a great head on his shoulders with a great desire to make his gallery and artists successful. The peak season is starting in a couple of months and ends in about March so we will see how well things go for me in this new location. Because of this tidbit of a recession sales should be a little down which kind of helps with the knowing if God is on my side with providing. If it is harder to sell I will need a miracle to get the amount I am asking for, but miracles happen every day so I am looking forward to it. Besides that have a great day and please post your thoughts. Thanks.
Success to me means to provide for my family by creating the best artwork I possibly can. My only question is: Will my paintings provide for my family or will teaching? I am a firm believer in God. I love him and I know he loves me, currently he isn't telling me which direction I should take to provide for my family. He had no problem telling me to apply to the University of Utah's Master program, amazingly enough I got in. But now he is silent which I am ok with, but this is my thought process. If God lets me know that I should paint to provide for my family everything will always end up the way he wants for my family. If he says he wants me to teach at a college, everything will work out. (Faith is awesome, I love trying it and learning from it) But he is silent so I guess I get to choose, the only problem is that I trust God more than myself so I am taking that leap of faith.
In a way I guess you could say I made a deal with God (one sided of coarse because he isn't telling me anything). But I believe he will follow though, sometimes we need to just work like it all counts on us when in reality, it was Gods desire for us to do what we are doing in that moment. Here it is: I will paint and provide for my family to the best of my ability until March of 2009. If we make close to or round about 30000 by that time I will continue to paint and provide for my family. If we do not make that much then I will look for a full time job to provide. My wife is up for it so it is a go. So pray for me if you want me to continue to paint full time.
Some other good news. I got into the Rive Gauche Gallery in Scottsdale Arizona. Fredric is an amazing man, a great head on his shoulders with a great desire to make his gallery and artists successful. The peak season is starting in a couple of months and ends in about March so we will see how well things go for me in this new location. Because of this tidbit of a recession sales should be a little down which kind of helps with the knowing if God is on my side with providing. If it is harder to sell I will need a miracle to get the amount I am asking for, but miracles happen every day so I am looking forward to it. Besides that have a great day and please post your thoughts. Thanks.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
mother of two
Finally it is done. I love and hate this painting. I feel like I can do a better job but their is a part of me that has to leave it the way it is. I don't want to overwork it and kill it. I submitted this painting to the National Portrait Competition, so we will see in Nov if I was accepted. Thanks for checking out my site, I have some new fun paintings to put up, my new thing now is Moon Dogs, if you don't know what one is then look it up because I don't want to explain it. Let me know what you think about my painting I would appreciate it.
Friday, May 30, 2008
second week of painting the portrait
This is the second layer of oil paint that I applied during the week. So far this portrait is taking longer than I would like. I am applying for 3 national art competitions this week so time has been diverted else where. I am going for a more tonal painting than I usually do with this portrait. I want a mood presented with the painting not just a portrait. I picked this image because I love the looks from my wife and two kids. Ashton (bottom left) was tired because he didn't get his nap that day and was really attached to Lisa. Chance (screaming kid in my wife's arms) was done with taking pictures and was ready for bed. Lisa, like Chance was done with pictures and holding the 20 pd kid. The best part about this image, it was the last picture I took of the family before we finally gave up and got the boys ready for bed.
The idea with this portrait was initially have a lot of objects in the background that describe Lisa and what she loves to do. After looking at all the images and thinking about what I wanted in this portrait I decided to make the background dark in value so the viewer is focused on the facial expressions given in the painting. I want people to feel it more so than read into a description of who my wife is. Anyways here this the second week of working on this portrait. I am up to about 30 hours now of painting.
Friday, May 23, 2008
beginning painting portrait
This is the beginning of the painted portrait, I usually start with an eye and paint as I go, but it is always good to change things up a bit. So to crit me too hard, it is just the beginning.
portrait drawing
This is the beginning of a portrait that I am working on for a portrait competition (we will see if I will finish it in time). I don't usually draw the figures in first but I thought I would try it out this time.
Monday, May 19, 2008
educated/uneducated artist
Well their are a lot of things to discuss on here. One of them is Motivation. What is my motivation? To tell you the truth..... I would have to say that it is the endless possibilities that painting provides. One could be a color painter, or value painter, possibly Chiaroscuro, photo realistic, impressionistic. Especially in these modern times of art any one and their dog does any type of painting they would like.
Because we are talking about art anything is up in the air. You don't need to know how to paint or draw to become an artist especially in the art world. People in the..... normal... no.... lets say consumer world (everyone else not in the art world) thinks that you have to know how to paint or draw to become an artist. The fact of the matter is that we have artists that have no idea on how to use a pencil or paint. Carolee Schneemann a great performance artist for feminism does a piece with her pulling a scroll out of her vagina in the piece entitled "Interior Scroll" Shock value seemed to be more important than execution of an image. Art has become concept based, who ever can think about a new idea and get it out into the world gets the giant golden coin. Skill has no merit in the world of Academic art, people don't care they want to see an image that sucks, but entertains their intellect.
Speaking of intellect why is it that most academic artists brains shut down when they see a representative painting? If the painting is executed and painted well, the academic artist says, "what you see is what you get!" Then they move on to the next painting. If the artist has a ton of meaning placed in their painting then the academic artist needs to have mystery through shotty painting or badly executed paint. On the other hand their are a lot of artists that are just doing paintings of wall furniture. They might be painted well but they contain no life or mystery. I am sure their is a way to be able to live in both worlds at the same time. Not as if one needs to be loved by both worlds but it would be nice to be accepted to a certain degree. But then again acceptance is only a word, why is it that we as social beings need to be accepted to anything?
I have a few friends that are exceptional artists, but as far as meaning goes...... well their is none. They might be making a great living right now (which makes other artists jealous) but in the end are they going to be like the artists we know of in the history books, or are they going to just fall through the cracks like most artists? Another tangent, Artist.... an over used word. At times I consider myself an artists, other times, I am just a painter of pictures.
Because we are talking about art anything is up in the air. You don't need to know how to paint or draw to become an artist especially in the art world. People in the..... normal... no.... lets say consumer world (everyone else not in the art world) thinks that you have to know how to paint or draw to become an artist. The fact of the matter is that we have artists that have no idea on how to use a pencil or paint. Carolee Schneemann a great performance artist for feminism does a piece with her pulling a scroll out of her vagina in the piece entitled "Interior Scroll" Shock value seemed to be more important than execution of an image. Art has become concept based, who ever can think about a new idea and get it out into the world gets the giant golden coin. Skill has no merit in the world of Academic art, people don't care they want to see an image that sucks, but entertains their intellect.
Speaking of intellect why is it that most academic artists brains shut down when they see a representative painting? If the painting is executed and painted well, the academic artist says, "what you see is what you get!" Then they move on to the next painting. If the artist has a ton of meaning placed in their painting then the academic artist needs to have mystery through shotty painting or badly executed paint. On the other hand their are a lot of artists that are just doing paintings of wall furniture. They might be painted well but they contain no life or mystery. I am sure their is a way to be able to live in both worlds at the same time. Not as if one needs to be loved by both worlds but it would be nice to be accepted to a certain degree. But then again acceptance is only a word, why is it that we as social beings need to be accepted to anything?
I have a few friends that are exceptional artists, but as far as meaning goes...... well their is none. They might be making a great living right now (which makes other artists jealous) but in the end are they going to be like the artists we know of in the history books, or are they going to just fall through the cracks like most artists? Another tangent, Artist.... an over used word. At times I consider myself an artists, other times, I am just a painter of pictures.
Monday, April 28, 2008
friends sites
Here is a list of some close art friends.
Michael Parker www.michaelsparker.com
Justin Hayward www.justinhaywardart.com
Justin Taylor www.justintaylorart.com
Jeremy Lipking www.lipking.com
Tony Pro www.tonypro-fineart.com
Ryan Brown www.ryansbrownart.com
Peter Sakievich www.petersakievich.com
Chad Crane www.chadcrane.com
Jerry Moore www.jeremiahmooreart.com
Zane Lancaster
Matt (aka M@) Allred
Alison Denyer www.adenyer.com
John Erickson
Doug Braithwaite www.dougbraithwaite.com
Michael Parker www.michaelsparker.com
Justin Hayward www.justinhaywardart.com
Justin Taylor www.justintaylorart.com
Jeremy Lipking www.lipking.com
Tony Pro www.tonypro-fineart.com
Ryan Brown www.ryansbrownart.com
Peter Sakievich www.petersakievich.com
Chad Crane www.chadcrane.com
Jerry Moore www.jeremiahmooreart.com
Zane Lancaster
Matt (aka M@) Allred
Alison Denyer www.adenyer.com
John Erickson
Doug Braithwaite www.dougbraithwaite.com
So.... I am now done with Graduate School and my life can now start. I have been married for about 6 1/2 years now and we have two amazing boys Ashton and Chance. I will post some pictures a little latter. I have decided to do a blog because I have a lot of thoughts about the art world and where it is or where it is going. I am by no means a professional on the subject, I just want to voice what I think and where I stand in the whole mess.
Just some background on me. I was born and raised in Salt Lake City Utah. I went to UVSC (it is now known as UVU) and majored in Biology, I took a drawing class with Hyunmee Lee and my life changed. She is a great artist and I learned a lot from her, but I was coming from a true/false, right/wrong life application. The longer a person works on their drawing the better it is.... right? (well it use to be my thoughts) She gave a student an A because he/she had more of a voice in the drawing but they only worked on it for 30 minutes. I got a B- (and for a 4.0 student that was a bit harsh) so I argued with Prof. Lee about the grade. That is why I changed my major and started drawing and painting.
A couple years prior to this experience I lived in Washington D.C. I went to the National Art Museum and saw that they were showing an artist with a weird name. John Singer Sargent I thought it was an odd combination of names, but then again mine is too. I saw the traveling exhibit and I was amazed that someone could create a painting with such life! They were alive and still looked like paintings. This show is what peaked my interest in art as a whole.
I went to Brigham Young University's Illustration program after taking 3 Illustration classes from Perry Stewart (an amazing artist). I worked in the Illustration program because I wanted to be able to paint people like Sargent, no other program seemed to have the skill sets necessary to teach it and BYU was close enough. I then studied with Ryan Brown for a year in his Atelier School. I was accepted into the University of Utah's painting and drawing MFA program. At the same time I worked with Kamille Corry for a semester in Salt Lake. I wish I could have worked with her more but the MFA program consumed every minute of my working day. So that is how I got to where I am today. Keep checking the blog for the fun info and thoughts.
Just some background on me. I was born and raised in Salt Lake City Utah. I went to UVSC (it is now known as UVU) and majored in Biology, I took a drawing class with Hyunmee Lee and my life changed. She is a great artist and I learned a lot from her, but I was coming from a true/false, right/wrong life application. The longer a person works on their drawing the better it is.... right? (well it use to be my thoughts) She gave a student an A because he/she had more of a voice in the drawing but they only worked on it for 30 minutes. I got a B- (and for a 4.0 student that was a bit harsh) so I argued with Prof. Lee about the grade. That is why I changed my major and started drawing and painting.
A couple years prior to this experience I lived in Washington D.C. I went to the National Art Museum and saw that they were showing an artist with a weird name. John Singer Sargent I thought it was an odd combination of names, but then again mine is too. I saw the traveling exhibit and I was amazed that someone could create a painting with such life! They were alive and still looked like paintings. This show is what peaked my interest in art as a whole.
I went to Brigham Young University's Illustration program after taking 3 Illustration classes from Perry Stewart (an amazing artist). I worked in the Illustration program because I wanted to be able to paint people like Sargent, no other program seemed to have the skill sets necessary to teach it and BYU was close enough. I then studied with Ryan Brown for a year in his Atelier School. I was accepted into the University of Utah's painting and drawing MFA program. At the same time I worked with Kamille Corry for a semester in Salt Lake. I wish I could have worked with her more but the MFA program consumed every minute of my working day. So that is how I got to where I am today. Keep checking the blog for the fun info and thoughts.
website
Oh yes, I forgot to say that I have a website it is www.flackstudio.com I will be updating it shortly.
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