Friends

Friends   2013

wax crayon, colored pencil, acrylic on paper

12 x 16"

Stars To Light Your Candles

Stars To Light Your Candles  2013

colored pencil, wax crayon, acrylic on paper

18 x 24"

I posted a shot of this stapled to my drawing board in progress a month ago, but here's a better look at the finished painting/drawing. The glitter paint is mostly undetectable head-on, but can be seen better from an angle, like a sparkly surprise- I like the way that worked, more subtly than previous works where I applied the coarser glitter to my paintings using gel medium/varnish after completion. The lyre is a visual anchor, but also a reference to the title, borrowed from the verse of a song I found very poetic.

Angel's Armor

Angel's Armor  2013
colored pencil, wax crayon, acrylic on paper
18 x 24"

More drawing/painting on paper- I think this is typical for me, and shows some Max Beckmann and Marc Chagall influence, along with my early comic book/children's book illustration experiences and connections.  While characters appear defined in some of the new drawings/paintings I'm currently working on,  I don't really know who they are, and are only bits and pieces of ideas. Science fiction, mythology, pop culture, music and poetry, and/or allegory (interior or otherwise) may all play a part in the ends results of what I paint or draw. I have no goal of establishing a real narrative, though I may have them interact as things move forward, so some sort of "story" may be evolve organically. Angel's Armor seems related to Daughter (2007), the bizarre winged armor adding a celestial or science fiction feel, which along with the pink hair evoke the look of a comic book heroine. And I like that.

Art Movie: Tony Renner, Works On Paper @ Urban Eats

I made a little movie on the spot this past Sunday of artist Tony Renner's showing of works on paper at Urban Eats in South St. Louis, a place we have both shown together in the past. The pieces were a sampling of Tony's evolving working methods on paper in a variety of medium  from the last five years, and future plans are mentioned at the end of the video. Coming into the arts somewhat an outsider just a few years ago, Tony immersed himself in art-making, poetry, and music with an open mind and enthusiastic output that is still refreshing to me. See Tony's work through April at Urban Eats Cafe, 3301 Meramec, St. Louis, MO. Enjoy...

Early Spring Snow

"Early Spring Snow, March 24th"

digital photograph

C.M. Shaw, 2013

As much as I hate to drop another obligatory snow photo on you like every other photographer aspiring and otherwise, you have to admit the Midwest saw a pretty good blizzard this past Sunday- especially so late in March. I shot this from the tiny deck outside my second story apartment, never having set foot outside during the entire affair. I pushed up the contrast and highlights, deepened the shadows, then converted it to a black & white and hit it with the red filter. I've never done that with a snow photo, and am mildly proud of the results. It wasn't our most treacherous winter storm of the year, but it was an impressive amount of big, wet snow in a short time, about 10" or so. Very pretty. I enjoyed the day alone drawing, stopping to shoot the occasional photo and refill my coffee. Farewell to winter! 

Stars to light your candles...

Started making art again after some fits and starts- here's an acrylic painting on paper that's stapled to one of my boards right now. I love painting/drawing on paper, this one drawn heavily in wax crayon prior to painting with acrylic, and yes, glitter. See her sparkling? I'm trying to keep these loose, and I find a rough, playful crayon preliminary starts things off well. I bought a few new pads of paper, and this is the direction things are headed- lots of new ideas to work on.

Art Movie: Passanise @ Bruno David

I've felt like I wanted to do some art movies on YouTube for awhile now but was unsure where to start. Gary Passanise's October show at Bruno David was a sort of happy accident, in that I often have my camera function dial on the wrong setting from pulling it in and out of my pocket while on the run around town. The snippet at the beginning of this was perfect, captured while trying to get a decent shot of Gary next to his canvas on opening night this past autumn. I added some shots of the four huge abstracts the artist painted on industrial drop-cloths, some music, and Voilá! He did a gallery talk a month later that I hated missing- I lead a busy life. Gary was very gracious at the opening however, sharing his experience and some insight on his working method and thought processes in making the new works. I posted about Gary this summer when I made a quick painting if him- the Director of Painting at Webster University and founding Executive Director at the Santo Foundation, Gary is an accomplished artist represented by Bruno David Gallery here in St. Louis.