Fire In the Sky

Fire In the Sky, 2011

acrylic on canvas, 24 x 30"

$175.00

This canvas was one of the first I made for the recent Dueling Minds show with Dale Wilke at Concrete Ocean. Not meant to be part of the concept portion of the show in which Dale and I worked from the same painting title, it was an initial exercise for my forthcoming switch to a non-objective style I would appropriate for the show. Until this point I had only dabbled in abstract work, and I needed a period of "warming up" before taking on the larger body of work to come.

Unsure of where to begin, I brushed large strokes of bright yellow to begin, returning to accentuate the variations where they had dried in an earthy yellow oxide, letting the canvas direct me as it evolved. Orange acrylic was then used in the foreground, after which I returned to the bright yellow and yellow oxide to knock some of the shapes back in. The dancing color reminds me of an ancient cave painting or Native American tribal art- a fitting comparison, the genesis of that new group of paintings born here during a very hot summer of 2011. In the solitude of my upstairs apartment, the wheels of creativity were turning, and I was... evolving. 

See more of my available works at my WORKS AVAILABLE page at Shawart.com :)   EMAIL ME if you are interested!

Smoke & Mirrors

"Smoke & Mirrors" 2012
acrylic on canvas, 20 x 24"
$150.00

"Smoke & Mirrors" was my show partner Dale's title idea for our recent Dueling Minds show. It was great fun when he would be the one to assign a title, taking me back to my days in art school when SHOE would give us a title assignment in art class- I'd skip off afterward, sketchbook in hand and head full of ideas!

Like several of the pieces for the show, I used metallic paint on this canvas, first brushing thick washes of dark silver, letting the strokes dry fully visible. After additional thinned washes of silver were applied and allowed to dry, I mixed a metallic purple glaze to layer over the canvas, going back to knock the brushstrokes back in with dark silver again. Metallic crimson was then splattered over it all, along with more metallic purple. The result is a softly shimmering surface, a singular orb looking out from the canvas at the viewer from behind the weaved brushstrokes. Like an eye watching from some concealed vantage point, the viewer is fully exposed to the orb, who's full presence, nor design, can be determined.

I think Dale's thought process in reference to the idea this title encompassed was something along the lines of the hazy intent we sometimes encounter among the individuals we encounter in life, whether it be a lover, friend or acquaintance, or even the politicians and corporations that run our country. Those mixed signals can be the product of insecurity, or sometimes dubious machinations- while faith in others is tantamount to earning their trust, it's also important to listen to your instincts. By nature, humans are prone to selfish inclinations, bad decisions,  and irrationality, but I still believe that most people are basically good at heart.

See more of my available works at my WORKS AVAILABLE page at Shawart.com :)   EMAIL ME if you are interested!