Studio Sale
And it’s all affordable! Paintings range in price from $150 to $500 + shipping. Email me for purchase.
Social Rank Theory
I’ve been working on a new painting since December and I’m almost done the underpainting. It’s about Rank Theory, which is the psychological theory that when people come together they subconsciously rank each other (and themselves) so that there may be social cohesion within the group. After all, society wouldn’t function if we were all jostling for power in every social interaction. This has negative consequences as well; those in low rank positions internalize the structure and this leads to anxiety and depression.
The painting I am working on will have bar graph bloop over each person’s head to make the ranking obvious. I hope that viewers will consider rank in social situations and have more compassion for those who have internalized and exhibit low rank stature.
Caravaggio Died of the Jello Fever
Pills and Booze, 2019, oil on board, 14×16″
I’m happy to have a work in this show up at the Secret Gallery in Astoria, OR. The gallerists were joking about how ‘yellow fever’ sounds like ‘jello fever’ with an Italian accent and so the idea was born – a show of Caravaggio-inspired food still lives!
Unfortunately I suffer from migraines, and until recently there was no medication made just for that. I tried everything from Anti-seizure meds to taking all the old fillings out my teeth, but nothing helped. Here’s a still life of some of the things that didn’t work, done using Caravaggio’s painting techniques. These items probably wouldn’t have cured Jello Fever either.
Hands
Lots of hands drying here. These hands will be available at my solo exhibition ‘The Allegories’ at @wolffgallerypdx in Portland, OR, opening on Sept 6th.
#paintinghands#hands#oilsketch#oilpainting#handgesture#allegory#portlandart#artexhibition#artgallery#pdxart#portlandartist#canadianart#wolffgallery#artstudio#narrativepainting
Medusa
Medusa sketch, 12×16,” oil on gold leaf canvas, 2019
As the story goes, Medusa was a beautiful maiden minding her own business, when along comes Poseidon and rapes her in the temple of Athena. Athena is enraged and transforms Medusa’s hair into snakes and gives her an ugly face that will petrify onlookers. King Polydectes sent the hero Perseus to get Medusa’s head, and Athena helped Perseus by giving him a mirrored shield, which he used to look into in order to slay Medusa. Throughout history she has been known as a monster but things are starting to change. She’s actually the perfect representation of female rage and conjures up real life examples of blaming rape victims.
Available for purchase – email me!
#medusa#oilsketch#oilpainting#goldleaf#portlandart#canadianart#greekmythology#feminism#femalerage#feministart#selfportrait#narrativepainting
Hand Gestures
I find hand gestures in art to be fascinating because you can say so much with so little. The first hand study is the Benediction (a Christian blessing) and the second is the Vitarka Mudra (representing the discussion and transmission of Buddha’s teachings). These 5×5” studies on panel are available – $125 for one, $200 for the pair. Email me!
#handgestures#vitarkamudra#benediction#religious#oilpainting#oilstudy#portlandart#religiousart#narrativepainting
Tnook
A little commission I did recently. The dog recently passed and the owner cried when she saw my portrait.
Julio
WIP: Our friend and old neighbour Julio was murdered by another psycho neighbour who was lusting after Julio’s daughter. Having escaped the Pinochet regime in Chile who ‘disappeared’ people in his family, Julio wasn’t one to take things lying down and voiced his opinions to the pedophile, who later ambushed Julio in the woods and killed him. This portrait will be for his lovely widow and three kids, who miss him truly every day. RIP
The Allegory of Depression
I’ve been working on this painting for some time now already and I’m getting near the end. I’m working with walnut oil at this stage now though, so it takes forever for the paint to dry between layers. Still to do is fix up the tonal values a bit, then final colour glazing.
