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Title: Odi Profanum Vulgus
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 4 feet high X 3 feet wide
The technique used here involved the initial manipulation of a digital photographic image described in some detail here. After I achieved the desired, I proceeded to work on the canvas using oils (mostly primary colors) poured onto the brush directly from the tube (using the digitally transformed image as a guide). Very little mixing. Any mixing whatsoever was on the canvas directly. Finished the background by using a drip of cadmium red deep with linseed to improve flowing.
The image used was that of George Walker Bush.
Perhaps primed by Mark Illingworth’s paintings, or by D.’s comment on yesterday’s post, I can’t help scrying in the paint dabs for signs or symbols. There is a kind of flickering of larger shapes, especially in the red-yellow layer. The mere color association with flames itself feels significant.
Presenting the head unconnected is very powerful, especially in the context of the red drips. It would be effective on a demonstration poster.
Thinking about this politically, I seem to have had the idea that political art was more outer-directed, attempting to influence society. But given the current situation and history and my political views, I realized this doesn’t really have a political impact on me. Rather, it eloquently conveys your own personal anguish.
Unlike your other paintings, this reminds me of Warhol celebrity portraits made from photos and with altered colors. Do you think of him as an influence?
Sunil,
I like the disconnect: big-headed, pixeled, disembodied, eyes askew.
And yet what seems most artificial is the Smile, as it seems almost sincere, without smirk. An interesting twist.
I also prefer the Cadmium when it trickles (too meager?) down over the surface of the forehead, not as a background, but between us. It feels less compositional and more real.
Steve,
I really did not hide any hidden messages in the red-yellow continuum. Presenting the head as separate in of itself was my primary aim (helping draw attention to the face and its representations)
I do not think I was directly influenced by Warhol, as he has a simplicity in his silkscreens that was astounding (at least in his early years – before he degenerated to become a ‘court painter’ to pay the rent…). I would rather say that I was fascinated by his frank approach (with tinges of a supercilious attitude to his art) where he was willing to say he ‘did not know’ quite frankly in a coy monosyllabic way – and I think people in the 70’s found that very much in tune with the prevailing setup…
D,
Yes, the smile ‘seems’ sincere. I wanted to highlight the ‘seems’ as that is what I planned on putting there helping the viewer draw interpretations. I was never too sure on the amount of cadmium red (you sad ‘too meager’)… I did not want the cadmium to decompose the subject into a bloody mess – which is not my intent. At the same time I also wanted to highlight the representational aspects of the color which is why I decided on this degree of sparseness… In the end it was fun actually – watching the cadmium drip.
This looks like fun to do and I think I will try it. Have you ever done Monotype?
Bob,
The fun part was finishing it. Choosing the right places for the colors in place to ‘get’ the face was nerve wracking…
What is Monotype? Not too sure how it was connected to this?
A devil who cannot see.
Sunil
Monotype or Monoprint is a way to produce an original print. Some people will take a photo, slide under a piece of glass, copy the image onto the glass with oil or water based paints, press a piece of wet paper on top of the glass, press hard (if by hand). What remains on the paper is a reverse impression of the photo. Then if you like add more paint to the paper. I thought of it because it is also fun and always a surprise
Wow, that is an interesting technique, Bob…
I am not too sure if that will work for the canvas sizes that I typically work in – 4 to 5 feet in height…(I guess just take bigger pictures and do the whole pressing by hand thing…).
Interesting technique though…
I have actually done monoprints (on fabric with acrylic paint) that were 3 feet wide and 6 feet long — that was the size of the table, which I used as if it were a piece of glass. I had to work fast because the paint wanted to dry on me. (And clean up fast, too, to save the table top).
I think, Sunil, you might find the technique interesting — it has, as Bob commented, some element of serendipty. You are never quite sure what will happen.
My table was topped with that fake white stuff, so it wasn’t very precious. I think that any big piece of flat solid material would work, particularly if you painted it with a bit of gloss paint. If the surface has texture (as wood would) that could become part of the final image.
Sunil,
I agree that you should take a stab at mono-printing. If anything, it provides a quick way to make studies of the colorful work you do. I would recommend using a thin, liquid acrylic paint, and adding a silkscreen medium, available at any good art supply house. The longer you can keep the paint from drying, the better.
I really like this image you’ve made. There’s a sense of urgency and dread in the high-key color and the brazen technique. I believe this seems more raw than some of your other work, which has a much more ordered, methodical feel. This image makes me think of “Big Brother is Watching You” posters for the post-modern world. The seedy and corrupting influences of this man, his ilk, and his legacy are literally gushing forth. I could dissect the different psycho-associative imagery I find within the head but i think it’s sufficient to let each viewer discover his/her own detail.
I only wish that there was more of a connection between the back- and foreground. The floating head has a certain power but the whole painting has a bit of a cut-paste look. I tend to favor an all-over approach to the canvas, however, so who knows?
June,
I will try my hand at mono-printing. It does sound like a very good idea (especially when you are not too sure what might be the output at the end)… although I may not be too happy with the results…
Geoff,
Thank you for your comments…
I needed this work to be raw and urgent. In fact the power of the paintings stems from the fact that the head is disembodied and the drips surround the face. A more gradual background would have blunted the sharpness.
I like the work that you produce – in fact I was intrigued by your latest self portrait…
The body bag portraits have been going on for some time – I remember…
I am intrigued by the texture which almost looks tufted like a rag rug.
Clairan,
For the face, I used thick dabs of paint without any mixing oil. Maybe that is why the texture is accentuated…