Radium Springs

"Radium Springs"
Acrylic 24in. X 24in.

I painted this for my dad. Its actually a strange situation. When I paint something for someone, I have to really spend a lot of time getting into their head, or at least getting into my own perception of that person. I have trouble doing that with my father. He is a military man, and he is very much an introvert. I really don't know much about him other than the subtle hints of his character that he drops. He is a good person though, don't get me wrong, he is just very reserved whereas I am very emotional and very unstable :)....

But I had trouble understanding how to finish this, because I have trouble understanding him. He wanted me to paint this for him because he grew up near Radium Springs and he played there a lot as a child. But I had trouble understanding this on a deeper level (because I am a weirdo who has to analyze every detail and ascribe meaning to the meaningless).

So I got started on this and then it sat on my easel for 2 months untouched. I was terrified to approach it. Every time I started to work on it, I had to confront issues that I have with him and my relationship to him. We get along, but we just have little to say to one another. We are vastly different, and I have come to terms with that, and so has he. But in order to work on art for him I had to understand him more than I do, or else the art would be vapid. I had to chew on this for a while.

And eventually I came to a realization: still waters run deep. He is very much a thinking, caring, loving, and hurting individual, just like me. But he only lets traces of his emotions surface, when all along there is a vast intricate root structure beneath the surface, much like the cypress trees in the painting. On the outside, he presents himself as an aging passive character, but on the inside he is active and dynamic (much like the gnarly oak trees that cover South Georgia).

This project taught me much about the concepts of aging, emotion, character, life, and continuity. I hope he enjoys his painting.

Bears in the City

"Bears in the City"
Acrylic on canvas panel

I painted these for two of my best friends, Dave and Brittney. They just moved to Marietta, and this was a welcome/birthday gift for the two of them. They are very cool people and I wish them the best in everything. I haven't worked on any art in a while, and they were both very good inspiration for me to get back into the game, Thanks guys!
These were painted on small panels, with pre-stretched, gessoed canvas stretched across. I did the background wet in wet, and continuously misted it as I was working so that the final result would look almost like it was water color. The buildings were painted using the back end of the brush in wet paint. Soon as it was dry, I painted the bears on top using thicker layers. I actually didn't mix any medium in this time, It was all just acrylic paint and water. I figured that the pre-gessoed canvas would bleed enough waxy medium to keep it glossy.