Posts Tagged ‘acrylic’

22 items.

Toji the Toe Jam Kitty

by JayZuck on March 6th, 2009
Posted In: Sketches
Toji the Toe Jam Kitty

“Here kitty, kitty, kitty…” ~ An Age Old Saying

I have never been much of a cat person.  I have never really understood the whole Lolcat thing or why some find it nearly impossible to keep a straight face when confronted by a kitty doing almost anything mildly amusing.

I had a truly cool cat once, years and years ago and he did not have sense of humor.  His name was Shoshie and he was bad ass.  He didn’t take shit from nobody.  I only relate this to you so you know where my head is at generally when I think about cats.

That being said, I have no idea what inspired this painting.  It must have sprung from somewhere in my subconcious mind, but who is to say where.  In fact, I hardly remember painting it at all.

I found the idea of Toji the Toe Jam Kitty licking some feet really as more creepy than funny.  Toji’s eyes were painted green to make him look a bit on the creepy side. However, stepping back from my creation, I couldn’t help, but be amused.

The orange in the foreground was a last minute addition.  It was intended to add some visual interest and also to convey the added dimension of taste.  By that time, my sense of humor was taking over.  I guess this cat, Jay Zuck, can only be so cool.

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Under the Trees, They Feed

by JayZuck on March 5th, 2009
Posted In: Sketches
Under the Trees, They Feed

“Green leaves on a dead tree is our epitaph — green leaves, dear reader, on a dead tree.” ~ Cyril Connolly

I remember reading a quote that went something like, “Below the trees, under the leaves, they feed.” This dark quote actually inspired the above acrylic painting. I scoured the internet to find the quote to no avail. I guess these things happen.

In the painting, I was trying to show a bunch of bugs feeding on each other under the leaves of a tree and a giant bug who was going to eat them all. Alternatively, I sometimes view the big bug as a mother bug with the smaller bugs being her frenzied offspring.

The tree whose leaves are illuminated by the surrealistic glow of the moon is also an integral component of the painting. I am reminded of how a tree is welcoming to all creatures big and small. It offers its shelter indiscriminately to everything from chirping birds to the dark and creepy crawly things.

Viewing art is an interactive experience and while I am privy to my own intentions as the artist, I nonetheless relish the occasion when I can see my own art from another perspective. I have mentioned the two ways I sometimes view my own painting, but I enjoy hearing your perspective too, so drop a comment if you are so inclined.

I leave you with the Ethiopian Proverb, “Evil enters like a needle and spreads like an oak tree.”

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Staring Into Infinity

by JayZuck on January 28th, 2009
Posted In: Sketches
Staring Into Infinity

“The fear of infinity is a form of myopia that destroys the possibility of seeing the actual infinite, even though it in its highest form has created and sustains us, and in its secondary transfinite forms occurs all around us and even inhabits our minds.” ~ Georg Cantor, Mathematician

This is the largest format self portrait I have ever attempted.  It is unfortunate that I cannot convey the scale of the canvas in the digital realm effectively.

I was initially very pleased with my brush strokes and I still think the reflection in the lens of the goggles around my eye complete with an infinity sign came out rather well.  Originally, I was contemplating painting a reflection of myself in the lens of the goggles and creating an infinity mirror.  I loved the idea, but I decided I would convey the concept of infinity symbolically in my brush work.

Unfortunately, I spent some time working in my studio without adequate lighting and the result was some sloppy brush strokes down the stretch which I found incredibly frustrating.

The bottomline, is that I overworked the painting when it was already looking awesome.  Sometimes the hardest, but the best decision an artist can make is knowing when to stop pushing and declare a piece complete.

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Buddha

by JayZuck on January 26th, 2009
Posted In: Sketches
Buddha

“Unity can only be manifested by the Binary. Unity itself and the idea of Unity are already two.” ~ Buddha

This painting was based on experiences in my own personal meditations.    In my meditations, I began to get the feeling that my third eye was awakening.  As I meditated deeper, I began to get the sensation that my whole head was opening up.  I would feel intense energy flowing around me that seemed to be coming through or perhaps out of my head.

Buddha is obviously very spiritual and is iconic of a meditative figure.  The dragon-like character is representative of a universal force of nature.

There are many representations of the Buddha figure, but I have always been partial to the fat one.  When I was kid, I used to go to the Big Island of Hawaii about once year.  I have this distinct memory of a big fat Buddha carved in sandstone at the top of a stone staircase.  It was tradition to leave offerings to the revered statue and as kid doing so was one of the highlights of my trip.  Looking back, it was even one of the highlights of my childhood as a whole.

Sometimes images get seared into your mind.  As an artist, these images are bound to crawl out sometime and I guess my meditation opened my mind to this revelation.

To be honest, this is not one of my favorite paintings, but I love the idea.  I had to get it out of my head and on to canvas.  I’ll probably return to this idea at some later date and of course you guys will be one of the first to know when I do.

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Quetzalcoatl at Chichen Itza

by JayZuck on January 23rd, 2009
Posted In: Sketches
Quetzalcoatl at Chichen Itza

“And a Man sat alone, drenched deep in sadness. And all the animals drew near to him and said, ‘We do not like to see you so sad.’ Ask us for whatever you wish and you shall have it.’ The Man said, ‘I want to have good sight.’ The vulture replied, ‘You shall have mine.’ The Man said, ‘I want to be strong.’ The jaguar said, ‘You shall be strong like me.’ Then the Man said, ‘I long to know the secrets of the earth.’ The serpent replied, ‘I will show them to you.’ And so it went with all the animals. And when the Man had all the gifts that they could give, he left. Then the owl said to the other animals, ‘Now the Man knows much, he’ll be able to do many things. Suddenly I am afraid.’ The deer said, ‘The Man has all that he needs. Now his sadness will stop.’ But the owl replied, ‘No. I saw a hole in the Man, deep like a hunger he will never fill. It is what makes him sad and what makes him want. He will go on taking and taking, until one day the World will say, ‘I am no more and I have nothing left to give.’”" ~ Old Story Teller, Apocalypto (2006)

A couple of summers ago, I went to the Yucatan Peninsula.  Rather then spend my time on the beach in Cancun boozing and cavorting, we decided to partake in a proper cultural experience by exploring the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza and Uxmal.

Here my brother and are marveling at a particular Mayan pyramid at Uxmal.

I actually found Uxmal to be the far more interesting site even though Chichen Itza is more well known.  Uxmal was quieter with fewer tourist and we were permitted to explore more at Uxmal.  We even were allowed to ascend to the Mayan ruler’s throne.  Just remember to climb the stairs of the Mayan pyramids sideways as, “not to offend the god’s” or more likely to prevent the unfortunate occurrence of falling and tumbling like an idiot to your death.

This ancient ruins of the Mayan civilization were something to behold and obviously they inspired the self portrait above.  I am just glad that I got to go before the Mayan calendar comes to end in 2012 and the world comes to a cataclysmic end by shifting poles, an asteroid, sun spots, or some other misfortune.

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Fear of the Dark

by JayZuck on January 15th, 2009
Posted In: Sketches
Fear of the Dark

“If your children are allowed to unlock their imaginations, anything from a backyard swing set to a child’s own bedroom can be transformed into a dangerous undersea castle or dragon’s lair.  But by encouraging your kids to think linearly and literally, and constantly reminding them they can never be anything but human children with no extraordinary characteristics, you can better ensure that they will lead prolonged lives.” ~ The Onion (Satire)

Sigmund Freud contended that fear of the dark was an extension of childhood separation anxiety, but I prefer to view it as a function of a healthy imagination.  I have always enjoyed scary images and even getting scared.  A strong imagination must confront that which cannot be defined by the senses and attempt to interpret it.  There is no need to fear that.

Friedrich Nietzsche famously said, “Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.” This advice I followed as a child long before I was aware of Nietzsche. I do not fear the monsters of my imagination. I relish them. They are windows into my soul and a frequent muse of my art.

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The Stream of Consciousness

by JayZuck on January 14th, 2009
Posted In: Sketches
The Stream of Consciousness

“From the living fountain of instinct flows everything that is creative; hence the unconscious is not merely conditioned by history, but is the very source of the creative impulse. It is like Nature herself – prodigiously conservative, and yet transcending her own historical conditions in her acts of creation.” ~ Carl Jung

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My Little Octopussy

by JayZuck on January 13th, 2009
Posted In: Sketches
My Little Octopussy

“Tell me, O Octopus, I begs,/ Is those things arms, or is they legs?/ I marvel at thee, Octopus; If I were thou, I’d call me Us.” ~ Ogden Nash

This was a really fun project. I had no clue what I was making when I started. I just painted one layer of acrylic on top of another onto a wooden plank. When felt like there were a enough layers, I took the plank over to my kitchen sink and poured hot water over certain areas of the painting as I saw fit to create to create a colorful and diverse texture.

When I was finished and pleased with the outcome, I marveled at the surface and wondered what should be on top of it.  Since the project was experimental in nature, I decided to just put the brush on the paper and see what would come of it.  Before you is the outcome: A triple optic octopussy.

The tentacled creature must have manifested out of the H.P. Lovecraft cavern of my mind and it seemed only fitting to give the creature a third eye since my own third eye was doing the work.

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At the Precipice

by JayZuck on December 15th, 2008
Posted In: Sketches
At the Precipice

“At the precipice, we change.” ~ The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)

This painting reflects on a person on the edge  who is reaching out into his vision without fear.  I wanted to create the impression that the figure at the precipice could literally walk off into the spiraling tunnel of light.

The painting is acrylic and is painted on wood.  Wood affords a smoother texture and I enjoy an occasional change of pace from canvas.  It is also neat how the wood grain can sometimes come through the painting and in general I am inspired by painting on a more natural and unprocessed surface.

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Abstracted Simian

by JayZuck on November 28th, 2008
Posted In: Sketches
Abstracted Simian

In this is a piece, I attempted to control the flow of watered down acrylics to create an image of one of my favorite Simians, the Gorilla.  King Kong has nothing on me!

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