Posts Tagged ‘painting’

31 items.

The Knitter

by JayZuck on May 21st, 2009
Posted In: Sketches
The Knitter

“Come, knit hands, and beat the ground, / in a light fantastic round.” ~ John Milton

Obviously, I have employed some non-realistic proportions in this painting, but it got across a kind of matronly severity that I was going for from a character standpoint.   Painting or drawing things true to life is great and it certainly takes immense skill, but my artistic soul tends to drive me to bend reality when I can.

I was painting this as an exercise so perhaps I would be better served by showing off a mastery of realistic proportions, but hey, how much fun would that be?  There is a little invention you might have heard of.  It’s called the camera.

Finally, I came across this animated short called “The Last Knit.”  It starts off slow, but turns into a fun little animation.

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Rembrandt Head Painting

by JayZuck on April 27th, 2009
Posted In: Sketches
Rembrandt Head Painting

“Painting is the grandchild of nature. It is related to God.” ~ Rembrandt

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Third Eye Werewolf

by JayZuck on April 15th, 2009
Posted In: Sketches
Third Eye Werewolf

I know I am not the only one who thinks of werewolves as rather misaligned figures, but in this painting I tried to bring about a distinctly spiritual variety.   Obviously, the third eye is part of this attempt at conveying spiritualism, but you might also notice the presence of a disembodied head which I imagined as kind of a spiritual guide leading the way on a moonlit night.

The werewolf wanders the earth and has the scars to prove it.  In one battle he lost his left arm, but he bears no vengence and simply reminds himself that his scars are his history.

Related Matters of Spirit:

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Desert Spirit

by JayZuck on March 16th, 2009
Posted In: Sketches
Desert Spirit

I painted this a while back when I was on the deep end of reading Carlos Castaneda.  In recent years, I have often been inspired by his mythology.  I was also and perhaps more obviously influenced by the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas poster.

Hunter S. Thompson is a hero of mine.  I love his gonzo style journalism not to mention the gonzo art of his friend Ralph Stedman.

My painting depicts a skull floating across the desert like a ghostly breeze.  I imagine it as a sort of consciousness that is traversing the harsh and arid terrain which is hospitable only to a couple of peyote cacti.  It reminds me of when Carlos Castaneda would turn into a crow to fly across the sky or even when he sent his mind down a river.

A skull is no longer confined to the flesh and I wonder if this is what it would be like to take peyote in the desert.

I have aspirations to revisit this painting in the future and add a more substantial landscape.  I must admit that I used virtually no photo reference.  In the meantime, marvel at something a little more psychedelic.

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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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Under Observation

by JayZuck on February 27th, 2009
Posted In: Sketches
Under Observation

“By means of microscopic observation and astronomical projection the lotus flower can become the foundation for an entire theory of the universe and an agent whereby we may perceive Truth.” ~ Yukio Mishima

The most interesting thing I find about this gouache painting is that the ape is under such intense scrutiny, but is completely at peace. As a primal entity, he has nothing to hide from the universe.

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Figure Painting

by JayZuck on January 30th, 2009
Posted In: Sketches
Figure Painting

“The human body is the best picture of the human soul.” ~ Ludwig Wittgenstein

Like most fine art students, I have done a fair amount of figure drawing and painting over the years from live models.  This piece is one of my favorites.  Indeed, the human form never ceases to amaze.

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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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