Waterworld - Tiki gods... going tribal!

This week, after having seen an impressive work from Kahlhamer at the Montreal museum of fine arts (Once upon a time, the western), I decided to dig up an old bed sheet and proceed with acrylic inks...

I need to bone up on application tools, but the results were good enough to pursue a stream of this type of work.

Note to self: I realize that preceding works were just meant to test ground on the level I have attained so far in figuration with traditional methods. My heart is on the side of visceral contemporary art...

Duck-diving with Kauhuhu in Molokai... a painting that may open another door!

Over the last few weeks, I have worked on another painting to add to my waterworld collection...

Although this painting does not totally meet my expectations, reflections from its surface remind me that the partly deconstructed figure is really where I want to go. At the same time, incorporating line drawings in my figuration is becoming an obsession.

Water world: "Cenote Chac-Mool"... exploring water-like textural effects!

The idea of meshing primitive/Native designs with realism definitely appeals to me. This second painting depicts the Chac-Mool cenote in the Yucatan peninsula...

The swimming Mayan female adds drama to this already dramatic "water world"... Who knows, maybe in the not too distant future, I will let go of realism in favour of line drawings!

A new series in the making..."water world"!

A recent trip in Western Canada inspired me to explore the pairing of Native/primitive symbols...

..

 ...with the realistic figure in a new series called "water world"...

This painting is called "Haida Gwaii" (Queen Charlotte islands, West of the British Columbia mainland) and is meant to be a homage to the West Coast Native Haida population.

Back to the blur?

For this experiment, I used one of my live model drawings...

Although the is not the direction that I ultimately want to take in the future, this experiment allowed me to test ground for more of a painterly approach coupled with less graphic precision. In the recent past, my style has been geared towards producing images in the fastest possible way (more staining than painting). In the future, I want to go back to thicker paint and textural effects with paint, more in line with the aesthetics that I see in galleries. Through this process though, I want to retain what I've learned so far...

"Looning out III"... some technical issues to resolve!

With this painting, I went directly on raw canvas with acrylic ink and acrylic colors, a departure from my usual rice paper collage approach...

I like to use a satin varnish as protector with this kind of support especially. The acrylic ink bled a little, which forced me to use raw canvas collage to retain the original "virgin" look. I like the staining capability of acrylic black ink, on the other hand, I will have to add some acrylic medium for better adherence on raw canvas...

Completing my "Real cowboys" trilogy...

I've made a last painting for a triad of works with a similar style for this series...

This one is called "Smoking gun", for a view of the trilogy see my Facebook Page on the right.

Note to self: I think I satisfied myself with these half drawn/half painted renditions using Japanese and acrylic inks enhanced with acrylic colors.  This approach suited the subject matter perfectly ("fake cowgirls" delivering somewhat of a political message). I still see potential with acrylic inks, but I feel the need to use more colors and special effects in the future. As usual, I try to retain any useful developments from previous experimentation....

Finalizing my "real cowboys" triad...

After having completed a painting that took a slant on the wild side (it was a useful experiment that  did not qualify for the series - see my Facebook Page), I decided to go for a last one : "real cowboys - smoking gun"...

Evidently, there is nothing real about these cowboys (or cowgirls to be more precise)...

Note to self: I should welcome these paintings that go totally out of hand. There is always something to be retained for my future works.

My latest painting approach... the collection grows!

Over the last few months, I have leveraged my ink/collage techniques to produce 4 new works representing well my response to the World as it stands!

From left to right, "Looning out I", "Looning out II", "Real cowboys I" and "Real cowboys II". I think there are still a few more in me!

Group exhibition in Sutton... featuring two of my paintings from May 4th to June 4th!

During the month of May, I am partaking in a group exhibition at the Art Sutton gallery...

Two of my "burning geishas" are on display...

A couple of paintings in the backburner...

Expanding on my ink technique, I have initiated two new works with a slight political overtone, "Looning out" and "Real cowboys" ...

A few more steps are required before I can call them "done"...

Burning geishas in my hometown...

Until March 26th, I have the opportunity to partake in a collective painting exhibition in my hometown...

Part of my burning geisha series is in display and, so far, I have received positive feedback on these new works. It's time however to change course while piggybacking on the techniques developed for this series...

Geisha series in the making!

A few more paintings, and I should be satisfied with this specific creative approach of late...

I'm looking at completing a few more smaller formats and will present a portion of that series at a group exhibition in my hometown. In the near future, I want to expand with this approach, adding more complexity and colors.

Another burning geisha in the making!

Leveraging the momentum I built up so far with geishas, I initiate another one in the larger Eastern township studio...

So far I have used a relatively subdued approach which has a broader appeal, but I feel like a volcano ready to erupt! I feel the urge to introduce wild things into these zen-like patterns. Somehow, I need to find a balance between painting for myself and painting for walls!