This short ghost story by Tom Hood tells of a young spinster whose lover dies on an expedition to Antarctica. His murderer returns to propose marriage to the greiving lady. But he is instead greeted by a haunted portrait of his victim and a moth that secretes bloody red drops. And then there's that extra shadow he casts, which bares no resemblance to his own.
I have a number of these black and white images from ghost stories I'll be posting. I love the macabre--especially simple quiet moments when 'something just isn't quite right'. The image doesn't make as much sense until you know the story--the beauty of illustration.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Reflections on a Hippo
Early next month I will be having a show at Wax Poetic Gallery in Burbank titled 'Animals in Clothing'. I think this image cuts to the heart of the matter. It's composed so that the viewer is actually looking at their own reflection in a mirror. So I guess I'm telling you how to feel. Or I'm telling you how I feel? Probably not exactly. I recently made a trip to the LA zoo with a friend and we happened to arrive just in time to watch the hippos getting fed. I'm sure that's why I chose the animal. The titles 'hippopotamumu' and 'square of the hippopotomus' were both considered.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Rain Rabbit
Tut tut. I'm not sure if the rain is clearing up or gearing up. In any case, there are only a few drops at present. I think that the farmer seems to be looking upward, extending a paw as if to say 'take this' ...or maybe it's 'gimme'. I composed it like a stained glass window. Some friends saw a little mouse in the wheelbarrow, which I did not intend at first, but then decided to work him up. The crop, to me, looks rotten and reminded another friend of Courbet's 'The Stone Breakers'. We'll just call it an homage in fluff, fur and funny.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Polarbear Pirates
Sometimes I think I know what I'm painting about before I start. Sometimes I finish and get surprised. Last week's piece held no cynicism for me, so I must have added a double dosage to this image. Looks innocent enough at first glance, but then I noticed that the discs I've built this world out of are a reflection of the gold bits in the treasure chest at the bottom right.
Everyone in this image is motivated by money. Even the sun itself, which I thought to be a compass or a steering wheel as I was painting it, may be a dabloon--pieces of eight. Seven pirates and a wench. The dolphins are free.
Everyone in this image is motivated by money. Even the sun itself, which I thought to be a compass or a steering wheel as I was painting it, may be a dabloon--pieces of eight. Seven pirates and a wench. The dolphins are free.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Eagle
I don't have much to say about this one. It's a tiny painting, only about 4x6, for an upcoming show at Nucleus Gallery in Alhambra. It's less cynical than much of my work, but still absurd. They are bird people, afterall.
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