Photo
I was playing around on www.sumopaint.com. Here is a pic of me in Grenada earlier this year with my long time friends Arthur Daniel and Garfield Miller. If going to Grenada, make sure to make the trip up to Gouyave for the fish fry.
Update on work
For those following along, the school semester is coming to a close and I am positioning myself for the upcoming year.
I have a show in Barbados in February that I will be painting for. I have worked out a studio space in downtown Dallas in an area called the Cedars.
I’ll use this space for making canvas stretchers (www.stretchmycanvas.com) as well as for painting. It will be nice to have room to have several canvases out at once!
With this new space I’m going to be reworking my spring semester. I’m not going to be taking a painting course, I’m going to take the time to process the new techniques I’ve taken on before taking another painting course. I’ll be sure to update my new work on here.
Ex Nihilo Detail
This is one of the paintings I’m working on right now. I am particularly happy with the detail I am able to get on the face by crosshatching little strokes of color. It has the semblance of pointillism but with crosshatching. I have finished the forehead since this picture and more of the background. I will keep you updated.
Art 21
Looking for some precision inspiration? I’ve been aware of Art 21 for some time but only recently realized how easy it is to catch up with online. This is a show that looks at the work of contemporary artists. It’s interesting to see the process, but also the high level of quality and thought that goes into their work. Visit the PBS site to view past episodes.
Here you can see contemporary artists at work and browse episodes by theme. I am eager to watch the episode on Identity soon myself.
War 33″x47″
This is an excerpt from a post I made previously. This piece will be seen in Barbados in February.
This piece was painted with varying sizes of dots to create a half tone pattern of the image.
This piece has several layers of meaning that I would like to share with you.
The most apparent meaning is in the title and words that are inscribed beneath the dots along the top of the subject’s head. The words are the first lines of Bob Marley’s “War” and lines used in Haile Selassie’s speech to the United Nations in 1963.
“..until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned…” “me say war[Marley]“.
Another interpretation that I would like to be read into the piece is the style and color of the paint applied to the canvas. I want to evoke the idea of drops of blood, or dots representing life.
One of my favorite thoughts on this is that like war, it is difficult to see the whole picture when you are close to or involved in it. Not until we have the lenses of history can we have the distance to understand the issue in its entirety.
Spring Schedule
In amongst my schedule of painting, making canvas stretchers for artists and students, bartending private parties and events, coaching high school swimming, I also take classes at Brookhaven College.
Here is what I am anticipating for the Spring:
Studies in Modern Art History: Monday and Wednesday 12:00 – 1:20pm (art styles and movements since 1940)
Advanced Painting II: Tuesday and Thursday 7:00 – 9:50pm
Figurative Sculpture: Friday 9:00am – 3:00pm (I was advised to take this course to help increase my understanding of the figure)
College Algebra: Mon. – Thurs. 1:30pm – 3:20pm (This is a two-fold venture. One is that I feel that I have become more analytical in the past couple years and I would like to try math again. The second is that with the business ventures I have been doing, I would like to work up to some more complicated math associated with business.)((This class also meets for only the last 8 weeks of the 16 week semester)).
Stay tuned to see how this schedule plays out!
An artist in time
This is a quick post on something that I’ve been thinking about regularly while working, especially while building canvas stretchers. It is essential to realize that as an artist in time you are in constant relationship with yourself. The things that ‘past Asher’ does affect the progress ‘present Asher’ and ‘future Asher’ can make. When ‘present Asher’ is annoyed that lines don’t add up, he has ‘past Asher’ to blame. ‘Past Asher’ then works in fear of disappointing ‘future Asher’. There is a constant interplay of realizing how my work in time affects my work in other time.
Dreaducation
The images on the canvas were created by cutting stencils and then using spray paint. This is a similar method used in creating graffiti, especially when an image needs to be applied quickly.
I mentioned the idea of dreaducation in my blog. The summary is this: education, especially in former colonies, was never designed to truly educate the population. Public education is a system of socialization into the dominant culture’s approved behavior. Dreaducation is the education that the powers that be do not want you to have. Dreaducation is empowering. Dreaducation is learned many times in the Caribbean by listening to Reggae as well as Calypso. Dreaducation is what tells us that maybe Christopher Columbus was not a hero and maybe Africa is not so dark after all. Dreaducation tells us that it is ok to learn about our past especially because we have been misinformed for so long. Dreaducation is a renewal of the mind and a reconfiguration of mental imagery. Dreaducate yourself.
Progression
Some of you may notice that a lot of my new work looks quite different from my regular style. I am adapting new media and techniques to better communicate my concepts. Besides the application of paint to canvas, my concepts are developing too, and need new skin to stand in.
Some of my thoughts on decolonization are turning more to a mutual liberation from the implications of colonization. It is typical to think of liberation from the side of the historically oppressed. There does need to be a mental liberation, but it needs to occur on both sides. To a point, we have to realize that we are where we are because of the decisions of our forefathers. Historically, that is all we have to work with. To indulge or even to wallow in the inhumanity of our forefathers is to live out their sin as our curse. To promote racism, ethnicism, and division is to join in the chorus of humanity becoming less than human. You cannot reject someone’s humanity without first dehumanizing yourself. If we take a stance of affirmation in each other’s “-ness” we increase. Decolonization is more than deconstructing systems and chasing out Babylon. Decolonization is a conscious decision to empower others so that we can all be empowered.
Figure Study
Here is a painting I did that I am particularly pleased with. It is inspired by Hung Liu’s work. It is oil on canvas and I used turpenoid to achieve the dripping effect.
There are a few things that makes this work for me. The pose is an unusual vantage point and accentuates the foreshortening. The colors used on the body are clean and blend subtly into the next color. The background contrasts with the body nicely and the bit of white pulls the eyes towards the middle. I look forward to experimenting more with this style.
Intro
Thanks to all who have been keeping up with my work. I have made the transition to a blog format to allow for more informality and “work in progress” updates. The website I was using did have a community option but I feel that it was not being fully utilized and otherwise was a static site. I am applying to graduate school for art early next year and I hope to be able to share with you some of that process. Also early next year is an art exhibit in Barbados. I will post the work here so those not able to make it to Barbados can share in the experience.
I look forward to sharing with you!
