"Story Within" New Painting Video

Here's a new body of work created for Peterson-Cody Gallery, for my upcoming show opening Nov 4, 2011, Santa Fe, NM.

"Story Within"

It's a two person show with Forrest Solis.

My daughter Carly, a recent graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design, has opinions. It was her idea to do the voice over rather than music on this video.

I have to admit I experienced a little stage fright. I have no problem talking with my friends, family and students about art but I was nervous about recording my thoughts and hearing my own voice recorded.

Thanks to Carly's awesome editing you can't even tell I'm a slow southern talker, woo hoo for garage band!

I welcome comments and constructive criticism since I'm planning on doing more videos. I have a few other videos on my YouTube Channel.

Miller Gallery - CONTEMPORARY REALISM: Invitational

I'm thrilled to have been invited to participate in this show! Cincinnati, OH. Shaping up to be a great looking exhibit.

These images are from the gallery's facebook fan page.
Opening Friday, September 30, 2011, 6-8 pm

The gallery is located at:
2715 Erie Avenue - Hyde Park Square
Cincinnati, Ohio 45208
phone-(513) 871-4420
Hours: Tuesday-Wednesday 10-5:30 / Thursday-Friday 10-8 / Saturday 10-5:30 / Sunday 10-2
Miller Gallery 

I have a monthly newsletter of show info, workshops, art tips. Interested in signing up for my email newsletter? You may Subscribe Here 

Veni, Vidi, Vici

"Veni, Vidi, Vici", 14x11, oil on panel

Fresh off the easel and curing for the small works 2011 Holiday Show at Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA. Here are a few details.

Reportedly uttered by Julius Caesar 47 BC as a comment on his short war with Pharnaces II of Pontus in the city of Zela. "I came, I saw, I conquered."

This painting is unapologetically campy and was much too fun to paint, although it was a challenge to paint the figure blurry enough when they are normally the focal point of my paintings.
Interested in signing up for my email newsletter? Subscribe Here

Fire Dance

"Fire Dance", 8x10, oil on panel

detail

Thinking of titles is a tricky venture and sometimes I go blank. In my last post I asked for ideas for a title for this little painting. I received some interesting ideas but my favorite came from LA artist Shanna Galloway, "Fire Dance". Here are some of her thoughts about the painting: 

"...The moths don't seem to me to be near their end but are hovering around, circling the fire... which is a purification... the moths will no doubt be transformed... the matches speak of the duality of death and life..."

Another reader suggested "Torch Dance" which is beautiful as well.


A big thanks to all of you that played along taking the time to share your ideas about my work. I couldn't have said it better myself! 

Here is link to other still life paintings I've done. This one is called "A Cautionary Tale", 9.5x10, oil on panel, but as they say, that's another story...

 Interested in signing up for my email newsletter? Subscribe Here

Like a Moth to a Flame

This is a new painting, actually I'm still not sure of a title. Any suggestions?

It's 8x10, oil on panel, it's curing for the small works 2011 Holiday Show at Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA. 

When researching ideas for a title I found this interesting... interesting but not surprising, once again Shakespeare.

Origin 
The phrase is a simple allusion to the well-known attraction that moths have to bright lights. The word moth was used the the 17th century to mean someone who was apt to be tempted by something that would lead to their downfall. This is referred to by Shakespeare in The Merchant of Venice, 1596:

"Thus hath the candle singd the moath."

Flames and matches have shown up a couple times before in my work. It's interesting to me when a certain imagery surfaces over time and I'm not really conscious of doing it. Painting is cheaper than therapy and way more fun but sometimes I'd like to know why.

In this instance I've used this idea before but always wanted to do a painting focusing just on the moths and the flame.

"#!%*&#$@", oil on canvas over panel,  37x24. This piece was done in 2006. My son was the model.

I had so much fun designing this. I did a lengthy photoshoot of my son wearing the Hulk hands, rummaged through the rubble of a torn down house to gather material for the still-life, photographed the flame from a blow torch and photoshopped in the lightning.

In the course of designing it I wondered if the lightning was over the top but finally decided It was a dark and stormy night... was a fitting background and just campy enough. And seriously once you've gone with Hulk Smash hands is there such a thing as "over the top?"

I think this is an example of a painting where humor and a campy attitude can still reveal truth. Channeling human drama, pop culture, emotions and irresistible attractions I just let it flow on this one, free associating imagery.

This piece is one we have added to our collection and it still makes me smile. 

Interested in signing up for my email newsletter? Subscribe Here

Hear Ye, Read All About It

 

Sign Up For My Email Newsletter

The thrill of change, new galleries, new publishing company, new adventure's in the air at Terry Strickland Art.

Interested in keeping collectors, students, friends and family up to date, I'm creating a newsletter, first edition Sept. 15, 2011. 

The newsletter will be monthly, not too long but chock full of news about upcoming shows, workshops and new paintings fresh off the easel. It will include a teaching spotlight, art world musings and of course lots of pretty pictures.

I'm using Mail Chimp, a "newsletter publishing platform". I settled on this service because several art friends have used it and been pleased.

Wow, there's so much to learn! They have many video tutorials but it does take time to sort through it all.

The trickiest thing is creating a recipient list. I don't want to risk getting reported as spam, plus it's not cool to jam up the in boxes of people who don't really care about Terry Strickland Art, so I'm starting from scratch on a brand new email list.

Even though this had been a good deal of work setting everything up I know it the long run it will help me safely keep in touch with the people that really care about my work.

Sneak peek at the first issue...

A new painting, "The Bribe"... is that Athena, Eve or Wall Street?

Incognito Project Update

New Gallery Representation

A New Strickland Family Business

"The Lion Tamer" in the Spotlight

Well almost the spotlight... 

I'm happy to announce that my painting "The Lion Tamer, The Incognito Project" has been named a finalist in The Artist's Magazine's 28th Annual Competition, figure and portrait category.

They say that the model is half the success of a figure painting and I think Peggy proves that true. She was willing to play along and share her fierce side with me, a side that not many people see. She also has a great energy that was a joy to try and capture.

Here are a couple more posts about this painting, they include details of the painting and a painting I did of this model 8 years ago.

Here's the first Incognito Project announcement, a portrait series I've been working on since June 2010.

 Here are all the posts about this Project. 

 You may see the paintings that are finished thus far on my website's Incognito Project Gallery.

Also...I'm launching a new email Terry Strickland Art Newsletter using mail chimp, if you didn't notice it on the sidebar you can subscribe here. The newsletter will be monthly, not too long but chock full of news about up-coming shows, new paintings in the works or fresh off the easel, workshops, possible teaching tips, art world musings and lots of pretty pictures :D

"Our Dancing Days"

"Our Dancing Days", 30x40, oil on panel

 A hall, a hall, give room! And foot it, girls!

More light, you knaves, and turn the tables up;

And quench the fire, the room is grown too hot.

Ah, sirrah, this unlook'd-for sport comes well.

Nay, sit, nay, sit, good cousin Capulet,

For you and I are past our dancing days.

How long is't now since last yourself and I

Were in a mask? 

Romeo and Juliet 

As with most of my paintings the title comes well after the painting is underway. I have a vision in mind as I'm designing the painting and working on it, then brainstorm during the process and after it's done to come up with an appropriate title.

In this case Shakespeare won out again. Dancing and masks are hallmarks of mystery, enchantment and dream-like experiences, romance is in the air.

The mythology of the Roma was on my mind as well as an idea of the Halcyon Days, happy and carefree times.

I could site many song lyrics and am surprised how often the word Gypsy came up in music I regularly listen to. The romantic appeal of that nomadic life style is strong, and while not many of us have the actual desire to chuck it all and join a band of merry mysterious travelers, it's mesmerizing to fantasize about for a short while.

I've done a couple other paintings on this theme, The Clearing, and If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On.

Our Dancing Days will be in my two person show with Forrest Solis opening November 4, 2011 at Peterson-Cody Gallery in Santa Fe, NM.

"Ay, There's the Rub"

I could not resist this title for my post about this week's oil painting class, and my quick demo using a rub-out underpainting technique.

The phrase is Shakespeare’s. It comes from Hamlet’s famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy: 

To die — to sleep.
To sleep — perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub!
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. 

By rub, Hamlet means a difficulty, obstacle or objection.

How fitting a reference for this task we have chosen for ourselves. mastering the craft of painting, living the life of an artist. It can be the stuff of dreams or nightmares, it's the dream times that keeps us coming back for more.

When things are going well in the studio we seem to float on the current, lose track of time in a deep focus, it does seem rather dream like; yet when we are struggling against the current, reaching for the next level for our work, we are still learning, we will come out the other side (unlike Hamlet) and our work will be stronger for it.

I consistently remind my students struggle is learning, each new failure is a stepping stone to the next, better, painting.

All that said my students did great with this exercise and seemed to enjoy it! Using only Burnt Umber they covered the canvas with paint thinned only a bit with a mixture of linseed oil and OMS.

Then rubbed out the lighter values and highlights, using value to create volume.

This is the third in a value series I've had my students working on. You can see those and other teaching posts here.

Shakespeare continues to inspire, here is a link to a few of my paintings exploring some of his themes in a contemporary way.

Value of Practice

Last week I did a second value poster study with my class. We are attempting to solidify this concept before moving on to color temperature. Here is the very quick demo I did for them.

They all worked hard the first week to understand what they were seeing and get it down, judging one value against another as they painted from the background to the foreground and from darkest to lightest.

We used raw umber and ivory black to mix our darkest value, then mixed a middle value.

Using mixtures of the middle value with our homemade black we mixed two additional dark values.

Then we used the middle value with titanium white to mix two additional light values.

This resulted in a string of color puddles that gave us 7 values to work with. They should eventually work toward seeing 9 or 10 values.

This gave them experience simplifying basic forms into values without the complication of color or temperature.

It also gave them experience mixing paint into color strings, a great way to work and the method I teach.

Next week we will continue with this two steps forward and one step back journey learning these color theory concepts.

I will have them do a rub out painting using burnt umber which is a standard under painting practice and one my students love once they give it a try.

Patience my lovely students, remember practice while reaching is learning! Linger in the uncomfortable zone.

This is one of my 9x12 figure sketches using this technique. I painted it in Charleston last fall while on the Women Painting Women on Expedition painting retreat. 

Here is a link to a few of my other posts about teaching including one about the rub out technique. I'll post the demo after class next week.

Miller Gallery - CONTEMPORARY REALISM: Invitational

I'm thrilled to have been invited to participate in this show!

Opening Friday, September 30, 2011, 6-8 pm
About the show from Miller Gallery's Website:

This group show brings together many of the finest, renowned realists in the United States, including Daniel E. Greene, Jonathan Queen, Glennray Tutor, Cesar Santander, Karen Hollingsworth, Helen Crispino, Timothy Jahn, Ron Monsma and many more.


My paintings "Flight Plan" and "Enlightenment" are on their way to Cincinnati.

"Flight Plan", 23x32, oil

"Flight Plan", Detail

"Enlightenment", 24x24, oil on panel

"Enlightenment", Detail

I've written about this painting before in my post "Enlightenment Ponderings"

The gallery is located at:
2715 Erie Avenue - Hyde Park Square
Cincinnati, Ohio 45208
phone-(513) 871-4420
Hours: Tuesday-Wednesday 10-5:30 / Thursday-Friday 10-8 / Saturday 10-5:30 / Sunday 10-2 
Miller Gallery