Near the Tannhauser Gate, 14x11, oil on oil primed linen
I will be showing this painting at The Incognito Project Exhibit. Nov 3, 2012, 5-9 pm at the Vann and Young Building, 1731 1st Avenue North Birmingham AL, along with 25 other new paintings on the theme.
The painting is part of my ongoing exploration of alter egos. Blade Runner fans will recognize the title from the replicant Roy Batty's introspective speech moments before his own death (actor Rutger Hauer). I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die. More about the project:
~"To me, it says that she chose the hard skill of strict mimesis, (strict imitation of the appearance of things), because she likes the people she knows; she likes them an awful lot. She likes them so much, in fact, that she wants to enjoy a specific kind of playing with them: that necessary dress-up that makes us meaningful to ourselves. This form of play is her invitation to her friends, and her skill as a painter is devoted to communicating to them, and to us, her affection, both for the person as they are, and as they understand themselves."
AND "It characterizes Strickland's work as a whole, an overlay of the mythical self onto the recognizably real self."
AND He discusses realism in the context of the greater art world, and answers the question,"Why paint something so convincing?"
Matter Deep Publishing ran a few articles last week featuring stories about our crew's favorite banned books. I thought I would cross post mine here, since the book definitely influenced my work.
“This is the beginning—from “I” to “we”. If you who own the things people must have could understand this, you might preserve yourself. If you could separate causes from results, if you could know that Paine, Marx, Jefferson, Lenin were results, not causes, you might survive. But that you cannot know. For the quality of owning freezes you forever into “I”, and cuts you off forever from the “we”.~Chapter 14, The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck.
The Grapes of Wrath is one of my favorite novels. I was surprised to see it on the banned books list. It has been challenged repeatedly over the years for containing vulgarity and for “inappropriate sexual references”, for example: a minister recounts how he took advantage of a young girl.
I read this book and several others, including The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, that helped me understand a truth about the nature of the world. The concept is that change on any level is difficult, turbulent, painful, and sometimes oh-so-very necessary. It doesn’t matter if the change is on a personal level, a social level, or a clash in weather systems. Change will come and it’s going to cause drama. Yet, there is hope that we will come out the other side, changed for the better and stronger for having lived through a trying time.
As a artist, a figurative oil painter, the concept influenced an entire body of my work. At the time, I was experiencing changes of growth in my own life and watching my children grow into adulthood. These experiences, along with the gelling of the concepts that came out of reading The Grapes of Wrath became The Awakening Series.
On the Wing, Awakening Series, oil on panel. 40”x61”, 2003
How sad if this book had indeed been banned and I would not have been inspired to create this series. The Grapes of Wrath is more relevant than ever as our country is coming out of the Great Recession. It’s a story that is as timeless and important as change itself.
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Here is a new video about The Incognito Project Exhibit and book.
Shelby Country Reporter did a really nice article about my upcoming exhibit and book.
Nov 3, 2012, 5-9 pm, Art Folk Gallery, Young and Vann Building, 1731 First Avenue North, Birmingham, AL. You may look here to preview all the work in the show.
The book will be released that night as well. If you'd like to pre-order the book you may email me at terrystr@terrystricklandart.com. The will pre-sell for $60.
Each book purchased through the kickstarter, pre-ordered, or bought the night of the show will be entered to win this original oil painting, Day Dreams, Some Other Self. The drawing will be held at the close of the exhibit that evening. More information about the drawing here!
I made a video of the pet rat wrangling that went on behind the scenes at the photo shoot for this painting.
Enjoy!
Here's Carly's statement from the book about Professor Rattus.
Witness Statement:
I find that my ability to converse intelligently is inversely proportional to my proximity to a furry mammal. If it’s furry and friendly, I want to hold it and talk to it to the exclusion of the humans around me. My conversation, that may have started as, “Why, yes, I did hear that the Large Hadron Collider created an event that was a hundred thousand times hotter than the sun,” devolves into, “My goodness! Who’s a furry critter? You’re a furry thing. Yes, you are.” Take equal parts Asimov and Conan Doyle, two writers I’m passionate about, and add a dash of furry minions, and I can wallow in a mystical land tailored just for me.~Carly
This painting is one of The Incognito Project pieces:
~You may see the painting in Birmingham, AL on Nov.3 2012, at Art Folk Gallery, 5-9 pm, Young and Vann Building, 1731 First Avenue North.
~You may pre-order the book about the project by emailing me at terry@terrrystricklandart.com ($60, includes domestic shipping)
Today I did a demo of under painting techniques using Gamblin Fastmatte alkyd oil paint and Rembrandt oil paint at Forstall Art Center where I teach oil painting class, here in Birmingham, AL.
Thanks to Randy Webb, local artist and demo attendee for generously allowing me to use his pictures and video for my blog!
I did two paintings, the first was an open, color grisaille. Basically it was a wash using Fastmatte paint, thinned with odorless mineral spirits. It's considered open because you leave the white of the canvas to indicate the lights of the painting, much like a watercolor painting. Fastmatte is designed to dry fast so you can do an underpainting and it will be dry by the next day so you can begin the second layer quickly.
I started with a pencil drawing on Ampersand Gessobord, professional quality.
After the pencil drawing was complete I redrew it using a Faber Castell sepia pen. Next I mixed up a few strings of color, some interesting grays and a couple of reds.
Using odorless mineral spirits I thinned the paint and began washing in areas working from the background to the foreground and from the darkest to the lightest.
Finished local color grisaille. 9x12
Next I did a rub out, or value study, open grisaille. I used Rembrandt burnt umber mixed with a little medium mixture that is linseed oil/mineral spirits, 60/40 ratio. I do not use the Fastmatte for this type rub out since it dries too quickly.
The entire panel is covered in paint using a large soft brush.
I use a soft T-Shirt scrap to wipe out the lights.
I will add back in more paint if I have rubbed out too much.
Final open grisaille value study. This could be painted over in couple days with full color.
Here's one I did with my class, so you get the idea of full color and how the rub out can inform subsequent layers.
One last note, this one about the still life set-up. (you can see it in a couple the photos and the video).
I use a box made of foam core that folds up. The sides are 3, white pieces, that I have hinged together with packing tape. It is then draped in black cloth. A large piece of black foam core is laid on top. I have cut out space for the clamp-on lamp and the cord to stick out the top.
This has turned out to be a great solution to the problem of blocking light pollution from the ceiling, while adding a dramatic light to the still life and the problem of storage of the set-ups. I don't have a dedicated space for my class so the still life has to be packed up after every class. It travels back and forth from the center easily and I have 4 of them. They lay flat and don't take up much room. I can fit three students to one still life.
My first set-up nearly caught fire and cooked the fruit so this is a much better solution! It pays to have an engineer in the family.
I'm doing a FREE painting demo at Forstall Art Center this coming Saturday, 10am-12pm. I'll be demonstrating underpianitng techniques with Gamblin Artists Colors Fast Matte and other paint. Call them at (205) 870-0480 to sign-up. Feel free to share this info with everyone.
Here is a post about the last underpainting demo I did for them here.
The kickstarter is well underway. We are 89% funded with 6 days to go. Carly's design for the book looks amazing!
To buy a book at a big discount you can go to the kickstarter project page and pledge $50, (that's the book including shipping). After the kickstarter is over the book will retail for $65 (+shipping).
The Incognito Project book cover
I have several other packages you could pledge, some smaller with images of the paintings on a calendar or notecards. There a few packages that include some of my original oil sketches and the Applause painting from the Incognito Project.
Two page spread that includes details from my self-portrait, The Stake-Out
It's been very exciting. Carly and I decided it needed a larger format so it is now 12"x9", about the size of a high school year book. And it's around 120 pages!
two page spread for The Torch Singer
two page spread of pictures from the original photo shoot in 2010
Because of the large format of the book I bought a new Canon EOS Rebel T31, with 18 megapixels! I've re-shot the paintings and it's very exciting. Some of the pages will be 2 full page spread bleeds, so it shows the brush work and color very clearly.
detail page of The Activist
The book will included an foreword about the work by Graham Boettcher, PhD Yale University, Curator of American Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art. The Incognito Project book documents the series from the beginning, featuring photographs and interviews from the first Incognito art event, which was part photo-shoot, part costume party. It will include writing from the models and commentary from others.
The Incognito Project, my two year portrait painting series is nearing completion! I have a date and venue for the exhibition.
November 3, 2012
Art Folk Gallery, Young & Vann Building, 1731 First Avenue North
Birmingham, AL, USA
The final stop on this carnival ride of a project is to produce a book, documenting the project. The book has grown from a simple coffee table book, a mere catalog of images into something more! We have launched a kickstarter to fund printing of a super shiny, first run edition of the book. You can see the video and full description of all that it entails here.
It will now included an foreword about the work by Graham Boettcher, PhD Yale University, Curator of American Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art. The Incognito Project book documents the series from the beginning, featuring photographs and interviews from the first Incognito art event, which was part photo-shoot, part costume party. It will include high resolution images, details of all twenty-five paintings and writing from the creative minds at Matter Deep Publishing. The book is laid out like a case file, where I slip into my own fantasy and play the role of voyeur and observer of humans, a detective unraveling the mysteries of my subjects.
Two page spread from the book.
Thank you for all the support you have shown to me over the years! Please share the kickstarter with your friends and family, help us get the word out and get this book published!
