Hello blogger friends! As you will see, Angel and I have been very busy painting away finishing up our Childhood diptychs and collaborative paintings for group exhibits in Ft Lauderdale and Miami. Here they are:
Childhood Diptych
Label Scar (Angel) and Memories of Bobo (Stephanie)
Our Collaborative Paintings:
My Sweet Sixteen, oil and mixed media on paper
1310 Gallery, Love Thy Liberty
September, 2010
1984, oil on canvas
Bear and Bird Gallery, Monsters Under My Bed
October, 2010
Frontline, Oil on paper
1310 Gallery, Hopes and Hand Grenades
November, 2010
That Which Is Imagined Can Never Be Lost, oil on watercolor paper
Through the Eyes of Love, Miami International University of Art and Design
December, 2010
I have enjoyed working on these collaborative pieces. The process for us is very organic and natural. We start off with sketches, then they are combined together. After the sketch is finalized we begin painting at the same time, switching sides back and forth until the painting is done.
Angel signing in. It’s been a long, hot summer and the “Janus Head” portrait is on hold. When we paint together, out-of-doors is really the way to go, but it will have to wait for a Florida Autumn. Still, here are a few images of the work-in-progress!
In the mean time, we’ve been quite busy. The website (www.janusbridge.com) has been updated, and we’ve FINALLY completed the Literary Portraits. Since I’ve been completely blog-less for a while, I thought I’d write about my reflections on the past two portraits I’ve completed during this collaboration.
Internal Crossroad
I really got to know Stephanie by working on this one. Our early conversations often found their way back to spiritual territory…fate, reincarnation…. I could see her in a cemetery, in a field. I also saw her surrounded by papers. She’s always working in her sketchbook – I envy her consistent practice! She keeps her notes, sketches, inspirations and instructional materials close by, and she always had something new to show me. As the sketch for this painting developed, I began to include some of her favorite things, such as the quotes on the papers, and the tombs of Oscar Wilde and Edgar Allen Poe. The reference for her face was taken from an old photo she had…it was taken in a freight elevator by a college friend, and she really looked like some dead silent movie actress. That photo captured something about her, so I had to include it in this image as well. Some of my own imagery snuck in…such as the radio towers (communication / human spirit) and the mausoleum (local, personal landmark).
What I found interesting about the process behind this one was how easily we worked together. We didn’t have to make agreements and compromises about format and color scheme…the paintings just evolved naturally as we worked in the same studio.
Motive Power
It’s no secret that Stephanie and I both labored over these Literary Portraits. We ran into a lot of snags. Even photographing these were difficult!
My half of this diptych depicts my self-portrait in the form of Dagny Taggart (the heroine of Atlas Shrugged – the epic novel by Ayn Rand). I included many symbols that relate to the story: the train (the railroad Dagny runs), the bracelet (her lover, Hank), the newspaper (her former lover, Francisco), the headphones (the music that gives her strength), and the motor (John Galt – what she is chasing throughout the story). Ayn Rand’s books have been a great source of inspiration for me, and Dagny’s character was always one I could relate to. She’s strong, driven and capable, but also stubborn and prone to taking others’ responsibilities on her shoulders. The apocalyptic aura of the story was also attractive to me, as well as the theme of the train. I spent time photographing trains off of the turnpike extension in Miami to get references for this painting…that might have been the most fun part of making this image! The eerie feeling of those night shots helped inspire the surreal quality of this painting, where Dagny is searching for something that is out of reach.
Our new as-of-yet-untitled “Childhood” diptych!
We’re still working on these. Here are some sneak peeks. Will write more on these later!
While we are busy working away on our second diptych painting, Angel and I decided to begin sketches for our "collaborative" painting. I am posting our sketch above. We will work on the painting simultaneously together. We are very excited to find out how it will develop when we switch to paint on each other's side!
To document this process, we are creating a video piece. Check back later as this project develops!
