From Dirty Harry to Cabin Fever

Having missed a week, I decided to just combine two into one post. The first is of Clint Eastwood in two of his most badass roles to date (and yes, I am considering of just doing some of him in his famous spaghetti westerns which are equally as awesome). The standing pose is from Gran Torino while the background is Dirty Harry with his famous slogan. This man is not just a great actor, but an awe-inspiring director and can make you grip the edge of your seat with dramatic grace.

The second guy is also a great director, Eli Roth. This horror movie icon changed how people thought about horror and made it gruesome again as well as psychological. I love any horror director who sprays his crew with ketchup just to make it look like a bloody scene.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

Fred Rogers had the longest running show on public television and what was amazing is that he never talked down to children, but rather talked WITH them. In 1969 he went before a Senate subcommittee to get funding for PBS and scored $20 million by just reading one of his songs to the chairman of the board. He was pretty badass.

"A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti."

Anthony Hopkins may be forever known as the infamous Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter, but every role I see him in he seems to exhibit that fine line between insanity and genius. From Dr. Abraham Van Helsing to Sir John Talbot this madman can keep you on the edge of your seat just by saying a few lines followed by a chilling stare.

Zombie!!!

This newest portrait is for the King of Undead Rock N' Roll: Rob Zombie. I love the music from this fellow because he makes obscure references to strange, yet important horror films. He even directs his own disturbing films with a very confident vision. I enjoy his ability to combine many art forms while not being afraid to try something new.

AVGN

This portrait is for the Angry Video Game Nerd or as mortals know him, James Rolfe. Not only do I love his internet comedy video game review show, but his movie reviews make me excited about films that were made decades before I was born! As you can see, each of these portraits will have a different vibe as I illustrate different cultural icons whether they be classical or modern. Hopefully, I can keep up this pace on drawing these inspiring characters.

Inspirations!

I decided to do a series of people who inspire me, whether it be their work or their ideas or even their personality. This blog has become the space for my project and I decided to do the portraits weekly. They will all be mixed media in nature and may involve simple to complex designs.

My first portrait is of someone who has recently caught my attention even though he is a legend in his own right. Vincent Price did countless movies involving characters with tight sarcasm and a creepy tone in their voice. I need to watch the famous Roger Corman "Poe" movies to really get more of a grasp on this man, but from what I've seen he definitely makes me think of theater in an entirely different way.

Seeing is Believing

I would like to begin looking at my fellow artists by starting on one of the most engaging, Susana. With the structure built here: http://cortez419.blogspot.com/2010/10/set-me-free-continues.html, Susana created her own environment and captured our attention during critique. Her performance made me want to help her out of the cage even though I was the one who filmed her in it for her video and took pics for her documentation purposes. To convince someone who was there all along is strong enough for me to want to see more performances in many more places!

To the artist that has the most potential is Alex. Her pawn piece really makes me think in so many directions and I want to see more (even if it isn't quantity, it could be how everything is set up or situated). You can see it here: http://aphil11.blogspot.com/2010/11/attack.html, when Andrew suggested a racial divide on the pieces I instantly announced to the class that the scene reminded me of an episode of Oprah. This narrative and many more are at Alex's fingertips so if she pushes everything just a bit more she can show all of us many wondrous worlds, especially her knitting work which is my favorite of hers.

The artist that I have the most knowledge of their process is Kyle. His studies on light and concept are incredible: http://kyleatseniorstudio.blogspot.com/2010/09/art-work-update.html, and it keeps going from there. His portraits blow my mind, but sometimes my favorite moments are his experiments in drawing. Kyle is someone who gets what it means to explore art; his drawing of the man in the ornate frame gave me such distinct feelings that I knew he thought about every aspect of the piece.

One artist I've discovered is Yuko Ishii who uses Mixed Media to the nth degree. Using photography and physical implements she expresses spiritual awareness through her pieces. http://www.yukoishii.com/

Another artist who I knew about only in photography apparently paints as well and he does a series of "Nurse Paintings" which hit home to my not only because they are figural, but my parents are both nurses. Richard Prince explores different ways to combine text and the figure to give a narrative that we may not have seen before. This article on a nursing site is interesting in juxtaposing the nursing world and his world: http://www.nursingadvocacy.org/media/va/nurse_paintings.html

My next project has to do with the secular vs. the religious, the liberal vs. the conservative, and conflicted identity vs. solid identity. My biggest issue is how to combine everything in a simple way. I have already figured out a way to deal with Neil Diamond and David Paskin, but I dunno if it is the direction I want to take. What would be the best way to explore these ideas? How could I combine them without losing any of the magic of the original images? And now...back to work on painting.