Finally! I managed to work! God, it has been awful…to desperately want to paint, but not be able to. Ok, technically, I haven’t painted. I have drawn using oil pastels, but still…it’s work. These are my warm-up exercises. I dug deep into my mind, went to a dark place, and came up with these neo-expressionist imaginings. I have called them, ‘Old Man Deceiving The Artist’, and they are kind of self-portraits.
I intend on making a painting from these but wanted to do a few colour studies first, so these are my first attempts. They’re also my first attempts at Neo-Expressionism. I was a huge fan of Neo-Expressionism long before I even knew what the term meant, or before I knew that what I was looking at was Neo-Expressionist.
Neo-Expressionism uses vivid and banal colour harmonies and is painted in a primitivist style. It portrays raw emotion and tension, and is used to create a sense of disturbance to alienate the viewer in some manner.
I hope I have managed to capture that style here. All I know is that it feels good to create again.
Hi Heather. I believe this is definitely neo-expressionism if your definition is correct. I'm kind of chuckling. YEOW!!!!! I don't want to meet the old man!
Hahaha. I did my job then Leslie! You certainly wouldn't want to meet the man, he was a horrible person. I hope that comes across. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I've been a fan of this style for a long time. There's something about its perceived simplicity that makes it so appealing, even though it's not that simple to create. Trying to find the right balance in colour is the trickiest part. I haven't done a great job, but since it's a first attempt, and I've not created anything for a while, I'll forgive myself!
Heather- I think these are stunning! I truly do. You've done a terrific job with them and I'm glad you've been able to return to your love of painting. I read your last post as well. I can only say that this is how life is sometimes and you will deal with it head on. Give yourself space. Nothing lasts forever.
Love and hugs.
Pamo
Aww, thank you Pamo. It's been a bit of a rough period, and I'm still having a tough time, but I hope that I'm on the right track. I'm going to get away for a few days to my friend's so that'll give me a some space away from it all. Hey, at least I'm painting! Yay! This has been a real struggle for me. Thank you for your support Pam, it means a lot.
Love and hugs back.
I'm glad that you're not letting "The Man" keep you down.
These are GREAT! You've captured a lot of angst and turmoil with these and I look forward to seeing where you take this idea when you put it to canvas. You and your title generator conspired to come up with a great title together.
-Don
I won't let him keep me down for long anyway!
I've never really been one to put myself out there, emotionally, in my artwork, so this was a first for me. I've always just painted and whatever mood is in me will come out. This was much more different. This was intentionally seeking out something dark and deep within and using it to create a piece. It feels kind of weird!
Don't you just love the title my generator and I came up with? I think it is absolutely perfect!