Precious Paper and dirty little drawings

Exhibition just opened at Mooi-Man (Beautiful Man) Gallery , the Netherlands.Mooi-Man Gallery

finished 3rd week of January, 2012

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/shimmering-shadows-mon-graffito.html

Art du Jour: Piazetta

Piazetta

Art du Jour: Jean Francois Millet

Simple and to the point, simple and straight to the heart. In today's visual noise, delicate art withdraws in the shadow and waits for the heat to pass.

Art du Jour: Courbet drawings

An artist I appreciate a lot.

Self portrait at easel

portrait of Mr Promayet

Courbet, self portrait

White on Black

Not the first time I say to myself I won't draw on black paper. And then I come back, trying again to master this complicated method.
Usually, one draws on a lighter background, pushing the shadows with a darker pencil. Here is the complete opposite, you come from dark and bring out the body into the light. You must think in "negative" and even so, the gradation of tone is not easy to modulate.

His White Owl

Dances with the Fireflies

Why is Cave Art so good?

The Chauvet Cave is one of the most famous prehistoric rock art sites in the world. All of the cave art paintings have been dated between 30,000 & 33,000 years ago, making them the oldest yet discovered. I bet many art galleries would not show them because Damian Hirst & Co is the standard of art these days. But I digress ;-)

Besides being beautiful, they are and will always be surrounded by the mystery: why were they painted? I got my theory.

My artistic need of creating images feels like eons old.

When I draw I feel empowered: I create! I create something I like, I dream of, I “hold” in my hands, I make love to, I caress, I mould as I please.

My need of drawing feels very primitive.

I do have ideas that spit out conceptual art. Studying at an Art Faculty in the early 90s, it was all about ideas. My art results back then were good, sometimes very good. Installations, shit like that. But I was not happy. I didn’t go to an art school to challenge anyone. I was trying to release that ancient spirit in need of creating.

So, while not speaking for the Cave Artist himself (herself?), I think those images were created based on this need: to feel strong, to posses the forces of nature, to feel safe; and maybe to get groupies?

However, if one pays good attention, what one sees on the walls, the curved, irregular walls, are not really sketches. They are minimal, yet sufficiently expressive, complete images.

Did the Cave Artist had a sketch book where he practiced and only came to the wall when he was ready? I sincerely doubt that!

And here is my theory why: back then, the mind was clear. We think in words. When you “talk” to yourself in your head, most of the time, if not always, you hear words. The Cave Man was thinking, probably, in images, instincts, feelings. No wonder the result of his art is amazing! And doesn’t need to be explained, like Mr Hirst’s. Oops, I digress again.

Chauvet Cave

Chauvet Cave

Chauvet Cave

Chauvet Cave

Chauvet Cave

Some male academic nudes

Aurelio Blasco

Courbet (?)

joseph emile chabod

pierre louis de coninck

pierre miciol

Great-grandpa Panayiotis (finished Jan 2012)

Aquarius, the gift of this 1st of January

Don't you like starting the year with doing what u love the most (Im only talking about an action, not a person).
Finished today, 01.01.2012
First time drawing on cotton pulp paper. Very difficult but lovely feeling under the pencil tip!

And from last night: