Uploaded some more paintings. Cheesy Horror themes.
This one is pretty small. About 25 x 25cm. Oil on Panel. It’s a thin panel, maybe 2-3cm. The primer was gesso and rabbit skin glue. I managed to varnish this one and I only use Gamblin matte varnish, which I’m told stays clear and doesn’t decay or damage paint layers. The problem with that statement is that it could be years, or decades, before you find out you were wrong and by then it’s too late.
They are melting waxy heads in a landscape. I did it around 2023. I was staring at a candle a lot over the last year or two to save on electricity in the evenings. And civil society seems to be melting all around me. You can see how it all goes together.
I’ve always had a thing for B-grade horror effects. Horror in general really. One of the other paintings I just uploaded features a naked woman being consumed by The Blob from the 1980s remake of The Blob. It’s in the background of two fencers dishing it out. I was inspired by an old fencing manual I had. They are rapiers specifically, if you don’t know your swords. It’s probably from the 2015-18 era if I cast my mind back. Once again pretty small. A lot of these pre-covid paintings are small cos I was living in a small flat and had no room. It’s about 30-40cm.
And then I also put up a wolfman with a screaming naked chick.
The wolfman one must’ve been done about a decade ago, so maybe 2014?, cos it uses paint colours i no longer use and is a bit more rough in execution. Infact it was never “finished”. I abandoned it early thinking I had fucked it up, but looking at it today, I realise I actually quite like how I did and it reflects my themes pretty well.
NEVER THROW ANYTHING OUT! Almost anything… A couple of days back I was looking for an old animation book that I’m pretty sure I chucked to the op-shop. Cos I no longer did animation and it seemed boring. Then I realised there was a page in it I needed. Deep regrets. Stupid. Very stupid. Some shit does need to go. If it’s embarrassing for instance. But that might change over time.
Of the 3 paintings mentioned, 2 have just been sitting in a box for ages. I was thinking of chucking them out but didn’t. Now I’m sticking them up online. How quickly things change. The more I think and look back at really early work I did, the more I realise that my major influences and themes haven’t changed all that much. They mature, evolve, expand and develop. But the substance is similar. As is the style.
On style, I’ll say: Don’t think too hard about it. Just work on the substance and skill, and the style will come over time on its own, and will properly reflect who you are.
Melting heads, 2023
Two fencers and The 80s Blob. 2015-18 era. I did the frame myself.
Wolfman and Damsel in Distress. 2014 era?