Alouicious: 2012

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

A Few New Tattoos

The top image is of a tattoo i made on a friend of mine. It was his first tattoo, and a great way to start the theme and direction of his arm. Thanks Mitch!

The bottom image was also done a little while back on a friend of mine. An full color traditional style influenced owl with a sharingan eye, great fun also!

Monday, March 12, 2012

New post, new paintings, new show

I am in this show at the Martin Wong gallery which opens today at San Francisco State University, opening reception is 5-7pm.

I have also been working on a new painting in my series of anamorphic figures. This painting is a combination of Rosie Huntington-Whitely's figure, the head of a deer, and a crown adorned with other skulls of deers. I have been working on this painting for quite some time, I believe it has been close to four or five weeks now, and i feel that the end is in sight. This is a relatively long time for me to be working on one painting, as i usually work pretty fast, and spend no more than two weeks on one piece. I have posted a few images making a timeline of the progression and inspiration of this painting. The first image is a photograph i found of the Victoria's Secret model and actress Rosie Huntington-Whitely. This photograph caught my eye mostly because of the model's pose. I was attracted to this pose because i felt that it embodied the reserved and innocent, yet inviting feeling that i wanted to accomplish in my painting. The next two photographs served as reference material I used when rendering the Doe head and hoof. I was attracted to these images solely for the direction of the head and hoof, and the color composition in the photograph. The fourth image is also being used for reference material, as i am in the process of rendering a cut open torso on the painting's figure with exposed innards, possibly containing a human fetus with antlers. The last three images chronicle the progression of the painting, during the course of the last three weeks. Hopefully this painting will be finished by the end of this week.

I feel that the nature and goal of this painting is not only to continue with my series of anamorphic figures, but to evoke a feeling of disgust and wonder at the same time, along with presenting themes of the occult and ritualistic sacrifice. I find myself moving closer to surreal imagery and further away from the photo-realistic paintings that i have aimed to create. I also feel that there is so much information that I discovered and can use in my paintings, through researching the occult and ritual practices. You would be surprised with the interesting information you can find floating around. These themes have always been attractive to me, mainly because in our society it is very taboo to be associated with it. American history has shown a common occurrence of the persecution of those that defy and disobey common religious practices, and i feel that as general acceptance to alternative religious practices are being increased, it is my responsibility as an artist to push the boundaries of that which is acceptable to the masses. I will keep updates on the progression of this painting as time moves forward.