Exercise in Spacial Relation #1
For one of my independent study courses this semester I’m doing a series that will combine human figure studies and topographical map making. Haven’t quite settled on what I’m going for so I’ve been working on little practice pieces. This first one’s not focused and pretty heavy handed. Looking forward to making it more fluid while maintaining the abstract textural / repetitive nature of the linework.
This is just a dry run of how the pieces might look. To get an idea of what I’m trying to explore thematically in the actual work I’ll leave ya with this quote by the French sociologist Alexis de Tocqueville:
“It is odd to watch with what feverish ardor Americans pursue prosperity. Ever tormented by the shadowy suspicion that they may not have chosen the shortest route to get it. They cleave to the things of this world as if assured that they will never die, and yet rush to snatch any that comes within their reach as if they expected to stop living before they had relished them. Death steps in, in the end, and stops them before they have grown tired of this futile pursuit of that complete felicity which always escapes them.”
Here’s something I made for Anna’s birthday. When trying to figure out a perfect gift, knowing a girl who likes topographic maps is a hell of a lot better than bumbling through a store looking through necklaces and perfume.
Ears up and eyes out for future projects between Anna & I!
Apologies for lack of updates, been fully embracing my winter break back home in Charleston. Here are some fishy Christmas cards I did for the family.
Forms My Eyes Have Passed Over (unfinished)
First off apologies for posting unfinished work, but this little bastard of a personal project has been sucking away time I could be spending on commissions ‘n’ class, and posting it will nip that itch to show it to someone in the bud.
I took a trip to Maggie Valley, NC for a wedding. On the trip I brought a little notebook for squiggling in and ended up drawing a few of the weird buildings I saw while sitting in the back of a car for the seven hour trip.
While in town I scouted out the “Ghost Town In The Sky” theme park (coincidentally abandoned) but didn’t have enough time to get to the top of the mountain it sits on and fully take it in. Missing out on walking around the park planted this little seed of regret in me as I took the trip back south to Charleston, which got me thinking about the passing structures I sketched in the car.
Whenever I’m struck by an interesting structure, some abandoned building or man-made enclosure, I assume there’s something of interest inside, hidden treasure or otherwise. This assumption based on intrigue somehow brought me back to my philosophy class sophomore year and talking about our assumption of physical objects being three dimensional (ie the angle you’re looking at your desk from makes it appear as a distorted non-rectangular image, but you’re fully aware it’s a rectangular object, not a non-rectangular image floating in front of you).
This lead me back to those buildings I passed. I assumed they were filled with interesting rooms full of interesting things, but for all I know they were just hollow objects. I have no a posteriori knowledge to say otherwise. I will probably never go inside them.
So now when I pass by a dilapidated old factory or a series of grain silos, as my eyes go over their construction and create their innards, I realize whatever I see inside is a reflection of my expectations and beliefs, my mood and disposition.
That somehow relates to the above image.
October 5th 2011
Today is my Mom’s 60th birthday. Here’s the beginnings of a painting of her back when she was unconsciously steezed out on the beach with our forever missed golden Bear.
Love ya mom, can’t wait to see you this weekend.
Grandpa Antal
Sneak peek at the start of a series (need to learn to stop starting and start finishing…) of grandfather portraits. What with both my parents getting remarried, the grandparents I never knew, and the next-door neighbors I considered my grandparents, I’ve got a lot of old folks and a lot of fertile emotional territory to dig around in.
“The Great Big Mess”
3/3 illustrations for the first issue of my friend Josh’s Strangers Magazine
“The Exhibition”
2/3 illustrations for the first issue of my friend Josh’s Strangers Magazine
“Pa’s Whiskey”
1/3 illustrations for the first issue of my friend Josh’s Strangers Magazine
