Word and Symbols July 3 - August 10, 2010

The Windish-Hunt Gallery in Coconut Grove, FL had yet another great idea for a show. The subject is "Words & Symbols". It is the kind of subject that inspires a lot of artists, even if we normally do not use words or symbols (-ism) in our work.

I entered two paintings for this show; both are 24"x24" and in acrylics. Normally I work with oil paint, but I also like to work with acrylics. I choose a different style, more colors and more freely and I had a lot of fun in doing so.

The first one is "Change your words and you will change your world" The text starts on the left side of the canvas and finishes on the front. Words are powerful as words can kill, hurt, uplift and actually change your life.

The second is almost the opposite of the first as it refers to silence.

"The title is: "Listen to the colorful words of my silence". This one is inspired by a conversation I had with a close friend about communication within a relationship, or maybe more the lack of it. But the lack of words does not mean that somebody is not communicating. Silence can hold a lot of words and meaning in both a positive or a negative way.
I put the text on the front but in a small font to express the silence.

Both the use of words or silence can be powerful means of expressing yourself.

Nudes

Getting Ready (12" x 12" oil on canvas)

I love the human body. I love how the light creates this beautiful effects on the skin and more so to capture that in my paintings.
By the way, each body is so unique and especially when you look at the skin tones. For me it is really fun to work with that.

Not only do I paint the female nudes but also the male. Now I know that many consider the male body not as beautiful (to paint) as the female. Perhaps the female nude is more accepted nowadays, but I find that the male nude is equally as beautiful as the female body.

Future (12" x 12" oil on canvas)

And even though the female body is celebrated for its round shapes, I find that the male body has many of the same beauty.

If you are interested to see more of my nudes, please click here.

Fresh from the Fridge (2009)

When I knew I would have a solo at the Focaccia Rustica in Coconut Grove, I also realised that this would not be the place to hang nudes. It is after all a family restaurant. And this implied that I had to come up with a new body of work. To be honest, I went blank at first. For days I stared at two empty canvases and all that came to mind were nudes.

One afternoon my partner asked me why I didn't start painting and I replied: "Paint what? I have no other subject on my mind than nudes."

He suggested to go out and look around the house, to see if anything would inspire me. But I am not a plein air artist - ok, I never tried it and the large amount of hungry, bloodsucking mosquitoes outside doesn't make it very inviting for me to try a landscape out there.


Then he said to me: "Why don't you look in the kitchen, maybe there is something in there that will give you ideas."

And so I did, not that I am normally so obedient, but I was blank and he tried to help me. I opened the fridge... nothing yet, no celestial flash of inspiration. Then I opened the vegetable drawer in the fridge and I saw a variety of fruits and vegetables, each with their own colours and shapes... and there it was... my source of inspiration: Fresh from the Fridge.

To see all the paintings from this series, please click here.