Skip to main content

Artist Names

 As an artists I often wonder how my next project will come about. Where my paintbrush will lead me. How these actions will effect greater, newer and more interesting paths to take in the never ending road my imagination leads. I recently finished a bunch of earrings in February and commenced to letting then sit and cure for two weeks before deciding on what to call the collection. Most of my paintings do not have names. They are part of the whole collection of a family painting tree and I usually just refer to them as the year they were painted or the time frame I painted them in. "Oh this one I did when I was doing Seeds & Stones, Oh thats from 2017." just like my writing and talking my painting is a tangent. I usually spend 2-4 weeks in one tangent and paint as much as I can there. Sometimes it's a color I use or a shape or an overall idea. All tangents come to an end though and I move on to something else. Most of the time my tangent paintings lead me to a new idea or the last one in the collection has something I like and need to explore. My tangents usually always have names while the paintings themselves are part of the tangents so they have no names. Most recently I've been painting a tangent called Bubbles which was short lived and only produced small paintings and only around seven of them. However Bubbles was a good exploration in color and overlapping ideas. It gave me a chance to explore and renew my love with the color orange. Back to tangents however, the thought of tangents lead me to calling my collection of new earrings mentioned earlier, Shiznits.

If you don't know what a shiznit is or have never heard the word let me enlighten you. The Shiznit is a song by Snoop Dogg, however its slang meaning is basically the best of the best. Shiznits sounds like something more though, rather than it may mean one of a kind in my mind it takes on a meaning far more reaching than solely special. Shiznits sounds plural probably because of the added "s" I have added. It also sounds tragically lost. And then found again so to speak. Like a chest hidden away ion the back of the attic filled with memories. An old high school yearbook, toys, vintage jeans. They all have meaning and maybe will be used again in someway.  It's not always the look of something, it can certainly be the feel or the memory attached to it that gives an object beauty. Shiznits reminds me of all the objects in my life that have gotten lost and then have been found again. Objects with no real attached meaning, like pennies or stuffed animals. Shiznits reminds us of the frivolity we seek everyday in the mundane and the lost tasks and objects we rely on. Tied shoelaces, cups of coffee and most certainly clocks. If my meaning seems unusual, I would implore you to listen to Snoop Dogg who by any other name might also sounds like a Shiznit. or I implore you to look at the mundane in your life and see the beauty a single or many objects can do. Maybe you'll find you have more Shiznits than you thought. 


Labels:
Location: Philadelphia, PA, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Hunt for Red October, November and December

 Is it just me or are films duller than they used to be?  I'm of course not saying all films, oh no; but certainly most. It has been a very long time since I've seen a film that had me gripping the edge of my seat; and I'm not talking horror because most horror films make me actually leave my seat, never to return. For the first time, I recently watched The Hunt for Red October (1990) which I had never seen before nor watched the trailer for. I was astounded by the stellar cast which was all male. It didn't bother me though because all that testosterone pumping didn't diminish the film by a long shot. In fact, I'm glad the cast was all male, there weren't any funny jokes directed toward women and it didn't matter there was no love story. I find in many films with a heavily male cast; can be downgraded by adding in parts or characters that have no business being there. I know we are living in a society now where movies, films, and stories are more inclusi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lost in Photoshop

 I've been painting since forever. For the last ten years I've been interested in painting patterns. Asymmetrical patterns, basically painting, are not really patterns per say. However, I often see my paintings as larger meticulous art that descends up and around the room in a motion that resembles patterns. Like the way, your eye interprets lights when the lids are closed or when you see a flash and the pattern cascades in your view till it finally disappears. Photoshop is my nemesis in that regard. I take my regular, paintings and transform them over and over again. At some point, they are unrecognizable, and sometimes I can still pinpoint where they came from. I don't know if this is a good thing, however. Often I find when in photoshop time stands still while recreating and creating. 2 hours becomes 9 in a snap and in that time sure I could create 1-2 paintings while photoshop creates 7-8 different versions of the same idea. I like the mirror patterns the best for they ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Knives in, glass out

 Not all movies should be series, and some series should just be one movie. Whether it be the story, the director, or the budget, there's always a difference between the first, last, and middle, and inevitably that's where the train gets derailed.  When Knives out was first displayed on my Prime video screen in 2019, I was startled by the wonderful cast, including Christopher Plummer and some other favorites. This was Plummer's last film before he died and apt too, spoiler ahead...He dies in this film, but with such panache, it's easy to remember why he was one of the greats. the subtleties of Knives Out were its an ode to unusual murder mysteries such as Clue. Although I would say Clue is not as subtle as Knives out in comedy. The film was directed by Rian Johnson who also directed its sequel or series next chapter, Glass onion. In this instance, Knives out is better, even though Johnson directs both and includes a stellar cast. There is something missing in the second...
Post a Comment
Read more