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Process, Ideas and Experimentation
I'm working on a new series for the Gallery Artspace Anna Maria here on the beautiful Anna Maria Island. They have and amazing location right by the water and I'm just really excited for it! It's gonna be on August 11 - 24 and the title will be Abstract Expressions and I'll be posting process and all that through my Facebook.
For these pieces I really wanted to fuse my drawing style with some of the abstract style I use for my experimental paintings. The experimental abstract paintings are great creative release for me, because I just play around with colors, splatters and just try and stretch my wings a little.
But they're missing a big part that would really elevate them into being a final piece. For this series I decided to tackle that.
This was my first attempt. I started with some strong reference and a very clear idea and I set forth to paint it. This was my first mistake because I am more of a draftsman than a painter, and especially for an experimental process like this, it was a bit of a risk having so much of the piece riding on those skills.
I don't dislike the piece, I learned a lot from it, and there is a process and a technique that can be developed there later on. But it wasn't what I was looking for for this series.
So I started over with my same idea and my same reference. Then it hit me "Why am I not drawing?". I've been seeing a lot of street art lately and I'd always been interested in wheat-pasting but I never had an oppurtunity to really use it.
Except for now.
And just like that I found a fun way to fuse my ink work with my abstract work. There's still a lot more experimentation and fine tuning that will go into it. What you see will probably be the half way point before the final.
The main thing is I have a lot more room to play around and experiment, because the underlying artwork is already there. As long as I let that shine through and just focus on blending the styles, I'll be able to have as much fun as I want with it.
Remember, this is just a teaser. Feature presentation won't be out till August 11!
ROSE THORN
So, a lot of stuff has been going on. Thanks to Art in the Park I met a business partner that runs a clothing factory and wants to work together with SuarezArt to bring some new life, fresh blood, and sick art to his business.We've been building some brands and clothing lines, I think I've drawn more these last 3 weeks than I have my whole life. I don't know if that says something about how much work I've done now, or how lazy I was then...
Anyways most of the stuff is hush hush but I will post the things that are Suarezart related.
This girl was drawn on my first day in. I just went at it like no tomorrow.
We wanted a design to be unique, so he showed me this screen printing process that actually prints around the neck hole, and that set off my creative juices.
From there I started thinking what would look best draped around your neck. What would look cool? I started thinking Mucha, and hair. I love drawing hair, but I needed something cool so I wanted some barbed wire/thorns because I also wanted a flower as a design element.
This is the final shirt design, the thorn and rose are gold foil. There might be a few changes during production, but I think this is strong.
And here's she is all nice and fixed up ready for a poster. This process is much more difficult to explain because it's mostly trial and error, throwing layers and all kinds of stuff on top of each other until something pops out to me.
It's actually usually the funnest part!
Print is available here, and follow me on facebook to receive updates on when the shirt is available!
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