Written communication, though one of my favorite playthings, is not the most effective way I express myself. I am immeasurably naive and inexperienced as a writer and so I thought that for my big 2-0-0-0, I'd rather talk to you with my art, which, though still naive and inexperienced, is at least thoroughly financed with federal student loans.
These are very non-professional digital photos I took of portfolio stuff in my basement, and thus a little fuzzy and unclear and a little taxing to load, but I hope my sentiments are otherwise.
Let's stroll through the gallery.
If I was stranded on a desert island with only one non-essential luxury afforded, it would have to be a box of colors. They are the only thing that makes life bearable.
I'm uncomfortable with looking at myself, yet narcissistic enough to do so constantly. I like to portray myself abstractly, evasively, or in an unexpected way.
I like to inject meaning into my art, but mostly I like to present my viewer with something he's not expecting to see.
At times I am philisophically serious about the human condition, at times I am pointedly flippant; however, I don't see either of these viewpoints as being of less consequence in understanding the world and the people in it.
My art can be propagandistic, but I try to keep it subtle, whether I'm being political or religious.
I have issues with the grand tradition of female nudity in western art. I like to portray models as people, rather than objects.
Formally, I adore the process of minimalization that allows me to take a structure from my environment and reduce it to an emotional element that Kandinsky taught me to appreciate.
I adore the rest of the world. I have a penchant for the exotic and an undying fascination with the solidity of Europe. There, I find myself drawn to the people and to the memories, to the momuments of religious and feudalistic fervor that we in the new world struggle so hard to comprehend. I wonder where the cathedrals of our culture are. I am fascinated by the mythological and spiritual capacities that seem to be hard-wired into our genetic coding. I want to find the common ancestor of art and religion.
But the most significant way in which my art impacts me is in its gentle tutelage that makes me peel back the superficial shroud over my environment. It trains me to look a little deeper and to push myself to see the world in a slightly different light, and thus to create of my world something unexpected, something new, something beautiful.
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
Thank you for sharing that. I love learning more about you. Your art is beautiful.
Great post.
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
Annie, that was beautiful. It's clear that your art is a part of your life. It's beautiful, and it's great to see that you can put so much of yourself into it. I, myself, am only just learning to put my philosophy into my art, and I envy that you are so able to put something clear into your work, and able to do something that other people can understand.
Thanks for showing us your gallery, and I hope you post thousands more. ^_^
Also, I'm surprised that you haven't had more replies already. Come on, people, show the Annie some love!
(((((((Annie)))))))
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
Annie, that's wonderful. I'm so proud of you! It's beautiful!
I'm also wildly jealous. My favorite is the one with the staircase - it startled me. Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
Great landmark, Annie. My favorite was the Darth Vader Warhol parody. Could you explain what aquatint and monotype is? I've never heard of those techniques. What is your favorite medium?
You and Rivka have raised the bar for creative landmarks. I'll have to think of something to try to match them.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
that was fantastic! *claps*
Posted by Avadaru (Member # 3026) on :
Annie
Magnificent post, and amazing talent. Keep it up.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Thanks, all. Vous me flattez.
Aquatint is an etching technique. (Etching is engraving lines into a copper plate with acid) You first coat the plate with resin powder and heat it, so it's covered with tiny acid-resistant dots. You then paint an acid-resist ground in the areas you want to stay white and place it in an acid bath. You take it out after a certain amount of time, paint over the next lightest shade, and so forth. The blackest areas are left in for the longest amount of time. You use a solute to clean the resin from the plate, ink and wipe it, and print it in an intaglio press. Basically, it's a way to get grey tones without having to simulate them with cross-hatched lines.
Monotype is a very painterly form of printmaking, in which you use various techniques (rubber brayers, paintbrushes, stencils, solvents) to create an image with oil-based inks on a large smooth surface (I use plexiglass) and then print it directly onto rag paper. The images I did here used transparent inks and several image layers on top of one another. The cathedral diptych (St. Co) was a huge stencil I cut from a sheet of mylar and inked onto and through and on top of. It's one of my favorite media.
I think maybe it is my favorite, just because it allows for such huge areas of flat, intense color, which is really what I'm all about.
Thanks again.
Posted by T. Analog Kid (Member # 381) on :
Bravo... encore?
[ September 07, 2003, 02:54 AM: Message edited by: T. Analog Kid ]
Posted by Toni (Member # 5620) on :
Nice, Annie.
It just makes me more intimidated about doing one myself. Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Wow! Those are beautiful! You have such range -- in choice of subjects, media, and emotional tone. I particularly liked the two veiled ones -- which were astoundingly different. So much expression captured in the eyes of each!
Congrats on 2000, and thanks for sharing this part of yourself with us.
(Oh, and I have tortoise-slow dial-up, and had no trouble downloading the pics. Actually, I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly they loaded. )
Posted by Godric (Member # 4587) on :
Cool stuff Annie!
You know, when you say things like,
quote:Aquatint is an etching technique. (Etching is engraving lines into a copper plate with acid) You first coat the plate with resin powder and heat it, so it's covered with tiny acid-resistant dots. You then paint an acid-resist ground in the areas you want to stay white and place it in an acid bath. You take it out after a certain amount of time, paint over the next lightest shade, and so forth. The blackest areas are left in for the longest amount of time. You use a solute to clean the resin from the plate, ink and wipe it, and print it in an intaglio press. Basically, it's a way to get grey tones without having to simulate them with cross-hatched lines.
Monotype is a very painterly form of printmaking, in which you use various techniques (rubber brayers, paintbrushes, stencils, solvents) to create an image with oil-based inks on a large smooth surface (I use plexiglass) and then print it directly onto rag paper. The images I did here used transparent inks and several image layers on top of one another. The cathedral diptych (St. Co) was a huge stencil I cut from a sheet of mylar and inked onto and through and on top of. It's one of my favorite media.
You remind me of my art professor. Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Fantastic! I love the comparison between the two Nude Models.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Oh, my goodness, Annie. These are amazing.
Thank you so much for sharing.
Posted by Erik Slaine (Member # 5583) on :
On the edge, and searching for novelty. I do love these expressionistic pieces. You manipulate color and emotion well. It makes my heart glad that others can produce such original, thought provolking pieces.
I salute you, Anneke!
Posted by ginette (Member # 852) on :
Beautiful Annie, I like the art and religion one.
And congrats on 2000!
Posted by celia60 (Member # 2039) on :
Yeah, the 2 nudes totally rock.
Posted by monteverdi (Member # 2896) on :
To my eye (and through the veil of multiple transformations...photo, upload, shitty monitor etc.) you have an impressive 'natural' command of contrast (both in the sense of light/obscure, colour and subject/materials). I liked you piece called 'Grace' and your second 'Nude Model'.
High Contrasts and Alternatation/Oscillation (the cup or the face)- preoccupations of our times..
Congrat's on the good work and good luck with it all.
TH
Posted by Amka (Member # 690) on :
Annie - it appears that we have overwhelmed your bandwidth. I can't do it permanently, but I wouldn't mind temporarily hosting your pics, if you want to email them and the webpages you created for them.
Posted by ak (Member # 90) on :
Darth Vader a la Andy Warhol really rocked! I loved thinking about the similarities and differences of Marilyn and Darth as cultural icons. <laughs> You should sell that one to me.
Posted by Dragon (Member # 3670) on :
wish I could draw Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Thanks, all. I'm glad you appreciated the contrast, monteverdi - that's really my favorite scheme - bright colors on black, harsh lines between light and shadow.
Amka - my site seems to be working OK - are you still having problems with it? Thanks for the offer and let me know.
And Anne Kate, I'm glad you enjoyed Darth. When is your birthday? Posted by Ophelia (Member # 653) on :
Those are wonderful!
I especially love the first portrait ("The Artist on a Good Hair Day") and the contrast of the round pumpkin with the angles of the stairs in "Pumpkin in a Stairwell"--it makes it that more startling and delightful. Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
Posted by Amka (Member # 690) on :
I suppose a whole bunch of us tried around the same time, and they put a limit on the bandwidth. It was nice they didn't keep it down for long. I tried later and it was fine.
Oh, and I loved your gallery. Thank you ever so much for sharing. I'm glad you are continuing in art. Hope to see you in more prestigious galleries in the future.
[ September 08, 2003, 11:39 AM: Message edited by: Amka ]
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
There you go again, pushing another French stereotype down our throats--that all French are Artists.
Actually, your landmark said everything a four month Art Appreciation class tried to teach me, accept your art was better and your words more concise.
Viva Annie
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
I am still very very flattered.
Only I'm not French; only by cultural adoption. I'm as mixed-breed American as they come, though my Dad speaks French since he grew up in Algeria. Anyway - beyond the point.
Gracias. Posted by Zotto! (Member # 4689) on :
Holy schmuck I MISSED this?! Thanks for pointing it out to me, Annie!
*laughs* I really liked the "in an unexpected way" pic. *grin*
And I sooo totally relate to a lot of the stuff you wrote about the pieces.
KEEP IT COMIN'! Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Don't feel bad about missing it, it is after all National Overlook Annie Week.
But thanks. I really appreciate the positive feedback.
Posted by Boon (Member # 4646) on :
Lovely...simply, poetically beautiful. Thank you.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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Annie ![[Blushing]](graemlins/blushing.gif)
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Those are beautiful! You have such range -- in choice of subjects, media, and emotional tone. I particularly liked the two veiled ones -- which were astoundingly different. So much expression captured in the eyes of each!![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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