Idols

A few years ago a couple folk from Mars Hill Church formed a group called the Artist Reformation Project. They used a studio space in the 619 Western building to show during the first Thursday art walks. Each month was to be a different aspect of the gospel message.  This set of six sculptures were done for the show on idolatry.  The idea is that we, as humans, are worshipers.  If we choose to worship any one or anything other than the creator God of the Bible it is idolatry. Idolatry isn't just some ancient sacrifice on alters to a carved or cast image, but can be as simply as where we expend all our time, energy, and devotion. These things aren't always bad things, usually they are quite good things that just become idols.

Encased in each sculpture are objects representing things that are not truly bad but can become objects of worship that distract us from worshipping God.

Oh, and yes the sculptures are intentionally shaped as dildos. Mainly because the phallic symbol is such an historic shape for a graven image idol.  Also it's kind of amusing.

Marriage

 Inside are brides and grooms and rings.  Sometimes there is such a focus on finding that certain person to spend the rest of your life with.

Religion

Inside are crucifixes and nuns.  Though the symbols are Catholic the idea is that any religious devotion can become more of focus than the one who is supposed to be our devotion. Worshipping the worship over the one who is to be worshipped.

Babies

Inside are babies.  Children are a blessing, not god.

Food

Inside are little plastic foods. Food is necessary for life, but sometimes those things that we need everyday can become an obsession.

Cats and Dogs

Inside are cats and dogs.  Animals are great. The thing is, they are created creatures, not the creator.

Money

Inside are little men and women in business suits and pennies. Business, money, financial security, these are all things that are not evil, but we tend do become so driven to "succeed" that it can overshadow everything else in our lives. 

I'll be the first to admit that pretty much all six of these are areas that I fall into idolatry. That's probably why these were the ones that came to mind to represent.  It's tough to not fall into the trap and think that it's just life and not idolatry. It's the question where am I spending my time, money, devotion, what am I worshipping?

"Self-pitying little whimpers"

Me at Gallery 110
Photo by Chris White

"Self-pitying little whimpers."  This was the summary statement of my review in the Stranger.  I always figured that although they might not of liked it, they at least got my point.

The show was a series of nine paintings looking at how too much self absorbed introspection can be harmful.

Alone

original sketch

"Alone" is about the feeling that someone can feel totally isolated even in a crowded room.  The central figure has two shadows, one for his perspective and one for the truth he is blind towards.

Impossible Standards

Original Sketch

Working Sketch

"Impossible Standards" is how there is a cultural standard for beauty or even normalcy. This is a continually moving target, growing and fading with trends and fads leaving devastated and ruined people who couldn't fit the mold. Truth is no one fits this ideal, and we shouldn't compare ourselves to others to find our own worth or beauty.

Self Sighted

Working Sketch

"Self Sighted" is the natural progression from the "Impossible Standard"  In the figure's eyes he sees himself as this distorted mutant of a man. Too tall, too gaunt in some areas, too fat in other areas, and totally disproportionated.

Butt of the Great Cosmic Joke

My Own Personal Hell

"My Own Personal Hell" was originally meant to be "Butt of the Great Cosmic Joke".  It got to this point and I realized it was done, so I began the cosmic joke again.  They are both continuing the progression of the figure.  Seeing himself as a monster he feels that everyone he sees is laughing at him.  The personal hell is the internalization of his pain.

Torn and Tattered Heart

Original Sketch

"Torn and Tattered Heart" is the representation of the devastation of a soul.  I reevaluated the piece as I was laying this one out and decided to use the imagery from a "Sacred Heart of Christ" card.  As opposed to the Christ who held out his pure heart for the world I showed the figure trying to hide and protect his mangled heart from the world.

Too Tied Up

Working Sketches

This one was a huge struggle for me to represent, and I'm still not too excited with the resulting image. The figure is wrapped in a straight jacket being crushed by a cross. The idea was that there is a perception that Christianity is too oppressive to offer any hope to the terminally depressed.

Final Act

This was the first one of the series I painted, setting the tone and overall imagery for the rest.

New Born

"New Born" is my alternate ending.  The figurative man, letting go of his pain could decide to start over into a bright new day.  Simplistic ending, maybe, but I've found that it really is a matter of just deciding each day.

So yes these are "self pitying little whimpers", but they were quite cathartic for me to do. I had hoped, and still hope, that they could be useful to others as well.

Crowds on canvas

Drones

acrylic on canvas
72x40

2000

Standing in the metro tunnel downtown Seattle during the morning commute, I looked around and saw the crowd around me.  We stood together with lifeless eyes, expressionless faces, waiting to get on a bus to get to our cubicles. This was the inspiration for the crowd paintings.  An earlier painting I had done for some friends also inspired how the crowds woud look. 

Elijah vs Prophets of Baal

acrylic on canvas

1999

The Salmon and the Sheep

acrylic on canvas

10x40

2001

Blinded by Greed

acrylic and coins on canvas

2001

This one was a part of a bigger piece that I had done for a UNICEF benefit show.  I really wasn't happy with the piece when I brought it to the gallery but I had just made the deadline.  After the show ended and I brought this home, and cut it into pieces. The resulting fragments were more successful. 

Commuter

mixed media in wax

2002

Ok, so this isn't a crowd, but it was one of three pieces where the other two were crowds. Unfortunately I didn't get an image of the other two before they were sold at a benefit auction in Denver. 

Rat Trap

acrylic on canvas

2 panels 50x60 each

2001-2002

Crucifixion

mixed media on canvas

38x44

2003-2004

The figures on the crosses are painted plaster. For the crowd I used an image transfer process using the following two photographs. One representing humility and repentance, and the other a prideful fuck-you. 

Maps

Trade Routes

Acrylic on canvas

20x20

2003

The idea for this series began while reading Lord of the Rings.  These aren't maps of Middle Earth or even anywhere on our Earth, but "lands" that developed organically on each canvas.

Tundra

acrylic on canvas

34x36

2004

Peninsula

acrylic on canvas

30x54

2004

Farmlands

acrylic on canvas

35x46

2004

Islands 1

acrylic on canvas board

8x10

2006

Islands 2

acrylic on canvas board

8x10

2006

Islands 3

acrylic on canvas board

8x10

2006

Leer

Starting with this quick sketch....

Leer

Oil on Flannel

48x52

The Stargate

It started with a picture frame.

I received this picture frame as a white elephant gift at a Christmas party a few years back. I liked the movie, never really got into the tv show, but wasn't fanboy enough to put a photo in this and place it on a shelf.  The idea that it could be useful kept it from Value Village, or another white elephant exchange.

A cast was made and put together two gates. The hard part was to make a tube of light to connect the gates. After several failed attempts I finally made a hollow resin tube, connected it to the gates, stuffed it with lights, plugged it in, and years of working on my Stargate came to an end.

Chase

40x30

Oil on canvas

Fire, Floods and Life

It seems appropriate for my first post to start with my first canvas.  I had just moved into a new house dubbed either the "happy meal" house, from the shape of the building, or the "mushroom" house, again from its shape but also from the mushroom boarder on the walls around the dining room kitchen area. My room like all the rooms were painted that stark renters white. A little side here, the previous year I lived in this house where I was allowed to paint the walls any color, so of course every room was a different color. So after living in such a colorful environment my new room felt like a sanatorium. I picked up a large canvas and some acrylic paints, tacked the canvas to the wall and started to experiment with the colors, shades, shadows, textures of this new to me medium. There wasn't some grand design to the piece at first, just trying to figure stuff out and live in color. I was still working on it when I moved again and then had to figure out how do I stretch canvas. At first I ignored the problem by rolling it out on the floor to paint it, but I eventually did get 1x1 at the home depot to build a frame.

I've always like how this piece ended out, a little big, but I like it. (give a hint on size, the door frame in the painting is the outline of my closet door from the mushroom house) It's rare for me to actually talk about some deep meaning in a painting. With that said, I'll simply say that the painting is found in the title, Fire Floods and Life, two forms of judgements and life being through a small plain door.