Mental dissection of an older painting

I made this painting, Llora y Llora, back circa 2009, before I'd started selling my art. If you've been following any of my recent work on this blog, my official art website, my Facebook Business Page, or my Instagram account (@LadydeanArt), you'll know that my style and composition have evolved quite a bit since this painting was completed. I don't even have this piece logged in my inventory, and I don't actively show it.

A few months ago, tired of the painting sitting in a corner gathering dust, I got the brilliant idea to re-purpose it while maintaining the basic composition. I'd bring it up-to-date by adding more bold shapes and colors and marks to it... I'd make the background more interesting... I even figured I'd cover the frame in foil to avoid having to break it out, thus enabling me to paint on the canvas as-is.

Since then, I've read a few internet articles regarding the different options available to an artist to deal with old inventory, including this interesting post on red dot blog. It got me thinking about my as-yet-unfulfilled plans for Llora y Llora, and I found myself questioning whether I really wanted to alter the work. I decided to hang the painting on the wall in my bedroom and spend some time with it... staring at it... contemplating it. The more I looked at it, the more I realized that I don't want to change a thing about it. I don't want to enhance the background, or add contemporary shapes, or brighten any part of it. To do so might threaten the charm that it already has; a charm that goes beyond the hand-built frame my dad made for it that I stained myself with a beautiful green.

This painting captures a moment in my development as an artist, in terms of use of color, placement of line, treatment of composition, etc. The brushstrokes have a particular boldness that I was trying on as I painted on this canvas; it may not immediately seem like I was pushing myself artistically as I made this painting, but the marks remind me that this was the case. Furthermore, the manner in which the subject matter was treated appropriately reflects a sadness I was feeling as I lost my cat, my romantic relationship, and then grandmother, and was in the process of losing one of my favorite friends, who I managed to show this painting to before he passed a few months later. He loved the wispy look of the tip of the nose, and the way those brushstrokes danced with the background. I suspect that to alter this painting would also be to compromise its emotional integrity...

Llora y Llora, 40 x 30 inches, acrylic on stretched canvas with hand-built frame. Photo by Steve Lundberg.

If Only George Could See Her Now...

Bitch with Fish Hands and Dreadlocks, in a custom-made frame that my dad and I built.

Frame... Work in Progress!

Here's the frame with two coats of ebony stain on it and two coats of shellac. I have since put a third coat of shellac and wow does it look good! Time to seal her in the frame and post an updated pic to the blog!

Bitch Gets a Frame!!

Bitch needs a frame... I painted her in three hours back in June of 2007 at the behest of George, who wanted me to paint and not stop to "fix" things. She's painted in enamel (motorcycle decal paint) on a piece of luan plywood that is four feet by four feet and part of the luan has splintered in the back, so she is getting a permanent home (maple frame she will be permanently set into) to save her structural integrity. I'm staining the frame ebony right now... gawd I hate the waiting between coats. I have zero patience for these types of things!

The title of this piece is Bitch with Fish Hands and Dreadlocks.

Something Worth Posting

And then there's some decent work that I would rather sell than destroy, like this little gem. This is another piece that I didn't realize until today had not been posted to this blog yet; I painted it in 2009 and as far as the meaning behind it... well, I'll let you figure it out! The title is: "Te Gusto, ¿de Verdad?" which translated into English means: "You like me, right?"

Technically it's not great, but it's not bad either. Stylistically I could do better, but all the same this melts my heart a bit with its light, visual witticism. In short, I wouldn't change it. Any takers?

48 x 24 inches acrylic applied with brush on prestreched canvas: $225.00.

Another Artist, Gone from this World

Rest in Peace, Robert Vaughn (branded as Robert Von). I posed for him for the better part of a year a few years back. I don't know that he made many pieces of work based on me, but I do know that these works-in-progress were of me. (The painting in the background to the right is not me, although it looks like it could be!)