Times Square Paintings.

So, I've finally started work on my project inspired by NYC...

I'm doing a series of small drawings based off of the many photos and drawings I got of Times Square and the rest of the city. I just can't forget all that electricity, all the energy, all those people and lights. The city is something I've looked too in photos and in memory for inspiration. I keep coming back to it. My brief experience in Tokyo as high schooler, to all the photos I've seen of Seoul and Hong Kong, and now I've finally experienced NYC.

There are all 8x14, acrylic and pastel on stonehenge paper.  Some of these might be reworked or tweeked, as I plan to eventually bring them all together in an installation-like piece.You can kind of see where the bottom two are going to eventually line up if I go ahead with that idea.

Storm King Art Center

On the last day of our trip, we went off to Storm King. It was really amazing to see so many large scale pieces of work, but it was hotter than hell, and most of us had worn jeans expecting cooler weather. We took the tram around the park, and then did some wandering of our own. I wandered to Andy Goldsworthy's Storm King Wall, which was quite cool, and over to Maya Lin's Wave Field... Which was amazing. It really did look like a sea made of grasses, especially since it was a bit over grown. Alenander Caulder's large scale pieces were cool, though I wasn't impressed with De Survero's. Mostly because my sculpture professor makes fun of him so much. I see why- it's well designed, but there's nothing too exciting or interesting about it.

 

Midnight in Manhatten

On the last night of NYC, I wanted to go back to Time Square and draw, since I'd wasted a lot of the time I had there wandering and getting lost and just being way overwhelmed. My teacher was a tad bit peeved at me for that bi of a stunt( I hadn't told her I was going...whoops) and I had also spent that entire day wandering by myself as well, I decided it best to stay in and chill out. I found myself on top of a 14 story building in the middle of Manhattan, no more than 3 blocks from Time Square. As the night went on, I had fun watching people in all the open windows, and I noticed that each light that was on was someone that was awake, just like I was.

I pointed this out to the drunk girl shouting obscenities at pedestrians below. Her mind was blown, and she quickly sat down with me to enjoy the night quietly in a drunken, contemplative stupor. She saw a light turn on about 1am, and her mind was blown again.

These were all done with water soluble graphite, and micron pen. 

Classmates and passers by

In NYC, there was a lot of downtime. In cafes, museums, and some central park nap time. A lot of times I just drew my classmates, teacher, or other pedestrians that were interesting. Mostly very gestural and just figure practice, but I've always loved gesture, and bringing the motion of a figure to the page.

Pencil, water soluable graphite, and micron pens. <3<3 

After the jump. 

Traveling

 Drawings done via travel, airport, plane, train, bus ect. during the NYC trip. I chose random forms, lines and objects I saw passing by and started to draw as I attempted to arrange the page in an interesting way.

 

Micron pen, at the airport.

More after break. 

Time Square Drawings

Recently, I had the amazing chance to spend a week in NYC. I'm currently sifting through my sketchbook and scanning groups of drawins that turned out well. These are all from near the end of the trip, when I wandered out at night, and sat down in Time Square to do some drawings. 

I don't know. There was something absolutely overwhelming about Time Square. It might be the absolute sea of people, all the lights, adds, noises and smells, but I finally found a place that embodies what I've been trying to figure out. There's such an electric feeling, with such a bombardment of information, adds, and videos. There's people all over, some ignoring you, some hassling you to come to their shop, bar, or show. When the metaverse is created, it will look like times square. 

Progression of a semester.

So, this semester was completely self-guided in painting. I decided to explore the notion of human relationship with technology, our dependancy on, and how it interacts and effects our space.

 Saddly, a little after the quarter into the semester, I had a huge panic attack, destroyed all my work, and was left to finish 2 paintings within 2 weeks. The first two paintings are these works, and well..they aren't so great. I was working from digital photoshop collages, and just didn't seem to have the time to develope them the way I wanted.

 28x38

oil on canvas....

This one is WAY more sucessful. It starts to convey what I want, and has some interesting ideas behind it.

For the second half of the semester, I switched gears, and worked on both paintings side by side. One, a more realistic painting, with more concept via color, composition and form. The other, an interrior space inspired by Rossen Crow, showing the fight of the digital plane vs a quiet, daily space.

 

36x48

oil on canvas.

  

48x60

oil on canvas.

boyya. This this is HUGE