Tattoo La Palooza / "Owlthulhu"

"Owlthulhu"

16" x 20"

Mixed Media on Aquabord

2012

TattooLaPalooza was back in June, so this post is a little behind. None the less, I had a blast there and the above image is a product of the recent studies I did with other art(ist) styles--namely Ashley Wood and Ukiyo-e--and I'm proud of what came out.

It seems I get a really good energy from working around other artists. Jeff Dekal, even though he is soft-spoken at these events, gave me some sound advice. I was working on sketched of owls and ideas as I hadn't decided on what I wanted to do. He came over and said, "You can prepare, but sometimes, you just have to just go for it". Simple enough, yes, but as I sat at the precipice of design and fear as it was live art being done with people walking by, it was the right thing I needed to hear to just get to work.

I even tried something new with the pallet knife for the moon coloring. The bars were an accidental measure to compensate for making the circle and owl so far to the left, but it invariably lent itself to the overall geometry and balance of the piece.

I'm happy of this amalgamation of the Sacred and the mythological with a touch of the Horrific. Glaucus, the Owl of Athena, combined with the symbolism of the moon (read: circle and outer space) and the addition of the Lovecraftian tentacled face meet in an interesting intersection. I loved watching the reactions from the people walking by who were attracted at first to the owl, and the moon, and the general appearance, but were then intrigued and even repulsed by the realization of that bit of green near its mouth...

Attraction and repulsion.

Accidental as it were, it worked out very well. My next piece is of a bear.

Advanced Painting / [Law] & [Battle]

IN PROGRESS
"Goddess Series: Iaculus Ipso [Law]"

© Vaughn Reynolds 2012

22" x 28" Oil on Canvas

Here is painting #2 of the Goddess Series in it's current state. I am working on this one and "Proelium Omni [Battle]" (pictured below) simultaneously. These two pieces are also the first pieces where I personally photographed the models for the paintings.

"Iaculus Ipso" is inspired by the heroic and tragic story of Hypatia of Alexandria. My original idea was to make a Goddess of Law, and by law I mean cosmic and scientific law, not the martial type. My professor gave me Hypatia to research and what I found blew my mind. I uncovered things even the professor didn't know about that totally fit into the direction I wanted to go. She was a Neoplatonist, and in this school of philosophy there is something that resonates strongly with me and will be a part of this painting (which isn't shown above yet!); this concept is known as,

"The One" -- "The totality of being may thus be conceived as a series of concentric circles, fading away towards the verge of non-existence, the force of the original Being in the outermost circle being a vanishing quantity." ... This is part of the reasoning for the solar system that will be represented as a 'halo' around the figures head, with her head being the sun, falling on the crown and third-eye chakra.

As for the fish, which you may ask about, they are coelacanth and represent Christianity, which consumed Hypatia in a horrific way.

IN PROGRESS
"Goddess Series: Proelium Omni [Battle]"

© Vaughn Reynolds 2012

22" x 28" Oil on Canvas

I had some loose ideas I had researched for inspiration to the Goddess of Battle. There are a number of Greek and Roman Goddesses whom fit the bill, but I wanted to make something wholly original.

I was fortunate enough to go on an art trip to Italy where we traveled through Rome, Florence, Verona, Venice and Milan. While in Rome we visited the Vatican museum. I would go into further detail on the trip, but that's for another blog post... So, while there I was finally exposed to classic sculptures and I was, to put it lightly, blown away. So I decided to keep an eye out for a figure to inspire the painting. I came across Juno Sospita and found the one that fit what I had envisioned!

Fortunately for me my roommate participates in Medieval festivals and competes in period combat. So, I borrowed his spear and his friends shield. Coupled with my cloak and a mask I had just purchased in Venice I had all the props for the model.

It was an interesting experience working with a person who had never modeled before, and since I'm new to shooting models for a painting I too was learning. It was fun and we ended up getting some great shots.

I chose to place her against a scrubland backdrop to give her more of the medieval European feel, rather than something too abstract. I have an idea I've been playing around with for her hair to make her seem more cosmic... but I'll leave that as a surprise!

Advanced Painting / "Faucibus Orc [Nature]"

"Goddess Series: Faucibus Orci [Nature]"

© Vaughn Reynolds 2012

22" x 28" Oil on Canvas

Here she is with her fur coat all grown in! Coincidentally I just started watching Season One (yes, I know) of The Game of Thrones. I've read book one of the series, and I'm excited about how its playing out in live action! Now I look at this painting above and think, "winter is coming!"