9:43 AM. Looking backwards and forwards in imagery. I’m throwing into the art blender disparate things like the renaissance, kung fu and a target design resulting in an odd mix. The trick is to orchestrate it all into a cohesive visual. Revisiting equals sampling.
2:30 PM. Color and stripes. Someone asked me about colors and how I arrive at certain color schemes. In this case, the original book cover had an overall cool palette with the blue border and blue green background behind the author’s portrait. It was natural to take variations of the original hues and trust that it would work out. More importantly was how far should I go in overtaking the original design and still making the end result readable. That’s why the angle of the stripes had to mimic the tilt of the face and frame Joyce’s mouth creating a subtle emphasis.
12:26 PM. Similarities by coincidence. I try to stay in the habit of carrying a camera at all times. I have a camera with my phone just like everyone else but my favorite is the digital Fujifilm X100T. It gets around a lot and what a lens!
6:42 PM. A new generation on top of the old. All gouache on paper. The way I did it was to paint the book cover as closely as possible then I would paint additions on top.
3:50 PM. Using decoration and symbolism for a narrative. Here’s Freud, hypnotic rays and another fake book painted in gouache. My focus was on the intense gaze and everything else fell into place. The imagery is a suggestion of showing the “power of suggestion”.
12:56 PM. Working with camouflage. I used the black bar at the bottom of the original book design in order to continue this gouache painting allowing Bowie’s face to peek through the openings. The movie version by Nicholas Roeg from the ‘70s is great. Its plot involves an alien visiting our earth in search of water for his dying planet and family. Right now, Los Angeles is experiencing its own lack of water due to 4 consecutive years of drought. No one’s dying that I’m aware of but the coincidences between cinema and reality are surreal.
12:56 PM. Another reason to explore layers. Interesting things can happen and in this case, there’s an upside down heart shape on top of a paperback book cover. The book is Dirty Harry and a crime/action movie by the same name starred Clint Eastwood. Actually, I don’t know if the book preceded the movie.
12:55 PM. A return to gouache paint. I began by thinking about my recent use of shapes, patterns and repetition and I’ve always had a thing about books. The two subjects have merged and formed a new kind of library. Now these painted versions have new covers with a twist. This famous novel started as The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.
11:17 AM. A new find. Making use of additional resources in the background and this one is a watering can. I’m liking a little whimsy from time to time.
11:47 AM. Again. Looking closely, there’s the obvious repetition but also the appearance of textures. Each section of textures has established identities with one dominant and divisive diagonal group.