It’s been a trip(tych)…
As mentioned in our previous blog, here’s a little detail about the other painted works within the XV Gallery Series + Collective Newness. These can be categorized as a set of mini series. The first of these works, a triptych (set of three) of palm trees. So let’s get into some details…
I think it’s interesting how some of the little moments in life you take in just can lift your mood. In the past I’ve had several friends mention to me how just the sight of a palm tree gives them that feeling of happiness. Inspired by that notion, phase one of this particular palm painting project is giving me just that. Memories of several instances where I’ve viewed palm trees from visiting places like Miami, LA, and Santa Monica come rushing back.
Taking these moments and turning it into a scene split in three, I wanted to convey openness to interpretation in the Palma de Sombra series. There is no distinction between day or night, although it may seem like a night scene. But who am I to tell you if the flecks of golden light are the sun or the moon?! What do you see? I wanted viewers to appreciate the rich and vibrant colors to take them into a mindset that would embody happiness. Overall, the scene may be split in three, but each work can standalone independently.
Take a look...
Random moment to share.. It was mid-January, a work trip to Miami, Florida. Weather was beautiful by the way. Now, I’ve seen people climb mountains, sometimes a tree (you know, the kind where the clichéd cat is stuck in), but I have never seen someone just so driven (to what I am assuming is either from hunger or sheer, personal entertainment) to scale a large palm tree on the sidewalk avenues in Miami, with such commitment and deranged vigor to retrieve what he believed to be a coconut off a palm tree. Although I was not able to see the outcome of his scaled quest from the backseat of my Über, I can imagine that coconut was such a prize!
Okay, so back on track…
Ironically, not until after it’s completion, I realized that the last set of art works from this pour-paint series had me reminiscing about the creation of the XV VUE Series. Unlike the XV VUE Series, I took each canvas as its own versus taking all canvases to create one image. I did, however, want to embody a theme of some sorts when it came to expressing the color palettes and techniques. Almost like an anthology series of American Horror Story.
Let me elaborate…
The themes blended ideas of space, literature, and mythology. More will come clear in the descriptions, but that is the foundation (it’s also a bit evident in the titles given for each of the eleven pieces). So without further ado, let’s dive into this collective…
To kick off this collective, let’s start with one of my favorites, Alien Leather. Over the past few months I’ve been intrigued by the idea of space. This particular painting played on layers of texture. Once it was completed, it’s overall appearance gave off the concept of hide or leather. Paired with hues of blues, it gave off both an extraterrestrial and alien-esque look. Together, Alien Leather seemed like the most appropriate title.
Segwaying into other avenues through literature works, I have an affinity to the usage of certain words that seem relative to time periods and moments. Take Shakespeare’s Tempest for example. Just the sheer wording is powerful. That’s why when I titled Tempest Galaxy, you can imagine a storm-like galaxy of ocean wave movements. It embodies the chaos of what we can imagine to be what a tempest storm would look like in space! Then I started to think about other visual words that conveyed visual imagination. With Cosmic Abyss, it depicts a movement that could be of the beginnings of a blackhole. This canvas painting has such vibrancy that is beginning to be devoured by darkness.
Other concepts when it came to its design and colors derived from ancient times. Artworks such as Relic Obscure and Vesuvius Magma give a nod to the idea of time period pieces. Although the Relic Obscure piece has the same galaxy idea, I wanted to give it an antiqued look with metallic hints within its canvas. It gives the feeling of ancient relics with royalty-inspired colors blended in the background. Vesuvius Magma may be a bit violent, but the explosive and eruptive scene is a nod to the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius over the ancient city of Pompeii. The hints of green represent the greenery or life being consumed by this volcanic chaos.
From there, I wanted to play with the design technique further. You can see these in Aqueous Elevations, Obsidian Koi, and Wicked Everglades. Aside from using landscape-like designs, I wanted to keep the idea of nature and movement. In Aqueous Elevations I took this colorful and iridescent palette and layered an aqueous webbing that portrayed mountainous silhouettes. In Wicked Everglades, I wanted to portray a scene of ominous shrouds of movement. Almost like liquid greenery moving as smoke through the canvas. At this point, I’m sure you think my thought process is one that isn’t so normative. In the creation of Obsidian Koi, it was actually made side-by-side to Vesuvius Magma. When pairing the obsidian-like black with the bold and energetic orange, I immediately had the thought of a volcanic koi fish. The patterns in this design play on movement, but also can portray the koi fish scales in rippled water.
And then finally, the concept of mythology. The three works, Mosaic Hydra, Fated Mythos, and Hera’s Splendour all have mythological backstories. The Mosaic Hydra is inspired by the multi-headed serpent-like monster with its design pattern resembling scales. The colors depicted gave me a stain-glass feel, and it just seemed appropriate in its namesake. Hera’s Splendor is a nod to the goddess Hera. In Greek mythology, the peacock is associated with Hera. It’s said that Hera created the peacock when one of her trusted watchmen, the hundred-eyed giant, was killed by Hermes. Mourning his death, she placed eyes on the tail of a peacock as tribute to the loyalty and service of Argus. In closing this collective, another of my favorites is Fated Mythos. This scene depicts the underworld-like landscape to the Sisters of Fate, the Moirai. These three sisters represent the cycle of life--birth, life, and death. I can envision the Fates in their routine clairvoyance as each sister would spin the thread, measure the thread, and cut the thread to keep order and balance.
So that’s it! An intensive detailing of each canvas from these collectives and what I wanted to portray. Having these works of art in the XV Gallery is the perfect addition to XV’s third year anniversary! And mark your calendars, on November 26, 2021, there are some new additions and changes to the XV Print Lab that may showcase the best of the XV Gallery artworks!