Dream #24

Dream #24

View it here 

Dream #25

Oil On Canvas

20" x 30" x 1.5"

This painting was painted via a reference photo I took at the birdseed fashion smash benefit show. This is a portrait of Steffany Cook. The original photo is below. I am proud of my photography; I use a Canon 60d with a prime lens to literally take shots in the dark.

A few changes in the final painting meant it was ready for viewing. Though something didn't feel right. The background was to bright. So I changed it. I started adding a dark green background to the painting, letting the figure pop. I couldn't stop myself as I continued to add classical ships, and impressionist lighting. This came natural, as most of my work is very organic.

After letting the piece dry, it was finally ready for viewing, and honestly one of my best works. I enjoy the ships in the background, and the way the lighting feels like a classical painting.

The Art Hoarder

I remember going to art school, and having it drilled into my head, that everything I create could be valuable one day. I was told to sign everything, and keep good documentation of all my work. 

This is crazy talk, I was determining the current value of my work, like a hoarder determines the value of garbage. MAYBE someone somewhere will pay MILLIONS of dollars for this scribble on a napkin. Maybe yes, likely no. All I ended up doing was hoarding tons of bad drawings, paintings, and studies; stuff that I didn't even care about. Wasting my time taking pictures, and pretending I was doing something productive.

I would go to art shows and attempt to talk to gallery owners/artists (at their own shows mind you) about MY unprofessional art, in an unprofessional way. I realized I really looked desperate carrying around a hard copy of my portfolio, even if it was only in my car. I would have done anything just to say that I was represented by someone. 

When I dropped out of school, you know what I discovered, NO ONE CARES about my portfolio! They only care that I have one. What I did in art school, is not what I want to be showing off anyways. Going to school only proves that you are dedicated enough to do something with your life. It's a sentence on first dates. 

I see this nearly every day. I fell for this trap too. When I started off in the artworld. I was conditioned to think that someone somewhere is buying art. When you can't sell your work, or get into a gallery, you think that just haven't found the right person.... Though, you probably still have that derranged hoarder artist mindset, where all your work is worth millions...I personally have always had a good sense of time, my peers often try and get away with some ridiculous stories for why their work is priced so high. Trying to say that their charcoal portraits took some ridiculous amount of time to complete and that they can't sell it for less than two grand. Either a veteran or a brand new artist: the piece in question is a very personal piece, and the buyer is lucky that the artist isn't accounting for school, gas, and gallery fees.

Everything I made in art school was overpriced nonsense, valuable for learning, and at the time I thought it was pretty good. My recommendation is when you're done with artschool. Destroy burn or giveaway, all of your old artwork. That painting that I did in college that had so much "meaning" attached to it, is about as deep as a bathtub. 

When I attempt to create art that I'm not excited about, the art comes off as forced. This happens with all of my work eventually. It serves the purpose of being therapuetic during the time of creation, like the Greeks say, " Memento Mori", remember we will all die. 

As much as I like covering my house with my own artwork, and I think of all the hours that I've spent creating my artwork. I have to remember that I never created these works for money. Now while I would love to make a living to creating artwork. Often I find myself just attempting to recouperate costs so I can paint even more.

Thank you for your time,

Cedric C.

Painting Outer Space

This series has drawn a large influence from my past artwork. I realize now; that the separate stylistic choices I have made, were merely training. This series combines the techniques that I have learned. All the commercial styles that I have approached; pure experimentation. Each painting starts off by arbitrarily picking space scenes and alignments. I then divide up the scene purely based on intuition. Allowing the oils to dry, I return to the pieces individually. Adding more details, and glazes increasing the aesthetic quality. I love every minute of it. 

Final Image: Like the Romantic paintings of the old west, this speaks of the awe and grandeur of our universe. In the middle ground, we have battleships. They aren't the sci-fi versions, this isn't a real scene, they serve as symbols. The violence, destruction, it is so small. A minor part of reality.

I layed down the first layers onto this work, at first I wanted to paint a mountain scene floating on a platform, with a pretty sunset behind it. The two planets aligned themselves, and it felt like I had no choice. I painted the clouds in, and its reflection. The image came together as a symmetrical image. Now for the best part; the spice. Often a painter would stop at the image below, a pretty night scene, with water reflections. As I usually work, if something fits together too well, then I must ruin it, splatter paint on it. Things that are too right, are boring. I began adding in some ships, 3, as to stay away from even numbers. I made two of them come out of the clouds. It was still too boring. What makes sense now. Some vertebrae looking tendrils coming from the water? perfect.