Doodle of the Day - The Tormented Artist Cliche

somewhere in los angeles among the mix of actors, stereotypes, and expectations, there are creatives who think they need to play the role of crazy tormented artist in order to succeed. i suppose if you can play the part and mold yourself into that perfect cliche, people might follow to embrace you as an artist. but for the rest of us normal-looking folks, we're just tormented. lol.  

i don't mean that we talk to little birds on our shoulders that only we can see, or that we cut our ears off and mail them to past lovers -- i mean tormented in that we are consumed by creation and destruction. put aside common money sob stories or substance abuse which may apply to people in any profession. art is not a "fun" pastime; it is a person projecting his anger, frustration, compassion, and love.

artists ponder their creations everyday, even during mundane daily tasks. they think about the next steps to take in the current pieces they're working on. they contemplate destroying their work. they struggle with insecurities about whether they have any talent at all. they question what the heck is the point of creating art anyway. they fight their feelings when the feelings disrupt the flow of a piece. or they barf up their emotions in the form of scribbles in their sketchbooks.

tormented in that sense.

i suppose a lot of my recent work isn't quite the eye-pleasing decoration that people like to put on their walls. fuck it. if i wanted to decorate i'd be a party planner.

New Work, Nietzsche And The Snakecharmer

When I was a kid I wanted to be a snakecharmer. Something about the danger, society's unexplained phobia, and the mystery of snakes enchanted me. I roamed the California hillsides looking for snakes and found several. Somehow I avoided the toxins of rattlers and only suffered superficial bites from nonvenomous serpents.

Years later I remain enchanted by snakes, but I suppose it is of a more distant respect for them. They remain mysterious. What they represent symbolically or metaphorically to people and in art and literature, throughout the centuries of our existence, continues to fuel my intrigue for the creatures.

Snakes have been the subjects in art around the world since primitive times. What is it about snakes that has bewitched our cultures? Perhaps it is that snakes are primitive. But I think it is also more than just that - snakes are symbolic of the truth.

Friedrich Nietzsche wrote: "The truth is ugly: we have art so that we are not ruined by the truth."

The Snakecharmer, 45" x 36.5", oil on canvas, 2012.

The following are details of the painting, click on image for larger view:

And this is what the painting looked like at a very early stage:

Thank you for reading about the paintings, sculptures, drawings, works in progress, reviews, Doodle of the Day, and other art by Los Angeles artist Lucas Aardvark Novak. To see older blog posts and other doodles, click HERE :)

Doodle of the Day - Love In An Elevator

Last week I experienced a very awkward moment, standing next to a woman with a poor pussycat clamped in her armpit. And although I do enjoy a good classic rock song every now and then, in some situations it should be avoided. A perfect example is in the elevator music! Have a good work week...

Thank you for reading about the paintings, sculptures, drawings, works in progress, reviews, Doodle of the Day, and other art by Los Angeles artist Lucas Aardvark Novak. To see older blog posts and other doodles, click HERE :)

Doodle of the Day - Fourth of July Aftermath

In the days following Fourth of July, the fireworks continue to discharge in my neighborhood. Over the last couple weeks, the fireworks stand down the road next to the Food4Less has done well in terms of business. But I live in Los Angeles, a place where disputes are sometimes resolved in the streets. And I've come to realize, that if you plan on settling a score on your own terms, this time of year might be a good time to do it...

Thank you for reading about the paintings, sculptures, drawings, works in progress, reviews, Doodle of the Day, and other art by Los Angeles artist Lucas Aardvark Novak. To see older blog posts and other doodles, click HERE :)

New Work, and the Kandinsky Observation

Metamorphosis, 25" x 40", oil on canvas, 2012.

The great Wassily Kandinsky once stated: "The true work of art is born from the 'artist': a mysterious, enigmatic, and mystical creation. It detaches itself from him, it acquires an autonomous life, becomes a personality, an independent subject, animated with a spiritual breath, the living subject of a real existence of being."

Kandinsky's convictions are most easily demonstrated when visiting museums - certain works of art seem to be human and radiate immortality. These are the timeless pieces that have transcended subjective appeal, becoming globally accepted as great works of art over the decades and centuries.
 
Over the past decade of art making, I have felt that my own creations have detached themselves from me and taken on their own lives and personalities. I operate like I am a portal and allow the work to be completed through me, taking on its own form and making its own conclusions, even if I begin the painting with a vision of what I think the end product should be.  But rather than the Heavenly "mysterious, enigmatic, and mystical creations ... animated with a spiritual breath", perhaps my creations can be better described as little monsters, rejects, or riffraffs.

It fulfills the creative drive nevertheless.

Metamorphosis (detail):

Metamorphosis (detail):

Thank you for reading about the paintings, sculptures, drawings, works in progress, reviews, Doodle of the Day, and other art by Los Angeles artist Lucas Aardvark Novak. To see older blog posts and other doodles, click HERE :)

Doodle of the Day - Camping On Catalina Island

Catalina Island, off the coast of southern California, is a beautiful place. A few friends and I went there to camp over the weekend. We each loaded our tents, sleeping bags, food, and supplies in our hikers' backpacks, took the boat ride over to the island, and got on a bus to our campsite.

Just off of those rocks, in the above picture, I caught a decent size calico bass in the middle of a kelp paddy (using a swimbait lure), good enough to filet and cook over the campfire. Overall, the trip was a great success - hot sun, some hiking, some kayaking, and lots of lounging around. In the midst of my lounging, I contemplated island life. But these thoughts reminded me of Lonesome George, and his unfortunate departure from our world about a week ago, after over a hundred years of life.

Lonesome George was an island dweller on Pinta Island, part of the Galapagos Islands archipelago off Ecuador. He was a giant tortoise over 100 years old, the last of his subspecies, and the subspecies is now believed to be extinct after George died last week. Interestingly, the subspecies was already thought to be extinct until a biologist discovered George in 1971. This led to attempts to provide George with a mate. He lived in captivity with two female giant tortoises of a close subspecies, but for reasons unknown, never mated with them. George remained solitary and died alone.

I suppose theories have been thrown around for why Georgey never took a fancy to the ladies. Perhaps he was racist? Probably not. Maybe he was just too old?

As I sat on Catalina, these were thoughts that floated through my mind. And then I think the answer came to me in the Doodle of the Day:

Rest in peace, Senor George.

Thank you for reading about the paintings, sculptures, drawings, works in progress, reviews, Doodle of the Day, and other art by Los Angeles artist Lucas Aardvark Novak. To see older blog posts and other doodles, click HERE :)