Two New Works and a Statement About Art

It's tempting and easy to come home after a long day of work, sit on the couch, watch tv, and veg out until it is time to wake up and repeat. But this is what they want; this is how the system and their messages are reinforced. Create 9-5 jobs (or in some cases 8-8 jobs), wages enough to stay afloat but not to own property. Bombarded with advertisements and consumerist culture, keep the masses hard at work, content, but afraid. Don't ask questions and don't create dissonance. Don't stray. Follow the herd, shut up, and keep up. 

Be the honest hardworking man. Such a noble and honorable-sounding idea. Yet, behind the scenes, corruption and contamination of power, degrees of power at all levels. The honorable hardworking man is too busy silently following the path to his grave. He fits the mold. The arts are neglected, and the artist is rejected.

I think of myself as an honorable hardworking man, and as an attorney in California, it is my duty to understand society, social policy, and the powers that be. But as an artist in Los Angeles, it is my duty to break the surface-cover, and explore the depths behind the masks. We as individuals are not sheep; we are more than the things we buy - we are layers upon layers with similarities, subtle differences, and striking contrasts.

    

Dimension, 30" x 28", oil on acrylic sheet, 2013:

Organism, 28" x 30", oil on acrylic sheet, 2013:

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 :)

Nocturne for the Lunar New Year

Continuing the series of abstract paintings on plastic sheeting, this is the latest completion. 

Nocturne 02-13, 30" x 28", oil on plastic sheet, 2013.

For the purposes of this series, I prefer plastic sheeting over canvas. The plastic sheet offers an ultra smooth surface, lacking any form of tooth that canvas has. Whereas on canvas the paint can be dragged with a brush just catching the tooth, the plastic surface picks up every brushstroke. The plastic sheet allows me to scrape away paint more effectively, or I can use a stiff dry brush to scumble through wet paint, to reveal the layers beneath and create delicate subtleties. 

In this painting, there is no representational image to latch onto, nor is there a rational explanation which I expect the view to get. But although abstract, the painting is a record of something.

I suppose the title Nocturne can be considered a reference to James Whistler who often painted scenes with titles similar to musical compositions. When Whistler was questioned by a lawyer who criticized one of his paintings for lacking beauty, Whistler responded, "What is the particular beauty of the picture? I don't think I could make it clear to you, any more than a musician could explain the beauty of a harmony to a person who had no ear."

Happy Lunar New Year, and thanks for viewing.

January - The Gray Painting

This is not a gray painting. It is numerous layers of colors, built up, scraped away, built up, and scraped away, to create subtle effects in texture and color. The abundance of gray is what makes other colors stand out, as in life, when ongoing neutrality is cut by highs and lows.

It was painted on plastic sheeting, and when flipped over, the several layers of different colors are visible from the early stages of the painting.

January, 32" x 44", oil on plastic sheeting, 2012-2013.

January, left detail:

January, right detail:

January, lower 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 :)