Self Portrait

Self Portrait, 2012, Acrylic on Canvas, 30" x 40"

After not having posted anything on here for quite a while, I thought that it was about time to show some of my newer work.  This painting is based on a photo I took of myself with my camera phone. It was completed this summer and was a very fun painting to work on. As the painting is a self portrait, I will also take this chance to shamelessly promote my website that we have all been waiting for...

www.carlvestweber.com

Over the next couple of weeks I will randomly blog as I tweak the site with new work and random goodies. Enjoy.

Pipe Cleaner:

Over the last half of the summer, I have been taking a class called Picasso to Pollack. It's basically a class focusing on modern art made during the first half of the twentieth century. Even though I found myself familiar with most of the artists and artworks discussed in the class, I did find the class to be an excellent refresher course on the things that I did already know while informing me about the things that I didn't. The piece below is a piece that I have been familiar with for a better part of my adult life. The first time I saw this piece, I was very confused. The French text below says "This is not a pipe". I remember thinking to myself after the first time I saw it, "Yes it is!" It seems I had a very hard time differentiating between a pipe and a depiction of a pipe.

Rene Magritte, The Treachery of Images, 1928-29, oil on canvas

Now, after being in college for more than five years now, the difference seems immediately obvious. Well, most of the time. Every once in a while, I see this painting and I think to myself, "This is not a pipe? No, that's wrong. It is a pipe. What else could it be? Yes it is". The piece below represents something that I have been thinking about making for a very long time but never got around to it until now.

Pipe I, pen and collage on canvas, 2012

After I finished the piece, I still found myself feeling a bit unsatisfied. Soon, I began to cut out more shapes that looked like pipes to move around on blank pieces of paper.

Pipe II, collage on paper, 2012

As my mind started to wander I couldn't help but thing about sex and the subconscious. That led me to this weird little collage below. I'm sure the surrealists would be proud.

Pipe III, collage on paper, 2012

After that last one, I felt the urge to go in another direction...

Pipe IV, collage and watercolor on paper, 2012

I had originally intended to make an exact copy of the last image with the added text. However, I hadn't paid attention to the fact that I had run out of pipes. I found myself with this interesting little piece on my hands. I decided that I had an adequate response to Magritte. It was a good day in the studio.

Pipe V, pen and watercolor on paper, 2012

Deer Diary:

My time spent in the screenprinting lab has been an enjoyable one. I completed my first two editions of screen prints last week. That was pretty exciting.

Buck, screenprint, 2012

The print above was a result of my first four layer print. It was based off of an earlier drawing for another project. I liked it so much that I thought that it might work as a good experiment with screenprinting. It was. I tried not to worry that the layers didn't line precisely up with each other. I tend to like it when accidents happen in the studio.

Artist's Proof, screenprint, 2012

This was an accident that happened when I wasn't paying attention. I felt that it did some interesting things that a normal print did not do...

Buck, screenprint, 2012

This is the second edition of prints where I incorporated the previous accident into into the process. I toned the red-orange down significantly to try to match some of the tones in the original watercolor. I liked the result but I still think that there is something very interesting about the original accident. Those bright red-orange patches of color from the first edition really popped out of the page in a cool way.

Buck, hand-painted screen print, 2012

When I printed the second batch of screenprints, I made a couple extra prints with just the line drawing on it. I painted watercolor paintings on top of them a couple of days later. This was my favorite.

For the last week or so, I've been putting most of my artistic attention to dachshunds. Spending most of my Wednesdays in the screenprinting lab has had an influence on my work as of late.

Twins, screenprint on paper, 2012

 There is nothing like the satisfaction of looking at the product of a full day's work.

Studio-cam

Dancing Dogs, collage on paper, 2012

One of my favorite creatures in ancient Greek mythology is Cerberus, the three-headed watchdog at the gates of Hades. I like the idea that you couldn't really prove yourself as a hero until you figured out a way to get past this beast. This little collage is a hybrid of the Cerberus myth, the Three Graces, and our dog at home, Chloe.

Twins, collage on paper, 2012

This collage was an early version of the screenprint. Here I am thinking about the Cerberus myth along with the ideas associated with a rorshack test. Alot of people tell me that it looks like a mustache. I think this is interesting because I have invested a good amount of artistic attention the the concept of beards.

Hot Dog Fight, collage on paper, 2012

This is just weird and funny.

Long Walk on the Beach, watercolor and collage on paper,  2012

Uniform Coyote, watercolor and collage on paper, 2012

Fashion Coyote, watercolor and collage on paper, 2012

So stylish, those coyotes.

Shoutout Coyote, collage on paper, 2012

This one seems very mystical to me.

David Coyote, collage on paper, 2012

This collage is part of a larger ongoing series that I have been working on since the beginning of the month. Over the next week or two, I will post some of my more favorite pieces out of this series.

YouArePrettyAwesome1, collage on paper, 2012

YouArePrettyAwesome1I, collage on paper, 2012

YouArePrettyAwesomeIII, collage on paper, 2012

YouArePrettyAwesomeIV collage on paper, 2012

YouArePrettyAwesomeV, photoshop, 2012

This little batch of inspirational awesomeness was inspired by a watercolor painting I made about five years ago. My good friends Chris and Kelly have it hanging in their kitchen in Texas. They are still pretty awesome.

The Three Graces Vs The Black Square III, collage on paper, 2012

The Three Graces Vs the Black Square IV, collage on paper, 2012


Here are just a few more variations on the theme using random bits of what-have-you that I had in my studio. 

Kazimir Malevich, The Black Square, 1913

Rafael, The Three Grace, 1503

The Three Graces Vs The Black Square I, collage on paper, 2012

The Three Graces Vs The Black Square II, collage on paper, 2012

This is a project I played around with in the studio yesterday. I am currently taking a modern art history class where we discuss Kazimir Malevich among other things. His work, especially The Black Square was on my mind when I went in the studio. As I was shuffling through papers and collage materials, I came upon a copy of Raphael's The Three Graces. This is a painting that I have incorporated into my work on more than one occasion. The urge to combine the two was too hard to resist.

Deer, silkscreen on paper, 2012

Thanks to the help of a cool dude  named Alex Squire, I was able to have some fun with screen prints today. 

Green Knight, collage, 2012

Here is another collage inspired by the Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I am especially fond of the Green Knight's beard in this one.

 Eyebeams, Collage on Paper, 2012

Here is a collage that I worked on while I was thinking about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.  The approach is a little different but the idea is pretty much the same. I don't think the Green Knight actually shoots beams out of his eyes in the poem, but it would be cool if he did.

Green Knight, watercolor and ink on paper, 2012

Fox, watercolor and ink on paper, 2012 

Here are two more drawings inspired by Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The Green Knight had special powers in that he could get his head chopped off and put it back on. Pretty cool, huh? The fox's special power is that he is a trickster of sorts and he plays hard to get. The fox also reminds me of that scene in Herzog's Grizzly Man. I wont spoil it for you if you haven't seen it. 

Javelina, watercolor and ink on paper, 2012

If anyone has read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the wild boar is another creature that is featured in the hunting scenes. I have never seen a wild boar before but I have seen a javelina.

Buck, watercolor and ink on paper, 2012

This is an illustration that I completed a couple of weeks ago. I just finished a class on medieval romance literature and King Arthur. I had a great time in that class! This deer is a part of a series of illustrations that I made for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I enjoyed the story so much that I had to make some drawings to accompany it. I will continue to post illustrations from this series throughout the next couple of weeks.