After The Painted Word

After reading Tom Wolfe's novel, The Painted Word, I am now more than ever motivated against abstract and conceptual art, to the extent that these can be avoided and art can remain fun to create. But if Wolfe is right that:

• modern art has devolved into an optically flat, anti-realistic, marginally creative commercial tool 
• where form follows the function of making it big while pretending to remain small
• by divorcing itself from experienced reality
• to decorate the walls of mansions
• to pacify plutocrats,

then screw that. I’m helping revive social realism. With plenty of brushstrokes.

Rumination

Fiery female

Redhead

Portrait of Jane's mom

Saturation study

Scott #1

Portrait study

Tonal studies

Painting ideas

These are ideas to consider painting, in order of preference at the time of last edit.

1. Human experience
   1. Satirical objectivist series via prideful portraits.
   2. Trash as beautiful objects.
2. Rural/advanced tech
   1. Portrait of cyborg farmer.
   2. Farmer made of 0's & 1's.
   3. Farm made of LEGOs.
3. Information overload
   1. Paint by conditional statement (paint by number w/ 1 || 3).
   2. Neurons with calming pictures in the middle (e.g., ocean).
4. Transformation series
   1. Animal/computer.
   2. Human/computer.
   3. Human/animal.
5. Real-life superheroes and supervillains
   1. Ayn Rand as Superwoman (SuperRand).
   2. Hitler as monster. (related)

Drawing for upcoming painting

Same drawing, two photos. The painting will be based on drawings. My goal is to learn to analyze and remember what I see, like artists had to do before photography.

Study for self-portrait

Half happy, half angry. Drawn with calligraphy pen.

Still life in progress

Beggarbot, complete

For now, at least.

The simplest solution for turning her into a cyborg or robot was to make one eye shine, as if beaming with light from within. I thought of this today, after I had already cleaned my brushes, when I remembered that Picasso had done the same thing to symbolize the gift of prophesy. I like that the indication is subtle. And I decided to leave the bowl in her hand as a bowl and not some electronic device or something else that a robot might hold because, in the future, robots might consume human food. So this makes the question of feeding a starving robot all the more interesting and provocative.

Beggarbot, update and close-up

Darks are more accurate in the close-up. Not sure yet what to do with the background.

Beggarbot (detail)

I'm getting tired of the name. Besides, she isn't a robot, yet.

Beggarbot, the continuation

I'm tempted to stop here.

Beggarbot, the beginning

This is (hopefully) the first in a series, each piece the result of randomly combining social issues, in this case poverty and information overload. Yes, she will become a robot. Or android.

New self-portrait update

Break time! Think I'm overworking it.

Color Continues

This seems to be going well but I'm not sure how well. Or when to stop.