Tag Archives: wine painting

Hybrid Art?

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hybrid |ˈhīˌbrid|

noun  a thing made by combining two different elements; a mixture : the final text is a hybrid of the stage play and the film.

• Biology the offspring of two plants or animals of different species or varieties, such as a mule (a hybrid of a donkey and a horse) : a hybrid of wheat and rye

• a hybrid car

We’re all familiar with hybrid cars, too many genetically modified seeds/ foods, and the mystifying array of dog breeds — but hybrid art?

I could argue, and argue well, that my art work is jam-packed with hybrids. I’ve used the “official” term, Mixed Media, for many years — but for my newest project hybrid seems a better fit.

A little more than a year ago I purchased an archival ink printer (Epson r2800). It’s an amazing, if somewhat temperamental, machine and it has paid for itself more than once over. To date I’ve created both paper and canvas prints of my original paintings and digital art. I’ve added hand sculpted elements to the canvas prints to make them more like my originals.

My newest series will go beyond that. I’ve painted a basic wine bottle still life and am about to start designing the individual labels. The planned labels revolve around ribbons/awards given in a dog show. There will be Best of Show Merlot, Best of Working Class Chardonnay featuring a boxer in plumber garb with a wrench, and Select Bitch Bordeaux featuring a sassy poodle in a  push-up bra. But I have more ideas for labels than the time needed to paint the bottles over and over again. And honestly — my work is MUCH more about the sculptural elements than the actual painting anyway 🙂  So — I’ve made a slightly smaller canvas print of the basic painting and will design a different set of labels to be painted directly onto the print.

Up till now, for lack of a better term, I’ve called my canvas creations “enhanced prints”, but the labels on the print will be originals in and of themselves, so what is the resulting work? And what do I call it? “Half Original, Half Print Hybrid” seems a bit cumbersome — and don’t even get me started on limited vs. open editions.

Suggestions anyone?

 

To see a selection of my work visit: http://www.etsy.com/shop/SilentMyloStudio

Thankfully, the music remains…

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I was sipping a glass of wine at a good friend’s house last night when a text came through that Whitney Houston had died. Neither of us had been big fans, nor could we immediately recall the titles of any of her hit songs, but a sadness set in nonetheless. That sadness returned again this morning after reading a front page article in The Buffalo News about her death. The article briefly stated the limited known facts surrounding her death, went on to the highlights of her career, and then delved into the darker side of her known drug abuse, her troubled marriage and the decline of her career. How difficult it must be to live such a public life! To have a spot light shine on your darkest days. 

The music world has lost more than one imperfect Diva in the recent past: Amy Winehouse in July 2011, Etta James this January — and now Whitney Houston.  Regardless of the inner demons these women wrestled with thankfully one thing will remain: music ……..beautiful, beautiful music.

I was listening to Etta James’ CDs when I painted this last month. You can find prints of this image along with others in my Etsy shop at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/SilentMyloStudio?ref=si_shop 

It’s in the details…..

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Here’s a detail of my new painting “Martini Girl Merlot”. I recently purchased an archival ink printer. In addition to giving me the ability to produce beautiful, archival reproductions, I’m able to pick and choose sections of paintings and make them into separate pieces of art. 

New Paintings

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The wee, cold, dark months of the year are an important time in the life of a “show artist”. While I haven’t run a full summer schedule of shows in a number of years the shows I have done have kept me very busy throughout the summer months. Likewise, the Holiday season — and the lead up to it — can be hectic. January through April tend to be slow months for sales — but they are BIG months for creating new work. Here’s one of the new paintings that I’ve completed over the past week.