Exper E Mental: arts and crafts

another good outlet for bipolar ....

arts and crafts

Whoo Hooo

(just what the world needs huh another blogger posting mediocre crap ;-) ...

but psst ill let ya into a secret ;-)

come closer whilst i whisper into your ear....

I DONT CARE...

i make them (usually) for me ;-) unless of course im on the point of eviction, or i really really need something extra special as a present.

(for my grandson)

or perhaps if some one holds a gun to my head

i find arts and crafts can help a lot, providing i can get sufficiently motivated to get off my arse and actually do something... if nothing else it can provide hours of entertainment scaring the crap out of your shrink or those in the know of the real meanings behind the paintings.

scar, a depiction of the healing property's self harm

(no i am not advocating self harm in fact i am highly against it and any considering it need help a.s.a.p i am merely describing the painting)

any way, first i will share with you what i consider my "art"

my core pieces that i only ever sell copies of because they are as much a part of me as my other baby's.

these are the ones that make it to fund raising shows for various charity's and/or organisations

(primarily mental health awareness)

or occasionally used as "example/show" pieces in the gallery

they can be kinda dark but my "silly crap" or "pretties" are quite a bit more light hearted

(you might want to skip ahead to them now)

shadow

a portrayal of abuse... or if you would a portrayal of betrayal... the three scars on the arm signifying the pain,torment and anguish... the hand signifying restraint, control...the nudity a depiction of the vulnerability she feels (and yes its a self portrait of sorts, just not in the conventional manner)

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Emergent Soul

the barbed vines represent depression attempting to strangle out the lit orb of the emerging soul... the black, bloodied, torn and wounded background of life encasing, surrounding everything that might grow...but even from out of this dark despair four delicate flowers manage to bloom and blossom with life and hope... springing from the grasping clawing vines, my children, my hope, my reason... near them, because of them, some buds of possibility

(not too good a photo im afraid ill try to find a clearer one)

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and of course

Scar

as mentioned a depiction of the healing power of self harm... the black necrotic skin of life surrounding the three deep cuts... orange for the anger, fury, frustration... white for the healing sensation experienced as the emotions are set free... blue for the isolation, loneliness, despair...each cut has three staples at each end the temporary "closure" or control of the pain in order to survive/function in the world

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k this might b a little bit of a cheat because its actually a study i sketched for a painting im in the middle of doing

Portrait of Pain

pretty much self explanatory this is how the pain feels

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Aortic Confusion

again the clue is in the title...confusion .. and a lot of it, emotional, romantic,paranoia,depression... you know that feeling when your guts/soul feels tied up in knots? that feeling of being totally lost in the turmoil.. well this is how i "see" all that...... (32"x40")

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well now i have successfully scared the crap out of you with my "art" on to pretty pictures ;-)

not really sure why this next one made it into my core collection

this is only about 8 inches x 5 inches....it doesnt really hold any deep meaning other than a desire to escape to a place of peace...mainly it was painted because i was sick of hearing "abstract painters only paint abstract because they lack the skill/ability to paint anything else"

whilst this may be true for some "artists" iv seen its certainly not true for all... some times abstract is the only way to depict certain sensations, feelings, emotions or ideas.

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this is the kind of thing i do when were short on cash

(if i happen to have a partner who has good sales patter, because i personally dont got the balls to sell)

a commissioned mural i forget exact size something like 6 or 7 ft by 9 or 10 ft (was damn near life size)

done entirely with house hold paint (several years ago), in their pool/snooker room/bar... was from a calender photo they had and liked... i got kinda bored and started hiding little semi humanized mice mooning at ya in the shadows... also drove the client nuts had him looking for a hidden moth for days... didnt tell him it was one of those moths that looked like tree bark... if i recall right theres also several magic mushrooms in there, some ants (painted using one bristle), beetles and bugger knows what else that i was insane enough to add

had a lousy flu whilst was doing this... the client introduced me to my first taste of moonshine over here in bid to "get rid" of the flu...

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portraits drive me insane and im not really fast enough or good enough to make them worth while... but i do resort to them occasionally either because im just that damned desperate for cash or as a special gift

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hmm i know i have a better photo of this somewhere... again done specific to clients request.. oil on canvas board about 8x5

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For figure practice lately iv been messing with sketches like this...

as you can see i need way more practice

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for fun

and possibly to add a few new additions to my "core" collection iv been sketching these studies for full texture paintings

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then there is computer generated

from the silly...to the not so silly

Brimstone Buddha

i did this for a guitarist friend that was in "Brimstone Grind"

his nick name i hear you ask?

well ok i dont hear you ask but take a wild guess ;-)

some are more seriouse....White Hot Pain.. im going to paint her well a variation on her

Justice..... she was a total pain to get "just right" to be fair i was new to the program though

another fairy ... ok i know it looks like i have a thing for fairys ... but i dont reallly honest ...

but i do have a thing for......

Dragons