Saturday, September 29, 2012

Adding Tattooing to this blog

I have been a professional artist since 1996.  So far my career has been mostly about painting.  I have worked on many different forms of painting before I decide to solely focus on compositional abstraction as expression.  I have sculpted wood, stone, metal, ceramic, and all or them were rewarding toward my career.  I have worked as a tattooer off and on for money my entire career, and now I have decided to focus solely on tattoo for a few years while I clean my mind and prepare for my next large painting "The Peloponnesian War."  

My series of works "BitTorrent" took everything out of me.  I need to clear my mind in order to be fully prepared for the stress of the The Peloponnesian War painting.  So Athena and I decided to move to Maui Hawaii to do just that.  I am going to tattoo and watercolor classically until I am ready for the coming oil painting.  It is going to be a few years, and more then likely it will be 5 or more years before I am ready.  

I know that 5 years is the longest time I have gone without touching my oil brushes in my entire life.  However, I am completely drained from my last series and the planned works will take everything out of me again.  To become what I need to become to make that painting is going to be difficult on every part of my life.  So Athena and I are gong to simply live and enjoy our work, each other, and see what happens.

We chose Maui simply because it is beautiful.  And I mean it is stunningly beautiful.  Perfect for us to prepare for the coming storm of my new work.


As to tattooing, well I am rusty as hell.  It is going to take some work to get back into the game.  We are at Sweet Trade Tattoo where my friend Trevor Kennedy has supported our move and our decisions.  Trevor opened this shop in 2009, and he has promised to sell the shop to me when I am ready.  I am not ready at the moment, and really it will be 2 years before I am.  

So now I am going to be adding tattooing to this blog.  This is going to be fun, and ridiculous, and the perfect way to clean my mind of the last personality I took on (personalities really, the last series was multi individual focused) and once again find the self or at the very least recreate the construct that I think is me.

Aloha, and here we go...

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Nekita Loves Maui

She is here and loves the ocean.  Nekita made the long trip over the ocean last night.  I picked her up at the airport and then went to the camp ground to sleep.  We are camping on the beach until our apartment is finished.  



Mahalo.


Monday, August 27, 2012

Minneapolis, I am a Compositionalist - Goodby and thanks for the dreams.

Today I am leaving my adopted home town of Minneapolis, MN.  My beautiful wife Athena ( of Such Good Dogs :)  ) and I have decided to try and live our dreams.  Athena wanted to become a professional dog trainer, and I wanted to become a professional artist.  We are now the people we have always wanted to be, and knowing that, we understand how much more we can become.      


Both of us have had the pleasure of truly knowing some of the coolest people in this city.  We both would not be the people we are without the true friendships we have built here in Minneapolis.  We love you all, and we are very sad to leave you.  Albeit, we are family, and we will never simply leave you behind.  Our home is yours.

I moved to Minneapolis in the fall of 1996 to become an artist.
This is my last oil painting I will complete in Minneapolis.  It is meaningful to me if only for that reason.  
During the last 17 years I taught myself how to oil paint anything I want, anything my mind can see.  I have total control of my medium, and with that I am able to truly use my philosophy to communicate through the aesthetics of composition.  Now I am going to speak my mind.



 My current paint pallet.

A portion of my current subject matter.


BitTorrent #13  "Penitent Magdelene"

Thanks Minneapolis, I have been able to live the life of interesting dreams.  For everything you have given me, I am continually grateful.  I should be arriving in Maui, Hawaii in a few hours.  Athena and I are going to build a beautiful life together...a life of happiness and productivity in our chosen fields.  










Minneapolis, I am a Compositionalist - Goodby and thanks for the dreams...
...Maui, Hawaii here we come, welcoming the challenge.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Pictures from a collector


I was sent these pics of two recent paintings from the new owner.  It always makes me happy when a client is excited about my paintings.   When I get an email with pictures of my work hanging in someone's home I feel proud, and thankful.

These two paintings are two of my newer works, both completed in 2011.





Thanks for the pics...
...they look great on your walls.  

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Proteus Mag

Dustin parker at Proteus Mag was kind enough to feature me as on of his artist of the day.  I was featured in one of his earlier publications, Issue 2 of the magazine (summer of 2007).  Proteus Mag has evolved into a full-on blog daily featuring artists from around the world.  

There are an amazing amount of talented artists on Proteus Mag's blog.  It's definitely worth subscribing to his RSS feed.




After surfing through a few hundred artist of the day posts at Proteus Mag, I see even more that the pure abstract artist is few and far between.  There are so few artists today that work from a traditional abstraction, and I welcome that.  It gives me the social freedom to create whatever I desire without the fear of fitting into a groove of "ism."

After all, I am a Compositionalist with few contemporaries.


Check out Proteus Mag...
...Dustin features new artists daily.



Friday, August 10, 2012

The new Website has gone LIVE!

This last month has been very busy completing the last things for our move.  It is no small task to move your entire family off the continent.  Things are going well, and I will arrive in Maui, Hawaii on the 27th of this month.  

One of the big tasks to complete was my new website.  Thanks to Huck Tate, my web-designer who was able to fulfill all of my wishes for the site.  My goal was to make a site that was easy to navigate, could be viewed on a mobile device, and still retained the design elements for my old flash site.

We just uploaded the new website and it looks great.  



I will have the store running in about 3 to 4 months.  In the store you will be able to buy originals, prints, and other fun and useful products I have been working on.


Go surf the new website...
...let me know what you think.



Thursday, August 2, 2012

Artwork of the Month: Broken Crow

I have know John Grider for fifteen years now, and as long as I can remember he has been working toward being an artist.  I am lucky to own a painting of his.

Last week we hung out at Athena and my going away party.  He showed me this new video he finished.  It's called 'The Bigger Picture Project' and it is amazing.  I can see how the last fifteen years of working hard has paid off for John.



John works with a partner, Mike Fitzsimmons, in a collaborative called Broken Crow.
Broken Crow has been creating works in minneapolis since 2003 and as a result there are Broken Crow murals everywhere in Minneapolis.  All of them are innovative.
I haven't said much about Mike, and I mean no disrespect to his work or to him.  I just don't know him very well and all that I can say is that I admire his work alone and as a part of Broken Crow.  

The Bigger Picture Project by Mike Fitzsimmons and John Grider is some of the most stunning work in Minneapolis.  Every muralist in town, every tagger wanting to be an artist copies these two.

I look forward to your next project like this.


Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Blogger vs Wordpress & Corrections and timeline

Hi, 

I have been going through the blog, and correcting some spelling and grammatical errors, as I look a the time line of the past work.  I noticed quite a bit of traffic from my rss feed after I updated the few posts, sorry for the double posts guys, I just wanted to clean up my spelling.  

Also, I am seriously considering going to Wordpress.  I am not sure why but my web developer for my .com is suggesting a Wordpress directly in my website, and to drop or leave inactive this blogger.

I am not really sure, it seams like a lot of work to me, so I will put the question out there...
...would you still read this blog if it was a Wordpress within 'adamconsidine.com' as a blog page and not this blogger account?

Or should I just do both?

I am not even sure I can see the benefits of my a conversion to Wordpress.
Just email me or comment.  Thanks.

Friday, July 20, 2012

New Peloponnesian War studies

Here are some more composition studies for my Peloponnesian War oil painting.
I would like it to be 36" x 60" oil on linen.
I intend to work my technical clean line work with some lose expressionist elements.  

These are simple ink studies and not all of them will be chosen for the final composition.

Peloponnesian War study 10
ink on paper


Peloponnesian War study 11
ink on paper


Peloponnesian War study 12
ink on paper


Peloponnesian War study 13
ink on paper


Peloponnesian War study 14
ink on paper


Peloponnesian War study 15
ink on paper


Peloponnesian War study 16
ink on paper


Peloponnesian War study 17
ink on paper


I will continue to search for compositions that embody my subject...
... the Peloponnesian War painting will be started when I arrive in Maui.



Monday, July 16, 2012

New Peloponnesian War studies

I have been reading Thucydides works on the Peloponnesian War again, in an attempt to gain a better understanding of world conflicts.  I see the Peloponnesian as a world war in that it had direct consequences on all of the Greek world at the time.  
These are a few simple ink studies for my Peloponnesian War painting.  I have started working on the total negative space composition, and I will have the compositional elements complete by the end of the month.  Maybe...

Peloponnesian War study 1
ink on paper

Peloponnesian War study 2
ink on paper


Peloponnesian War study 3
ink on paper


Peloponnesian War study 4
ink on paper


Peloponnesian War study 5
ink on paper


Peloponnesian War study 6
ink on paper


Peloponnesian War study 7
ink on paper


Peloponnesian War study 8
ink on paper


Peloponnesian War study 9
ink on paper


More ink on paper studies to come...

...I will start this oil painting in Maui.

Friday, July 13, 2012

I quit my day job

I have resigned from my position at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  When I was first hired in October 2006, my plan was to keep the job for 5 years, prepare myself for self employment as an artist, and study my trade (oil painting) while gaining a better understanding of art history.

My personal goal was to complete my book "The Aesthetics of Composition in Abstract Oil Painting" and it looks like I have done just that.  I am now on a final edit of my book.  I expect to complete the final edit by the end of August.  I started writing this book in 1999.  I have been completing my formal work over the last three years.  It is intended to be a complete study for the student of oil painting.  If everything goes according to plan, I will release my book through the iTunes book store sometime in January of the coming year 2013.  If things don't go according to plan I will self publish through a university press.

My 5 year plan became 5 years and 9 months.  Not bad considering that I was out of touch for a year and three months on medical leave after my bike accident.

My wife and I are moving to Maui, Hawaii at the end of August.  We will both be self employed.  I will work as a full time artist.  Athena will be transferring her business, "Such Good Dogs,"  a dog boarding, kenneling, and training facility.  We are both very excited for the future, and very grateful for our past.


So long...
...and thanks for all the fish.



Sunday, July 8, 2012

A day at the Walker Art Museum

The last time I went to the Walker was for my bachelor party (and no I am not that boring, I am just as much a filthy degenerate as the rest of mankind- we went to bars and strip clubs too).  It was cool to grease through the museum then and get a quick look.  

Yesterday I was given the entire day off, so I took advantage of it and hit the Walker Art Museum on my way home.  This will either clear my head or befuddle it farther (ever have one of those weeks where its just not going your way and you can see it is not going to anytime soon).




 The building really is pretty impressive regardless of which side you are approaching it from.  I love the dots of grass within the sidewalk.  I feel very directed and attracted to to the landscape design here, just as if I was following the directions of the one bee in the hive that knows the way.  



I think it looks like a robotic human or monkey head.  Any thought as to what you see?
I mean seriously look at it, its eating people!

This sculpture has been in front of the walker for a long time.  I do love Calder, but regrettably I have paid little attention to this work simply because it has always just been there.

Alexander Calder
American, 1898-1976
"The Spinner"
1966, Aluminum, steel, paint
 Roy Lichtenstein
American, 1923-1997
"Salute to painting"
1985-86, aluminum, paint.

Takashi Murakami wallpaper lined bathrooms...

...never tried being watched while I pee.

This was the first piece I came to that I had to stop and take in.  The security guard told me to not take photos so I waited until she wasn't looking.  Then when she caught me I pretended that I didn't know any better.   Bad form, yes, but this is too cool to not photo and talk about.


Marlene McCarty
"Group 8 (Karisoke, the Virungas, Rwanda. September 24, 1967. 4:30pm.)
2006, Ballpoint Pen and Graphite on Paper 

I did not pay attention to this title, as it was designed by Ernesto Neto.

Lee Bontecou
American, born 1931
"untitled"
1961, welded steel, canvas, wire, velvet.

An early mark Rothko.  Fun to see his younger works, as I always remember him for his fields of color.  I have always felt disappointed knowing that he slit his wrists.

Mark Rothko
American, born Russia 1903-1970
"Ritual"
1944, graphite and oil on canvas

 Willem de Kooning
American, born netherlands 1904-1997
"Untitled XII"
1983, oil on canvas

de Kooning is one of my favorite artists.  His entire career as an artist is this graceful climb back to peace of mind (He deserves a new post all to himself).

Grace Hartigan
American, 1922-2008
"Human Fragment"
1963, oil on canvas

This sculpture is a beautiful work of art.
 
 

Bonnie Collura
American, born 1976
"Snowman"
Fiberglass resin, paint

Mathew Barney typically just pisses me off.
Mathew Barney
American, born 1967
"Envelopa, drawing restraint 7 manual D"
1993, graphite, synthetic polymer, petroleum jelly on paper, vinyl, nylon

His materials list reminds me of Rob McBroom's standard list.

Mark Rothko
"No. 2"
1963, oil and acrylic on canvas

I am a sucker for anything gilded.  My gold leaf texture compositions series of paintings were a serious accomplishment for me.  I love the way light dances across gilded surfaces, how it reminds us instantly of the type of fortune that doesn't have to be monetary. 

Sherrie Levine
American, born 1947
"skull"
2001, bronze gilt




Paul Thek
American, 1933-1988
"Hippopotamus"
1965, Beeswax, plexiglass, metal, and rubber





I have had the pleasure of viewing 4 paintings by Nerdrum.  Each time I am reminded of the classic masters like Rembrandt, Velazquez, and Goya.  Nerdrum is that master of our time, and he knows it, and plays that character out to its fullest. 
Odd Nerdrum
Norwegian, born 1944
"White brick"
1984, hand ground pigments based in linseed oil and egg on canvas on cardboard




I love her work...

Yayoi Kusama
Japanese, born 1929
"Oven Pan"
1963, paint, canvas, cotton, steel, wool.

...I always have.

I finally made my way to the garden terrace.  I was alone, not a single tourist in sight (yet) so I had a smoke, worked on a few lines for my book, and relaxed before continuing on.



At this point the rest of the city was waking up from last night's binge fest.  And my buddy Chris texted, he lives a block away and he was on his way to meet me.  Chris and I continued on for the 80's exhibit "This Will Have Been:" and Minouk Lim's "Heat of Shadows" installation.

Jean-Michael Basquait
American, 1960-1988
"Hollywood Africans"
1983, synthetic polymer and mixed media

David  Hammons
American, born 1943
"How you like me now?"
1988, tin, plywood, sledgehammers, lucky strike cigarette wrapper, american flag

This installation reminded me of Scott, a buddy that lives in New York.  I am not going to explain that, if you know Scott you truly understand how cool this is.

Gretchen Bender
American, 1951-2004
"T.V. Text and Image"
1986-1990, television sets with vinyl lettering and metal shelves

These last pics are from the videos in Minouk Lim's exhibit.  It was interesting, and it was nothing original at all.  The ideas are important and need to be communicated often, but alas it missed the mark in that it felt like trite college kids with a camera and a cause and a semester of world history.








It was a good day.  Chris and I scouted out some bike ride spots and then had a BBQ afterwards with a friend of ours from Florida who is up for a week to visit.  The Walker Art Museum lost something for a period of time.  I found myself not going there for a few years, then I would check in and see what's going on and find myself disappointed.  They hired a new Curator a while ago, and in my opinion the Walker is exhibiting a higher standard of work now.


This was likely my last visit to the Walker for a long time...
...moving in the end of August to a land far far away.