New paint palette arrangement

I stated working with a new color palette tonight, and it is my hope that the discordant nature of my new palette can be effectively balanced out with complements.

In this palette I am working with; 

Titanium white

Portland grey light

Portland grey Medium

Portland grey deep

Cadmium red light

Cadmium red deep

Ruby lake

Sap green lake extra

Turquoise blue deep

Cobalt blue turquoise light

Kings blue light

Kings blue deep

Brilliant pink

Cadmium yellow light

Cadmium yellow deep

Thanks for checking out my blog...

...check back here soon.

New painting in progress

I have been working on this painting for nearly a year now.  I started with an academic study of the subject-matter, the artist that painted it, and then realistic details.  Over the last 6 months I have worked on the abstraction of the original composition with a heavy bias on the content of the narrative.  

I am fairly far along, but the real work starts now as I begin to truly work the composition.

Minneapolis #? "Penitent Magdelene"

This painting at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts is my source material.  I have admired this work of art for many years.  I am very happy to present the subject-matter as I see it.

"Penitent Magdelene"

Bartolome Esteban Mutillo    c. 1650-1665

I hope to have this painting completed by the end of March or the beginning of April.

Thanks for reading along...

...I will post more about this painting as I work on it.

The BitTorrent series of oil paintings are Finished!

I have finally completed my compositional narratives.  I have enjoyed all of these paintings, and what is to come is sooo much crazier that i can hardly wait to complete the first three.  I hope you enjoy these works.  I added pictures the works of art that influenced this series of paintings compositionally and philosophically.

Artist Statement

This series is intended to discuss stories that have been retold continuously because of their honesty about humanity.  Within each painting I present individuals of historical significance whose impact has undeniably shaped our culture.  Spin is taking fact and altering it to both mislead and redirect the attention of an audience where the given information is manipulated to coincide with an agenda.  Spin is a deceptive heavily biased portrayal of one’s own favor of an event or situation most commonly used to answer questions or present information.  To put spin on a topic of conversation is to lie.  It is disingenuous, deceptive, highly manipulative and although indirectly, it is a method of presenting fiction as fact.

Each painting in this series is my reinterpretation of a master painting I have spent a great deal of time observing and investigating.  I have chosen subject matter that is considered classical and presents a reoccurring story in human history.  Within each painting I present individuals of historical significance whose impact has been a direct result of spin.  I relate these individuals in history with color-forms that i feel best represent the truths behind these myths.  By reinterpreting historical events that were intended and presented as spin I wish to create a dialogue about truths and how we identify with them. 

Adam M. Considine 2011

BitTorrent 1 "Jessica Lynch as the Daughters of Jethro" 

oil on canvas

40" x 30"

 Jessica lynch + "Moses defending the Daughters of Jethro"

BitTorrent 2 "Marinuis Vanderlubbe as Icarus" 

oil on canvas

36" x 48"

Marinus Van der Lubbe + Icarus and Daedalus  

BitTorrent 3 "Bernard madof as the sermon on the mount" 

oil on canvas

30" x 40"

BitTorrent 4 "Nikola Tesla as Daedalus" 

oil on canvas

30" x 40"

BitTorrent 5 "The Building of the Trojan Horse" 

oil on canvas

36" x 48"

"The Building of the Trojan Horse"

BitTorrent 6 "Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist" 

oil on linen

48" x 36"

"Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist"

BitTorrent 7 "Interventio, The story of Calypso" 

oil on linen

48" x 36"

"Calypso"

BitTorrent 8 "The story of Venus and Adonis" 

oil on linen

48" x 36"

"Venus and Adonis"

BitTorrent 9 "Apollo and the Python" 

oil on linen

36" x 48"

Ruth Duckworth "Untitled" I used the shadow of her work.

BitTorrent 10 "Andromeda" 

oil on linen

24"x 36"

"Andromeda and the sea monster"

BitTorrent 11 "Odysses Itch" 

oil on linen

24" x 36"

BitTorrent 12 "The Peloponnesian War" 

oil on linen

24" x 36"

I hope you like them as much as I do...

...check back when you can there is a new series of paintings on the way.

New Minneapolis painting started

I started a new painting for the Minneapolis series of works.  This is only the first thin layer of oil-color, as it will dramatically change over the next few months.  I would like to have this completed sometime in March.

Thanks for taking a quick look at my blog...

...many more new paintings to posted soon

Minneapolis 8 "Flashlight"

Another oil painting completed and ready to varnish.  This one was a complicated composition that hopefully has a simple appearance.  This work will be on exhibit in NYC in the spring.

Minneapolis 8 "Flashlight"

18 x 36, oil on linen

Thanks for thumbing through my blog...

...More to come soon.

Minneapolis #7 "Milk Bubbles"

Slightly behind schedule, I finished another painting in the Minneapolis series.  the minneapolis series of paintings is really just a chance for me to explore color-form ideas and relax.  there is no real artists statement other than i am testing out some of my ideas before I move on to my next major series.

I was not able to resolve the minimal composition of this piece; and for some time it sat in the corner of the studio waiting for me to understand it.

Minneapolis # 7 "MIlk Bubbles" 

oil on linen

12" x 24"

Thanks for checking in...

...I hope to complete another painting soon.

Artwork of the month: Georges Braque.

I have been working on abstractions of the Minneapolis landscape; simple line drawings that I will eventually turn into oil paintings.  As I think about my forms, I envision color combinations that will express the content of each composition.  Lately I have been reminded of Georges Braque's landscape "The Viaduct at L'Estaque" and how bright and unstable his use of color feels.

This is my favorite landscape at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  I have always paused in front of it to just look without thinking.  The use of yellow as a central color is unnatural, and oddly waking while allowing it to retain the laid-back mood of a landscape. Braque created harmony with discord like a soothing out of tune instrument.

The nonnaturalistic colors of the Fauves, and the simple geometric forms he reduced the subject-matter to are pointedly runners up to Cézanne's work of bold all encompassing spaces.  Albeit, Braque's choices are those of a master as this is a master oil painting.

Georges Braque

French, 1882-1963

"The Viaduct at L'Estaque"

1907, oil on canvas

"Art is made to disturb, science reassures."

-Georges Braque

Current oil palette

Recently I have become fascinated with the use of triadic harmonies of color.  I tend to use them muted down and simplified with base colors remaining the same throughout the entire palette as I keep one color as a constant. 

I enjoy how a triadic harmony used with their complements set a tone of dissidence and equality within color-forms.  The disagreement between the colors evens out and a balanced harmony appears to take the forefront.   

In this palette you can see these colors...

cadmium yellow light

cadmium yellow medium

cadmium yellow deep

cadmium orange

cadmium red light

cadmium red deep

provence violet reddish

radiant violet

dioxazine violet

violet grey

radiant turquoise

kings blue deep

kings blue light

cadmium green light

and titanium white + zinc white as a toner

Rabbititus studies.

I like this direction...

...now to work on movement.

Studio #6 - 2437 Lyndale Attic Studio

My 6th studio in Minneapolis was absolutely one of my best.  I completed two series of works, formulated my thesis "The Aesthetics of Composition in Abstract Oil Painting" as the foundation for my future works, and established connections in the art world that have proven to be a great benefit to my career as an artist.

After returning to Minneapolis I moved into an art house with 3 other guys; Brad, Chris, and Calvin.  As before the entire house (a 5 bedroom, with a huge dining room and living room) was dedicated to the arts.  We had a music studio downstairs, a painting studio in the attic, and an entire house full of art.  As always there are impassioned stories here; things that happened both theatrical and passionate, and worthy of any bards tale.  It was a great time in my life as an artist and the paintings I completed there are some of my absolute favorite.

After I had completed my series of bullfight works I recognized that now I knew how to paint what I could imagine.  I was lacking a deeper understanding of color and I needed to understand each color as individual compositions.  Knowing technically how to control oil paint launched me into a several year color study to gain an understanding of color and each colors relationships to itself and other colors.  It was self imposed study, but it was invaluable to my work today.

I also started my working relationship with LUX Art & Design.  I had an exhibit up of four of my new color compositions at a cafe called Barbette, and the owners of LUX were in town and saw my work there and loved it.  I exhibited often at barbette, aka cafe Wyrd.  (And thanks Andrew for the kind words about my work, it helped.)  They came to my studio the next day and immediately told me what they were doing and asked if I would like to be one of their artists.  A few months and a contract later and I was represented on the west coast by LUX Art & Design.  I still maintain my relationship with them to this day.

This is what the place looked like before I built walls, insulated and sheet-rocked it all.  Whoever was there before me simply stapled old beer boxes to the walls and the spray painted it all grey.  It was cold and smelled like old wood.  I reinstalled, sheet-rocked, and built walls to accommodate my needs as an artist. 

All of these photos are of my work in progress.  At any given time in this studio i had no less than 7 paintings going at the same time.  My production levels were fantastic.

I had enough space to be able to view my work on the easel at a very comfortable distance.

I heated the place with that tiny electric heater.  It's 1500 watts would always short out the house if anyone used something electric in the bathroom below me, or turned on the music equipment in the basement.  I had to keep it of most of the time which made for cold winters.  even when it was on it was still chilly.

I am not sure what happened to that painting.  I know it sold, but to who?

The space was perfect for shooting photos of my work.

That is a stack of 60" x 36" acrylic gessoed canvases.  I was burning through canvases faster than I drink coffee.  My production level was high, and my finial paintings were great.

I was able to have two easels, my drafting table, a computer station, and a small living space.  The studio portion of the house I lived in was 850 square feet, plenty of space to paint and live.

Here are some photos of my while I was working on BitTorrent #1in this studio.  I didn't complete the work here, but I was able to start my formative series I had been studying and working toward.

It was a fun piece, and still very explorative, albeit it was the starting point of my thesis in practical application.

We took these photos after I had completed Rabbititus #15 "Neutral Colors," as I was so proud of the completed work I wanted to take photos in front of it.

I know that i made the right decision to move back to Minneapolis, as the results of my time in this studio produced my true emergence as a professional artist.

Thanks for thumbing through my blog...

...check back later this week with me and I'll surprise you.