(not really…just gonna talk about art for a minute.)
I have been becoming over the years, more and more obsessed with blending both realism and abstraction into my work. Yep, you heard me both conflicting concepts balanced in one painting. It began with a major disappointment I encountered along the path of progress. You see, I have found that after years of study and work, I was able to create very near realism with a paint brush. It was a bittersweet acheivement in that the closer I got to realism of an image and the more it looked like a photo, the less I was interested in the overall message of the piece.
If it looked like a photo that in ITSELF was to become what the message or the first response was to the work. A self defeating prophecy. It became less about how the image made you feel and more about the craft of the work. Again, a Bittersweet achievement..I was not speaking with my art or communicating an emotion or feeling; It felt lessened by the very craft and skill of the artist. Which, in turn, diminished the voice of the individual painting.
I have also been in a long relationship with Landscapes. My the work has been moving closer to impressionism than I had planned. But, in the true sense of the word – – I am indeed attempting to communicate my own impression of a certain view. With Landscapes my eye demands more and more contrast between light and shadow which also pushes the levels of breaking down an image into abstraction.
South 1st St. Bridge. Austin 30″ x 40″ Acrylic on Canvas – in private collection
Notice here how I used a solid bold color to represent the city. I chose orange for many reasons but, most importantly, the very nature of orange is vibrant, up beat, alive, joyful, proud and simple. All of the feelings I was having about this economically booming and growing city. I also, needed to touch the canvas with something vibrantly naturally growing and thus the close up of the leaves growing so closely on the shore. I felt the balance of this paintings realism and abstraction proved to be exemplary of my point in this rambling blog about my work. I am including more Austin Texas work followed by some of my newer New York City work to expose the development of this theory.
Hope you enjoy and I’ll get back to painting now but, Ill be back to word up another page soon.
Love,
Daisy
Texas Work
collection of 3 Texas paintings – Sweetwater Pond, Early Blackberries and One Badass Boot – consecutively. daisy undercuffler 2014
San Antonio Mission. 2013 acryilc on paper. Abstracted to a soft vintage cartoonish version like an old travel poster.Hill Country View. 2013 Acryilc and Watercolor on paper. Soft, Simplified and Saturated with color
Leaving Carl’s Corner. Acryilc on Canvas 2013. High Contrast and Explosive hot pink sky with accentuated sinuous clouds.
East Texas Bluebonnets. Acrylic on Canvas 30″ x 40″ 2014 – in private collection – bold color with cross stitch pattered brush strokes to give the piece a homespun quality98 San Jacinto. 36″ x 36″ Acrylic on Canvas. 2012. Close to realism but boosted color and shadows creating a Hopper’esqe quality to the buildings garnering a vintage classic feel while popping the turquoise for a hint of beach vacation
Bastrop Bridge Sisters. Acrylic on Canvas 2015. The palate is subtle and gentle and inviting and the loose sketchy quality of the work itself completes the very story this painting tells.
New York Paintings
Corner Deli. 94th and Amsterdam. (on the corner from the studio) Acrylic on Wood 18″x24″ Multi colored windows and stark contrast creating an air of mystery that could not have been achieved without abstracting from the realism possibilities here. I was looking for a glow
Empire Blue Night. Acrylic on Paper 2015. painterly brush strokes and unfinished edges and lines combined with an almost Royal blue give this landscape/ cityscape a noble darkness that i desired.
Freedom Tower, Acrylic on Wood 18″ x 24″ 2015. This is my SUPERMAN! With a Comic-booky and bold simplicity it’s so very strong it’s silly. I’m not so sure I take this painting seriously enough, actually. But, that is sort of how I feel about the New World Trade Center. It’s an important memorial, I know and I LOVE that but I kinda still wish they had just rebuilt the original towers exactly the way they had been. Nostalgia paired with as much positivity as possible.
Stoop Dreamin’ – Acrylic on Paper 2014. Nameless and faceless Brooklyn afternoons. Simple and Carefree. The “Yankees” blue city skyline contrasted with the brushy soft tree and the lack of focus. This mood would have been ruined with definition.
Rock Center Rink. Acrylic on Canvas 2015. I began to really have fun with the pattern of light and geometrics in a city scape. I didn’t want any realism in the buildings themselves but more of an alive electrical board or a “LIGHT BRITE” like feeling. Contrasted colors and patterns rich and warm pressing against the icy cold rink. Makes my eyes happy!
Hope you enjoyed looking at the work. You can follow me on #Instagram to see the daily progress of what ever fate pushes out of my head onto canvas. You can find me at daiZnyc.
Cheers!
All images are copyright protected. daiZnyc Studio 2015
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