Father Douglas
Her Beauty Sleep, January 2009
graphite, 9 x 12"
Although I enjoy painting and drawing landscapes, I have chosen dogs as my primary subject matter, for dogs are a subject used since cave drawings. Dogs were a popular subject in hunt scenes from the renaissance through to the genre paintings of the Impressionists and continue to be a popular subject for contemporary artists.
I have now come to comprehend that an artist must truly love or hate their subject in order to paint with conviction. It is only when this emotional unification exists between the artist and subject can the artist truly paint with the passion necessary to create their art. I strive as I paint and draw with confidence and an adventurous spirit for this bond.
The images I present to you are of works I have created using one of my favourite models. The first image is a simple line drawing in graphite which emphases the fluidity and gracefulness of my models movements, while the second work is a painting in acrylics on Mylar. This work based on the paintings Venus de Urbino by Titian and Olympia by Manet presents a light-hearted look at the theme of Art History. My third image, also painted in acrylics on Mylar, uses the dog as an allegory for humankind and represents man’s fears of darkness and lightning storms. The forth image is more enigmatic and presents to the viewer several stories which the most likely story chosen by the viewer will be the most tragic. In this work I wish to draw ones attention to a very real topic that is often covered up or hidden and needs to be discussed openly and without shame. This work painted in acrylics is on Yupo, another form of plastic film similar to Mylar.
