A day spent hiking and sightseeing in the beautiful, inspiring Texas Hill Country... and an evening spent painting, and this is the result. A joyous path through the wilderness of the color wheel.
"Colorscape" 16"x20" acrylics on canvas. Available.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Colorscape
A day spent hiking and sightseeing in the beautiful, inspiring Texas Hill Country... and an evening spent painting, and this is the result. A joyous path through the wilderness of the color wheel.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Where Nature Erreth in the One...
In the early 17th century, Francis Bacon (philosopher, scientist, and pioneer of the scientific method) wrote the following: "Deformed persons are commonly even with nature: for as nature hath done ill by them, so do they... have their revenge of nature. Certainly there is a consent between the body and the mind, and where nature erreth in the one, she ventureth in the other: Ubi peccat in uno, periclitatur in altero.
It occurred to me that this is nowhere more obvious or evident than in the brilliant cosmologist and physicist Stephen Hawking. Early in his academic career he began to experience the symptoms of ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). It has progressed to the point that his only "contact" with the world is achieved through technology that would have made him an intellectual shut-in in an earlier generation.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Hawking has advanced relativity, our understanding of black holes, and improbably he has attained celebrity status for his ability to communicate these concepts to the public.
Would he have reached the same intellectual heights as an able-bodied man?
"Stephen Hawking" 18"x24" oils on canvas. Available.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Underwater Dream
This painting was inspired partially by Ilya Repin's "Sadko" and partially by my readings on Freud's contributions to our understanding of the unconscious and the subconscious minds. "Underwater Dream" represents a human's invitation to the unconscious, via the subconscious (in my symbology, this is represented by the underwater realm), to manifest itself. Freud pursued the unknowable unconscious by way of analyzing his patients' dreams and neuroses. I am limited to the tools I have at hand: paint, canvas and brush.
Repin's work in "Sadko" is beautiful and evocative. In its colors, its draftsmanship, and its theme it takes me deep into the silent majesty of the muted underwater world. As I painted, I sought something similar. I wanted "Underwater Dream," as "Sadko," to have as its armature an undeniable "strangeness of proportion" (to borrow a line from Sir Francis Bacon).
The ocean of the subconscious -- the vast kingdom beneath the waves -- is a place I think of often. Though we are little aware of it, we come from that dreamwise place. Our very anchors seek stability at the bottom of our own seas of unreason.
Pictured: "Underwater Dream" 35"x25" acrylics and collage on canvas. Available.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Abstract Workshop: "Deepen the Mystery"
Abstract Painting Workshop with Howie Doyle
This stress-free workshop is aimed at helping artists enrich their personal work by incorporating abstraction in useful ways. Artist Francis Bacon famously said, "The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery." As artists we do this by reaching beyond what we know, into the realm of intuition and expression. For many this can be either intimidating, or they feel it is difficult to get “outside the box.” By freeing your creative self, each artist can confidently produce finished work that has far-reaching impact.
This workshop will encourage loose, creative experimentation, a fearless approach to the canvas, and working with a specific, focused intent to help guide the painting to a meaningful finish. Attendees will work with acrylic paints on canvas, but the methods and concepts work with any visual art or other creative endeavor, and can enhance future realistic and subjective works in addition to opening new doors of perception for the right brain to exploit in visual art.
Participants will take home printed notes recalling and summarizing the information presented in the workshop.
The workshop will cover:
• Design elements (shape, line, texture)
• Structural concepts (mechanical, geological, ethereal, minimal, morphological)
• Meta-concepts - depth, rhythm (stroke), harmony (color), linkage (relationships)
• Tools and materials
• Color
• Courage, intensity, mystery
Contact: hdoyle@doylepublishing.com or 281-924-1096.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Why I Paint
There is an aspect of my art that I must consider to be at or near its core, despite the irregular intervals in which I practice it. But my first painting, and most of my first year of painting, were dominated by portraiture. From the beginning I was very focused on using my skills to capture the character, or the essence, of the subject.
I was reminded of this as I viewed a new work, "Dutch Friend." The subject is Annette, a traveling houseguest of my friend Marty Hatcher. She came to Houston from Holland to attend a family member's wedding, and I had the good fortune to meet her while painting at Marty's. Annette is an accomplished artist (fashion and jewelry design) and a charming person to share time with.
I do love people... and I love painting them. That was my first love with a paint brush in my hand, and I expect I'll always be true to it. It has thus far been surprisingly, steadily true to me.
"Dutch Friend" - 15"x10" oils on canvas
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Create Revolution
My meditation for this day was about sharing my artistic knowledge and spirit, and in the process, collaborating with a group of people in a room for a brief period of time.
And what are these people to do? What is the fruit?
In the perfect storm, these linked souls will do nothing short of creating revolution.
And in the worst case, we will create beautiful art that is meaningful to each artist. This is the goal of my first bona-fide workshop. Seems like a win-win deal to me... I can't wait to make this a reality.
Pictured: "Create Revolution" 18"x24" acrylics on canvas. Available.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Silk Effects
Two new pieces, "Silk Effects 1" and "Silk Effects 2." Both are water media on watercolor paper, 22"x30". (Available)
Monday, April 11, 2011
New Technique Using Silk Dyes
I painted with the Woodlands Art League group this morning. The model was wonderful, although sadly I did not get a great painting of her. I always use live painting sessions as a way to learn and experiment. The eye sees things with a live model that the camera cannot show.
Today I drew with a pencil on watercolor paper, then painted using dyes made for coloring silk. The colors are acrylic based, but these dyes have different properties than either acrylic paints or watercolors.
Two things I enjoy about the dyes is the extreme amount of diffusion that occurs on a dampened surface, and the effects of blotting up the colors at various stages of the drying process. In this, they are particularly different... as can be seen by this close-up section of today's painting.
The sense of depth, of weathering, and of palimpsest that this method gives is almost intoxicating. I expect to do further experiments in painting the figure using these silk dyes.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Skinny Man!
This is a portrait of a whippet named Devo, owned by my friend Marty Hatcher. (The title "Skinny Man" is a reference to my nickname for him, which is taken from an episode of Mr. Wong... but that is entirely an unrelated matter.) My first dog portrait.
"Skinny Man" 11"x14" acrylics on canvas.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Lessons from Yesterday's Future, Part 3
"Big Brother is watching you."
-George Orwell, author of 1984.
Pictured: "George Orwell" 18"x24" acrylics on canvas.
Pictured: "George Orwell" 18"x24" acrylics on canvas.
Lessons from Yesterday's Future, Part 2
"Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage's whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men.
- Ayn Rand, author of Atlas Shrugged
Pictured: "Ayn Rand" 18"x24" acrylics on canvas.
Lessons from Yesterday's Future, Part 1
"Men do not learn much from the lessons of history and that is the most important of all the lessons of history."
- Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World
Pictured: "Aldous Huxley" 18"x24" acrylics on canvas.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Human Grace: The Thread That Unites My Work
In preparation for Saturday's exhibit at the Tremont House in Galveston I have done a final review of my figurative works from the last three years. The array of styles and media I have experimented with is surprising, yet there is a thread of consistency that unites the body of work.
My drive to experiment has to do with increasing my artistic vocabulary. Each variation in media, successful or failed, adds to my knowledge as a painter. The thread that links the works is represented by the title of the exhibit: Art of Human Grace: Paintings of the Figure.
I have chosen my best works from several of my mini-epochs during the last three years. Each of these paintings, two-dozen in number, represents a significant step in communicating, and learning, as an artist.
Come see what I've been up to!
Saturday, March 12 · 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Tremont House 2300 Ship's Mechanic Row Galveston, TX
- Howie Doyle
Monday, March 7, 2011
Art of Human Grace: Paintings of the Figure
Join us Saturday, March 12, 2011 from 6-9 pm. One night only, as part of Galveston's Art Walk, over a dozen figurative works by Howie Doyle will be shown in the fitting elegance of The Tremont House, Galveston's European-style luxury hotel.
Several galleries will be exhibiting the work of local artists. Admission is free, and there is much to do in the Strand area both in the afternoon and in the area's night life.
Join us for an enjoyable evening of art!
Tremont House
2300 Ship's Mechanic Row, Galveston, TX
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)