A.M. Downs

This blog has moved...

2008-10-06T17:19:44Z

Please feel free to read and comment about my art at:

AMDOWNS.WORDPRESS.COM

I hope to see you there. Thanks!

Vanitas I, Finished.

2008-06-10T17:38:24Z

This photo is not the best (the dark blotches on the canvas are wet spots; it will take months to dry completely) but I wanted to show the finished painting:

Vanitas I,2008. Oil on board

Vanitas is a type of still life painting showing objects that are meant to remind the viewer of the impermanence of life. "Vanitas" is a Latin term meaning "emptiness" and loosely translated corresponds to the meaninglessness of earthly life and the transient nature of vanity. It refers to the arts, learning and time.

The skull represents mortality, for obvious reasons.

The apple has symbolic meaning on many levels. There is a traditional Biblical association with Eve (I have a deep interest in Eve, the interpretations and misogyny surrounding the story). Apples are symbols of women because of this and also a symbol of the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit are echoed in the peel, fruit and seeds). The apple I painted is just on the edge of ripeness; it's bright but the skin is beginning to shrivel and warp a bit, the dark underside is close to rotting.

The greenish fabric beneath is an old paint rag. It's a reminder for myself, a message to me from me. More vanity but also admitting my time is limited.

Far from being a depressing image, I want this Vanitas to be a visceral slap in the face. The confrontational skull faces the viewer head-on as a wake up call. There is no escaping those eye sockets. They say, "Hey, you! Get crackin'. You haven't got forever, you know."

I began painting this when my grandfather was alive and well. I finished it about a month after his funeral. It was a difficult painting to complete for obvious reasons; aftershocks often do more damage than the initial earthquake. Mortality seems to be sitting a little too close these days. I'm doing my best to laugh at it. If I can identify it and capture it, maybe I can hold it off or at least understand it.

My daughter.

2008-03-03T15:51:23Z

Malie, Watercolor study

Many child portraits are overtly saccharine and don't portray a real human-in-the-works. I want to paint my daughter with a realistic eye, as a document of her growth and potential and celebration of childhood.

A good portrait doesn't have to reduce a child to doll-like status. Malie is a sweet-faced baby but she is also an individual in a constant state of change. She was fifteen months old when I painted this.

Etsy!

2008-02-19T21:45:54Z

There are some new items for sale in MY ETSY STORE, including this 12 x 12 original:

Memories of Green, Mixed media on printed card stock.
12 x 12 inches. See a larger version BY CLICKING HERE.

I have also listed postcard-sized works with an Art Nouveau style: whiplash curves, organic forms and stylized line work.

Enjoy!

Watercolor!

2008-02-06T03:40:35Z

Teardrop, Watercolor and ink on Canson paper.
4 x 6 inches

Painting in progress.

2008-01-23T17:10:19Z

For those who don't read my personal LJ (I'm also shigella), I've been taking night classes at The Atelier in Minneapolis. The type of art-making taught revolves around classical realism, a movement inspired by the masterful art of painting reality as it is seen.

I've been drawing there and working on a painting at home, based on the principles I've been learning. Since this is outside-of-class work, I am taking pains to work slowly and without a mentor. It's not bad for a personal project and I can see improvements in my style already:

Vanitas
WORK IN PROGRESS.

Maybe I'll finish it before spring arrives. I hope so; this is a somber painting with a wintery feel. I'll need to paint something happier when May rolls around.

Taffy

2007-11-17T02:05:08Z

The following poem was in a book of rhyme I had as a child. I always thought it was intriguing in its violence over such petty items, a bit like Spy vs. Spy in MAD magazine. The illustrations in the book show a masked thief sneaking through a window in the blue-black dark of night.

After doing some research, I found its origins in Celtic mythology, in which the Celtic god Amaethon stole from Arawn. "Taffy" is an ethnic slur for anyone of Welsh decent. As a child, I only knew the term "welsher" as someone who doesn’t repay debts. I never thought of the root word Welsh being attached to it as derogatory and rude until I was much older. There are not many folks from Wales living in Minnesota.

Skull studies

2007-11-16T04:10:02Z

hand-aged paper, graphite.

amdowns @ 2007-09-24T07:52:00

2007-09-24T12:53:40Z

I finished my Queen of Hearts card for snooks Project.

Pyrography, walnut ink, composite gold leaf, watercolor, ink and digital. Measures 5 x 7 inches.
Click here to see a larger version

Work in Progress

2007-09-07T13:33:21Z

According to classical theism, beauty is a quality of God and therefore exists in a way that transcends its material manifestations.

To be an artist, to create anything, is to assert your own aesthetic and present it to the world.

I used to think it wasn't enough to just make beautiful pictures. But lately, I think beauty is reason enough to create something. The world is full of horror, politics, life-altering decisions and daily drudgery. It is a wonderful thing to find an image that lets your mind and soul dwell on something beautiful. I want to provide that to the world. I don't think that is a calling for all artists. Political art definitely has a place as a catalyst for change. But for me, Beauty is reason enough.

This is a preview of another piece I'm burning:

Gilded.

2007-08-29T12:57:38Z

I finished my latest piece.

Untitled (Red Hood), August 2007.
Woodburned panel, acrylic and gold leaf.

See a larger version BY CLICKING HERE.

Work in Progress

2007-08-20T12:33:13Z

This is far from finished but I'm happy with the face:

I'm burning wood this time instead of paper. The wood grain is so smooth on this piece, it's almost non-existent. That makes the image easier to burn and small details are clearer. I wish I knew the type of wood. Maybe poplar?

Norse Eagle

2007-08-08T12:55:32Z

This is a pyrography work based on a stylized Norse "eagle" design. Many Norse themes involve an animal wrestling with a snake. Snake coils lend themselves well to the style and I imagine that the deep woods and rolling hills of Northern Europe held plenty of snakes for inspiration.

Detail shown above.

Norse Design II (Eagle), Pyrography on hand-tinted paper.
Click here to see a larger version.

Querida

2007-07-11T14:30:57Z

Frida with Peony, Watercolor on paper.
See a larger version BY CLICKING HERE.

Medallion

2007-07-09T14:13:17Z

Burning small surfaces is a challenge and can be hazardous to one's fingertips. But the results are awesome. This is a design I created after looking at far too many Viking designs. The scan is bigger than the original:

Norse Medallion, pyrography on wood.
Approximately 1.5 inch diameter.

Berserker!!!

2007-07-03T13:03:35Z

This is a new pyrography project based on Norse designs. I'm going to be producing several similar designs to sell next year at the Minnesota Svenskarnas Dag celebration:

Norse Design I: Horse Heads, Pyrography on hand-dyed paper.
See a larger version BY CLICKING HERE.

Ghosts in the barn

2007-06-05T12:38:21Z

Barn Owl Skull, graphite on hand-dyed paper.
Approx. 4 x 6 inches.

I love doing detailed studies of anatomical elements. Bird skulls are especially interesting to me. The beak is an integral part of the bone structure and the eye sockets are large for those gorgeous, far-seeing eyes. The fragility of such a powerful predator is surprising.

New work.

2007-03-23T13:18:59Z

Valkyrie, 6 x 8 inches.
Pyrography & watercolor on cotton rag paper.
See a larger version BY CLICKING HERE.

Mucha I, 4 x 12 inches.
Pyrography, stain, oil pencil & gold leaf on birch panel.
See a larger version BY CLICKING HERE.

amdowns @ 2007-03-13T10:54:00

2007-03-13T15:54:53Z

I set up my Etsy.com shop:

A.M. Downs Pyrography & Fine Art

I’m narrowing my focus to my burning work combined with painting. I have a few paper-based items listed right now but there will be more, including ACEOs and works burned on wood. I will list some watercolors in the future too.

A new leaf

2006-10-25T15:33:06Z

Another in this series. I can't get enough of the color combinations I find outdoors.

I love the symmetry of the brown points attached to the red center on this one:

Falling leaves.

2006-10-23T13:18:59Z

Autumn is my favorite time of year for long walks outdoors. I gathered some brilliant colored leaves on my last hike.

I'm doing some watercolor studies just for the enjoyment of the colors. These are each 3 x 4.5 inches on hand-dyed paper:

Each leaf fits in a 3 x 3 inch square. I'm going to pick out the three best studies and frame them together.

Creepy Crawlies.

2006-10-13T15:26:45Z

Just in time for Halloween, a dark denizen from the scary corner of my brain:

Vampire Bat, Pen & Ink on paper.
See a larger version BY CLICKING HERE.

Intro...

2006-10-09T18:34:23Z

Welcome to my art journal; thanks for stopping by for a look. I will be posting sketches, works in progress and finshed pieces here on a regular basis.

If you are interested in my daily life, please see my LJ User Info for a link to my regular blog.