eidsonartworks

Sociable

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Tue, 22 Aug 2023 16:49:24 GMT

Analytics show the site visits for the website are good but that most folks found it from Instagram so blog visits aren't strong. It's good to occasionally drop some kind of record of ongoings here even if it's not well seen. What have I been up to?

Primarily smaller paintings like the one above where I reference music or, films that resonate with me. The above is Lee Marvin's version of Richard Stark's (aka Donald Westlake) Parker character.

And Gil Scott-Heron whose music points out the pitfalls of humanity's ego while emphasizing the beauty of life and hope resonates more and more with me.

Or how about a triptych of images of the band members of Boris?

I have not posted anywhere the series of quick reference sketches I have been making to prepare for being on call as a courtroom sketch artist. That may be a story for the next time I'm on here. Until then, be well.

Mind the gap.

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 21:36:58 GMT

(or how to attempt to summarize over half a year)

Guilty of it again. Letting social media tell the tale. When that social media disappears for the next big thing, boy, will I kick myself.

Anyhow, let's try to summarize.

I was very proud to have a large body of my work featured in a beautiful venue like Callanwolde. It was skillfully arranged by the gallery manager, Adam. I was very proud of the end result but did end up feeling as if I still have much more to learn in the way of self-promotion. However, the folks that came out were great and I was delighted to see them. I'll continue working on improving and earning more opportunities in the future.

I also had a piece selected to appear in the Hudgens Fall Juried festival which was nice. there are several venues for art in our area, but I am especially fond of The Hudgens because it was the first that I came across when moving to our area and it has housed many amazing shows over the years. From seeing children's illustration to a hidden Rauschenberg to the winners of The Hudgens Prize and artists like Jerushia Graham talk.

Other than that, a lot of little paintings have been produced (including a couple featured in this post).

I also did some arranging and placed the sketchbook paintings of the boxers I have done in the sketchbook section as opposed to putting them on the portraits page.

I'll try to come back sooner so I don't leave my blog with hurt feelings. We'll see.

Always a bridesmaid...

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Wed, 04 May 2022 00:15:02 GMT

Poor neglected blog!

It seems like I never can balance Instagram (yay), Facebook (meh) and this blog. Inevitably this blog gets left in the dust even though it should be the record of progress I utilize the most since there is less chance someone might pack it up in the web ether and call it a day.

Regardless, I'm here now and feeling that mix of anxious/excited that comes with big things. I am right around the corner to the reality of my first solo show opening at the beautiful Callanwolde Fine Arts Center on Thursday May 26th from 6-8pm. Hope to see you there!

Back for a bit of hello

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 20:37:42 GMT

I've once again neglected this blog for Instagram and Facebook. Reasonable enough I suppose since I'm not sure how many readers of this blog there are. What I should not have allowed to happen is getting very behind on updating the website with current work. That has been corrected. Find it within!

In the space between

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Mon, 10 May 2021 16:31:17 GMT

As been my habit of the past year, I've allowed my Instagram account to take the forefront as the record of what I've been up to on a weekly basis. So i'm caught playing catch up again.

Above is the most recent larger scale piece I've done. It's a portrait of our daughter in younger days in one of her more spirited poses and uses the brass ring symbol I began using in the last series.

Below are some other pieces that were intended as tributes to people who made my days easier.

This piece was a tribute to a friend who returned to Malaysia and was the first I did to reuse the brass ring imagery.

My friend, Joel using some milestones in his animation career.

My friend, Jay.

Triptych of friend and neighbor, Marco.

New Paragraph

Exciting belated news

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 03:16:29 GMT

(on here at least)

I was informed on the 11th of this month that not only was my piece, Unrequited, showing at the beautiful (take a look above for yourself) Callanwolde Fine Arts Cente r from that day until April 9th but also juror Peter Ferrari selected me for a solo exhibition. I am excited and grateful to be given this opportunity by Mr. Ferrari and Callanwolde and look forward to making the most of it.

I posted the day of the announcement on my linked social media because that's where I believe most of my posts are read. However, since I set up this blog I should be posting here as well. Apologies for my negligence and for lifting Callawolde's official photo from their site.

Back in galleries!

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 14:41:19 GMT

It's been a very long time since I've posted on the web blog. I'm not entirely convinced it's being read, but I'll post to keep myself honest. Haha.

Since last post I've painted several more portraits, the entirety of which can be seen on Instagram. I've curated the portrait section, replaced some old ones and added new favorites.

Also, I can announce that the above piece, Unrequited, will be on display as part of the juried member show at the Hudgens Center for the Arts beginning this Saturday, November 14 through January 30. So very nice to be back in galleries again. Please come and see the show if you are able.

New portraits

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Fri, 10 Jul 2020 03:49:19 GMT

Sadly we lost the great Ennio Morricone this week. He will be missed but we are incredibly fortunate to still have his music.

Six new portraits can be found in the section including this one of Rose Stone. Also new: Fred Wesley, Sam Gooden, Fred Cash and Cynthia Robinson.

More portraits on the site...

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Thu, 28 May 2020 13:57:32 GMT

Freshening up this blog with another reminder that, while this feed may be quiet, I'm keeping busy on Instagram making portraits. This is the most recent, but I added eight new ones in the portrait section.

Repost: Day 7

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Tue, 05 May 2020 21:31:33 GMT

Realized I forgot to repost this one after I finished the Facebook post on Sunday. Here it is in all it's glory (or lack thereof):

Day 7. The measuring stick

This is it. My final day of the seven-day process challenge.

I talked about why we shouldn’t hold ourselves to the idea of perfection on day 5.

What happens when we look at our art heroes through the prism of perfection? All of their work is amazing, they do forty highly skilled drawings in an hour that are better than one drawing we could do in forty hours.

If you let it, that intimidation will nourish the little devil at the back of your mind making it twice as hard to turn out something satisfying before you’ve even begun the work.

The great Teddy Atlas often talks about a point where you can see two exhausted boxers making a silent pact to not put out much effort and how something similar happens to all of us when we go down this road mentally.

You decide you’ll never get there, or everything you do looks like garbage. It could make you happy IF there wasn’t any point in trying.

You burn more energy feeding that self-loathing and finding reasons to avoid those feelings of disappointment than you ever possibly could have actually making art. To make it worse you burn up even more energy hating yourself for ducking out on making art, but it really feels like you’re giving it all… because you have. You just gave it all to the wrong things. You can lose years of your life to this.

If it remotely sounds like I know what I’m talking about here, I do. I never stopped making art, but I really fed that beast for far too long.

I’m not currently bullet proof by any means. I still get intimidated when I approach comics because I feel like I’ve still got so much to learn, but time is precious and I’m looking at it speed by. I’m choosing the paths that feel most right for me at the moment and that is all I can do. I have kids to guide and I want to be the best example for them that I can. I may be well past the expiration date of getting where I always dreamed of, but I’m still here and I’d rather go out fighting for it than live in that silent resignation.

If you’re there, please do the same.

Make work.

Start as big as life allows.

At any speed you can handle, but commit to it.

Recognize when you’re making unnecessary excuses and do your best to change.

Forgive your mistakes.

Let your own progress be the only measuring stick you use.

Thanks to anyone that took the time to read this. I know there are plenty of things on the internet vying for your attention and I’m flattered if you chose my ramble to give some of it to.

Here’s the link again to the work that prompted this challenge: https://www.instagram.com/eidsonart/

Repost: Day 6

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Sat, 02 May 2020 21:00:10 GMT

Day 6. The three “I”s

I’m aware I got more than a little…whatever the typed version of long winded is in my post for yesterday, but it’s something I feel needs to be said and tried to keep it as brief as possible, and still say everything.

I’ll keep today’s post much shorter for anyone kind enough to take the time to read this.

These three “I”s always get woven into art making at some point.

Inspiration

Imitation

Intimidation

1. Inspiration.

Whether you went to school or are self-taught, that spark was planted in you somewhere to create. Accessibility to art is everywhere in the world we currently live in. Indulge it.

I love finding new artists to look at. It’s exciting and it makes you want to be better and work more (except when you’re in the frame of mind to indulge in “I” #3).

Embrace that feeling and use it to push yourself.

2. Imitation

Learning by imitation is natural. It’s how we learn speech, social norms and behaviors. You learn by imitating those artists that inspire you. However, you don’t want to live in that shadow. Plus, the more influences you drink in, the more they become a massive stew that mixes with your own experiences to create something new.

I’ve seen artists spend their entire careers aping one particular artist and it is sad. Don’t get me started on those folks who have a mishmash of nice work that turns out to be direct lifts from a bunch of different artists they found on the web.

I’ve attached a few images all from around 20 years ago where I was playing with approaches that were all inspired to some degree by Francis Bacon, Rauschenberg, Burri, Basquiat, Dubuffet and Fautrier. I wasn’t trying to willfully copy any of their work. I was finding my own voice and my stew wasn’t stirred enough. Believe it or not, I dialed back the Bacon influence on the first image considerably, even though the influence is still obvious.

Which brings us to #3- Intimidation. I’ll cover it tomorrow.

Repost: Day 5

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Fri, 01 May 2020 18:21:01 GMT

Day 5. Things WILL go wrong…

It’s easy to recognize on a basic level that perfection is impossible, but it hardly stops us as people from holding ourselves to that line far too often.

Look at any artist you love. Even if they’re the pinnacle of what you’d like to be, it’s extremely unlikely you love every piece they’ve made equally. Maybe it’s your taste. Perhaps it’s the artist feeling out a new path they haven’t quite arrived at, or having an off day. If someone you look upon so highly can’t be perfect, why do we feel the need to be so unforgiving of ourselves?

Most, if not all, great artists aren’t where they are because they were born with lightning in a bottle. They worked at it, learned to cope with and embrace mistakes because it’s how you get better. Winning all the time is great. However, the longer the winning streak runs, the harder it is when reality comes knocking. Imagine how far that fall would be if we were perfect as often as we would like to be.

How does this apply to me, a not particularly famous artist? I still feel like I’m making improvements by embracing my mistakes and trying to learn from them. Oh, when things go south I have that little voice in my head screaming increasingly louder (with each passing minute I’m in that hole) about what a garbage artist I am.

I had a solid string of portraits I was pleased with that came about without too many potholes. Followed by a couple shakier days. As I said in a previous post, acrylic is a great medium for layering. I don’t use photoshop to color, but I imagine it’s similar except there’s no undo button.

That vibrancy you had with two adjacent swatches of color and painted over will never truly be the same again. Keeping this in mind is important to me because it acknowledges I can fix mistakes, but there are stakes involved so my decisions count for something.

Sometimes you don’t know what went wrong and can only do your best to right the ship in whatever way makes sense. Some artists hurl canvases or destroy the work as an act to exorcise those demons. I keep painting until I come up with something I can live with. The result may not equal the effort, but it gives me confidence that I wrestled the bear and came out the other side. Some of the work shows that struggle, but some of my favorite pieces have been birthed from this situation.

In the case of my example, I know exactly what was wrong. The concerns about previous struggles made me wistful for the breathing room of larger scale. Not that I haven’t been in the same situation with larger work, just that it feels so much less claustrophobic when I am.

I sketched Roddy’s portrait three times trying to encompass all of his head trying to rough in the basic shapes twice. The head grew larger than what I wanted to represent both times. By the third, I thought I had a solid enough map to begin. I only started taking photos after I saw Micah had tagged me for this task on Monday, so apologies that I don’t have the unpainted page. However, you can see the old sketch buried in the first photo.

As you can see, the during the painting process the image also began to grow to unwieldy proportions. If I was doing this for a commission or client, I would likely finish this piece to get it out of my system and start a new one if time allowed and present them with both options or save it for later and start again on a new canvas/page if time did not.

Since it is a sketchbook exercise, I decided to let it be as large as the space would allow and see what happened. It released some of that anxiety out of my system and the results work well enough.

As a coda, I’m also posting an image I painted of Saul Williams where I had a similar problem but, decided the hand gesture was too important. I sketched it again but left a ghost of the old sketch. This is one of my personal favorites in the series.

You’re almost done with me. Two days left. Tomorrow I’ll start talking about the three “I”s.

Repost: Day 4

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Fri, 01 May 2020 18:20:31 GMT

Day 4. Making the Sausage

I only had one oil painting course and two watercolor and neither of them focused too heavily on technique. My oil class had a guest instructor from NY who spent more time belittling my subject matter than giving any constructive criticism (his student assistant would’ve easily been the better choice for instructor). The watercolor courses had great instructors but they focused more heavily on principles than technique.

All of that to say I cannot teach anyone how to paint like Rembrandt. I mostly learned by looking at other artists I admired and through trial and error to find what works for me.

When I approach an ink drawing or watercolor I’m more conscious of my rendering. I’ve seen many artists create really refined and amazing under drawings for their paintings. I am too inpatient for that. If I’m there to paint, let’s get to painting. I don’t want to cover up a really refined drawing.

This means I will also not have Davinci-esque precise compositions. I like the element of peril waiting around the corner and trying to find the painting as I go sometimes leaving a bit of the history of older decisions behind.

Acrylic is amazing in that it can be used like watercolor (if you use paint with a high pigment load like Golden) or oils. If I’m painting on paper I like to begin in thinner layers and build to thicker ones playing with line, and broad strokes.

I’ve been working with slightly tighter under drawings for these pieces because of scale. It’s easier to overwork the pieces at this size for me, but (see earlier statement) acrylic can be layered as many times as you care to do so. A fun/danger duality for me.

When I paint in watercolor it’s about decisive, no turning back kind of strokes. I try to make the same choices in acrylic, but especially at this scale and with the desire to get the likeness I spend much longer on the pieces when things aren’t right.

I use three sizes of brushes when I paint these. I’m happiest when I only use the two large ones or can at least get away with absolute minimal use of the small one. Not only does it feel like some kind of concession to me, but my small brush doesn’t have the same balance of firmness and spring that I like in the other two.

The images take you through the initial sketch (which is semi loose and not terribly accurate) , my two stopping points and to the completed work with brushes in frame for comparison.

Tomorrow, I’ll talk about the inevitable…when things go wrong.

Repost: Day 3

Fri, 01 May 2020 17:37:55 GMT

Day 3. Finding the Path

Looking back, had the official Fishbone site not been kind enough to share my portraits of the band, I’m not entirely sure the images would’ve been found. The internet is packed to the gills with people turning out skilled art and we all want to be seen. The response was a nice way to celebrate with others how truly great the band is. Communing with fellow music lovers is always a joyful experience for me.

This also leads to another truly fun part of loving music. Trying to turn somebody on to something they haven’t already heard or haven’t given enough attention to. What if I tried to point folks towards other musicians I liked?

I decided to source them from concert footage and see what happened. I would hop around depending on mood. At first, I targeted a couple artists at a time. I photographed the concerts as they played and chose what I wanted.

This is fun, but also poses problems:

1. The footage is often grainy. My daughter has laughed more than once at how bad some of the photos are. This is not the technique for you if you’re wanting to make photorealistic work. A likeness is very important to me (in fact I can get too caught up in the pursuit of it), but I want my paintings to have visible brushwork and the history of my hand in them.

2. I don’t know if you’ve ever paused a show and caught someone in the middle of an awkward face. You get a lot of that.

As I said, the first wasn’t a problem for me and often tied in for my desire to give the images a sense of movement. The second was solved by doing something photographers often don’t- referencing multiple shots. I’ve done this for around a third of the portraits I’ve done so far. The one I did today being an example of this. I’ll save that for tomorrow when I get into the nuts and bolts of my process.

For now, the posted photos are a few examples of portraits referenced from multiple photos.

Repost: Day 2

Fri, 01 May 2020 17:31:23 GMT

Day 2. Your Own Beat

After deciding to paint in my sketchbook, I needed to figure out a direction.

Before the quarantine, I considered painting boxers referenced from life. I’ve always enjoyed sketching boxers and wild animals. Historical likenesses have to come from somewhere and the pieces didn’t always feel as fresh to me using a photo heavily ingrained in the public consciousness.

I contacted my closest legitimate looking gym asking if I might come in and take photos for art reference…and was stonewalled. I felt a bit deflated because I was excited about the idea of figures in motion being a variable in new work.

Ultimately, it was for the best as a family situation arose that would have not meshed well with being too far from home. I pursued other ideas including the painting in the lower left of the Day 1 post, a way to encompass a scrapped comic short story about Sonny Liston.

I had used multiple frames from the Louis/ Marciano fight film for another comic (first image). This was nothing new. I had used this same approach with other films in the past, but thinking about these put me down that path again for the sketchbook.

While painting, I had also switched from podcasts back to music. Podcasts are a great way to semi- substitute conversations you’re missing holed up making art. However, the vibrancy of music is rocket fuel in my painting tank. I had been listening to all of Fishbone’s albums on VERY heavy rotation (“Nutmeg” off of Chim Chim had become my pre-paint hype music) and revisited the documentary Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone because of it.

I decided to do portraits of the original band members as a thank you. I began with founder/bassist Norwood Fisher (second image). I was using a straight forward portrait approach based off of the interview segments until I came to the fifth member, Kendall Jones (third image). I preferred the more remote pose and painted that. Original drummer and Norwood’s brother, Phillip “Fish” Fisher (fourth image), was the sixth and last member to paint. However, he was only featured in archival footage. I decided to use an old concert.

After painting it, I realized I had backed into that sense of motion I was looking for.

Repost: Day 1

Fri, 01 May 2020 17:27:12 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

I was talked into doing a seven day process post on Facebook Monday. I thought I would repeat it here for anyone that found the website first.

Day 1- How and why-

I’m not sure how folks in my feed will appreciate me rambling about process for the next seven days, but I was tagged by

Micah Goguen and I try not to back down from challenges. I like to pick up new materials to experiment with when possible and was pitched a Stillman & Birn Zeta Series sketchbook at the local Binders Art Supplies and Frames ArtFolio event. I normally like larger sketchbooks but 8” x10” was the maximum size. I ended up being sold on the idea that the book could take a lot of punishment. I usually make my sketchbooks live hard so it sounded like something I needed to test.

I broke the first page in thanks to John Trotter and his self portrait challenge (second photo). The book did seem to take punishment well. Then all the art shows I was going to be and hoped to be in started being postponed or cancelled altogether thanks to the pandemic. Making more large canvases to sit around indefinitely didn’t seem practical, but I really wanted to paint. Seeing my fellow Art Gone Wild artists like Jon, Micah,Amy Ashbaugh and Beth Gustavson Art push themselves with challenges along with https://www.instagram.com/fareldal/ daily Instagram pieces pointed me back to the sketchbook that held the paint so well. I decided to put no qualifiers on myself other than try to have fun and make work as frequently as I could being holed up with kids who occasionally need help with their strange new school reality.

A little thing called music was the next big piece of the puzzle.

More portraits!

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 23:44:44 GMT

Ten more Instagram portraits since I last posted. This is the most recent, Jim Martin, former guitarist of Faith No More. Peek in the portrait section to see what's new as of this post. Travel to my Instagram account for up to date developments as I let things slide on the website for a couple of weeks before updating. Thanks for looking.

Goodbye to a great musician

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 13:21:12 GMT

Did this one on last Friday, the third, upon hearing of Bill Withers' passing. It's referenced off a 1973 BBC concert. He contributed a lot of great music. It's too bad he never felt like he could come back to it, but we're lucky to have what he gave us.

Rock Action

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Wed, 25 Mar 2020 14:19:52 GMT

This is another one from the series of Instagram portraits I've been up to. I wanted to do a young Scott "Rock Action" Asheton, but I've been using video footage for references and, sadly, there is very little Stooges footage in their early years where you can see Scott clearly. So, instead I used footage of the 2000s Stooges reunion tour and crossed it with the opposing page of young Scott playing with his head bowed.

Intagrammin'

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 13:33:58 GMT

Looking at the portraits section, I had a lot of work I was proud of but it just felt like it needed some refreshing. I had also had people urging me to start an Instagram account for a while (read YEARS). Plus, I've seen a lot of great artists lately turning out exciting and inspiring quick work.

I thought I'd combine them all quick(er) pieces (that are hopefully exciting), Instagram accounts and the desire to make more portraits with a task that would allow me to explore painting in between larger pieces.

I started with the original lineup of Fishbone because ALL of their albums have been providing the fuel for my painting sessions lately. The one above of founder and stalwart member, Norwood Fisher was the one that kicked it all off.

So far, I have nine sketchbook pieces in the can which I've just used to refresh my portrait page. I'll periodically update them as I go, but https://instagram.com/eidsonart/ will be the place to go to see them as they come out.

Bridge (in Saville's shadow)

Sun, 23 Feb 2020 19:10:41 GMT

I did this one because I was experimenting with taking blind selfies for the AGW portrait challenge mentioned in the previous post. I was messing around with mirrors and thought this might be fun to do. i knew the great Jenny Saville had done some portraits with mirrors and I tried to keep it loose as a nod to her. However, I did not paint it on a 8'x10' canvas like she would. This is only 24"x30".

Self portrait challenge

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 23:53:04 GMT

This one is for a little back and forth with some of my fellow artists from the Zoo Atlanta Art Gone Wild group. The idea being periodic challenges to get folks making art. The first challenge is a self portrait.

you are what you...

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 00:43:20 GMT

This one is intended as a counterpoint to the painting I did back in September, Heaping Bowl.

False Comfort

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Sat, 25 Jan 2020 01:25:11 GMT

Night Walk

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 23:00:27 GMT

First large scale piece of the new year! Acrylic 30" x 40".

Unrequited

Thu, 21 Nov 2019 21:33:50 GMT

The Hudgens 9th Annual Juried Members' Exhibition

Wed, 06 Nov 2019 18:14:19 GMT

Very happy to announce my tiger painting, Strut, is included in the Hudgens 9th Annual Juried Member's Exhibition (that's it in the corner there). I'll be there for the opening reception, Saturday, November 9th from 2 - 4 pm. I hope to see you there too. From the promotional images released (like this one courtesy of the Hudgens) it looks to be a very promising show.

If you can't make it Saturday, the show runs until January 25th. If you've never been to the Hudgens before you are in for a treat. So glad to have it call Gwinnett its home.

New Painting

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Sat, 28 Sep 2019 15:39:49 GMT

LifeLine Project!

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Sun, 22 Sep 2019 21:25:23 GMT

Fellow Art Gone Wild artist, John Trotter , wrangled together a bunch of artists to contribute work for the grand opening of the new LifeLine animal adoption facility. Come take an animal home and an artist's portrait of them as a bonus! Here's my subject, Benjamin Button. Handsome face guaranteed (I give none on the aging backwards into an adorable but profoundly wise puppy).

Tannery Row Fall Show 2019

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Thu, 12 Sep 2019 13:38:11 GMT

My piece, Phantoms, will be on display starting this Saturday September 14th - November 1st at the Tannery Row Artist Colony in Buford, GA. Swing by and check out some art!

This is what happens..

Wed, 07 Aug 2019 00:50:06 GMT

when I bring some reading about a great film and my sketchbook while waiting for my windshield to be replaced. It fits. We could all use some Juicy Fruit right about now.

AGW 2019 finished pieces

Mon, 10 Jun 2019 03:20:29 GMT

Here are my finished pieces for Zoo Atlanta 's 2019 Art Gone Wild show. I urge you to come to the opening and see all the art this Friday, the 14th, from 7-10 PM or Saturday and Sunday 9:30- 5:30.
Even if my work is not for you, there is such an embarrassment of talent in all styles that you're bound to find something that is and it's for a good cause.

AGW day four, post three

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 21:51:17 GMT

Another fun day at Zoo Atlanta 's Art Gone Wild. Loved the conversations and interactions with fellow artists, zoo employees and guests.
Got a head start on a Rinca piece in the morning and fought the rain for a couple of hours to start another painting of one of their beautiful lappet-faced vultures. That's right, I said beautiful. Folks have a tendency to ignore that beauty because they eat dead things, but, if you really look, they have as much majesty as any eagle or hawk that get all the accolades.

Speaking of accolades, it's been great hearing all the positive feedback about my work. However, the real star this week is my wonderful wife, Lisa. She manned the kids, juggled work and started making things for our daughter's early birthday party this weekend (see the cookies) all while dealing with increasing discomfort related to an impending surgery. My wife, you are a superstar. I love you.

Which is why I sadly will not be attending the final day of Art Gone Wild. I will miss this week because despite the headaches that arise traveling to get to the Zoo from our location this week always allows me tons of great conversations and the sense of what it must feel like to be a wholly successful artist. Thanks everyone!

AGW 2019 post 2 (day 3)

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 02:49:02 GMT

I had a commitment to be close to home today so I missed out on talking with folks and seeing what my fellow artists were cooking up. Fortunately, said commitment only required me to be at hand so I was able to churn out a few more small 10" x 7" and 7" x 10" watercolor sketches for the line sale at Zoo Atlanta. Here they are...

I'll be making a go of it, rain or shine, the next couple of days though. Looking forward to more great conversations!

Promotional behind!

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 23:08:36 GMT

Art Gone Wild is already underway and I have been negligent to post about it. There is a lot of amazing art being created to help raise money for Zoo Atlanta. If you can, please come out and see all of the artists hard at it. We will be out all this week painting larger works for the big art sale beginning June 14th as well as showcasing smaller art every day this week at a clothesline sale.

Here's what I've been up to so far...

Abernathy Arts Center

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Wed, 01 May 2019 15:18:57 GMT

If you are in traveling distance of Sandy Springs, GA, please swing by and check out the show at the Abernathy Arts Center that opens this Friday (May 3). It is up through June 14 with an opening reception on Saturday, May 11th. My piece, "The Golden Thread" is a part of it.

Jim and friends

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Fri, 19 Apr 2019 21:13:12 GMT

A couple of Saturdays ago I was with my son down at the Center for Puppetry Arts checking out the museum (as he loves to do). They had just opened a staged version of Harold and the Purple Crayon and were asking visitors to contribute to a banner with their own drawings in purple crayon. I did a quick doodle of Jim and Kermit and ever since I've had an itch to do a small watercolor of him. This week I made it happen. I didn't squeeze every character he voiced in (sorry Link and Traveling Matt fans), but I got a lot of the ones that made both myself and my kids smile.

Phantoms

Fri, 29 Mar 2019 19:56:37 GMT

Boxing warm-ups

Thu, 28 Feb 2019 17:26:18 GMT

Drawing boxers from articles while picking up little facts along the way is pure sketchbook joy for me. It had been a while since I rifled off more than one or two and I decided to remedy that while working on new ideas and framing old pieces. Here are a few of them.

Cycling down

Tue, 05 Feb 2019 14:20:51 GMT

I have been working with a set of symbols for a while now that, in my mind at least, follow a loose narrative. This image is a call back to those previous pieces and is also rounding the corner toward a coda. These pieces drew from ideas that began their life in my older pieces, sketchbooks and comics. Many of the pieces were an attempt to challenge myself to not use the figure, which is something I love, because I wanted to see the places the work took me without it. I think I may have one more piece in this set which (will be less overt) and then it will be time to move on . Whether or not the work has value to the viewer is up to them, but I've enjoyed the ride and I always like putting images out there that ask the viewer to interpret a foreign language I'm speaking to them. Granted, that means sometimes you get unwanted interpretations, but that is part of the risk you take in the hope that what you put out there will genuinely speak to someone at their core because of their own experiences, history and loves. Thanks for looking.

linoleum cut prints part 2

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Wed, 16 Jan 2019 14:41:20 GMT

ATHICA Member Show

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Wed, 16 Jan 2019 14:35:35 GMT

I linked to the promotion post on Facebook before the show, but did not post about it here. The good news is you have the benefit of my hastily taken, poorly framed photographs in this post (there is a reason why my wife is the photographer). This weekend past I was in Athens for the show at ATHICA ( Athens Institute for Contemporary Art) which I was a part of. It was a great show with friendly faces and diverse art and a new venue for me . If you're in the area, the show is hanging through the 10th of February and is well worth checking out.

linoleum cuts

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Mon, 14 Jan 2019 15:25:50 GMT

I have finally made good on my website threat to print these linoleum cuts.

Holiday commissions

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Mon, 31 Dec 2018 20:43:39 GMT

Three images from a Christmas commission that should now be safe to post. I was happy with the closer cropped image of Boudreaux as a painting, but not as a likeness and gave it second go. I can get hung up on capturing a likeness without any extra reasoning, but I think it is especially important when you're doing an image of a loved one for someone.

Two more

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Tue, 04 Dec 2018 17:35:38 GMT

Two more in the larger drawing experiments. The second was veering slightly into the realm of painting.

New drawings

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 01:14:44 GMT

Working on some larger scale drawings. This one came about from a combination of reading the Liston book and wanting to revisit the Shadow Boxer 2 composition. However, this time I'm mounting it and wiring it in the center so that the image can be reversed and the narrative changed.

Hudgens Center for Art and Learning

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 01:27:14 GMT

This Saturday November 17 from 2-4 pm I will be attending the Hudgens Center for Art and Learning's award reception for their annual juried member show. My piece, Red Shirt 3 (in the middle of the photo), is included in the show. I would be happy to see you there.

If you can't make it Saturday, the show runs through January 27, 2019. You can also check out the great exhibit culled from Gwinnett collectors on display while you're there.

Friday 11/16/18 update: I just took a quiet walk around the Hudgens Center for the Arts so I could take everything in before I'm there tomorrow for the reception. In my last post, I did not mention you could also see prints done in collaboration with the Atlanta Printmakers Studio. All of which are 4' x 8' in size like this one I snapped a photo of here.
More info about the collaborations here: https://thehudgens.org/event/atlanta-printmakers-studio-the-best-of-print-big/

A couple more

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 20:03:51 GMT

Two more small watercolor portraits.

Watercolor Portraits

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Fri, 12 Oct 2018 14:45:21 GMT

I spent a lot of last week framing and, due to an unforeseen hiccup, was reaching points of OCD insanity so I thought I'd counter that with a couple watercolor portraits.

Even though I love figurative work, I have been doing less to challenge myself in terms of the more personal work, but it's always nice to go back. So, in the spirit of the quick animal sketches, I did these. The first based off a photo of our boy I snapped long ago when he had taken to sleeping in his $1 Seuss hat he got for an elementary reading celebration.

The second based on one of three really poor resolution photos I have in my possession of a good friend gone 13 years now. It's meant as a celebration because I still laugh frequently at things he said and did and imagine comments he would have said and smile. Always treasure the folks in your life that make days feel a little bit lighter and, if you lose them, try to turn your focus on how lucky you were to have known them at all.

Tannery Row Fall 2018 show

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 14:07:05 GMT

Very pleased to announce that I got two pieces in the Tannery Row art show this year. Please come out and see me if you can.

Sonny

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 23:49:36 GMT

I was inspired to do this one after reading Shaun Assael's The Murder of Sonny Liston. It's the second book I've read about him (the other being The Devil and Sonny Liston by Nick Tosches). Liston is always a fascinating person to try to delve into. Full of dichotomies , surrounded by questionable decisions and events and a fearsome figure in the ring.

I initially wanted a similar approach to the Path of Totality painting I made last year just using ink for the wolves (see below) because I thought Sonny would fit perfectly in the themes I was trying to explore in that piece. However, things never quite jelled and most of the wolves ended up being obscured. The end result was the final piece at the top.

Red Shirt 3

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Wed, 19 Sep 2018 23:41:38 GMT

New painting.

Good neighbors

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 14:32:47 GMT

Good neighbors make all the difference. When you have someone that lives close by that not only doesn't appear to actively run when they see you, but also takes the time for a friendly word and the chance to get to know them a little better, it makes you a feel good.

We've been very lucky to have several of them since we moved to this neighborhood a couple of years ago. This character is a close companion of one of those good neighbors. I knew I was talking to someone interesting when he told me his dog's name is Plato and the name really does suit him. Plato always looks like he's mulling over big ideas as he casually walks by our home on his morning stroll.

New Zoo Studies

Sun, 19 Aug 2018 20:57:29 GMT

It's been a while since I posted any of my own stuff. So, I'm rectifying that now.

In the vein of the Art Gone Wild work, a series mostly referenced from our visit to the Milwaukee County Zoo last month (with the exception of the lappet-faced vulture referenced from Zoo Atlanta).

It was an incredible zoo and I'd recommend it if you're in the area. They had a few animals I hadn't seen before and it was laid out quite nicely. My only bit of disappointment was that the hyenas were not out. I would have loved some reference of those guys.

Finally, I'll end on this guy. The greater Malayan chevrotain. A wild looking creature typically referred to as a "mouse deer" which is as good a summary of what it looks like as I can come up with. Fun fact- apparently this character's hind quarters are higher than it's head when it stands on all four legs.

Honored

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Fri, 06 Jul 2018 19:26:33 GMT

Back in May, I sent out some sequential work to a call for entries. I don't do comics as much as I would like, but I love the challenge of them and would like for the ones I do make to be seen. I was especially attracted to the idea of this show because it was judged by Dave McKean. McKean's work was a huge reason why I started returning to comic shops. I think my first exposure to him was in the Arkham Asylum book (which I loved), but Violent Cases blew me away when I came across it. Then came Signal to Noise and those astounding Sandman covers that Vertigo published that looked so different from everything else. Not to mention Cages. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to know that McKean had at least placed his eyeballs on my work.

I was especially pleased when I found out that one of the three comics I submitted was selected for the show.

I was hoping to locate a good connection close to the host, Sangre de Cristo Arts Center in Pueblo, CO so that I could ask them to post some photos on this blog. Hopefully I can make it happen. The show has been open since June 9th and continues through September in their Hoag Gallery. Please check it out if you can.

Finals for Art Gone Wild

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 03:26:58 GMT

Above are the final versions of my pieces for Zoo Atlanta's Art Gone Wild . Framed and ready to be dropped off for sale this coming weekend.

Art Gone Wild- day 4

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 20:34:03 GMT

Sadly, this will be my last post for Zoo Atlanta's Art Gone Wild . I was obligated for three days and three finished pieces. I've got four that have real potential when finished. It was an amazing experience and I'm glad I did it despite Atlanta heat and traffic (seriously, folks if you have a daily commute of 90+ minutes consider finding a new home or job, life is too short for that mess). I'm going to use tomorrow to sharpen up the pieces I have and paint my daughter's birthday pinata (as is tradition). It should be easy to knock out with all the practice I've had this week.

I want to thank my beautiful wife for watching the kids on the first two days, my awesome parents for driving from a whole other state to pick up the kids (by 7:20 AM no less) just to turn around to sit in I-85 standstill, my sister and her kids who also drove over two hours to see me paint and the incredible employees, patrons and artists who shared a laugh and a kind word with me while I was there. It was a really positive way to keep the art skills sharp and I'll have to keep looking for more like this. Thanks very much.

First selfie ever, repping the mighty Comeback Vinyl.

AGW- day 3 bonus

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 05:05:18 GMT

Apologies for the additional post, but I'm wound up and know I won't sleep easily. Sometimes when you paint and things go south, you feel like you're wrestling a bear. On the very rare ocassion, you win. Tonight was one of those. While this one isn't done. I'm happy with the progress.

Art Gone Wild- day 3

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 22:32:48 GMT

This piece was the one that was getting away from me yesterday. It originally contained just the pose in the background. I wasn't happy with it and my model kept striking poses that I liked so much more than the one I had for reference. I was trying to alternate between painting, looking, and taking snap shots of the new poses with the phone. Meanwhile, the ATL heat was drying the acrylic paints if left alone for more than 30 seconds to a firm skin and making my phone hot to the touch. Also there is some kind of bug that is about the size of a common house fly that is quite the biter.

I decided I'd try a multiple view of the animal as a compromise to try to save it (taking inspiration from the mighty Jenny Saville). In the early stages it was quite the mess. Quote of the day from a young man, "Hmmmm... It's not the best". I told him I agreed but, that is why acrylic paint is awesome because it allows you to pull something great from a mess by painting over it. Still, despite my best efforts, the heat and insects were pulling the same moves today so this is tonight's homework.

Best part of the day, my sister and my nephews were crazy enough to travel from Augusta to see me. Given Atlanta traffic that is no simple task so I was really touched and happy to see them.

AGW- day 2 bonus...late

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 22:08:04 GMT

Epson extortion

Late due to the fact that our Epson printer/scanner not only won't print when one of the inks is missing, but also will not scan (c'mon NX240, I call that extortion). Also, due to not been able to get a decent photo from three different devices that didn't make these look like they were the color of the Declaration of Independence last night.

Art Gone Wild Day 2

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Tue, 05 Jun 2018 19:55:47 GMT

I was very happy with how well this piece pulled together for the second day of Zoo Atlanta's Art Gone Wild event. It also led to my favorite comment so far. I was using a lot of blue undertones on this piece and was surrounded by a group of very adorable and complimentary kids. One small girl did her very best to discreetly whisper to her friend after complimenting me "It's not that blue".

Unfortunately the second piece I started didn't fair nearly as well and I'm now debating whether to scrap it in entirety or experiment with it and see what happens. Also, acrylic paint and high Atlanta heat are not friends.

AGW- day one bonus

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Tue, 05 Jun 2018 02:53:55 GMT

These are more quick watercolor studies to end up on the clothesline sale this week during Art Gone Wild.

Art Gone Wild

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Tue, 05 Jun 2018 00:33:59 GMT

Day one...

Well, day one started off a bit rocky. Every time I'd left for the zoo in the past it took 70 minutes max. So, in theory I left with a decent lead time. However, ATL traffic never fails to disappoint. 90 minute drive today ending in me being 10 minutes late. Always the best way to impress, being late the first day.

However, after I got settled down and in it was a good time. Staff, guests and fellow artists were friendly and I got to squeeze in several pleasant chats while I was there. Above is the progress from the morning and afternoon. Going to get an early start on things tomorrow and there won't be a meeting so hopefully there'll be even more progress to show on painting #2.

I also have a few more of the small watercolor sketches to post. Will try to do so soon.

Art Gone Wild- the ramp up

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 02:09:33 GMT

at Zoo Atlanta

I am going to be out with many talented folks as part of Art Gone Wild at Zoo Atlanta from June 4-8. Please come down and watch as I try to kkep up with them by putting my best foot forward!

Above are three quick studies for animals. That I took photos of on my "find your muse" day.

Curtis!

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Thu, 24 May 2018 18:55:57 GMT

I'm in the middle of reading Traveling Soul: The Life of Curtis Mayfield by Todd Mayfield and Travis Atria. Anyone who knows anything about me knows I love this man's music and respect the message he always put forth in it. Of course, when you read about someone from the perspective of a loved one you get to see all the warts too, but there is no denying that this man's music is a force of nature and a great way to lift your spirits. So, I once again went about trying to knock out a quick painting of the man himself.

Figure drawings

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Wed, 23 May 2018 18:47:44 GMT

A couple of weeks ago I was able to finally make it up to the Quinlan Visual Arts Center to get in on a figure drawing session. Of course, you can get out in the world and sketch people, but there is something special about the energy when you're making work in a group of people. My biggest reluctance in going was that this is the second group I've found out about that happens to be 40+ minutes away from us. Not an unacceptable distance, but one that still requires some planning. We have an excellent museum close to us that also has classes and I've tried nudging a few times in the hope that they'll host sessions. That said, I know it requires a lot of planning and support so I'm thankful when I come across someone willing to put out the effort.

A little old, a little new

eidsonartworks@gmail.com (Stephen Eidson) — Thu, 17 May 2018 03:06:58 GMT

It's official, I have a (new)blog and I just might use it.

While I was raising kids, I never stopped making art. However, what I did allow myself to do was stop putting the work out there. I was lucky enough for a while to find an online forum with a good group that served as my art community. I frankly didn't get out much. No babysitter and a fear of being unable to find someone capable of handling a child on the spectrum when I often felt overwhelmed myself made sure of that.

When that forum ended, I found less reasons to put myself out there. I continued to make art and occasionally find places for it, but it isn't the same as being in the public eye and receiving feedback and it was always on a smaller scale. I made art and I poured everything I had into the kids. I also started resenting myself. I hated that I let myself become too mired down in the day to day and because I was failing at getting the work out there. However, there was always an obligation that could be easily placed over pursuing new avenues to show my work. Which always compounded the reasons to resent myself.

I read a nearly 900 page book to semi-learn code to make my first website. There came a time when that needed to come down because I felt it didn't work anymore. Plus, it was being hosted by an international company and the fees were getting to be a bit much. The thought of relearning code even with my handwritten crib notes became intimidating. Also, I had allowed myself to become invisible. Fortunately, intelligent sites came along and I've gotten to the point where I feel I can step away fand focus on the work without too much threat of missing a needed communication with the school.

All that to say- new website, new prospects, new outlook and let's see what comes of it.