This painting that goes back a few years. I was playing around with Brewer’s Blackbirds as stark symbolic subjects. Lacking the stature and mystique of the crow they are nonetheless interesting birds. The strange light ring of their eye… the surreal dark shapes they create in the sky with their multitudes. I dusted this one off recently as it was purchased by my brother in-law as a Christmas gift. I realized I didn’t have a decent photograph so I took a little time to capture one!
This was a small painting I did after doing a lot of large expressive paintings with similar color and value. This was much more realistic. It’s a recent relic, the subject over shadowed the paint. Still it has it’s charms!
I started this painting January 1st. It is going to be a busy year, best get started!
This is the second typewriter painting I have done. I used my Grandmother’s typewriter as reference for the image. This particular painting was 20″ x 20″, a bit of room to play. I wanted to keep this loose and intriguing. The last thing I wanted was to turn it into a technical rendering which is utterly dull to me. I was pretty happy with the result and a little sad to see it go when I sold it in October.
In high school I took a “typing class” at my mothers suggestion. Now typewriters are simply a curious historical artifact. The electric typewriter I used in school did not possess any of the beauty of this antique… But it was the late 80’s!
This was the third in a triptich that I did called “Other Spaces”. The images were simple and bleak but interesting, particularly together. I used paint brushes and a 24″ squeegee to create these paintings that are 20″ x 20″ each.
When I was young I used to get so excited about hunting season. The crisp fall air, camping with my Dad. Now I find myself releasing every fish i catch… I love animals the idea of hunting has lost the magic. I have always loved animals but the way we humans absolutely eat this planet so much worst then hunting. I cherish wildlife and it is truly one of my great joys. This is painting is a few years old but appropriate for the season.
I have been playing around with some atmospheric cloud images. This is a sample of a work in progress.
I have been continuing with some atmospheric water and sky paintings but so far haven’t been too pleased with the results. Sometimes you can feel the magic, sometimes you are alone in a paint spattered room. In the interim I figured I would post some more of my poor sad cow friends.
Since I was a child I have always had an interest in skulls. I used to collect them and prize each skull I came across in my wanderings. At a certain point that sort of behavior becomes a bit “odd”. Luckily all of my interests were odd so it blended seamlessly into the patchwork.
A couple years ago I spent a bit of time painting still life images containing rocks and bones… This particular setup was in a box I lined with aluminum foil. As the title suggests, it is the skull of a peccary… a really interesting little pig like animal found in the desert. The skull is incredibly thick and powerful for such a tiny creature… and the teeth!
This painting goes back a few years.
I was working with really thick translucent acrylic paint. I would pour it on and aggressively dry it in front of a heater and the surface would craze in unpredictable ways. A person can never entirely dictate the way materials will interact when used in unconventional ways. That unpredictable outcome can result in something that feels akin to magic but more often results in wasted materials. I was caught in a loop basically lured along by glimpses of success but wasting too much time. Quite literally hanging around watching the paint dry! The method of painting, used in this particular piece along with scores of others, I have moved away from. It started to feel more and more like that definition of insanity…
This blackbird painting was one I considered a success, he seemed to know the score.
brian sostrom 