Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Male and Female Figure Studies


I'm going through the paintings I've done over the last two years. This life study was finished in one of Andriulli's painting classes. It's funny, but the gallery where I exhibited last year did not want any nudes. (Please excuse the bad cropping job).

I love my nude paintings but nobody seems to want to hang them in their homes. My children do not want me to leave them around. The human body is a beautiful thing. These models were middle aged.

It is the end of the year and I am going through my "unsuccessful" paintings and obliterating many of them. I am not obliterating this one even though no one wants it. I am obliterating the many crappy and overworked paintings that are cluttering up my old Amish shed. Its the end of the year I can destroy! Destroy! Obliterate! Time to start the new year fresh!

12 comments:

neetzy said...

From Neetzy:

I have tried several times to "fix" the formatting of the text to no avail. Sorry. I did not plan this.

dive said...

Never mind the formatting, it's the painting I want to look at. Hee hee.

How cool that your palette and style works equally well on life painting as it does on landscape, Neetzy.
The amount of fabulous colours you can find in painting naked skin never ceases to amaze me. I do miss life class these days but my commute means I can no longer attend.

I can understand some people not wanting to see nudes hanging in their homes but I usually have some of mine up around the place (I am constantly rearranging) and Mikey has several huge nudes in his house, too.

Never obliterate old paintings! I have on occasion gone through my depressing stacks of false-start and overpainted canvases and found something newly inspiring decades after it was abandoned.
Plus it's always good to look at my mistakes and learn from them.

Here's wishing you and the family a happy and prosperous (and hugely creative) New Year, Neetzy.

neetzy said...

Thanks Dive,

Just for clarification purposes...when I obliterate, I usually try to make something new with the old. I try to keep the framework, add extra paint. Sometimes I use the old as an underpainting. I only do this with ones that were severely overpainted or not finished for whatever reason. I will have to post some of these. They are usually a bit more abstract. Sometimes wonderful things happen.
Thanks again for your comments. I will not be able to actually "take" a life class. My old prof moved his class to 4:00 p.m. and it is almost an hour away. I cannot get there after school. I do enjoy painting the figure. I would like to incorporate more into my paintings.

Anyway. Have a wonderful New Year Dive. I'm glad I got to know you a bit through blogging this year!

Shazza said...

I don't think I've ever seen this one Neetz...I like it. I think the nude body is a beautiful thing as well...except when it's mine!!!

I remember when you were trying to sell your other house and you made little bikinis for all the nudes you had hanging in the basement. I thought that was the perfect artistic answer to a snobby and uptight real estate agent!!!

Her Eye Zone Art said...

lol..love the bikini story! I love what you did with the figures. I agree totally with Dive. You always do beautiful things with your colors. Just dropping in to wish you and yours a very Happy New Year!!! :)

Take care!

-Anita

neetzy said...

Hey Shaz,
Happy New Year. My kids didn't like this painting. I have a nude female who never came back for the second sitting. She was a beautiful girl - either Latina or mulatto, but very pretty. I thought of morphing her into a mermaid or something. (Maybe I'll photo it and post it)

neetzy said...

Hey Anita,

I'm glad you stopped by. I started life drawing classes when I was in high school using pastel. (Not at school but at the Ocean City Cultural Arts Center). We used pastel. That teacher was the first to suggest using non-local color in painting. I think the message stayed with me!

Kat Mortensen said...

Hi neetzy! I really like this painting - particularly the man - his expression (or lack of of) it suggests a marriage that has grown tired. (They may not even be a pair, are they?) Your use of colour is good - muted, not garish and the fluidity of the figures makes them look almost like fish to me.
I had thought of being an artist's model - I don't believe I'd have trouble taking off my clothes - I just don't know if I could hold a pose for very long without cramping up.

Kat

neetzy said...

Poetikat,

Thanks for the nice comments. I love the "fluidity of the figures like fish". Nice alliteration. I can tell you are a poet! I think you have to be very comfortable with yourself to model nude. Flexibility is important too. It helps to be able meditate or to "trancend" in some way!

Kat Mortensen said...

I spend a good deal of time in my mind. I think that would work, but I'm still worried about the stiffness of holding a pose.

Kat

butterfly woman said...

I too think the nude is a beautiful thing. I love there are two models in this painting. I've only painted from one but love the couple. And your colors are fabulous. What medium do you use? I keep my nude paintings in hiding right now, wondering if there is a public domain for them. I am not giving up on showing them though. Also, I do collage myself. So if I have old paintings or photos I cut and paste them (sometimes digitally) and a whole new image emerges more consistent with who I am now. My husband would rather I just burn them all, feeling they hold me back. I think otherwise, they are my babies, I cling just a tad emotionally to them. Love your creativity! Keep it up.

neetzy said...

Butterfly woman,

What does your husband want you to burn? Your photos or your paintings?