The Poet Sleeps

Before the year ends, here's another new drawing:



Brush & ink on paper, 2006, 12" x 12". Another "eyes closed" kind of head, which is probably a metaphor for the imagination or something (solipsism?). Reminds me in terms of feel of Rilke, which also reminds me I should really finish my unfinished Duino Elegies series of paintings/large painted drawings...maybe in 2007...

Masked

After that last batch, here's something a bit more familiar:



White acrylic on black posterboard, 2006, 15" x 12". One of my "negative" works. I like the odd sense of dislocation that happens when the lines are white & the field is black. From an endless series (many of my series are open-ended).

Bessie

While we're on the subject of odd stuff (post below this one), here's another one that doesn't quite fit into my oeuvre:



Brush & ink on paper, 2006, 12" x 12". I guess what unites this image with the one below is a dark sense of humor that doesn't usually pervade my work as much. I normally avoid irony like the plague (it's so been done), but maybe this is as close as I get.

Sister Ray

This one's an oddity:



Brush & ink on paper, 2006, 12" x 12". I did it the other day. Occasionally, images come out that really don't relate that much to my "mainstream" work, & this is one. But, I thought I'd put it up here. Apologies to the Velvet Underground for stealing their song title (not really) -- there is no discernible relation between the image & the song, except for the title.

Head for Riccardo

Another one (see post below):



Acrylic on board, 2006, 12" x 9". Stephen & Riccardo are two guys in Australia I met over the Internet & kind of lost touch with over the last year.

Head for Stephen

Here's a small painting I did months ago & have been meaning to photograph & upload:



Acrylic on board, 2006, 12" x 9". It's the end of the year & I'm trying to finish off all those little things that built up & never got done. A few more coming...

Bone Tree painting

Here's a new small painting based on the "Bone Tree" image from the sketchbook a few entries below:



Acrylic on board, 10" x 8". Scanned in directly from my flatbed scanner. I'll probably do a larger, more finished version of this at some point (soon?). I hadn't done a color painting for a couple of weeks, so I wanted to get back into that before the end of the year...Happy Holidays, BTW...

Sketchbook page 31 -- Hollow Obelisk

Another page from the new sketchbook:



I'll probably post a few more images from the sketchbook, but at this point I really want to create some new work...

Sketchbook page 98 -- Tower

Another page from the new sketchbook:

Sketchbook page 134 -- Bone Tree

Here's page 134 of the new sketchbook, which I'm entitling "Bone Tree":



This may become a painting or more finished work at some later (or sooner) date...

Page 148 -- Knee 2

Page 148 is a similar image to the one in the previous post. It was actually done first, as I recall:



But, I'm calling it "Knee 2" because I put the other one up first. So, not all the images are so semi-automatic. Sometimes, I would do one & then do its reflection on the facing page in the sketchbook. By "reflection", I mean its counterpart, not mirror image as such.

Page 147 -- Knee

Here's page 147:



I'm calling it "Knee", as that's what it looks like. I did most of these images without too many preconceptions, semi-automatic drawings, I guess. There are lots of body parts, figures, torsos, heads, anthropomorphic objects, landscape bits, & so on. In a way, the usual themes, but also full of little surprises.

Page 33

Here's page 33 from the sketchbook:



It's another headlike object, not surprising, as that's a major theme. I liked the ambiguity in this one -- is the head cut off at the top, or is that some kind of a mouth? FYI, the sketchbook took around a month to complete.

Page count

I've just counted & numbered the pages in the sketchbook. There are 158. The "Head" image below is page 103, FYI. All the drawings are done in brush & ink. I started (mostly) with some fairly random strokes in watery ink, then used dark strokes to fill in the rest of the drawing, not caring too much what I was doing. I'm quite happy with the results. More images to follow shortly...I'm not going to put up all 158 -- just 5 or 6 at this point...

Page from sketchbook

Here's a page I selected at random:



That's from approximately in the middle of the book. It's a study of a head, obviously. I wanted the images in the book to be looser than some of my more finished works, to let the floodgates open, if I could. I can see influences of Picasso, Bacon & Guston in there...but that's not really the point. The point, if there was one, was to develop a fluency & break through to some new ground, to not really think too much about what I was doing & just let as much as possible come out in terms of raw creativity. Whatever that means.

New Sketchbook back cover

Here's the back cover of the sketchbook:



Size of the book is 11" x 8.5". It's made of recycled paper, & I found it while at Wal-Mart.

New Sketchbook

Here's the cover of a sketchbook I literally just finished:



It's been a while since I filled an actual sketchbook from start to finish. I'll be posting some random (or not-so-random) images over the next few days...

Promontory

I always was fond of those strange outcroppings of rock in Netherlandish art (Breughel et al). This is one of my versions. Oddly, the Netherlands are quite flat in their topography, so that makes the whole idea doubly exotic...



Acrylic on board, 2006, 12" x 9".

Slight Name Change

I've just renamed this blog to "Ayton Art Blog" -- it's a bit shorter & seemed better. I trust this will not confuse anyone too much.

Carnivore

While I'm in uploading new art mode, here's another one:



Brush & ink on paper, 2006, 12" x 12". I do a lot of heads, this is a "post-human" one, for want of a better word. I do the human head in various layers -- "normal" heads, masked or covered heads, heads with layers or coverings removed & the soul laid bare (if you will). This is one of the latter category, I suppose.

Sightless, Flightless Bird

Here's a drawing I did a week or two ago:



Brush & ink on paper, 2006, 12" x 12". It's kind of a metaphor for how I feel sometimes, when nothing seems to be going right. Thankfully, that doesn't happen too often.

Deleted Human

Here's a drawing I did around the time of The War Room:



"Depleted Human", brush & ink on paper, 2003, 14" x 11". It was recently "censored" (removed) from a popular art portfolio site (which shall remain nameless), which led to me canceling my account. It was also published in a book, "Writing the World: On Globalization" (Terra Nova/MIT Press) in 2005. While the image is a little dark in subject matter, I was actually surprised when it was removed from the site mentioned above. Anyway, here it is in all its glory. Hope it's not too shocking...

Heads Video

This is a movie I made with some drawings of heads set to a simple soundtrack of manipulated sampled voice & computer-synthesized bells...

2nd Ayton Art Video

Here's my second version of a promo video. This time the movie was generated from Picasa 2, the soundtrack composed in Ableton Live Lite with the included midi instruments, and the whole thing put together in Windows Movie Maker.



Note: I played the music on the computer keyboard, as I don't have an actual midi keyboard. Yet.

My first YouTube video

Kind of a promotional short...enjoy.

Shell Head

Shell Head or Shellhead? I can never decide...this was one of the drawings that came out of the War Room phase:



Brush & ink on paper, 2003, 14" x 11".

Head Of A Faun

Here's a new drawing for Thanksgiving:



Brush & ink on paper, 12" x 12". Just a quick drawing. There is a little glare on the photo -- I had to take it indoors due to inclement weather, so it's not optimal. Sorry about that...

Soul In Transit

Continuing in the metaphysical vein I seem to be on right now, here's another b/w "negative" image:



White acrylic paint on black posterboard, 2006, 28" x 22".

Lost Soul In Purgatory

One of a new series of paintings in white acrylic on black posterboard.



2006, 28" x 22". I need to photograph & upload some of the others. Stay tuned.

Today Earth Died

Here's a little apocalyptic drawing:



2006, ink on card, 5.5" x 5.5" approx. Kind of a little tribute to Jim Steranko (look him up). Global warming -- nuclear holocaust -- environmental damage -- don't worry, it could never happen.

The Sphinx

New drawing:



Ink on card, 2006, 7.5" x 6.5" approx.

Head Of A Young Man

A new drawing -- kind of an exercise, in a way. Came out quite well.



Brush & ink on paper, 2006, 12" x 12".

Evocation

Again, a small image loaded with mystery. This one looks somehow Asian. It's more about a mood or a feeling, no real "meaning" to this one, or many possible meanings...



Acrylic on board, 2006, 8" x 6".

The Enigma Remains

At the moment I'm working on some small, in-between-big-project pieces. These tend to be a little quirky & off my own beaten path (which is not necessarily so beaten anyways). This little fellow is called "The Enigma Remains", a title which kind of popped into my head as I was doing it. It reminds me of some kind of surrealist painting from the 1930s or something, Dali or Magritte, but maybe with a timeless edge -- it's not cold enough for surrealism, somehow it recedes into time -- it has always been there and always will. Whatever it is.



Acrylic on board, 2006, 10" x 8".

The Lovers (Nocturne)

Here's a new, mysterious painting:



Acrylic on board, 2006, 10" x 8". Almost miniature in scale. It started as one figure, but very quickly split into two. Funny how that happens, sometimes...

Melancholy Colossus

Here's a new little drawing I did today for the forthcoming solo show in Poughkeepsie (Barrett Art Center, "Myths & Monsters"):



Brush & ink on paper, 11" x 8.5" approx. The figure is kind of an archetype for me -- the solipsistic figure absorbed in their own world; Narcissus (painting, see previous post) is another one.

The Return of the Art Book

Now called "AYTON Volume I", I've combined Ayton Portfolio One & the "AYTON" book into a 64-page collection of works from 1991-2006 (includes around 16 pieces from this year -- so that's 25% new work). I've just uploaded the PDF to Lulu.com & ordered a couple of copies. Fingers crossed -- this should be the definitive version. For now.

Here's the cover:



The front cover is the 1991 "Narcissus" painting, the back is the 2006 "Dream Of Cyclops".

Study Of Mountains II

The companion piece to the painting several posts below:



Acrylic on board, 2006, 10" x 8". These small paintings are scanned directly from the originals.

Citadel

Acrylic on board, 2006, 8" x 6". Another Little Nocturne:

Sphinx And The City

Here's another image from the Little Nocturnes series. Acrylic on board, 2006, 8" x 6".

Study Of Mountains I

New painting:



Which seems to be part of a new series of small nocturnal images. The idea is to show vast objects on a small scale. More to follow.

Acrylic on board, 2006, 10" x 8".

The Witnesses (War Room)

Here is the painting mentioned in the previous post:



It's from 2004, acrylic on unstretched canvas, 48" x 72" approx. This is one of the medium-sized studies for the War Room panels -- the final pieces in the NYC War Room were about 10' high & 15' wide.

The Outsider

This is a little painting of a head that I did in the last few days:



Acrylic on board, 2006, 10" x 8". It reminds me a little of the character in the old Steve Ditko comic book stories, the Mysterious Traveler. Ditko is a comic book artist that I tend not to think of as very influential, but then I find him popping up all over the place, such as in the War Room painting, "The Witnesses". Very strange.

Ditko is a very underrated artist, but his place in comics history is secure, if only because he was the first one to illustrate Marvel's Spiderman. And Doctor Strange...

Day Of Creation

Another new, small, mysterious image:



Acrylic on board, 2006, 10" x 8". Another mythical piece -- creation myths are universal, & here's mine -- and I've not much idea what's going on, but it looks about right, somehow.

Head Of Medusa

Again, I'm replacing a previous photo (with glare) with a newer one (without glare -- well without the photographic kind of glare, anyway):



Acrylic on masonite, 2006, 24" x 24" approx. Another mythological image.

Cyclops' Dream

This is the improved photograph:



Acrylic on masonite, 2006, 24" x 24" approx. From the new series of mythological paintings for the show, "Myths & Monsters". I've removed the old photo & blog entry.

On The Hill (Enigma)

This little painting showed up a few days ago:



Acrylic on board, 2006, 14" x 11". I'm not really sure what it "means", but then that's not unusual for me. I tend to work on instinct. Sometimes my instinct is off, but I think this time it was working. The image is a bit of an anomaly, which is good. I try not to repeat myself too much.

The Production Line

My studio floor, with a dropcloth & a number (14, actually) of boards primed & painted with a colored ground (mixture of burnt sienna & cadmium yellow deep) to give an amber-colored painting surface.

2006 Works on Ayton.net

I've finally gotten around to creating a new page for new works on my "official" web site: http://www.ayton.net/gallery_06.html. There are only about 9 new works up so far, with more on the way. I was hoping to shoot some photos today, but it's gloomy & rainy, & I usually shoot photos outside in indirect sunlight, which seems to give the best results. I tried under the studio lights this morning, but the digital photos were not good.

I've been painting a lot recently for my upcoming solo show in Poughkeepsie -- October 21 through November 18. I'm also planning to do an open house at my studio around my birthday, November 11.

Much of this year has been taken up with moving house & fixing up my new studio. The new studio is the largest working area I've ever had by far. The ground floor alone (main working area) is around 1,200 square feet. So, I feel that I have to spend a lot of time working in the studio, & so far it's working out pretty well...

Young Orpheus

New image:



Acrylic on masonite, 2006, 24" x 24" approx. For the "Myths" solo show in Poughkeepsie in Nov. (if it makes the cut). I think this is the first time I've painted an "Orpheus" image -- there are several drawings throughout the years.

Minotaur

Here's a new painting from the last few days:



Acrylic on masonite, 2006, 24" x 24" approx. The Minotaur is a recurring theme -- see the "Small Drawings" book on lulu.com (plug) for 3 wildly differing examples (including the cover image). This may be the image I use on the postcard invite for my upcoming solo show in Poughkeepsie (Barrett Art Center), which is probably going to be entitled "Myths & Monsters -- New Works by William T. Ayton".

More about the Works In Progress

At this point in time, I'm finding that the blog is getting cluttered with multiple versions of paintings in progress, which even I'm finding confusing. So, here's what I'm going to do: in the next few days, I'm going to start removing them & replacing them with finished (or close enough) versions. I think that, while it's interesting to see an artist's progress with various pieces, less is more & there can be too much of a good thing.

So, they're going to come down...

Submerged Man

Another new image:



Acrylic on masonite, 2006, 24" x 24" approx. More to follow.

The Isle Of The Living

Another new image in progress:



Acrylic on masonite, 24" x 24", 2006.

Basically a variation or subversion of Arnold Böcklin's "Isle Of The Dead". Probably not finished...

Tomb Of Cyclops

This seems to be the finished version:



Acrylic on masonite, 2006, 24" x 24" approx. See study for this painting in previous post.

Concerning Works In Progress

Please note that the works in progress that I upload here may not be finished, may not be photographed under ideal conditions, & may eventually be completely altered, painted over, or even destroyed. The idea here is to open a window into my creative process. That is all. Thanks for your patience & understanding.

Thus endeth the disclaimer.

Colosseum

New image:



Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 52" x 53" approx. Began as a Tower of Babel image, but mutated into something else entirely. It happens.

Morning Over Sparta

New image:



Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 2006, 54" x 53" approx.