The Ruined Architects of the Ruins

New ink drawing -- partly inspired by the "Ruined Citadel" drawing in the Timeless series:


The Ruined Architects of the Ruins, 2008, brush & ink on paper, 14" x 11". Click on image for larger version.

Could be the start of a new series, or merely a standalone piece.

Sketch of a Head

New small drawing:


Brush & ink on paper, 2008, 11" x 8.5" approx.

"New American Gothic" in Roll Magazine

Just as a break from the usual relentless artistic probing of the meaning of life, the universe & anything else, this is a post to mention that the portrait that Nadine Robbins did of Diana (wife, muse, goddess, poet, life partner) & myself is featured this month in Roll Magazine (creative living in the Hudson Valley), on the last page before the back cover, where they have the monthly "roll portrait":


click on image for much larger view

I still look rather surprised & Diana looks a little melancholy, so it's a slightly offbeat take on us, probably. Nadine's portrait web site is here, btw, and her portrait blog is here. Here are her actual URLs for you:

http://www.nadinerobbinsportraits.com/
http://nadinerobbinsportraits.blogspot.com/

About the Timeless Drawings

This is just a note to try & explain a little the series of drawings featured below. The series was done over a period of less than a week, & I deliberately didn't really edit the series -- this is the way & the sequence it came out. It is a sort of rumination on my life so far (I just turned 50 on November 11), so it contains at least in passing some of the major themes of my work, as far as my mission statement goes, which usually says something like "Ayton's work deals with socio-political issues, mythology & the human condition", which already pretty much covers a lot...

So, there are references to the War Room & related anti-war works, Human Rights & the UDHR are probably alluded to, as well as my many other influences (surrealism, expressionism, symbolism, the entire history of art as we know it -- ha ha), and specific artists (Kubin, Rops, Redon, etc.) & also literary figures (Rilke & Kafka come to mind), so the allusions are pretty densely layered, I hope.

My current thinking is that it should be seen in the sequence it was done in, rather than the reverse series (newest first) below...so I put up a page on my web site here, where you can see somewhat smaller versions, but get a sense of the progression, which I think is there, though not specifically planned. While not a narrative exactly (though maybe it is), there is a continuity & resolution of some kind, an evolution maybe.

At the present time, I'm not sure if this is a major work, or just a minor distraction. Time will tell, I suppose. I should also note that this series kind of mirrors an older series of drawings called "In Humanity", which can be seen here. I'm thinking of publishing this series (Timeless, that is) in the Narcissus Press literary review, "Narcissus". I am the art editor, after all...I will post details of that as & when they become available.

The Coming Race

The final drawing in the "Timeless" series:


The Coming Race, 2008, brush & ink on paper, 14" x 11".

The title, The Coming Race, is a reference to the novel, "Vril: The Power of the Coming Race" by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, first published in 1871. I have not read this novel. The title, "Timeless Drawings" is a vague nod in the direction of The Endless, as featured in the Sandman comics, written by Neil Gaiman & produced by DC, as introduced to me by my friend Alisa. Neither of these references has much bearing on the content of the drawings, as far as I can see.

The Timeless One

New drawing for the series:


The Timeless One, 2008, brush & ink on paper, 14" x 11".

The Vortex

Life is a vortex, if you ask me...new drawing in the "Timeless" (it has a name now) series:


The Vortex, 2008, brush & ink on paper, 14" x 11".

The Domain of Thanatos

Another new ink drawing in the new series:


The Domain of Thanatos, 2008, brush & ink on paper, 14" x 11".

They All Seek Redemption

Another new ink drawing for the new series (which doesn't have a name yet):


They All Seek Redemption, 2008, brush & ink on paper, 14" x 11".

The Last Sleeper

Another new ink drawing:


The Last Sleeper, 2008, brush & ink on paper, 14" x 11".

New Ink Drawings

Continuing the series:


Warrior with Winged Helmet.


Ruined Citadel.


Gateway to the Future.

All drawings are brush & ink on paper, 2008, 14" x 11".

Ruins of a Lost Civilization

From the new series:


Brush & ink on paper, 2008, 14" x 11".

I seem to be dwelling on systemic collapse, entropy, destruction, etc. Something like that.

Shattered Colossus Surrounded by Mountains

Brush & ink on paper, 2008, 14" x 11".

Another new drawing -- part of a possible series.

Broken Man Walking

New ink drawing:


Brush & ink on paper, 2008, 14" x 11".

It had been a while since I'd done an "intricate" figure drawing like this. Might do some more...

Sketch of a Head with Dark Eyes

Brush & ink on paper, 2008, 11" x 8.5" approx. Sometimes less is more, I guess.

The Head That Wanted to be NeoClassical

New ink drawing:


Brush & ink on paper, 2008, 11" x 8.5" approx. Funny how these things take on a life of their own sometimes.

UDHR Powerpoint Slideshow

Above: slide of UDHR Article 1 -- painting & text.

Just a note to point out that the Ayton UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights) paintings (done in 1991 & exhibited extensively in reality & also on the Internet) are now available in Powerpoint slideshow format. Each image stays up for 20 seconds & then goes on to the next. The text of each Article is alongside each image, as you can probably see from the screenshot above (the Preamble is not included, though it could be added in).

This slideshow was publicly previewed recently -- at a reception at the BSR (Business for Social Responsibility) Conference in New York City on Nov 5th 2008. Apparently, around 1200 people from 50 countries were present.

The UDHR slideshow is available for not-for-profit & also for-profit events etc., at a very reasonable cost (calculated on a case-by-case basis). Please let us know if you are interested in utilizing this cultural/educational piece.

For more info, please go to www.udhrart.org/news.html, or email us at "info at ayton.net" -- actual email address link not included to avoid spam harvesting.

Head of a Young Man

Brush & ink on paper, 2008, 11" x 8.5" approx.

I guess the point of drawings like this one above & the one below, is to keep my muscles (hand muscles & brain/drawing muscles) limber. I find that if I go too long without this kind of exercise, it's harder to get back into the rhythm of creating drawings...it also strikes me that I could do this almost endlessly--spend every day creating heads without repeating myself too excessively. However, that's probably a delusion...

Boy's Head

Brush & ink on paper, 2008, 11" x 8.5" approx.

Harvest

Harvest, 2008, acrylic on board, 16" x 12".

This is a new painting I did a short while ago. I've been trying to get a decent photo of it, but due to lighting conditions or the reflectivity of the paint, I've been disappointed with the results...the above seems to be about as good as I can get with my current access to the appropriate technology. If I can get a better shot, I'll replace it with that.

In any case, I guess this is a seasonal piece.

No Sense of Tomorrow

A new small painting:


Acrylic on board, 2008, 10" x 8". Just a small, poetic sort of image. No real definite reason for painting it...

My UFO painting

UFO, 2008, acrylic on board, 8" x 10".

Above is my recreation of something I saw in the sky in the early 70s. It's not really meant to be an accurate representation in a scientific sense, as it was a long time ago & I can't really remember the time of year or exact atmospheric conditions, etc. Also, apart from the details visible in this image, there were really no other details visible on the object (no windows, no flashing lights), whatever it was.

I was sitting in my seat on the school bus in north Yorkshire on my way to school in the morning. I looked out of the window & there it was, kind of hovering there with a twisted "vapor trail" kind of thing. My immediate sense, based on nothing beyond simple observation of the phenomenon, was "it's hurt". I kind of felt that this thing I was seeing was a living being rather than a craft of some sort. That was my reaction.

I didn't alert the other kids to this. I was a shy kid myself, & for better or worse, I didn't think the others would be "ready" to see it, whatever that meant. As far as I know, no-one else noticed it.

I don't know how far away it was or how large it was. Quite large, maybe. Definitely not huge.

It was not moving as far as I could tell, just there in the sky in a stationary position. A few minutes (5 or 10) later, as the bus had moved on, I saw it (or another, similar one) much further away in the sky, a whitish dot.

I have no real idea what this thing was, other than maybe some kind of living thing. I don't think it was an extraterrestrial or interdimensional or time-traveling craft. I shall probably never know.

Ziggurat drawing 2006

Ziggurat, 2006, ink on paper, 11" x 8.5" approx. Click for a slightly better view.

I just found the above drawing whilst going through older works (a couple of years old, anyway) in my studio. I thought it had interesting abstract & architectonic qualities, so I've scanned it in. Not my usual drawing subject matter.

The Nuclear Family

Like the title says...


The Nuclear Family, 2008, acrylic on board, 16" x 12".

Plague-Colossus

A new painting -- might be a study for a future piece:


Plague-Colossus, 2008, acrylic on board, 16" x 12". Not a great photo -- will try & take a better one...(new version uploaded). I might do some more work on this one. Still thinking about it. This work was partially inspired by "Satan Sowing Seeds" by Felicien Rops.

The Futurist

Nothing at all to do with Boccioni et al...an image of where the Internet & technology may be taking us...


The Futurist, 2008, acrylic on board, 14" x 11".

Twilight

A new, small painting of the end of civilization as we know it (a theme of mine):


Twilight, 2008, acrylic on board, 12" x 9". Partly inspired by a recent trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to see the Morandi show--it's almost a still life.