Occimore by Paul Rizk

 Here is the cover of "Occimore" by Paul Rizk, a young French author. This book was published a few months ago & I should be receiving a copy soon, more details when I get it...

Occimore by Paul Rizk, cover painting is "Judgment Day", 2019

New UDHR Poster / Article 25

From the series of paintings that I created around 25 years ago to illuminate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). There are actually 2 series of paintings—one without text at the top, the other with Spanish text. The Spanish series was created in Spain, just outside of Sevilla, at a friend's apartment. The friend was going to continue exhibiting it around Spain, but he became busy with other things, so he returned the paintings to me many years ago. In any case, the other day I got an email from the University of Toronto asking for permission to use the Article 25 (concerning health & well-being) painting on a poster. When the email arrived, I was out having lunch as the Internet was down in the house. We were also preparing to leave for a UK visit the next day. I hurriedly emailed a friend (thanks, Ricardo!) who helped me make photos of the 2 versions of Article 25 (non-text & Spanish text), which we sent to Lisa in Toronto. She chose the Spanish version (with the text cropped out) for the poster, which you see below.

Some links:
University of Toronto Munk School of Global Affairs
UDHR Art web site (the complete series of paintings & drawings)

UHDR Article 25 on University of Toronto (Munk School of Global Affairs) poster

The Tower of Humanity 2015-17

This is an example of a painting that I did a couple of years ago (2015) & was reasonably (but not completely) happy with. It's been propped on a small set of drawers in the living room/office for ages, & I've looked at it from time to time. The other day, I decided what was wrong with it was the sky, so I took it & repainted that. Normally, I don't like to "fix" paintings so long after the fact, but in this case I think it worked out for the better...I also changed the title to one that I now prefer, & painted in a tiny bit of background (small triangle of distant background to the left of the "building") to balance out the composition.

The Tower of Humanity, sky repainted 2017, acrylic on board, 16" x 12"

Human Monument, 2015, acrylic on board, 16" x 12".

The Green Man

I realized that it had been a while since I had done a color painting, so here is a new one. It relates to my "Tree Man" series which weaves in & out of my work. The green color was also partly inspired by the greenish hue of the Mona Lisa, a small reproduction of which was on the wrapper for the gessoed board that this was painted on. It's fairly thickly painted in acrylic, which doesn't always lend itself well to impasto, but came out quite well in this case, & the light hit it at a good angle for the photo.

The Green Man, 2014, acrylic on board, 12" x 9".

Dark Turbulence

This is another new piece on cardboard, done in a more raw style than some of my more finished pieces.

Dark Turbulence, 2004, acrylic on cardboard, 29.5" x 16.5" approx.

Tragic Hero at the Limner

Here are a couple of photos of my painting "The Strange Case of the Tragic Hero" at the Limner Gallery in Hudson NY, as part of the 2013 annual Show of Heads, along with works by other artists. The show is coming down round about now...thanks to the Limner Gallery for sending the photos along.

At the Core of Existence

Another new monocrhome painting on cardboard which tries to get to the heart of human existence...

At the Core of Existence, 2013, acrylic on cardboard, 48" x 36".

Darkness Visible Tonight

A digital recombining of 2 or more versions of the same drawing...the digital rendering works much better than the piece itself. Sometimes accidents show us the way.

Below is the actual finished version of the drawing/painting:

The Boy Who Came Back from the Sea, 2013, ink & acrylic on tracing paper, 12" x 9".

Work in progress

This is a new large painted drawing (?) on kraft paper. It's about 7 feet high by 4 feet wide. I hope to finish this tomorrow...

This photo was taking using the camera with flash, so it's not perfect by any means.

Searching the Mountains for Memories | digital color

Here is a colorized version of a recent monochrome tondo (original is 20" diameter):

Searching the Mountains for Memories, with digital color.

The Hungriest One

This one is from a new series of post-surreal (if that's an appropriate term, & it probably isn't) heads. Acrylic on board, 12" x 9", 2008.

The Boy Who Saw the Future/The Boy Who Was the Future

Like the title says. A bit of an enigma, maybe. I don't know. 12 inches by 9 inches, acrylic on board, 2008. Clicking on it makes it bigger.

Painting of Empathy

A new small acrylic painting. Thinking about human rights & the implications of that subject area, & why things go wrong, a lack of empathy would seem to be at the heart of things. I like to try & summarize abstract, universal concepts in a simple image, often of a head, which would be the most expressive human element, I guess.


Acrylic on board, 10" x 8", 2008.

PTSD

Hopefully, this one is viscerally self-explanatory:



Acrylic on masonite, 2007, 18" x 30". Another anti-war image.

As this is a quite wide image, it's automatically condensed by Blogger to fit into the column. Clicking on the photo will give you a better view.

Metropolis Under Siege

New painting, kind of a dystopian view of the world to come:


(image updated 09/05/2007)

Acrylic on masonite, 2007, 18" x 30".

However, there is still some kind of hope -- the greenish hue suggests some kind of organic life. On the whole, a protest against a technologically inhuman & overwhelming world.

Drowning Man

New painting in a more raw, expressionistic style (which I like):


(note: image revised 09/04/2007)

Acrylic on board, 2007, 14" x 11".

Is this a political comment on the state of the world (or the US?). Is it a personal meditation on aging or creativity? Is it a metaphysical comment upon the relation between humankind and the universe? All of the above, probably. I never know.

Tyranny

New painting:



Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 2007, 53" x 53" approx. I wanted to get back to raw, monochrome work. This is somewhat an extension of the War Room series, with elements of expressionism & social commentary.

Men O' War (painted)

This is the painted version of the sketch in the post below:



Acrylic on plywood, 2007, 18" x 30". This painting went through many iterations, but it's finished now. I think.