Breakdown of Some of the Processes

Update on the 17th of my space series the Madonna and Child. Today I’m blocking in the figures with transparent shadows and it feels good to me, I am viscerally feeling the light and the forms of them. I mentioned in an earlier note that I am using my color theory in the background, in the photo references the darks are simply black regardless of where they are in space, but using my color theory, a purple distance, blue atmosphere (the middle section) and gold (complement to purple) in the foreground changes those blacks to dark purple (distant) and brown (close to us). The brown sounds like a boring default, but it is fully intentional and feels beautiful to me.

I’m visually quoting one of Raphael’s paintings of a Madonna and Child. His composition was cropped, just her mid and upper torso, I had a model come to my studio to pose for the whole figure down to the toes. All the big folds and feet are my integrated addition, which looks natural to me, which was the plan. The main reason for visually quoting was because of the naked Jesus, I simply didn’t want to be painting a naked child in real life and the best way not to get that flagged by internet algorithms is to quote a famous work.

You might find my historical framing interesting, it is more than quoting things I like, rather, I look at the 40,000 years of figurative art as my playground. I also use my real life emotions and perceptions unfiltered to keep it all fresh. But holding in my psyche the art highlights of the scope of art advancements is in some ways really simple, it is simply a matter of changing perspectives, instead of trying to discern the threads of thousands of contemporary artists, I put my trust in the best that history offers us. For instance this back to back comparison between the Chauvet cave painter’s sketch of the Horses Heads and Michelangelo’s charcoal sketch studies—the similarities are uncanny, bridging 35,000 years. They were simply visually observing reality, and working out the idea in charcoal, not really any different than today’s figurative gesture drawings.

Alongside painting the Madonna, I took some time to update my 5-year-old book Evolution Through Art. It was my first book and I had the will but had no idea how to format it in Microsoft Word. More than half the process of writing the book was manually formatting it by eyesight — I had no clue what styles were. I used a classic art history book to mimic. Which meant every time I updated the tables of contents, images, or index the whole damn thing turned into shit. haha, and then I manually typed them to get it ready for print. I was truly afraid to look at the MS Word file and update it with what I know now. But I did! And now the formatting is flowing like magic, simply press UPDATE, and everything falls into place. Along with the formatting updates I changed the book dimensions from 8 1/2×11″ to 8×10″, which I know from experience will fit much better in the hand.

I also did some discreet editing, mostly changing my tone of voice when I “disliked” someone like Savonarola, who created the bonfire of the vanities, destroying great artworks including a Botticelli painting. I let the facts speak for themselves.

Another change is a new foreword by Brett Holverstott, and the cover image by the great Nigerian painter Abiodun Olaku. Perhaps the greatest painter of twilight ever. I was honored when I messaged my requests to both of them, they responded within an hour confirming. <3

I get the print proof on Tuesday.