Saturday, February 9, 2008

In Progress - Post Mortem

I've been obsessing with this imagery lately . . . trying to find the right voice. Again, these images are for a series titled "Post Mortem." They're all fairly close to finish. Let me know what you think.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

the first pic won't load but the other two look pretty good. is her hand going to be molded into the skull in the paintings, too?

Bonanzai said...

Thanks Murph! I think I fixed the link for the first image. The hand won't be molded into the skull although it is a cool idea. I'm going to finish the hands soon . . . I always leave those for last even though I shouldn't!

Anonymous said...

nice work bro.... is the image on the left pastels?

Anonymous said...

Is this representing Serenity in control of Rage ?

Bonanzai said...

Thanks for the comments everyone! The images in color are done in oils. The last image is graphite on Rives BFK paper.

The images are titled Incommunicado which is defined as being deprived of communication with others.

These images are part of a much larger series of work called "Post Mortem" in which I am using skulls as part of a visual dialogue to describe failures in relationships.

Incommuncado, in this series, represents the inability to communicate matters of the heart. I used elements like the ribbon/string around the mouth of the bear skull in order to communicate this.

Also in the second image, I am using a word balloon broken at the stem. The word balloon is a convention used in comics to indicate dialogue. The broken stem alludes to the inability to communicate effectively. The balloon contains a heart and that, in combination with a broken stem represents the inability to enter into meaningful dialogue in matters of the heart.

Those concepts may not be as apparent right now but when completed, I hope they will convey those concepts a little clearer.

Hugs and kisses,
Rob

Anonymous said...

i founf out the pub next to my flat has studio space for students to hang work and sell it, so i might try and get some paintings done or something while i'm here and sell them... with your approval of course, haha

Anonymous said...

found*

Bonanzai said...

Go for it Murph!

Anonymous said...

murph...a pub and a flat...where are you Duckie??? and how are you??? sounds like all is well, hanging in a pub and hanging art!

Anonymous said...

When do you think the entire series will be complete? How do you plan on showing them?
How much for one of them?

Bonanzai said...

Kevin,
The series should be done this summer. I have a couple of coffee shops here in Seattle that are interested in showing my work.

The coffee shops here are like galleries anywhere else but take less of a commission which ends up being really cool.

I want the work to move so I plan on selling the work at fairly respectable prices.

Unknown said...

These pictures look great, Rob. After reading what you posted before, they made a lot of sense. The theme really works and I like it a lot.

Where exactly will they be shown in Seattle? I'd love to go see them up close sometime.

I also hope you don't mind that I found out about your blog, haha. It's really nice stuff from what I've seen.

- Gerritt

Bonanzai said...

No problem Gerritt. I'm glad you are enjoying the work. Thanks for the comments. When the series is done I'll let you know where they will be shown!

John Flanagan said...

These look incredible , how many do you plan on having in the entire series ? Can't wait to see all of them together when you're done.

Bonanzai said...

John,
Thanks for the comments. I expect to have about 10 pieces when all is said and done . . . maybe more if inspiration hits but I'm giving myself a deadline of showing in early summer. Keep your fingers crossed.