As usual with my big commissions of late I have been poring over my books on the Nabis (Bonnard and his group) and the Symbolists (Gauguin and his followers) for inspiration. The Nabi painters did a lot of very decorative work in Paris in the early 1900s but their work is more dabby and free than one thinks of as Art Nouveau. So here I am trying to adapt this European take on Japanese art for a Polynesian legend, quite a strange train of influence. This painting is for prints which will be hung over a kitchen bar area in time share units, and so it should hold up to scrutiny at close quarters. I tend to feel my way through these projects not really knowing exactly what I am doing, so it's not an automatic guarantee that the brushwork will be much to look at but hopefully the overall feeling will be nostalgic and evocative.
Here is Alaina deHavilland's poster for a coffee festival this Saturday over at the Four Seasons in Ka'upulehu, north Kona, which I'll be attending with Tuko as token artists displaying our work and hopefully drumming up some interest in the gallery.
No comments:
Post a Comment