Dane Shue

Jackie O, Mixed Media on Wood Panel

2021

Pop Art Portrait of Grace Kelly. Acrylic on plywood. All my works are professional finished and varnished. Signature at the back. Ready to hang. Original Created: 2021 Subjects: ...

Jean Shrimpton. Fashion Icon. Supermodel. Pop Art Portrait. Acrylic on 1/2 inch plywood. 40x32 inches. Ready to hang. Original Created: 2021 Subjects: Popular culture Materials:...

Robert Mars’ graphic compositions and rich colors provide an ideal medium in which to explore his fascination with the Golden Age of American popular culture and the icons of the 1950’s and 60’s. Drawing inspiration from the near-mythical fame that surrounded celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn before the instant and all-encompassing presence of the internet, Mars’ daring approach creates paintings with a nostalgic yet innovative vintage quality. Mars begins by defining borders and background planes of color with sheets of brown paper and then proceeds to layer paint and vintage paper ephemera. He selectively sands segments of the layers, allowing specific portions of the underpainting to shine through, creating the sensation that the viewer is getting glimpses through a window into the Golden Age of America. By incorporating actual pieces of print from the eras he so adores and sealing it all under shining, impenetrable resin, Mars’s artworks transform into physical remembrances of a period in America’s past so loved and idolized, yet will forever remain trapped in history. A graduate of Parsons School of Design in New York, his artwork was selected for the Absolut Vodka Blank campaign alongside Damien Hirst, and his largest sized piece to date was acquired by Philip Morris/Altria for their corporate headquarters in Virginia. In 2015 Mars was chosen for the cover of Neiman Marcus’ May Book, while CocaCola purchased several existing works and ordered commissions for a world tour celebrating the 100-year anniversary of their trademark bottle shape, in which his artwork was spotlighted. Mars is a featured artist for a custom high end wallpaper and tile series with Kari Whitman...

This piece depicts a colorful collage composition portrait of Audrey Hepburn, as Jon Davenport explores the process of deconstructing iconic imagery from the past and present. Davenport start’s out with photos of his paint-stained studio floor and collages in articles/advertising from an array of vintage magazines collected over the years; plus any other interesting stuff captured on his travels. He then transfers the images to a panel board, layering them on with gel medium, together with strokes, splashes, drips, and splats of paint. Once it's dry, another layer of gel medium is poured on to give it a melting effect. After it drys off again, another layer of paint is added to embellish a few areas and to accentuate or fade out certain aspects. And then, he finally adds a coat of polyurethane for protection and making the colors pop. This unique work is executed on a wood panel board and comes ready to be displayed with hanging wire on verso, signed by the artist lower right. Art measures 36 x 36 inches From biology student to owning and running a creative agency in London to a career as a fine artist, life has taken Jon Davenport on a rewarding and unconventional journey. Despite his scientific beginnings, he’s always had a strong artistic streak weaving its way through his different career paths. Growing up in Ipswich, UK, Jon was always an avid drawer, and could often be found with a pencil and paper in hand. With the arrival of his first computer, he embraced the new frontier of digital art and had work published in one of those early computer magazines. His creative urges took a backseat to get a biology degree at Brunel University in London. It was afterward, in his first job working at the Archant newspaper group in Ipswich, that he quickly progressed from plate maker to becoming an integral member of the art studio. It was during this time that he taught himself photoshop, desktop publishing, and graphic & web design. After a few years, he set up a design agency, and eventually went full time and moved to London. This proved to be a successful move, working for a number of clients such as Nike and Virgin, and gaining praise from the likes of Richard Branson and Tony Blair. It wasn’t until Jon moved to the USA to marry his wife, Atlanta artist Christy Kinard...