Irving Norman

Snapshots

1968

"Man and Time" is an American surrealist oil on canvas painting by Irving Norman in 1986. The artwork is 58 x 30 inches and 59 1/8 x 31 1/8 x 1 1/2 inches with the frame, weighing le...

A painting by Irving Norman. "Bacchanal" is a macabre social surrealism painting, oil on canvas in a dark palette of reds, blues, and blacks by artist Irving Norman. The artwork is u...

A painting by Eric Jon Holswade "Shooting Gallery" is an acrylic on panel painting executed primarily in a palette of reds, yellows, blues and black a...

A mixed media on paper work by Latin American artist Francisco Toledo. Executed mainly in white and ochre, with red and blue, the work depicts two abstracted faces. Signed lower midd...

“I begin this short essay with my artists’ statement from 1997 because it illustrates my focus on emotion instead of on subject matter starting early on. I approached the idea of writing about what I paint back then with dread and tried to bypass it by being as honest as possible about my process. I’d like to think that I paint anything I want because through paint I can express how I feel. I started training to be an artist in early childhood. I studied texture. I learned about composition. I played with color and observed the beauty of line. My methods were unconventional and invented by me. Many different things inspired me: Cheerios in milk, clouds, hands in food, dry dusty dirt, wet mud puddles, coloring books, fashion photos in the newspaper and my keen need to observe my surroundings. When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I had no answer. I just wanted to watch, and to observe the world around me. I’ve worked for years on a response to that complicated question “what is the work about?” I’ve developed all kinds of stories that seem to make sense at the time, but I have to ask, “isn’t this the same question as ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?”’ I am drawn to the figure, and to capturing physical expression in all types of situations, but especially when we are on our own. The body carries emotion, and most people are unaware that they reveal something of themselves when observed in private moments. When I was young I realized that I could easily understand the unspoken just by watching. It felt like a strange and isolating gift – and sometimes a curse – and I often felt confused and acted out in anger when the words didn’t match what I saw. But I still recognize all kinds of emotion there, and whether what I see is true or not, I relish the vulnerability of the moment. Color is another important tool for me. It’s a self-taught endeavor and one that I explore daily. Color mixing is similar to building flavors in a soup. A soup with just salt is watery and uninteresting. As in cooking, I pay close attention from the first layers what each color feels like in terms of its value, whether it’s warm or cool, and how it fits the composition. I am looking for something that feels harmonious with my nervous system. I begin with abstract shapes, then ask, “Is this shape interesting? Does this color work next to that one? Is it too strong? Is it helpful to the overall composition?” The more complex the mix, the more likely it is to hold my attention, and allow me to linger. Those puddles of paint sitting on my six foot glass palette...

Clyde Frederick Kelley (1886-1965) lived and worked in New York as an illustrator before settling in San Diego in 1924. Throughout his career he specialized in figurative, genre subjects that depicted American life in the 1930s-1950??™s; his paintings mirrored the paintings of the American...

Medium: Oil on Board Dimensions: 18.00" x 23.75 Signature: Signed Lower Right

Beautiful watercolor painting by the artist Roberto Fabelo. Roberto Fabelo (born 1951 Camagüey, Cuba) is a contemporary painter, sculptor, and illustrator. Born in Guáimaro, Camagüey, Fabelo studied at The National Art School and at the Superior Art Institute of Havana. He was a professor and a jury member for very important national and international visual arts contests. The Cuban state awarded him a medal for National Culture and the Alejo Carpentier medal for his outstanding artistic career. Fabelo’s art consists of nude women, who often appear with bird-like features, including a beak and wings. He drew in textbooks and created figures out of the pictures already in the textbook. Another example of his art was watercolor markers used to draw on silk embroidered fabric. His work is exhibited at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana, and in the Cuban embassy in Mexico. His 2009 sculpture of a group of human-headed cockroaches can be found climbing one of the walls of the Havana Fine Arts Museum, entitled Survival. He also illustrated a 2007 edition of Gabriel García Márquez’s novel Cien años de...