By Georgia Griffin
Located in East Hampton, NY
King Richard painted as an eel.
Close attention to detail.
Surreal Dark Humor
COMES ON STRETCHED CANVAS, UNFRAMED.
About the Series: “Sovereigns of the Sea.” The series grew out of an amusing little sketch she did of a fish in a gown. Very soon she was researching official portraits of Queen Elizabeth I, studying the gowns and crown jewels of her era. Reimagining her royal visage through a chimerical lens, Queen Elizafish was born. Gradually that lens showed Georgia an array of colorful characters in a world where semi-anthropomorphic sea creatures are the sovereigns of days gone by. Her subjects are rendered in what Georgia calls whimsical surrealism, aquatic nobles surveying their dominions on dry land but never far from their seas. She researches royals’ portraits and histories, and renders their alter egos seriously, while sharing a wink with the viewer.
Coming across the famous copies of Hans Holbein the Younger’s lost portrait of Henry VIII, Georgia knew at once her next subject; surely King Henry VIII Crabbe was crying out to be painted! From there the wan figure of the oft misunderstood King Richard III caught her eye. Richard, with his back fiercely curved by scoliosis, who lost his crown when ignominiously buried during battle only to be rediscovered centuries later under a car park in Leicester, became King Richard Eel. Remarkable for his sharply curving back and sad expression, Richard Eel’s crown rests on a cushion at his side.
About the Artist: Georgia Griffin...
Category
2010s Surrealist Georgia Griffin Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCotton Canvas, Acrylic