Medusa

This piece is a portrait of Sasha Grey, as a contemporary Medusa Shield. While on one hand it is a nod to Caravaggio's painting, on the other it is a commentary on the porn industry, specifically in the United States.

In my opinion its numbers (Every 39 minutes - a new pornographic video is being created in the United States; A total of 4.2 million websites contain pornography; Every second - $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography; The total current income of the country's adult entertainment is often rated at $10–13 billion) and effects are rather disturbing. The fact there are legitimate awards for giving head definitely says something about the public mindset.

new sketchbook

So I've started a new sketchbook recently. Its a mixed bag of drawings from life, imagination, and experiments.

Afterlife

This is an illustration for a story from a book called Sum by David Eagleman. The outcome is in a way scattered, but I am moving in an intentional direction, which includes combining several images in a graphic composition, depth juxtaposed with flatness, and having a variety of surface treatments. This one can be called a useful failure...

Svetlana

Another painting that I started during the summer, and finished up now. It probably isn't a portrait...

Dealing with illusionism and flatness, in a dynamic, rhythmic composition.

Process

My summer hasn't been very productive in terms of artwork output, but I've had a lot of fun and am getting back into my art-making mode now. One of the things I did do was a painting of my mother, which is at this point about 90% finished. I though it would be interesting to put together a collage made up of photos of the painting in its making.

Photo of me by Peter Fiore: