Tag: Past

Pixel Abstracts:Series BB

Exhibition at A1 Lab Arts, June 22-24, 2018

In 2016, I was motivated to move in a different direction. So, I tried a new approach that verged on the abstract. I had just seen Bjork perform live and was mesmerized by the crystalline mask she wore on stage that shined like a nimbus under the stage lights. Using photos I found of her in this costume, I cropped the images, edited them, and processed them in my style of pixel art.

A few people at the show opening were able to recognize a face in any of the paintings. Only one person instantly recognized Bjork.

June 17, 2018
Pixel Abstracts: Series BB

January 2017 – June 2018

June 17, 2018
The Dozen

March 2012 – January 2014

During the first few years of painting in my pixel art style, I experimented quite a bit. One of the first things I learned was that larger paintings afforded more detail. I painted a dozen 40” x 60” paintings. I no longer paint this large unless it is commissioned.

January 17, 2014
My First Public Exhibition

Presented at the Preservation Pub by the Art Society of Knoxville
June-July 2012

This exhibition opened on June 1 and coincided with the monthly citywide First Friday arts event. This was the first time I publicly exhibited my new style of pixel painting. Initially, I was just going to submit my newest painting, Vesica Piscis (far right). But I was invited to hang more so I hung Kukuly and Sonia (far left) and Sarah 1 (center) as well.

I didn’t think Sarah 1 fit with my other two paintings. This motivated me to finish a second painting of her. In mid-June I replaced it with a new painting of her wearing her regalia for Bonnaroo 2012. This exhibition remained in place through the end of July.

Bonnaroo Girl has been one of my most popular paintings.
The model loved it.

July 17, 2012
Rain Barrel

Knoxville Storm Water Management had its annual rain barrel painting contest in May of 2012. A friend who worked there encouraged me to make an entry. I decided to implement a variation of a trick I invented for a student project at SCAD. I processed photographs and other images in Photoshop and reduced the color palette to a handful of colors. It was a slow, tedious process. But the results were eye-popping! It was sold at the charity auction. But a few years later, it eventually ended up in my possession, where it has remained ever since.

This was the original design that wrapped around the rain barrel. Each pixel represented one square inch. Matching pixel colors with paint was very tricky. I limited my palette to just ten colors. Over the years, I’ve refined my color palette to match paint mixtures perfectly. And I’ve increased the number of colors I use by a factor of fifteen.

May 17, 2012