okay, i mean it this time.

i posted this yesterday but then, as the day wore on and the light shifted, i decided it had too much of a blue cast so i got back at it today with my trusty tube of chromatic black and now it really is finished. promise. :)



candor
58" x 50"
oil on canvas
angela simione, 2010

practice...

unknown daughter (study #1)
30" x 22"
watercolor on paper
angela simione, 2010

anonymous...

i picked up all these old photographs at out of the way thrift and antique stores. initially, i bought them because 1) i wanted to give them a home (finding these out in the world, available for purchase has always seemed a bit sad to me) and 2) to do drawings based on them. i've had them leaned up against the wall on top of a little cabinet in my little make-shift studio for weeks and weeks. the more i looked at them, i began to realize what a powerful thing they are and how beautifully they compliment my larger body of work by just having them. but a few of them asked for a bit of attention- a bit of ink or string or tape or glitter or paint. i love each and every one of them. and they are still leaning against the wall in my studio keeping me company.

value...

lately i've been thinking about the positive side of anonymity-
a form of protection, security, a safe warm place to be...

and though my portraits are generally about forced anonymity, this aspect is something i need to look at too... that, in some ways, these women are also protected, not objectified. they feel no embarrassing exposure. they can step forward if they want to. these women aren't harmed by me. not that i ever felt i was doing them any harm, but realizing that there is a positive quality to anonymity helps me proceed with a greater strength: i know they won't be hurt. i know they will always remain safe.

practice, practice, practice...

this is what today's practice looks like-


untitled
15" x 11"
mixed media on paper
angela simione, 2009

anonymity
redaction
identity
a document of Unimportance
a document of lost stories
unknown histories
histories that don't matter

who gets to be pictured and who doesn't...

and those white socks just kick me right in the heart.

two more!

both works - untitled
11" x 7.5"
water-soluble graphite, gouache, and masking tape on paper
angela simione, 2009

trying to make the best out of the heat wave. hopefully tomorrow we'll get a bit of a break and i can get back to painting outside for more than just an hour a day. it's been nice to have a couple days just to look at the canvasses while i work on other things but i don't want to lose my quick pace. these little works are great though and i think it'll just be a little side-project of mine... 20 portraits is what i'm shooting for. dang! 20 GOOD portraits... we'll see!

"anonymous was a woman"...

yesterday, after the hell-like hotness got the better of me and put a hard stop on my outdoor painting time, i got to drawing. and it felt good. really good. i love drawing- just playing and meandering around, letting the materials take the reins and guide the process.

these are the drawings i made while i hid inside from the heat and i must say i adore them!




untitled 1 and 2
11" x 7.5"
water-soluble graphite, gouache, and masking tape
angela simione, 2009


they are untitled as of yet because i'm thinking these ladies need a few friends to keep company with. i'm also thinking they'd made good prints. hmmmmm. ideas, ideas, ideas. i'm gonna get back on the drawing-wagon this afternoon. it's supposed to get up to 110 today so i'll definitely be hiding inside.

the banner project moves forward... again

anonymous
angela simione, 2009


a crocheted L.E.D. sign in honor of the Anonymous Girl(s) series of paintings and drawings...
and sorta autobiographical as well.

speaking of anonymity...

photo courtesy of the Mercury News:
afghan women wear blue scarves on their heads in honor of international women's day

this photo both fills me with pride and breaks my heart. read the article here.

somewhere around 4am and after more coffee than i should've allowed myself...

lineage study
15" x 11"
graphite and erasure on paper
angela simione
2009

a study of the painting i'm working on... you know, the one i keep talking about. :)

Anonymous Girl 5

15" x 11"
graphite and duct tape on paper
angela simione
2009

it felt violent laying the duct tape down across her mouth. it felt horrible and monstrous and unforgivable... exactly like what was done to her.

anonymous landscape 2

finally got around to finishing this little gem...


11" x 14"
oil on canvas
2009

available at little black fences