2010 self-portrait:

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let the rituals begin!

here they are in all their humble glory. every notebook i filled this year, in order; the most accurate portrait of me there could ever be. happy new year! :)









































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last one for awhile...

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Lineage 5
48" x 36"
oil on canvas, 2010


she's been waiting patiently for months while i moved off to work on other things. a few weeks ago, i looked at her hanging in the hallway, so close to being done, and felt like a total asshole. so i took her off her nail and put shadows in the aprons, deepened the black, and gave her a name. she is happy and soft and beautiful. she's the last one for awhile. the maid series is definitely one i'll come back to. i can feel it and it feels like such a right and true image for me to work with, but i think i put too much pressure on them and on myself. i want to back away from them for a bit and just let them be. love them on their own terms: without expectation.

daughter identity(s). an ode.

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dutiful (1 &2)
each 44" x 30"
graphite on paper
2010


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small collection of small paintings

untitled (beth)
10" x 8"
graphite on paper
2010

i am smiling

after my mini-crisis the other day about career stuff and what to do, where to go, and how to organize a body of work, i gathered up all the images on to my computer desktop and started weeding things out, pairing things up, pairing the pairs, and taking it slow. i woke up yesterday feeling fantastic and immediately went to work on a drawing. i worked on it until my hand locked up and then reached for it first thing again this morning, still feeling fantastic. and i poured all my anxiety out in black graphite. scratch scratch scratch and dig. i sat in bed, under my black quilt, with my drawing on my lap, and let go of all the recent worries. and here she is- beautiful and true. my heart is warm and i am calm and happy.



untitled secrecy portrait
30" x 45" diptych
graphite on paper
angela simione, 2010

this is why rants and blogs are good:

i re-read the post below and realized i answered my own question: sit here and look at the work and shuffle it all around and see what narratives arise as a result. patience patience patience. curation is tough stuff. the worst thing i can do is rush and start forcing things together.

anyway, for all the writers in the room, here's a portrait for you. ;)




writer
15" x 12"
graphite on paper
angela simione, 2010

here she is!

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middle child (2)
66" x 30"
mixed media on paper
angela simione, 2010



you can sort of see the sky sparkles. glittery paint is hard to capture in a photograph! but the rest of the work is all graphite.


p.s. the larger the work, the smaller the picture. :/ i need to invest in a better camera soon.

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

partnership

i've been thinking a lot lately about diptychs and triptychs... pairs of images or a small collection of images that, though they might seem disparate, are not. and how the audience, the viewer, is very important is helping create narrative... that maybe i'm more of a guide or suggestive force than an artist who aspires to giving concrete answers. that i could set up an environment, a point A and point B, and then relinquish control; let the viewer "draw" the line between the two points:

untitled as of yet...

this monster is about 5 feet tall and actually backs you up when you want to look at it... very much like a snarling dog, like a pissed off mama. i am happy and full of fire.

the rampage continues.


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


p.s. Richard Longo's influence shining through! :D

about

my elsie project has no time line, no real structure or end-date or expectation other than to know her shadows. the portraits are hard if i try to force them and so i allow her to show up when she wants. this way, the portraits move fast, furious, fiery, and with an intense sadness too. but also appreciation. also play. and while i work on these, sporadic and unexpected as it is, i also write about what it's like to make these portraits.

this is an excerpt from that collection- your poem for the day:


a bell peals the hour-
a ringing cupid
hung low.
a cup for the well-kept.

this cup is not for you.
your floor is covered in holes.
mice and the smell of them.
a sour mattress shared and dinner forgotten.

hard crusts and whiskers
in the sink. the horrible thing
that whispers in the morning.
eyes creaking, breaking hinges,

and mama still sleeping.


the bell goes on pealing.

you better run.
run run, little one.
run
run
pretty pretty
peeling peeling

3 days

that's how long.

this is the quickest an oil painting has come to me in a very very VERY long time.



Alpha
42" x 35"
oil on canvas
angela simione, 2010
N.F.S.

for now, she rests safely in my private collection. this will not be the last time i render her likeness. not nearly. and so i must keep her and tend to her shadows. an angel on my living room wall. secure. whispering. loved.

sneak peek

66" x 30"

this is only 1/3rd of what the finished size of this piece will end up being. the finished size will be 66" x 90"... maybe more. WALL SIZE! dang!

attempt

untitled
19" x 22"
graphite and masking tape on paper
angela simione, 2010

sylvia likens

Lamb
30" x 22"
graphite on paper
angela simione, 2010

round 1. i will definitely be drawing her again. i haven't captured her exactly right but it's still a powerful image. i will proceed faithfully. she deserves the highest level of respect, attention, and care.

breathy sigh of "yes"

the sun came out just a little just a little and good enough to see the new painting in a truer light. so i hauled her outside to see her and see her honestly and i'm not gonna wait til monday to call it. she's done. :)


sovereign
46" x 40"
oil on canvas
angela simione, 2010


(a wee bit of a glare on the canvas but good enough for now)

i love this woman!

i was lucky enough to see this show in LA when it was up. it was one of the best shows i'd seen... and still is.

when you're in the room with these paintings and you can get up close, the whole story changes... the whole world even, maybe.

what a gorgeous artist. what a gorgeous person.

aaaaand another one

about an hour before bed last night, i got hungry for some more painting and started another portrait of 'The Good Daughter'. i got in bed on time but lay awake for hours feeling so excited about painting and possibility and tomorrow. and the very first thing on my mind when my sore and tired eyes opened this morning was painting and possibilities and endless endless endless opportunity to make and build and try.

i poured my coffee. i wrote in my notebook. i went back and finished the portrait.

the new week is off and running.



The Good Daughter (3)
30" x 22"
gouache on paper
angela simione, 2010

practice...

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