Sunday, November 23, 2008

Personal Art

Every since I turned professional I have been talking about doing paintings now and then just for myself. The idea of painting something just for fun is both amazingly appealing and incredibly terrifying, so I mostly talk about it. However, several years ago, when I first met my Julie, she showed me a drawing that she had done long before she became a pro herself. I was so impressed with the strength of her drawing that I decided to do a painting based on her sketch (with her permission, of course) The result fell way short of the power of the original drawing. Here are both versions, hers, bold and powerful, mine, professional but lacking in drama.



Since then, almost twenty years later, I have done a couple of other pieces "just for fun". Here are two more of those. Some day I will do more, I am sure.

Boris

4 comments:

Jason Peck said...

Hey Boris,

These are very cool, the first piece reminds me of a doppleganger. The others are very cool concepts, and very well done. Great personal works. I would love to see more someday.

Best Jason

studiogato67.blogspot.com said...

Maestro Boris Vallejo:
acabo de descubrir su blog, que se le puede decir ya de obra, su trayectoria pictórica, de los hermosos colores de sus trabajos, sólo admirarlo por la web y en sus libros (tengo algunos en casa).
Para cuando una exposición de sus originales en Perú? o en Argentina, donde tiene una legión de admiradores
Saludos
PERCY OCHOA

Annalisa said...

There is so much to say about this post and the artwork in it, Boris. It's so interesting to see Julie's original drawing--which, as you said, is so bold and so powerful (almost archetypal)-- next to your painting inspired by it. It makes me wonder what impressions people have of your painting when they see it without the drawing, because when I see them side by side I instantly start comparing them. I keep looking at them; the subject holds so much for me. Also, I want to mention that I have trouble doing personal, symbolic drawings like Julie's here, so I am in awe of that.

I find it fascinating that both Boris and Julie have expressed fear concerning using a different style (Julie) and doing personal work (Boris). I want to thank you both for sharing these private thoughts of yours here on the blog. It is SO LIBERATING for me as an aspiring artist to see that once you "make it" you aren't completely invincible. I think a lot of us view the pros like that, and I certainly ask myself a lot, "How are you ever going to be a pro, Annalisa? You'll NEVER be invincible!"

Ifat Glassman said...

I think art should always be self-expression, creating something that expresses *you* and appeals to *you*.
Demands of other should come secondary, IMO. This is the way to create best art.

That said, I find Boris and Julie's art to be absolutely beautiful - I like the atmosphere of freedom and careless joy.

I Don't like works of art that describe distortion of the human figure though. I think ugliness is best kept outside of something you eternalize about the human spirit.
I also don't like the irrationality of modern art.

Art should be about the heroic in man... and that's what I absolutely LOVE about Boris and Julie's work.