ANIMAL PAINTINGS AVAILABLE FOR SALE

From left to right - titles: MYSTERY WOLF, BISON 1, RED WOLF 8"X 8"acrylic, RED SKULL 8"X 8" acrylic

From left to right: ONE DOG NIGHT, MY BOWL, SHOWING OFF, RED DOG (all these oil on panels), 6" x 6"

ALL 6" X 6" OIL PAINTINGS ARE $95.00 buy now.

THE 8" X 8" ACRYLIC PAINTINGS ARE $145.00 buy now.

TO PURCHASE AND ANY QUESTIONS, EMAIL ME AT: jholderfineart@gmail.com

Wolf Marks

Red Spirit Wolf

8" x  8" acrylic on panel

At a recent art show someone walked into my booth and asked "Why did you paint that dog without eyes?"

If you have to ask....

This painting was but one of a series I've done lately influenced by Fritz Scholder.  While I was in art school earning my BFA, the emphasis was on traditional Western European art; although Scholder had been a major figure in the 20th Century art world for decades, I discovered him only very recently, and quite by accident.  (I believe it was from a book I found at the Connecticut College library, which is a wonderful resource.)  I had no idea until just a few months ago that he had died in 2005; I only knew him through the works I was studying, and so to me he was (and is) very much a living presence.  (I'm not sure that I ever bothered to look up his biography, so focused was I on his prints and paintings, and absorbing all he could teach me about color and form.  What can I say?  I'm an artist.)

The National Museum of the American Indian is having a major retrospective Scholder's work in NYC and in D.C. which I hope to see this year:

http://www.nmai.si.edu/exhibitions/scholder

My FVAC Juried Show Entries

Last month I entered two paintings into the 2008 Opened Juried Show at the Farmington Valley Arts Center in Avon,  CT.  The show is called Interpretations and Inspirations, juried by Philip Janes.    These two canvases were accepted into the show. 

Animal skulls lend themselves to much interpretation and reflections of color.  I see the skull not just related to death but a structure that life emanates from.  Of course, the childhood fascination for digging up things in the backyard or woods that your parents find weird or dirty ("Don't you dare bring that thing into the house!") - and the ability to hold onto that fascination into adulthood - is a very useful tool for an artist!  

Check out the Farmington Valley Arts Center website:

www.fvac.net/

Wolf Mystery

6x6", oil on panel

Wolves have always felt like kin to me.  No, this is not a painting from a live wolf; I painted this image from one of my sculptures.  I turned the studio lights down low, just enough to see my paints, and lit the wolf head from the side.  When the painting began,  I had no idea how it was ever going to turn out.  In fact, I embarked on the process expecting it not to work because the room was so dark!  Now and then I turned the lights on to see what was happening.  I was surprised to see the image of the wolfhead appearing before me on my painting panel, in a way that seemed magical to me.