Recently I added another series of work to my plate that I call Phase Value. I will be painting & fabricating duplicates of the same face each with a unique treatment. I am interested in phases regarding identity, and visual perception. Below is just the beginning. To be continued...
How A Painting Grows
This is how my paintings look as they develop.
Instagram @samrodriguezart
Lately I haven't been able to do as many sketches as I would like to because of project deadlines. But on a good week, you can catch a new sketch of mine almost daily via my instagram feed. I consider social media a modern day artist tool essential. The feedback and support is motivating and it's a fun way to explore different ideas. If you are interested in my process follow my instagram @samrodriguezart. What would be the point of making images if you weren't there to look at them?! Thanks for the support!
Complex Mag Portfolio Review
Complex Mag recently asked me to participate in their online Portfolio Review series. Here is a link to how that went including brief thoughts I have behind some of my works. Click here to read more: http://www.complex.com/art-design/2013/12/samuel-rodriguez-art-portfolio-review/
Words by Complex: "Samuel Rodriguez's paintings capture the multifaceted identities of his subjects. Instead of portraying an ideal whole, he fractures his compositions to suggest that we are made up of more than just a single belief, history, or culture. Rodriguez touches on themes of race and ethnicity, stressing that in our diversity...Read full article here >>
B.I.G. Step By Step
The following are some step by step photos of my process in creating a recent piece for my upcoming show at Cukui.
For the most part, I try to avoid painting portraits of celebrities because I feel the work may lack a sense of wonder, and mystery. I also worry if people won't see passed their mental image of who the iconic figure is. Most times I prefer anonymous faces to begin paintings with because I use them as a starting point. I usually try to keep just enough to highlight a certain expression. This sensibility is probably from my experience through graffiti where you basically tweak and reinterpret legible typography based on your feelings and movement.
Well for my current show, I am going against my usual thoughts on portraiture. For a while now i have been wanting to paint a series based on various musicians through my own artist lens because music has provided so much inspiration and therapy for me. Due to my own prejudices on this type of portraiture I have avoided it. But damn it, sometimes you just gotta let it out! I hope to go past what a photograph can capture by absorbing a feeling and releasing it through the work.
Who is The Notorious B.I.G.? Certainly I don't know. Is he a Coogi pattern with shades, and a crown? I started with these elements, which are so very graphic as visual identifiers, and decided to abstract them and find new forms and compositions. I'm not sure what you get from it as I cannot dictate your feelings but I definitely stumbled onto some unexpected results and stopped the painting at a place that I feel is new and interesting. Enjoy!
Source: http://samrodriguezart.com
Wall by Aaron De La Cruz
I finally had the chance to view this nice looking wall painted by my good homie Aaron De La Cruz in San Pancho. Enjoy!
