Pixelated Animals and Other such Creatures

I must admit, I was looking at a gallery when I saw some art by a young contemporary who was using small squares of color to make up the faces of his subjects and backgrounds. His name is Nathan Durfee (If you follow the link go to artists, and then Nathan Durfee) I know this wasn't the first person to do this, there was Seurat after all. This is just an experiment in pointillism. It's really a lazy version. However, mine is more like a lazy version of a lazy version. Nathan Durfee's work is fantastic. It got me thinking that I needed to paint again and experiment more. So I went home, found my paints and made the Giraffe in the Grass eating a sandwich. I didn't put it up before because I have issues with the shadow under the tree, but alas, I have moved on.

I have been feeling lazy lately, spending more time on the computer than I like to admit and not wanting to do anything, but still at some point God gives me a little push and I get on an art run. THAT is just what happened the other day. I got out two canvases that I had primed to cover previous art......not mine.....I got them at goodwill and thought, OH a dollar for a canvas?! Yes thanks.

So I had painted over them but never laid any images on top. That is when I found/pulled out some very OLD paint sticks I had gotten at a garage sale in a box of art supplies. I have never used paint sticks, maybe because they are very expensive, or I had no knowledge of them; whatever the reason I knifed off the dry layer and drew a flying squirrel. And might I add, I love paint sticks. They are like oil pastels, but better.

After the Squirrel I wanted to do some polar bears and found a fantastic picture online of two bears; they were probably about to brawl but I thought it looked a lot like they were laughing together so that is how I drew them. I actually really enjoyed the effect of the dark background showing through the paint stick. I felt it gave the bears a more rustic furry feel. Stephen actually thinks the bears are his new favorite of my work......funny they took so little time.

Finally I have been wanting to continue experimenting with my box-pointillism. So I did another hill scene, this time with a contemplative hippo. I wanted the hills to be more of a wintery hill, not so lush and green. I also debate between if I want to add more lines to show more distinctly that it is a hippo or if this is when I need to let others try and see what I've done.....still people really struggled seeing my giraffe. Maybe that's part of the fun.... I do enjoy when I can't really see a picture till the title tells me what it is, it's like a little visual trick of the mind.