Creativity helps in a world that can overwhelm and overstimulate-- it calms the chaos and struggle of grief as my silent companion.
You decide who will appear in Artforum Magazine, take home $25,000, and display their work at The Art of Elysium's Salon!
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Images of men that stimulate thought. Moments of vulnerability. Events captured unaware —in happiness, thought, or everyday life. What makes a man a man? Portraiture or figurative works presented in a modern way. Paintings in oil-- brushwork loose and descriptive. Graphite images that tend to bleed-- displaying a softer side that isn't always shown. Bold crisp hatch lines fracturing across the surface. Multiple facets that people sometimes don't see. As a moment through the lens of a camera.
Where do you find inspiration?I see beauty everywhere, most of which comes from everyday life. Some inspiration comes from Pinterest and photography sites that I ask the photographer. Most say yes. I try to describe a wide variety of styles and subject matter. Images are not about whether the figure is handsome; they are more about how they make me feel. Grief is my dark companion. The loss of my partner is my shadow, and I find him in the art I create. I want to show my light, his light, and how I am being transformed.
What would you do with $25,000?It would allow me to take a half-year off from work and focus solely on this complex life/art journey. What could I create to represent this portion of my path? I see so many images that connect to it; perhaps others viewing would see they are not alone. Together, as a collection, the images would tell a story through the ebbs and flows, not only in life, but in grief. I would also donate a portion to SRAC, a local arts group where I am a member — they comforted me into my art.
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