FIRESONG - AN INSPIRATIONAL DESIGN FOR THE NEW YEAR

(This post was first published March 25, 2017)

This new piece began as a simple homage to the Chinese New Year (the year of the Fire Rooster), but through the creative process it became much more meaningful than that. I didn't set out to create an inspirational design, but given all that I've been feeling during the particularly hideous election year that wrapped up in November of 2016, it was an inevitable evolution and a cathartic experience at the same time.

My final art is in part an homage to the tenacious spirit of the rooster in the face of adversity. It features a night scene with the central figure of a rooster in mid-crow. He is defiantly poised on a rock in a dark landscape rife with dangers. Above, stars in the sky are echoed in the space between the moon and the ground, suggesting the gleaming eyes of night predators as they float downward in pairs. Lurking in the foreground bushes, we see a hungry fox exposed in his deception, poised to pounce should the opportunity arise. The rooster has no recourse in the dark but to put his faith in his song—to keep confidently crowing—demanding the return of the sunlight. 

“Firesong”, 2017, by Joanna West Moser

Around the perimeter of the scene are these original words I composed to embody what I was feeling:

Crow, though the dark night is long—your firesong will yet bring the dawn.

These words advocate tenacity for any passionate voice in the face of symbolic darkness. The word "firesong" is symbolic of three specific things: 1. It refers to the inner voice, the fire-in-the-belly, the synthesis of passionate cause and individual voice, 2. It's a subtle nod to the Fire Rooster of the Chinese New Year and, 3. It's a personal reference to my own love of kennings, compound expressions common in Old English and Norse poetry which metaphorically illustrate a thing or concept (see item 1 above). 

In a time of unsettling divisiveness and fierce partisanship we're seeing every possible iteration of human frailty and ugliness. In all our battles—big or small—sometimes we need a reminder to hold fast to our goals and convictions, defy the night, and crow.

This piece is available in my Etsy shop.

Closeup of “Firesong”, 2017, by Joanna West Moser

NOD TO DAVID WEIDMAN, PART 1

(This post was originally published September 06, 2016)

A prerequisite experience for becoming an art enthusiast is that of encountering a particular piece, series, or body of work with which you feel an instant and sometimes inexplicable connection. Sometimes the experience is ephemeral. Sometimes the experience is formative. I've certainly known both kinds, but the latter variety is my favorite because it leaves a distinctive mark on your art practice and your aesthetic view in the same way that a relationship with another human being can shape your life. For me, one of the best examples of this has been the vast body of work of David Weidman.

David Weidman holding products from an exclusive Urban Outfitters collection that featured his work in 2010. (photo credit Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Weidman's work ranges from deceptively simple poster art to mind-bogglingly detailed masterworks that stretch the possibilities of the screen-print medium to the extreme. I've managed to collect several pieces of both kinds since first being introduced to Weidman and his work nearly a decade ago. He has unfortunately passed, but lived to see his work rediscovered and celebrated in a way most artists will never know. 

The great bulk of his portfolio was created in the 1960s and went largely unappreciated at the time. Many hundreds of his original prints languished in obscurity in his personal storage until the mid aughts when a feature on the wildly popular drama Mad Men thrust his work into the public eye. 

What fascinates me most about his art is twofold. First, that he successfully co-mingles colors that you would never expect could love each other. Second, no matter how simple or complex, his compositions are so deftly executed that my eyes never tire of wandering around and getting lost in them.

I have been wanting to make some art after his style for a long time and think this is the perfect venue for it. I'm starting with his poster style. I have two examples of them hanging on my walls:

As you can see, the compositions are strong and central. A very limited palette helps to keep the image focussed and simple, and yet look at all the detail in the linework. These are things I wanted to capture in my first Weidman inspired tribute. Another truly delightful quirk of Weidman's was to often create two different color schemes for the same image so that buyers could choose the palette that most suited their taste. I preserved this quality in my creation as well not only because Weidman would have done it, but also because it's fun to do!

Here is my design in two color schemes:

These prints are available in my Etsy store. If you'd like to see more of David Weidman's art check out his family-maintained website and shop here. I'll be back with Part 2 and a new Weidman inspired piece soon.

BYZANTINE BANTAMS

(this post was first published September 01, 2016)

The moment I realized I was making a collection of chicken themed art inspired by the world of art history, I knew my next piece would pay homage to Byzantine art. If I asked you right now to conjure up an image typical of Byzantine art in your mind, I can all but guarantee that whatever you're picturing is smothered in gold leaf, and any humans involved are stylized, stiff, and probably wearing a halo and a fancy robe. In fact, it probably looks a lot like the image on the top left.

The examples of this period's artistic offerings as seen in museum collections strongly emphasize non-secular subject matter. These scenes are elevated to extreme heights of religious import through intricate patterns, meaningful text, overzealous applications of gold and even jewels in the case of mosaics. The reverence for the subject matter is clear. 

I thought it might be fun to apply some of this to a portrait of chickens. Obviously the background would have to be gold (at least in color). In rendering the chickens, I wanted them to have the stiff demeanors and unamused expressions that so many dour figures have in the Byzantine paintings I most enjoy. Odds are good that the less fun the Byzantine subjects seem to be having the more fun I have looking at the artwork. I even took care that the chicks' expressions would appear a wee bit sour.

Line work complete, I began to think about how to reference the painting style without being too authentic to allow for creativity. I found the image on the lower left (described as Archangel Michael from the Hagia Sophia) while browsing for examples of Byzantine styled feathers.

On top of the feather inspiration, I also sourced some colors from this piece to apply to my own artwork as it has a great balance of the tonality of gold. In the end, I opted out of halos—they seemed to make the composition too busy. A mosaic-influenced border gives a nod to that other ubiquitous art form of the period—and of course, no shadows to be found anywhere. Here's my final piece below:

The text is a bit silly, I acknowledge, but the whole situation is rather ridiculous so I decided to embrace it. I made this piece (and all of these chicken pieces) in 2016-2017.

If you like silly art, this illustration is available as a print in my Etsy shop.