Playing Diamonds

Playing Diamonds

2023-2024, oil on linen,19 x 19 inches

The theme of card games has been a recurring narrative in my work for many years. I enjoy the subject and the psychological elements it offers, but - more important to me - on the abstract level the theme also provides many compositional opportunities such as in the arrangement of hands or the play of color notes in the cards.

Here are two of my large paintings that were composed around the narrative of gamblers playing blackjack: 

Twenty-One
1983 - 1984, oil on line, 32 x 70 inches
Private collection

and twenty-eight years later:

Blackjack Players

2012, oil on line, 28 x 42 inches

courtesy of Adelson Galleries

Playing Diamonds, drawing #3

pencil on graph paper with red oxide pastel tone on reverse

10 x 10 inches, 2010

In other news, I will be having a solo exhibition of paintings at the Clark Gallery in Lincoln, Massachusetts: 30 April to 8 June.

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For additional information please contact me or the the Adelson Gallery [New York and Palm Beach]:

mailbox@andrewstevovich.com     or      adam@adelsongalleries.com

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Snack

Laura and I have a black dog, part Lab, part Chow, and part other mutts. A recent article I read characterized black Labs as having "innate food greed" ... and ours could be the poster dog for that description. There's the narrative of this painting.

Snack

2023, oil on linen, 21" x 21"

The color harmony is a range of blue tones and green and black against a warm background. The two reds - the snack and the interior of the dog's mouth - add energy to the overall tone of the painting. Geometrically, the composition is anchored with triangles and diagonal movements balanced by the rectangle of the man in the window.

The man at the window may be a subconscious homage to Fra Filippo Lippi, one of my favoite artists working in 15th century Florence, and his painting, Portrait of a Woman with a Man at a Casement. The work is thought to have been painted for the wedding of Lorenzo di Ranieri Scolari and Angiola di Bernardo Sapiti, and it is believed to be the first double portrait made in the Italian Renaissance. Angiola is seen in profile, a point of view that Lippi was one of the first artists to use; these profiles have been a significant influence on my images of single individuals.

Portrait of a Woman with a Man at a Casement
Fra Filippo Lippi
1435/1440, tempera on panel, 2' 1" x 1' 4"
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

clockwise from upper left corner:

Woman Wearing a Red Hat: 2014, oil on linen, 16" x 10"

Mollie: 2008, oil on linen, 5.75" x 3.5" [Private collection]

Olga: 2020, oil on linen, 7.5" x 6"

Cherie Likes Yellow: 2009, oil on linen, 4.5" x 3"

Lola Likes Red:2016, oil on linen, 8" x 5.75"

Marko: 2013, oil on linen, 6.25" x 4.5" [Private collection]

 ___________________________

For additional information please contact me or the the Adelson Gallery [New York and Palm Beach]:

mailbox@andrewstevovich.com     or      adam@adelsongalleries.com

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Two New Paintings

Finished in early December, Cosmetic Ads:  

Cosmetic Ads

2022, oil on linen, 24" x 24"

I was originally thinking of painting the walls with tones of yellow ochre. After finishing the clothes of the two main figures, however, I decided to go with blue. For one, the small areas of yellow ochre would have created a disturbance in the overall unity of the composition. And I've always liked working with harmonies of closely related colors. Aside from the skin tones, the only deviations from blues and greys are the green beret and the red lipstick which bring visual energy and tension.

The next painting, finished a couple days ago, continues with my enjoyment of closely related colors ... reds in this case ... with a green t-shirt serving as a counterpoint.

Handsome Demon

2023, oil on linen, 7" x 5 1/2"

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Cosmetic Ads, in progress

 On the easel:

Cosmetic Ads [in progress]

oil on linen, 24" x 24"

The initial drawing for this composition was done several years ago and floated around the studio until this past August. Why some ideas take much longer than others to coalesce has no obvious explanation but when I looked at the drawing again this summer, the time was finally right. The new drawing below was made:

Cosmetic Ads, drawing #2

2022, pencil on paper with red oxide pastel tone on reverse, 24" x 24"

Unlike my usual process of making numerous preparatory drawings, it was used to transfer the image to canvas. Perhaps a mistake to be so quick. The woman's face on the left, her hair and beret, were the first parts painted. After that I became uneasy with the composition. The right and left halves did not integrate. After several days of contemplation, it became evident that a second woman, overlapping the advertisement was needed. She unites the halves and creates a better visual flow.

Cosmetic Ads drawing #4

2022, pencil on paper with red oxide pastel tone partially on reverse, 8" x 12 1/2"

Cosmetic Ads [detail, in progress]

oil on linen, approx. 11" x 12"

As the painting developed, two more faces - also advertisements - were added in the far background.

Cosmetic Ads [detail, in progress]

oil on linen, approx. 12" x 24"

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New York Exhibition

15 September - 31 October 2022

Adelson Galleries, New York
595 Madison Avenue

opening reception:
Thursday,  29 September
6 to 8 PM

click here to view the exhibition catalog

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Five Chocolate Truffles

Recently finished:

Five Chocolate Truffles

2022, oil on linen, 10" x 12"

This painting, along with twenty-one other oil paintings and four drawings, will be shown in my upcoming solo exhibition at the Adelson Galleries in New York, from September 15th through October 31st. A reception will take place on Thursday, the 29th of September.

Here is a painting and a drawings that will be in the exhibition:

Two Women with a Monkey

2018, oil on linen, 18 x 20 inches

Two Women with a Monkey, drawing #2

2017, pencil on paper with red oxide tone on reverse, 18 x 20 inches

 

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Lula Polishing a Sculpture

 Recently finished:

Lula Polishing a Sculpture

2022, oil on linen, 15" x 10"

A painting now on the easel:

Five Chocolate Truffles   [in progress]

oil on linen, 10" x 12"

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Drawing Loretta

 Recently finished:

Drawing Loretta 

2022, oil on linen, 20" x 20"

A painting now in progress:

Lula in Her Studio [in progress]

15" x 10", oil on linen, 2022

Lula in Her Studio, drawing #2

15" x 10", pencil on paper, 2022

Lula in Her Studio, drawing #7

15" x 10", pencil on paper, 2022

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Loretta Painting My Portrait

Recently finished:

Loretta Painting My Portrait

2022, oil on linen, 12" x 10"

A painting now in progress:

Drawing Loretta [in progress]

2022, oil on linen, 20" x 20"

Two drawings:

Loretta Painting My Portrait, drawing #1
2021, pencil on graph paper, 8" x 8"
Private collection, Massachusetts

Loretta Painting My Portrait, drawing #2
2021, pencil on paper with green oxide pastel on reverse, 12" x 10"

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Subway Checkpoint

Subway Checkpoint

2021, oil on linen, 24" x 28"

In this recently finished painting I departed from my usual harmonies of unified colors and instead used a discordant color palette. The blue-green and light-yellow walls contrast with the rich deep tones of the clothing. The narrative depicts a possibly tense or unpleasant moment, and I felt a discordant palette would work best.

In comparison, my 1987 painting, The Truth about Lola, has a similar composition of people in line to gain entrance, but it uses a harmony of closely-related reds and dark greys. The reds hopefully add an element of anticipation and excitement.

The Truth about Lola

1987, oil on linen, 32" x 42"

Private collection, Massachusetts

Subway Checkpoint took seven drawings to develop, and an eighth when I decided to turn the blonde woman's face from profile to three-quarter view:

Subway Checkpoint, drawing #1

undated, pencil on pieces of graph paper taped together, ca. 7 1/2" x 10"

Subway Checkpoint, drawing #2

2021, pencil on graph paper, 8 3/4" x 8 3/4"

Subway Checkpoint, drawing #3

2021, pencil on graph paper, 8 3/4" x 10"

Subway Checkpoint, drawing #4

2021, pencil on graph paper, 8 3/4" x 10"

Subway Checkpoint, drawing #5

2021, pencil on graph paper, 8 3/4" x 10"

Subway Checkpoint, drawing #6

2021, pencil on graph paper, 8 3/4" x 10"

Subway Checkpoint, drawing #7

2021, pencil on paper with pastel tone on reverse, 24" x 28"

Subway Checkpoint, drawing #8

2021, pencil and ink on paper with pastel tone on reverse, 8 1/2" x 11"

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Subway Checkpoint, in progress

A painting on the easel that's close to completion:

Subway Checkpoint, in progress

24" x 28", oil on linen

As with most of my compositions this piece took multiple drawings to develop. Over the course of the drawings, I try to work out the spatial problems that emerge. Here is the final drawing that was used to transfer the image to canvas:

Subway Checkpoint, drawing #7

24" x 28". pencil on paper with green oxide pastel tone on reverse

No matter how much the composition has been worked out, however, there are always changes that need to be made once I start painting. Sometimes the changes are minor, but in this painting, there were three significant changes. 

First, the boy in a baseball cap went away, and then - though I'd already painted her face and hand - his mother went after him. A faint ghost remained where she used to be:   

Finally, the blonde woman on the right turned her head to look at the man showing his ID:

Each change improved the flow and made the composition stronger. 

The major parts left to paint now are the interior of the booth and the walls.

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Four Women and a Demon

Four Women and a Demon

2021, oil on linen, 14 3/4" x 21"

Demons have appeared numerous times in my work. They arrive unpremeditated in the initial drawing of a composition, quietly arising from my subconscious – as do most of my ideas.

The meaning of this and other demons is totally up to the viewer, and from comments I’ve received I know the interpretations vary greatly; they can be humorous or evil, sexual or chaste, the representation of an internal dysfunction or of an external influence. Whatever ones see is what it is. 

I’ve long thought it best to leave the viewer to bring their own creativity to deciphering the meaning of a painting. A verbal explanation on my part would be limiting.

One of the best examples in my experience of divergent interpretations happened at the opening of my 1995 exhibition at the Adelson Galleries and involved the painting Pharmacy.

Pharmacy

1994, oil on linen, 9" x 9"

A man came up to me, pointed to this painting and told me: “You have a very malevolent view of humanity. You must be severely depressed.” He walked away without waiting for a response. 

Not that I had one. 

Fifteen minutes later, another man pointed to the same painting and said: “I love it. You have a wonderfully wry and profound view of the world and its absurdity.” 

A good antidote to the first comment.

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