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]

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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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Woman Burning a Photo

Woman Burning a Photo

12 1/2" x 10", oil on linen, 2018

I've long held the belief that the viewer should be free to make their own interpretation about the meaning of the narratives in my work. Not wanting to influence the viewer's thinking, I rarely say much about what a painting may mean to me; my titles are usually minimal for the same reason. That said, I enjoy hearing people's interpretations, and the ideas about the same painting can sometimes be wildly different.

In my ongoing solo exhibition in Boston, Adam Adelson, Director of Adelson Galleries Boston, wrote short wall texts for each painting exhibited. Here's what he wrote about this painting:

"An image of a man begins to ignite in the hands of a woman who stands over a table – set with a candle and dish with water.  The ritual of burning this image appears premeditated, as she’s ready to extinguish the flame as soon as it destroys the image.  She and her dog watch the flame start to engulf an image of the older, unassuming gentleman.  We are not sure what her relationship is to this man, but it’s apparent that he had harmed her in some way.  Clearly, the man is not as innocent as he seems in the photograph.  We have all experienced ending an unhealthy relationship, and each person has their own process of letting go so that they can move on with their life.  The woman’s private ceremony unburdens her without harming anyone." 

Other interpretations are also welcome.

This composition took four drawings to fully develop:

Woman Burning a Photo, drawing #1
10" x 11", pencil on paper, 2018

Initially, the woman was using a match to burn the photo. A painting of a dog - perhaps looking more like an anteater than a dog - was behind her on the wall.

In the next drawing, the dog went from an image on the wall to becoming the woman's companion by her side, the hand-held match became a candle, and a bowl of water was included to eventually extinguish the fire. I also added the androgynous figure, a witness.

Woman Burning a Photo, drawing #2
9" x 9", pencil on paper, 2018

The second person was removed in the third drawing; he/she seemed to dilute the narrative and I felt the composition was stronger with just the single figure. The faithful dog remained.

Woman Burning a Photo, drawing #3

10" x 8", pencil on graph paper, 2018

The final drawing was an enlargement of #3:

Woman Burning a Photo, drawing #4

12 1/2" x 10", pencil on graph paper with green oxide pastel tone on reverse, 2018

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Sleeping Woman with Dog

The third and largest in my recent series of dog paintings:

Sleeping Woman with Dog

20" x 36"     oil on linen     2016

This composition is built around the triangle of dark notes in the woman's hair, the night sky, and the dog. The middle tone of the blanket is a bridge between the dark and light notes.

In the initial drawing, the dog was sleeping and lying in the same direction as the woman:

drawing #1

6 1/4" x 9"     pencil on paper     2016

I liked the composition on an abstract level, developed two more drawings from it, but came to feel the narrative was too obvious. The drawings were put aside. A couple weeks later, I had the idea to face the dog in the other direction. The energy seemed much better, more interesting, especially with the dog's eye now open.

drawing #4

6" x 9 1/4"     pencil on graph paper     2016

The next to last drawing:

drawing #5

17 5/8" x 32"     pencil on paper with red and yellow ratio lines     2016

Final drawing, full size and used for transferring the image to canvas:

drawing #6

20" x 36"     pencil on paper with pastel tone on reverse     2016

The dog's slipper was added after the painting began.

Parker

After finishing this painting and the one previous, a friend cheerfully told me that my work has gone to the dogs. This time, a simple composition of our dog anticipating a snack.

Parker

4" x 4"     oil on linen     2016

She came from the shelter with the name Stella, not Parker; however, before we adopted, Laura had been wanting a dog for a long time and we used to joke about having a 'conceptual" dog called Parker. (Much easier to care for than a real one.) Since all paintings are basically conceptual, I've decided that Parker would be an appropriate alias for Stella when painted.

The red collar - bringing energy to the painting in the interplay with her eyes - is what Stella actually wears.

Dog with Slipper

Since January, Laura and I have had a dog ... a two-year-old black mutt. How she got here is a long story and she's clearly changed life's routines, as well as given me ample subject matter. In this composition, she's chewing a much-loved old slipper that came along with her, and it's the first painting I've done since 1968 without a human figure in it.  

Dog with Slipper

5 3/4" x 11 1/2"     oil on linen     2016

On an abstract level, I liked the dark shape created by the dog and slipper, and wanted to enhance it further by surrounding it with a palette of pale and subdued warm colors. The long piece of white rawhide, together with the whites of the teeth and the baseboard bring some energy in counterpoint.

Except for her ears and the tail, she's not unlike the dogs that have appeared from time to time in earlier paintings, like In the Garden:

In the Garden

62" x 72"     oil on linen     2006-07

Private Collection, New York

And Woman with Autumn Leaves:

Woman with Autumn Leaves

36" x 72"     oil on linen     1994-95

Private Collection, Michigan

Two drawings:

Final drawing

5 3/4" x 11 1/2"     pencil on paper w/ pastel tone on reverse     2016

6" x 10"   pencil on graph paper     2016

Woman with a Cellphone

Woman with a Cellphone

7 1/4" x 7 1/2"     oil on linen     2015

This new painting is a study in blues and greens, enlivened by the warm skin tones and blonde hair. I've also returned to a narrative theme I've used a number of times: people with phones.

The phone first appeared in my work in 1969:

Telephone Call

7" x 9"      oil on linen       1968

Private Collection, Massachusetts

Aside from their narrative interest, objects like phones, cigarettes, playing cards - and newspapers - create interesting hand gestures that can help direct the flow of the viewer's attention through the composition.

Telephone Call

8" x 11 1/2"     oil on linen    1982

Private Collection, New York     

Woman with a Cellphone took three drawings to work out:

drawing #1

5 3/4" x 5 1/4"     pencil on graph paper     2015

drawing #2

7 3/4" x 7"     pencil on graph paper      2015

drawing # 3 

7 1/4" x 6 1/2"     pencil on graph paper w/ pastel tone on reverse     2015

When the painting was on the easel, I decided her legs needed more room and added an inch to the width on the left. In addition to improving the legs, the change allowed me to put a doorway in the background, opening into another room. The dark blue vertical balances the diagonal movement of the chair.