Wednesday, February 3, 2010

O, CITY WOMAN/ Natural Earth Pigments and Watercolor: A Geometric Abstraction

                                    





                                             
                                                  O, City Woman
                                                  1981
                                                  by Eric Whollem
                                                  earth paints, casein, and watercolor on paper
                                                  Collection of the artist.
                                                  5 5 /16" x  5 7/16"
                                                       Copyright by the artist.

Approaches to Mixed Media Art

"Mixed media" when applied to painting, refers to the artist's use of
a variety of paints, such as oil and watercolor, for example, in a single
work of art.

SIRENS OF THE QUAY/Mermaid Art: Memories of Mexico 1977/ Figurative Abstraction/ ABSTRACT ART by Eric Whollem

                                    


                                      Sirens of the Quay
                                      1977
                                      by Eric Whollem
                                      earth pigments, casein, & watercolor on paper
                                      Collection of the artist.
                                      14" x 11"
                                          Copyright by the artist.

A Sighting of Dos Sirenas At the Wharf

In 1977 I took my big trip to Mexico. I wanted to see Tiotehuacan and the
Aztec pyramids, not to mention the famous anthropology museum in Mexico
City. This museum experience was overwhelming. It was the great stylistic
variety in Mesoamerican ceramics and sculpture that impressed me. The
level of personal vision is extremely high among the ceramic artists of the
Americas.

WINDOWS OF THE NIGHT/ Earth Paints & Watercolor: A Visionary Abstraction



                                            

                                        
                                             Windows of the Night
                                             1974
                                             by Eric Whollem
                                             earth paints, casein, and watercolor on paper
                                             Private Collection
                                                 Copyright by the artist.

Playing With Space and Texture

In works from this time period, my early twenties, I often would
create a shape and then repeat it, creating visual assemblages of
that defy apparent gravity. (I was twenty-three years old in 1974.)

SWEAT VISION/ Native Americans Bathing in a Pool After a Good Sweat/ FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTION



                                   

                
                      Sweat Vision
                      1986
                      by Eric Whollem
                      gouache and wax resist on paper
                      Collection of Jim Nelson and Denise Furlong
                      11" x 8.5"
                           Copyright by the artist.

The Tradition of the Sweat Lodge

Native Americans univerally acclaim the virtues of the Sweat Lodge.
Sweating is considered an excellent health regimin. In my painting
three men are walking to a green pool in the desert to cleanse themselves
after a session in the sauna.

AMASIS/ Classical Greek Pottery Expressionistically Reinterpreted in Modern Art




                                         Amasis
                                        1984
                                        wax medium on paper
                                        by Eric Whollem
                                        Collection of the artist.
                                        14 " x 11"
                                           Copyright by the artist.

BACCHANTES

Amasis is the name of a famous ancient Greek pottery painter.
I did this work in homage to his art.

THREE NUDES/ Les Demoiselles d'Avignon Redux/ Figurative Abstraction/ ABSTRACT PAINTING by Eric Whollem

                                                   


                                                    Three Nudes
                                                    1984
                                                    by Eric Whollem
                                                    gouache and wax resist on paper
                                                    Collection of the artist.
                                                    6" x 9"
                                                        Copyright by the artist.

Homage to Les Demoiselles d'Avignon

Pablo Picasso's famous masterpiece, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, has been
emulated by a great number of artists insofar as it was a pivotal work in the
foundation of Cubism.

LETO/ Oracular Priestess of the Nile/ My Prophetic Muse/ FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTION

  

                                 
                 
                       Leto
                       1984
                       by Eric Whollem
                       gouache and wax resist on paper
                      Collection of the artist.
                      6" x 9"
                               Copyright by the artist.

 The Egyptian Sybil 

The Egyptian equivalent to the oracle of Delphi in 
Greece was the oracle of Leto, who was known
especially in Crete. In Egypt she was called Wadjet.

In the painting above Leto upholds the Veil of Isis,
the Veil of the Mysteries. There are some that believe
the term "veil" might be better translated "net." Much
of ancient mythology is set in aquatic symbolism. The
idea may originally refer to the function of the goddess
catching souls rather like fish in the sea.

Wax medium is one of the more permanent of all art
binders. Wax resists bacteria and age. The murals at
Pompeii in Italy were wax paintings, and lived through
volcanic upheaval and burial in lava. 

________________________

THE VIDEO BELOW
SHOWCASES SOM OF MY
MIXED MEDIA
PAINTINGS


ERIC WHOLLEM                                 

*
                            Mixed media painting, abstract art, Egyptian and Greek mythology, Veil of the Mysteries.                    

EARTH SPRITE/ Ash Paint and Gouache on Paper: A Folk Art Icon/ FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTION





                                                   Earth Sprite
                                                  1998
                                                  by Eric Whollem
                                                  gouache and ash paint in acrylic emulsion on paper
                                                  Collection of the artist.
                                                  11" x 8 3/8"
                                                         Copyright by the artist.


A NATURE SPIRIT

Earth Sprite is an imaginative vision of a
gnome. I used wood ash from my stove to
make a thick paint, which I applied with a
stick for a palette knife. This heavy impasto
was used to outline the forms in this work.