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.