Blog
Artwork In Its Natural Environment
Nov 17, 2008 — 1 comment
The overall effect of a piece of art can be greatly enhanced by its surroundings. Paintings, and to an even greater extent drawings, usually look much much better framed, hanging in a place of prominence in a room. I usually hang things to dry in my studio area, where they’re all sort of jumbled together, and not allowed to live in their own space, which dampens the impact of each individual piece. Once you see them hung in a way that allows them to breathe and command attention without competition, they become much more effective.
These photos show a few of the pieces that I have sold, hanging in their current positions of adulation. Having this website is great, I can easily and quickly show a painting to anyone anywhere. But seeing a small digital image is a lame substitute for actually seeing something in person.
Be sure to note that the rooms in which these pieces are hung seem strangely impressive, bigger than most, almost awe inspiring. It’s clear that the person who owns the painting, the person that chose it from amongst the masses and hung it here, is a great human being, that they are doing something important for this planet, something bold, praxis embodied. Wouldn’t you like your room to have that same effect? Contact erikebelingart.com, I have just the painting for you.
Ok I’m kidding about the last one. That’s a picture I took of Albert Bierstadt’s Among the Sierra Nevada, California, 1868, in the American Art Gallery in Washington DC. It’s a famous painting, and rightly so, it’s incredible to see in person, but probably only because of the frame/environment. Or something like that.
Magnus Is Going To Be Large
Nov 17, 2008 — 1 comment
Here again is Magnus. He’s about 32lbs now, and watching him double in size since we got him, and looking at his paws and forearms, it’s becoming pretty clear that he’s going to be a beast.
To see how much different he looks from just a few weeks ago, click here.
Successive Generation
Nov 10, 2008 — 1 comment
Finishing a painting is a strange thing. I put of a lot of effort into everything I do, and though it might seem like painting would be relaxing or dull, it’s actually a real physical and mental struggle to get things to look the way I want. By the time I’m done with a painting session, I am legitimately worn out. Anyway, considering that, it seems logical that there would be a sort of hooray! climax when a painting is actually completed. There isn’t, at least for me. Generally I’ve already been going back and forth between a few different pieces, so when one is done, I just stop working on it. I like having my mind split across a couple of paintings, all sort of evolving on their own timeline, trees planted at different times moving together toward the canopy (for some reason I picture the image of carbon atoms taken by a tunneling electron microscope, only that is way too linear. See below, clearly not related except in my own mind, but the pictures are cool). I usually start something new once I’ve finished something off, so the tedium of the final stages of one are replaced by the freedom of the early stages of another. Insert springsummerfallwinter, genetic transformation, human existence/evolution, gardens, some sort of metaphorical something or other. So lo! here I am, having just finished a painting, and now, above, in all it’s larval glory, is the future of erikebelingart.com. At least until it fades out into completion, to be replaced by something else.
New Painting Finished
Nov 07, 2008 — 5 comments
Finally finished with the new landscape painting, which I’m calling Synchronous Vigil. I’ve added it to the 2D section, here. Glazing layer after layer to get the right opacity for the mist was tedious, but I think it turned out alright. Also note that this may be the most difficult painting in history to get an accurate photograph of. The extreme contrast of the light on the left and the darkness of the right made the digital camera go all crazy, washing out all the color and the detail. I’m clearly no photographer. Anyway, let me know what you think.
Chi Cheng, Deftones
Nov 06, 2008 — 1 comment
Deftones are one of my favorite bands, easily ranking in my top five ever since my friends in college introduced me to them. Last night their bassist, Chi Cheng, was severely injured in a car accident, and is now in a coma. This really is a bummer, totally ruined my day. I’ve seen Deftones live three times, in a huge amphitheatre, a giant hangar, and in a small theater where I was about 12 feet away. They are an amazing live band, not for everyone I’m sure, but really something to see. Their music can be loud and aggressive, but is also surreal and atmospheric, sort of a strangely combined art/prog-rock and metal amalgam, which ends up much better than any of those genres could ever be separately.
Hopefully he recovers quickly, he really seems like a cool dude. The picture above I took at Sandstone Amphitheater, 2006.
Read Chino’s comment on the Deftones blog here
Composite
Nov 01, 2008 — 1 comment
I made this composite image from 9 different photos, all taken one after the other, standing in the same spot. A girl I knew in high school used to make large images this way, only with many more photos making up the final composite. Also she used actual developed photographs, cut out with a razor blade and mounted on a board, jigsawed together to make a strangely disjointed but aesthetically cohesive whole. They were awesome. Much cooler than this, mine is a feeble impersonation at best.