Westfield Mall Roof ( San Diego)
In my ever widening net of subjects to paint that appeal to nobody, here is a stairwell on the roof of the San Diego Westfield mall. I tried to make it feel a little like an old Frank Tenny Johnson western Pueblo at night just to see if I could make the most boring thing in the world charming in someway. Oil 9x12 on linen.
posted by william wray at 3:56 PM
22 Comments:
the color shift on the structure works well, the slight temprature change between sides make it look very solid, and the light seems to be quite effective.
I find it difficult to do good lighting with color temprature shifts, I quite enjoy effective examples of it.
Wow! This one is really cool! You're one of my favorite painters (Frazetta's still numero uno though).
Count me among the nobodies!
I like how there's a hint of curiosity at what these buildings might look like in the daytime--it's so dark you can make out the shape and some window details, but in the daytime, those windows might show up less detailed while the cityscape would come out better...ironic.
I also like the realistic lighting. Most parking garages (don't ask me how I know) have really yellow/orange lights, and it puts something of a glare on those stairwell entrances that contrasts nicely with the silhouetted buildings.
I agree that Frazetta's terrific at what he does, but his realm of expertise is better suited toward fantasy. I guess I don't know why, I mean Alex Ross could do superheroes or normal people, but Frazetta seems better for enhancing the mysticism and drama of a situation. Maybe I keep thinking of all the Conan poses.
By the way, my girlfriend and I found a Russian art museum (really! it was just sitting there by the road!) during a trip to Minneapolis, and I can see why you like Russian painters. These ranged from pre-revolution to modern-day works, but the paintings of industrial scenes like factories & building sites reminded me of your stuff.
The warm foreground to cool background is working well for you. And by the way... the name of that mall is "Horton Plaza" if it makes any difference.
The sad thing is all parts of painting are hard except gessoing the canvas. For all the times it goes "easy" there are more times when it goes hard... I think that's why I like art, it's as confounding as the "why's" of life.
Frazetta? I'm over Frazetta, I've moved onto Mike Hoffman.
Frazetta was only limited by his intellect and drive. He could have done anything, but really "had it all" once he was financially secure. That’s was the ultimate goal for his NY Working Class roots generation was to make it big. So once he had done that why climb another hill by lets say doing contemporary paintings of his old neighborhood? Or truly exploring the figure subtly? Why bother? That shit is harder than repeating the same barbarian theme. He was always stunned when he won awards for doing something slightly different, but he never learned from that. He just scratched his ass, ate more peanuts and hit golf balls.
Oh and BG Yes I love the Russians, I owe much to them.
Hey Tony,
Yes but Horton is owned by Westfeild yeas? I saw their signs all over.
As of the last 5 years or so, the Westfield company bought up all of the various malls in San Diego (and other cities). But "Horton Plaza" has always been the name of that particular landmark for nearly a century. Old man Horton used to own most of downtown SD in the late 19th and early 20th century. I think old man Horton even parked his horse and buggy up there where we painted.
lucky I have no loyalty to families who sell out to mega corporations. They deserve to have there names pass away into the dust of history. For grabbing the quick buck.
funny how something no one would pay a second thought to has it's own beauty...
I like the colors, especially the dark colors in the background.
Do you take photos of this kind of stuff, or do you actually sit on top of a mall at night and paint?
pardon my unknowingness, but isnt Mike Hoffman just ripping off Frazetta?
Rhonda,
That's my job.
Yes most of my Nocternes are from photo's. It's tough to paint at night.
man, really like this painting a lot. great pallette choice.
Scott-- I had some basic Jr. college stuff that was worthless and some natural talent with water based paint. The FR Class with Jack Faragasso was very helpful, it basically thought me how to use oil and mix color. The down side is it's a bit to formula to stay with, but it's a great way to learn.
Hoffman came up with his style on his own.
thanks Todd , your work is always a joy.
Hi. I'm Frank Frazetta's grandson. I do not appreciate you speaking about a man you do not even know. He never cared about money. All he ever cared about, and still cares about, is family. We have always been number one. You've got your story ALL wrong. He didn't stop drawing different things once he made money; he still works on things. And he doesn't just draw/paint barbarians and warriors; there are many other styles. Fantasy is just his thing. Why don't you try it? It's extremely hard because it takes so much out of your imagination, and I've seen things from when he was eight and I still don't know who can beat him. He has more fans and "copiers" than you, so obviously he's doing something right. And yeah, he wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he made damn well sure that his family lived well and didn't have to worry about whether they could afford food or not. Other than that, money didn't mean much to him. He doesn't have a giant house, flatscreen tv's, or anything like that. How dare you say such things about a man that you obviously no nothing about.
Dear Auto Mechanic,
Your Grand dad is a hero of mine, but I don't subscribe to blind worship. However, to be fair, you had no why of knowing that part of my comments were sarcasm, like the Hoffman comment or that I'm over Frazetta. I love Frank's work and have told him face to face how much he meant to me.
My work and was influenced by him when I was a kid, but don't copy him anymore. I still have all his books and admire what he did, but still think that heroic fantasy is a limited range for an artist to work in. Especially with your Granddad's talent, he could have done anything, but chose to do one intrinsically limited thing really well and repeat himself past his prime. An accomplishment few have equaled, but he could have done so much more if he had really applied himself. I understand you need to defend you granddad so I'm leaving up your post. However, your ass sucking "yes" man buddy gets the trash can.
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