With the new movie "Big Eyes" coming out about the life of Margaret and Walter Keane, the pioneers of the 60s "Big-Eyed" art movement, I figured it was a good time to shout how much I like it here on the bandwagon. The house is full of statues, paintings, prints, needlepoint, string art, paint-by-numbers, lamps, switchplates, clocks,
dolls, toys, books, planters, candles, knick knacks, trinkets, whatnots and what have yous all featuring the blubbery sad waifs, pity puppies and forlorn felines. They've been a mainstay in my paintings, since they do what I love best about pop culture by mixing cute and frightening in equal proportions to make you smile AND your gums ache at the exact same time. Even though the Keane's started it all, there are many, many other classic Big-Eyed artists, Gig, Eve, Eden, Igor, etc. I've stuck Gig's famous "Potato Chip" pup in at least 50 of my illustrations (I've named him Lil' Puddles). Think of him as my Waldo or Al Hirschfeld's hidden Nina. My go-to artist for reference when painting a crying child is Eve, I guess I can relate better to the sharper, clearer design of his/her big eyed faces (aka, it's easier to copy). So enjoy this selection of my humble additions to the world of big eyes (it represents about a third of my attempts, many don't need to be revisited) and a peek at my decorating decisions. Who knows, one day I might even stop milking the trailblazers and come up with my own popular Art Movement! |
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