Learning to Fall/ Fail

Not long ago I took a road trip to southern Utah and this little oil sketch(18"x24") was inspired by that trip.

"Learning to Fly"

Take Off, oil on canvas, 18"x 24".

The Landing Pond, oil on canvas, 18"x 24".

These two paintings are were fun little sketches to test out a new element of paint application. After graduating from Grad school I am left to try to figure out "what story to write." These little sketches are two attempts as I step in to that next phase.

# 61 Abraham Lincoln

It has been a while since I took some time and did a head painting. I am about to get a batch of them going but before I do those, I wanted to do one of a hero of mine. With the upcoming anniversary of his Gettysburg address, I thought it fitting to do a quick sketch of the man who not only held a divided nation together but put an end to slavery at the same time. The more I have read and studied his life the more I am in awe of what he overcame and what he was able to achieve. 24"x 24", Oil on canvas.

As our country struggles in its current debate, these words from Lincoln's first inaugural address are as applicable to our day as they were to his...

“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
                                                                                                                                                           

# 60 My Wife

It has been a while since I posted something. This is number # 60 in a series of 100. Oil on canvas, 24" x 24". I tried something new and thickened up the paint with stand oil. May have to try it again. I painted her once when we were dating, turns out she didn't like the pose that much, so I had to redeem myself and make her happy.

Recent Show at FICE called "Whvt Wvste"

"Where is the beef?" Oil and Spray Paint on Panel, 20"x 20"  $686

"Don't bother me, I'm eating." Oil and Spray Paint on Panel, 20"x 20"  $720

"I'm lovin' it." Oil and Spray Paint on Panel, 20"x 20"  $677

"Quality you can taste." Oil and Spray Paint on Panel, 20"x 20"  $710

"Have it your way." Oil and Spray Paint on Panel, 20"x 20"  $720

I recently participated in a show with some talented young artists at a gallery in SL called FICE. The show was based on finding something discarded and then do some art on it. I decided to paint hamburgers probably from my less then inspiring stint as a teenage employee of McDonalds. I painted them directly on discarded cabinets from USU, just as I did when I was tole painting with my Norwegian Grandmother. It was a fun little series to play with while looking into the fast food industry.

Show at FICE/ Hamburger series

When I was a very young child one of my best memories was when my Norwegian grandmother taught me how to tole paint. I remember the awesome feeling of being trusted with "real paint", "real brushes" and a piece of wood instead of paper. I was suddenly invited to the "adult art table"and I could not have been happier. I remember painting a lion and my effort surprised the class. 

This experience mixed with my year of working at McDonald's were two of the motivations to paint this small series. More paintings to come and more details on why I did these.

They will be hanging at the FICE gallery in SLC this Friday with three really strong and upcoming painters, CJ Hales, Clay Cavender and McKay Felt. See the image below for details.  

Portrait of Millie Flamm

This was commissioned by the Peay family for the parents of Millie Flamm. It was an honor and a privilege to paint her portrait. She taught me what is important in life and I am so grateful for the lessons. I will forever be appreciative.

Paul Davis, "SQUINT!"

This guy taught me more about drawing than every other teacher combined. There is not a better draftsman. You will never find a more giving and competent teacher. He is known for stressing the little things and doing each one well. This is a small oil sketch on a 12"x 16" panel of him squinting as he matches a color and value for his next brushstroke. I did this little one in preparation of doing a larger one later on.

If you are interested in learning to draw, look up Paul Davis and go to one of his workshops as soon as you can!

Dave Dornan, "Loosen Up!"

This is a little 12"x 16" oil sketch I did of one of my teachers from college. I wanted to try and approach an oil painting the way one would a watercolor painting. It was an interesting experiment. The painting will be in a show this Friday with some great painters here in Utah.

Thank YOU!!!

After getting married last December I felt the overwhelming love and kindness from people I had never met before. I was blown away at the efforts of some to share in our joy of starting the next chapter of our lives. So last month I took a break from some projects to do these to little(9"x12") oil sketches for some of my new family. The only way I know how to really say, "thank you." I put on Ken Burns Jazz series and listened to the amazing stories from the history of Jazz as I painted Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane.

Commission, March 2013

This young man was an incredible sport and extremely polite. He comes from a fantastic family who I am so blessed to have met. This portrait was done of him after spending the day skiing at Snowbird resort. The amazing colors of their locker room helped make this one of the most enjoyable commissions of recent memory.  Jackson(oil on canvas), 30"x 30".  

300 Plates Show, Art Access

One of the best art fundraisers I have ever participated in. This is a show not to be missed. Art Access hangs just over 300 small paintings(10"x 11") by roughly 100 Utah Artists. Their cause is amazing and worth your time and a donation. It is happening Thursday, May 16th from 6-9 pm, at 230 South and 500 West  in Salt Lake.

230 South 500 West #125
S230 South 500 West #125
Salt Lake City, UT 84101alt Lake City, UT 84101

Artist Statement for Thesis Show

 
Vita-logy

  The Study of Life 

My intent as a painter is to arrest motion on canvas, to capture life and hold it fixed. I am interested in making paintings of personal experiences, some as I remember and others as I prefer to remember them.  Referencing family photo albums and contemporary imagery, I aim to create a nostalgic world once imagined, now conceivably constructed with paint.  As I reflect on memories I hope to bring to life a personal mythology to better understand my reality.

In this show I chose to focus on seven hypothetical stages of human development from the vantage point of a male raised in suburban US. Ranging from the freedom of a child to the joys of an elderly father at a family dinner, each painting represents a different phase of life.

                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                   Zachary Proctor

                                                         

Thesis Show Painting Number Nine or 9-40

This is an installation of 32 paintings hanging together to make one piece. All these canvases are
24"x 24", so this piece is eight feet tall and sixteen feet wide. It was an interesting experience to group all these together and see them juxtaposed next to one another. It was hard to get a good picture through the window next to the wall, but it sure made for a spectacle when driving by the building.

This is a photo my father took of me and my dog Sage before my Thesis Show. Sage hates cameras and I hate having my picture taken, but we both agreed it was necessary.

Erik Olson and his son getting a closer look.

Thesis Painting Number Eight

Family Dinner (72"x 72") oil on canvas. This was an interesting painting to work on. I sort of dove in and just started with the center focus of the painting and worked my way out. It is a strange thing to paint the people close to you. As you put brushstrokes down you reflect on the lives of your loved ones and come to see them in a different way. You start to appreciate what beautiful people they are becoming as they make their way through life. These Sunday dinner family moments are what are important in life and yet we seem to move through them without taking a the time to let them soak in. I am pretty sure at the end of my life as I sit with more time to ponder that I will reflect back and crave one of the these dinners and the lively conversations that are shared at my parent's dinner table.

This painting will be hanging for the next few months at the Spring Salon in the Springville Art Museum in Springville Utah. They put on a great show and I invite you all to go.

Day one, after three hours painting.

This is after day two. 

 After ten days of painting.

Thesis Show Painting Number 7

This painting titled, Family Home Evening is six by eight feet in size. I limited the tools I usedin order to add to the awkwardness of the scene. I painted it largely with 2 and 3 inch brushes and different types of palette knives. I wanted the family to seem comfortably uncomfortable as they consumed hours of television. The vantage point is from the inside of their TV, as though we the viewers are the actors in their program. "All the world is a stage."   


Thank you to the Earl family for their willingness to be painted in a less then flattering fashion.

  

Thesis Show Painting Number 6

 Follow Your Heart, oil on canvas(48"x 72") was painted with large brushes from a local dollars store. I wanted to avoid the details and make a painting that seemed slightly blurry, somewhat similar to what we experience in a dream. The painting is about those moments when time stands still and the conversation seems to be the center of the universe.

Thesis Show Painting Number 5

This painting titled Metaphysical Gravity is a diptych of two 48"x 48" pieces. There was a lot of experimenting during the process of this piece as I was looking into different ways to apply paint. I learned quite a bit working on these and the final product came second to enjoying the journey.

Lots of funny things occurring... boy and girl, day and night, little color and colorful, linear and ambiguous. It was fun to hide numerous things in this one.

Thesis Show Painting Number 4

Where the Sidewalk Ends(48"x 72") is the fourth painting done for my thesis based on the shaky stage of adolescence. This is a scene a friend and I witnessed in a small Utah town called Helper. The moment happened in the dead of summer and there was a kid walking around in a head to toe gorilla suit. There was an obvious love triangle happening in the moment which led to multiple f-bombs and a few birds flying back and forth. 

Thesis Show Painting Number 3

The fun thing about going to Grad school is that one can make a painting and not worry about where it will end up. Artistically, I have been influenced by film as much as art history. The content of this scene/painting hit close to home because my brother and I were similar ages when our Grandfather passed away. I remember the funeral being an extremely confusing process. I did this painting to reflect on that and how cinema brings up those dormant emotions.

To Shoot and Sing Praise is large(45"x 60") and I painted it mostly with large brushes that one would paint a house with. I wanted to limit my control as I up the scale of the subject.

Thesis Show Painting Number 2

My Thesis was based loosely on what I perceive to be seven different stages of a male's life from where I grew up. This oil painting titled Lightsaber 48"x 72" is the first stage. A phase in life where one feels free and liberated, often uninhibited by what others think.

Thesis Show Painting Number 1

This is painting number one from my Thesis Show. The Artist Enters the Studio a 48"x 48" oil painting was painted with the idea similar to the first scene of a hypothetical movie. The scene where a painter walks into his creative space with the intention of telling a story. Similar to Stephen King's Stand By Me or the more recent movie Atonement, but from a perspective of an artist instead of a writer.  This painting is based on the space I was painting in at the time mixed with images from a movie based around a painter.

Summer

Every year on the 4th of July one of my best friends throws a bash of a swim party. It is one of the best parties of the year. Come enjoy some good food, great conversation, some swimming and a few fireworks. This painting is 48"x 72", oil on canvas. This was a fun  painting that i learned a lot by doing and for some funny reason it was edited out of my Thesis show by my committee.

Josie Patten

# 59

This young lady is the older sister to the twins in the last blog post. She was shy when I first met her, however as I painted her, I realized she has a lot going on behind those eyes.