oil paint | V. Stefanova

Chocland X Rob's Synthwave

40 x 1.7cm
x 50cm

13h 19m

I read a book shortly before painting this painting, ‘Genius, The Natural History of creativity by Hans Eysenck’ and on page 127 I read this line; “Genius is only found in males (for whatever reason!). Illustrations abound. In the list of geniuses studied by Cox, (1926) there are no women.” Let’s take note of the somewhat surprise from Eysenck as if he alludes to the reason actually being gender. So I’ll take a moment to elaborate the times. Women only won women’s rights in the 60’s and I doubt it was an easy road after that, sexism is still evident deep within culture so I don’t see women in the 60’s suddenly being accepted into jobs automatically without prejudice. The book itself points out that the definition of genius requires eminence in the field of your career. Women weren’t allowed careers so there you go, mystery solved. Even though another 60 years has passed we need to take into account that’s just your grandmother, or mothers generation who fought for equal rights and I bet there were some too busy raising young children to take it seriously. So you have your generation to be the first without prejudice in obtaining a job and on your way to the definition of genius. I personally argue it’s not a fresh start as in male dominated careers women report others having the opinion they won the job just please the stats and don’t receive the same respect amongst colleagues. As I read on it seemed as if the women who were eminent such as Marie Curie or Emily Dickinson must have just been considered very good. So the prejudice doesn’t just lie in not being able to find avenues to become eminent, but then being recognised as eminent. Following that thought I decided to whip out a female Einstein. She wears his jacket and the buttons lie the way a woman’s jacket does. That subtitle on page 127 named “Gender”, seems to have a misprint as I read “Prejudice in gender”. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

80 x 3cm
x 30cm

22h 43m

In 2021 I shared an artwork named, ’Chocland’ which sold quite fast. A few people mentioned it when I discussed what artworks to include in my next colouring in book edition. A few weeks before completing this artwork I received a commission request and the week prior I’d coincidentally shared an artwork named ‘Commission’ expressing my disinterest in commissions. So naturally I said no, however when someone requests one I ask what they saw in the original artwork and to share their views. Then I’ll make something after a little research and if they like it, it’s up for grabs. If not, we all move on. I was told that the artlover saw synthwave in the original artwork and appreciated how unique it was in terms of the description of a commonplace object. They really enjoyed the composition. Sometimes an artwork takes you somewhere else, and if that’s what this is for them then I wanted to play on that instead of conveying a concept. I had a rule, red or green sky and no pears.  If you watch the making video of this artwork you’ll see I began with green aiming to play on my recent artwork ‘Surrealists and Psychology’, then after talking to someone about this new artwork I changed it to red. That was probably a positive turn of events doing something entirely opposite to all except one artwork of mine, ‘Cheese’. Someone mentioned it’s not Synthwave without the car, I tried looking up which specific car but it seems to vary. Instead I added a reference to a car I once owned which I lined with indicators. I added the typical block sun, but dismantled. I’m personally always listening to 80’s rock instead of 80’s Synthwave and as I created the artwork I watched the Scorpions ‘Send Me an Angel’ with the red sky and square mountains so I added them as a sneaky link to a different 80’s world, with a tiny guitarist on top. I also have a few artworks synesthesia where I link shapes to sounds. During my hunt I found the beats consistent so I placed a row of cacti on the chocolate squares. Lasers that reflect the typical Synthwave blue triangle and just as I wrapped up the atrwork I learned the art lovers name so I found a reference in the Synthwave world and added it in.  I did add a pear… Watch the video for spoilers. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Diagnosed Hypochondriac

53 x 3cm
x 41cm

9h 56m

This artwork is a sequel to the painting I shared before this one, it’s a horse representing a human seeking out a diagnosis in order to feel whole. This is the horse with its diagnosis, the horse proudly stands front and centre showing off it’s new skin. The previous artwork showed just a skeleton with cactuses in the background, this time, since I like to use cactuses to represent people this ones turned full cactus instead of regaining the horse shin showed in the previous artwork. Instead of the items in the landscape forming a slow progression to being organised this horses environment have everything perfectly in check. The rain falls perfectly across the perfectly spaced clouds and perfectly placed plants across a perfectly wavy ground. This horse is delusional, you can’t organise life so perfectly and it’s not a horse anymore. I placed a hidden bunny in the background since I was deep in the art making habit hole at this point in time. This painting is one of my 80 artworks and a challenge to keep within the time frame! This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Hypochondriac

76.5 x 3cm
x 51cm

11h 22m

I partially painted it out of annoyance that I was asking someone to be respectful and they turned the situation around on one of their collection of four mental illnesses (a well functioning human in society). I decided to paint this artwork during my 80 artworks as I began to take note of how there’s a trend to label all quirks or even human nature as a mental disorder… Hypochondria in a nut shell, although the general mass doing this don’t seem to recognise this. Since the movement to become accepting of mental illness turned into a movement to encourage it. If I really wanted to “have” a mental illness I can rely on the trusty movement and a broadening definition to psychiatrist hop until I get that Pokemon. I thought up the idea to paint a horse skeleton and one hoof, the horse brandishes the hoof as if it’s proud and the rest of the horse isn’t complete unless it wears the skin of a mental illness, “Look at this part of me, I’m such a novelty”. At this point in time I’d painted quite a few cactuses pretty well and wanted to include them as a symbol in the background. The left one flops over because you haven’t watered your garden being so distracted. The middle one stands tall hidden behind the horse and the last one is organised into tiny cactuses, evenly spaced, floating up into the air. These remind me of the environmental expression of a mental illness where your items are where they’re supposed to be and need to stay exactly as they are. The water also plays in this left to right timeline, the left needs some attention, you need to pour the water properly. The middle turns into the horses soul and evaporated then the right is well organised dripping like rain over the clouds. I began the idea of a stripped skeleton before looking up what a horse skeleton looked like and to be frank I didn’t think they’d look so odd. I’d started the concept and ran with it. There are more easter eggs in this artwork for you to decipher. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Spring Hood

$650.00

40.5 x 1.7cm
x 51cm

27h 46m

Before making this artwork I made a digital artwork where I first created a land of spring animals. I really liked it but thought that I could do better painting it since fur is a tricky game on a computer by manipulating photos. So this artwork is mainly an exercise of skill. I also wanted to create an artwork with movement so that’s where the idea of the two birds crashing into each other came from. Recently I also painted ‘Thinking Things Up’ where I painted some horses in odd positions, falling, so I also continued on from that idea including the pink horse. Overall I wanted to paint like my digital artworks so I included my moon balloons. By the time I finished the artwork I couldn’t decide on a concept. When I look at it I see a world of spring animals, like the intent with the digital artwork as well, I just don’t have deep meaning for this artwork like the others. Either way, goals achieved! This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

The Pyramid Mystery

$650.00

40 x 1.7cm
x 50cm

18h 30m

I recently entered the pyramid rabbit hole, long story short, these are not tombs. It began as I find other peoples point of view interesting so I let conspiracy theories (or just regular theories that the mainstream labels to lower their credibility) enter my YouTube feeds and I think it included a mix of my electronics searches because I came across a pyramid generator theory by Chris Dunn. The entire topic is fascinating and has merit so I don’t think my painting reflects all the ideas I came across but I wanted to paint something pyramid. One point that I want to share, through art, is that we seem to under the mainstream impression that Egypt has always been a desert but there’s water erosion marks all over the Sphinx. Water plays a big part in a lot of the science explaining alternate histories. The pyramids generator theory is pretty complicated but I started the painting when learning about the aquifers part of the theory which is the very beginning of the generator theory, so I painted the pyramid of water. I also wanted to reflect two older artworks named, ‘Priorities’ and ‘Priorities 2’. The artwork wasn’t very planned out but as I continued to paint I put in plenty of effort into the spikes, also referencing my recent artwork ‘Thinking Things Up’ I learnt about the mystery of the tunnels that lead under the Sphinx so I added those into it. At some point I wanted to add more, then another point I decided to keep it simple and make more artworks to share the ideas. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Movement

$650.00

60 x 3cm
x 60cm

7h 34m

This is one of my 80 artworks and I began this idea with the intent of capturing movement within a painting after looking at Wyndham Lewis’s artwork ‘A Battery Shelled’ and seeing the movement there. The artwork took a plot twist when I looked at the painting image again in daylight and thought I was looking at something entirely different. I continued creating a response to what I thought I saw. I aimed to paint a running statue catching a ball which then turned into a statue hand throwing it and I aimed for the other parts of the artwork to appear as if they’re mid motion.  The artwork isn’t one of my favourites as it looks very different to my other paintings so I’m ‘on the fence’ with this one. Since I made it in October and months have passed before putting it up for sale I’m growing a liking to the result. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Corporate 2

40 x 1.7cm
x 50cm

11h 6m

This artwork follows one I created in 2019, ‘Corporate’. I really like it, even the version I can colour in in my colouring in books. The artwork also follows on from my other artwork, ‘Trauma’ where the universe just dumps paint on you and you need to grow through it. When I worked in corporate I hated it, I was rapidly wasting my life being a puppet for people I swear are incredibly miserable. Selling my soul… Quite often people who work nine to five tell me about what’s really grinding their gears at the time. Work’s always the focus of their attention and never positive, then you hear about how team mates throw each other ‘under the bus’. It’s a total mess. I originally named the artwork “Corporate Mess” painting a continuation of the previous artwork, just zoomed out, hen decided to name it “2”. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Where are the Babies?

Running Wild with Still Life

40 x 1.7cm
x 50cm

30h 43m

I think history will look back on COVID the way it looks back on the Holocaust, with a union on governments as opposed to Hitler running the show (and remember, there was propaganda from the time too). I wasn’t against the vaccines but I was hesitant and definitely put it off with the sole reason being that it couldn’t possibly have been tested on childbearing aged women and the offspring. The Zika virus is what came to mind. However when I specifically asked how it could affect reproduction I was told it’s safe. Later on I watched ‘Died Suddenly’ the documentary on the actual clots humans are getting and in it showed that Australian birth rates plummeted shortly after we were campaigned to get the shots. I then decided to look it up myself and it was true, it’s now late 2023 and ABS website still hadn’t declared still births and the birth rates dropped. The website specifically said they’re restructuring how to present the data, and if you know stats then you know that stats are the easiest way to factually present false data. I felt personally betrayed on this one. So I decided to make a painting on something I don’t think we’ll really noticed until the statistic dip reaches an age where they were to begin interacting with society. In my artworks I use cacti to represent people so the trend continues here, however I chose blue because I wanted to make them like water, but also a night before a friend of mine died I had a dream that he went around saying bye to everyone and he had this incredibly bright blue tie on. So that’s where the death blue comes from. Half way through painting I decided it’s better to blind fold the baby. This ones for the babies that didn’t make it. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

40 x 1.7cm
x 50cm

19h 39m

I find still life an interesting topic of art, it’s mostly hit or miss and I’m yet to find one in-between. A while back I painted a few satire artworks on still life and vases (‘Vases for Decor Purposes’ or ‘Fruit Bowl’, I think it’s fun to play with the genre so I began this artwork ready to paint some very detailed still life and then ended up wanting to add movement with a parade of horses running through, they swim out of the still life and dive back into it. For some of the artwork I wanted to focus on depth and on other days I wanted to make the shadows not make sense. So this is the result of this still life artwork. I hope it’s a hit for you. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

The Hallucination

30 x 1.7cm
x 40cm

18h 3m

One day I was colouring in my colouring in book and felt an ant crawling on my hand, I then looked again and it was gone. You could say it jumped off or something, but I went down a thought trail and wondered if the ant was ever there in the first place? I had just read a book, ‘Genius, The Natural History of Creativity’ by H. J. Eysenck which explains that studies show more creative people tend to sit closer on the scale to psychosis. So wondering whether I’m immune to this trend was on my mind, if I am, am I not even that creative? Is the creativity a hallucination too? I continued the thought alongside this fresh new insight on psychology, it’s possible I imagined the ant… It’s possible I’m imagining everything around me. You could be insane and never know it. I shared the thought with a friend, she added we might not even be friends and either of us could be sitting there alone talking to ourselves. Then you add the reality that reality is just warped to your perspective and what you engage with. So if nothing’s real, then everything’s real and there’s no such thing as anything. From there I decided to paint the ants. I painted my hand but they’ve opened up a rabbit hole for me so I painted holes in the hands where birds fly in and out, like the birds in my artworks. I decided nothing’s real so the table turns into an ocean and some boats seem to be on struggle street knocked over. Then you’ll see that turns into a wave of water and travels into the distance. I tried making the room warp at the edges and the clouds sit as a pendant inside. The birds on the window are a reference to my digital artwork ‘Cockatoo’s at My Window’ This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Commission

60 x 3cm
x 34.5cm

6h 32m

I hate commissions. I feel like a puppet when people ask for them, they always want something I’ve already created and usually available but they want to tweak it. I made one for a woman who promised she’d let me create an artwork, then didn’t, she turned it into a design and didn’t understand that paint doesn’t work like photoshop. I’m really disappointed in the outcome due to her changes. I should have left the artwork and told her to take it or leave it. That’s my perspective. Working off that, this artwork is the representation of a commission. I painted ‘The Nightmare’ by Henry Fuseli, on on side and ‘Self-Portrait in a Straw Hat’ by Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun, framed next to a pair of scissors. The portrait artwork references how the person requesting the commission only wants to show off that a particular artist created it, it’s cut from the canvas of ‘The Nightmare’ because they’re picking and choosing what parts from the masterpiece they want to keep and then making changes. This is why I believe a commission isn’t art and I won’t be a puppet of talent for you. You are not an artist, if you are, do it yourself. Below I painted red dripping from the scissors which comes from the red cloth of ‘The Nightmare’ then the hand of the artist barely hanging on to a thread from the Self-Portrait…’. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Infamy's Profit Margin

45 x 1.7cm
x 60cm

13h 18m

This artwork is a thought chain reaction when watching the ‘Estranged’ Guns N’ Roses music video. I noticed Axl Rose is wearing a Manson top, then I looked at the timeline of Manson’s peak infamy, the music video date and so on. Manson also had an interest in music and on ‘The Spaghetti Incident’ GN’R made a cover. They copped criticism for this revolving around the topics of how could Axl Rose wear the Manson top, then on top of that do a cover, the critics believed it’s making Mansons crimes look like an inviting thing to do, if very talented rock stars then wear your face. I don’t really see it that way, the Manson face logo is aesthetically pleasing and as someone who’s been a designer in the past, it’s clear that Axl Rose didn’t commission the top, it already existed. The song also already existed and GN’R is known to do covers in general. Then I continued that train of thought, since the design already existed then someone was already profiting off Manson’s crimes… without the criticism. I continued to think and came to the conclusion that the moment a crime is committed, someone who isn’t the criminal begins to profit, starting with the government agent that responds to the crime, then the next of kin if there’s any assets, then the journalists that choose to report on it, then the news outlets, the channels that news outlets pay to have advertising on, the assistant that gets some CEO’s coffee and all the way down to the people dabbling in LawTube. When you dive this far into the rabbit hole, how does it make sense to vilify a rock band? Everyones guilty. The artwork shows Manson’s logo made of spaghetti, referencing ‘The Spaghetti Incident’, and hands eating from it… since everyones taking a bite. When the artwork sells, I’ll grab my slice of the spaghetti pie and add to the list of horrible people profiting off Manson’s crimes. This artwork was one of my 80 artworks project and a little rushed. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Compartmentalizing

46 x 2.5cm
x 46cm

20h 55m

This is an artwork I decided to paint after a break up, I don’t do those often so it definitely came as a refresher. I found it interesting insight, especially for people who get into relationships often… How are they keeping their emotions in check and willingly diving straight back into a relationship? I really worked on making sure to keep the appropriate emotion for whatever situation.  In the painting I originally knew I wanted to paint a set of cubes, compartments, and definitely including a woman letting the water pour over while the one in the box below is bothered by her arm flopping down and holding a lighter to it. Instead I changed it to have no props in most of the boxes (check out the time-lapse and artventure videos to see the progress of this). They’re all in their boxes, however the nature of some emotions naturally intervenes with whatever their neighbours up to. Since I began my 80 artworks project shortly after starting this, I included it and the detail in this artwork definitely made the project more difficult! The close up is of the best face… This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Watching Talent

50 x 2.5cm
x 50cm

8h 31m

This is an artwork I decided to paint when noticing how much I appreciate watching 80’s rock music videos, then watch the talented people become so successful so young. So this is how I feel when seeing them, like a skeleton still waiting on something I do to create the same success. I painted the moon on the skeletons side stuck in a bubble, similar to a chain of thoughts from my digital artworks where I began with a cross walking sign which turned into feet in a bubble. The carpet turns into blood and the (for anyone outside my train of thought) the rectangular prisms with waves on them is a fence separating the two worlds.. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Where Are You?

41 x 1.7cm
x 41.5cm

31h 1m

I was listening to ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ and wanted to paint a wall of birds that tesselate like bricks. It could just be my location, surely everyone in the world isn’t like this, but I never meet anyone following their dreams, everyones doing what they’re expected to do and I get an earful pretty often on why their job or day sucks. It’s become a novelty. From that thought I painted a wall of birds, and title it “Where are you?” I want people to see the title and answer the question, where are they? I answer it by saying I’m not there. Some people might decide they like one of the birds more than another and decide that’s where they fit in. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Novelty

40.5 x 3cm
x 53cm

3h 19m

This is one of my 80 artworks and I wanted to create something that has my style and also similar to ‘Midnight Snack’, I believe I aced that part of my goal. I also wanted to paint this artwork as I’m often using banana’s in my artworks yet I can’t eat them. They’re just a novelty for me. I like to paint banana’s in a cubist way and off coloured so now when I see this shape I just see the fruit. The rest of the scene is just playful, I wanted them to be sliding down a slide and have birds also interacting. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Criticising Astrology

40.5 x 3cm
x 53cm

7h 54m

A bicycle can be self-stable without gyroscopic or caster effects’ – A study by J. D. G. Kooijman, J. P. Meijaard, Jim M. Papadopoulos, Andy Ruina4 & A. L. Schwab. Astrology attracts the kind of “skeptics” who show no interest in actually speaking to an astrologer or even looking into anything past a sun signs article in a pop magazine (any astrologer will elaborate on the misconception here). The astrological critics are sharp with their words, quick to label anyone studying it an idiot. To those critics, please let me know how a bicycle balances itself. We both see an event happening and not being able to explain the physics doesn’t discount the result. After an astronomer on YouTube went to the effort to create a purely hate based video on astrology I came to wonder why I’d be watching any of their other videos. The comments, also aggressive and no one looked into topic that they were arguing is fake, often bringing up Uranus and Pluto... Which an astrologer can very clearly explain. So I painted a person statue with flowing water over them, in astrology water is relation to emotions, it’s over their head. A bicycle through the head, a somewhat direct way of showing you’re being thick about this. I placed Uranus in the sky next to the head as they argue the entire validity of the topic based on Uranus being discovered in 1781, barbed wire wheels as electricity was discovered in 1752, something Uranus rules. From here I came up with an idea about the pyramid generators which will be another painting.  The moon crashed in the water as the moon also represents your emotions. The statue wrapped in papers in a way the statue can’t read it but uses it as a shield. Spectators hang around in the background This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Flowers

39 x 3cm
x 40cm

7h 43m

This is a thing. Guys act weird when it comes to gifting flowers. For the life of me I wouldn’t be able to count how many times a guy has treated me to fast food. Impossible to count. However when it comes to giving flowers, sometimes there’s outright refusal with the “I don’t get it” bringing up their hatred of gifting flowers when no one asked, avoidance by gifting chocolates in the shape of flowers or just a weird undertone. Ask around, other women find this hate toward flowers pretty weird.

On the flip side, I can’t comprehend why a trend to hate giving a particular gift would carry on so deep through culture. So I painted a bouquet of angry men. Disgusted that they’re in this position, a flower… giving someone joy. Horrible. The hand reaches out from the wall like a stags head, empaled by flowers. Next to it, soggy fries.

This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Fill The Room

Anthony Albanese as Hitler

50 x 3cm
x 39cm

9h 58m

There’s an artwork I made and sold, still my favourite, named ‘Trauma’. Before making this painting I remembered a neighbour visiting my place and he went up to the painting in awe (because they’re all better in real life) and said “It’s so abstract!” I’m not an abstract artist, in any regard. Funny and annoying statement, it’s a compliment but not if you have reservations about abstract art the way I do. This artwork grabbed the attention of people in the room, goal achieved, and still trying to do the same with other artworks. So I painted the presence of that artwork in this one, a cactus in the middle of the room, while everyones going about their day but it still fills the room. Art enthusiasts, plant people… some people get it. There’s something special about inanimate objects. I continue on this thought in a different painting about painting vs moving image. While creating it I also tried to capture a new type of scene as opposed to the desert scene I like to do, I glanced upon ’By Lamplight’ by Harriet Backer which I really appreciated and tried something indoors with light peering through. This artwork has references to a couple other artworks in it. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Music Under the Apple Tree

40 x 1.7cm
x 50cm

3h 55m

This painting is a reflection of Australian politics in 2024. I decided to complete this artwork during one of my 20 artworks in 20 days challenges so it’s not my best work, however I didn’t enjoy looking at Hitlers portrait and I didn’t like looking at Albanese’s any more. So I’m glad to not have spent too much time on it. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

41 x 1.7cm
x 41cm

8h 6m

I don’t like abstract art. The fact that people use the word “abstract” in so many situations where it doesn’t make sense bothers me, people have said “It’s so abstract!” when looking at my artworks… There is nothing abstract about my paintings, until now. Adding to that I’m upset that there are many decor artists calling themselves abstract artists in order to be treated as a successful artist in the view of sales, however in my point of view it’s very easy to sell decor. A real artwork needs time to be considered before purchasing and speaks to the art lover… Something entirely lost on decor. No, you will not see me throw paint or resin at a canvas for sales. I may however, do it as satire. Since the word ‘abstract’ bothers me so much I decided it’s time I make a real abstract artwork. One where I paint what I see in the form of shapes that don’t necessarily form an object where it would result in a consensus on what it represents, the definition. I painted each item with intent, here lies an apple fallen from an apple tree on a sunny day and music plays. I also definitely want to know what other people see. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

The Precious Room

50 x 1.7cm
x 40cm

26h 37m

I’ve noticed western society lives in a culture where people act like they’re on the edge all the time. The Karen. People going around exaggerating any ordinary situation into the worst possible obscure outcome then using it as an example to virtue signal how great they are to want to avoid this potential danger. It’s odd behaviour and it’s contagious. So I painted these people as if they’re blow up toys, all floating around, bouncing off each other. Out the window though is the real world with a little barbed wire in the way. Which is of coarse a sure instant death and much safer to stay crammed in the room daydreaming about potential fears. I also wanted to paint this idea using blow up toys not only as a fitting metaphor but also a personal challenge to see how I’d go painting these. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Playing with Artists

51 x 1.7cm
x 25cm

14h 22m

Before this artwork I finished a painting named ‘My Bird Shit’s All Over Naomi’s’ It’s a shot at a woman who calls herself and artist and used the guise of virtue signalling to act racist and create problems for me. I used art to vent my frustrations instead of going online and starting some sort of battle with her. This is what I really like about art, it can be used in so many ways and one of them is a tactile response to real life events. Rappers are known for doing his, Eminem, Kanye. I think it’s funny… Crafting an artwork that makes someone reflect on their actions, or better yet, left in a position where the only worthy response is through art. So I created an artwork that I really wanted to put plenty of detail into now that I’d finished my 80 artworks project. I painted a ditch with a maze like arrangement of pathways fenced around to say “Hey, this is my space, stay out”. Inside, if you can find it is a person walking. They didn’t make it across to the other side. I painted exits that don’t really make sense like a large doorway as if it reaches the sky… but this entire space is underground. Stairs that lead to stairs, a hidden door way and so on. The thought behind the artwork is, don’t enter the labyrinth of an artists domain if you can’t respond using your talents. I also think artists should use their skills more often to make criticisms instead of playing into minority themed art to get ahead. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Community

41 x 1.7cm
x 41cm

11h 47m

Humans are a communal species. It’s a fact. In the past few years I’ve noticed the increasing hostility in the community, and I’m still figuring out whether it’s the times or whether that’s just what it’s like once you’ve settled into being an adult… The veil of everyone putting on a nice front being gone? Either way, I find it incredibly ironic. I look at nature a lot and see how they all work together. I was watching some birds that seemed to be on the same team but wouldn’t share the food I threw at them. One was just too dumb to recognise the extra piece it put down was exactly what it’s chasing the other bird for. It’s funny that they’re hopping around together but also protecting their bounty like Gollum and his ring.  It’s like people but I think they’re trying to keep their pride instead of a piece of food. So I painted a bunch of jolly looking birds held together by barbed wire. The original plan was to have feet but it didn’t work out, so I mimicked my ‘Flock Party’ painting and included balloons too. The feathers fly about like they do in a bird fight and the intertwined barbed wire drips blood. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

The Magician

51 x 1.7cm
x 41cm

6h 39m

While watching a video about the depths of astrology I noticed one of the astrologers I respect dropped the word “magic” a few times. This lead me into a rabbit hole learning that there’s people who genuinely believe in magic. Not your typical hocus pocus that you see on TV (probably mocking what I’m learning about) but essentially working with the energy you have, as in you can’t wish yourself up to be a billionaire. I found it interesting.  I found it more interesting that these people keep to themselves, essentially the reason you wouldn’t realise you’ve come across someone who believes in magic. I continued on to watch a discussion about the Picatrix. Long story short, I like these people. Far too often I’m confronted with strangers who have nothing better to do than insert themselves in my life and run a muck. So I really appreciate that these people who are into magic keep to themselves. I painted this thought as a row of cactuses, I like to represent people through cactuses. They’re all doing what they do, in this case expected to line up, but the one into magic lines up and focuses on it’s own agenda. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Tap and Cloth

35 x 3cm
x 40cm

3h 35m

This is an artwork I made during my 80 and one where I decided to channel a much older painting, ‘Surrender’ which I really like since it makes me feel like I’ve teleported somewhere else. That idea, alongside also wanting to turn the sail from the other artwork into a tap, as if it’s making it’s way into this painting through a tap that I used in my painting ‘On tap’. I feel like I achieved the goal for this one. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Sell Out Artist

50 x 3cm
x 39cm

10h 59m

During my 80 artworks challenge I thought about painting this when pausing to look for inspiration for a digital artwork. I wasn’t inspired by anything the other artists were doing, however I did notice something very sad. One popular artist made a few skits where she aimed to be comical and barely showed the artwork. Another wrote “I’ll show you this painting every day until I sell 100 prints” as he did a manly twirl and bopped around with the artwork. First, don’t sell prints. I’m firmly against prints of paintings. Second… Why would anyone buy that (to give description it were a white Chewbacca looking animal, and well executed). Art isn’t just a pretty picture and no matter how much you dance around or make skits, you’re not giving people a reason to buy the artwork. Neither of these “artists” gave any insight as to why they created it except décor. This really grinded my gears, and once again (like my artwork ‘Call for Shitty Artists’) I’m deeply disappointed to be in the same category. These people are putting minimal effort into the “artworks” and maximum effort into making themselves look good for the social attention. I’m looking forward to the day they give up on calling themselves artists and go with influencer or comic. On the left of this painting is another artist propping himself up in the same water’s I swim in, only he’s using his artworks to prop himself up, stay dry, and not get his hands dirty. On the right is me swimming, trying to keep my artwork out of the water. The artwork is what people need to see, not the artist. This artwork had it’s struggles as I think this might have been the round where I aimed to make either 12 or 14 artworks in that week. Time vs skill came into play here. I do document my art process on a few YouTubes and Patreon but it’s entirely different and unscripted… Kind of like an actual documentation, you know, the 90’s definition. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Idiot Nigger Genius

My Bird Shit’s All Over Naomi's

45.5 x 3cm
x 30.5cm

5h 24m

Before you read the description, and since you’re likely reading this online and already seen the title I want you to take part in this artwork and take a moment to decypher the artwork and interpret to make sense in your own way before reading on. I hope you joined in! I really bothers me how we live in such a PC world where all the words ever are being transformed into offensive words, yet people find substitutes to describe what they’re saying anyway. A word cannot be offensive since a word has no intention, it’s just a word. Although the people who continually and collectively decide to use any word in a derogatory manner change it’s definition into something gross. I could write an endless list of words that aren’t socially acceptable until you feel like you’re a woman in the 50’s however I’ll focus on these three. Recently I felt frustrated that the postie couldn’t find the damn front door to deliver my parcels so as I complained I said “no man, he’s just an idiot you need to train him xyz” the person stopped to debate my use of language and it came as a surprise to me I can’t use “idiot” to describe this persons actions. “Idiot” is a person with an IQ below 80, can’t find the door? My statement was factual and not malicious. I also found myself looking up the real definition of autism during my frustration of people confusing geniuses with autism and saw that when autism was first defined they used the words “idiot/ idiot savant” without censoring it, this alongside other books such as ‘Genius, The Natural History of Creativity’ openly use the word “idiot” as factual (and so on). The final word, “genius” has been used incorrectly in so many examples it seems as if no one really knows what a genius is and often label prodigies and people with autism as geniuses. Dangerous territory in my opinion, start labelling a prodigy as a genius and they’ll lose motivation by the time they grow and their peers catch up (therefore not a real genius). Start labelling autistic people who are also prodigies and you see this gross fad of neurotypical people claiming they’re autistic to feel special, I’m disgusted by that behaviour. I didn’t live in the early 1900’s however looking back at artworks from the 1700’s I see paintings of servants and slaves in respectable ways, I genuinely don’t believe that the word “nigger” has always been an insult, only the way that people have chosen to use it in an offensive manner dirties up the word to now stand as one of the most offensive words out there. However I’m neither white or black and opt out from great debate of who can use the word without offence. Artworks in my opinion are an exception, Beyonce’s ‘Lemonade’ and Quentin Trarantino’s ‘Django’ as popular examples. Now that you see my point of view here’s the artwork and your interpretation. I painted three random items at my disposal (video on YT of the making) and they have no relation to the title, however accidentally they can relate; the cactus has no brain (idiot) the chocolate is brown (nigger) and the paint could be of a genius. That’s what people I’ve shown in real life also come to see. However that’s just what you did with your own perception. You labelled them and you decided their meanings on your own. These are just objects and being puppeteered above showing a finger slightly out of view and the shirt buttons in the background. Enjoy your perspective on these innocent words and objects! This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Stuck in my Ways

$490.00

30.5 x 3cm
x 30.5cm

7h 13m

I recently discovered that I know someone else who’s also more than happy to eat the same meals every day. When I think about discussions with people about eating the same meal every day it seems to be quite a topic of debate, one person assumed I felt the same way they did and tried relating with me about the struggle of having to find a new cereal or type of breakfast each day. I couldn’t relate. I’m pretty chuffed to have a fruit salad each morning and the way I prepare it doesn’t sit pretty with a few people either; using frozen mango. Frozen mango is definitely my preference in any regard! I decided to paint these ideas as my fruit salad stuck into a can shape... Being stuck in my ways. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

This is Plenty

$450.00

38 x 3cm
x 38cm

5h 2m

This one time, I went onto insta and saw someone turn their 3D render artworks into a moving LCD screen, as if it’s a painting but alive. Sounds cool, but as I looked at it, it reminded me of that feeling when you’ve been starring at a screen too long. In my mind moving image and digital art will never replace a good painting. They’re just selling another TV with one channel, when your home is serene and you lay on your couch relaxed ready to go to bed, a painting can really grab your imagination. Some moving pixels… more of a wake up tool. For the people out there who get art, paint isn’t boring. You can get lost in a painting just as much as a cat video (if not more) so I decided to make the cactus in this painting very detailed. However it was one of my 80 artworks and I do believe I achieved that, but my opinion might change on that. I painted a very slight glow from outside the frame which is a screen pushing the cactus off the table. You don’t need to show actual motion to imply it’s there, so I painted the cactus on an angle, implying that it’s being knocked off the metaphorical table of art by a screen. A window to remind you outside exists. If you’ve seen my digital artworks I just want to note that you’ll see I never make an effort to make them move. It’s purely an expression of imagination instead of an attempt to grab hold of your psyche’s attention.  Since painting this artwork I’ve noticed some people around me who clearly have screen addictions, something not socially acceptable to mention so a follow up painting is on the way. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

The Pear Shop

$450.00

50 x 3cm
x 39cm

3h 31m

While you look at this artwork I have a pear shop, this pear shop only exists when you look at the artwork. This pear shop has some rules though, there are only four pears and it began with all the pears being uncensored. When you visit the shop you decide what flavour you want and if you taste another flavour you may censor it and leave it behind for the next person. However the next person won’t know what they’re missing out on.  This is a continuation on my previous artwork, ‘Idiot, Nigger, Genius’ yet less specific and a different take. Same idea though. I find it outrageous how sensitive the western culture is right now that I can’t say anything, ever. All my sentences must be pre-screened and deeply analysed should the rare event arise where someone decides I’ve been offensive then decides I’m prejudice and in-prisons me for the death penalty. We are robbing our future generations of knowing our culture. Another artwork I made, ‘Negro with Parrots and Monkeys Censored’ shows an appropriation of an artwork from the 18th century, ‘Negro with Parrots and Monkeys’, censored. I looked up this artwork in detail and I originally found it in an art book purchased in the 2000’s. However the internet has changed the artworks name to “Boy with Parrots and Monkeys”… Disgusting! If the future internet decides to censor the word pear in 200 years I’d be outraged. No artist ever made an artwork with intent for the public to change it. Censorship doesn’t belong in the art world, it should strictly stick to G rated TV shows in my opinion. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Surrealists and Psychology

40 x 1.7cm
x 30cm

20h 15m

This artwork is an appropriation of a 17th century Swedish leading artist David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl’s 1670 artwork ‘Negro with Parrots and Monkeys’. When I saw this artwork originally I really enjoyed the composition and expression used. However we live in a cancel culture where even in the most fitting situations we aren’t allowed to mention a growing vocabulary of words purely because someone else has repeatedly used them in a derogatory manner and therefore it’s assumed all uses of the word are derogatory. “The asian girl over there” for example, is now considered a racist comment instead of describing the person you’re referring to. I feel as if I’m not allowed to tell anyone about the original artwork, it’s now considered racist despite portraying the opposite of how we now associate the word, negro. By appropriating this artwork I’m giving the original artwork a new platform to be seen, we shouldn’t shun art history out of fear of using a word in the most appropriate context and being cancelled. I could have named it “I’m not allowed to title this artwork” but I don’t believe that would have reflected the original enough or even conveyed the point I’m making. I have two other appropriations and they’re each titled referencing the originals. I did think about just appropriating the artwork into my own style, surrealist and bold colours although after starting I changed my mind and tried to ring true to the thin and many layers artists of the time would have used. Putting censor bars and staying true to the style seemed more appropriate to my goal. The approach to thinly layering paint didn’t sit well with me and I ended up stopping this to paint a massive artwork in my own style. Toward the end of this artwork I ended up rage quitting because I felt like it took too long. Had I isolated more time in the first week of this artwork then I would have stayed interested in keeping it realistic. I wasn’t able to perfectly match the perspective. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

32.58 x 1.7cm
x 26cm

11h 53m

I was listening to a video about Magritte one day and the narrator dropped the comment that surrealists tend to be interested in psychology. I agree with that, I’m a surrealist and I find it fascinating how people act, not in a pop-psychology-internet-article kind of way, in a way that I’ll borrow books that are referenced in uni degree’s and understand you can’t just go around diagnosing people. Time is limited for this activity though. A few years back, around 26, I learnt that creativity is the brain making connections between parts of the brain. Where other people who aren’t creative don’t make those connections. Until I learnt that I genuinely believed people were being lazy when they’d say things like “How do you think of that?”… In my mind, you just stop and think for two seconds, get a grip. Then I continued on and learnt about synesthesia and have a personal theory that’s just intense creativity. All very interesting. Then that comes to the art, just an extension of how I think and representative of how I see things. So here I painted my thoughts and ideas falling through the roof of my mind and entering the real world. The items that represent my ideas then begin to die, “How high are you?”, “It’s so abstract!”. There’s also a reference to a digital artwork I created. Some hands reach out wanting to share the ideas. People don’t tend to look at the artwork and guess what I’m conveying with it, of coarse! That would be quite a party trick, like reading my mind. But the wonderful thing about art is that everyone sees something individual in each artwork and they personalise it.  It becomes a lovely plot twist that the artworks enter the real world to die, then rebirth in a new way for each individual. I find it so interesting that people break down historic artists artworks and label what they were thinking, without descriptions you just don’t know… Bosch. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Going in Blind

26 x 3cm
x 40cm

1h 49m

This is the second last painting of my 80 artworks project, I aimed to paint something simple since I was low on time but it also fit into the concept very well and ended up being one of my favourites from the lot. Before creating the artwork I looked at my website and came across a painting I almost forgot about ‘Obedience’, a painting with a dusk purple sky and bees buzzing around in bubbles. I wanted to create something similar. The concept was influenced by my project and how my life is so different to other people (it’s part of my job to stop everything and intensely create art for 11 weeks straight), they’re too busy doing the “This is what’s expected of me” to stop and wonder if they’re blindly flying through life in the bubble caught in the wind. Do you genuinely control the direction your life is going?  I also wanted to channel the style of my digital artworks, a challenge I’ve been working on as I find it difficult to have the two genre’s overlap. I believe this artwork really did a good job with that. My digital artworks have moon balloons in them, the moon also represents your emotions in astrology so I definitely put a moon in there. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Hanging in There

31 x 3cm
x 46cm

3h 11m

This was one of my final 9 apaintings from the 80 artworks project, I decided to paint a bird out of practicality for the time constraint and I also wanted to paint a bird, like a previous artwork ‘Flock Party’, since I haven’t in a while. One that’s in a position you’d be lucky to have photographed… only executed through painting in some capacity. I also wanted to paint something which the viewer needed to think about, how it’s hanging onto a cloud and what is the cloud to each person? There’s a small reference to that cat poster “Hang in there”. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Nothings Random

Tasting Sound Hearing Flavour

45 x 3cm
x 45cm

4h 30m

In this artwork I decided to try a new tactic where you see above the ground and below. Since this was my first attempt and also during my 80 artworks I believe I could have done better. Either way, it’s not bad! I also aimed to have more of a landscape where my artwork showcases a scene instead of one centred item. The idea of this artwork is based on how nothing’s random. A passing thought when I joke about simulation theory. Then I wondered why there’s people who genuinely believe that random things happen… The thought that the entire world is a massive domino effect doesn’t apply in their version of reality. I believe things happen exactly as planned, whether you choose to do it through one way or another.   To paint this I tried to show tunnels beneath the ground and one item in one end and something else on the other end, water enters one tunnel then wind exits another which turns into clouds. It all seems linked to me, go on and ask someone how often they needed something and it turns up on their curb side. I find it interesting to see just how many people this happens to. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

46 x 3cm
x 30cm

6h 3m

This is another artwork about synesthesia, although instead of a particular taste I wanted to play on the crossing of senses visually. Someone in passing mentioned “tasting shapes” as a joke about how they were confused about something. It made me think about how I do taste shapes, I very much describe flavour in terms of shapes and colour, although an entirely useless way to communicate the description of a flavour even to other people who imagine things with synesthesia. However a very useful way to start an interesting conversation.  So here’s my artwork hearing flavour, an ear travelling across a pear doused in pink passing by a nose smelling a green floating wave. Bouncing between its own walls (your own mind) and half a statue thinking on one side while the head drips down the other.  The entire scene, your mind thinking about a flavour or sound. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Bottled Up

50 x 3cm
x 40cm

4h 36m

I tend to tell people I’m annoyed with them… conflict resolution. However before creating this I thought about the people around me who have an issue with something and act like they’re all fine. Society doesn’t really allow room for people to have a mood anymore, especially with this mental health movement, despite being a human function. We seem to be expected to be corporate 24/7 and handle things in a passive aggressive manner by being polite. Sometimes the situation calls for telling people how it is and you won’t look professional, there’s a chance you may be diagnosed with a disorder by your local hairdresser and that’s how it is. It’s impossible to resolve conflict with passive aggressive people to be frank, and I genuinely wonder, when’s the tipping point? When’s the bottle going to break and overreact? Why would anyone act this way to be liked. I originally imagined up a more detailed artwork but as I continued to create it, that didn’t fit the concept… Outside the bottle (their mind) everything’s calm, quiet, nothing is out of place. Inside the bottle, nothing looks comfortable. In the words of Pauline Hanson… “I don’t like it”. In the background, a broken bottle that made a cloud. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Galaxy

$380.00

40 x 1.7cm
x 50cm

5h 46m

A friend recently gifted me an artwork he found on the road so I put it in my pantry. One day when I stood there looking for food I reflected on the fact that I haven’t ever attempted to paint outer space. So I did and I wouldn’t call it challenging. I decided to add a space cadet. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Law Needs Crime

40 x 1.7cm
x 50cm

3h 10m

While in uni we covered the topic of whether graffiti is art or criminal (spoiler, the law says any paint on any surface that you don’t own is crime) which lead to the lecturer stating that law needs crime, the police need the criminals to keep coming in order to exist. That thought, alongside recently dealing with insane people (check out my car sign being stolen video now on YT as an example) I experienced how difficult it is to have the justice system help you out when your issue is small, yet still invasive enough that in black and white you are entitled to the help. Rewarding bad behaviour I guess. So you end up stressed out dealing with an insane person and on top of that dealing with the stress of not having a problem entertaining enough for actual help and knowing there will be consequences if you stand up for yourself outside the justice system. So the cycle continues, you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place while the system primes you to join the insanity club hoping you’ll just defend yourself. I don’t think I expressed that idea well in this artwork so I’m thinking I’ll redo it, but here’s the first version. This is the system and the lollipop begins whole then melts and is pumped back up to build up the lollipop again. I added a cloud as the environment causing the loop but I definitely regret the lightning added. This artwork is one of my twenty-one artworks in twenty-one days and I ended up rushing it so it’s definitely not my peak performance. This artwork isn't one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Conspiracy Theorist

40 x 1.7cm
x 50cm

4h 10m

I was watching the Zuckerberg Joe Rogan interview and Zuckerberg is ‘Red pilling’ just a bit… Over the past year I’ve been watching conspiracy theories for art but the ones I’ve seen (most of them) have merit. However, you can’t explain that to someone who hasn’t given more than two seconds to any of these theories without being labelled a conspiracy theorist. It’s the same as giving a movie half the trailer. I found it important to watch different people discuss the same topic. So this is the red pill… Being labelled a conspiracy theorist. I put a laser for the pyramid plant theory, a wrap to represent muslims (soon to make an artwork about religions), a satellite for the propaganda, the document where Albanese tried to cancel the internet, a COVID clot and more. This artwork is one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

Surface Level People

30 x 1.7cm
x 40cm

10h 49m

Sometimes I find myself hanging around people who are very preoccupied with whatever event they’re planning or mediocre activities like who they’re dating and it’s hard to maintain an actual conversation that would still be relevant in years time, like how video games improve hand eye coordination, or the pyramids. I remember talking to someone and when I brought up something less surface level she’d say “mhmm” and not add to the thought. It’s hard to find like-minded people so I painted a thinking statue, between two surfaces, I like to see it that one is filled with the faces of people who do the 9-5 and their conversations don’t extend much further than their work dramas, very important to them, but still surface level. Then on the roof it’s another perspective where there’s people who think they’re entirely different to the ones following life’s expectations but still aren’t digging deep, the topics of conversation still revolve around why this isn’t happening or that doesn’t work. In the middle the statues thoughts are clouds locked in bubbles, floating away. This artwork isn't one of my hand-stretched ones, sold with hooks ready to hang and a certificate of authenticity.

No Magic