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Two in Process, Two More On The Way

9/16/2010

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A week or so ago I sent you an e-mail with information about the current paintings I'm beginning work on for the "Santa Fauve Collection."  After meditating on the subject this weekend I have received the names of 2 additional paintings, which will complete the "required 12 paintings" by all galleries for sponsoring and introducing a new artist to their patrons.

The paintings I'm currently beginning to draw out are
""Brother Sun" (48" x 60") - an Art Deco-styled painting with St. Francis as the subject.  Many people don't know that the historical/official name of Santa Fe is "La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Assis" (which means The Royal Village of the Holy Faith of St. Francis of Assisi - difficult to fit on most postcards and envelopes  )

"Rain Dance" (42" x 60") - an abstract style painting depicting the movement and energies of the dance.

2 additional paintings are:
"Taos Pow Wow" (48" x 48") - due to the across-the-board popularity of my painting, "Under a Coyotte Moon" I am going to paint an additional painting featuring a full moon and incorporating the annual Taos Pow Wow.

"Reluctant Godmother" (48" x 72") - I think the most internationally popular icon of Santa Fe is the artist Georgia O'Keeffe.  I am going to paint my "homage" to her combining an Art Deco style with Surrealism.

These 4 paintings are going to take months and 100's of hours to complete, so it's not like they will "magically" appear in a few weeks.  Much of my completion timeline will also be determined by my ability to survive financially, having never received the basic finances I need each month since I began this venture in July 2009....."struggle" is too mild a word to use for my experiences of living here.  Time will tell whether the ultimate outcome far outweighs the difficulties of this current experience.

Thanks for the continuing encouragements.
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Life Behind Adobe Walls

8/26/2010

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There is a very old expression in Santa Fe that refers to the often secret and scandalous private lives of many of its citizens in the past……”Life behind adobe walls.”  This latest painting for the Santa Fauve Collection is a “montage” of walls around the Santa Fe area.  This is not meant to be a “cityscape” of a view down a street but a montage of four walls brought together for comparison under the filter of the title phrase.

Many of the oldest structures in Santa Fe were an integration of the wall and the residence into one structure.  Often the gardens and other open air features of the property were surrounded by these wall/hacienda constructions.  Later, architecture began to have the walls built away from the main building with the home in the center and the walls constructed as a perimeter protective element.

Just as every wall is different from the next one, so is the life being lived behind those walls.  I have depicted a few varieties through painting styles and colors.  Also, to further emphasize the separation of the walls, the light source in Walls #1 and #4 is from left to right and the light source in Walls #2 and #3 is from right to left.  A subtle difference, but one that should at least register with the viewer on a sub-conscious level when studying the painting in person.

I haven’t decided what the next painting will be but two of the next paintings for this particular Collection will be titled:  “Rain Dance” and “Ghost Dancers.”  Both paintings will be very challenging for me due to their “abstract” composition.
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Anasazi Shaman

8/6/2010

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I painted the "Anasazi Shaman" in the same Art Deco style used for the painting, “Our Lady of Guadalupe.”  As in “Our Lady” I utilized a religious icon format with the face being painted in 3-dimensional Realism and the rest of the painting in a 1 or 2 dimensional “flatness.” The Anasazi (whose name in Navajo means “Ancient Ones”) are also known as the Cliff Dwellers.  Evidence of their civilization can be found as far back as 6,500 years ago.  There is no trace of their culture after 1,200 C.E. The primary elements of this composition suggest “Movement, Energy and Circles (the Circle of Life).”  A shaman was thought to have the ability to communicate with other “entities” whether human spirits or those from the Animal Kingdom.  A shaman was also believed to possess the abilities for healing, whether that took the form of a physical healing or more of a spiritual healing.

The everyday life and utensils used by the Anasazi reflected a “black or white” consciousness.  Much of their pottery was decorated in white and gray with black outlines and lines.  Some of the warmer colors found in the desert were also added to their pottery.  The upper and lower “borders” of this painting are directly adapted from Anasazi pottery.  I found the level of sophistication in their designs very fascinating, though thousands of years old.  In the upper pottery design, the random flourishes/embellishments that remind me of a floral design also look exactly like designs used by Matisse (the most famous of the Fauvists) in his large-scale collages created in the latter years of his life.  (I wonder whether he had seen some examples of this ancient pottery in museums?)

Petroglyphs are found in abundance among the cliff dwellings of the Anasazi.  They were used to tell stories, as “signatures” for the dwellers and as a talisman for spiritual ceremonies of everyday life.  Beginning at the lower left side of the painting, here is an explanation for each petroglyphs I used:

  1. My signature as an artist is contained within an outline of my hand that was reduced from 8 inches to 5 inches from wrist to tip of middle finger.  Examples of a hand outline used for identification can be found from France to Australia .  In the close-up picture of the signature you will also see an additional signature under mine (“Aly!”).  That belongs to a niece of mine.  She was visiting me one afternoon while over in the States from London and I decided it would be a great memory for us both if we painted at the same time.  She is quite creative and artistic (she is working on a drawing of St. Paul ’s Cathedral back home in the UK ).  Though she had never painted in oils, I gave her a quick lesson in mixing paints, brushes, painting knives and techniques.  As I had thought she would, she did a perfect job and painted her sections much more quickly than I had anticipated she would.
  2. Moon shield
  3. Assorted hand “signatures”
  4. Buffalo
  5. The Shaman
  6. Four Directions
  7. Leaping Antelope
  8. Nommo = Air-breathing amphibians that brought civilization to earth (related petroglyphs are found among all ancient, indigenous cultures); also known among the Inca as the “Sky People” who landed in Lake Titicaca .
  9. Sun shield
  10. Firebird
  11. Spirit dancers (reminding us to celebrate Life)
  12. Sun circle

I will have another painting completed within the next 2 weeks.  It will be part of the same “Santa Fauve Collection” and is titled “Life Behind Adobe Walls.
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Two Paintings in Progress

7/8/2010

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I am currently working on two additional paintings for the "Santa Fauve Collection."  One is titled "Anasazi Shaman" and the other one is titled "Life Behind Adobe Walls" (an historical phrase used in reference to the dynamics of life in Santa Fe).  When completed these will be paintings #7 and #8 for the "Santa Fauve Collection" and #10 and #11 overall since I began painting last July 2009.

As my Kabbalah Instructor constantly reminds us:  "Fake it 'til you make it" and "Form follows thought."

More and more I am consciously living my life from the perspective of the "main mantra" from "Science of Mind" which is "Change your thinking - change your life."
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Shaman in the Works

5/22/2010

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My next painting will be "Anasazi Shaman" in the same Collection.  I have a general idea for the composition, but am now researching petroglyphs on the Internet--the "details" (you know, my own "DaVinci Code" aspects).
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7th Chakra Complete

5/22/2010

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This painting is adapted from my limited edition lithograph, "L'Eglise de la Voyage." *  I created it during my years of studying oil painting and lithography under Alexandre Hogue (1898 - 1994 - one of the founders, in the 1930's, of the Taos Art Colony and the "Dallas Nine") when he came out of retirement and taught for a few years.  

The actual 7th chakra is the 7th main energy center of the physical body (utilized in both acupuncture and yoga) and is located at the top of the head where the "soft spot" is located in newborn infants.  Symbolicly it represents the "highest" connection point between the physical world and the spiritual world.  It is referred to in different ways by many cultures and religions when discussing individuals who have attained a certain level of "enlightenment."  In Hinduism and Buddhism it is referred to as the "Lotus of 1,000 Petals."  In Christianity it is referred to in the story of Pentacost ** (Acts 2:1-4;  "tongues of fire" were seen on the tops of the heads of the assembled...).  Personally, I have witnessed this phenomen on other people twice in my life and it does look like "flickering petals of white fire" at the top of an individual's head

* A lithographic print from this edition is in the permanent Collection of the Office of the Presiding Bishop of the Diocese of Oklahoma - Episcopal Church, USA.  It was a gift from the National Historian of the Episcopal Church, USA - The Rev. Curtis Wilhelm Valentin Junker - to the then presiding Bishop - The Rt. Rev. Chilton Powell.

** Pentacost in Judaism is the "Festival of the First Harvest" celebrated 15 days after Passover.  In the story in the Christian Bible the people were assembled to celebrate this version of Pentacost when they experienced something of a more "spiritual" nature.
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    about dvb

    David von Braun has spent the last 30 years living in the most dynamic and inspiring cities in the United States. Throughout his career as an artist and designer, David's spiritual journey has informed his work, and is the primary drive behind his life as an artist and the current Collections.

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