Koi
You might think that I know what I’m doing here….I don’t. It’s not necessarily a bad place to be, it’s how you learn to be a better painter. Much about this painting is not in my wheelhouse. I don’t usually paint animals, although lately with the Gods and Monsters series, I’ve ventured into more ‘creatures’; snakes, monkeys, birds, etc….but still I don’t feel like I know what I’m doing. I think it takes years to feel confident painting in a particular style or a singular subject, but I have a short attention span and my interest wanes when I start feeling confident.
Again, I’m at that point in the painting where I struggle with how real I want something to be. Is a koi enthusiast going to look at this and say, “Oh a koi would never have fins that high on the body”. Should I care? To some extent, yes. I want it to be believable, but perfection isn’t necessary. I find photo realism boring. I can buy a camera.
Designer View - Vessel, Ace of Swords, Strength
Designer View - Dreaming in the Cerulean Sea
Having fun doing this series on open water swimming. Sketched out in pastel first, then finished with encaustic. Love how the translucence of encaustic lends itself to the depth and feeling of water. Most of this series is now in others homes…no greater compliment for an artist. This diptych is currently hanging in my living room.
WOWSA
Got a mention on the World Open Water Swimming Association’s website.
https://openwaterswimming.com/2020/08/michael-teters-on-swimming-reaching-crawling/
Oshin Size
New encaustic piece in progress. Larger than usual 3 x 3 ft.
Minotaur
This very sensitive looking Minotaur was inspired by a video by the German band Einsturzend Neubauten (Collapsing New Buildings). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnnGYaqjW-A
The band was originally a noisy analog industrial band that played bedsprings and garbage cans onstage in a kind of controlled anarchy. I lost track of them for almost three decades but recently discovered the video for their song Sabrina. The creature in the video left a lasting impression on me and the result is the painting below. The video is of a figure with an ugly horned head inspecting himself in a dirty bathroom mirror. He applies lipstick, poses, laughs, cries and then it just ends. ….We’ve all been that person. Judging ourselves in the mirror….it’s especially true for those of use who have struggled with our identity. I saw a call for art by queer artists, and although I’m gay, I don’t really make ‘queer’ art, or art that is essentially about the gay, lesbian, bi, trans, gender fluid experience,….. At least, I don’t try to. I had nothing to submit to this call for art regarding ‘Pride’. However, when I looked into the eyes of my own painting, I saw myself staring back. Unconsciously, I made a painting about gay identity.
Santa Muerte (altered - another version)
Archival signed prints available for $150