The Lady of the Butterflies

The Lady of the Butterflies 20 x 30, Acrylic, 2013

I have over the years often inserted butterflies into my pictures and have even done a few studies of butterflies.  An early picture I painted in tempera almost thirty years ago, Swallowtails Among the Columbines, hangs in my sister's bedroom and still looks pretty good to me.   It occurred to me that I might not only do butterfly and moth portraits, but perhaps feature butterflies as strong supporting characters in other types of pictures.  The recently completed scene, above, though nothing more than attempt to paint something pretty and appealing, is a fairly major work and consists of a girl, some flowers, and lots of butterflies.  The nearer butterflies are painted life size, those in the middle ground are, like the lady, one-quarter life.  The butterflies depicted are all ones that can be seen where I live, in northern Illinois, although there are a few species I haven't seen for a while.  (Tiger swallowtails can be seen every summer.  Monarchs are becoming less common, but red admirals are ever present as are the much less exciting cabbages.)  They are, clockwise from the upper left - azures, baltimore, monarch, cabbages, mourning cloak, monarchs, tiger swallowtail, monarchs, red-spotted purple, black swallowtail, painted lady, gulf fritillary, sulphur, and question mark.  I have painted red admirals so often that I decided to leave them out of this painting.  I rather like painting lepidoptera and will, if I find the least encouragement, do more.  The life sized depictions turn out, if I do say so, fairly real looking, though much less so on film and screen.

You can see of my work at www.artmajeur.com/stephander and www.stephander.wix.com/swa-art

If you like my work please feel free to friend me on Facebook

Lizard Men and Zombies

 Invasion of the Lizard Men 16 x 20, 2012, Acrylic on Museum Board on Panel

Zombies in the Park 16 x 20, 2013, Acryic on Museum Board on Panel

Going back about ten years I have produced, off and on, some narrative work inspired by pulp literature and "B" movies and including text, titles, captions, even a story synopses.  This is work I have always enjoyed creating, and so I decided to indulge an urge to revisit this genre.   Examining the response to this work, I've discovered that sales have, over the years. been exceptionally good. In fact, the only pictures that failed to sale were either large (over 20 x 24), featured multiple images, or were of subject matter other than sc-fi/ horror.  Thus, I am presented with a clear guideline for future work, one which fits in well with what I want to do.  I plan to do a series of 16 x 20 to 20 x 24 narrative tableaux suggesting stories that might have been made into wonderfully schlocky "B" movies in the 50's and 60's.  I plan to insert elements of humor and social satire and also to make the images generally pleasant and beautiful with sinister or horrific aspects underplayed.  I decided that plot summaries, which I have used in past paintings, are unnecessary and a title at the bottom is sufficient -- let the viewer create his own story from the image!

You may see more of my work at www.artmajeur.com/stephander

If you like my work you may friend me at www.facebook.com/stephenwarde.anderson

Book Announcement

I have just completed a book that comprehensively chronicles my twenty-five years or so as a professional fine artist.  The Art of Stephen Warde Anderson, Neoclassical Naif consists of a brief personal memoir, a professional history, and a chronological gallery of several hundred images of paintings.  I have been working on the book for about nine months, lately spending more than half my time on it.  I have tried to make the text interesting and concise.  I have attempted to give an overview of my career, a summary of my techniques, and the sources of my inspiration.  I avoided talking about every show I ever had or commenting on individual paintings.  I have perhaps included more personal information than anyone will want to know, and probably more images than anyone will want to look at.
I regret the photos are not all of a quality I might desire.  The recent, digital images are pretty good.  Some older prints and slides were professionally scanned, but there are a lot that were poorly photographed.  In the end rather than leaving out imperfect images, I thought it was better to show as much work as possible.  It was a huge project, finding and organizing the images, editing them to increase brightness and sharpness and cut down on saturation, then converting them to 300dpi and scaling them.  (If they don't look right, it won't be through lack of effort on my part.) There are over a hundred pages of illustrations.  I haven't counted the images but with an average of five or so on a page, there must be about five hundred, maybe more.  Of course, I did leave some out: I've done fifteen hundred pictures.
The book The Art of Stephen Warde Anderson, Neoclassical Naif comes in several editions.
Deluxe Edition 11 x 8.5 paperback, 158 pages, illustrated -- $37.56
Illustrated eBook Edition same as above in eBook form -- $3.99
Text Only Edition 8.26 x 5.83 paperback, 120 pages, no illustrations -- $9.68
Text Only eBook Edition same as above in eBook form -- $1.99

Also for sale is another book which features images of recent paintings available for sale or consignment:
Acrylic Paintings by Stephen Warde Anderson 11 x 8.5, 24 pages -- $13.14

These are all print-on-demand books available from lulu.com.  The price of POD books are of necessity high, as there is no cost whatsoever to the author.  I have discounted the books for the rest of the year just in case someone wants to buy them.  The Deluxe Edition is actually at a maximum discount; I only get 66 cents per book sold -- just letting you know so I'm not accused of being a profiteer!  I should mention that the Text Only eBook is formatted for the computer, that is, wide instead of tall, really easy to read once it's sized properly.  I may get around to reformatting the Deluxe Edition, but I'm not up right now to the many days of work that will require.  I will, probably after the first of the year, get an ISBN for the Deluxe Edition and officially publish it, making it available for sale at retail outlets.  As doing this raises the price astronomically, I thought I would make it available for awhile at lulu for a minimal cost.

There is a sense of satisfaction at completing this monumental project, well, relief at least and an eagerness to move on to something else.  I have no unrealistic expectations of sales and would not have even if the book were less pricey.  I do have a hope that someday I may have sufficient funds to purchase my own books! 

You can check out the books, get more info, and see previews at www.lulu.com/spotlight/stephander



    

Seraphim Ultralight

Seraphim Ultralight (Poster) 24 x 18, Acrylic, Oct., 2012

Seraphim Ultralight (Small Billboard) 12 x 24, Acrylic, Oct., 2012

Seraphim Ultralight (Large Billboard)  20 x 30, Acrylic, Oct., 2012

About ten years ago I was working with pulp art themes and hit upon the idea of creating faux advertising posters.  Recently, I decided to reexamine the concept and revisit the genre after seeing a wonderful exhibition at the Milwaukee Art Museum of advertising posters created in France, circa 1890's.  I thought I would invent a product and then devise a poster for it.  The first experiment is the top painting for a fictitious ultralight aircraft, the Seraphim made by the Hollister Aircraft Company.  (Since seraphim is actually plural, perhaps it should be seraph, but seraphim sounded better.  The name Hollister was chosen because I am descended a couple times from the Hollister family that settled in early New England -- distinguished folks, more than one a militia leader)  Not quite satisfied with the result, I concluded that it was better to work in a wide rather than a tall format and to create a billboard rather than a poster.  Art posters are no longer an existent art form, but the billboard is still with us and though usually not terribly artistic, it could be.  Billboards are generally 1 x 2 in format so I created a work in the largest size possible in standard frame sizes, 12 x 24.  Unfortunately, I really found it too small to work with and that extreme width just doesn't work with a painting even if it's great for an outdoor billboard.  Thus, after executing two Seraphim Ultralight paintings, I had to satisfy myself and do a third, this time in the more congenial 20 x 30 size.  This is something I have rarely done before, multiple attempts at a painting, but I felt I had to see the idea through.  The advertising billboard a somewhat difficult genre, not in execution, but in composition.  Even if the picture idea is effective, the placement of the elements, especially the writing needs to be really well thought out to compelling state a message as well as to create an attractive and interesting picture  It's also a challenge to do a decent job with the lettering.  (I choose a font, print up the text, position it, trace it, then paint it with a stub brush or needle.)  I have many further ideas for advertising billboard paintings and hope to get to them at a later date, although currently I am  pursuing another genre. 

More of my work can be seen at www.stephenwardeanderson.com

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Princess of the Taj Mahal

Mumtaz Mahal 24" x 20" Acrylic on Museum Board on Panel, 2012

     No woman was more honored in death than Mumtaz Mahal, the Indian princess who inspired the building of one of the world's architectural wonders and its most famous mausoleum, the Taj Mahal.  The familiar structure remains an iconic image of India -- ironic since the building is primarily Persian in design.  The Taj Mahal is located in northern India, in Agra in the province of Uttar Pradesh and was built between 1632 and 1653, a cultural golden age.  Its builder was Shah Jahan, the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, who, like his predecessors, was a Muslim and a descendant of Genghis Khan.  His most beloved third wife and consort was Arjumand Banu Begum, born in 1593 into a noble Persian family.  (She was renamed Mumtaz Mahal, meaning "chosen one of the palace.)  His devotion to her, obviously a very outstanding woman, became legendary.  After the death of Mumtaz in 1631, during the birth of their 14th child, Shah Jahan fell into inconsolable grief.  Eventually he decided to honor his late wife by commissioning a magnificent mausoleum and funerary gardens.  The epic building project, participated in by designers, artists, and artisans from various countries,  became the sublime Taj Mahal.  Unfortunately, over the centuries the structure fell into disrepair and was, sadly, defaced by gem-stealing British occupiers. It was an Englishman, though, Viceroy The Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, who initiated a restoration that was completed in 1908. (I can't forbear mentioning that the Marquess's 15th Century ancestors Richard Curzon and Alice Willoughby are also ancestors of mine)

There are many representations of Mumtaz Mahal, although none seem to have been taken from life.  I have drawn upon them to create my own take on this wonderful lady.

You may see more of my work at www.stephenwardeanderson.com and www.artmajeur.com/stephander/  

If you like my work, feel free to friend me on Facebook

Edgar Allan Poe

 

Portrait of Edgar Allan Poe II  -- 20 x 24, 2012

Portrait of Edgar Allan Poe I  -- 24 x 18, 2007

POEtic Inspiration -- 18 x 24, 2009

I've always liked the works of Edgar Allan Poe and just a few years ago I read, or rather had my MacBook read to me, about 95% of his complete works from a file downloaded from gutenberg.org.  Of course his distinctive looks, if not the mystique of his persona, makes him an admirable subject for portraiture and I am surprised it took me until 2007 before deciding to make an attempt at painting him.  The results were quite encouraging (the photo does it little justice) and the piece was sold.  A couple years later when I was thinking up subject matter to fit into a group show at Tory Folliard Gallery entitled "When Animals Talk" I decided I would portray Poe again, this time communing with a raven as he was about to pen his most famous poem.  I was disappointed that many of the viewers of the exhibition didn't seem to know whom the picture was supposed to represent (that boggles the mind!) but I eventually sold the piece myself to a friend who did.  Lately, in my desperate, perhaps futile quest to paint something that someone someday will want to buy, I fell back on familiar and popular subject matter and decided to assay another Poe portrait.  This time I made the painting wide instead of tall as is usual with portraits, and this allowed me to include more of a background.  Passing over the man in black with a cape look, I painted him in a chestnut overcoat that he wore for some of the daguerrotypes taken of him.  I included a cane, which he did carry, and a book to show him a gentleman of culture, even if the slightly frayed cuff reveal the reality of shabby gentility.  The background are naturally suggested by the subject matter of his stories with the obligatory raven and black cat.  

If you wish to see more of my work go to www.stephenwardeanderson.com

If you like my work you may friend me on Facebook

Valerie the Velonaut

Valerie the Velonaut -- 16 x 20 inches, Acrylic on Museum Board on Panel, 2012

In this painting I depict the adventurous Valerie who is pedaling across the country in her velomobile.  A velomobile is an enclosed recumbent tricycle.  These are popular in the Netherlands, where most of them are made.  Most velomobiles in this country are imported, although some European models are starting to be manufactured here.  This model is the Strada made by Blue Velo in Canada.  Valerie's velo sports a custom paint job and covers over the spoke tires (two in front, one in back like a tadpole trike).  Velomobiles are about a yard wide and from seven to nine feet long, weighing as much as 75 pounds.  Despite the weight, they are faster and much more efficient than even racing bikes, due to an aerodynamic shape that cuts down on drag.  If I had the money and the time to go places, I'd have one of these!

To see more of my artwork go to my website at www.stephenwardeanderson.com

If you like my work, you may friend me on Facebook