Nudity, Something to think about.

This is not an essay. Just something to think about. 

Quoting Wikipedia: 

Depictions of nudity refers to nudity in all the artistic disciplines including vernacular and historical depictions. Nudity in art has generally reflected — with some exceptions — social standards of aesthetics and morality of their time in painting, sculpture and more recently in photography.

The beauty of the human body is a subject that has inspired artists for centuries.
Nudity is elegance,grace,beauty,perfection,innocence,thought provoking,
tempting,seductive,loud,obscene,dirty,sexy and so on.In today's artistic climate you might find: a perfectly rendered nude posed like a goddess across a canvas or a figure splayed across the page in a suggestive manner, a model in a magazine as the example of current beauty standards,and the raw and unforgiving photograph of the aging human form. What would the last centuries artists think of our portrayal of nudity ? 

Nudity and the human form, specifically the faces and figures of women are something I am constantly re-examining and exploring within my own artistic pursuits. 

When drawing nudes I use high contrast charcoal and gestural lines, minimal shading and scribbles to denote shadow. The nudes I paint are not elegant or perfect,but often loud and full of color. I lean towards arbitrary and vivid colors,obvious brushwork and thick layers of paint.
I enjoy creating something for people to talk about. 

I am exposing myself to criticism and acclaim, trying to find my feet and my place in the world of art.

Love is a Shower Curtain - 2005 - Erin Myers

They Say She's a Puzzle - 2009 - Erin Myers

       

                                                              Muse - 2010 - Erin Myers 

                                                        Untitled - 2010 - Erin Myers 

Mastering the Art of Conan O'Brien

My latest commission is for a good friend, Ron. It is going to be a rather large painting of Conan O'Brien. I have two sketches so far, getting closer to looking like an accurate representation of him. It's really given me the opportunity to brush up on my portrait skills. Oh Conan, his wrinkles are tricky to capture and his bone structure has to be bang on or it ends up looking like someone else. I'm working on a few more sketches before I can commit his face to canvas. Here's hoping.  Some of my favorite portraits are by Tim Okamura, his urban portraits have such a raw and honest quality to them. Another favorite is Shawn Barber, his brushwork is stunning and I love his tattooed subjects.
Here's some fun links :
http://timokamura.com/-paintings/paintings.html
http://www.sdbarber.com/

My Artist Statement

Artist Statement - Erin Myers

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 Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 12:49am | Edit Note | Delete

Art is as much a part of me as my hands and feet , it is natural and permanent.


Painting was a happy accident. Something I fell into, and have fallen in love with.To say I stumbled upon it is the absolute truth , someone handed me a brush and said try.

 I paint because it exhilarates me, like sitting on a swing and pushing yourself as far into the clouds as you can go. It is a different head space , a beautiful thing to get lost inside. 

I want my paintings to speak to people , whether on a personal level or in some way outside of themselves.I have always been shy, however my work is anything but.I paint because I can speak loudly and truthfully without saying a single word.

People are always present in my paintings, their stories, faces, figures, spoken words, lyrics, and belongings.
I am inspired by the flaws, the little imperfections, emotional baggage, and the secrets we all hold so dear.
I enjoy working with figures, and capturing a moment of stillness.
I never fear the messy, half of the beauty is in the process.
Thick wet paint and being covered in it from head to toe.
Text often makes it way into my work, scrawled through wet paint.
Painting is as much about making a mark as taking something away, etching into a dark surface, or revealing layers of color. Destruction can come into play too, I’ve often cut holes in canvas, and added pieces in behind those holes. There is something scary and satisfying about cutting into a canvas, like breaking the rules of something that “ should” be.


People are constantly growing, changing and finding pieces of themselves they didn’t know were there. That’s how I feel about my work, it’s growing,forever changing.No matter how far I try to remove myself from it, there is always a piece of me within it. 

It has taken me a long time to define myself as an artist. There is no clearly laid out definition of what it is to be an artist, no right or wrong answer. It becomes a piece of you, a piece of your heart and soul.

“ Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” - Unknown


- Erin Myers

Mixed Media Artist &  Painter