Grace Matthews, Artist: Painting

Showing posts with label Painting. Show all posts

Flower Series

The Flower Series is a collection of brightly colored quilted paintings inspired by nature, color and Georgia O'Keefe. This series is on-going and I have plans to paint a Magnolia blossom and the Nightshade plant next. Double click to see larger images and make comments by clicking on the tiny comments link at the bottom of each section.

Big White Flower: Flower Series #1, 2003
54 x 58

Red Poppy: Flower Series #2, 2004
59 x 54

Four Red Poppies: Flower Series #3, 2005
90 x 28

Peace Lilies: Flower Series #4
76.5 x 28
Private Collection

Three Flowers: Flower Series #5, 2005
70 x 30.5

White Poppies, 2011

66 x 29

These poppies were growing in the High Sierra'a near June Lake, Ca

Pugs, Pug, Pugs

I love Pugs and making images of them.

Zoe & Rudy, My Muses

Wednesday, December 21, 2005
10:32:42 PM EST
Feeling Sad
Sweet Sweet Zozee
This Christmas will be a sad one without our little girl. I miss her so much.
She was so hilarious. She only liked cat toys. She loved
little puff balls attached to long strings. She loved to watch t.v. and bark at the animals
in shows and on commercials. She would memorize the music in the background of dog
food comercials so just in case she was far away from the t.v. she would know to run to
the screen and attack. I miss her.
Shell

Comment from Friends:
I'm sorry that your friend has left you. Take comfort knowing that she is in a better place now.
Love, Sweet Sista Barbara.

Friday, December 16, 2005
10:05:14 AM EST
Feeling Sad
Angel Zoe
Zoe: November 2000 - December 13, 2005

Zoe died from PDE. Now there is an empty place in our hearts and home.
Dog beds are vacant, puff balls lay still and food is left uneaten.
No Buddah belly to rub. A million tears will say goodbye to our sweet girl, Zoe.

Favorite Memories:
Zoe was a super fetcher! In the park she did it with a hot pink mini super ball
and she was precision in motion returning and dropping the ball at your feet everytime!
Perfection!

Zoe entertained family and friends by becoming a crazed barking fiend
everytime there was a dog on TV.

Zoe was a lap dog that loved to perch on your legs.

Zoe was curiuos and would follow everyone around the house especially into the bathroom,
she would get pets there.

Pug Dog Encephalitis (PDE) Project
http://www.cvm.tamu.edu/cgr/pde_project.htm

Messages from friends:
12/16/05 I am so sad to hear that Zoe has left us. Magic dog will also be sad when he visits Rudy
and Zoe doesn't great him. Zoe taught Magic so much! How to ask for what you want from
your people. They had food issues in common and Zoe taught him how to talk to me and to
remind me when it was time for dinner. She was so sweet. I miss her.- Dorothy Annette

I was so proud of this print that Gracie was making for Zoe. I didn't know Zoe personally and I don't know Rudy personally but I have love for them both. They are very sweet doggies, and they are Gracie's friends. You will be sorely missed Zoe. And I pray for peace in Rudy's little Pug heart. I love you, Gracie. God Bless from Your sweet sista' Barbara.
Comment from acffinc - 12/16/05 2:02 PM

Monday, November 14, 2005
12:02:52 PM EST
Matt
My Buddy Rudy:
I can attest to Rudy's raw physical power to attain extremely high speeds
while running on flat ground or up stairs and around obstacles. I can not
outrun him, even with a generous headstart, he just pulls his head up and
pugruns like a champion, defeating me everytime. Of course, as a good sport,
he is always gracious in victory. One word I would describe, my friend,
Rudy with, is.... HEART. - Matt

12:14:22 AM EST
Feeling Happy
Hi my name is Rudy
Hello Future Friends,
My name is Rudy (my friends call me Rude dog) and I am a six year old
black pug. I am the sweetest dog that you will ever meet. I love to chase
my frisbee and cuddle with my favorite people. I am one of the fastest pugs
on the planet, I have even out run a Great Dane. I like to show off for
company and hump my leopard skin bed. I am a constant source of
love and entertainment.

Sunday, November 6, 2005
Zoe attacks the Shark Vac
Cleaning Day
This morning is cleaning day. Dust bunnies watch out!
The new Shark vac sucks up the dog hair and dustballs
but it brings out the maniac in Zoe. Zoe barks and attacks
the vac like a pug possessed. She had a good workout today
with all the vacuming.

Comment from barbaracompany - 12/17/05 9:48 AM: She looks
like a reall go getter in this picture. Zoe looks like she could take
on the world here. Very lion-hearted! Bless her.

My American Family: A Collection of Contemporary Family Portraits

The My American Family series by Southern California artist Grace Matthews personifies her experience of the unbounded nature of family love, and her recognition of that love as a requisite ingredient of life. In this grouping of quilted paintings, Matthews honors those she loves with large-scale, vividly hued, full-length portraits conceived in an unpretentious style that merges element of Pop and vernacular art. Bold, reductive figural forms, expressionistic brushwork, and stark frontality mark her portrayals, which include, among others, the unexpected depiction of her dog Zoe, staring solemnly at the viewer. The checker lime border and dazzling pink background (accented with psychedelic square-patterned piping that recalls 1960s textile designs) amplifies the Pop Art quality of the artist’s drawing style, which features heavy outlines and a visual shorthand of repeated shapes and lines that assert the dog’s form. At the same time, the flamboyancy of the background palette is offset by the muted colors and cheerless disposition of Zoe.
Inspired in part by the writings of feminist art theorist Whitney Chadwick, Matthews is currently working with a colleague on a project that she calls “The Whole Fandamily.” It will include paintings such as Zoe and Brad, and will embody what Chadwick describes as the act of “making images out of the experience of one’s life.”
The portrayal of Brad is not unlike that of Zoe. The figure’s pose is perfectly parallel to the picture plane; his stance is made rigid by the heavy black outline that delineates him; and his expression is stern, almost angry. He clasps his hands in front of him as if to stem the flow of blood that drips down the front of his bright blue slacks. Matthews deploys the image of dripping blood in a manner that recalls the celebrated 1967 painting by Faith Ringgold (with whom Matthews studied and later worked)- The Flag is Bleeding. In Ringgold’s picture, an African-American man is portrayed holding his hand to his heart as blood seeps through his finger and down the front of his clothing. Matthews has adopted a corresponding hieroglyph to signify human suffering; and once again, she employs vibrant colors and playful patterns to refute this very signification.
Like Ringgold, Matthews exploits paradox and contradiction-painting and quilting, joyous colors and somber themes, vernacular figural style and adroit quilting techniques-to create her “family album.” She derives her subject matter, to paraphrase her words, from the loving kinships that color her life. She paints about “family, friends, relationships, beauty, memories, love and pain” and about her life’s milestone moments-marriage, divorce, birth, and death. Her goal as an artist is twofold: to “understand and to elevate” her life experiences and those with whom she shared them by immortalizing them on canvas: and to render her images in such a way as to make the universal-part of a shared human experience. Matthews’ endeavors beyond the creation of her work are equally venerable. After graduating with honors from UCSD, Matthews became, for two years, president of the Women’s Caucus for Art in San Diego, and she continues to work with this group to provide exhibition opportunities for women. Matthews is also vice president and secretary of the Anyone Can Fly Foundation, which offers grants to artists, teachers, and scholars whose works advance public awareness of African-American artists. Written by Lisa Farrington for the Voices in Cloth Catalog

Brad