There's new piece available on the Tumblr feed.  Go check it out and let me know what you think.  



http://ericloftin-impulseart.tumblr.com/post/16531920402/snake-charmer-2011-mixed-media-collage-approx?ref=nf

Ghosts of the Present

Just finished another piece for my drawing class.  We had to combine 2 or more photographs into one drawing.  Nothing new for me, so I wanted to include a narrative.  I can’t take credit for the photos used.  I did get them off of a creative commons search, but unfortunately I can’t remember where I got them.  If they happen to be your images, I apologize for not crediting you.  Rest assured I won’t be selling this piece, it’s just for educational purposes.  I messed up and used fixative after I got done with the first figure, making it really hard to go back into the drawing and rework the material, so I went over top of it with white charcoal.  The result was more of a ghost image than I wanted, but it served it’s purpose of what I was going for anyway.  The message is nothing new.  Just taking a look at the beauty of the female form and the idiotic obsession with weight that has been forced into the minds of today’s women.  Hope you like it.

 Ghosts of the Present
2011 Charcoal on Toned Paper
approx. 12x18

Linky McLinkerson

So I decided to start a Tumblr feed as well as this space...exposure you know?  I figure not everybody does facebook, and not everybody uses blogger, so what the heck?  Tumblr allows people to follow on their mobile devices.  So cool, whatever.  Here's the link, and if you follow it through, you'll see some of my most recent thoughts and work. 

http://ericloftin-impulseart.tumblr.com/

In the mean time, check this new one out.  It's a combination of conte and ink on Yupo.  It has the potential to be really fun, but the problem is the ink doesn't like to dry very fast...like ever.  It's been a month and this one is still tacky to the touch in places.







 In Dreams
2011
Conte & Ink on Yupo
20x26

And Home Again

                                                                                                               Brobi-Wan Kenobi                                                                                                                       Zachary Etzel 
                                                                                                                              |||
                                                                                                                              \/ 
Opening night is over, and the show looked great.  The best thing about Splendorporium is the shear size of the area.  There was a TON of work up for this show, so that's great.  I wish I could have gotten to the gallery earlier.  That was the one thing that kind of sucked the life out of me tonight.  On the way to Portland, I got stuck in stop and go traffic on the highway for about 30 minutes.  I finally got to the restaurant to meet up with friends and have dinner before hitting up the gallery.  Nice place, not too loud, not very busy.  Cool, right?  Wrong.  It took the four of us an hour to get our food.  There were only about 20 people in this restaurant, and it was a little less than half full.  The opening of the show was from 7-9, and we got done at dinner at 8:30.  Not so much fun.  Luckily, it was fairly close to the gallery, and we got their with enough time to not feel rushed to look at everything.  I even got to talk to a few people asking about my work, which was a nice hit of validation for me.

I strongly suggest making the trek up there and seeing the show, not just to see my stuff, but all the other work too.  My cousin Sarah has some really great pieces in this one as well, so it's a must see.========================>>>












 Katy, chillin' with Grizz.  Fun times had by all. 

Tonight's the Night

In just minutes I'll be heading out to the car to head up to Portland for a night of dinner with my very good buddy Zach, and the opening of the latest art show I've been accepted into.  I hope everything goes well and by that, I mean that I hope people understand what I was trying to do with my work.  This series has had me so engrossed for so long, I'm a little nervous about how people might take it.  Will they see it as dark or evil?  Or will they see it as me trying to tell a story?  I wish I knew.  Above all else, I hope that it causes some kind of a reaction, good or bad.  For too long, the criticism I've gotten from my work is that it's just there.  There isn't anything memorable about it.  I hope that this show will start to change that. 

Shows and upcoming events....

So far I'm surviving my first week back in college.  I'm absolutely LOVING my drawing class so far.  It's really nice to go back to my roots of charcoal and getting dirty for a while.  Since my last post, I've received some great news:  Not only do I have 6 or 7 pieces going into a show at Splendorporium in Portland, OR for the show in October, I was also accepted into a juried show at the Bush Barn Art Center in Salem, OR as well!  This is the first juried show I've been accepted into in about 6 years, and the first as a "professional" artist.   The only hang up is that these shows both open the night of October 7th.  I'll be a busy guy that night.

In the mean time, I thought maybe I would post some pics here to give people a chance to see my work.  Just remember to respect my work, and don't download it.  It's kind of lame when people do that, and part of the reason why I'll be taking down the facebook account in a few months.

 "Watcher"
2010 Watercolor on Yupo

 "Blinded"

2011 Watercolor on Yupo

 "Mossman"
2011 Watercolor on Yupo

 "Creature"

2011 Watercolor on Yupo

"Siren"
2011 Watercolor on Yupo

"Back in Session"

2011 Watercolor/Acrylic on Canvas

will be on display at 

 the Bush Barn Art Center

Bush Barn Art Center:

http://salemart.org/?page_id=83

Splendorporium Gallery:

http://www.splendorporium.net/

Come visit the shows, get free food, and see me!

The hussle and bussle of life...

I started this page to really set in motion a chain of events that would lead me to creating my own website.  I still think that this is the right first step, but life has a way of delaying the best laid plans.  Since my first, last, and only post here (in July), I've started teaching again, registered for fall classes at two different colleges, and have been completely overwhelmed with the responsibilities and pressures of keeping up a home by myself.  I knew what I was getting into when my wife took a job in Alaska, while I had to stay in Oregon continuing to teach and go to school; but that doesn't make it any easier.  I've been extremely busy ever since she left, and unfortunately it's only going to get busier for me as I start my college classes next week.  But an artist's work is never done.  I've also got a show opening in Portland on October 7th, which means I have to submit work next week as well.

The show is entitled "Pets and Portraits" and is being held at the Splendorporium Gallery in SE Portland.  This will be my third show at Splendorporium, and I'm hoping this one will be particularly successful for me.  Much of my work consists of ethereal imagery, and I've been working on a series called "Watchers" for about a year now.  These pieces are reminiscent of the feeling I had growing up, playing in the woods at my grandparents' house thinking I was being watched.  When I turned around and saw that no one was there, it was an eerie enough feeling to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up.  I'm constantly trying to rediscover those feelings and emotions I had growing up that shaped me into the person I am today.  Some of these pieces are fairly benevolent, a spirit to watch over me perhaps, and keep me from harm.  Others are the flip side of the coin.  There's always a struggle of good and evil, right or wrong in our lives.  I hope that I've been able to convey that in this series.

"Watcher"

20X26 Watercolor on Yupo

2010, the first of the series that will be on display for the upcoming show.  Follow the link below to see more.





https://www.facebook.com/pages/Impulse-Art/144499828912186


http://www.splendorporium.net/