Snapshots of Work in Progress

I will be participating in a 3 person show at the Mclean Project for the Arts in mid-January (more on that soon) and am hoping to have roughly 8 pieces ready for it. I haven't posted any new work for some time, so I thought it would be interesting to post a series of snapshots giving you a look at what I've been working on to get ready for the show.

The Collectors - Where Are They Now? #3

The third in this series of blog posts are the paintings: Stand Clear of the Doors, Please! and You're Innocent When You Dream. 
 

To read more about the origins of this series, please go here.

Collectors Rachel and Eddie Eitches

Rachel Eitches

Eddie Eitches

Collector's Statement

I love the strong narrative element in Gregory Ferrand's work. A dramatic sense of foreboding enhanced by the lighting and the color scheme attracted my attention to this painting [Stand Clear of the Doors, Please!]. It conjures up the hustle and bustle of urban mass transportation. Diverse characters with expressive faces cross paths and reveal contrasting purposes. The limp bunny cradled by the girl in the foreground like a victim caught in the crossfire reminds me of a worn and beloved toy from my childhood."

Rachel Eitches

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Stand Clear of the Doors, Please! was created to be shown in my space at Artomatic 2007. The painting was inspired by the paranoia generated through the policies and secrecy that was typical throughout the Bush years, when America was confronted with color alert codes, the revelation that secret detention centers run by the US existed, and public awareness campaigns that warned one that "If you see something, say something."

rough sketch

 

Stand Clear of the Doors, Please!

acrylic on canvas, 40"x24"

 

You're Innocent When You Dream  was created in 2011 and like many of my paintings explores the complexities of family life and the isolation and escapism sometimes induced by technology. I consider this painting to be a high point in the development of my creative process because I feel that I was successful in depicting the depth of shadow through the use of color (not just black paint) contrasted against light from one bright source (not just relying on white paint) through the use of layering.  In addition, I think that I was able to tell a multi-layered story successfully in just one shot.

 



rough sketch

 

You're Innocent When You Dream

acrylic on canvas, 30"x24"

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The Collectors - Where Are They Now?

-POST#1 Andrea Paipa and Ben Feldman
-POST#2 Christine Cordner

New Illustration

The following commentary illustration was done for Education Week and accompanied an article that explored the idea that education is proven to be the entry way to success and opportunity; as well as the growing gap between those who complete school (first high school, then college, and then grad school) and those that don't.



 

First Rough Sketch

Revised Rough Sketches



Final Line Drawing

 

Final Illustration (color added in Photoshop)

Happy Halloween!!!

My little trick or treaters!

 

 Woody (from Toy Story)

 

El Pollito



The Collectors - Where Are They Now? #2

The second in this series of blog posts are the paintings: The State of Things and Conquering Psyche, and the drawing studies: Backward Isn't Forward and I Fall In Love Too Easily.  

 To read more about the origins of this series, please go here. 

Collector Christine Cordner

Collector's Statement

I first saw Gregory's work at Artomatic in 2008 and was lucky enough to catch him at a sidewalk sale downtown so I could buy a few of his sketches, followed by two paintings, one shipped cross country I was so enamored. I am a lover of line precision and attention to detail, the architectural attributes of his work that first attracted me. I also enjoy the humor behind his quirky humanoids and his ample use of vibrant color in every-day scenarios. The overall pensive, mellow tone of his beautiful work has a meditative effect on me after a busy work day, which is why my collection hangs together right above my desk at home.

 

Christine Cordner 

 

You can read more of what Christine has had to say about my work on her blog here and here.

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The State of Things was created in 2009 for my solo show, La Vida Intensa, held later that spring at Hillyer Art Space. Like most of my paintings, this one was not inspired by or created with a specific story in mind, but rather was intended to capture a feeling... the feeling of living in that space in time when we just are... the place in between.

On a side note, the run up to the opening of the show was incredibly hectic as my wife and I were also preparing for the arrival of our first son (due the day after the show's opening). It was a time filled with uncertainty, anxiety, and excitement. 

rough sketch

The State of Things

acrylic on canvas, 16"x20"

 

 Conquering Psyche was completed in 2011 and inspired by the commercial blitz of Valentine's Day and a rereading of the Greek myth The Tale of Eros and Psyche.

If you look closely at the movie poster credits, you'll find that many of my family members worked on the fictitious film and I directed it (a nod back to my college film-making days).

rough sketch

Conquering Psyche

acrylic on canvas, 24"x24"

 

 These drawing studies are exactly that; pencil studies of future paintings.

 Backward Isn't Forward

graphite on paper

 I Fall In Love Too Easily

graphite on paper

Prints of The State of Things can be found here.

For prints of Conquering Psyche can be requested here.
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The Collectors - Where Are They Now?  

-POST#1 Andrea Paipa and Ben Feldman

The Collectors - Where Are They Now? #1

Reoccurring thoughts....
 
Over the past ten years I have often wondered "where are my paintings now?" I know who has bought them, but once a collector has purchased them I rarely get the opportunity to see them again, in person, living in the world outside my studio.
 
A little over a month ago I had the same thought again, but this time it nagged at me. Where do the paintings go? How do my collectors live with them?
 
I decided to do something about it and sent an email to my collectors asking if they would be interested in participating in an Artist/Collector collaboration, where we would produce a series of blog posts documenting how the paintings "live" and highlight this incredible group of people that believe in art, who see something special in the work I do, and who purchase my work, enabling me to keep at it and keep growing artistically.
 
Thankfully, many responded in the affirmative, sent me photos of the paintings, and wrote a short statement as to what drew them to their particular painting or to my work in general. 

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The first in the series of blog posts is Aburrido from the Spanish 101 series I created in 2006 for a group show I was in at Gallery Neptune in Bethesda, MD.

Collectors Andrea Paipa and Ben Feldman

Collectors Statement

This is "Aburrido" from a series (Spanish 101) about children receiving gifts...we felt sorry not to have all of them; each one has a different personality, unique and strong. 

Greg's work is fascinating to us since each of his paintings tells a story and is like a movie itself. We look forward to seeing every one of his new productions since he always makes us travel to new scenarios, dramatic and witty.

Andrea Paipa and Ben Feldman 

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This series came about during an explosion of creativity; I painted 12, 11"x16" paintings in 30 days (a record for me).

The paintings were inspired by the holiday theme of the show and a short stint I had as a substitute teacher for an elementary school Spanish class.



rough sketch and final drawing 

Spanish 101: Aburrido

11"x 16", acrylic on canvas

 

Prints of Aburrido are available here

Closing Reception at Gallaudet University

Tomorrow, Sept. 21st, is the closing reception for the group show, A Vision That Smells of Soap, I have been a part of for the past month at the  Washburn Arts Center, Linda K. Jordan Gallery at Gallaudet University. The reception runs from 5-8pm and will have food and drink.

Please find directions here.

Below are two of my newest paintings from my Solitaire series that are on display there.

Solitaire: Routine

(16"x20" acrylic on gesso board)

Solitaire:  Family

(16"x20" acrylic on gesso board)

The Last of 8 Theater J illustrations

In April, I was hired by Theater J to create 8 illustrations; one for each play in their 2012-2013, taking over for Waltz with Bashir art director and illustrator David Polonsky. Because of time issues, I was asked to create line drawings with some shading instead of paintings.

The eightth play of the season is The Hampton Years by Jacqueline E. Lawton:

"Emerging from Theater J's inaugural Locally Grown Festival, this breakthrough premiere explores the development of great African-American artists, John Biggers and Samella Lewis under the tutelage of Austrian Jewish refugee painter and educator, Viktor Lowenfeld. Focusing on the pivotal years at Hampton Institute, Virginia during WWII, this richly researched tapestry of African American luminaries like Elizabeth Catlett reveals the dreams and travails of young artists in a still segregated society while examining the impact of World War II on a Jewish immigrant and his wife finding shelter in the US and his controversial influence in shaping the careers of African American students."

Rough Sketches

 



Final Rough Sketch

 

Final Line Drawing

 

Final Illustration

(graphite and colored in Photoshop)

7th of 8 Theater J illustrations

In April, I was hired by Theater J to create 8 illustrations; one for each play in their 2012-2013, taking over for Waltz with Bashir art director and illustrator David Polonsky. Because of time issues, I was asked to create line drawings with some shading instead of paintings.

The seventh play of the season is Andy and the Shadows by Ari Roth:


"A family comedy with Freudian hallucinations and pre-marital angst by Theater J’s Artistic Director and award-winning playwright. Andy Glickstein is the son of Holocaust refugees who fears he can't get married because he hasn’t suffered enough. His family's gathered on the South Side of Chicago to celebrate his engagement to clear-headed Sarah, but party preparations are interrupted as Andy is pulled by memories and pre-adolescent enchantments of his mother's bath-time stories recounting her dramatic escapes from the Nazis. Andy's search for his duendé—the Spanish expression of soulfulness and tragic ecstasy made popular in Ernest Hemingway novels--leads him to make a movie mythologizing his mother's triumphant legacy and, when that fails, his father's unsung Zionist heroism, but he ultimately finds more meaning in a jar of jam and a hospital bed that sleeps two. Winner of the Streisand Award for Playwriting, by the author of Born Guilty and Love and Yearning in the Not-for-Profits."

Rough Sketch

 

Final Line Drawing

 

Final Illustration

(graphite and colored in Photoshop)