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"The point where it breaks," 2010.

Hello friends, I am living in Chicago now. Good things are happening, and I think some great stuff may be just around the corner. A few weeks ago I met Ariel from Fill-in-the-Blank Gallery, and after a conversation, a review, and numerous e-mails back and forth, I have my first interview up on their website. You can see it here.

Also, my work is included in New American Paintings No. 89, which is the Midwest Edition. I was fortunate enough to have my drawing "Timing is everything" used for the cover. Quite appropriate, I think. You can order that here.

I've been drawing away to start off my time in Chicago, and with some good fortune I will be able to show them to you all soon enough. You can always take a peak at what I'm doing, via the galleries, and be sure to check out the front page as well.

spring & summer drawings

hey hey, here are some things i've been working on lately. i've been looking at a lot of francis bacon lately. good stuff. check it out: here.

pyramids

"try."

For images click here.

Here are some drawings from March that take a triangular format. A year or so ago I had made some "pediments" that I constructed drawings into, which I had sort of forgotten about. I had wanted to make a change in the recent work and thought maybe the shape could do something to trigger new ideas. Here is what came out of that.

"start spreading the news"

so i'd posted this before i finished it - i'd forgotten the snow. it looks much better now. i'm hoping to start on a new drawing within the week to continue this "winter madness" series - even though it is feeling incredibly spring-like today.

a new artist statement

"break," 2010

6 x 6 inches, color pencil & paper

hello people,

so i needed to come up with a new statement for the work i've been producing since getting out of graduate school and i thought about posting it here to get some feedback. it's built upon by some part's of my last statement, since there are certainly related elements. here are links to the galleries that this statement is referencing:

http://www.brooklynartproject.com/photo/albums/6x6x6-1

http://www.brooklynartproject.com/photo/albums/winter-madness

http://www.brooklynartproject.com/photo/albums/drifting-1

any help or feedback will be much appreciated.

thanks,

-Nathan

Artist Statement:

The need to communicate is important. As an inhibited person my artwork often ends up expressing my thoughts visually much more than I do verbally. Most recently the work has been referencing my transition out of graduate school and into reality. As someone who tends to procrastinate, trying to find footing for the next step in life has been a challenge. Looking through the work one may notice a sequence arranging a narrative. By animating my body language, inserting carefully composed symbols, and utilizing text I create a visual conversation with myself and the viewer. I suspect the feelings and emotions I depict are universal, but they come from specific, personal experiences.

Blue's and red's create an intense vibrancy in the color, both attracting attention and visually disrupting the viewer. Fragmented cinder blocks along with shallow water refer to instability or insecurity, alluding to ideas that I am adrift and wading through unventured territory in my life. The presentation of my subconscious world has led me to arrange many pieces with a theatrical display. This dominant feature has been a curtain in the midst of being raised or lowered - either elegant and still or uneven and disheveled. With this work I compose scenes from the stage inside my brain.

Nathan Vernau,

March 2010

the beginning of winter madness

"so this is what adulthood is"

25 1/2" x 19 1/2"

color pencil, paper, & googly eye

this is the start of the newest series, entitled 'winter madness.' you can make of that what you will. what i can tell you is it involves me in my longjohns, wearing a rabbit mask, and wielding a chainsaw.

the next one will involve dancing.

stay tuned.

a new one for the "drifting" series

"most of us have to"

i had a good old-fashioned 7-hour drawing session today. no work, no errands, just starting & finishing a drawing without letting days go in between finishing everything. it felt pretty damn good. sometimes you just have to roll up your sleeves, and get back to doing things the way you used to.

a wedding gift

"two hearts overlapping"

so i had wanted to post this drawing for a couple months now, but have had to wait for very good reason. when i found out my sister had gotten engaged i wanted to make her & my future brother-in-law a drawing for a wedding gift. i had tinkered on some sketches during downtime at work and came up with this idea. now, the rabbit's are an old icon i used in a lot of drawings a few years back, and i was happy to use them again: endearing, lovable, and cute. i probably anthropomorphize them for varying reasons, and became set on using them as representatives for Heather & Steve. now i've also used heart's in my work quite a bit, too, but in a slightly different way...they were usually upside-down. so it was nice to actually use them "correctly" in this case to emphasize the obvious emotions for this piece, which is all about love.

the heart's overlap and embrace, creating affection - XOX - a hug & a kiss. the symbol beams breaking clouds. it's simple, because that's all there is to it.

as someone who creates some fairly narcissistic work (although i do like to think it's humbly narcissistic) it was a nice break to create something for other reasons outside my own thoughts. i was quite happy with the way it turned out. it'll be interesting to see it now over the years when i visit them.

winter work

"my vision turns to snow"

"just trying to hang on"

hello friends,
the winter is cold, but it is also productive. i've finished two bigger works, a continuation in the series from the previous post. i think i'm going to make one more for the series, which i'm tentatively titling "drifting." i suppose it's a response to the transitional state i'm in at the moment. and you could also say the weather has had an effect on them, as well. lots of snow.