Farm Animals on Animal Farm, a cautionary tale (an homage to George Orwell)

 

Acrylic on gessoed aluminium panel (mounted), 18 x 14"

Painting #278, 2020

This painting was started back in February at the beginning of the pandemic. It may seem whimsical on the surface, but it is an allegorical piece infused with political overtones.

I purchased and read "Animal Farm" and "1984" by George Orwell shortly after CNN started using the term of living in an Orwellian time. This came about when then US President advisor, Kellyanne Conway used the term "alternative facts" while coming to the defense of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer when he stated that Mr. Trump had attracted the "largest audience" ever to witness an inauguration. Right away, Conway's "alternative facts" was compared to "doublethink", a term coined to the act of simultaneously accepting two contradictory beliefs as correct. People also drew comparisons to "newspeak", one of the several wordplay Orwell invented for 1984, meaning to limit freedom of thought. By 1950, Orwell's newly coined words would soon find their way in the Oxford English Dictionary beginning with Newspeak, Big Brother, doublethink, thoughtcrime and unperson. In 1945, he was also the first to use the term cold war.

It was later reported by the New York Times that US sales of 1984 had increased by 9500%. Penguin Books quickly reprinted 75,000 copies and the book surged to #1 on the Amazon's Bestsellers List less than a week after the inauguration.

Even more recently when Bob Woodward was invited on CNN to talk about his most recent book "Rage" and his recordings of conversations with Donald Trump, he mentioned the word Orwellian, which is attached to a dystopian totalitarian state.

George Orwell (1903-1950) was born Eric Arthur Blair. He was a novelist, essayist, journalist and critic. His penname was taken from the River Orwell in Suffolk, England. He was born in India to British parents. His parents separated soon after he was born. In 1904, his mother would return to England where he and his sister were both raised. In 1922, instead of going to university, he chose to serve with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, where his maternal grandmother lived. His service there fed his lifelong opposition to Imperialism.

Politically, he favored democratic socialism. He went to Spain in 1936 to fight in the Spanish War. There he joined republican forces backed by the United States and the Soviet Union. However, after he was wounded by a snipper, the Soviet forces accused him of betraying the anti-fascist cause and he had to flee the country.

George Orwell Square, Barcelona, Spain - dedicated in 1996.

Orwell lived in Barcelona between 1936 and 1937 , where he became a member of the POUM , coming to fight on the front with the Republican side. He later wrote of these experiences in Homage to Catalonia (1938), which especially portrays scenes on La Rambla and its surroundings.

Left photo of myself taken by my son Jean-Luc - July, 2019.

He spent part of WWII working as a correspondent for the BBC which further fed his distaste for totalitarianism regimes. His experiences in Spain and during WWII created the political leanings that helped shape his most famous novels, Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949).

George Orwell

Source Wikimedia Commons

Animal Farm is a fable that reflects events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then on into the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union. Orwell was a critic of Joseph Stalin and hostile to Moscow-directed Stalinism. The Soviet Union had become a brutal dictatorship built upon a cult of personality and enforced by a reign of terror. Orwell tells a story about humans via animals. In the process he reveals the sins of the revolutionaries are not limited to people involved in the revolution, but when those in charge, guided by high ideals, then goes on to betray them all. Anytime a revolution goes wrong, people often bring up "Animal Farm" and declare it to be ahead of its time.

George Orwell died on January 21, 1950 from complications of tuberculosis acquired three years previously.

The painting is infused with symbolism pertaining to the animals themselves and the role they play in Animal Farm. It is also a reflection of the current political climate in the US. With the Covid-19 pandemic currently underway, all of these animals have all been linked to previous flus, pandemics and other diseases transmissible to humans.

props used-

• Animal figures - Farm World by Schleich

• Background wallpaper-"Golden Lily" by William Morris (1834-1896)

• base- Record album cover with plastic wrap of ''Power, Corruption & Lies" by New Order (1983) / album artwork - "Basket of Roses" by Henri Fantin-Latour, (1836-1904) collection of the National Gallery, London.

L- auto-portrait of Henri-Fantin Latour, photo taken during visit of the Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin, Ireland (July, 2019) / R- Record album - Power, Corruption & Lies by New Order

• Artwork featured on George Orwell books by Shepard Fairey. Ironically, Fairey became widely known during the 2008 U.S. presidential election for his Barack Obama "Hope" poster.

SHEPARD FAIREY

OBEY 3-Face collage, signed offset lithography

24 x 18" (set of 3 prints) - open edition

-personal collection

To acquire this painting, please contact: 

Galerie de Bellefeuille

1367 avenue Greene, 

Montreal, Quebec H3Z 2A8 

Tel: 514.933.4406

e-mail- art@debellefeuille.com

website 

-SOLD

A Car on The Cars

Acrylic on gessoed birch panel, 12 x 12"

painting # 229, 2015

During my teens and until my mid twenties, a great deal of the music I purchased was on vinyl. Not only was the sound very distinct, but you had the added bonus of holding the album jacket and liner notes/lyrics while listening to your record. Over the years, the artwork produced on many album covers contributed greatly to popular culture. A marketing tool that added to the enjoyment, sales and by themselves became a desirable items to collect.   

In 1984, new wave / pop-rock band “The Cars” released a multi-platinum studio album entitled ''Heartbeat City''. Peter Phillips' painting, “Art-O-Matic Loop Di Loop” (1972) appeared on the album jacket. It’s one of those classic 1980’s album that kind of defined by early adulthood in many ways, since I was but 22 at the time.

Before I even started to paint and my real interest in art would begin, it is undeniable that the exposure to this form of art would contribute and influence my artwork. In recent years I have completed several paintings in the same 12 x 12'' format. 

The original acrylic painting on canvas, ''Art-O-Matic Loop Di Loop'' is mural format, measuring a massive 200 x 400 cm or approximately 6½ ft high by 13 ft long. At the time the record came out was owned by Galerie Neuendorf in Hamburg, Germany.  It features a pin-up girl, automotive parts, light beams, circles, stars and a 1971 Plymouth Duster 340. The concept for my own painting happened by chance when I found an exact Johnny Lightning die-cast car in yellow on eBay. I've added the mason jar since it's purpose is to preserve stuff.

English artist Peter Phillips (b. 1939) is considered one of the fathers of the Pop Art Movement and after a temporary move to New York City exhibited alongside is American contemporaries Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and James Rosenquist. He has had several retrospective of his work including the Tate Gallery in London which owns several of his works. 

''Heartbeat City'' was produced by Robert ''Mutt'' Lange (Def Leppard, Shania Twain, AC/DC, Bryan Adams) and The Cars. Six singles would receive radio airplay, including four top 10 hits, ''Hello Again'', ''You Might Think'', ''Drive'' and ''Magic''. Actor Timothy Hutton directed the video for ''Drive'' sung by Benjamin Orr. It was during the filming of that video that frontman Ric Ocasek met his future wife, supermodel Paulina Porizkova (whom I had a massive crush on). To add more Pop Art flavour to the album, Andy Warhol directed the très cheezy video for "Hello Again". The album was certified 4x platinum in the US alone. 

This painting to be exhibited in 

''The Still Life'' Invitational Group Show at the Elliott Fouts Gallery, in Sacramento, CA.
 Sept. 5 - Oct. 1, 2015.

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To be exhibited in a two-person with Yvon Gallant entitled "Harvest" at the Fog Forest Gallery, Sackville, NB

October 12 - Nov. 8,  2017.
-SOLD

Splitting the Apple

Acrylic on gessoed birch panel, 12 x 12"

Painting #226, 2014

If there is a musical group that really need no introduction, it would be The Beatles. The band from Liverpool England was formed in 1960. They found success in early 1963 when "Please Please me" topped the UK charts. Their initial releases in America were on independent labels. By late 1963, Capitol Record introduced their music to the American public with their #1 single, "I want to hold your hand". The album, "Beatlemania! With the Beatles" was released in Canada on Capitol records on November 25, 1963.  

The timing for this painting, although I almost missed the deadline was to mark the 50th anniversary of their first album release in the United States. "Introducing.....The Beatles" was released on January 10, 1964 by Vee-Jay Records. Capitol Records would release "Meet the Beatles" 10 days later, on January 20. 

The enduring longevity of The Beatles, even if the band were only together for a decade can certainly be attributed to the various directions that they took musically, from pop, rock and roll, psychedelic and hard rock. But their song-writing abilities, especially the Lennon-McCartney collaboration was exceptionally remarkable. They were extremely prolific and studio albums were released in quick succession.

In 1968, the Beatles founded Apple Records as a creative outlet for the band while signing a select group of artists to the roster. In 1970, "Let it be" would be their last studio album recording. By this time, creative differences and tension between the band members caused the group to dissolve. The concept behind this painting creates a narrative of the band splitting up and each member carrying on with their individual solo projects. Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr all releases solo albums in 1970. During the following years, their solo recordings sometimes involved one or more of the other members as collaborators. 

Their legions of fans remained hopeful that one day they would reunite, but when John Lennon was shot and killed outside his apartment building in New York City in 1980, so did that dream. 

When the band broke up, I was only 8 years old. My interest in music only started around age 12. While The Beatles' songs still played on the radio during my teens, I didn't truly appreciate their music until recently. This was probably due to the ever evolving music scene of the 1970's and reduced radio play. After the band broke up, several compilation albums were issued of their past recordings in greatest hits format, specific periods, anthologies and box set which became even more popular than their original recordings. The album 1, which was released in 2000 on the band's 30th anniversary of their break-up is a prime exemple. The record was a compilation of virtually all their number one singles in the UK and the USA. I bought it in 2011, when it was re-released digitally on iTunes re-entering the album charts at #1. The day I completed this painting on December 29, the album was specially price for the holidays and made yet another return on the iTunes charts at #24. That album has sold in excess of 33 million copies, bringing the total sales of the entire Beatles album discography to 600 millions copies sold, making them the most successful act in music history. On this LINK is a song catalogue, with many more singles that did not make it to number one and are among my favourites.  

I purchased "Let it be" about five years ago on eBay for the sole purpose of making this painting. When I did the photo study, in order to see the side of the apple, it needed to be at an angle. I wanted the image to retain the format of a vinyl album jacket. With the help of Photoshop, I was able to crop it as if you are looking at it directly above, but the perspective of their faces is altered because of this. These are by far the best faces I have painted and this is attributed to the fact that I currently use an iPad to view my source material. I am able to see better. It is strange that the photograph of Ringo Starr that was used for the album cover appears to have a thumb or something obstructing the left lower frame. I worked on this painting for more than two months. I anticipated that doing portraiture would be challenging and it was, but the fact that they were all in the same tonal values on my source photo study did ease the process.

The Beatles legacy and influences on other musicians, songwriters, popular culture and in print are immeasurable and will continue to live on as their music as universal appeal and transcends many generations. 

-SOLD