NEW Website for my Artwork

Portraits & Illustrations by Desiree

www.artbydes.com

Her Royal Highness...RuPaul!

"I've Made My Decision" - pastel & pencil on toned paper

I have been doing artwork inspired by each episode of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 6. This week (episode #5) I drew the Queen Mutha herself! in honor of the runway theme, "Night of a Thousand Ru's." I spent some time on this one, in order to do Her Majesty justice...

DETAIL "I've Made My Decision"

It was also the night of the ever-popular "Snatch Game," and I think I see a Judge Judy (played to perfection by Ms. Bianca Del Rio) or an Anna Nicole (by the hilariously sloppy Adore Delano) drawing in my future!  In the meantime, here's a quick recap of  my art-by-episode drawings so far:

Week 1: BenDeLaCreme

Week 2: Adore Delano

Week 3: Laganja Estranja

Week 4: Laganja Estranja

Also Week 4: Milk

NOTE: Two of these drawings have already appeared on the official RuPaul's Drag Race fan art page! They select one piece of fan art per week to show on the air. So far, no luck...but I'm keeping my fingers crossed because if they show one of mine, then I could die happy.

Vincent, I know how you felt...

Vincent Van Gogh self portrait, painted shortly after his
infamous self-inflicted ear amputation

Being an artist can really suck. I mean REALLY suck sometimes. No, actually MOST of the time. I mean, I didn't ask to be born with this "talent" that has caused so many before me to live (and die) feeling tortured and frustrated...

But exactly why is the artist such a traditionally tortured creature? Well have a seat, and let me break it down for you. Imagine yourself as a child, about 3 or 4 years old, just playing like any other kid, then maybe grabbing some crayons and doodling something up. Suddenly, an adult snatches the paper from your grubby little hands and declares, "This child is really talented!" And there it was for the first time, that word I now sometimes despise - talent. What does it even mean? Webster's Dictionary describes it as "the natural endowments of a person" or "a special often athletic, creative, or artistic aptitude." Okay, whatever.  All I know is, it felt good to be called talented.  As one of four children in a single-parent home, my newfound "talent" gave me some desperately-craved attention.  Throughout grade school, I used every opportunity to show off my artistic abilities as a means for attention and approval.  You better believe my mother fucking mission was the best!  And paper mache'? Forget about it. No one even came close.  But then I got older, and there were no more gold stars, A+'s, or blue ribbons to fill me up. Now it was time to be a grown-up, and to seek approval as an artist in the real world- and boy was I in for a shock.

Ah, and there is that other nasty word - approval.  A HUGE part of the artist's tortured existence is that we often seek outside approval to validate ourselves and our work- which isn't really our fault- it's how our system works. Even if an artist was never a needy little rugrat like me, the approval we are forced  to seek as an adult artist comes in the form of money (you know, how you pay rent and eat and stuff).  There is nothing more difficult for an artist than to pour your heart & soul into your work, resulting in pieces that you love and are very satisfied with...and then no one buys them. Or even likes them.  Or even sees them.  And the illustration agencies don't call you back.  And neither do the galleries. And the only

type of work offers you can seem to get are to do a portrait of Aunt Edna and her cat for 20 bucks and lunch at Applebee's (and you take it). And everyone you meet keeps telling you, "You know, you should really do something with your talent." And then your work just ends up in a closet or corner of your house somewhere, collecting dust, and reminding you of how much you suck and you should just give up this stupid art shit already and get a real career going, and then you paint all your paintings black or throw them away or something, and all of the sudden you find yourself understanding why Van Gogh cut his fucking ear off! (Or maybe I just need medication?)

As an artist in this world, it is easy to feel completely unappreciated, dejected and useless- like an old dinosaur roaming around in the suburbs, just getting in the way of the busy, money-making people and eating everyone's plants.  Okay, maybe that analogy didn't make perfect sense, but you get my drift.  I wish that I could end this little rant on a more positive note, but alas- this is one of the 362 days this year that it sucks to be an artist.

ADDITIONAL NOTES & LINKS:
Think I'm crazy?  Just check out this list of artists throughout history who have commited suicide and at least you'll see I'm not alone in my frustration.

-Vincent Van Gogh's suicide note
-Life in Hell comic about struggling artists (hilarious!)

Van Gogh's final painting before shooting himself in the head. Many believe this painting hinted of his planned
suicide, with the crows reacting to the sudden sound of the gunshot (this field was the view from his window).

The Photography of Stephen Von Frankenstein

With his photographs, Stephen Von Frankenstein has mastered the delicate balance between sex and the macabre.  Though his work spans the spectrum between cheesecake and horror, it always retains the unmistakable stamp of Von Frankenstein-ness.  His lighter stuff has elements of darkness, and his even his darkest work somehow manages to bring eroticism or humor...

quite the colorful character himself, Mr. Von F was recently
featured in Tattoo Savage magazine

Stephen Von Frankenstein is an Orange County-based artist,
photographer, piercer & performer

LINKS

Art of Von Frankenstein (facebook)
info about Stephen's NEW BOOK

Barbella Studios in Costa Mesa, CA

Ahhh, simplicity...artist Marc Johns

best t-shirt ever?

a funny, handwritten line or two...a silly little drawing...and somehow the results are touching, introspective, beautiful and hilarious all at once!  that is the beauty of art...and of artist marc johns.

pipe-smoking rabbit

screw it, said the dryer

just be famous...

if i had arms...

for ALL THINGS MARC JOHNS, check out these links!

www.marcjohns.com

marc johns tee-shirts

shop.marcjohns.com/

CHARLES ROBINSON: Master of the Golden Age of Illustration

The Golden Age of Illustration was a period of unprecedented excellence in book and magazine illustration (1880's - 1920's). It developed from advances in technology permitting accurate and inexpensive reproduction of art, combined with a voracious public demand for new graphic art.  One of the most amazingly talented & prolific artists to come from this time is children's book illustrator, Charles Robinson.

Charles came from a family of artisans & illustrators - which enabled him to study and master his craft at a young age.  Throughout his life & career, the majority of Robinson's work was commissioned illustrations for faerie tales, fables and other children's stories.  His predilection for creating fluid lines, interesting "negative" shapes and beautiful, ethereal figures help to cement Robinson's place in Art Nouveau history.  His work epitomizes the balance between delicacy and boldness that characterizes the style.  Due to the fact that art historians seem to focus on "fine artists," it is unfortunate that today, masters such as Charles Robinson are not a household name...

Click here to read an online biography of Charles Robinson

Attack of the TODDLERPEDES!!

gross....sick....disturbing....genius!

I just adore these "toddlerpedes" by artist Jon Beinart!

Perhaps its because I know firsthand what horrible little monsters

toddlers can sometimes be, but I think these creepy creatures are

pretty hilarious and actually kinda cute...

artist Jon Beinart sits on one of his creations

THE ORIGINAL - Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks"

Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, 1942 - Art Institute of Chicago

What I have always loved about Edward Hopper's paintings is the mood he created.  In his images of melancholy figures set against lonely cityscapes, he describes the feeling of separation and detachment that modern life has created; he tells stories of people isolated as much by their busy lifestyles, as by the structures that surround them.  His most famous work, Nighthawks (pictured above) evokes this mood perfectly.

And then there are the parodies - the most famous of which is the ever-popular Boulevard of Broken Dreams, which replaces Hopper's everyday folks with famous dead film icons (James Dean, Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis Presley as the soda-jerk)!  Painted by Gottfried Helnwein in 1984, this print made its way from thousands of swap-meets and mall art galleries, into millions of hip bachelor pads and young couples' first apartments throughout the 80's and 90's.

Helnwein's famous parody

Due to the popularity of the Boulevard of Broken Dreams print (and the fact that pop-punk group Green Day put out a #1 hit by the same name), Hopper's original piece seems to have gotten buried by time and overriding popular culture.  More sad than the fact that most people I talk to believe the Helnwein parody to be the original work, is that the delicate subtlety and anonymity of the figures in Hopper's piece are totally removed - replaced by globally recognizable celebrities.

But let's not be too hard on ol' Helnwein.  Just check out his portfolio and you will see that there is nothing cheesy or clichéd about his work.  Boulevard of Broken Dreams seems to have been a bit of a departure for the German-born artist.  I suspect that his motivations were probably more intended to pay homage to the US-born Hopper and to American pop culture, rather than to eclipse this exquisite original.

article author: Desiree Guerrero

my personal favorite, "Nighthogs" by Matt Groening

NOTE: The Art Institute of Chicago acquired Nighthawks in 1942, where it has remained a part of it's permanent collection. Read more about this work on their website.