Author: ultrawolvesunderthefullmoon

https://www.instagram.com/wolvesofgray This blog is a refugee and a survivor of the Great Tumblr Inquisition of December 17th, 2018. I am gay artist, who received training at the Rhode Island School of Design, and now, a retired high-end fine art framer living in Maryland, USA. My interests and studies in life run a wide gamut from art to history and from the scientific to the esoteric. I have been building this blog of images and texts for the last eight years. My wish is that my posts pique the interest of viewers and encourage them to experience more.

Sutton Hoo Helmet

Sutton Hoo Helmet, Detail, Anglo-Saxon Ship Burial, Sixth Century AD

Sutton Hoo, near Woodbridge, East Anglia, is the site of two Sixth and early Seventh Century cemeteries. One contained an undisturbed ship burial, including a wealth of Anglo-Saxon artefacts of outstanding art-historical and archaeological significance, most of which are now in the British Museum in London. The site is in the care of the National Trust.

Sutton Hoo is of primary importance to early medieval historians because it sheds light on a period of English history that is on the margin between myth, legend, and historical documentation. Use of the site culminated at a time when Rædwald, the ruler of the East Angles, held senior power among the English people and played a dynamic if ambiguous part in the establishment of Christian rulership in England; it is generally thought most likely that he is the person buried in the ship. The site has been vital in understanding the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of East Anglia and the whole early Anglo-Saxon period.

The Treasury at Petra

The Treasury at Petra, Reign of Aretas IV Philopatric, First Century AD, Sandstone Rock Carving

Aretas IV Philopatris was the King of the Nabataeans from roughly 9 BCE to CE 40. Aretas came to power after the assassination of Obodas III, who was apparently poisoned. Josephus says that he was originally named Aeneas, but took “Aretas” as his throne name. An inscription from Petra suggests that he may have been a member of the royal family, as a descendent of Malichus the First.

His full title, as given in the inscriptions, was “Aretas, King of the Nabataeans, Friend of his People.” Being the most powerful neighbour of Judea, he frequently took part in the state affairs of that country, and was influential in shaping the destiny of its rulers. While Aretas was not on particularly good terms with Rome, Augustus with great hesitation recognized him as king, After this recognition, Aretas placed a considerable army at the disposal of the Roman general.

Chris Sedgwick

Paintings by Chris Sedgwick

Inspired by the fear of death and in constant search for something that will transcend it, Chris Sedgwick is an American contemporary painter whose work mainly focuses on esotericism, occult spiritual symbolism, Cyphers, Ritual, and the Inner human condition. He began his career painting very dark color wise, highly influenced by Odd Nerdrum and Carravagio, but knew deep inside he must evolve his own style and character if he wants to be satisfied with his path and find a niche in the art world.

Gold leaf has been present since the beginning, as the artist was mainly sprinkling a little on the ground or in a circle in the composition to communicate the sacred, but at one moment he decided just to go ahead and paint fully on gold leaf. Sedgwick considers this a transition from painting the mundane world where rituals were taking place to painting the spiritual world where the rituals were meant to be effecting. Another significant transition occurred when he started using what he calls “constellation” forms and using outlines of figures against ethereal like backgrounds in the same piece that there would be a realistically painted form.

The transition to this “spiritual” plane lead him to start using glow in the dark paint and creating some works that include natural objects, such as The Last Magician, to represent a mirroring of the painting in the natural tactile world of nature by incorporating sticks and plant matter.

David Kassan

David Kassan, “Self Portrait in Motion, Oil on Panel, 2010, 101,6 x 66 cm, Private Collection

David Jon Kassan is a contemporary realist painter best known for his life-size realist portraits. The paintings combine figurative subjects with abstract background textures he says are inspired by such painters as Franz Kline and Robert Rauschenberg. Kassan says, “my effort to constantly learn to document reality with a naturalistic, representational painting technique allows for pieces to be inherent contradictions; paintings that are both real and abstract.”

David Kassan currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, and teaches painting classes and workshops at various institutions around the world. He received his B.F.A. in 1999 from Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY where he studied with Jerome Witkin. He continued his studies at The National Academy, and the Art Students League of New York, both in Manhattan. He is currently represented by Gallery Henoch in New York

Alex Roulette

Alex Roulette, “Unknown Lights”, 2010, Oil on Panel, 114.3 x 91.4 cm, Private Collection

At the core of Alex Roulette’s photo-realistic painting practice is an exploration of the process of male coming-of-age in contemporary American society. Emotionally, his work is intended to oscillate between an uneasy psychological isolation and the promise of adventure waiting at the horizon. Rooted firmly in both personal history and established cultural paradigms, he strives to present an honest and poignant tableau of adolescent transformation.

Consciously emulating the cinematographic mode, Roulette’s compositions could be stills from the ‘buddy films’ with which the artist identifies. In particular, he is concerned with the journeys from dystopia toward an imagined utopia that the male characters of such films undertake.

This past year, Alex Roulette had a solo exhibition called Fabricated Realism at the George Billis Gallery in New York in which this  2010 painting was shown. His work continues to have great aesthetic appeal and in 2010, Alex played more with unusual light sources and effects in his work. Sun flares, reflections, snowflakes and other natural and fabricated lighting replaces the strong shadows prevalent in his 2007-2008 work.