I totally had a DC art celebrity geek weekend. This is what happened on Saturday:
GREG FERRAND
I finally had the opportunity to buy a Gregory Ferrand original (it's my goal to start buying originals rather than reproductions) - and not only was it an original, it was the DRAWING he uses as the blueprint to his final paintings! I first saw his work at his OCCOA exhibit, and he's also been a faithful participant of Artomatic for the past several years.
Greg's paintings are amazing. the characters, which actually look like him, are so strong and emote so much - there is an amazing range of emotions that is read in his characters. his narratives are simple and straight forward, yet graphically very strong and definately emotionally charged. My all-time favourite pieces are Backward Isn't Forward, of which the original drawing was already sold when I ran into his stall at Arts on Foot, and Brilliant Girl Faces the World. The change in style is evident between the two, the latter of which is from his earlier collection, moving from starker imagery with high contrast, to muted, diffused, and more blended color compositions.
The drawing I bought served as the basis for the painting here, My Daddy's Somebody. The strength of the horizon, use of negative space, and tension in the characters are still very evident even in the sketch.
Most of Greg's original paintings are sold out (boo) but he's gearing up for a solo exhibition at Hillyer Art Space in March 2009 (yay!). I am absolutely saving up to buy a painting - something I should have done in 2002 when I was first introduced to his work.
Image from Gregory Ferrand's website.
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