Emblematic

Emblematic
ink, graphite on clayboard
8 x 8 inches
© 2011-12 Darick Ritter

Overconfident II

Overconfident II
2012
11 x 11 inches
ink on Arches Cold Press 250gsm Paper
Purchase

The Ends 2

ink on four 4x4" clayboard panels, digital finish  |  © 2012 Darick Ritter

I like this go-around much better than the first.

I have no big commitment, though, to make sure The Ends turn into a larger series of shorts. It's possible this could be the last. I say that because I see them more as an experiment in linear story-telling that I believe I need practice in.

This is something I've never had much experience in, working primarily as a modern (contemporary, abstract, untraditional, etc.) painter. And a painting for me is a physical object to be looked at, confronted. It's all of that de Kooning and Rothko and Pollock that I was obsessed with when I was younger. That kind of art was about what was physically happening on the surface, first... for me. That's why most of my previous work has a relief-like texture, avoiding traditional window-like viewing spaces (Van Eyck, Vermeer, or even artists like Thomas Hart Benton).

Now, I believe I can't get away from familiar, object-oriented picture-making because I see it's separation from abstract work only as an illusion of propaganda from artists of different styles competing with one another. And I couldn't figure out how to put things I was actually thinking about - like science-fiction, fantasy, myth-making, or religio-spiritual experiences - into paintings who's antecedents were "all surface".

Making comix like these helps me short-circuit all of these mental entanglements and makes my contribution to the "story" of my work much simpler and honest, I think.

Overconfident I

"Overconfident I"
2012
11" x 11"
ink on Arches Cold Press 250gsm Paper
PURCHASE

MINT Gallery, Atlanta: June 9th, 7-11PM

*poster by Kaspian Shore

detail of "Linearity I"

detail of "Linearity II"

The above are portions of the pieces I will be showing.

The Ends 1

The Ends 1

ink on four 4x4 clayboard panels

© 2012 Darick Ritter

I'm thinking of calling this series "The Ends". I don't know why. Maybe because I made a fat, effin' "end" at the end of it, virtually guaranteeing that I don't try to stretch it out into a long story.
Bang. Comic in a day.
Not that that was my only goal. I also just wanted to use the brush to make sure that things couldn't look pristine. I like the result.

Knucklehead

You Germ 02:01  |  ink on clayboard  |  6x6  |  © 2012 Darick Ritter

You Germ 02:02  |  ink on clayboard  |  6x6  |  © 2012 Darick Ritter

You Germ 02:02 (detail)

So, the cool thing, is I finished two new panels. The bad thing is I really don't like my second panel (YG 02:02).

I just overworked it. And secondly, it just doesn't convey its information clearly (I agree with you, M).

I think I'm going to skip it (not scrap it), and just do another one. It's fine though. Failure's healthy, once in a while. Keeps you honest.