1984 Surfaces

RETROSPECTRE

The Early Work of Robert Pasternak

1980 - 1984

 Sunset - acrylic on masonite - 10 x 12 in -  Dec 1984

It was 36 years ago this month in 1978 that I decided that I wanted to be  an artist. I was about to turn 15 years old. This web log has chronicled most all the art that I produced from then, up to this point of 30 YEARS AGO.

I got behind in my web postings for 1984, so this post contains all the work of 1984 with various omissions.

This will be my final posting within this particular blog. Please take the time to view my earlier work up to this point. Also please check out my new work, NEWS and other work in my other blogs or websites. Thanx for being here. . . or there.
                                                                                     r  o  b  e  r  t

 Christ - acrylic on illustration board - 20 x 3 in -  Dec 1984

 What You See - acrylic on canvas - 30 x 34 in - Dec 1984

 Daredevil - acrylic on canvas - 18 x 24 in - Dec 1984

 Roberto Doran - acrylic on canvas - 18 x 24 in -  Dec 1984

 Batman  - acrylic on canvas - 24 x 34 in - Nov 1984

 If Your Surface Stays Unbroken - acrylic on canvas - 36 x 48 in - Nov 1984

 Surfaces No.6 - pencil crayon, ink, pencil on paper - 11 x 14 in - Aug 1984

 Surfaces No.5 - pencil crayon on paper - 16 x 20 in - Aug 1984

 Surfaces No.4 - acrylic on illustration board - 10 x 40 in - Aug 1984

 Church on River - pencil crayon on paper - 20 x 26 in - Aug 1984

 Surfaces No.3 - pencil crayon on paper - 17 x 17 in - Aug 1984

 Fence Corner - acrylic on illustration board - 16 x 28 in - Aug 1984

 They Were Friends Of Mine - pencil crayon on paper - 13.5 x 19.5 in - Aug 1984

 Target On The Different - acrylic, pencil crayon, ink on paper - 20 x 26 in - Aug 1984

 Hand In The Sky - acrylic on canvas paper - 18 x 24 in - July 1984

Fence Corner With Ships - acrylic on canvas paper - 18 x 24 in - July 1984

 Ghost House - acrylic on canvas paper - 18 x 24 in - July 1984

 Under The White Paint - acrylic on canvas paper - 18 x 24 in - July 1984

 Batman - acrylic on illustration board - 15 x 20 - June 1984

 ...and in this son was goodness - acrylic on illustration board - 18.25 x 11.5 in - June 1984

 AGES - acrylic on canvas - 48 x 86 in - May 1984

 Follow Me Home - acrylic on illustration board - 13 x 20 in - May 1984

 Harlequin cover - acrylic on canvas - 34 x 36 in - May 1984

 Confusion In The Wind - pencil, ink, pencil crayon, felt on paper - 9 x 12 - Apr 1984

 The Spirit - pencil crayon on paper - 12 x 15.25 - Apr 1984

 King & Queen - acrylic on canvas - 24 x 36 - Apr 1984

 Kick Axe-B - pencil crayon on paper - 18.5 x 18.5 - Mar 1984

 Kick Axe-A - pencil crayon on paper - 18 x 18 - Mar 1984

 Particles Chase - pencil crayon on paper - 20 x 26 in - Feb 1984

Help Me Up - pastel on paper - 7 x 13 in - Jan 1984

See Your Self

 The Hand Sees - December 1983 - pencil crayon on paper - 22 x 28 inches

I was about to turn 20 years old when I drew this self portrait. It was a Christmas gift for my girlfriend at the time. Then some years later, last year as a matter of fact, that I received a phone call from a second hand store I frequently shop at called Antiques and Funk. They said that they had purchased a picture of mine from someone and continued to describe it to me. I was in a bit of a shock actually but then found it really interesting. What was the story? I wondered. Had my old girlfriend finally decided that she did not need to be reminded of me or had she in fact gotten rid of it years ago and it has seen other owners?

I went to the shop to view the picture. It was in immaculate condition. I was thankful of that. This same girlfriend has a couple of other early paintings of mine that I hope are ok and kept safe. If they were not still loved, given the opportunity I would buy them from whoever had them. These other two paintings can be viewed in an earlier post here. They are called Hope For One and From Jungle To Jungle.

 Through Time Altered Minds - December 1983 - acrylic on canvas - 34 x 40 inches

Here is another self portrait that goes beyond the usual facial recognition and speaks also of body language and mental states of altered reality.

One day while sitting and stoned, I became self aware of a certain body position that I felt I was often in. I had not seen it reflected before nor did I ever consciously think of this position but there it was and it was my body remembering that I do this more so than my mind remembering this. It was a contemplative position because I was high and staring off into space.

The background for this painting comes about from my interest in wood grain and also of wood molding trim in houses and the different styles associated with different eras of houses. Compare this wood molding with the wood molding in the picture The Rose Still Grows that I have in an earlier post. Anyways, I did most of this painting at a friends house where I copied the molding and squared off the general composition from what was there. The two poles running vertically were water heater pipes running through the floor. The figure (me) was not part of this painting until later. Even though the idea was there to add me I contemplated it for a long time (yes, more sitting, staring...) because it was a cool painting before I arrived, with it being a bit more abstract and perhaps a bit more marketable (?) I like how all the surface areas have an angular or curvilinear movement of line or grain through it. I've never had hair like that, so I'm not sure what that is all about, even though there are other renditions of me in other works with the same hair.

Through the years many people have thought that I did my paintings with an airbrush, but that is not the case. I use ordinary animal hair brushes for all my painting.

To Stop A Passing Eye - October 1983 - oil pastel on paper - 20 x 20 inches

Worlds Apart

 Different Worlds - Dec 1982 - pencil crayon on paper - 12 x 20 inches

For some reason, ashtrays end up in my work quite a bit....and cigarettes too, even though I don't smoke. They are usually glass ashtrays. I guess I like drawing (or painting) all the reflections. This pencil crayon drawing above holds my first rendition of an ashtray along with an early inkling towards  an interest in candy wrappers. This drawing represents one of those drifting off moments...deep in thought. I am often contemplating the space between being here and not being here and the space between my own concrete eyes and what I am looking at (or what is in front of me) materially-concrete-wise. Confused yet? The space between the body and the being.
    

Judgement - Dec 1982 - acrylic on canvas - 34 x 40 inches

I was going through a lot of questions while painting this one. A lot of religious and spiritual struggle happening in my life at the time. The hand of God and the hand of Lucifer in a tug-o-war for my being.  God has a better grip on things. This painting was the beginning of a series of works of which I only got to a couple of so far.

Deathly Beginning

In my previous post I had assumed that I started my 30 years ago blog with my first 'original' artwork, (the drawing shown below), but in fact the blog was started with my first painting in 1980. So since I made reference to this drawing, here it is now.

Even though I had been drawing occasionally for years previous to this drawing, I call this my first original work only because now I was consciously creating work as an 'artist'. I was also a lot more serious about my creations as well by way of doing preliminary drawings, having my friend sam pose for me as well as starting the drawing for a second time after a botched inking attempt. The interests I had at the time were Marvel comic books and the art of Jim Steranko and Rick Buckler's Deathlok character, along with perhaps some Dali and my own inner cosmic visions. It is most certainly interesting that the beginning of my career starts with Death

 

Death - August 1979 - pencil on paper - 20 x 26 in.

Also, If you want to see the drawing that solidified my soul (is that actually possible?.....I hope it's not the same as having a heart of stone) to being an artist - not the type of artist mind you, just the ideal - you can visit this blog post I made back then.

Surreal Alien

Alien - January 1982 - 20 x 30 in - acrylic on canvas panel

Man Without Wings

Man Without Wings - Dec 1981 - 20 x 22 inches - pencil crayon, ink on paper

     I think I would have to say at this point, that he actually does have wings! I am speculating now, that at the time of this picture, the artist didn't quite realize this fact. The hand is obviously the hand of God, a God of the universe, whom happens to be holding, perhaps lifting up and certainly not clutching or grasping, so why the tears?

      If I am to wager a guess now as to the meaning of the picture as it relates to the creator of this work, I would have to say that it is of an angel of God stuck in, not wanting to be in, a material body, and hence the sorrow and tears. I personally did feel at odds in this world, or perhaps just in this time. As if I did not belong, and could not understand it's workings and questioned what everything was and what it meant. 30 years later I am still trying to figure it out, as I suppose most of us are, but I do feel that I am getting closer.

     

     At the time of this work I was about to turn 18 years old. I had graduated high school that previous June and was now employed as a graphic production artist at a cresting manufacturer.

 

Out of Space, Out of Time, Out of Mind

 

It was September of 1981 and It felt really strange. The It being me really, but it was something else larger than me. The strange was a feeling that I get, even to this day,  although it has diminished somewhat. So after 13 years of having to start school every September, this year I was at home. I had graduated in June, I had quit my job at KFC also in June so that I could have the summer off, but now here I was left with this strange feeling that I needed to do SOMETHING.

Creating art was something I could do! I had some ideas for some paintings but I also had these Prismacolor pencil crayons that I could be using. I also had a whack of black paper that I originally bought back in grade 10 for an optical illusion assignment. (We did not have art offered in grade 11 or 12......go figure) Since at the time I thought space is black, if I used this black paper, it would save me a lot of work.

Out of Space, Out of Time, Out of Mind - 20 x 26 in. - pencil crayon & white ink

Beyond Human Knowledge - 20 x 26 in. - pencil crayon & white ink

Hands of Creation - 20 x 26 in. - pencil crayon & white ink

This picture is one of my most known works probably because it is the image that is most out there in the world in the form of posters. I got the posters made about a year after the drawing with the encouragement of my colleague at work (yes I did start a job in that fall after graduating,)  and after I cashed in the insurance policy for money to get the posters printed.  

The Hitchhiker - 20 x 26 in. - pencil crayon, acrylic & white ink

I did not know about the book The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy at the time I did this drawing.

The Colorful Beginning

This installment is a compilation from the timelier installments that appeared in my News blog.

From Jungle To Jungle  August 1981, acrylic on illustration board, 20 x 30 inches, (top part is cut off)

Another 30 Year post for your retro pleasure. This is my 5th painting. ( you can see the first four in my May 2011 post ) As my first four paintings were done while finishing high school, this painting was done in a summer limbo period before an unknown future of not going back to school and not having a job. One can see some obvious influences such as a Frazetta, Whelan or Boris setting and the use of a Kull or Krull figure from a comic magazine Bizarre Adventures #26. I thought at the time I had quite an original idea with the juxtaposition of the two different worlds, a theme that would be prevalent in many future work. Wait a sec, It already has been prevelant in my previous three paintings. Funny. I remember feeling really at home painting the buildings without any reference, but I was stumped by how to paint the vegetation. To this day I still really like this one, though I cringe a little bit for the swipes of reference. Hey, I was only 17. I am amazed that I kept track of how long it took me to paint the different parts of the painting and how long I spent on preliminary drawings etc. In total, 63 hours.

Wide Open Spaces  May 1981, 24" x 26", acrylic on canvas

This month 30 years ago I was just finishing up High School at West Kildonan Collegiate when I painted the above work. Nobody at school ever really saw my work nor did I ever really show it. In my last half of grade 12 I only had half a day of school. I suppose I spent some of that free time doing art at home or at the Forum Art Institute. No sooner than I finished the painting a dentist by the name of Dr. Sidney Fleisher bought it for 150 bucks. He had lent me a set of teeth for reference after not being able to find an illustrative brochure with a perfect set for me to draw upon. So he said when I had the painting done and upon returning the teeth he wanted to see it. He had a hundred paintings up in his practice making it an alright place to get dental work done.

Hope For One  April 1981, 20" x 30", acrylic on illustration board

This is my third painting. I was really quite a loner in school and pretty quiet to. Though my friend Sam was always around and tried to crack my multiple shells I pretty much kept to myself and my thoughts. It was always the end for me in many ways and I suppose this painting illustrates this inner feeling of isolation and of being trapped and held onto, of being at the end of my rope or at the end of the world. I suppose that if I was going to be stuck here, there was still hope for my spirit. "Your spirit shall set you free." One of the first artists that I loved and felt a connection to was Roger Dean of Yes album cover art fame. I had his first book called Views and I loved it, I loved it, I loved it. There is some of him in the rocks and land.

Metal Stones  December 1980, 24" x 36" acrylic on canvas

This is my second painting finished just before my 17th birthday. I still really like it! I had been interested in science fiction, fantasy, surrealism and architecture so I guess it kind of got all rolled into this one. I saw a picture of the ruined buildings in a National Geographic magazine and it really sparked the idea. From old to new and having the juxtaposition of the architectures.

Communicative Travel  November 1980, 20" x 20", acrylic on paper canvas

This is my first painting I did while my brother and I enrolled in painting classes at the Forum Art Institute under the tutelage of Nickola Bejelejac in the old CPR Station building. What a place it was! Everyone was was twice our age or older. Some were really old by our perspective had already been painting there for years. But boy could some of these folks paint. And there were all sorts of painting styles going on too from smooth surrealism by Dan Gregg (one of my favorites), rich impasto scenes or the organic flows from a syringe needle by Vicki McBain. This wasn't really a place to learn how to paint as much as it was a place to hang out and paint. I think I learnt how to paint by watching everyone. Yes the instructor had lessons if you wanted or cared, or you just worked at your own pace and Nick was there to question and guide you to a finished work. You could not sign a piece until he said so. That's funny.

This first painting was made from a first assignment which my brother and I both thought was pretty cool. It consisted of drawing a series of four squares then adding various lines in each one to divide/create multiple spaces in each of these squares. We then chose our favorite and put it aside. Then we added more lines to the remaining three squares and once again choosing our favorite and putting it aside. We continued to add more lines until we were left with four drawings we liked. Then we colored them going through this same method of 'pleasing elimination'. So by the end you had four colored drawings that you liked. But now, you had to choose one that you really liked and do a painting of it. 

But how do you paint? Nobody showed us. You had to figure it out for yourself. So I thought that if this first painting was going to be like a  jumping in the deep end learning experience, then if I was going to learn something I would give myself a challenge and try to think about the various ways that I could possibly do shading with acrylic paint. When I was younger and I was learning how to draw with a pencil, it was really important for me to know how to shade and to give objects a 3 dimensional quality, so I wanted to learn to do this with paint. In this one painting I tried three different blending styles. Wet on wet, thinning with water and dry brushing. I liked dry brushing the most and is the method I would mostly use in years to come.