Tag Archives: trompe l’oeil

My Painting Featured on the Cover of Issue 006 Monochromica Magazine

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by Daric Gill

I’m excited to share that my work appears on the cover of Monochromica Magazine Issue 006, with a two-page feature exploring my process, inspirations, and select oil paintings from The Absolutes series. Monochromica is a bi-monthly curated art magazine highlighting monochrome and color-dominant art. Seeing this piece take center stage is an incredible moment, and I’m deeply grateful to the team at the magazine for the spotlight and such a prestigious presentation of my artwork. It’s an honor to see this body of work highlighted, and I’m grateful for the feature and support.

Cover Image:
"Absolute: Privilege"
Oil on reclaimed cherry in an 1800's Victorian molded frame
17" x 15 1/4"

p. 148
"Absolute: Memory", Oil on reclaimed birds-eye maple
10" x 11 3/8"

p. 149
"Absolute: Insulation", Oil paint on reclaimed cherry wood
15 5/8" x 12 3/4" 

Origins & Orchids: The First Absolute Painting

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The Story Behind The Original “Absolute” Painting & Updated Images

by Daric Gill

Absolute Orchid (Orchid's Empty). Oil on wood panel. 11" x 17 1/4". 2008
Absolute Orchid (Orchid’s Empty). Oil on wood panel. 11″ x 17 1/4″. 2008

We all love when a great idea travels along a bolt of lightning and blazes right into our skulls. But there’s also something really satisfying about a slow rolling brainstorm that overtime builds into something great. These kinds of ideas seem as if they need time to simmer down to a distilled form; extracting, refining, and aging to something far more potent. The latter of the two was the case for the origins of the Absolute paintings.

It so happens that the first in the Absolute series is also the last piece in a deconstructed triptych. The previous triptych actually starts as a portrait painting and ends in a still life. Originally titled Orchid’s Empty, this painting sat as an unknown transition piece for a few years.

In fact, I stopped making still lives altogether after undergraduate school. The brutal truth is that trompe l’oeil paintings (a painting style used to deceive the eye) is often a study about the ‘objectness’ of the still life rather than the pursuit of a complex concept. I realized I didn’t have any place for that limitation and I stuck to sculpture and portrait paintings until I had something more meaty to hold onto. Graduate school came and went as with my stint as a teacher, and I still felt a  little disenchanted.

 For a while, I almost gave up painting altogether…

 

[More Images Below]

 

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"Absolute: Radiance" (detail)

Hidden Secrets In The “Absolute: Radiance” Painting

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Darkness & Light, “Absolute: Radiance”

by Daric Gill

After a delightfully busy week of studio work and paneling an art festival, I’m continuing the process of re-documenting my collection.

"Absolute: Radiance" (detail)
“Absolute: Radiance” (detail), Oil on reclaimed quilted walnut. 11 3/8″ x 8 1/2″. 6.14.13

It’s not the biggest or the smallest piece in this series. It doesn’t hold the most humor or even seem as conspicuous as some other pieces in this series. But this piece holds a lot of information for portraying so little. It’s the sometimes less is more analogy. There’s also a lot of hidden secrets in this piece. Painted on quilted black walnut, even its fairly small dimensions are a sneaky deception. Absolute: Radiance weighs as much as a piece 3 times its size due to its thick cross section. The security code usually stamped on the back is hidden on the side wall of the wood. Even the materials it is made of has a literal and figurative duality.

This painting depicts a bent nail resting on a vein of halo’d metallic gold paint. This effervescent vein follows the grain pattern of the wood and changes sheen based on where the viewer stands. As you have read, there’s some interesting aspects of this piece’s process that makes for some cool behind the scenes information. 

The real nail used as subject matter is still IN the piece… after it was liquified and used to dye the frame.

[Image Gallery & More Below]

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"Absolute's Complement" (detail)

“Absolute’s Complement” Painting Gets A New Image

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Recently Returned Work Has A Photo Shoot

by Daric Gill

One of the best parts about technology is that it’s always improving. This continual advancement also allows for artists to improve the quality of their images regularly. Recently I’ve gotten “Absolute’s Complement” back from its travels and I have taken the opportunity to re-shoot the painting. Read on for more.

Full Image Gallery Below

"Absolute's Complement"
“Absolute’s Complement” Oil on panel. 11 5/8″ x 17 3/8″. 6.16.12.

 

Continue reading “Absolute’s Complement” Painting Gets A New Image →