Venerate “to hold in high regard”
What we value shapes how we have come to look at ourselves.
Artist statement: Youth, health, strength and beauty; these are things most Americans value highly. As I approach the 60-year mark, I recognize that these qualities are declining, at least as they manifest in my physical, outward appearance. Anti-aging solutions abound for firmer skin, erasing wrinkles and banishing age spots. I’d be a hypocrite to say I haven’t purchased my fair share of these products.
So, I find it interesting, while reflecting on my artistic process to realize that what I’m trying to accomplish on the canvas is completely opposed to this notion of clear, unblemished, “youthfulness”.
I start my paintings by marking up the canvas with pencils, crayons, and splatters of paint. I’m waging war with the plain starkness of that innocuous, untouched canvas, in a sense, aging it. In this series, I’m celebrating the underpainting, the first steps of the process.
My intention is that these first marks add character and interest to all that follows.
Suitable for the Occasion
48” x 48” | crayon and acrylic on raw canvas
$4,750
Music Surrounds Us
105” x 80” | acrylic, crayon and medium on raw canvas
$17,500
Viable Endeavors
70” x 54” | crayon, graphite and acrylic on raw canvas
SOLD
Pivot Point
75” x 60” | acrylic, crayon and medium on raw canvas
SOLD
Weighty Matters
60” x 75” | acrylic, crayon and medium on raw canvas
SOLD
“I’m waging war with the plain starkness of the innocuous, untouched canvas, in a sense, aging it.”
Sitting Pretty
60” x 60” | acrylic, crayon and graphite on raw canvas
$7,400
Sitting Pretty 2
60” x 60” | acrylic, crayon and graphite on raw canvas
$7,400
New Principles
48” x 48” | acrylic, crayon and medium on raw canvas
SOLD
Past and Present 1
60” x 44” | graphite, crayon and acrylic on raw canvas
SOLD
Past and Present 2
60” x 44” | graphite, crayon and acrylic on raw canvas
SOLD
WENDY WESTLAKE
