Tag: contemporary art

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Zodiac Collection is Live!

Why NFTs?

Although much of my work is produced in physical mediums to create paintings and drawings, I also frequently use digital media to construct images.

The consideration of how to display and disseminate such works; whether to retain them in the digital realm or produce reproductions in the form of some type of print has been at the forefront of my mind. Considering that much of the visual art we consume nowadays is via the means of digital reproduction as opposed to interacting with the physical object it seemed to make sense that these digital works be considered as “the work” and not a stepping stone to a plastic outcome.

For this reason I decided to market the digitally produced work as NFT art pieces. The first major collection offered for sale being the Zodiac collection, illustrations depicting the 12 Western star signs, which are available to purchase through opensea.io at this address: https://opensea.io/collection/zodiacpfps

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Zodiac NFT: Air Signs

Tomorrow my collection of Zodiac NFTs will be released on www.opensea.io/gustav-sorbet/zodiacpfps

The collection comprises two variations of each star sign, sold in editions of 12, prices starting 0.012 $ETH

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New release coming soon

Here are a couple of sneak peaks of details from my next NFT collection: Zodiac PFPs

These illustrations are designed to be used as high resolution profile pictures to present the owners star sign, or else to be collected like trading cards. a

These images continue my interest in combining different forms of symbolic imagery, and pushes forward my interest in colour palettes and graphic design sensibilities.

There will be several of each sign available for collectors, and will be dropping this Friday on Opensea.io/Gustav-sorbet

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Memento Mori NFT collection

I have minted an NFT collection based on my memento mori paintings from the 2010’s such “You can’t take it with you”.

Available on Opensea here


<nft-card contractAddress=”0x2953399124f0cbb46d2cbacd8a89cf0599974963″ tokenId=”20118735541152079571517590144292237583551574875253521150459543125895086604289″> </nft-card> https://unpkg.com/embeddable-nfts/dist/nft-card.min.js

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NFT’s

I’m making some work available as NFTs, initially the series of digital illustrations derived from Alciato’s Emblematum Liber, but I have plans to create several new collections.

NFTs are available on opensea.io here

Nec Verbo, Nec Facto
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Portfolio Update

I’ve set up a new portfolio page: https://mattwells.art.blog/portfolio/

The first project I’m uploading is a set of illustrations inspired by the songs on Manic Street Preachers landmark fourth album, “Everything Must Go”.

As a teenager the Welsh band Manic Street Preachers were highly influential on my personal development. As with many teens I was enamoured by their complete package; appearance, musical sound, lyrics, album artwork and design… This was a time when one would physically hold the CD booklet whilst listening to the songs, absorbing the photographs, quotes and additional text, when music was not just filling silence in the background but an entire physical experience.

The works in my “Everything Must Go” series have been initiated in the year of the album’s 25th anniversary, and comprises of a suite of illustrations inspired by the lyrics of each song.

Below are selection of sketchbook images which informed the watercolour illustrations in the project.

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In Focus: “10 Butts After Hirst”

Oil and acrylic on canvas, 15 x 21cm

As can be seen on this site, much of my work has often drawn influence from other artist’s, particularly- for reasons of technique and content- painters, however in the late 2000’s/early 2010’s I developed in interest in Damien Hirst.

Now, I admit to having been a sceptic and somewhat of a Luddite regarding art appreciation, which in many ways reactionary, however I realised that in fact my interactions with Hirst’s work are on exactly the same level as my interaction with many great paintings/ sculptures in that I am viewing the work through a reproduction, either on a page or a screen, it is not the original work but a digital/ ink reproduction of it with which I am familiar.

This acknowledgment compelled me to begin making paintings of the reproductions of contemporary conceptual or installation work by Hirst and Emin, which did not disavow but embraced the source by including lens flare, page numbers/ text, creases etc. But presented very much as a painting, not an attempt to produce a photographic representation by hand.

You can purchase this painting from my eBay store here

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In Focus: “The Conversation”

The Conversation, 84 x 60 cm, £400

This diptych was developed from a double sided drawing made in a science textbook. The absorbency of the textbook paper results in ink bleeding through to be visible on the reverse side, when alcohol based markers are used. These marks would trigger a (frequently related) new image, the bleed from which could affect the original drawing and provoke further mark making.

Sketchbook drawings which inspired “The Conversation”

The two drawings I have here referred to in developing a painting struck me in there capacity to invite a narrative in the viewer, and a dialogue between to the two panels, my initial conception when approaching the painting being a title of “the conversation”, two people in there separate panels, possibly desiring contact but ultimately being alone (despite being together). The nature of drawing on both sides results in the setting being reversed, if both are viewed together we would appreciate this setting as being the same, but viewed from two sides. This simple fact suggested that perhaps both figures are indeed at the same place at the same time but separated by a barrier (wall/fence etc) as suggested by the relatively high horizon line). Two people alone, perhaps thinking they are individuals, noone else is like them, yet just over the wall is their equal. Possibly…

The final framed painting was produced using oil, acrylic, ink paints and varnish onto book pages which had been collaged on to two separate canvases, which are signed on the reverse side.

This painting is available for sale on my eBay store, with bids starting at £350.

Bid here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393650606449

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In Focus: Bacchus after Rubens

A few years ago I began a series of studies after old master paintings of the mythological figure Bacchus. This character has recurred in my work throughout my career, most recently appearing in a number of works produced during my MA fine art studies at Grays School of Art.

Bacchus after Rubens, oil and collage on canvas , 21 x 15cm

The painting above was made around 2017 and produced using oil paint and collage on canvas. The aim being to capture the structure of Ruben’s original composition in broad strokes, concentrating on colour and over all form rather than details.

It is currently available on eBay, where bidding starts at half the price listed on my website. You can visit the listing at the link below:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393639505138

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new additions

eBay uploads

I’m experimenting with eBay as a sales platform and have uploaded these three additions to the site to eBay, where the starting price is 50% off, at £15. As these are my first listings, I am also offering free postage (in the UK).

Press the link below to visit the eBay listings!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393639461781

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393639471981

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393639486012

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