Continuing this new habit with oil paintings. Starting to like working in larger format and finding my way a bit better with brushstrokes and color in general. Still doing new works and the year is barely moving towards it's halfway point, so most likely I'll add more works to this project. Trying to explore some themes that are interesting to me, like the human condition and absurdity on one hand and the vastness and the sublime character of nature on the other, as well as some random musings and thoughts here and there that veer off on their own. Pushing a bit more on color, light and brushwork, trying to use these to convey mood in new and better ways

Antarctica, oil on ACM panel, 1850 x 1220 mm

This piece is an exercise in existentialism and escapism. Something about modern life and it's enormity weighing down on and crushing young people in pursuit of meaning and happiness. Thorn between an impossible mountain to climb and leaving everything for a new start, a protagonist finds himself in the middle of nowhere.

cargo plane Lullaby, oil on ACM panel, 2000 x 1220 mm

A kind of a modern take on the Kiss by Klimt. Originally inspired by some photos of cargo/ supplies parachutes being deployed somewhere in Antarctica over a dusk purple sky. On ething I wanted to do was to capture the ambiance of that purple sky, bouncing around and radiating over every object in sight. Wanted to do this low angle and show the protagonists as greater than anything, wrapped in the the gold and green of their young lives.

adAstra, oil on ACM panel, 520 x 300 mm

What I planned to be a vertical composition with the character gazing up in the heavens/ a sky full of stars, turned out to work much better as a horizontal piece. Wanted to make this one a play of opposing hues, hence the green and pink/yellow ocher skin. More then everything I also wanted this to be a portrait of the ear, something practiced in sketches but never as a finished piece really, allowed me to play with a face that's turning away from us and barely available but the more elusive.

floral Decolte in Purple and Teal, oil on ACM panel, 400 x 300 mm

I first got this idea and sketched it in crayons. A few themes I found interesting to portray, a high class woman with supposedly a  good sense of fashion or design, shown by a beautiful ornamental design in her clothing, an eccentric nature maybe with the green colored short hair and last the saggy skin in her neck and upper chest, showing her age catching up with her intellect and refined character. Of course, these are just interesting little nuggets of narrative, the main dish here are the colors and patterns. I really wanted to see how I can play together these purples, teals, pinks and greens, and fill up the middle with these yellow ocher and pale pinkish skin tonnes

joseph Boyce hand gesture, oil on ACM panel, 520 x 250 mm

A study based on an old black and white photograph of Joseph Boyce talking and gesturing. I found the pose and atmosphere of the photo interesting and charming, almost had a smell to it. I also liked the idea of taking a black and white photo and colorizing it from the imagination ... so of course I made it violet and purple

macaque Flow, oil on ACM panel, 640 x 640 mm

A kind of a mirror turned on myself, a self portrait if you will while monkeying around with sketches or crayon explorations. A portrait of a lot of trial and error, crumbled papers of discarded sketches, ideas piling on top of ideas. In another way this could have a deeper connotation, if we look at the macaque as a close relative and wonder about how they think and whether they can or do so deeply like we humans do when it comes to musings about meaning or creativity. 

Peruvian man, oil on ACM panel, 400 x 300 mm

This one was inspired by a still from Werner Herzog's film "Aguirre, the Wrath of God". It's a portrait of a young Peruvian man, who's a kind of a guide and flute playing entertainment to the protagonist expedition in the film. Seemed like a very honest and straight on portrayal of a human being in a hostile environment. Looked to me that the jungle could swallow him at any time, and you can see the fear written all over this man's face.