The Seeds of Life

 

           This painting is about the concept of Axum and is one of the four paintings I have done on this concept. I have taken religious and symbolic elements from all of these paintings and continued to use them to progress and grow in this concept. Thus, the composition of each painting tends to develop even more. However, the fact remains that it is highly important to create an identity to each painting that not only stirs our emotions but opens the mind to a new perspective of art.

Sacred Lotus

                         

                                

 

             The Sacred Lotus represents the birth of a child. I was inspired to paint a painting about this concept which is similar to the one of the Lotus flower which is born in the water just as a baby in the mother's womb. Ideally, the flower reminds me a lot of Baptism because it is born from the water and grows out.

             The Lotus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelumbo_nucifera) has had a significant impact on many ancient cultures such as Egypt and is currently the country flower of India and Vietnam. It is referred as being holy and sacred in the Hindu religion and is mentioned in many Hindi stories. In fact, there has even been an architectural temple that was built in inspiration of the Lotus.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Temple)         

            Nonetheless, this painting has two circles and many pelicans. One circle represents the season that that is ending and the other represents the spring season that is to be born. Thus, it resembles the Lotus. The pelicans represent the sense of natural bonding in the kingdom of creation. As an artist, the ideas that are created each second are ones that I have to capture and integrate it into my art with skills that have been aquired with past experiences as this with an interval of rest to do it again.

 

(My new website is www.eyobart.com)

Spring

Spring, originally uploaded by eyobart.

This is the second time I had painted this piece. It allows me to come out of abstract and do a more impressionistic painting. Instead of thinking so much, this painting allowed me to relax and just paint from life. Usually when I do an abstract piece, I tend to get lost in my own world and disappear from reality. This type of painting allows the painter to go back to the starting point but lets them add realistic elements. The painting must have to be a balance between subconscious mind and consciousness but also can be used individually in a mental sense and reaction.
Abstract or impressionist artists aren’t artists that only do abstract and impressionism. The fact is: Abstract is more expressive than realistic art. Though this might be true, it shouldn’t mean that there should be a limit on the knowledge you should have on art.
Sisi and her cat are my neighbors. Sometimes Sisi comes to the studio alone and sometimes her cat comes alone. Nevertheless, every time I see them, they enlighten me with three different kinds of ideas. A message revolves to me by an inner voice which also accounts for the beauty of this work for only that is beautiful.

Axumite

 

Axumite, originally uploaded by eyobart.

This is a painting I am working on about Axum, a historically indispensable town in Ethiopian history, religion and in fact  of African Civilization as well.  Axum is the place where the Queen of Sheeba reigned during the height of her empire, this where we have the Ark of the covenant and this is where we have the Axum Obelisks ( the ones I tried to put in my paintings as well). Axumite civilization still has a visible effect on Ethiopian history, religion, architecture and arguably political landscape. Currently, Axum is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Ethiopia.Traveling to Axum is one of the most inspiring things to me, both as my Ethiopian/African heritage and also as an artist.  At this time, I am taking all the experiences I got  from my last trip and integrating it into my art.

Koch Hazard: At My Show

Koch Hazard: At My Show, originally uploaded by eyobart.

Carl Grupp, originally uploaded by eyobart.

Carl Grupp at my show. He is a great artist and one of my favorite drawing teachers. I consider him a good friend.

Click here and here for some of his work.

Show's Night

Harmony and Balance Band, originally uploaded by eyobart.

This is the band at my show.

Gift of Tongues

Harmony and Balance is an upcoming show that was prepared by, a good friend, Edward Thomson and I. I have a lot of appreciation for Edward and collect his art pieces. We have been arranging this for the last three months and are anticipating great results.

Background

As an artist, my inspirations come from many sources that include music, nature, books, and religion. They are inspirations that have a positive outlook and a potential to form a change in the art culture and bring an awareness of the mystery of sense. My medium is often a mixed media of oil paint, drawing, and watercolor. I enjoy playing with the composition and the colors of my pieces. I believe the composition is the basis of the spiritual essence and idea within them.

Harmony

To me, the goal of this show is to create a sense of awareness with beauty among the public. As an artist, my goal is to create imaginative elements that viewers have never seen or thought to see before. My paintings convey a sense of joy, healing, music and the power of creativity. All of these concepts have the potential to bring a positive outlook or perspective to the viewers by using creative tools to break some of the laws or art.
My pieces have been inspired by mostly two famous painters: Caravaggio and Henry Tanner. In most of their work they use radical naturalist and realist styles which combine a close physical observation with dynamic, even theatrical, approach to chiaroscuro, which is the art term for the use of light and shadow. Thus, it is much easier to focus on accurate depictions of subjects. Out of the many artists I have seen, these two are the ones that have clearly displayed a strong ability for composition and drawing. For many years, I have grown up painting with inspirations as these that seem to always serve as the foundation of the many styles of art I have grown in.
Since the last eleven years, I have constantly researched many different periods of art inside and outside this country by reading, traveling, sketching and painting. By teaching myself these concepts I have developed an artistic form of language and signature within my pieces that creates a sense of accountability for me as a painter. As an artist, my goal will always remain to bring a different, though knowledgeable, perspective on the roots of traditional and cultural art that is able to capture the essence of nature.

Concept

At this time, art has come into in accordance with the laws of the inner force. The spiritual subject lives, it has its own powers and actively modifies the spiritual atmosphere. But painting is not a pointless activity but a power that helps to refine the soul. The soul is like a daily bread, but how ever the artist should have a message to convey. A message revolves to him by his inner voice which also accounts for the beauty of his work for only that is beautiful.
The greatest external diversity (external form) becomes the greatest internal identity. Thus, realism is equal to abstraction, and abstraction to realism. True art can be achieved by both methods.
The fact that a painting can be represented as a secret mathematical form or number but there are numbers of all kind and why should we narrow the range of the artistic expression?

Harmony and Balance
Koch Hazard Gallery
2nd floor window

Nov. 23, 7:30 PM along with the Parade of Lights
Exhibition: Monday-Friday 8-5pm through Jan.5th 2008