NAGEL

Welcome to the new site! Here’s the story behind it. For those that don’t know, I supplement this art thing with a web design company called Two Twenty Two Design Studio. I’ve been doing freelance web design on the side for years in order to keep myself out of an office job, and keep astronomically expensive vegan food in my tummy.  I recently started a new venture with a programmer friend called Bits and Bristles, which will provide websites specifically designed for artsy types like myself. frankly, the number of artist’s sites I run into, just do a horrible job at showcasing the art; the one thing they should do well. many are using super outdated tech, and are often neglected because they can’t be updated easily by the artists themselves. So we created Bits and Bristles, which will offer simple and very affordable template websites entirely designed to showcase an artists work, in the best way possible.

So anyway, this site here is our first site design,  which should be ready for anybody else that may be interested in a similar site very soon. we’re still working out the kinks, so please let me know if you run into anything buggy.

In the meantime, please poke around. I re-uploaded most of the images so they are larger and of higher quality than the old site — and I finally have a section up for my portraits and studies. thanks for visiting!

More on Bits and Bristles soon, but if you think you might be interested in an artist site like this one, send an email to info@bitsandbristles.com, and you’ll be notified as soon as we’re up and running.

Did this figure study the other day to warm up for a large painting of Chanon, from our black house shoot. I can’t remember the last time I painted a figure this small – I usually avoid painting faces much smaller than life sized (which is why my paintings that include a full body end up giant). it’s hard to get so much information down on the surface in so few strokes, without totally overworking things. anyway, it’s certainly something I need to work on…as much as I like painting huge. had a good time with this one though, and felt it was a good way to prepare for a much larger piece i’m currently in the middle of. some process shots of that new one coming soon.

figure study, "Chanon", 16" x 20", oil on panel. 2012

Another portrait study for your eyeballs. This nice lady lives in my neighborhood and has some real bright hair (I took no liberties there), as well as one of the longest necks i’ve ever seen — both of which made for a fun profile.

portrait study, "Raven", 16" x 20", oil on panel. 2012

Did this little study from life a few weeks back. It’s been ages since I’ve painted anything from life which is yet another thing I really should do more often. although, I’m going to need a bigger studio…with some better natural light…and I should probably get up earlier to take advantage of said natural light. but I digress — skulls are fun to paint, although I do prefer them covered in skin. I spent about 3 hrs on this one I think.

"Lynxx Skull Study", 12" x 12", oil on panel.

All of “the Calming” prints from the limited edition w/ 1xRun are signed and en route. they came out great, and a huge thank you again to those that ordered one. I’ll likely be doing another edition with 1xRun in the near future, so keep an eye out.

hold them all dainty-like

Another quick portrait from last week, this time of new model, Chanon. I used a neutral grey ground again, instead of my usual warm tint, and I’m still really liking it. I’m not sure it makes the finished product look any different (aside from the areas I left sloppy), but it makes the process a lot different; painting flesh tones that contrast with the background vs. warms on top of warms.  more soon!

portrait study, "Chanon" 16" x 20", oil on panel. 2012

prepping more panels for study

I’ve spent the last 2 weeks going through images from my shoot in LA and have started to plan some big pieces. I really taking my time with concepts and composition, as I think i’ve rushed that process in past on occasion; jumping into paintings before I’ve really worked out what i’m painting and if I want to be painting it. I’m still wrestling with my usual portrait vs. surrealism problem, but hopefully i’ll be able to resolve the two directions in a way that works.

I did a portrait study of Chanon from the LA shoot earlier this week, which i’ll post when I have a good shot of it. it’s rare that I think some of the pictures I take for reference could stand up on their own, you know, as photography and such…as I am no kind of photographer. but quite a few from that shoot look pretty rad, entirely due to Trevor’s house and Chanon’s pretty face.  here are a couple outtakes from the shoot: one an accidental shot of Chanon I find particularly moody. the other is what happens when a bunch of dudes goof-off with the talent, which I find…well, hilarious. laugh it up, I’m totally with you.

My piece, ‘Drift’ (from last years show at Thinkspace) will be part of the ‘Femme Fatale’ group show at Cella Gallery in North Hollywood. The lineup is great so if you’re in the area, I would definitely stop by. info below.

Femme Fatale
Opening Reception Saturday, February 25th from 7-11pm
Exhibit runs through March 17th 2012

“Femme Fatale” gathers some of the most powerful contemporary artists whose inherent aesthetic is heavily influenced by the beauty of the female figure. The exhibition explores how individual perceptions of feminine allure can be expressed through each artist’s specific genre. Expect to be seduced, ensnared and dangerously dazzled as though in the crosshairs of a femme fatale herself.
Artists include:
Aaron Nagel, Apricot Mantle, Anna Chung, Aunia Kahn, Casey Weldon, Cate Rangel, Charles Ketcham, Chris Peters, Christopher Umana, Cristina Paulos, Chrystal Chan, David Bray, Dave MacDowell, Delphia, Douglas Alvarez, Edith Lebeau, Gail Potocki, Jason Rudulph Pena, JAW Cooper, Jeff Ramirez, Jessica Ward, JoKa, Jose Carabes, Ken Garduno, Korin Faught, Kris Moore, L.Croskey, Lily Mae Martin, Linnea Strid, Morgan Slade, Nicole Bruckman, Nom Kinnear King, Paul Chatem, Sara Haase, Sarah Folkman, Stella Im Hultberg, Ted von Heiland and THH70.

Cella Gallery
11135 Weddington St., suite 112
North Hollywood, CA 91601
cellagallery.com

I took a quick trip down to LA last weekend. I go down every so often to visit buds, but timed this trip so I could catch Sean Cheethams show opening, as well as get in a few photoshoots. a very productive trip; little sleep and much coffee.

Sean Cheetham’s show at Katherine Cone Gallery was great, quite a bit of work from an artist that I haven’t seen much new stuff from the last few years. I particularly liked the smaller work, which is rare for me as I tend to prefer giant oil paintings. my favorites must have been less than 18″ or 20″ square, and were painted on these little panels with rough unfinished edges. I particularly like how Cheetham’s able to get the panel surface to show through so much on certain areas. It creates a really nice contrast between the looser and more finished areas of each piece.

Sean Cheetham

Sean Cheetham

I also had a chance to head over to Orange County and do a photoshoot in my friend Trevor’s house. The interior of Trevor’s house is all black; walls, furniture, everything. it’s fucking great, couldn’t have made up a better place to shoot. Also worked with a new model who was fantastic.  I’m still going through the pictures but they’re definitely looking like the jump off point for a new series, so I’ll likely head down and do even more shooting there within the next few months. I’ll post more from the shoot as well as some goofy pictures we all took together soon.

model, Chanon in the black house

I’m going to keep banging away at these small studies and practice pieces, and will hopefully be able to do more and more. I’m also slowly planning the next series of larger work; really mapping out concepts and composition this time around. I’m going to start shooting reference material this weekend, and I’ll do my best document that process  since it’s something I haven’t much covered in the blog before.

portrait study, "Lauren" 16" x 20", oil on panel. 2012