Untitled 5

Another piece from the Reflections series:

4ft. x 4ft. - Untitled 5 - oil on stretched canvas
click the image for a higher-res photo

This piece was to embody more of an aggressive, yet deep and passionate type feeling (at least to me). The colors seem to make a black, but it actually is dark green posed next to rich, deep reds to make the contrast really pop. In my opinion, this was one of the most successful pieces in the series, strong enough to stand alone from the group of paintings; however, I still believe the series works together to strengthen each other (one the very good reasons for creating a series of paintings in the first place).

-Joshua Grabowski

Reflections Series - Untitled 4

Untitled no. 4 - 4' x 4' - oil on stretched canvas

click to load higher resolution image

My series on color studies, Reflections, consisted of 9 large canvases (this piece above being one of the smallest sizes). The series was to created large scale paintings which the viewer can take in the feeling of the color. Each piece was then titled simply "Untitled [1-9]" since I didn't want the viewer searching endlessly for lets say an apple if the title was something like, "Apple Orchard." Somehow we can trick our brain into thinking that we see something, just because we are expected to. This happens all the time with Magic Eye 3D art. "What do you see?" "A rabbit!" "Oh... uh, yeah! Me too!" I wanted each of the nine canvases to speak for themselves. See what you want to see in them. Reflect on why you think that you see the things you see. Do you see dark, morbid images of monsters, or do you see happy, blossoming flowers? Why? What experiences in life brought on the thought process that led to deciphering the images like that? 

I know I keep mentioning that my online art site will be up and running soon, and there you will be able to view the entire Reflections series cohesively, read about the ideas behind it, and even see more progress shots of how it all came together.

-Joshua Grabowski

Untitled 1, 2, 3...

...is part of my previous large body of work created over the previous winter months that I've only shared a small portion of so far. These three paintings form a triptych, which by definition is a work of art that is divided into three sections. Each stands alone at 7ft tall by 3ft wide for a total width of around 9ft depending on the spacing between the pieces. The colors used here are also in every other painting within my "Reflections" series. They were my favorite pieces from the whole collection... but as the proud artist of this great work, I can not discredit the others, which are all strong and great in their own individual ways. Currently these pieces reside in WI but I have eventual big plans for these, as well as the rest of the series,  with a confidently higher price tag than what I am used to. Below I've included some of the pictures of the construction and painting process of these beauties. Custom HTML by yours truly should allow you to click on any of the images to view them in your full browser window. Enjoy, everyone! Questions as well as comments are (as always) encouraged and welcomed! :)

-Joshua Grabowski

More of the Reflections Project

I'd like to share a little collage of pictures from my Reflections series. This collage of images was put together for a gallery viewing opportunity but I went with another image instead (I didn't think this image showed them well enough). After browsing many sites for hosting my artwork, I think I may have found a couple that offer services with advertisements appearing on the page for their "free version" where at any point you can choose to upgrade for a reasonable monthly fee... I figure, what do I have to lose? It's free! I'm going to try to get these images up soon since it has been about a month and a half now and I've done plenty of research at this point!

I've been working on some still life pieces recently, just for fun. I'll put the results and the works-in-progress up over the next few days.

Hope everyone is taking advantage of the wonderful weather, and if not... get out there!

-Joshua Grabowski

the pictures are in!

Thanks to the help of some friends of mine, I recently was introduced to a young photographer willing to help me get some quality photos of my work ready for the new site! :) It has been a blast putting the work together for this collection and I can't wait to share it with everyone!

a very awesome detail shot from the photo shoot 
last night of one of the new pieces

Info on the new site & body of work will be coming soon. Pooling the materials together now, including photos, website, and business cards (if you'd like one of my snazzy cards let me know), so I can present this new material properly. Looking forward to what the universe will send for me ('universe' can also be read 'often-times-harsh-and-cold-world').

Live life passionately, create your path.

-Josh(ua) Grabowski