NYC Shag art show

Mahalo everyone, I just heard that there will be a New York City show of SHAG's new series of paintings "People In The City". Its at the Earl McGrath Gallery, 20 West 57th St, NYC. Phone (212)956-3366. The show runs Nov 7 to Dec. 15. I cannot wait to attend! I saw a full page ad for the show in the Nov issue of Juxtapoz art magazine.

I made the four hour commute to NYC yesterday for the opening and artists reception...the painting are great, it was so cool to actually see Shag originals and to admire the brushstrokes and textures up close...it was also pretty cool to meet Shag and thank him for his art that always puts a smile on my face...you know it was kind of weird but you could see that Shag is really a shy and quiet guy and having people coming up to kiss his ass obviously made him nervous, it seems like he's a real down to earth guy. What kinda sucked was that people brought stuff for him to sign (they scheduled a signing for Saturday) mostly local New Yorkers and eventually the owner of the gallery told Mr. Agle that he didn't want the show to become a signing...I would have been pretty pissed if I had drove 8 hours (round trip) for this show and wanted a damn autograph. But, I didn't even bother bringing anything for him to sign - I just wanted to see his original paintings in person and shake the man’s hand. I met 2 girls there from Montreal and I think that would have really been sad if they wanted to get an autograph and weren't allowed...

:drink:

We went to the show in Brea last month and were amazed by the originals too. I loved the textures and the colors were so brilliant! Who needs mushrooms when Shag's in town. He really is so talented and has a hard time accepting the praise. You're right about him being shy. At least he can express himself in his art and hasn't gotten a big head about the craze that swarms him. He is a really nice guy.

[ Edited by: kukuinut on 2002-11-08 23:45 ]

What do you maen by textures exactly? From Shag's prints I thought the paintings were all super smooth, and I always admired that, especially when I am sitting painting and having a hell of a time getting a particular plane of colour to look smooth and even.

On 2002-11-09 05:57, tikifish wrote:
What do you maen by textures exactly? From Shag's prints I thought the paintings were all super smooth, and I always admired that, especially when I am sitting painting and having a hell of a time getting a particular plane of colour to look smooth and even.

The backgrounds on all of Shag's originals have a textured look to them - I'm not a painter so I will try to explain as best I can...Most of the paintings have a textured horizontal or vertical "wash" that gives the background a grooved effect. Some have a smoother texture with a bubbly effect. I never realized or even thought about it until I read your question but, when his paintings are reproduced on prints, the textures disappear. I then went to my Shag books (Supersonic Swingers and Bottomless Cocktail) and noticed that in the books the paintings all have the appearance of texture in the background. Don't get me wrong, the midground and foreground in the paintings are all super smooth and the lines are precision perfect. It had me wondering how he achieves the smooth effects on the objects and people in the foreground if he paints like most people by starting with the background texture first. Seeing his original work in person really gives you an appreciation of his technique and precision…if you’re in New York, check it out!

Thankyou! I understand now. The washed n' grooved effect I have no problem with it is a fairly simple effect to do. I already do it as background in a lot of my stuff.

As for the bubble effect, how about mixing some champagne with the paint?

Of course, I need to know all this so I can get the evil wheels of my SHAG-alike painting factory in motion.

JOKING!!! JOKING!!!!