Art as Therapy, “Branding” or not?

acrylic paintings, art, contemporary art, contemporary painting, female artist, figurative art, portraits, portraits of women

One visitor to my studio remarked (or was it a complaint?) that I have “too many ideas” — I should stick to one idea and develop it. I got the same advice (or complaint) in art school. One of my art professors was a painter of directional signs. His work was shown in one of NYC’s best galleries. I recently looked him up online to see if, forty years later, he was still painting directional signs. Yes! There they were, painting after painting of arrows. Arrows pointing up, pointing crossways, pointing down, etc. So, he had a brand — to borrow from corporate marketing — easily identifiable, uniquely his. And me? Do I have a brand?

Child Looks at the Dance of Life (Munch) 16 x 24 inches
Give him flowers (studio view) each 10 x 12

Me? I start from the inside. I focus on whatever’s bothering me. Or what intrigues me. The past year, for example, I was faced with an upcoming court date and constant, nightmarish anxiety. How to alleviate my anxiety? I was tempted to throw paint against the canvas – expressionism!

Instead, I discovered a simple therapy: I focused on details, tiny intricate shapes, dots, triangles, stripes, using my trusty ink pens and fluid acrylics and acrylic markers and occasional watercolor pencils. Will I go on “developing” my “patterned” paintings? Probably not.

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New work

acrylic paintings, art, charcoal drawing, contemporary art, female artist, feminist art, figurative art, portraits of women

40 x 24 new version18 x 24 new 20160517_113533-145 x 2345 x 23 Robot36 x 24 20160601_074943-1new version

Josepha Gutelius | Paintings

acrylic paintings, contemporary art, female artist, figurative art, male portraits, portraits of women

Experiments … Take a look at the painting “Every Memory Is Older Than You ” — I scraped off the original image.

Gutelius, 20 x 16, Man in the Holocene

Man in the Holocene, acrylic on canvas, 20 x 16

Gutelius, 24 x 18, New Car Smell

New Car Smell, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 16

Gutelius, Another Exit Plan

Another Exit Plan, acrylic on canvas

Gutelius, 36 x 24 Building in Chelsea

A Building in Chelsea, acrylic drawing on engineering paper, mounted on canvas, 36 x 26

Gutelius, 24 x 18 Bracelets

Bracelets, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 18

Gutelius, 29 x 16 Learning to Swim

Learning to Swim, acrylic on canvas, 29 x 16

Gutelius, 16 x 23, Lingerie

Lingerie, acrylic on canvas, 16 x 23

Gutelius, 36 x 24, Every Memory is Older than You

Every Memory Is Older Than You, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 24

Painting process (old versions and new)

acrylic paintings, contemporary art, female artist, feminist art, figurative art, portraits of women

Perhaps because winter is coming, time to hunker down, I’ve been particularly keen on revisiting paintings, never quite content.

Some old versions, and new. Subtle changes, hmmm.

Red Coat, old version, acrylic on canvas

Red Coat, old version, acrylic on canvas

New version, "Red Coat,"  21 x 17, acrylic on canvas

New version, “Red Coat,”
21 x 17, acrylic on canvas

Windswept, old version

Windswept, old version

Windswept, new version, 28 x 17, acrylic on canvas

Windswept, new version, 28 x 17, acrylic on canvas

(More, Recently) Sold Paintings from my studio

abstract art, acrylic paintings, art, art works on paper, contemporary art, female artist, figurative art, portraits of women, realist art

"Bouquet," (series) 20 x 27, acrylic on canvas

“Bouquet,” (series) 20 x 27, acrylic on canvas

"A Night at the Movies" 14 x 20 acrylic on canvas

“A Night at the Movies” 14 x 20 acrylic on canvas

Theater Berlin, acrylic on canvas, 28 x 30

Theater Berlin, acrylic on canvas, 28 x 30

"Seascape" 24 x 24, acrylic on canvas

“Seascape” 24 x 24, acrylic on canvas

Blue, colored pencil on paper

Blue, colored pencil on paper

Memoriam, 18 x 24, acrylic on canvas

Memoriam, 18 x 24, acrylic on canvas

Empty Purse, 20" x 17"

Empty Purse, 20″ x 17″

Berlin Wall, 17 x 19, acrylic on canvas

Berlin Wall, 17 x 19, acrylic on canvas

Empty Purse, 14 x 15, acrylic on canvas

Empty Purse, 14 x 15, acrylic on canvas

Theater Berlin (more of the series)

acrylic paintings, art works on paper, contemporary, contemporary art, female artist, figurative art, gouache painting, male portraits, oil paintings, portraits of women, realist art

Theater Berlin, oil on canvas, 30 x 28

Theater Berlin, oil on canvas, 30 x 28

Theater Berlin, acrylic on canvas, 28 x 16

Theater Berlin, acrylic on canvas, 28 x 16

Theater Berlin, acrylic on canvas,  29 x 28

Theater Berlin, acrylic on canvas, 29 x 28

Theater Berlin, oil and gouache on canvas, 27 x 27

Theater Berlin, oil and gouache on canvas, 27 x 27

Theater Berlin, acrylic on canvas, 28 x 30

Theater Berlin, acrylic on canvas, 28 x 30

Theater Berlin, acrylic and gouache on canvas,  22 x 17

Theater Berlin, acrylic and gouache on canvas, 22 x 17

Acrylic and gouache painting from the series “Empty Purse”

acrylic paintings, contemporary art, contempory art, female artist, feminist art, figurative art, portraits of women

Empty Purse (series) 25 x 20 acrylic on canvas

Empty Purse (series) 25 x 20 acrylic on canvas