Raquel Stallworth: paintings, mixed media drawings, calligraphy and a bit of graphic design…..
Welcome to Raqflow!- still under construction-- but please feel free to view my painting gallery. All works shown are originals, prints to be available soon.
I consider myself a fine artist, although I earned my BFA in Graphic Design from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia in 1990. I did not investigate fine art till after graduating-- six years later. Then, I began what I termed “constructed drawings” which were mixed media pieces that combined prismacolor pencil, acrylic, balsa wood, magazine collage, and metal leaf. These sprung forth from childhood, as I loved the 3-D nature of pop-up books, and the balsa wood pieces “lifted” pieces of the drawing off the surface. My subject matter was the movement of dancers and jazz musicians the effect they had on the negative space around them…. I was influenced by futurism, jazz and the rhythms of West African percussion and dance.
Currently, I work in oils, and I have used my calligraphy as the point of departure for my latest series. Most of the oils paintings have literal words deeply embedded in them. Some letters are partial, going off the edge of the canvas, some are written sideways, not all are simply read left to right. At first the word is clear when the piece begins, but as I progress the letters get further and further lost till the letters become harder to find, even by myself at times. As a means of focusing on a section of the work, I use drip grids, some have detailed rendered parts(such a a twig, fruit) and metal leaf highlighting. For the pieces that have a detailed rendering of a fruit or other object, the word used is not the object, but an adjective. (ie- “sweet” may be used for pineapple, not “pineapple”). Doing this makes one think differently of objects we see in everyday life, the deeper descriptive behind an object’s name. This is just one series, as I grow, new subjects and focuses will develop.
Please come back to visit once the new site is constructed— there will be prints for purchase(on paper and canvas) and new works. All original works are available for sale.
All artwork photographed by Katriel.
Contact : raquelstallworth@gmail.com
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