Annie Simpson

Chapter One: The Romance

2011-06-27T14:57:00.000-07:00

I have recently been refining the narrative threads that weave through my current series of paintings about pirates Anne Bonny and Calico Jack.

Specifically, I have decided that the title of the series of thirteen paintings I am in the process of creating is 'Chapter One: The Romance.' The working title prior to this had simply been 'Anne Bonny,' which didn't seem complete or complex enough to me.

Of course, this title implies more chapters to come, each anchored in a personal contemporary archetype and played by myself. The series of four chapters will work together to create a metaphorical life cycle. The overarching title of all four parts is simply 'Perfection.'

For now, in Chapter One: The Romance, I am focusing on the love affair between Calico Jack and Anne Bonny: devotion, fierce love and the unity of their combined power is the subject matter at hand.

Romeo and Juliet

2011-03-09T18:32:00.000-08:00

This year, 2011, is the year of Anne Bonny and Calico Jack. Yet even as I embark upon the making of the ten paintings that will comprise this series, I am thinking ahead to new possibilities for bodies of work.

I have always wanted to do a project around Romeo and Juliet, and as research and inspiration, have been rewatching Baz Luhrman's film over the past few days. Here are a few of the images I love from his vision of Shakespeare's tragic love story.

a work in progress: However Far Away I Will Always Love You

2011-03-01T18:14:00.000-08:00

58 x 40", made using Pitt brush-tipped pens.

Want to share a few work-in-progress shots, taken using the camera on my phone. I'll re-photo the piece with a better camera when finished for my site ..

Really enjoying making this one. The title comes from the Cure's Lovesong.

new website content, and a new focus

2011-02-02T14:27:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I've updated this blog. Almost a year. In that time, I suffered through a creative void .. life got in the way, I guess. An end to a very important relationship made me lose sight of my love of painting for a while.

But. I'm back. And I promise to add thoughts, ideas and inspiration to this blog in the coming months.

First off, I spent the day updating my website, adding words to describe images, and some new work as well. Please check it out: http://anniesimpson.com.

Secondly, I am determined to bring a new focus and energy to my creative practice, and I'll write about that here. I've started working through Jackie Battenfield's book 'The Artist's Guide: How to Make a Living Doing What You Love,' and I'm hoping it has the same inspirational effect 'The Artist's Way' did ..

More to come.
AS

studio visit with Sina Najafi

2010-03-09T23:46:00.000-08:00

I have a studio visit this Wednesday, March 10, with Sina Najafi, founder and editor of Cabinet magazine. He is visiting Austin as part of the Arthouse Visiting Lecturer Series and Studio Visit Program. He will also be lecturing on Thursday evening at 7pm at the George Washington Carver Museum.

I will take notes and perhaps post some of his thoughts on my work here.

2010 Hunting Art Prize press release

2010-02-08T22:12:00.000-08:00

Officially released on February 4, 2010:
http://www.huntingartprize.com/news/press-release32.html

2010 Hunting Art Prize

2010-01-28T13:28:00.000-08:00

I found out today that I'm moving on to the Jury II for the 2010 Hunting Art Prize competition: http://www.huntingartprize.com

The piece I submitted was Sarah (above), oil on canvas, 19 x 29", 2007.

A new artist's statement

2010-01-27T20:36:00.000-08:00

“For more than four centuries, the idea of “making it beautiful” has been the keystone of our cultural vernacular – the lover’s machine-gun and the prisoner’s joy – the last redoubt of the disenfranchised and the single direct route from the image to the individual without a detour through church or state.” – Dave Hickey, from The Invisible Dragon

When I make my work, I start from my memories of my point of view as a child – full of wonder, imagination, big hopes and dreams – and I ask why I loved the things I did then as an adult artist. My paintings, drawings, and films combine the dual points of view of adult and child to create archetypal, iconic imagery rich with beauty and power.

Beauty – aesthetic refinement – is a cornerstone of my work. As Dave Hickey states in The Invisible Dragon, beauty carries within it power, weight and meaning, and is a persuasive tool, and I wield it this way in my work.

I start from the place of the personal and make paintings, drawings and films – right now specifically of Anne Bonny, the female pirate – that introduce the feminine into objects or scenarios of “masculine” aggression or power.

Romanticism, in the classic sense of the word (referring to the sublime), is also a critical element in my body of work. Nature – vast and expansive, in the form of the “wild and unfathomable (Henry David Thoreau)” ocean – is the setting for each of my pieces.

To close, I think art-making is one of the single most important things you can do create change in the world. As Gustave Flaubert has said, “Be regular and orderly in your life so that you may be violent and original in your work.”

Anne Bonny

2010-01-19T08:08:00.000-08:00

The Anne Bonny painting I am in the process of planning is based on the well-known anonymous engraving that appeared in the book A General History of Pyrates by Daniel Defoe/Captain Johnson, published in 1724.

I will be modifying certain elements to make the piece more contemporary (ie. my version won't be bare-breasted), but the overall composition will remain the same.

Water: More or Less at Richland College

2010-01-14T21:51:00.000-08:00

My painting Wave will be part of the show Water: More or Less, opening at The Brazos Gallery at Richland College in Dallas on January 30, 2010. The show was curated by Paul Villinski and is part of a symposium organized by Ryder Richards on water and sustainability in the environment. The show will run through February 28.

News and Works in Progress

2010-01-11T12:09:00.000-08:00

I've decided to use my blog from this point on as a space to document works in progress, and to give news updates about exhibitions etc. Look for the finished works on http://anniesimpson.com.

To begin, I've attached the first study for my new Anne Bonny painting. The drawing is graphite on paper, 10 x 10.5". I'm planning to mount it to canvas and matte medium over it to fix the drawing.

anniesimpson.com

2010-01-10T16:08:00.001-08:00

I have a new website up at anniesimpson.com, please check it out.

I built it via Other People's Pixels, an incredible resource for artists who want to create and maintain their own site: otherpeoplespixels.com

The Sea Calls Us Home

2009-10-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

The Sea Calls Us Home
a film by Annie Simpson & Seth Kirby
starring Kristen Gerhard
camera Seth Kirby
costume Annie Simpson & Tara Mei Smith
music Ray Sweeten
© Annie Simpson 2006

A lone figure wakes to find herself at the boundary of land and sea and longs to return to where the sea meets the sky. Situated in the liminal spaces of memory and dreams, and weaving allegorical narratives with historical events, The Sea Calls Us Home is the first film in a four-part cycle exploring how childhood memories shape adult realities. Flickering images suggest fragmented memories and the close integration of image with sound creates a strong emotional tenor and sense of place. Featuring sound by New York-based electronic musician Ray Sweeten.

Red Flowers

2008-08-26T08:18:00.001-07:00

oil on canvas, 29 x 43.5"

Four Ocean Stills

2008-08-24T20:04:00.001-07:00

four stills from The Sea Calls Us Home
photographic prints, each 5 x 7"

2008-08-24T20:02:00.001-07:00