Pipe Down 5"x5"
oil on canvas ©Bill Dambrova
You're so Vein oil on canvas
38"x56" ©Bill Dambrova
Available Contact me: bill.dambrova@gmail.com
Ever had a morning when you woke up feeling good about yourself and then looked in the mirror only to find out that your body decided you need a blemish right on the tip of your nose? With our brains we can tell our hand to reach over and pick something up, or tell our legs to start running, and they do. I find it interesting that when it comes to disease, illness or even back pain caused by stress, we sometimes feel like we have little or no control over what our bodies “decide to do to us”.
Knotty and Nice oil on canvas
21"x18" ©Bill Dambrova
21"x18" ©Bill Dambrova
This piece was in a show called Gifted about artist made gifts. I wanted to do something besides just put a painting in. I sometimes use knots bursting in the paintings to illustrate what I imagine happens when I get a massage. This one is called Knotty and Nice because it had a free massage as a secret gift that came with it. (that was the nice part). I told the gallery not to mention the gift at all because I didn't want it to be incentive to buy the painting and it would be a surprise.
Pink Glandscape oil on canvas 35"x46.5" ©Bill Dambrova
Available Contact me: bill.dambrova@gmail.com
This one is a nod to abstract expressionism. The title is a play on words from a de Kooning painting. The big oozing glands were inspired by one of Peter Saul's paintings Cold Sweat 1999. And of course "Let me get my hands on your mammary glands" looped through my head constantly as I worked on this.
Pain in the back knot in the neck oil on canvas 36"x43"
©Bill Dambrova
Lots of secret stress with the economy last year. Fortunately I lived in Thai town where I could walk for two minutes in any direction and get a Thai massage. Sounds relaxing until a tiny muscular person is standing on your spine pushing and pulling your legs in different directions. I have to give them credit for loosening up all of those knots though.
Pineal Recess oil on canvas 21"x27" ©Bill Dambrova
The pineal gland is sometimes called the third eye, not by mystics, but by some evolutionary biologists because they believe that the vertebrate pineal cells share a common ancestor with retinal cells. Descartes called it the seat of the soul because he believed it is a point of connection between the intellect and the body.
Finding Nematode oil on canvas 38"x43" ©Bill Dambrova
Available Contact me: bill.dambrova@gmail.com
Imagine that you have been invaded by a parasite. What would that look like? If it were me I would be visualizing that thing swimming around in my body slithering around my vitals, taking up space, the colors, the textures, and most importantly how I'm getting it out. What would it be like to actually find one in you? Could I still find beauty in it?
The Last Race oil on canvas 47"x67" ©Bill Dambrova
I was invited to create three paintings inspired by Charles Bukowski for Bukowski Fest.
For The Last Race I chose the horse as a symbol for Buk and an homage to his love for the track. In his work he often referred to people he admired for having "guts" as in... "Then she came down the pole. She was good with the pole. A real woman. Nothing but guts and ass." I was fortunate enough to trade one of the other paintings I made for this show with Linda King for one she made of a horse race. Linda was Buks ex girlfriend. She was mentioned a lot in his book Women. She was the one that made the bust of Bukowskis head.
Ganglionic Layers oil on canvas 40"x48" ©Bill Dambrova
A ganglion is a biological tissue mass of nerve cells that provides relay points and connections between different neurological structures in the body. When scientists provide images to illustrate this they are usually stained with rich magentas, pinks, and purples. The title for this piece was almost Ganglion Stain, and then Ganglion cyst but thats just gross. Ganglionic Layers just has a nice ring to it.
Vegas Nerve oil on canvas 48"x60" ©Bill Dambrova
A vagus nerve is a motor neuron that the body uses to react to the environment. The word vagus in Latin means literally “wandering” as the nerve wanders from the brain stem all the way to the colon. (The words vagrant, vagabond, and vague come from the same root). While researching this subject on the internet I found that people would commonly interchange Vagus and Vegas. “During surgery the doctor severed my Vegas nerve.” Does this mean that after surgery they will lose the desire to play slots and roulette?
A simple typo like this can lead to misconceptions as well as new and sometimes hilarious visuals.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)