the gallery marcel

Open Call 2009 at the Metropolitan Gallery, Barnsdall Park, Hollywood

2009-08-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

Hi All! I know it has been forever since my last post. Lots has gone on since 6/12/08.

Recently my grandmother gave me a flyer for an open call art show in Hollywood. The submission date was about three days from the time I got the flyer, so I put in a piece you have already seen.

The reception for Open Call 2009 at the Metropolitan Gallery was great. Work was submitted by nearly 1,000 local artists. There was a wide range of art from the very detailed and classical to the abstract and even to the absurd. But, it was a fantastic chance to put a painting out there and see what people thought. Got lots of good feed back. The Metropolitan Gallery sits a top a hill in the Barnsdall Art Park in Hollywood. That place is fantastic. A very laid back atmosphere, where everyone is welcome. There was food, music, vendors, and lots of smiling people eager to share and discuss art.

It was nice to have my family and friends there to offer their support. Okay, i've run out of things to say, so on to some of the pictures.

Here it is again! Whoo hoo!

2008-06-12T14:57:00.000-07:00

Soooooo, the time has come to celebrate the underground holiday hit sensation known as MY BIRTHDAY. As always I am excited... This year I turn thirty, or as I was told earlier, "Durty Thirty."

Having dinner tonight with my dad, who flew in just for this occasion. And, just in time. I'm just back from Puerto Rico.

(Puerto Rico! Looooooooooovely.)

Weeknights @ 1591

2008-05-19T19:47:00.000-07:00

There are a few changes I am going to make to this piece. I won't say what they are. Hopefully when I repost, you'll notice. Anyway, this is called Weeknights at 1591. For those nights when the only comfort you have comes from a bottle in the freezer... Because not everyone has someone or something to keep them entertained in their spare time. Drink up. I mean, enjoy. Wink wink.

This oil painting is 36" x 48."

Family Ties

2008-04-23T20:24:00.000-07:00

After a very long hiatus from posting - hey, no finished work pretty much means no posts, I finished this 18"x24" oil painting of a couple holding their newborn.

I painted this as a surprise for my best friend and her husband to mark the birth of their son, my God son. It is still wet... But FINALLY done.

prostration

2008-01-18T06:22:00.000-08:00

moments have passed
seconds
minutes
since you plunged deep
inside me
and took away
my humanity
now
I lay bloodied
hot flesh on cold tile
my heart eviscerated
thumping heavily
slowly
to a hault.

©2008

Bloggers' Delight Volume One - Love and Redemption

2007-12-11T06:45:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know I am the last person to post this... I SUCK. But there is a great collection of work from the FAM that is getting ready to hits the streets. Click on the link Love and Redemption to get all the info and read some excerpts...from your favorite bloggers...

Saadia Ali Aschemann Girly Girl
Diane Dorce' Mizrepresent
R. Fitzgerald Mega Rich
April C. Hayes Literary Felonies
D.R. Johnson Dave @ Wandering Ether
Cordenia Paige CapCity
Torrance Stephens Raw Dog Buffalo
Cedric Harris - Editor Ced it Meant it

... and more!

Congratulations to everybody! I'm more than impressed at how everyone is making dreams tangible!

It's Halloween!

2007-10-31T10:13:00.000-07:00

I love Halloween. Truth is, I am a big fan of holidays. I treat Thanksgiving and Christmas a little differently than most... But I LOVE the opportunity to be with family and be festive. Unfortunately, most of my family is in Cali, so I have had to find lots of creative ways to keep myself involved and "in the spirit." As you can see I dressed up as a pirate last year in Atlanta.

My department is the only one in the office that decorated. We are the art department after all. And I guess it would have been a huge let down if the art department did not dress the part today. One of the accountants asked if I was getting dressed up... Come to think of it she kind of threatened that if I didn't there would be hell to pay. So, I reached waaaaaaay back in my closet and pulled out the dusty Christmas-present-cat-suit (that had not yet been worn), bought a white wig and a cape and dragged myself to work as storm.. Halloween on a budget! Yea! So, here I am...

Whacking, Hacking, Hoeing, and Spreading Seed

2007-09-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

So that painting I've been working on, 'Tending the Garden' has had me up 'til 4am each morning lately. But it has been great. I've made some needed changes, added some depth and color. Brightened a few areas that had become lost on the canvas. In addition, I have written an erotic short story... steamy! Needless to say there has been a lot going on in my little Georgia Shack. Oh yeah, I have also taken plaster moulds of various body parts for a sculptural piece I am doing. This time, I had the right materials... U know what happened the last time I got plastered.

Back to the Garden

2007-09-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

Update:
So the piece was mostly started, not mostly finished... but the longer I looked at it, the more I wanted to do. So, I have added to it... There is more to come. Believe dat.

A couple months ago I shared a mixed media piece I'd started. Today I am showing the finished piece (or mostly finished). Hopefully you like it and aren't wondering why in the hell it took three months... LOL. "Sometimes, It be's like dat."

I'm still trying to figure out how to make it link. Clearly I'm not as keen with this blogging thing as some of you! Anyway, the old post was called Tending the Garden.

Plastered.

2007-08-17T10:35:00.000-07:00

What happens when you get two artists together with a big cold batch of homemade margaritas and a giant box of Plaster of Paris? You end up PLASTERED!

A friend and I decided to hang out one day and let our doggies play in the kiddie pool she'd just bought. I mean its been a terribly hot summer in the ATL! So as the animals cooled themselves in the water, we cooled ourselves with a pitcher. A pitcher of very yummy, VERY strong margaritas. Now, I know I have mostly shown paintings on this page, actually that is all I've shown. But I also do found art (which normally includes tree branches), wood and metal sculptures (think bilongo fetishes), and bronze and clay sculptures. I take impressions in wax from casts I make... the whole she-bang. Anyway, Its been awhile since I have made any casts so when my friend, in her afternoon drunkeness, pulled out a box of Plaster of Paris, I thought, in my afternoon drunkeness, it'd be fun to play.

In order to do body casts successfully, you need Vaseline to protect your skin...That way when you pull the plaster off, hair and skin don't come with...Paper strips and a nice smoothly mixed Plaster of Paris. Oh yeah and a willing subject. That was me. We had two of the four. A willing subject and paper strips. It was so hot the plaster mix started drying in the bowl, making it lumpy and disgustiing. And once we'd already started making the plaster, she realized there was no Vaseline. We'd already wasted a box of plaster, soooooo LET'S SEE HOW WELL COOKING OIL WORKS. Just a heads up - IT DON'T! But we had fun. I think the pictures prove that. I laughed. Maybe you will too!

Just a Little Break from the Norm...

2007-07-13T11:45:00.000-07:00

So I have been very creative lately, but not feeling painting... In my time away from the canvas, I have written a fairytale and managed to take some pretty interesting photographs. The photos are a little dark (which is what I was going for), but sultry. Before you dirty-minded people start thinking freaky thoughts, nothing, absolutely NOTHING is going on in these pictures. Again, nothing. These are just the result of insomnia and candle light. Well if the blasted things ever load. Oh look, they loaded!

Soooooooooo.... What'cha think?

Underground National Holiday

2007-06-12T08:30:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know today is the 29th Annual Celebration of the most popular underground holiday in the great United States of America... MY BIRTHDAY!

***Thanx Indigo for posing for that pic! I know it was hot when you took it and you were shedding... and you had to be bribed with a treat... So, thanx!

Tending the Garden

2007-06-09T08:07:00.000-07:00

Here's what I am working on now. It is pretty large right now and will undoubtedly get cropped down to about 2' x 3'. I still have lots of work to do, primarily detail work and all that could not be done because the other paint was wet... But it is off to a pretty good start. This is mixed media on canvas.

H.E.A.V.Y.

2007-05-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

I started working on this political piece (details to follow as soon as it is done) but the research really weighed me down. I mean I am a senstive person... yes, even though I am a cynic. Anyway, I was searching through pages of images that reflect the effects of war. Showing the people and countries and resources that have been raped along the way. I was okay for awhile (thanks to televison for desensitizing me to damn near everything - even though I don't watch much TV). But I came across three pictures that turned my stomach and broke my heart... I'd share, but I'm pretty sure you would rather not see. If you do, let me know, I'll send them to you. Anyway, these pictures were of babies. Babies born with defects because of the lack of resources in war ravaged areas, babies injured in bombing raids, babies with out food. There were more than three pictures, but I viewed them only as thumbnails. The ones I opened were horrifying. I would have never imagined that kind of trauma. Those poor innocent children. All I could do was cry.

It often makes me wonder if the people who start wars care about the people affected who have no idea what is going on. The innocent kids, the families, the teachers and business people... the folks like you and me. Everytime I come to the same conclusion. No, they don't.

How Cliché - Bust A Move

2007-04-19T08:33:00.001-07:00

"You're on a mission and you're wishin' someone would cure your lonely condition... If you want it, you got it. If you want it baby you got it."

Soooooo, I'm sitting here trying to stop the wheels from spinning in the sand. Nothing is working... I am working on a few projects, all of which are giving me hell. I think I am about to Snap. Crack. Break. Anyway, my normal "keep it moving" methods aren't working. But odd enough I woke up singing Young MC's Bust A Move. Maybe it'll help. Maybe not. We'll see. So for you viewing pleasure, I present (drum roll, please a la Fresh Prince on Summer Time - which reminds me, its almost time for swimsuits!* ... I digress) Bust a Move:

Not sure if I feel motivated. But I damn sure feel like dancing.

* Did I mention I love Summer and swimsuits?

Not New, Just New to This Page...

2007-03-27T08:29:00.000-07:00

This painting was done at the same time as the untitled abstract from a few posts ago. They are the same size and were actually intended to be part of a series.

Underconstuction

2007-02-28T20:17:00.001-08:00

I am currently rearranging my studio... art room... whatever you want to call it. Anyway, I have put some of the pieces I have lying around on the walls already (there are more to come). So, here are three walls of my space.

In the first picture, the painting on top is kind of Matisse-like. It was done in 2001. It is a 2' x 4' oil on masonite. The board underneath it is my newest "journal." The following is the first one I'd completed since moving to Atlanta in June '05. I don't keep diaries... This is as close as it gets.

The above picture has three completed pieces and two unfinished ones. The Largest piece is charcoal and oil pastel on 2' x 4' masonite. It is the voice of a woman who had been assaulted the words read, "Alone, naked, bruised, and battered, broken like glass, I've scattered and shattered."
The top piece on the right is a 2' x 2' oil pastel - its a frustration piece. The one below it was done in college. It is acrylic paint on plastic... It looks smooth because I painted it from behind. This was the first time I'd use the pregnant woman with the baby showing. You can see a similar image in the post EVOLUTION OF A WOMAN.
The painting on the easel with the tutu (I'll explain later, maybe) is going to be a retro-funk piece. It is oil on canvas.
The painting on the table is also oil on canvas... it is tedious and may never get finished. LOL

Top Left: Unfinished peice showing amorphous shapes done in oil on acrylic on canvas.
Top Middle: The Octopus looking piece from the last post.
Bottom Middle: Untitled piece. Acrylic on canvas. This washes of pastels.
Top Right: A study in color and negative space.

Call It What You Like...

2007-02-04T13:25:00.001-08:00

This is a small mixed media piece I did recently. I like the colors and I'm fond of the embroidery.... I think I'll try it again. It looks kind of like an octopus. You think?

The Day Depression Died....

2007-01-10T17:04:00.000-08:00

That is the name of this piece. I'm feeling the cyan blue and the olive green together... tee hee hee.

Evolution of A Woman

2006-12-06T13:20:00.000-08:00

This painting tells the story of a woman struggling to find her identity. As time progresses, she is faced with different choices, challenges and struggles. It shows her moving from happiness into confusion (a time in which she feels fragmented) and finally into self-actualization. "Evolution of a Woman" is a 2' x 4' mixed-media piece done in the following layers: masonite board, sandpaper, acrylic paint, oil pastels, and oil paint. Flowing from the purple lady's head like hair are words from Prince's song Love 2 the 9's... Don't use that magical, mysterious, intoxicating, joy-fantastic, fascinating word called love unless u love me 2 the 9's.

Been on Haitus...

2006-11-30T11:59:00.000-08:00

Had a family emergency before the holiday, so I went back to Cali (Cali, Cali) and stayed through the holiday. I got a lot accomplished while I was there, but the one thing I didn't get to was my blog...

Anyway, I wrote a children's book quite some time ago (those of you who are familiar with the project don't have to tell just how long its been) and have been illustrating it ever since. Actually, the illustrations are what slowed progress to a crawl. I have been working on it in my spare time off and on forEVER. I have done three or four different versions of the characters, but I think I have finally come up with a version I like. So, today, I'd like to introduce you to the girls - Smart, Mean, and Friendly.

These three little girls are sisters who, as in many children's books, have their share of fun... and misadventures that end up with one if not all of them learning a lesson. 'Cuz you know a book for kids ain't no good if they ain't learnin' sumpin. Tee hee hee. Friendly is the youngest of the three and the most innocent. Mean is the middle sister. She tends to seek attention 'by any means necessary.' Smart is the oldest and most level-headed of the girls.

Something to do...

2006-11-18T21:18:00.000-08:00

I'm back in LA for a bit (yea!), so I have been looking for ways to kill time in an 'art-related' way. I found some fun stuff... Now if I can just get a few minutes to myself, it will be on like Donkey Kong. Yeah, that was corny. Anyhooo, I am going to try to hit the following show. It looks interesting. And, I am always down to see luminous color-field paintings.

MOCA’s MARK ROTHKOS
11.05.06 - 01.21.07

This is the first exhibition devoted solely to MOCA’s monographic holdings of paintings by the great New York School artist Mark Rothko, whose transcendent, luminous color-field paintings made a significant mark on 1950s abstract expressionism in the United States. With eight major paintings, the exhibition features key selections from the museum’s collection representing various stages of Rothko’s career, including paintings from the late 1940s, such as Untitled (14B) (1947; a gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.) and Yellow and Orange (1949 a gift of The Rita and Taft Schreiber Collection—as well as Rothko’s signature 1950s paintings that are marked by rich, vibrant colors, from the museum’s germinal acquisition of masterpieces from The Panza Collection.

This exhibition is organized by The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and curated by MOCA chief curator Paul Schimmel.

Abstract

2006-11-03T12:10:00.000-08:00

I did this painting last summer while working on the film Madea's Family Reunion. It is somewhere amidst the many paintngs in the 'Poet's Palace.' This untitled abstract is one of the few paintings I've done solely in acrylic paint. I prefer oil paint normally, but it was fun working on this. 'Untitled Abstract' is a playful painting in which color relationships and movement are the focus. Hopefully, your eye moves around the canvas when viewing.

Angry Art

2006-11-01T09:01:00.000-08:00

This oil painting was done in 2003. I didn't really think it was 'angry' until the purchaser said it got him feeling revolutionary. I started this painting (it is untitled, like most of my work) after having a few conversations with different people who feel the south is oppressive. I'm not sure if those particular people meant economically or socially. And, that got me thinking about the different levels involved... and how the United States in general plays a part. I used the Confederate flag, the KKK Knights of Alabama flag, and the United States flags as nooses. But, I'll let the painting speak for itself... Angry art, funny.

Welcome. Bienvenue. Willkommen. Boa Vinda. Welkom. Benvenuto.

2006-10-25T16:02:00.000-07:00

Hey people! I'm Denea Marcel - an artist currently residing in Atlanta, GA, originally from Los Angeles, CA. Welcome to... well, to my art world. This is where I plan to share, chronicle and discuss my work and hopefully get some feedback. So as soon I get things together, hopefully it'll be smooth sailing from here.

This photograph is of me and a recent commision. The painting is a 60" x 30" oil painting of two nude women in an embrace.