Mural study for ceiling

Here is my very first sketch for a ceiling I am painting in a clients wine cellar. He has great taste in choosing Da Vinci and also understanding the idea of using Da Vinci sketches as a mural subject as opposed to finished paintings. I personally believe he has chosen the right man for the job as I am fanatical in my devotion to Leonardo! The only way to get to the final product is with a first step and that is what the sketch represents. I begin painting this mural on NOV 3rd. The centerpiece of the mural is the Battle of anghiari that I have posted on here previously.

almost finished

I am almost done with my Moby Dick. This piece will most likely featured on national TV very soon. It is then that I will announce my next project of genius that will gain international attention and turn the art world on its heels with wonder. I only need a day more of details and monday will be ready for varnish.

the green of jealousy

Jealousy is the green hobgoblin of lesser minds. Genius will always encounter great resistance and the battle is always fought uphill. Genius cannot stoop to jealousy nor waste its valuable sacred energy in defense of itself. It is enough just to "know." Enemies and friends alike will indulge in the deadly sin whose complimentary color is the color red. Gardega is not capable of jealousy and wishes well to all... He will now let thy reader know about the COLOR SCALE and complimentary colors.

Lesson one!!! If thou mixes the foul green of jealousy with the red of glorious victory thy children will be grey and shriveled like the skin on the dying man. This is called complimentary colors (colors that fall directly across the color wheel from each other) It is interesting that jealously very rarely involves compliments and the red of victory is the polar opposite of the small-color of said hobgoblin.

saturday

I had a few biz meetings in NYC yesterday, I was thinking about meeting a few clients/ friends after but I was exhausted and took an early train home. Today I will finish my last supper as far as the figures go and tomorrow I will work on final details. I must start a Brooklyn Bridge book cover on Sunday. Today I have my meeting to finalize the beginning of my Da Vinci ceiling mural as well which begins on Nov. 3. I will update images today as well. I am gettingback my original book cover paintings so I will be putting all of them up for sale...I guess there is about thirty of them by now...

Da Vinci Mural

I just got a go ahead on a commission to paint a ceiling of a wine cellar with a Da Vinci mural. I was a bit hesitant to take it on before Miami as I have a lot of glass art to make before I go but I will find a way to get it all done. Whenever I get overwhelmed I put in my michelangelo DVD and see what he accomplished in a given month and realize you can get a lot more done than you think when you really push yourself! I will photograph mural as it unfolds. The centerpiece of the mural will be the "Battle Of Anghiari ." It is a lost mural of Leonardo's that exists only in copies. This copy is by rubens.

last supper

Going to brooklyn today to make glass carvings. I am almost done with this piece. I need to flesh out the last two figures on right and then do five hours of detailing then I can break out the ole varnish and put this one to sleep before she is exposed to the harsh light of public media scrutiny.

Live

I hope you can see the latest addition to the painting in the upper left! While I was doing my nightly homework--watching, sketching and analyzing the the anchors on the news. I realized my painting was missing something--- then a vision scrolled ever so beautifully across the top left of my TV and quickly went away again! It was most important that Gardega break the picture plane into a new paradigm. In turn I was also thinking of what else I could put on the table and then I noticed my oranges down below on window sill---kismet.

Woman with helmet

I have my miami ticket and dates so I am excited to escape the studio for the first time in over a year. I am selling off a lot of work to help fund my trip so I don't have to go chase down a commercial project that will interfere with my fine art. This is a study for a glass piece I will carve next week. Iam selling this for $75.00 if anyone wants it, the original glass piece I make from this will sell for around $5,000.00 but it will have to be framed and illuminated etc. It is about 2 foot by three foot high...you can just email me to secure it as I am trying to do less ebay because I pay thousands in fees to them...It is pencil on white paper (not cream) and is a part of my Ophelia suite.

alexgardega@gmail.com

Miami

I will be in miami for art basel from the 4th to the 11th if anyone in florida wishes to meet up or come to opening email me...alexgardega@gmail.com

the new apsotles update

Here is the latest version of my "media" painting. I don't think I will post anymore pics of it until it is all finished. (I am hoping that will be tonight sometime.) There are always a million things I would like to do differently if I had six months to work on such a large piece but sometimes you have to get things done in time frames and you kneel worship at the alter of deadlines. Sometimes deadlines bring out good things as well. Behind the painting is my main living room window so this painting has blocked my light for a month and has in a sense become my window. Soon this painting will be beamed via media into millions of homes which is one of the purposes I painted it for, I will explain that when the time comes. . Begin with the end in mind. (my favorite saying)

Last Supper

Today I am finishing my last supper painting if I have to work 18 hours to do so. I will load some art for sale as well as I need to fund my trip to miami and I have been too busy to sell anything lately. I was contacted by producer last night so it seems I will still be on the news soon.

New Ophelia

Here is the piece I carved today. I almost don't want to post this because I took such a bad photo of her. She is actually the best piece I have made in glass, ever, I will re-shoot asap.

Necklace Detail---ophelia

Here is the necklace detail of the Ophelia I etched today. Please excuse the horrible snapshot...This necklace is about 4 inches across..

update

Today I will be etching my new Ophelia in Brooklyn. I hope to finish her and have a photograph this evening.

ophelia-

Ophelia is a character from Shakespeare's Hamlet, she is a young noblewoman and Hamlet's sweetheart. When she is rejected by Hamlet she goes mad and eventually winds up a suicide by drowning. Lesser artist's than Gardega have portrayed Ophelia at the apex moment of her drowning after she has "fallen" from a willow tree. Gardega has decided to present her as a straight forward portrait of melancholy and loss and madness as she stares straight out to confront the viewer. I must admit that when I first made her I was in a terrible state over a woman and simply made a portrait of her (my girl) in glass. I named it Ophelia as I did not want to name it after the girl. At the time I was not aware of the story behind Ophelia or even that she was a character of Shakespeare's Hamlet. I also did not know about Ophelia's association with flowers as I etched the flower medallion necklace on her. I have come to believe I don't think I named her Ophelia by accident, I think life is not stranger than we think, it is stranger than we can think.

books

Here is a photo of my bookshelf. Whenever I go into a persons home I secretly try to see what books they have around or on shelves. Books are meant to be read and thoroughly used so most of my books have paint on them and and are pretty dog eared. I never cared much for showy possessions or felt I needed to impress anyone with sports cars etc. I just need a good pick up a, bunch of art supplies and a damn decent selection of books--- and maybe some Heineken. (Most of my beloved books are in storage as I move often.)

air compressor

I thought I would give a glimpse into the glass studio and the equipment it takes to make glass art. This is a serious air compressor that is crucial because without enough air you will have more headaches than I can mention and want to smash your project in frustration. I spent over half my professional life with cheaper compressors that never gave enough air flow (which is probably why I will die young from stress. ) As you can see my glass studio is not a comfy/ cozy place with cappuccino machines and cute secretaries, I guess in a way I like the challenge of trying to make beauty and art in a dirty Brooklyn warehouse.

ophelia in progress

Here is how I layout my glass pieces. What you are looking out is a piece of glass that is 3/8ths thick and 16 x 20 inches. I have covered it with a thick rubber and drawn my design on the rubber material. I then cut it out by hand. I could use a computer at this stage but that is where the line is drawn between art and soulless digital machine. I get annoyed by people who swear by computers because there is no heart in bits ands bytes. I would save myself hours and days of work by going digital but I believe people know the difference subconsciously. Anyways, I pull off the rubber in layers and sandblast the exposed areas (deepest first.) If I screw up or scratch it it all goes in garbage with my time. If you click on image it should get bigger so you can see the flower of life medallion I just drafted.

flower of life

This is one of my favorite pieces of geometric construction. This has been used throughout time by many different cultures who have been drawn to its harmony and timeless perfection. There are many who believe that all the knowledge of mankind can be found in it's geometry. I am carving it tomorrow as Ophelia's necklace. I could never figure out the perfect medallion for her necklace and then this magically appeared to me. I am trying to make ophelia as timeless as possible so I cannot do better than this (or perhaps the yin yang symbol.) The yin yang is much easier to carve so I will carve this one as I prefer to suffer. The flower of life has been found in the following cultures--

• Egypt - The Temple of Osiris in Abydos^{[13][14][15][16][17]} and at Mount Sinai.^[18]
• Hungary - Magyarország - Carphatians. The center of Europe - The heart of our planet.^[19]
• Israel - Masada^[20]
• China - The Forbidden City^[21] and various temples.^[22]
• Japan - Various temples.^[23]
• India^[24] - The Harimandir Sahib (Golden Temple), Hampi, and the temples at Ajanta.^[25]
• Turkey - Various old Roman sites.^[26]
• Spain^[27][28]
• Austria^[29]
• Italy - Italian art from the 13th century (Wolfram 2002, p. 43).^[30]
• North Africa - Morocco^[31]
• Middle East - Lebanon and various Islamic mosques.^[32]
• South America - Peru^[33]
• North America - Mexico^[34]

my email

alexgardega@gmail.com

I sometimes wonder if people can read the email on top of site...

comments

I am always happy when I log in and find a comment from my old assistant Jacqueline who is back at college. It is much better than the anonymous person who makes fun of my grammar!

Ophelia

I managed to layout four Ophelia glass pieces today. (Shown is the original Ophelia that hangs at my parents house.) I am making a run of 16 x 20 glass pieces that I call the Ophelia Suite. I am only going to alter small things on each piece such as the necklace. They will be like prints except carved in glass and each one executed by hand. I used to sell these for around $3,600.00 in galleries but now I am going to ask for $5,000.00. I think I will make a maximum of 25 Ophelia's then sell the original drawing. Glass is a timeless medium so I like to try to achieve a timeless image. I will also keep selling archival prints of the piece (not glass) as well. They are $100.00 now...

platonic solids

these are wooden versions of the Platonic Solids. I always loved to read plato and still read "the cave" when I am in the right mood. Ithink the trick with high school is to hate it so much that you hide in your own learning. High school makes every effort to take away a man's interest in books or learning. I will feed more info on these later as I am tired tonight. you can google platonic solids if you wish! Da Vinci did many nice drawings of these solids as well...I will elaborate soon.

tarot cards.

I have rituals I have to do before I paint otherwise I cannot create (my friend laughs at these rituals and says that I need therapy.) I cannot paint until I first clean up my studio. By cleaning I mean I have to clean off both my counter and sink by scrubbing them thoroughly with ammonia---If I don't have ammonia I cant paint, Lysol doesn't count. (I have driven at three am to 7-11 to buy ammonia because I needed to start working for a deadline.) I cannot paint in shorts but only in jeans or green camo pants. I can't paint if I have a logo on my shirt as it distracts me (only heines white v-necks) . In addition I also have to have incense burning as I paint as it helps me focus on my work.

I went to buy more incense today and there was a tarot card reader at the store. I decided out of curiosity to have my cards read...I did it once before in my life and got scared as the devil card came up first! I sat down and shuffled and the first card that came up was Death! The Death card actually has to do with transformation and leaving an old world behind. I dont wish to bore you with details but I found the reading very accurate. I study a lot of quantum physics so my mind has learned to accept a lot of things about reality that cannot rationally be explained. At the same time I am afraid of anything occult because I like to keep my karma and my sink clean.

the chicken and the egg

I grew up on a farm in Texas and a farm has a way of teaching you at an early age about life and death. I vividly remember seeing a neighbors pig that was shot, hung from a chain and slaughtered. In addition I remember going on a solo journey to the back of the farm to see a chicken that had been killed . I guess a farm gives you a kind of Darwinian view on life (and death) I like animals a lot but would sooner become a human rights worker than an animal rights worker. Ever since childhood I have always held an artistic fascination with eggs and chickens . I have since had chickens at various times in my life and find exotic chickens to be amazing creatures. As I child I would gather the eggs from the chickens and found it magical that you could go to the chicken in the morning and find an egg or many eggs. In Renaissance art the egg symbolized resurrection. I am not sure about the symbolic meaning of the chicken.

ophelia study

Here is a study for my glass piece known as Ophelia. I am re-carving her this week for a miami art gallery. This week I will also finish The Media Apostles (last supper), the meal has grown a bit cold so I will warm up the meal in the microwave of genius which is a useless appliance without hard work, courage, and constant dedication to the craft of making art. Now that someone has been commenting about my grammar and punctuation I care less about it and find myself even more focused on making art that will stand the test of time and not be lost among the slop of modernism or empty but well punctuated grammar or purposeless prose. -- They have discovered dali's DNA on hospital feeding tubes so I am very happy about that odd fact!

web designer

Alex needs a web designer in new york area! anyone interested please contact me at alexgardega@gmail.com. I need someone to update a site, not build a new one so it should be fairly painless.

b. franklin stamp

Here is my ben franklin stamp...you must remember it is only 8 inches high, so there are some things I would do differently if I could have made it even 16 inches high. Adding detail in glass is an inverse square law in that when you make something smaller you lose a proportional amount of detail. I am tempted to make a large one of these for my own collection.