Two New 10 Day ACEO Auctions Posted!

Western Tanager by: John Tallacksen

  Under an hour before the Lonesome George piece sold I was able to post two more ACEO's (one of them pictured above) in my AUCTIONS page. That was close! I don't like being caught without artwork for sale in my shops. It's embarrassing. Thank you to all of my buyers, collectors, and supporters out there.

  So here it is- the latest fruits of my labor! Click on my AUCTIONS tab up at the top to view all of my 10 day auctions. Both of these pieces have color palets chosen by my Grapheme-Color Synesthesia, and interestingly enough the colors that I see in the words "Tanager" and "Orchid" match the actual colors of the subject matter. 

  I'll be posting more during the week. I have a few interesting requests to work on that some of you have sent in. 

  FYI I've been working on a limited print series of a subject that is very dear to my heart. Stay tuned for images and info...

Remembering Lonesome George

Lonesome George by: John Tallacksen

  On June 25th Lonesome George, the last Pinta Island Tortoise died in the Galapagos Islands. This art card is in memory of him and his species that we've lost. God forgive us.

View other original art cards here

More Original Synesthetic Art

Black Skimmer 2 by: John Tallacksen

  I've just posted the art card above for a ten day auction. It is the third piece in my synesthetic series. If yI've posted a description of the process here. Each card in this series is signed and dated, but the title of the piece is also written in the colors that I see in my mind due to Color-Grapheme Synesthesia. The colors assigned to each letter is what I allow to determine the color scheme of each piece. 

  If you're not familiar with black skimmers they are these wonderful birds that hunt for food by flying very low over water while their lower beak is dipped in order to scoop up food. It's an amazing sight to see them fly so low and watch the line of ripples in the water that follows them.

My First Official Synesthetic Art Piece

  A few years ago I discovered that I have a condition called Grapheme Synesthesia. It's pretty hard to describe what it is but I'll give it a shot... when I'm reading, working out some mathematics, or thinking of words or numbers in my head my mind's eye takes over and I see lots of colors. Simply put, each letter or number has a specific color assigned to it in my psyche and when they are put together to form words or numbers I see a blur or gradient of colors. Some letters or numbers are more dominant than others and tend to take over the colors of the word or number.

  Those of you who are already familiar with Synesthesia won't be surprised that another artist has this condition. Many, not all, artist types have some form of Synesthesia. I recently read that one of my favorite artists Vincent Van Gogh had it which makes a lot of sense in view of his obsession with color. 

  In this post I am introducing a completely new method for my creative process that relies heavily on my condition especially in the selection of colors for the piece. As you will see, I have used the format of ACEOs for this experiment, and this particular experiment is up for a 10 day auction now.

A representation of what I see when I think of the term "Hip-Hop"

  Above is a quick rendering of more or less what I see in my mind when I: hear, read, or think of the term "Hip-Hop". Each letter or character has it's assigned color. The blurred line above my handwriting is sort of what I see when I think of the word quickly- for instance when someone uses this term in a sentence and my mind must keep up with every word as the person is saying it. This particular term has a very dark cloud around it in my mind's eye, but I wrote it on a white background for the sake of clarity. The idea was to create a tribute to Hip-Hop since it is a movement I resonate with deeply. This quick "jot" was created in photoshop to serve as my color palette for the piece pictured below.

The final experiment in ACEO format

  This image is a scan of the final piece utilizing the colors chosen by my synesthesia. Yes, this is a 3 1/2" x 2 1/2" ACEO. I am using this miniature experiment to fashion a work method for what will hopefully become a life-long project in printmaking. This is a new style for me inspired by Dave Kinsey's work among others. I need a new style that will compliment my new-found love of printmaking, and I'm hoping this is it- or an early version of it. Please check back on this blog often to see how this style evolves, and to be informed of my first print runs in the coming months. I have my eye on a few workshops here in Los Angeles so stay tuned art lovers!