Nitrozac paintings

May 18, 2012

"Like"

This lovely little painting is a portrait of the beloved/hated Facebook Like button. Or, more specially, the thumbs up. I painted "Like" on the eve of Facebook's IPO. It was a tumultuous time, with all kinds of so-called experts saying it's either going to skyrocket or tank. No doubt Wallstreet hands were rubbed raw with anticipation. Inspired by the revered Canadian artist, Tom Thomson, I painted "Like" in a quick, expressive style. As in a Tom Thomson painting, I felt the financial weather around Facebook's IPO to be stormy and wild!

Click here to bid on the painting.

To join in on the excitement of Facebook's IPO, I decided to put this painting up for sale on the same day of this historical event, for the same initial price of $38, the opening share price. But unlike a Facebook share, the value of this painting can only go up! :-D

I believe this would make a wonderful little souvenir to mark this momentous occasion, with the future owner looking at this painting and hopefully remembering having made a fortune that day in May. If not, they could at least mark it as the time they purchased an invaluable work of art.

Best of luck to all bidders, and to the winner, I know you will adore this painting as much as I do. It was an absolute pleasure to paint, and I love that fact that when you are feeling thumbs-down, you can just turn the painting upside-down!

Click here to bid on the painting.

Details: "Like" original painting, on 6 x 8 inch board. The back of the painting contains the title, the date painted, Nitrozac's signature, and a fingerprint for authenticity. Shipping for the painting is extra... to the US and Canada via airmail it is 15 dollars, to other locations, 25 dollars. If the buyer is located in Canada, I will have to charge the appropriate HST Canadian taxes.

Let's see if this gorgeous little painting can do better than one share of Facebook stock!

Click here to bid on the painting.

Posted by Snaggy at 05:20 AM

April 13, 2012

Little Android SOLD

*sigh*, oh my dear little Android, who would ever have thought this cute little character would be such a badass?

Painting has been sold, and is on it's way to the GooglePlex! :-)

Android certainly deserves a place on the wall of technology's Hall of Fame. Hence I immortalized it on canvas for generations to come. A little history... Android was born in Palo Alto, California in 2003, founded by Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears and Chris White, then acquired by Google in 2005. This is where it all started getting a little ugly, ... the patent wars erupted and soon an angry Steve Jobs was promising to go "thermonuclear" against Google for ripping off so much of the iPhone. Meanwhile Android was gobbling up lots of market share, and making Android geeks happy.

I love the Android logo, it's so cute and harmless looking. It almost looks like a bug with the antennae. I would like to point out that he doesn't smile, and he's staring at you. Also he is a biped, which is apparently very difficult for robots. Actually, he does look a little top-heavy for those little rounded legs, yet he remains standing. Overall, Android looks very clean and simple, and I wanted to reflect that in this painting. I painted him entirely by hand, all those razor-sharp edges are by my hand, and I didn't mask off any lines. It was a pleasurable challenge. The background is simple but much more complex and detailed. Again, by hand, I stippled the deep blue glow using a teensy tiny brush, and then added more speckles dispersing out to the edges. The effect is striking. From a distance it blends in and the Android is very crisp and sharp with a hazy blue glow. Up close you can see the detail and it morphs into a universe of tiny star-like dots with the Android emerging from it dramatically, clean and fresh.

Click here to bid!
Depending on your perspective this painting can be interpreted in different ways. For Android fans it can symbolize Android's clean simplicity supported by a background of thousands of developers and contributors as the stars, and overall representing it's "Big Bang"-like birth into our technological universe. For Android foes the Android can be seen as a formidable opponent, from a humble open-source beginnings, but now engulfed by thousands of patent suits. Even though I own and love an iPhone, and was sorry to see Google making Steve Jobs very angry, I do like the actual logo, and what Android was before Google bought it. Still, Android is here, and it has, and is, and will be, kicking a lot of tech butt in the years to come.

I do hope the new owner of this painting will enjoy it. This marks the first time I have painted the Android logo, and that is historic, imho. :P Android logo has appeared several times in Snaggy's and my comic, the Joy of Tech. I invite you to go and explore them: go to our database and search "android". Thank you! Good luck and happy bidding!

Details: "Little Android" is an original acrylic painting on 6"x6" stretched canvas with a wooden frame. The painting is about a half inch thick with painted sides so you can frame it if you wish, or display it as is, just hang it on the wall. The back of the painting contains the title, the date painted, Nitrozac's signature, and a fingerprint for authenticity.

Shipping the painting is extra. to the US and Canada via airmail it is $15, to other locations, $25. If the buyer is located in Canada I will have to charge the appropriate HST Canadian taxes.

Posted by Snaggy at 09:57 AM

March 31, 2012

She's Listening: A Portrait of Siri SOLD

Nice! Thanks to the winner of the auction, and also to those who bid!

Click here to view the auction!

This lovely little painting is a portrait of the beloved Siri, who currently lives on the iPhone 4S. It's easy to love Siri, she's a faithful friend forever, and is always listening (at the touch of a button). Isn't it comforting to know that no matter what, she will always be there for you, listening to you, paying full attention, and offering a carefully considered response to your every inquiry? (er... except in the event of no access to the Internet. :P) She never judges you, ever. Perhaps she doesn't understand you all the time, but she readily admits this if she doesn't.

Siri even has a charming sense of humour. She knows when you're ribbing her a bit about HAL 9000, and she doesn't mind, she jokes along with you. A true friend in good times and bad, she represents in many ways every robot and AI in every science fiction movie, the ones we dreamed we'd live long enough to see. Because of this, we cannot help but love every bit and byte of her.

I remember when Siri was first announced by Phil Schiller and demo-ed by Scott Forstall. It was a very exciting, game-changing moment. I swear I could hear the screaming over at Google. :P Siri dramatically changed the way many of us will think about search forever. When I held my new iPhone in my hands, the first thing I did was talk to Siri and ask her questions, it was so much fun! I think Siri brings us another step closer to the computer on Star Trek. Let's hope they add a warp core eject command and a self-destruct sequence sometime soon. :-D

My painting of Siri is about our relationship as humans with Siri. It's a portrait, not a still life of an object. I believe I caught her likeness, spirit, and beauty. I love the choice of colours the icons designers used to signify Siri, a beautiful blend of aluminum and purples. This is the first painting where I used a special iridescent paint that causes the painting to catch the light in a special way. It sparkles ever so slightly, very delicately and subtlety. You will love the fine detail in the grey shimmer, and on the microphone, both in the purple mesh detail, and in the "app reflection" shine. It makes me wish I had a large, real-life, working Siri in my home, on my wall, that I could ask questions of, and command to do things for me. (Kind of like a H.A.L. computer, only more benevolent!)

Details: Siri: original painting, on 6 x 6 inch stretched canvas, with a wooden frame. The painting is about a half inch thick, with painted sides, so you can display it as is, or frame it if you wish. The back of the painting contains the title, the date painted, Nitrozac's signature, and a fingerprint for authenticity.

Best of luck to all bidders, and to the winner, I know you will adore this painting as much as I do. She was an absolute pleasure to paint.

Shipping for each painting is extra... to the US and Canada via airmail it is 15 dollars, to other locations, 25 dollars. If the buyer is located in Canada, I will have to charge the appropriate HST Canadian taxes.

Click here to bid on the painting!

She is now SOLD!
Click here to view the auction

Posted by Snaggy at 05:04 AM

December 05, 2011

"Avidity", SOLD

I would like to announce the arrival of my latest painting, "Avidity" into the world! It's fresh, it's fun, it's colorful, it's alive with energy and enthusiasm!

Yay, it sold to... a wonderful collector in the UK!
Click here to view the auction!

This painting introduces my first step onto larger canvases. It is the largest painting I have offered for sale to date, and it is spectacular. The style is more expressionistic/abstract, while still representing the logo we've all come to know and love. I was inspired by the rainbow logo of yesteryear since it provides a splash of excitement on the white, textured background that reveals hints of the abstract color patterns beneath.

This painting was created mainly by using a palette knife technique instead of brushes. Painting this was exactly what I needed, artistically. I've been working on large, meticulously detailed paintings for an exhibit, so this new piece helped me to loosen up a bit. The feeling one gets looking at this is one of joy, delight and pleasure, with a healthy dose of insanity and danger mixed in. Everything that Apple can be when she is at her best.

I like to contemplate on the details of this painting, the gorgeous swipes of colour that were created in the quick palette strokes. There's faces, snakey patterns, riverlettes, fish, sunsets on another planet... it's an endless source of entertainment. This painting actually began as an experiment in paint under low density polyethylene (Saran Wrap), and some remnants of texture from that technique remain on the surface of the paint. It's as if the painting was shrink-wrap at some point in its creation, and I really like that, especially because the subject is a corporate logo.

I like to imagine that the painting depicts the love child of an Apple logo and a PacMan creature. It consumes in a fury, the elements of inspiration and creation around itself. That, I think, is an accurate representation of our corporate culture, and expresses the duality, both benevolent and malignant, of our fascination and dependence on the technological.

The painting is stretched canvas on a wooden frame. You can frame it if you wish, or display it as is by just hanging it on a cherished spot on your wall. The back of the painting contains the title, the date painted, Nitrozac's signature, and a fingerprint for authenticity.

Best of luck to all bidders, I know you will adore this painting as much as I do. Every time I look at it, I discover something new. Shipping for the painting is extra... to the US and Canada via expedited it is 55 dollars, to other locations, 65 dollars. If the buyer is located in Canada, I will have to charge the appropriate HST Canadian taxes.

So there you have it, the largest painting I've offered so far, one with a commanding presence, that's sure to inspire and impress!

Click here to view the auction!