it’s HERE! in all its amazingness.
john, it’s really beautiful. and such an honor to see your vision realized, and to work with you to help realize this vision. check the blog post just prior to this one for more details.
and the trading cards even come with a puzzle to assemble on the back and BUBBLE GUM ! no nostalgia was overlooked ♥️
gil corral - painting john grant on black velvet, summer 2020. photo by lauryn sophia
last spring. spring of 2020, we had a really wonderful series of phone calls and texts with artist/musician john grant. we talked about black velvet paintings of course, and also growing up the midwest (coco’s formative years were in iowa and indiana), growing up an outsider, growing up going to state fairs and other common experiences we shared. within all of that he shared his vision for the album he was working on and the album cover art that he just knew gil would be the one who could do it with the quality he desired. the result of all of this is not only four pieces of super beautiful, rich, FULL of feeling velvets on one super incredible musical oeuvre d’art, but a warm friendship to boot.
the album releases june 25! can’t wait to get our hands of a physical copy. check out some of what john and his record label did with the images and packaging and all of it, i won’t even try to describe - truly a picture/black velvet painting is worth a thousand words….!
oh and last august, when the lauryn sophia of decor maine magazine was here at the hogfarm taking photos for the upcoming article, gil was working on the finishing touches of john - you can see it in the article - and i’ll add more behind the scene peeks here:
at gil’s easel - in biddeford maine, right before sending them to reykjavik iceland
gil corral - painting john grant on black velvet, summer 2020. photo by lauryn sophia
just finished and delivered these two portraits for a client - such an honor to work with he and his wife. he chose two amazing vintage frames from our collection that i’ve been holding on to for a few years now. as he was describing his hopes for this project i knew the frames would be perfect for the job, and could not be more happy that they went to such an appreciative home.
Rumi and Lorca, beloved furry family members, immortalized on black velvet. and to share some of the patron’s words;
…we are absolutely stunned and overjoyed at the creative, sensitive, beautiful, and accurate renditions of our furry companions.
the time, the care, the focus, the psychological depth! the emotional nuance! i mean, (we) could not be more ecstatic at how beautifully you realized this somewhat eccentric vision. you are a profoundly gifted artist.
WE FRICKIN LOVE IT SO MUCH. thank you so much for bringing this into our lives - julio
apparently Lorca was a little alarmed. Rumi could not be bothered.
new painting. two birds
2021-21
oil on panel
14in x 18in
gil corral
2020-2021
one of my all time favorite pieces by Gil Corral - which is saying a lot .
El Paso : The Pass . The Pass from Here to There. it is very very large and extremely glossy - with incredible details revealing themselves during time spent with it. it has proven almost impossible to photograph - that is until Michael Wilson came for a studio visit and towards the end of our session he asked if there was any work we struggled to document. 🏽why, yes, and how!
.we were introduced via the beautiful folks at Black Owned Maine - thank you, Rose and crew - it was such a fruitful and lovely session - could not be more THRILLED with this and all of the photos from his visit.
please read on this piece and the other work from this show in the artists statement here.
and new website format.
small paintings - anatomical hearts, new velvets, and giclee prints of some favorite pieces.
new velvets . february 2020
Gil just finished this amazing piece. And it is truly amazing. The photos aren't doing it justice with the subtly of the colors and how he matched the groovy/weird 1970s greenish blueish and gold palatte. It keeps in complete step with the vintage ocean scene painting. I cannot not get over ...well, a few things. That he had the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time to find this painting. That he had the vision to see what was there in the ocean scene as so much more. And that he has the patience and ability to execute the imagery so convincingly but also with such warmth and ...humor? or ...i'm not sure what to call it but i really love it. Right now, it's available in his shop here,
but i'm not sure if I want to let it go. Truly one in a million one of a kind. ...
love, peace and fair trade,
coco
