James Fenner‘s digital paintings retain the sketch-like quality of the pencil drawings the artist usually works from. Some of the colors have a fantastic watercolor-like looseness, with a subtle gradient throughout an area of color. The paintings also have visible streaks and hatching to add texture to the pieces. Several of these works are inspired by music, particularly the differences between live and recorded music. These include pictures of a girl playing a flute with a wind-up key in her back and a group of similar-looking men playing record players as if they were violins. Others explore other philosophical concepts, such as a painting of a girl whose skin is dissolving into cloud-like patches, to “illustrate the lingering sense of someone being there.” The paintings have a surreal, enigmatic quality; like magical realism. Fenner is a student and freelance illustrator from Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Bad Dreams
Last Year’s Antlers
And You Fade Away
Foreign Voices
Automated
