Australian painter Ashley Wood has mastered several art related disciplines. This includes print, digital, canvas and ink. He is quite industrious and his work has quite a following with gamers, comic book readers, and the diverse set of collectors for both his fine art work and his toy line.
When Ashley signs one of his art books, he value adds the tome with more than just a signature. In the video above is Ashley is drawing and signing each art book purchased with a personalized expressive drawing. That alone is worth more than the price of the book if you take in account the prices of his original work.
Note how finely painted the torso and legs are yet the legs have been lengthened and the girls head over simplified for humorous effect.
An underlying theme in most of his work is what I would call 'heroic female sexuality' (AKA eroticism) but your milage may vary. Some may call it exploitation, others could put up a strong argument that it is porn and others could just label it figurative. In my opinion it is all of the above and, as always, intriguing to look at but what makes it intriguing?
Ashley wood often "mashes-up" illustration styles when painting or drawing. He borrows from the fashion illustration genre making the lower two-thirds of the body all legs. The faces and heads he draws or paints often forego realism and are constructed like "comic strip caricatures rather than embracing traditional realism, yet the bodies beneath these caricatures are seemingly very real. The complete mix of these styles, realism, fashion illustration and caricature really stirs the imagination as the viewer puts it all together.
Remember 'Tank Girl' — It was Ashley Wood that made her famous.
Ashley Wood designed a art toy based upon his art and the franchise itself.
In 2014, Wood had a solo show at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York. The show was titled "Machine Sabbath" and I believe most or all of the paintings sold. I have seen catalogs of the show for sale at Amazon and they are a worthy addition to your art collection.
2014 — Ashley Wood "Machine Sabbath" series for his solo show at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York.
2014 — Ashley Wood "Machine Sabbath" series for his solo show at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York.
2014 — Ashley Wood "Machine Sabbath" series for his solo show at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York.
Artwork for a video game called Metal Gear Solid'
Whatever you think about Ashley Wood's art or the content therein, arguably he appears to have taken the concept of sketch and expressionism as far (or more likely farther) than Egon Schiele or Edvard Munch ever dreamed.