Alden Phelps

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Concept

My paintings are often gently humorous or ironic. Some poke fun at our fixation on consumption and prosperity, while others focus on the intrusion of technology in our lives. Some of my paintings have been exhibited at Marin-Price Gallery in Chevy Chase, MD. I always begin with sketches. Sometimes I use source material, photos I take or objects in the studio, but most often I draw entirely out of my imagination. I focus on the composition and color, and try not to think too much about the meaning of the painting, which makes itself clear eventually. Artists who inspire me: Grant Wood; George Tooker; Richard Deibenkorn; Wayne Thiebault.

Concept

My paintings are often gently humorous or ironic. Some poke fun at our fixation on consumption and prosperity, while others focus on the intrusion of technology in our lives. Some of my paintings have been exhibited at Marin-Price Gallery in Chevy Chase, MD.

I always begin with sketches. Sometimes I use source material, photos I take or objects in the studio, but most often I draw entirely out of my imagination. I focus on the composition and color, and try not to think too much about the meaning of the painting, which makes itself clear eventually.

Artists who inspire me: Grant Wood; George Tooker; Richard Deibenkorn; Wayne Thiebault.

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Find 7 original artworks & painters by Alden Phelps. Check out Alden Phelps's profile, artwork prices, exhibition information, and buy art online.

“Alden Phelps's Artworks”

Multi-Touch III

USD 500.00 Year.2021 w20.00 x h16.00 x d2.00 cm

Multi-Touch II

USD 500.00 Year.2016 w50.80 x h40.60 x d5.00 cm

Birth of Venus

USD 500.00 Year.2016 w40.60 x h50.80 x d5.00 cm

Tennis

USD 150.00 Year.2016 w20.30 x h20.30 x d0.50 cm

Shortcut

USD 500.00 Year.2016 w20.00 x h16.00 x d2.00 cm

Beach Scene II

USD 1,000.00 Year.2016 w36.00 x h24.00 x d2.00 cm

Beach Scene III

USD 1,000.00 Year.2021 w91.40 x h60.90 x d5.00 cm

Medium

#Painting

Price Range

USD $150 ~ $1,000

Biography

I am a 1986 graduate of the Maryland Institute of Art.

I’ve made pictures since early childhood, and from the very beginning I delighted in making fun of everything. Premature exposure to Monty Python and the Holy Grail certainly nurtured the impulse. I tried so hard to be serious, but nature would out. In art school I did my best to be brooding and dark. Art history taught me that mankind’s greatest painting pretty much boiled down to two things:

1. Earnest religious scenes
2. Modern existential randomness.

Painting was supposed to be deadly serious. Especially modern art - so VERY serious - but who wants to look at it, really? Of course there are geniuses that stand out and whose work I love, but as a whole, ugh. It’s cathartic (or profitable) for the artist, but man, so grim. When I graduated, my angst-y paintings had kind of run their course. There were only so many naked, monolithic, tortured, monochromatic men that one guy can paint. So when the city of Baltimore held a contest in which the winner’s picture was made into a 40-foot billboard, I jumped at the chance to do something completely different.
It was colorful, playful, and fun. I don’t remember what I was thinking, I probably just sketched it without planning. It was inspired by fond memories of my years in the city at the Maryland Institute of Art.

When I won the contest, I was filled with excitement. The billboard was on the 28th Street bridge, and it looked fantastic! I immediately saw that I could make a break with my old stuff and go somewhere new. That is the beginning of the work you see.

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