Cory Willingham van der Does

Cory Willingham van der Does

At work in the studio...

Welcome!

Houston-based artist Cory Willingham van der Does' website and blog offers images of and insight into her paintings. Many of the paintings, drawings, and prints shown below are for sale unless otherwise noted. Please feel free to email comments or inquiries to CORYJAX@GMAIL.COM. Thanks for your interest!

Featured Post

Painting A Garden!

I was honored to be asked to paint a million irises for the 2016 Houston Garden Club's Bulb and Plant Mart event, which runs October 13...

Wonderfully Made

Wonderfully Made
In 2014, Cory and her husband Nicolas, a glass blower, had a joint exhibit at the Yadkin Cultural Arts Center in North Carolina. Their work focused on the concept of heritage and worth.

Danforth

Danforth
19.5" x 27" Acrylic on canvas; From the 'Wonderfully Made' exhibit, 2014.

Dashwoods

Dashwoods
18"x 18" Acrylic on canvas, 2014. SOLD

Henry

Henry
24" x 48", Acrylic on canvas, 2014.

William

William
11" x 14" Acrylic on canvas, 2014. SOLD

Charlotte

Charlotte
One of the largest of the nest series paintings Cory painted for the 'Wonderfully Made' exhibit in North Carolina in 2014. 48" x 48" Acrylic on canvas; SOLD

The Colonel

The Colonel
8" x 10" Acrylic on canvas; 2014

James

James
8" x 10" Acrylic on canvas, 2014. SOLD

4th and Main

4th and Main
48" x 48", acrylic on canvas, 2011.

After Ike

After Ike
After Ike, oil and acrylic, spackle, and earthen materials on canvas, 72" x 72", 2009 (Private Collection)

F5: Painting the Psychological Impact of Extreme Weather

For my thesis (F5: Painting the Psychological Impact of Extreme Weather) I employ the depiction of extreme weather events such as tornados, hurricanes, and dust storms in a narrative format to move the viewer to the unsettling space that lies between basic instinct and self-awareness. Why and how do we react to such severe and life-threatening storms? These paintings work to define and contain these psychological states within a single moment and shed light on the complexity of human motives and the way we relate to the world around us.

Employing painting techniques such as abstraction, collage, and experimental surface treatments, I explore new possibilities within the narrative tradition. I combine images from sources such as meteorological surveys, psychology textbooks, scientific journals and websites, and personal photographs to create highly textured paintings deeply layered with meaning. By exploiting the unique properties of oils, acrylics, and charcoals, and by embedding within the paint natural materials such as pine needles, rocks, twigs, sand, and moss, and incorporating man-made common household construction materials such as spackle and bead-board panelling, the forms within the compositions and the surface of the paintings become interdependent in the translation of the message.

If you are interested in additional information about this body of work or my thesis, please don't hesitate to email me!




BFA Thesis painting...

BFA Thesis painting...
Dogged, 36" x 48", acrylic, oil, spackle, earthen materials on canvas, 2010.

Dogged (detail)

Dogged (detail)
Thick application of spackle in the foreground of Dogged is used to replicate the chaotic disarray of plywood, lumber, and debris that used to be this man's home before a tornado.

BFA Thesis painting...

BFA Thesis painting...
County Fair, 36" x 48", acrylic, oil, sand on canvas, 2010.

County Fair (detail)

County Fair (detail)
Sand and rocks embedded into the gesso layer of County Fair create a sense of "grit" that comes at you violently in the winds of an approaching summer storm.

BFA Thesis painting...

BFA Thesis painting...
Darrell & Daryl, 24" x 48", acrylic, oil, and sand on wood panel, 2010. SOLD

Darrel & Daryl (detail)

Darrel & Daryl (detail)
These two brothers represent our modern, YouTube-obsessed culture and risk life and limb for the ultimate Kodak moment.

BFA Thesis painting...

BFA Thesis painting...
Almost Home (diptych), 30" x 24" each panel, acrylic and wallpaper on canvas, 2010.

Almost Home (detail)

Almost Home (detail)
Wallpaper embedded beneath the paint is meant to provoke subconscious memories of "home."

BFA Thesis painting...

BFA Thesis painting...
All is Calm, 24" x 48", acrylic, oil, and spackle on wood panel, 2010. SOLD

All is Calm (detail)

All is Calm (detail)
Spackle was applied to my painting surface and then carefully modeled to help build out the billowing advances of the dust storm, as well as the front porch of the vulnerable, quaint home.

BFA Thesis painting...

BFA Thesis painting...
Eunice, 72" x 72", charcoal, acrylic, oil, and earthen materials on canvas, 2010.

Eunice (detail)

Eunice (detail)
Before any paint was applied to the canvas, I worked pine needles, rocks, sand, twigs, and even an unsuspecting ant or two into the gesso to replicate the sort of storm detritus that ends up everywhere after a hurricane.

Eunice (detail)

Eunice (detail)
The surface of Eunice is rich with texture and meaning...

Other weather-related works...

Other weather-related works...
Clearing Up, diptych, acrylic and oil on wood panel, 48" x 48", 2009. SOLD

Ominous

Ominous
"Ominous," 32" x 44", Acrylic on canvas

Chaos

Chaos
Chaos (Lucy I), oil on canvas, 48" x 36", 2008

Isn't Life Grand

Isn't Life Grand
Isn't Life Grand, drypoint, 15" x 22", 2009

FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME

If you have any questions about my paintings or prints, please feel free to contact me at CORYJAX@GMAIL.COM.

From the Billboard series...

From the Billboard series...
Billboard 1, 18" x 24", acrylic on canvas, 2009

The Billboard Series

My billboard series is based on my ongoing interest in urban decay. I am fascinated by billboards that have been stripped of recent advertising only to reveal subsequent layers from days gone by. In a sense, these patchwork signs seem to me a sort of roadside archeology. From a technical aspect, I am also inspired by the challenge of representing torn paper, rusted metal, and curling, weathered edges frequently seen on these signs.

02-1

02-1
02-1, acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24", 2009 (Private Collection)

ESBY...From the Billboard series

ESBY...From the Billboard series
ESBY, 18"x24", acrylic and spackle on canvas, 2009 (SOLD)

14-2

14-2
14-2, acrylic and spackle on canvas, 24" x 36", 2010

Edinburgh

Edinburgh
Edinburgh, acrylic on canvas, 24" x 36", 2009

Monday, February 22, 2010

Countdown to Art After Dark 2010...


Only two weeks left! I have been busy gathering up paintings and prints to exhibit and sell at this year's Art After Dark. I'm not only pulling from my private cache of work, but have begun upwards of twelve new paintings just in the last several weeks specifically for this event. I have a pretty limited space in which to exhibit, but I'm hoping to offer about thirty paintings in all. And I'll try to get images of the new ones posted here in advance!

If you enjoy the theater scene, great art, good wine and food, and live music....mark your calendars and plan to attend! Information is available here.

Friday, February 5, 2010

David and Goliath...



I'm working on an enormous canvas right now....six feet wide, six feet tall. It was abandoned by another artist about ten years ago over in another building on Jacksonville University's campus, and a maintenance guy dropped it in the studio just as I was beginning work on my thesis. I figured, why not use it? The price was certainly right...it was free!

As I was painting yesterday afternoon, a friend came by to see my progress and, noticing the gigantic canvas, said "that's ENORMOUS! How are you going to finish that!?" The odd thing is, I immediately thought of David and Goliath. What's more, I'm actually working incredibly fast on this painting because I'm mostly using very large brushes - some are house painting brushes. Maybe the fact that the canvas is so huge frees me from fretting over the little details.

So here comes the philosophical analogy...The doubters told David, "you can't possibly win! He's too big!" David, on the other hand, thought "no, he's too big to miss!" Maybe we should consider painting on larger canvases more often. If we play it safe and stick to the 18" x 24" pre-stretched, pre-gessoed canvases, we may never know what we're capable of accomplishing.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

An Artist's Obsession...

I suspect I am like many artists who obsess about the details....SOMETIMES. This picture is a sneak peak at one of my thesis paintings, depicting a man and a dog, both now homeless, walking through the wreckage after a tornado has swept through.
Just last night, I finally finished the shirt Scott (I named him after a similarly bald friend of mine) is wearing. The original concept was--yes--a red Hawaiian shirt, which would add a Hopper-esque touch of humor, considering the rather sober scene. But various opinions made me doubt myself...so it became a white t-shirt. Then a garrish orange shirt. Back to white. Back to red. And back to white. I think this poor man went through nine "wardrobe changes" before I finally decided I HAD to go with the original concept. An extremely helpful friend shopped at Salvation Army and Goodwill, and then let me photograph her in this pose with not one, not two, but THREE different Hawaiian shirts on. With reference photos in hand, I finished up the shirt last night.
The funny thing is, with other paintings, I'm not nearly as obsessed about the little details. The enormous 6' x 6' canvas I've just started, for instance, is nearly done.....in two days. While good old Scott up there has been on the easel for seven months. I think artists are an odd bunch, who cannot be convinced that their work "is fine! really!" if that little voice in their head tells them otherwise. If we want to obsess about a detail, then God help those that get in the way of THAT.
Maybe life in general is a little like an artist's obsession......if you can just stand back, far enough from the easel, you realize that one little detail may not be worth all that worry. Unless it's the one thing that makes the whole composition sing.

Monday, February 1, 2010

BFA Thesis Work Continues....

I am really happy (really!!) to report that I am on the home stretch with my BFA thesis. I have begun the final painting that will be exhibited beginning April 1, 2010. My thesis involves the investigation of how we (as a modern culture) are psychologically impacted by extreme weather events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, flash floods, and dust storms. Along with a written thesis, I have created a body of work that is narrative in nature, capturing psychologically-taut moments during these storms.

This thesis has taken me close to a year now, and I'm looking forward to the light at the end of the tunnel. At the same time, who wants to be done with something they love doing?? Not I, said the fly.