White Doll on Wall

Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, White Doll on Wall, Oil on Canvas, 2009.

Jim Crow Rendering

Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, Colored Fountain on Wall, 2009, Oil on canvas

I have this weird fondness of old black and white photographs of African Americans that document our history.
I particularly like faces. I think it’s interesting looking at portrait photographs of black slaves and studying their faces – their eyes.

I want to somehow incorporate these photos into my painting. I’m thinking of interesting ways to paint these types of photos and modernize them while still keeping them antiquated.

I had a print out of this photo from the Jim Crow period of a black man drinking from a “Colored” water fountain in Oklahoma City, OK.
As a quick way to get this idea out of head and onto canvas, I decided to just do a quick rendering of the photo but, in the form of a still life.
It took just a few hours and I’m going to do more like this as I continue to sketch out other ways to use these photos in my work.

The process:

New Faces Exhibit in Philadelphia

Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, Bodega Steps, Oil on canvas, 24″x24″, 2009.

Wow, it’s June already. This year is going by so quickly.
I was scheduled for this exhibit a year ago and I remember thinking how far away it was. And here it is already.

I’ve been excited for every exhibit I’ve been in so far. I’m always geeked like it’s my first one. But, I’m especially excited for this one.

It’s Artists’ House‘s emerging artists exhibit, “New Faces”, featuring myself and others.
The opening is this Friday, June 5th, from 5-8:30pm in old city.