Circle of Evil
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Ideas & Influences

Crime & Punishment

My fascination with crime certainly came from early childhood. We watched the news every night as a family. November, 1978, I saw the aftermath of the Jonestown Massacre. This has stuck with me my whole life. I have read quite a lot about the subject & made numerous art influenced by it. The one image that I think is the most haunting is the pictures of the bodies in the pavillion with the hand lettered sign hanging above- “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This is a quote that has been said often in various versions, but we still don’t get it. I have never forgotten & have spent my life haunted. My hope is that art can have the power to impact dialogue & hopefully initiate change.

The Double Portrait

Portraiture has always been one of my first loves- trying to figure people out. So often, they make no sense at all. As a child, I would do impressions. Mary & I would do whole skits. At the time, I did not understand the idea of the double portrait. Honestly, this is a fairly recent idea, but I like to think the seeds were always there. When I was driving (best ideas happen in the car), it all of a sudden dawned on me; the thought of making a single portrait of two people. Watching comedians recreate these well known people has always amazed me. “Bill Hader Mesmerizes as Lil Vivvy” was one of the first portraits in this series. Big fan of Grey Gardens so when I saw the parody I couldn’t get it out of my head. This work is a real two-fer for me. I can pay homage to both people. I know I’m alone, but I just want to say Justin Bieber, keep talking. I have taken a break from the series but have plans for more.

Slow Down to See the

Train Wreck

I have been focused a lot on women’s issues in my work. The series I am working on currently (2021, just in case I am being lazy about updating this site) is an evolution on the ideas I have been exploring. I must give my daughter Kira the majority of the credit. I give her books for holidays & got her Sady Dolye’s, Trainwreck:The Women We Love to Hate, Mock, & Fear.. & Why. I read the free summary & knew that Kira would love it! (She let me read it first.) Before I had even got the book, Kira had suggested making some work about “Mean Girls” - a movie we have watched quite a bit. “Lindsay Lohan is…” was the first entry into this series. I didn’t want to show her as a broken girl really, but I did want to point out the irony of her starring in “Mean Girls” & what transpired later on. The book really brought the idea home of how girls are conditioned early on with the images of the girls we should be vs. what happens to the ones who refuse to be this. My mom is a reader & didn’t give us the candy coated versions of these stories. We read in graphic detail about the horrible, bloody things that happened to bad girls. Doyle points out that we are still doing these terrible things to very real girls. Hopefully, this series has contributed to this dialogue.

Black Christmas,

Black Humour

Horror movies & comedy were a staple of my childhood & perhaps, my life. Nana is always quoted as saying, “It’s better to laugh than to cry. If I started crying, I might not stop.” This was my family joking in the middle of the great tragedies. Comedy was survival. These ideas come up constantly in my work. My subject matter is often quite dark- bloody even, but I try to bring the humour…. well, it makes me laugh. “Tampons” came out of this world. It was the first in a series about the contradictions I feel when seeing feminine hygiene ads vs. my own experience. Sorry, I won’t be going to the disco in that white jumpsuit. This portrait of Carrie also harkens to my overwhelming fears of having a monthly traumatic experience played out in front of the whole world. I don’t think I’m alone. It also precurses the “This Girl is…” series.

Making a Comic

My sister Mary is a writer. Illustrating comics with her has really made me appreciate how brilliant she really is. She is also probably one of the only writers I would really want to work with on a comic. Most writers want the artist to be their bitch! Reading the things in the backs of graphic novels about the making of the books make me think this is not just me. Mary gives me stacks of writing & let’s me do whatever I want. This is how I work best. I need complete freedom to create my best work. I often feel that I am able to better understand the writing when I start drawing it out. New ideas emerge. Mary writes a lot of spoken word poems & one-liners. She allows me to Frankenstein the work together. I am very proud of the work we have created together. Growing up together, we have the same humour & it’s dark…. very dark.

“Being born is like being

kidnapped.”- Warhol

My relationship with Andy Warhol has been my longest. When I was younger, I read my copy of The Philosophy of Andy Warhol until it was dog-eared & worn. I still have it along with various other books by him & about him. I suppose he spoke to me because I too have always been fascinated by pop culture, celebrity, stars. This was very taboo in my household. My mom hated television. We had a black & white tv until I was 12 years old. We only got a new one because the old one would no longer receive PBS. I taught myself to screen print in the most old school of ways- I hand paint every screen. Andy would be appalled! I began doing this so I could have cool t-shirts. Old Hollywood stars were often showcased in my prints & other mediums of art. Having that black & white set, I grew up watching all the old movies. Nothing was in color- “Charlie’s Angels”, “Sunset Boulevard”, all sans color. With my love of Warhol, I can’t believe it took me so long to marry paintings with the prints. It really came from the place of necessity. I was offered an opportunity to be a featured artist at The Baltimore Art Gallery & their model created a need to make a lot of work in a short amount of time. Way to go Kristen & Sonny!! Thanks! & thank you to my first true love, Andy Warhol!
The Susan Hayward of it all…
CIRCLE OF EVIL
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The Art & Musings of Beppi

Ideas & Influences

Crime & Punishment

My fascination with crime certainly came from early childhood. We watched the news every night as a family. November, 1978, I saw the aftermath of the Jonestown Massacre. This has stuck with me my whole life. I have read quite a lot about the subject & made numerous art influenced by it. The one image that I think is the most haunting is the pictures of the bodies in the pavillion with the hand lettered sign hanging above- “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This is a quote that has been said often in various versions, but we still don’t get it. I have never forgotten & have spent my life haunted. My hope is that art can have the power to impact dialogue & hopefully initiate change.

The Double Portrait

Portraiture has always been one of my first loves- trying to figure people out. So often, they make no sense at all. As a child, I would do impressions. Mary & I would do whole skits. At the time, I did not understand the idea of the double portrait. Honestly, this is a fairly recent idea, but I like to think the seeds were always there. When I was driving (best ideas happen in the car), it all of a sudden dawned on me; the thought of making a single portrait of two people. Watching comedians recreate these well known people has always amazed me. “Bill Hader Mesmerizes as Lil Vivvy” was one of the first portraits in this series. Big fan of Grey Gardens so when I saw the parody I couldn’t get it out of my head. This work is a real two-fer for me. I can pay homage to both people. I know I’m alone, but I just want to say Justin Bieber, keep talking. I have taken a break from the series but have plans for more.

Slow Down to See

the Train Wreck

I have been focused a lot on women’s issues in my work. The series I am working on currently (2021, just in case I am being lazy about updating this site) is an evolution on the ideas I have been exploring. I must give my daughter Kira the majority of the credit. I give her books for holidays & got her Sady Dolye’s, Trainwreck:The Women We Love to Hate, Mock, & Fear.. & Why. I read the free summary & knew that Kira would love it! (She let me read it first.) Before I had even got the book, Kira had suggested making some work about “Mean Girls” - a movie we have watched quite a bit. “Lindsay Lohan is…” was the first entry into this series. I didn’t want to show her as a broken girl really, but I did want to point out the irony of her starring in “Mean Girls” & what transpired later on. The book really brought the idea home of how girls are conditioned early on with the images of the girls we should be vs. what happens to the ones who refuse to be this. My mom is a reader & didn’t give us the candy coated versions of these stories. We read in graphic detail about the horrible, bloody things that happened to bad girls. Doyle points out that we are still doing these terrible things to very real girls. Hopefully, this series has contributed to this dialogue.

Black Christmas,

Black Humour

Horror movies & comedy were a staple of my childhood & perhaps, my life. Nana is always quoted as saying, “It’s better to laugh than to cry. If I started crying, I might not stop.” This was my family joking in the middle of the great tragedies. Comedy was survival. These ideas come up constantly in my work. My subject matter is often quite dark- bloody even, but I try to bring the humour…. well, it makes me laugh. “Tampons” came out of this world. It was the first in a series about the contradictions I feel when seeing feminine hygiene ads vs. my own experience. Sorry, I won’t be going to the disco in that white jumpsuit. This portrait of Carrie also harkens to my overwhelming fears of having a monthly traumatic experience played out in front of the whole world. I don’t think I’m alone. It also precurses the “This Girl is…” series.

Making a Comic

My sister Mary is a writer. Illustrating comics with her has really made me appreciate how brilliant she really is. She is also probably one of the only writers I would really want to work with on a comic. Most writers want the artist to be their bitch! Reading the things in the backs of graphic novels about the making of the books make me think this is not just me. Mary gives me stacks of writing & let’s me do whatever I want. This is how I work best. I need complete freedom to create my best work. I often feel that I am able to better understand the writing when I start drawing it out. New ideas emerge. Mary writes a lot of spoken word poems & one-liners. She allows me to Frankenstein the work together. I am very proud of the work we have created together. Growing up together, we have the same humour & it’s dark…. very dark.

“Being born is like being

kidnapped.”- Warhol

My relationship with Andy Warhol has been my longest. When I was younger, I read my copy of The Philosophy of Andy Warhol until it was dog-eared & worn. I still have it along with various other books by him & about him. I suppose he spoke to me because I too have always been fascinated by pop culture, celebrity, stars. This was very taboo in my household. My mom hated television. We had a black & white tv until I was 12 years old. We only got a new one because the old one would no longer receive PBS. I taught myself to screen print in the most old school of ways- I hand paint every screen. Andy would be appalled! I began doing this so I could have cool t- shirts. Old Hollywood stars were often showcased in my prints & other mediums of art. Having that black & white set, I grew up watching all the old movies. Nothing was in color- “Charlie’s Angels”, “Sunset Boulevard”, all sans color. With my love of Warhol, I can’t believe it took me so long to marry paintings with the prints. It really came from the place of necessity. I was offered an opportunity to be a featured artist at The Baltimore Art Gallery & their model created a need to make a lot of work in a short amount of time. Way to go Kristen & Sonny!! Thanks! & thank you to my first true love, Andy Warhol!