Monochrome Smoke Paintings by Michael Fennel

Michael Fennel uses smoke as medium to create his art.



"Smoke as a drawing medium is of course fundamentally flawed - it is tremendously volatile and a line cannot be drawn with it, but perhaps more importantly you can easily ignite your paper and burn down your studio!"



"Smoke is a unique medium that is not drawn, painted, printed, rubbed, flicked, blown or sprayed on - so what could we say - air borne? It can create the most beautiful blacks, that are 'luminous' and have depth to the extent that charcoal is flat and pale next to it. It an also create melting, nebulous edges and a great range of tones to rival those of photography."



"I think the dullness of photography is very apparent when I photograph my smoke paintings for reference. They revert back to the mechanical bland look of photography. Not only is the scale lost but the physical look of the painting is lost, for example in the darker, denser passages these areas are ever so slightly raised by their nature of having received more smoke."



"I have been able to find a way of fixing the image securely and permanently even in the dense, dark passages of the works. Contrary to what might be said, these areas cannot be fixed with conventional fixative."



"Each new piece of work I do in smoke is different from the last, this is due in part to the nature of the medium and my experimentation with it, and also my individual approach to the subject. I always look forward to new ventures with this volatile medium"

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If you like this kind of art, you might want to check Fernando de la Rocque's and Rob Tarbell's smoke art.

All images are © Copyright of Michael Fennel

Check his website: http://www.michaelfennell.com/

Marijuana Smoke Art by Fernando de la Rocque

Brazilian artist Fernando de la Rocque created images using marijuana smoke for his latest masterpiece called “Blow Job – Work of Blowing.”

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The name comes from the process that he uses: he took a deep drag on a marijuana joint and blew the smoke on pre-cut stencils laid down on the canvas. After several puffs an image began to appear.



Rocque says he stumbled on his toking technique in 2009.





It takes him a week to do a single print — blowing about five joints of smoke onto a paper daily.

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Needless to say that has sparked a great deal of controversy in the art world.

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In an interview with Brazilian newspaper The Rio Times, he said “more important than freedom to smoke marijuana is the freedom to think about it and make art with it. Polemic issues divide opinions, forcing people to think and debate. Inertia is useless when we want to overcome something.”

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"I always like to create art with pleasure."

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Smoking marijuana is illegal in Brazil, but some of Rocque's pot-stained prints are selling for $2,500 each.

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Check his website: http://fernandodelarocque.blogspot.sg/

Smoke Art by Rob Tarbell

Rob Tarbell creates incredible works of art by burning everyday objects, such as photos and credit cards, and then capturing the smoke on a paper canvas fixed on the ceiling of his studio.

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"Smokes consist of images that are created by capturing smoke on paper as evidence of a transformation and preservation of the ephemeral. During the process, credit cards, grocery cards, gift cards, photos, and 35mm slides of my artwork are burned to remove their growing presence in daily life, an ironic nod to a self-help technique of burning sentimental things to remove their emotional burden."

Robert realized that in order to make this unique work of art, he needed to control the smoke, while letting it flow on its own. This balancing act of controlling the smoke while letting it act parallels a circus ring show. Masterfully channeling the flow of smoke, he creates ghost-like figures, both animal and human performing circus acts, in a series entitled Smoke Rings.

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"The performing animal images in the Smoke Rings parallel the drawing process."

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"The trainer must recognise and respect the innate nature of an animal when trying to modify its behaviour to achieve a desired outcome: eg training a bear to dance or training a horse to walk upright."

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“The same is true in working with smoke. The inherent properties of smoke must be respected, then permitted to - and yet discouraged from - acting naturally."

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Given the dangers of creating his work, Rob always works in a fire-retardant clothing, with a carbon filter unit and fresh air system with full facial mask.

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He originally set up his studio in a metal garage, but he recently moved to a special room built adjacent to his house to keep all his artistic endeavours isolated.

Check his website: http://robtarbell.com/home.html