ROGER ALLAN CLEAVES

Sometimes I miss the immediacy of pencil on paper. Every since I hung my exhibition- Project Fusion I have been making simple drawings- pencil on paper and ink on paper. Painting consumes you in a way that drawing doesn't. Drawing always helps me regain balance because exhibitions, having my studio emptied out, always throw me out of sorts. Here is a reel sharing some of the quicker ideas that have come my way. Enjoy and follow me on instagram. #art #artistoninstagram #artree

I arranged this painting using compositional devices borrowed from Edouard Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass. I have always enjoyed the spectacular nature of Manet’s painting and we share many similarities as artists. We both have been influenced by the history of painting, the flatness of Japanese prints, and the idea that imagery can be multifaceted in its relationship to the viewer. Our work also exists outside the boundaries of the established and accepted conventions in our

My solo exhibition Project Fusion is now open to the public. The exhibition will be on view until October 14th 2022. The reception will be held on October 13th from 4:30PM -6:00PM The exhibition features 14 works ranging from 2019 - 2022 and the works are a mixture of mixed media drawings and oil paintings. #art #contemporaryart #artexhibitions #ForgetMeNotsLand #FMNL #contemporarypainting #painting #rogerallancleaves #soloexhibition #artcollector #artcurator #afrofuturism

This is an animated short I made over the weekend. I've been getting all my main character rigs created and it's really been pushing the narrative to be able to play with these characters in the world of animation. This short introduces, Ava Sinclaire, one of my main characters, to FMNL (Forget Me Nots Land. I haven't figured out the sound of this world but I will one day. Take it as is for now. Enjoy. #animation #FMNL #FORGETMENOTSLAND #RogerallanCleaves #RogerCleavesArt #Av

I'm making some animation cycles for some future NFTs. It's really fun creating characters. Art has always been character based for me. I grew up when entertainment was comics, crayons, and pencils you could find. That's still my go to outlet when I need to escape from reality. This is my first attempt at Bookie's walk cycle. I want to try one that moves a little slower in the future. #art #animation #FMNL #rogerallancleaves #sketching #drawing #penandink #BookieBadBoy #anim

This week I started my adventure with NFTs (Non Fungible Tokens). What are NFT’s? From my novice level understanding it’s like Crypto currency, but in the form of art. I just see NFt’s as a way for my digital works, both finished and experimental, to exist in a realm where they are valued in a fair way. My studio practice has involved digital processes since the invention of photoshop. Since that starting point, I’ve branched out into animation, databending, glitch art, and

I've been spending most of my free time writing and building in Maya. I have several sketchbooks going; some are based on characters and others are for more abstract ideas. Whenever I get stuck on the story I try to draw characters and scenes . Ideally I would like to make a map of the real world that connects to the Land of The Forget Me Nots. #art #forgetmenotland #rogercleaves #narrativeart

#art #artexhibitions #contemporaryart #rogerallancleaves #philadelphia #painting #sculpture #mikerea #bertrandproductions

I've been relearning what I understood about Maya and learning what I can on mudbox. #art #digital #digitalart #swan

The ability to think about your work and only your work is the greatest skill you can hone in the studio. A practice should be focused. Lately I feel distracted by life and the holiday season, but I am trying to get back to that place where my concentration is at it's highest resolve. It is important to control your thoughts so that you can control your will. We have to let the momentary distractions that lead us to anger and discontentment to not lead us away from the love

I have met some really cool artist in the past couple of months- a mixture of old friends and some brand new faces, all full of positive energy. It's always nice to get a chance to informally talk to other artist and learn about their travels, studio practices, and to listen to their personal stories. It's easy to feel isolated within your own studio because the act of being an artist demands that your attention is focused on your work. When you come out of your studio it's

Some days you have to paint all day just to make two good decisions. Some days you think all day about the two good decisions you are going to make. #thoughts #painting #athoughtfulday #art #physicality #cerebal #howbattlesarewon

#art #artexhibition #rogerallancleaves #groundbreaking #theforgetmenots #emergingartist #abstractart #memphisart #artmemphis #Painting #contemporaryartist #artistblog #contemporarypainting #abstract #christianbrothers

It's been a long day of working outside in the heat to resolve the sculptures for my upcoming show. Making sculptures always gives me ideas for future paintings. It opens up doors in my mind that I probably wouldn't go through if I stuck to two dimensional work. I like when I have the opportunity to make objects that exist in space. These sculptures look and feel like loose abstract paintings to me, but they are made in a slow and thoughtful manner. I'm working using an ad

My studio practice has been leading my down the path of patterning and texture. I spend quite a bit of time researching Egyptian art and I'm interested in the ornamental ways artist from that era decorated sculptures and objects created for fashion. Everything in my created world has to have my own spin. I like to manipulate everything to my on liking when I pull in foreign elements unless it's for a really specific reason. I've been using Corel Painter and Illustrator CS -w

It has been a long time since I set out to make a drawing that was concrete in it's possibilities. Most of my drawings start abstractly now. I enjoy finding imagery in my warm up exercises and developing ideas from fragments. This morning I tried to draw something that was already resolved in my head and I found the task to be difficult in the sense that the idea of proceeding was just too boring. I generally find art that looks like it has been preconceived to be boring unl

I was recently featured in ArtAscent. I answered a call to artist to respond to the idea of youth. I'm really pleased with the write up about my work. I will post a link when they release the publication in the next couple of days. It really makes me feel good when people write about my work without trying to skirt around the ideas that I put into all the creations in my studio practice. It's impossible to understand my work without that insight. As a creator I don't set o

If you have not had a chance to check out Monsters Marks at AMUM the University of Memphis museum, please stop by and take a look. Below are a few snapshots and that is just the tip of the iceberg. For more information check out this link: http://www.memphis.edu/amum/exhibitions/monstermarks.php #contemporaryart #memphis #memphisart #musuem #artcollector #artcollections #curatedexhibitions #artexhibitions #art #painting #photography #monstersmarks #rogerallancleaves #wangechi

You can check out my work in the spring issue of ArtMaze Mag. I was selected for inclusion by, art critic and editor of Hyperallergic Magazine, Benjamin Sutton. It is a honor to be included in this international publication with so many talented artist. Please check out the complete list and pre-order a copy ! http://artmazemag.com/spring-issue-7/ On the cover: Howard Fonda, ‘Untitled’, oil and colored pencil on canvas, 48 x 36 inches #rogerallancleaves #artmazemag #artmaze #

I have some work in Monsters Marks. I hope you can check it out. I'm also in the a group exhibition titled A World Away in Jackson, Mississippi and you can read about it here! Art Museum of the University of Memphis (AMUM) / 3750 Norriswood Ave., 142 Communications and Fine Arts Bldg.March 25 - July 28th (Reception: March 25 3:00pm - 6:00pm) Awe-inspiring, thought-provoking, and sometimes disturbing, works featured from Memphis collections make us think about how we define m