Swizzle Studio

The Pyramid, Rob Elliott, 2016. 36″x48″, acrylic on canvas. $1150

The Pyramid, my latest painting, is currently on view at Toronto’s Flying Pony.

At 36″x48″, it is the largest painting I have done in years, and personally one of the most satisfying. The artwork is the second large piece I have done in the 1970s illustration style I usually reserve for my small gouache drawings. The first was 2015’s Frustuck in Berlin, a depiction of family life in East Germany. I find this blocky style rewarding for making these ironic artworks, as a similar drawing style was used in patriotic marketing during the 1970s.

Frustuck in Berlin, Rob Elliott, 2015. 36″x36″, acrylic on canvas. $850

The Pyramid was exciting to work on. As I applied the black paint over the colour blocks, the figures sprung to life and the previously abstract shapes took on their full symbolic meaning.

The Pyramid in progress.

The Pyramid started as a quick gouache drawing I posted on my Instagram account (@swizzlestudio) for the Fourth of July.

The Pyramid can be seen at Flying Pony (1481 Gerrard St E, Toronto) until December 31, 2016.