In the window they are

A series of paintings owned by DL will be shown here, put in the window so to speak. I thank him for this opportunity. This is a 1989 drawing, with the Arizona landscape in the background, an angry dog and indeed people looking in. This might be a Las Vegas painting when he still was in the La Brea Gallery or briefly after that. I seem to remember DL gave Tony a Shell gas card. So Tony was always mobile and could get milk and stuff at the gas stations...

Technique

I visited an overview of the work of Jan Cox. I learned a lot. The show was well put together, and looking at the work I saw why Tony Mafia liked the man and his work. Their way of handling paint, loading the brush is similar. The strange distorted yet often pretty figures, the outlines, sometimes the composition of a canvas shows that these painters are kindred spirits. They were both tormented artists suffering of depression. This whimsical drawing is Dress in Blue.

The Chapel

It is time for some religion. This drawing (watercolor? oil?) which Tony named the Chaple -remember he was dyslexic- was send by Spooky who found it on the net for sale. Tony regularly did religious drawings, called himself catholic, wanted a catholic funeral but doubted the existence of God as told. But being sick and often near to dying he needed someone to bargain with. This pretty drawing is from 1971 and I am pretty sure that it is in the States. Who knows more about it?

Lines

On the same theme of nudeness: this 1985 piece is called Lines for obvious reasons, horizontal and vertical lines. The figures are there but they are near abstractions. Spooky on the post 'Romance' noted that the composition of that particular drawing was close to a Rubens painting 'Suzanna and the elders'.
Tony knew Rubens' work since he visited his house in Antwerp, the churches where his work was and the museums. He applied the broad brush technique Rubens used and I guess that good compositions are of all times. Yet Tony did what he wanted to do so you have had a series of nudes from the pencil pusher to this light one, so you could see the wide range and differences in how Tony treated a theme.

Inferno

In this 1983 piece Tony shows pretty ladies and that making love can be hellish. He called this mixed medium Inferno. I guess it all became too much sex and not enough love... Who knows. 1983 wasn't the bes period of his life.

Romance

The last post about bullfighting wasn't really very Political Correct, but then Tony never was. Here he is sensuous, romantic, gentle. The drawing consists of four pieces of of German etching paper put together so that the size would fit his mood. Note the two harlequins behind the naked lady.

Spain

Tony loved Spain, all aspects of it Flamenco, the country side and the bullfights. The colors of the costume and the high octane drama was probably what drew him to portray again and again the bulls, matadors and toreadors. You'll note the costumes are right. He knew because he went with Betty Ford a matadora for a while. They lived in Mexico for a while where she was touring. He left her when she turned out to be 'braver' than he was when one night in Mexico city some bandits burgled their house and she went after them with her sword. From the dentists collection. Sad eyes are a specialty of Tony...