John Azoni: Detroit Artist

John Azoni is an artist living and working in the greater Detroit area. His paintings consisting of portraits, abstract, landscapes, and objects are often characterized by their loose, energetic nature with thick brush strokes and abstract qualities. To purchase or commission work, send an email via the contact form below, or call 313-286-9100.

John Azoni: Detroit Artist

New American Paintings: my submission

February 20th, 2011 · Uncategorized

New American Paintings is a popular publication showcasing emerging and established artists from around the country. It’s essentially a book, and if you pay for a subscription, it comes in 6 different issues; highlighting artists from each of the 5 regions of the U.S., and an MFA edition, showcasing artists in the process of receiving their Masters of Fine Arts degrees.

I have submitted to the Midwest competition twice over the past 5 years or so. I have yet to be published. This year I submitted my application and I’m hoping for better results.

So here are the images I submitted for my application:

Fingers crossed.

View CommentsTags:···

“House on a Hill” – a new landscape painting

January 22nd, 2011 · Uncategorized

Over the summer my wife, Laura, and I took a trip up north to spend the weekend at Laura’s parents cottage. They own some beautiful property in Atlanta, MI. I ended up painting this for them for Christmas this year. I think they liked it.

House on a hill, by detroit artist john azoni

“House on a Hill”
18×24 in., acrylic on canvas
2010

View CommentsTags:

Great Solution for Mounting Prints or Other Artwork

January 6th, 2011 · Uncategorized

One of the needs I have had as an artist lately has been the ability to cleanly and securely mount paper onto wood panels.

I’ve been making works for my Azoni Briefs series for several months now – short form, food themed paintings on artist grade paper, mounted on wood panels – and like many other artists who have tried different routes for mounting artwork, I’ve experienced a few seemingly good ideas go wrong.

When I first started the series, I was mounting the paper onto the wood panels using Mod Podge.

It happened to be something I had lying around the studio, and it seemed to work well at first. But after using this for several paintings, I noticed it was really inconsistent. Some of my surfaces would end up with slight bubbles in the paper, which were hard to ignore. This even happened after going through the extra step of priming both surfaces with a thin layer of the Mod Podge and letting it dry to avoid bubbling after adhesion.

So I switched to spray adhesive.

Not only was this messy and toxic, but what seemed like a really strong bond at first, ended up incredibly weak the next day. I could peel the paper right off the wood with little force, even after following the directions carefully for the most permanent bond.

Finally I tried this product, and it has made my life much easier.

It’s 3m Positionable Mounting Adhesive. This stuff is great. It bonds permanently when pressure is applied. It comes in a roll form as shown above. No bubbles, no mess, no toxins. Totally preserves the integrity of the print or paper, while bonding it firmly to another surface. A little pricier than a can of spray adhesive – about $55 – but it goes a long way, and it has not only saved me time, but saved a lot of wasted materials, as well as dramatically enhanced the quality and appearance of my surfaces.

Give it a try if you haven’t, and if you have, let me know what you think.

View CommentsTags:·········

2010 Highlights + My New Year’s Resolution

January 1st, 2011 · Uncategorized

In 2009, my New Year’s resolution was to “seek more adventure”.

I lived this out by taking a random day off work, driving to Port Huron by myself, realizing there was nothing interesting to do there by myself in the dead of winter, and finding a parking lot by the bridge to Sarnia overlooking the water where I read a little bit, and wrote a blog post in my car with the heat on.

It was exhilarating. The world couldn’t hold me down that day.

I’m sure I did other adventurous things in 2009, like proposing to my wife, but the above example was my one attempt to intentionally live out my resolution.

In 2010 I resolved to “seek more adventure again”. This year, more attempts at adventure. My friend Beau and I traveled to Kalamazoo, MI for the Bell’s Brewery 25th anniversary party; the fulfillment of an “Adventure Day”, which we titled as such in our calendars.

The trip was complete with a 40-or-so-piece German band whose name I can’t remember, and a handful of people polka dancing with each other (see above). Also, good food, great beer, a band I love called Deals Gone Bad, and a random couple at a table next to us telling us how great having sex on a motorcycle is.

I shot a real gun for the first time:

Ate tacos out of a taco truck in Mexican Town:

Scored myself a hot wife:

And got deathly ill on my honeymoon:

And also worth mentioning, I bought a 1984 Honda Spree, converted it into a sport utility gardening vehicle, and rode it everywhere for a few months until it died on the last leg of a long trek from Royal Oak to downtown Detroit. It will be sold for parts in the spring. Broom not included.

All-in-all I think 2010 was a great year for “seek more adventure again”.

Looking ahead to 2011, I think my resolution will be this: “do stuff ahead of time”. And as an offshoot of that, “significantly reduce the number of times I my wife gets mad at me for reasons leading to said resolution.”

But in all seriousness, there is magic in preparation. I just need to train myself to make preparation a habit. In the end I know it will lead to greater peace of mind, deeper relationships, and better business.

I’d love to hear your 2010 highlights, and visions for 2011. Let me know in the comment section.

Until then, have a safe and happy New Year, and don’t be an idiot with the alcohol.

View CommentsTags:

New Phone Art – Abstract Interiors

December 31st, 2010 · Uncategorized

I’ve been following a handful of design blogs in my Google Reader, and as I scan through the images from time to time, I have found there to be a lot of possibilities for abstraction. Sometimes really clean hard lines, other times intricate patterns.

I love abstraction, but my paintings are usually pretty bland and uninspired when I don’t have something to look at, and abstract from. So I’ve been experimenting with these abstract interiors on my phone. It also has given me more of a reason to keep up with the multiple posts per day on some of these design blogs.

Red for the holidays phone art_____

red table with candles abstract phone art

The one above is actually from my own house. The table shown here is a family heirloom of ours, currently in the possession of my wife and I.  My great grandmother got it as a wedding gifts many many years ago. It’s actually quite fashionable (it is not bright red).

bed with wood interior design abstract phone art___

candy striped carpet abstract interior phone art_____

These images, with the exception of the kitchen table, come from Design*Sponge.

If you haven’t seen it yet, check out my Azoni Briefs series featured on Design*Sponge here: http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/10/food-as-muse-2.html

I hope everyone had a great holiday!

View CommentsTags:·······

Painting start-to-finish – Detroit Institute of Arts

December 15th, 2010 · Uncategorized

I recently finished the painting below of the Detroit Institute of Arts building, and recorded the process via my Flip cam. The idea for the painting came out of my desire to take a Detroit landmark, and represent it in a slightly abstracted manner.

Refreshed in Autumn - a painting of the Detroit Institute of Arts

"Refreshed in Autumn" - 18 x 24 in., acrylic on canvas

Check out the video below to watch the painting develop from start to finish.

To catch more videos from the studio, follow to my YouTube channel by clicking the yellow “Subscribe” button on my channel.

View CommentsTags:········

“My Burger Awaits” – A painting commission start-to-finish.

December 1st, 2010 · Uncategorized

The best commissions are when the client says “do whatever you want”.

Can’t argue with that.

A friend of mine recently commissioned me to do a painting for him and his wife, and allowed me to pursue my own vision.

My first question to him was “what do your dates look like?”

My wife and I bond over sushi. One of our favorite restaurants is a sushi bar not even a mile from our house. I took her there for our first date. But even more than sushi for us, is some good ol’ greasy pizza coupled with some kind of reality show, like Teen Mom or something. Nothing fans the flame like a little Teen Mom. Wouldn’t you agree?

My friend’s marriage is like mine, in that him and his wife prefer to contrast their love for Asian cuisine with some hearty American fare. And so romance, for them, is often rediscovered at In-N-Out Burger.

Burgers happen to be a favorite American icon of mine to begin with, so naturally I enjoyed making this painting.

Here’s how the painting developed start-to-finish:

My Burger Awaits

"My Burger Awaits" painting by detroit artist, John Azoni

"My Burger Awaits" - 12x14 in. Acrylic on canvas

I’ve eaten at a lot of burger joints. In-N-Out Burger I have yet to try.

But higher on my list of burger priorities though would involve a trip to Sydney, Australia to visit Vaz’s Takeaway; home of “The Ark Burger”. Two of every animal between these buns.

America needs to step up its game.

View CommentsTags:

What’s New on Etsy

November 30th, 2010 · Etsy

I started doing some mini paintings and listing them on Etsy. These are all 4×4 in. By themselves I think they look good but the really stand out more in sets.

Glazed Donut Krispy Kreme

"Glazed Donut" - 4x4 in. Acrylic - $45

Split Avocados

"Split Avocados 2" - 4x4 in., acrylic on canvas - $45

Frosted Chocolate Cake

"Frosted Chocolate Cake" - 4x4 in., Acrylic - $45

strawberry frosted donut by Azoni Briefs on Etsy

"Strawberry Frosted Donut" - 4x4 in., Acrylic - $45

View CommentsTags:··········

Pop Up Detroit – December Show

November 29th, 2010 · Uncategorized

I have a piece in the December exhibition put on by Pop Up Detroit. Pop Up Detroit is an effort by some young Detroiters to turn abandoned buildings into temporary gallery space.

Details of the upcoming exhibition:

Dec. 4, 2010
5800 Cass Ave.
Detroit, MI
5pm – 12 am

Artists include:
John Azoni, Chris Turner, Camilo Pardo, Ian Swanson, David Flaugher, Kymia Nawabi, Robert Woodcox, Jarod Lew, Nicole St. John, Carolyn Garay, Michelle Tanguay, Luke Mack, Rick Boffman, Jenna Bissett, Jack Da Via, William Irving Singer, Kenny Corbin, Jacob Lewkow, and many more.

View CommentsTags:

Studio Update

November 13th, 2010 · Uncategorized

View CommentsTags:····