Mr. Moustache Man

Which came first, the plush or the painting?  Hmmmm.....

Johnson County Library & Monsters

My new-ish full-time job at Artlink has kept me very busy the past few months.  It's a great job.  It hasn't stopped me from finishing a couple paintings and working on some collaborations with Ezra for a show at Firefly with other artist parents, though.

Commission for Johnson County Library in Overland, Kansas.

And here is another dude waiting for a home.  I've name him Alyx.

Thankfulness

Even though my Valentine's Day wasn't filled with romance, there was plenty of love to go around.  I started thinking about all the loves in my life, Ezra first and foremost :)  Second, I feel very thankful to have a job that I love.  The seamlessness between my personal and professional life is nearly invisible and I hope that I am worthy of such a wonderful existence.  I hope to serve my community and fellow human well!

Also, I feel pretty lucky to have been given the opportunity to work with Johnson County Library!  I've been working on paintings for their children's department.  The two below are finished and awaiting framing so they can be shipped to their new home. 

Enjoy!

 

summer portraits

Here are a couple of the portraits I have been working on this summer.  They are oil on board. xoxo

The idea I am working on this summer is that of the connection of rationality and the soul.  Western historical philosophers have pointed out that men are typically more inclined to rationality and women are more inclined to be nurturing and instinctual.  This was all fine and well, until some religious philosophers decided that rationality was an indicator of the soul, and hence women, children, and animals (in connection with nature) have been grouped together as an identifiable 'other' in western society due to their apparent lack of rationality and hence, a soul. 

These ideas are centuries old and so integrated into our culture that we rarely recognize them unless we look very hard.  Something very interesting happened during the Surrealist movement at the beginning of the twentith century: as men were connecting women to nature and the child, women took the idea and ran with it.  Surrealist men decided that woman was the gateway to creativity and because of man's lack of instinct and connection to nature, they needed woman as a key to the unconcious.  These women, who were sometimes also artists, were often socially inhibited by these ideas (again, being seen only valuable as a tool for man).  However, in the end, these women used their instinct to create many wonderful pieces long after the end of the Surrealist movement.  I feel like much of the creative liscence I have today can reflect upon the men and women of surrealism and their drive to tap into universal creativity. 

Anyhow, here are a couple portraits that are almost finished in relation to these ideas.

Life Painting

I did my first portrait painting from life last week!  I think it is pretty good for my first time.  It's 5" x 7" on board in oil.  I am pretty excited!  It only took an hour and a half.  If anyone is interested in trading a 2 hour sitting session for a t shirt or something, let me know! xoxoxo

let's do the semester-end shuffle

    It has been a fantastic first semester back at school!  I have a fancy new graduate studio in the SOCA building, however, do to domestic circumstances (the child, Ezra),  I have found myself painting at home more as the semester closes.  It is convienient to paint at home, but it all so much easier to be distracted.  SO, whether working at home is beneficial or not remains to be seen.  Here is a photo of the studio I've made at home:

   I converted my second bedroom in to a full-fledged art room by moving my bed into Ezra's room, which he loves.  And, since I'm not counting on getting lucky anytime soon, it all works out.  Hah!  Below are a few paintings I'm trying to finish before next Wednesday's critique. 

These paintings are coming along so nicely.  I feel like I am really understanding oil techniques and color.

recent oils and an etching

pink bear still life. oil on board

I wasn't really painting before.  This is totally new and different, I am thinking like a painter!  I feel like a painter!  I am a painter. 

oil paintings

 While I learned lots of handy techniques this fall in oil painting, I don't think I finished a single painting! Hah!  It was like cramming food only for nutrition, not for the sake of taste, which is something I, among other artists, am prone to.  Not necessarily a flaw.  So, here are a couple of the last paintings I worked on, the self portrait being the ending piece.  I have come a long way since my August black and white still live.  woot!

its finally done!! (and some other stuff)

The calendar is finally finished!  Hooray!  After weeks of burning, printing, and scoring it's done. So in love with printing but really glad I get to move on.

My new favorite tool: bone folder.

I've been sitting in on an oil painting class this semester to prep myself for starting graduate school this winter.  It is so nice to be able to go and just paint.
This was the first painting of the class, a simple black and white still life.

RAAAAR

Here are some new monsters I'm working on.  They are all painted and ready to dry.  Once they dry I will add outlines.  Fun!

Winter Blahs

I don't recall ever getting winter depression. However, I fear I have fallen victim to it this season. The days are too short. Today, when I stepped outside my door I felt myself recoil and get instantly pissed off. Yuck. This too shall pass.

My succulent cuttings seem to have no problem with the winter. Here they are in all their glory, the survivors, anyhow. A customer at the Firefly works for the Botanical Conservatory and brought me a bunch of random leaflets. About 1/2 of them (shown here) have rooted. Hooray!



A random photo of some old stencils. Since I haven't blogged in so damned long, here's a little extra for you rascals who read this shit. :)



Below are a couple shots of a painting I've been working on for Jean. I really loved the way the oil looked next to the ink under-drawing.





I've been invited to participate in the Orchard Gallery's "The Artful Box" in March. Below is the third box I've started. The first two are being scrapped and can be seen in the background. I've got this crazy thing in my head about brown and complimenting it with pink, teal, orange, yellow, etc. So far it hasn't worked out so well. The first two were done in oil and the medium did not look very good on the boxes. The third is watercolor. I can dig it so far.



And last, but certainly not least, are some sketches from tonight's drawing session at Artlink. I am really happy with the hands below. Hands are a bitch to draw! So, for one of the sessions I focused only on the hands and feet. This pose was perfect because the model was bent over with his hands above his feet. Time ran out just as I was getting to the feet. This sketch turned out pretty well.






Ah, ran out of time for the penis. Dang. That's a pretty nice leg, though.

mumbles and shouts

Again, I haven't blogged in a while. This time I don't have the excuse of not having internet at home because that problem has been fixed. It's facebook. I can't quit it.

Above are the starts of some linoleum blocks that need carved so I can go-a-printing. Can anyone tell what's wrong in the photo above?

A couple funny little monsters. Hooray!

amused and annoyed

My family has joined facebook and are watching my every move. While this is mildly entertaining, I get the feeling that my more 'vulgar' natures are not appreciated. So. With that I must live out my wildest fantasies here on the blog. And with that being said, here is a bit of Tuesday night creation. Now for the oils to dry so I can finish it!

insatiable

I moved into my own place and no longer have internet at home, so I haven't been a-blogging as much recently. But. Here are a few new things I have been working on. I've got my nose over a variety of different glues presently. Still working on the watercolors a bit, a bit of the birds, my sticks and stones entry is driving me fucking crazy, and I just started doing some block printing. And the goats.

I have this horrible insatiable desire to create. Sounds great-but it's horribly depressing-can't seem to strike a balance. I'm so overwhelmed by this feeling that I can't seem to focus mentally or on the process. I remember having this feeling in the past-however-I didn't have the responsibilities I have today. Again-learning to strike a balance somehow. (Before I lose it)

loving the struggle...

"A curator would then not be a person who chooses artists but an accomplice of artists, a catalyst and a loudspeaker for artists' voices." -Massimiliano Gioni, The Wrong Gallery

I've been thinking about the struggle of the artist-to survive, to create, to conceptualize, to express and to have those expressions realized and internalized by others, fighting the mainstream, the t.v., the humanly irresponsible. When I speak with other artists many conversations are glazed with what I call 'the struggle' and what artists who read this will relate to instantly. The struggle is a frustration, swimming against the current, fighting the color that matches the couch.
In my experiences, the struggle is what makes us. I love the struggle, it's the best part, be it internal or external. If we artists had everything we wanted, we would find something else to struggle against, fighting what we thought we wanted. If there was no friction we wouldn't be able to feel a damned thing and where is the climax with no leading up? It's the moment of leading up just directly before we think the big it is going to happen that's the best part anyhow.