Sustainability: "Leaves in a Pot"

I'm taking this class on Sustainability, which is a great class but happens to fall on the same days as the art classes I want to take.

Well, I finally got to spend my limited homework time painting anyway. "Leaves in a Pot" is painted on piece of wood off a broken cabinet. It's about 18"x18" and done in oils. The idea is mimicking nature's process of refertilizing the soil. When we copy nature, things usually work out for the best.

This was a quick painting done from life.

Dead Note (National Film Challenge 2010)

I took part in my first film project ever last weekend. The results were pretty satisfying. We had a great crew of people with some top-notch equipment. It was well worth the hurried stress that we all went through to get it done. Check it out:

Excerpts From The Art Spirit

My mother gave me the book The Art Spirit this past spring to replace the Gloria Steinham book that I lost while visiting. Not only did it quickly take hold after losing a book that I was already engrossed in, it opened up so much inspiration and creativity for me. It literally cleansed my brain of all the criticisms I felt wounded by from my last art teacher. I was free again to paint from my heart and away from some intellectualized way of approaching the craft. I really want to share some amazing advice that I gathered from it:

"It is not enough to have thought great things before doing the work. The brush stroke at the moment of contact carries inevitably the exact state of being of the artist at that exact moment into the work, and there it is, to be seen and read by those who can read such signs, and to be read later by the artist himself, with perhaps some surprise, as a revelation of himself."

"He who has contemplated has met with himself, is in a state to see into the realities beyond the surfaces of this subject. Nature reveals to him, and, seeing and feeling intensely, he paints..."

"Don't try to paint good landscapes. Try to paint canvases that will show how interesting the landscape looks to you - your pleasure in the thing. Wit."

"We are instinctly blind to what is not relative."

"There are moments in our lives...when we seem to see beyond the usual - become clairvoyant. We reach then into reality."

"A tree growing out of the ground is as wonderful today as it always was. It does not need to adopt new and startling methods."

"The individual says 'My crowd doesn't run that way.' I say don't run with crowds."

"The individual passes, living his life, and the things he touches receive his kind of impress, and they afterwards bear the trace of his passing. They give evidence of the quality of this growth."

"Don't worry about your originality. You could not get rid of it if you wanted to."

"We have little interest in the material person or the material thing. All our valuation of them is based on the sensations their presence and existence arouse in us."

More later, or you can read the whole thing on Google using the link above.

Two Angles of a Seed Pod

The title speaks for itself. The seed pod was in Pennsylvania, by Lake Lenape. They are both 4"x6" and done in oils on canvas board.

Paintings up at The Black Cat Cafe

I've got some art up at The Black Cat Cafe on Alberta for the month of September. It's a cute spot, with lots of coffeehouse intellectuals solving world problems.

Painting on the Porch

I've been painting on my porch lately. The first one was Tomato-Basil and now I have this one. I suppose it would be called "Sunset wall". I painted it on a piece of wood that came from an old cabinet that we were throwing away. I think the size is 10"x15" and it's done in oils.

Reflections of the Past

I'm not sure why I never posted this one. I completed it early last year I think. Oils (of course), 24"x30" canvas. The title is "Reflections of the Past."

Tomato-Basil

The tomatoes are not red yet, but that purple basil sure is striking.

Oils 12"x12"

Gratuitous Garden Pics

No blog would be complete without close-up pictures of flowers. Here we have my container garden featuring chamomile blossoms, miniature roses, some flowers that I forget the names of and a bird at the feeder. Summer is almost over.

I finally found a cat I don't like.

I was visiting my parents in Pennsylvania last weekend when my mother told me to come look out the window. She wanted to show me this:


I really didn't think I would get more of a glimpse than that, and since I've never seen a hairless cat before, I felt inclined to get a closer look. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that the cat was very loving and eager to be touched. Yet, petting sticky, thick skin is slightly vomit-inducing for me. It looked like a cat, it acted like a cat, but it reminded me of a rat. It felt like touching some kind of alien baby that just wants love but the mother can't quite get over the hideousness of it.

My mother was particularly displeased that the cat's junk was on full display:


I understand that people who are allergic to cat hair but love cats could get down with that, but ick. Sorry, kitty, I prefer my felines with hair. Here is a little something to cleanse your brain:

Steve Martin is Adorable

The Seattle SugarPlum Elves have been picking up a few tips from Steve Martin himself. Since the Portland Elves are learning some moves from Seattle, we're reviewing some old footage from movie classics. What we've learned, aside from some great dances and songs is that Steve Martin is completely adorable. Exhibit A from Three Amigos:



Exhibit B from The Jerk:

My Kitty Died Last Christmas

...It was kind of a horrific experience. We thought she had a urinary tract infection because she kept peeing on the floor uncontrollably. After medicating her for weeks on anti-biotics, I was sitting on my computer and I saw her piss right near the litter box. She looked completely tense and just let out a tiny bit. I realized something strange was going on, it looked like she was having a seizure. My theory was confirmed as they progressively got worse throughout the day. I could not stand to watch her suffer. It seemed like with each seizure she was losing her brain. She seemed out of it and unable to balance. I felt certain that we needed to put her down.

When we were in the vet's office, he offered us alternatives. We could medicate her without testing and see if it helped, we could get a $150 test done to rule out poison, or we could continue as planned to put her down. The decision was too hard to make in 1 hour, which was the time we had until the vet closed for the day. So, we took the medication, Quaaludes, and tried to keep her sedated for 24 hours. It was the longest 24 hours ever. Not only did the seizures continue and get progressively worse, but the medication made her even more drowsy and braindead. She didn't even know who we were. I can't go into anymore detail than that, it's all just a nightmare that brings me to tears to think about.

The next chance we got, we took her to the humane society, where they kept her alive and drugged her until they determined in a matter of days that she was unable to be saved and put her down. It's good to know that she's finally at peace but it's taken us awhile to heal from the experience. I don't usually paint just cats, but it helped me to immortalize her in some way.

Gemini

Sister Rosetta Tharpe: Didn't it Rain

Sister Rosetta Tharpe is my new hero. This song has been in my head since it started raining yesterday.

Birds in Flight

I did these late last year, I believe, and the whole point was to paint little stuff that I could sell for cheap... but here I am hoarding them. Birds are my obsession right now. Until I can sufficiently dive into their existence, it's impossible to let these little bursts of spirit go. They are all 6"x6" and they vibe off each other in this really nice way, so that you could place them in any hanging configuration and have them be playing off each other. Eventually, I'll sell them for less than $50 a piece. For now, they're living the good life on a shelf in my art corner where I can covet them (weirdo! yes, definitely.).

Fantasy Diptych

This started as a magazine collage, using mostly National Geographics. The collage was turned into a painting and the second painting is a continuance of the first. A bit of storytelling seems to have come out. It's a dream of mine to write an animated movie and these images sent my mind into some uncharted territory:


Oils 24"x36"

Oils 24"x18"

It's been awhile: sketches in charcoal, pastel and pencil.