Four Days a Week

In Progress: Untitled (Shoes)

2011-12-09T14:12:00.000-08:00


"Untitled (Shoes" 36"H by 36"W, on canvas. (click for enlargement)

This is something I've started over the past weekend. If you look closely you'll see a discoloration in the surface, especially in the left side. That is because I have used acrylic matte medium to laminate four pieces of paper onto a canvas so that I could continue my drawing all the way out to the edges. Some of the matte medium has gotten on to the surface but it doesn't seem to affect the way the charcoal rubs onto it at all.

So far, work on the paintings in the studio is phenomenally slow, but I've been reassured by several people that it's to be expected so soon after having a baby. I have a play pen all set up, waiting for the day when he will tolerate being put down with some toys while I work.

I've decided to keep updating this post with my progress. After four hours of painting, I've got this:

(click for enlargement)

Acrylic! For a brief moment with my napthanol red, I thought "Wow, just like my oils. This isn't at all hard." Sadly, the only reason the paint felt thicker and more buttery is because I've had the tube for five years. Once I moved to other colors it seemed thin and watery, so I'm thinking of getting a tub of heavy gel medium and seeing if that helps to compensate for the lack of texture. Maybe Golden's OPEN line will be more like what I'm used to. It's on my Christmas list.

Here it is after six hours of work:

(click for enlargement)

The lavender shoe at the top right seems badly drawn right now. I will come back to it after I get all the shoes blocked in. At this point all my concerns are about the technical aspects of the painting, and later, when I'm wrapping it up, I'll start to think about it as an art object, rather than something I'm working on.

I really should throw out my tube of cobalt blue. For one, I suspect it has actual cobalt in it, which is a toxin. But I'm stubborn, and despite a texture like blue plastic cottage cheese, I painted the blue satin shoes. Not nearly as finished, but at least they're blocked in.

In Progress: Ex-Latte Five

2011-09-21T23:13:00.000-07:00

"Ex-Latte Five"

7"H by 5"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

I painted this in acrylic just this past Sunday and found myself really enjoying the experience, which surprised me. I've had a set of acrylics for about five years, but rarely found myself using them, and when I did I painted very thinly and didn't experiment with any mediums. Well, if I want to paint in an manner which is at all similar to my way of applying oils, I'd better learn to slather it on like butter. The trick is to go a lot faster than I normally would. This painting has just an hour invested in it. There couldn't be more- the paint dried on the palette really quickly.

So far I feel successful. However, this is still unfinished even though what is left is just minor detailing. Mixing the same color for a specific area may be the most difficult thing to do in acrylics as the paint darkens and changes as it dries. When I took a class which used acrylic paint in the past, that feature of the medium was a source of constant frustration. I'll take another whack at it this coming Sunday (still not renaming this blog "One Day a Week" despite the reality), and see what develops.

In Progress: Light the Floor

2011-08-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

"Light the Floor"

20"H by 16"W, on canvas.

(click for enlargement)

This is my first serious acrylic painting since a little experimentation in school. I decided to begin by mixing black and white gesso to work out the initial values in the underpainting. So far, I really do like the medium but I do have a little problem with judging the drying time with the colors.

When I shot the photo I'm using as my reference for this painting, I was in an abandoned house in Mississippi. Painting the window with the same energetic pale spring greens that saturate that landscape seems the most likely. Interestingly, this was the first property where I had physical problems with getting around from room to room, and not because of the amount of refuse. The floor, while holding together amazingly well in most places, had some precarious soft spots where water had been dripping for decades.

In Progress: Retired

2011-08-21T15:51:00.001-07:00

"Retired"
36"H by 36"W, on canvas.
(click for enlargement)

This painting began with a doodle on a post-it note, just a simple composition study with areas of positive and negative space. I've painted some problematic areas several times and as with most things that aren't based on my own photography, I'm having a difficult time figuring out whether I'm done or not. At the moment it seems like there's too many neutral and cool grays.

This is my last oil painting, at least for a little while. I took a two-month break from the oils and all of a sudden I can smell the mediums and thinners, and I hadn't been able to detect the odor since I was in school. Frighteningly, I was also unable to smell them while pregnant. I wore a mask while painting, but I still didn't smell anything while in the studio. So in the interest of my baby's health and my own, I'm packing the oils away for a little bit.

Hiatus

2011-08-21T15:51:00.000-07:00

I have a very good little reason for not being very productive lately, and his name is Simon Stark Black.

(click for enlargement)

He's two and a half months old at the moment, and while he lets me sleep most nights, he certainly isn't ready to be introduced to the art studio. Painting had slowed down quite a bit even before his arrival, but now I'm in the studio very rarely. I should rename this blog "One Day a Week".

Website Down

2011-08-21T15:26:00.000-07:00

My site is down temporarily as I change hosting and do a little bit of redesigning. The URL is still correct.

Chatter

2011-06-04T00:33:00.000-07:00

"Chatter"

48"H by 48"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

This is being taken to the State Fair this Saturday for delivery to their Fine Art Competition. Here is the accompanying Artist Statement:

"With my paintings I explore the accessories of modern life, directly confronting consumerism and the link between identity and material possessions. In this work, I have made a study of the artifacts of material culture, diffused and tangled in a treacherous jumble of repetitive colors and familiar shapes."

It may not be the best that I've ever written, but it is short, and I felt that that was important. I didn't want to get the reader too bogged down by elaborating on ownership, culture, totems, self-worth, and femininity.

6.5 in Gold

2011-05-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

"6.5 in Gold"

11"H by 8.5"W, on wet media Dura-Lar.

(click for enlargement)

This was done quickly with a favorite shoe as my model. I can't actually wear most of the shoes I've been painting, and this one in particular is so absurdly tiny that it should be relegated to the world of doll shoes. However, the label on the sole insists that this is sized six and a half.

I was invited to a contest put on by the makers of Dura-Lar film, and this is completed on their media. It is a very unusual surface to paint on; the brush seems to pull differently, as though the clear media were quite absorbent. The fact that I can paint on both sides of the surface was fun and liberating. It's a good thing that I have several more sheets to use up, but I am a little confused about how to handle the artwork once it dries. It seems to dislike tape, so I'm not sure a conventional mounting in a matt or frame will work.

Noema

2011-05-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

"Noema"

30"H by 48"W, on canvas.

(click for enlargement)

I very nearly sent this to the California state fair without a title. Now I'm playing the waiting game, hoping to hear back before the 15th, when the competition literature said results would be published. It's a huge relief to have it completed.

Lily the Pug

2011-04-16T00:07:00.000-07:00

"Lily"

11"H by 8.5"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

This was finished a few weeks ago but I forgot to post it, and the unframed version of this photo was unfortunately corrupted by a memory card error.

Pugs really do have some of the most enthusiastic and dedicated owners I've ever met, and it's seldom that I meet a dog of this breed that isn't sociable. As a commission, this was an enjoyable experience. I do experience a lot of anxiety over arrangments and custom paintings, mostly because if I'm creating for a specific person or audience I stop being able to be happy with the piece of art- and I seldom can tell if and when I'm finished. However, this one was straightforward and easy to paint, and when the buyer approved without any corrections I found myself hungry to do more of these.

Of course, the other two dog paintings I've started are not progressing so easily. At least I can put them off until the 22nd, when the State Fair deadline is officially up.

In Progress: Untitled 3 (shoes)

2011-04-05T23:20:00.000-07:00

"Untitled 3 (shoes)"

48"H by 48"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

This behemoth of a work has to be done by the 22nd of this month in order to be eligible for this year's State Fair Fine Art Competition. Unfortunately I'm still grappling with major revisions to my initial composition, which can be seen in earlier entries- the initial photo scrap can be seen here.

It's not the biggest work I've ever done, but it is probably the largest one to feature so much detail. There's very little resting space for the eye and the entire work is intended to be high in contrast. As a result, I can work on it closely, and back away about twenty feet to evaluate what I've done, but medium distance is difficult because there are so many areas that distract from the area I'm attempting to focus on. I've considered placing paper over some areas to keep it from distracting me, but because I tend to work all at once on my reds, grays, blues, etc., I need to be able to move from one area to the next quickly.

I've given a lot of thought to the titles for these shoe works, and nothing I've generated or heard has really stuck to the idea wall. Ferreting out a title is an arduous process, especially since "Shoes" strikes me as being far too simplistic.

In Progress: Untitled (Mantle)

2011-03-28T11:27:00.000-07:00


"Untitled (Mantle)" 16"H by 20"W, on canvas. (click for enlargement)

A quick start on a painting is easy for me and often makes me think I should slow down. The corner of my studio is filled with false starts and paintings that have failed to hold my interest for more than a few hours of painting. With this piece, I thumbnailed only twice before drawing directly on the canvas. A wooden stick helped me lay my perspective lines, and I started painting the base layers of color.

At this point I feel it necessary to address that my work is diverging into a lot of different areas. Perhaps it's a bad habit left over from art school, but I always want more than one body of work to whittle away at. Of course, I'm not sure it's really a bad habit- painting as much as I can on as many bodies of work means that I'll have a diverse portfolio for different audiences to see. On the other hand, it would be so nice to be able to present twenty shoe paintings to a gallery in San Francisco this year or next, instead of in 2015.

In Progress: Untitled (shoes)

2011-03-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

"Untitled (shoes)"

30"H by 48"W, on canvas.

(click for enlargement)

The way the background looks at this moment is due to it being masked off by some paper that I'm using to make sure that the next step is the right one. I felt that the background needed a flat element but did not want to eliminate the blue power cord shrinking into the distance. Playing with the idea of surface in a painting is an enjoyable exchange between the painter and the viewer for me- my goal is to amuse and entertain the viewer by playing on the anticipation of an artificially deep space and inserting a surprising element of flat pattern.

I have my doubts about this element of course; it could cause the painting to look too much like a decorator piece and take away from the pile of shoes in the foreground. I think if either of these things happens the solution is pretty clear- another coat of paint on the background.

In Progress: Untitled 3 (shoes)

2011-03-18T13:14:00.000-07:00

"Untitled 3 (shoes)"

48"H by 48"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

I'm very happy with about 80% of this painting. The way I generated this image was by collaging photographs together, and I adored it at first. But the painting is now what I would describe as an endurance trial. Portions of it are complete, and I love how it looks as a small collage.

Whatever my next step may be, I'd like to preserve the diagonal movement. If it's possible to do so by obscuring some of the shoes and the edges to prevent an overload of detail and dominant areas of the painting.

In Progress: Untitled (shoes)

2011-02-14T22:18:00.000-08:00

"Untitled (shoes)"

30"H by 48"W, on canvas.

(click for enlargement)

I've had quite a break from the blog after the move, and I'm also quite pregnant, so my attitude towards painting has changed a bit. Oil paints aren't inherently toxic, but a lot of mine contain cadmium, cobalt, and even lead- and the Gamsol I use to clean my brushes is also hazardous to breathe. So when I paint now, I use no medium to thin my paint, and I use dish gloves on my hands to make sure that nothing toxic can get on my fingers or under my nails. As an alternative to Gamsol, I've been using baby oil to get the pigment out of the brush hairs and then some dish soap in the studio sink.

This painting has taken a long rest but yesterday I found myself re-mixing the colors for the electrical cords and redefining their edges. Now that they pop, I have a bit of work to do on a few of the shoes which haven't even received any paint.

I must also remember to bring my larger camera, as my cell phone camera seems to be very dark. For an earlier look at the same painting, check out this older entry here.

Untitled 3 (shoes)

2010-12-26T19:29:00.000-08:00

"Untitled 3 (shoes)"

48"H by 48"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

This painting is heavy. It dominates the corner of my studio, waiting and reminding me that I must finish it soon if I wish it to be on the fresh print run of business cards. While I work on other, more pressing projects, it looms and draws my attention whenever I glance at my supply corner.

I may call this about half-finished. Color is absent from too much of the darks, and a few spots are still simply sketches. The editing process begins as soon as I am satisfied with the way the whole is painted, and consists simply of emphasizing the areas which I feel deserve the eye's attention. It is easily the most meditative and difficult part of the painting process.

Two Pugs and a Labrador

2010-11-15T22:48:00.000-08:00

"Lily the Pug"

11"H by 8.5"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)


"Naomi the Pug" 11"H by 8.5"W, on panel. (click for enlargement)


"Mo" 8"H by8"W, on panel. (click for enlargement)

Here are the dog paintings I've been drawing for the last week. I'll start to paint on them tomorrow. The Labrador was my mother's and I used to try to ride it like a pony.

New Studio

2010-10-16T20:15:00.000-07:00

From the entrance of studio 5A.

The move into the new studio has gone very well. It is in the same building and has about four times the amount of space I was in. It's about 250 square feet, and most of that is lengthwise so I can get a little distance on some very big paintings.

I'm also working on applying wordpress to my website and converting this blog to be a part of it. So far I've checked out a library book and stared at the cover without actually opening it to read. I know less about wordpress than I do about dreamweaver. This should be fun, and by 'fun' I mean it's like all that homework I've been missing for a year or so.

Holding Pattern

2010-08-15T12:16:00.000-07:00

I've been presented with an oppourtunity to shift my studio to a much larger space and I'm taking it. If the blog goes dark for a little while it's because I'm buried under all the art supplies I've aqquired over the years.

In Progress: Untitled 2 & 3 (shoes)

2010-08-10T23:49:00.000-07:00


"Untitled 2 (shoes)" 24"H by 24"W, on canvas. (click for enlargement)

"Untitled 3 (shoes)"

48"H by 48"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

I wanted to play catch-up with these paintings, to get them to the same level as the first painting of the shoes. Of course, the first painting benefited from having a pthalo-greenish wash before I painted the subject at all. Once these three shoe paintings are of the same quality, I can then begin to pick out batches of shoes to detail and finish; all the red shoes at once, all the gold at once, all the black, etc.

The biggest dilemma is that I don't really know what to call these pieces. I have ideas about the titles, but I really want to make sure it fits just right so I'm holding off. In cases like this, I'll often write a prospective title repeatedly on a piece of paper and examine it. If I still feel satisfied after twenty times or so, the title will probably stick.

In Progress: Gulf

2010-08-05T23:34:00.000-07:00


"Gulf" (on the right) pictured next to "Junction"

Both of these paintings are in progress, and this is a photo of them hanging in the hall at my studio, which is how they are stored. I noticed, however, that they correspond very strongly. Gulf is on its side to save some space, and while it doesn't seem finished (as though there were an amount of brustrokes or paint tubes that make a painting "finished"), it seems to work well in this orientation so it may stay this way. Gulf is 54" long.

In Progress(?): Junction

2010-07-30T14:05:00.000-07:00

"Junction"

48"H by 36"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

I've reached a place with this painting where I can almost call it done. It buzzes with the amount of shapes and colors inflicted on it, seems overcrowded and disjointed. I'm going to look at it for a few weeks, see if I can figure out how to fix it. For now, it's hanging in the studio highway, taking up some space.

In Progress: Untitled (shoes)

2010-07-29T00:52:00.000-07:00

"Untitled (shoes)"

30"H by 48"W, on canvas.

(click for enlargement)

Still working on this one. I have noted that every time I feel like my strokes aren't going on the way I want them to, I feel like I should go brush shopping. Really, what I ought to do is learn to clean them a bit better.

I'm not sure of the shadow colors in this one yet, and some of the spots haven't been added or their placement still eludes me. Now that some of the shoes are looking a lot more solid, it's easier to see what the result will look like. Tomorrow I hope I can get the background slapped on.

In Progress: Untitled (shoes)

2010-07-27T00:36:00.000-07:00

"Untitled (shoes)"

30"H by 48"W, on canvas.

(click for enlargement)

Still going really strong on this one. My Mondays are cut short at the studio, but the extension cords are finished and were very fun to paint. This painting has an issue I didn't really see until this point; the shoes on the left side are small in size, but shouldn't be quite as tiny as they are. I'll have to correct that when I paint on top of the drawing.

I'm ready to paint more on it as soon as I get up in the morning. This is going very quickly compared to some of the other ones I have languishing in the studio.

In Progress: Untitled (shoes)

2010-07-22T20:33:00.000-07:00

"Untitled (shoes)"

30"H by 48"W, on canvas.

(click for enlargement)

This is a pile of shoes with a couple of electrical cables piled on top of a mattress. I had a really good groove going with this by the time I was done today. So good, actually, that I didn't really notice that I was clenching my jaw and leaning heavily to the left. Forgetting to move and above all, relax, is a sign of a good painting, or at least it means that I'm passionate about it. It also means that I might be found laying on the floor tomorrow, trying to get my back to go back to where it should be.

Here is a reference collage I've made of the same subject:

(click for enlargement)

Just drawing these absurd little graceful objects brings me more joy than wearing them possibly could. Another series of paintings? Well, yes. I've got nothing but time until I start making a realistic income with my painting, so I may as well put my eggs in a lot of baskets.

State Fair Visit

2010-07-18T20:01:00.000-07:00

Here's me with Garbage. I like this painting, but me being fond of it doesn't excuse the fact that it feels like a much weaker painting than the ones I'm working on these days.

Tumult seems settled now that it's framed. If it is sold, I may cry a little before using the cash to fix my decrepit truck.

Both paintings won Awards of Merit, and the ribbons are some of the most lavish award rosettes I've ever seen. The State Fairgrounds is enormous and I saw perhaps half of it before deciding that it was just too hot to continue. The Fine Art building is housing some incredible works of art, and I feel like my paintings are in excellent company.

Starbucks Grande

2010-07-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

Here's the underdrawings for the start of a series of small paintings. I am not sure if all of these will be of coffee cups, or whether they will all be crushed.

All are 6x8 inches, charcoal on cradled panels. Going to put some paint on them next week. None of them have names or individual lives yet, and I'm not sure whether I'm going to include any of the text. It's a bit repetitive, like a visit to Starbucks.

Built for Two

2010-07-12T00:38:00.000-07:00

I've been away for a week, and I feel like I should apologize for being out of the studio for so long. I can't wait to get back to painting. On the bright side, the summer camp that I helped to run got a lot of positive reviews from parents and students alike.

Some friends of mine got married a couple weeks ago, and this was my wedding present to them:

"Built for Two"

11"H by 17"W, on canvas.
(click for enlargement)

And here's the painting with the frame on it. I went to the trouble of putting gold leaf on the poplar frame and then had to dull it back with an acrylic wash and some satin polyurethane. It came out very nicely, if a little late with the seven-day drying time.

In Progress: Sink

2010-07-02T11:36:00.000-07:00

"Sink"

24"H by 54"W, on panel.
(click for enlargement)

I've been painting outside lately. In my studio, I can't step more than four feet away from the surface to see the picture from a distance. The open air and more importantly, heat, has caused the drying times of my paints to reduce to almost nothing (nothing being an hour in this case). So I'm able to work on a part of the painting and come back to a dry surface, as long as I keep the paint somewhat thin. It's a nice way to work, if you can keep from dying of heatstroke.

JuJu's Front and Juju's Back

2010-07-01T20:25:00.000-07:00

"Juju's Front"

9"H by 9"W, on panel.
(click for enlargement)

"Juju's Back"

9"H by 9"W, on panel.
(click for enlargement)

Finished these paintings and framed them today, they look pretty nice. More dogs for the dog-painting portfolio- someday I'll figure out how to paint a black labrador in a way that doesn't look like an inky spot with ears.

Here's one with the frame on:

In Progress: Junction

2010-06-18T00:21:00.000-07:00

"Junction"(in progress)

48"H by 36"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

Not done, but I'm starting to believe that the final painting will strongly resemble what I've done here. The disk or bowl-shaped object in the center right has been replaced with a swirling cloud of yellow and reddish purple., which is the biggest change. The brightness of a few of the front objects has been toned down from a near-white to let them slip back a little since they were popping out like neon signs.

Gold Leaf

2010-06-17T00:59:00.000-07:00

All I have to say today is that Gold Leaf, used to spruce up frames, is an attractive material with many good qualities. It is now part of my fingertips and nailbeds.

If a craft store in the area offered classes on how to use this material, I'd take them up. Then I would offer my services to a salon to bling the nails of people who desire a truly permanent look.

California State Fair

2010-06-16T01:47:00.000-07:00

"Garbage"

48"H by 34"W, on panel.

"Tumult"

24"H by 54"W, on panel.

These works are on view at the California State Fair from July 14 through August 1st. For event information, please go to BigFun.org

Here's a shot of them when their frames were getting a final coat of polyeurethane:

I think that "Garbage" now weighs 70lbs with the mass of white maple anchored to the outside of it. "Tumult" is framed with some lovely Pacific Coast Cypress, which has a nostalgic yet suprisingly acidic odor.

Hubcap

2010-06-16T01:15:00.000-07:00

"Hubcap"(in progress)

14"H by 14"W, on chrome plated steel hubcap.

(click for enlargement)

In addition to the usual problem solving processes of composition and value, it's very problematic to paint on a round surface. I'm definitely not yet done with it, but it's an entertaining experience; this is the first canvas I've had that's capable of rolling away.

Juju's Front and Back

2010-06-04T13:20:00.000-07:00

"Juju's Back"

9"H by 9"W, on panel.
(click for enlargement)

"Juju's Front"

9"H by 9"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

These are of a dog belonging to my Aunt, who I've affectionately named Pugzilla. Her name is actually Juju, and she's an adorable wheezy pile of love. I had to take my reference photos clandestinely, because whenever I showed that I was paying any attention to the dog she would jump up and practically convulse with joy.

Back from Mississippi

2010-05-21T01:02:00.000-07:00

"Mrs. Winchester's Bedroom"

8"H by 10"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

This is a small painting I gave to my Dad last year. This is the first photograph of it that wasn't too terribly covered in glare, but there's still a shadow line down the right side from being in a frame.

"Tangerine Living Room"

12"H by 15"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

I gave this one to Dad this year. He'll frame it in a week or so- I had to travel with it wrapped in wax paper to ensure that the few wet spots wouldn't create a enormous mess in the suitcase, so he'll wait a little while before cutting the frame to size and slipping it on.

Had a great time in Mississippi, though it was really much too short. My husband and I went out for nine days, though the better part of two of those was spent almost exclusively in planes and airports. While we were there, I took pictures of three houses, two of which were new to me, and got in a lot of visiting with my relatives. I am also apparently delicious to bugs. All anyone has to do when a mosquito swarm nears is stand near me, and all of the little bloodsuckers will be drawn to my vitamin-rich veins.

So I'm very itchy now.

"Tip"(in progress)

11"H by 14"W, on canvas.

(click for enlargement)

I like the chair in this painting but I think that the junk piled to the left needs some work. I had this desk in my posession and I left it outside my studio, in the parking lot, because hey- it was rusty and full of spiders. It disappeared overnight so I hope that the reference shots I have for it will be good enough if I want to paint it again.

Soon I'll update with photos of a hubcap I'm painting on for landfillart.org, it's exciting because it's my first attempt at a round surface.

In addition, Tumult and Garbage have both been accepted to the California State Fair Art Competition. I'm riding pretty high for now.

Product

2010-05-07T14:05:00.000-07:00

"Magnolia"

7"H by 5"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

"Granny Smith Apple"

6"H by 4"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

Been preparing for a trip to visit some family in Mississippi and driving myself a little crazy by painting every day. I'm actually happy to report that these two paintings took less than three hours each. I'm getting a lot faster with painting things that are right in front of me, which is great news. I stil get bogged down with questions of color in some items- reflected light is particularally hard to get right for whatever reason, but so far "faking it" seems to work pretty well.

I have some other paintings in progress to show, but the photos are very bad so I'll need to re-shoot the things in better lighting.

In Progress: Junction

2010-04-27T01:16:00.000-07:00

48"H by 36"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

Brightened up the highlights today. I feel good about this painting again, even though that bowl/dish shape is hanging in some sort of limbo.

I also pulled a chair out of a dumpster. I'm not sure if it will find a home elsewhere, but I saw it turned over and fell in love with the rusty legs. It's a very good thing that I have a pickup truck.

Funding- An Eternal Struggle

2010-04-21T23:58:00.000-07:00

I always feel overwhelmed when thinking about money. My studio-mate and I are seriously considering a larger studio space, which we are both in need of- my works are stacked in my garage and above the rafters, and things I don't even remember painting threaten to avalanche onto my boxes of regular crap (I.E. Toys, clothes, furniture). I'm in a total quandary, and though I know the way out of it, I don't want get a regular full-time job. I need to earn more money to pay for a studio, in order to make more work, in order to sell more work, yet I'll have to sacrifice painting hours to do more work outside the studio to pay for it.

There are works that I consider "garnishes." Sweet little paintings of things that do little more than advertise my technical skill. I think I need to make a lot of those sorts of paintings just now, to try to deal with my seriously dry financial well. Paintings of things that people like isn't at all what I'm about, but the need to have a product is driving me now. So I'm trying my hand at a few portraits and a couple paintings of people's dogs. It's not a problem to turn these paintings out, I'm just a little ashamed of them.

More images soon. I'm going to donate a painting to a local art organization to try to keep them afloat and I'm preparing to enter a state fair competition. So this depression hasn't completely affected my enormous ego, but it could surely use some feeding.

Fireplace Scene 1& 2

2010-04-07T00:49:00.000-07:00

14"H by 11"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

11"H by 14"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

These are finally finished. I like them both, and I'm fairly sure that one of them is going to be claimed soon. Part of my objective in painting two virtually identical pieces is to keep one of them- my studio is looking like it's full of things that are perpetually in progress, and I need a few art pieces that will look nice around the room. Building up a store of art that can be given to a gallery for a month or so is also an objective of mine, even though having such a small space means that some of the art will be in storage for a little while before seeing much daylight.

Tangerine Living Room

2010-04-06T23:09:00.000-07:00

6"H by 8"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

A much better photo of this painting. I'm going to amend that entry where I showed it before, because the picture was so inaccurate.

In Progress: Tumult

2010-04-06T21:34:00.000-07:00

48"H by 36"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

Mapping out the main composition points using the shadows is extremely satisfying and a step that takes a lot of consideration, so today I sat this painting in the parking lot and looked at it for a long time. I committed to some heavy editing. This painting is probably only at the halfway point and will have a lot more layered upon it before I'm at all satisfied.

In Progress: Fireplace Scene 1 & 2

2010-04-02T02:26:00.000-07:00

14"H by 11"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

11"H by 14"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

These works have got much more paint on them now, and are very nearly done. I'm not exactly sure that the colors in these photographs are right- it seems like a lot of the warmer yellows have cooled dramatically. I'll shoot them again next week and try different color adjustments.

As usual, writing at 2:30am makes me terse and a little less than inspired with my entry, but I enjoyed painting so much today that I had to make a post before sleeping.

Winchester Hallway

2010-03-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

10"H by 8"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

Finished and framed this, it's hanging in the studio while I debate a larger version. I really love painting the convoluted scenes inside the Winchester House, but it's only tangentially connected to my body of work.

In Progress: Fireplace Scene 1 & 2, Winchester Hallway, and Update

2010-03-12T01:22:00.000-08:00

This week I slipped while removing a v-nail on a frame and had to get stitches on my left forearm. It really hasn't caused me much discomfort except that typing irritates it a little more than I'd like.

11"H by 14"W, on panel.

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14"H by 11"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

These paintings are both near completion but I feel like they need something more. I can't help but feel like at this size, I should think of them as studies for larger paintings.

10"H by 8"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

Here's a small painting I just started today. The source is a strange and convoluted hallway inside the Winchester Mystery house in San Jose.

This is the frame that I injured myself on. I'm so happy with how it looks that I'm posting it here without a proper cropping.

Trip to San Francisco, and In Progress: Slough II

2010-03-06T01:57:00.000-08:00

Taken from the train on the way out of town.

I might use this as a reference for something, even though it's rather blurry I can't decide whether that detracts from the image. It's a recycling depot just south of the San Francisco train station that I managed to glimpse when my camera was in my hand.

Thursday was spent going to galleries in the city, scouting the locations and examining the works they had on display. 49 Geary has a large collection of galleries featuring mid-career artists, and while the exhibits are interesting and definitely worth an entry of their own, the purpose of my visit was to find a gallery willing to represent me. One of the curatorial assistants was especially gracious about my questions and thanked me for looking at the work before asking whether they represented emerging artists- apparently a lot of people who are starting out use more of a "shotgun" approach and drop of submission packets without considering what sort of work the gallery handles. It's likely that I could have been a bit more subtle or planned approach, but many of the galleries on my list are not very forthcoming about how and when submissions are accepted, or if they'll even consider the work of someone just starting out.

Generally, the reason for that is because the answer is no. I found a few galleries that do, in fact, accept emerging artists, and while they did generally state that they were not in a position to take risks in the current economy, none of them refused to take and look at my CD of work.

18"H by 24"W, on canvas.

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I've been working on this as a follow-up to a smaller painting, Slough. While the first was commited from a photographic reference with invented color, this newer painting is entirely invented and has been constantly rotated. It's interesting to me how much this new painting resembles the view from an airplane.

Revision: The Leavings

2010-03-03T13:23:00.000-08:00

24"H by 10"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

This image is in the process of being reworked. When I began the painting last year, I didn't like the result even before it was finished, so I've kept it in the studio and sought to improve it. Right now it's hanging as you see here, but that is by no means the permanent orientation.

Video Archive: Pair Discarded

2010-03-03T12:03:00.000-08:00

I'm posting this here because this video will no longer go on the front page of my site after today. Lately I've wanted to revise my earlier decision that this piece was done and work more on the mattresses and areas behind them.

In Progress: Junction

2010-03-03T00:17:00.000-08:00

48"H by 36"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

Worked another few days on this, turning it periodically on the easel to try to balance the composition. The vivid colors have been dulled and more gray areas added. Carefully selecting points to fully saturate is forcing me to continually reconsider the center of interest in this composition. I'm a little amused that lines have begun to emerge that I did not anticipate in the initial sketch, and I might have never noticed the if the panel hadn't been turned.

In Progress: Junction

2010-02-24T01:05:00.000-08:00

48"H by 36"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

I spent a lot of time putting this onto a panel today, and I'm quite happy with the amount of progress that I've made so far.

When I visited the Wayne Thiebaud exhibit, I may have absorbed a little bit of the colors for my palette. Perhaps it's the urge to use cobalt for every shadow and dark space in existence, or the fact that I can't stop reaching for the pthalo green and manganese blue, but something is very different about how this has gone so far.

Sketching

2010-02-23T01:28:00.000-08:00

8"H by 6"W, on paper.

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Today I prepared more panels for painting and worked on a preliminary drawing for one of the two four foot panels. I like this drawing a lot and hope that the composition translates without seeming too crowded- it's hard to tell without putting colors in the sketch, which may be my next step before beginning the actual painting.

My drawings turn out much sharper than the paintings do, which says a lot about how I use the brush versus how I use a pencil. When I draw, the aim is to define the borders of an object, how it sits in the space, and how the edges and features of the object affect the composition. When I paint, the preliminary layout becomes a little obscured and I begin to very obviously favor certain features and discard others.

Getting Started

2010-02-22T01:42:00.000-08:00

48"H by 36"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

My favorite part of any painting is in the preparation and first coats of paint. With this painting I decided to use a thicker ground than what I usually use. While normally I saturate a rag with leftover paint and mineral spirits and wipe it onto the gesso, this time I made a thick mixture of mineral spirits, galkyd, and liquin and brushed it on with some chromatic black and a little leftover brown. The resulting coat is thick and lovely. I hope it retains the gloss and slickness that it has when the paint is fresh.

This is to be the next of the garbage series of paintings, in the same vein as Tumult. I'm likely going to spend most of this week thumbnailing compositions and mixing colors in preparation.

Showing off my studio space.

Here is a photograph of my studio. It's the size of a large cubicle. As a result I have to keep it fairly uncluttered and move larger paintings into storage as soon as they're completed so that they won't become an actual obstacle. I mix paint on a marble sink blank (a cut-out of a sink from a marble countertop) and keep all my paints in a zippered sack on the floor. Nearly everything in the space is on wheels or light enough to be moved often.

An interesting bit of trivia: there are 13 completed paintings in this photograph and 4 in progress.

In Progress: Fireplace Scene 1 & 2

2010-02-22T00:56:00.000-08:00

11"H by 14"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

14"H by 11"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

I was struck with a dose of indecision while planning this next painting of the interior of the living room, so I decided to do a vertical and horizontal composition side-by-side. Both are painted at the same time with the same color palette.

Looking at them both now, reduced to this size, they seem nearly complete- but I'm not yet ready to let either one go, there's a lot of very thin spots in the paint and edges that need to be refined.

Good Dog Buddabba

2010-02-11T01:29:00.000-08:00

14"H by 11"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

This painting will be donated to Andy's pet shop in San Jose to benefit their operation. They sell supplies and pre-owned dogs, cats, lizards, birds, hamsters, etc. etc. They really have a long history in the building that they're in, too. Unfortunately, they're being evicted and have to move.

This is for the Art for the Animals project, to be donated as a fundraiser. Andy's needs all the help they can get.

Buddabba (not sure if this is the correct spelling) was brought to the US by an American tourist visiting Thailand who encountered him in a half-starved state. This person brought him back to the US and quickly found that Buddabba had a host of behavioral problems. He bit, nipped, howled, and refused to be potty trained. Buddabba likely would have been put down if he had not been passed on to Andy's.

Buddabba was slowly rehabilitated and with a consistent environment, has become a very trustworthy canine. He was adopted a few weeks ago. He's now a "good dog".

I find myself really attracted to work like this. It's astonishingly not as labor-intensive as the garbage paintings. While the rubbish heaps aren't as precise or as figurative, they involve a lot more soul-searching and divination regarding the next steps to take. In contrast, when I'm commissioned to paint from a photo of an object, it is usually done within two days.

Open Derelict

2010-02-06T00:57:00.000-08:00

22"H by 28"W, on canvas.

(click for enlargement)

This painting went fairly easily for me. An in-progress shot and some commentary is at this entry.

I've checked out Jennifer Bartlett's book from the library several times, and I'm thinking of writing her a letter through her publisher. Since I've never done anything like that, I'm trying to write the best letter I can. Hopefully it will not take me so long that I end up writing her after the event this was made for, Swan Day.

In Progress: Tumult

2010-02-06T00:13:00.000-08:00

In this former entry I discussed work on a painting I'm calling Tumult. Yesterday I had a few hours to spend and chose to work on it more and attempt to resolve some of the issues with the light side.

24"H by 54"W, on cradled birch panel. WIP
(click for enlargement)

I finally believe that I might be able to sucessfully resolve this piece. Also, the end of the work on it feels near. While I can't pinpoint what exactly it needs in addition, it no longer seems like a truncated or lazy image.

I'm playing the catch-up game. I was painting and suffering from the winter doldrums and generally didn't want to spend time writing about it later.

A Week Hardly Spent

2010-01-22T16:58:00.001-08:00

My resolution this year has been to go to the studio and paint four days a week. Blogging about it is a peripheral issue, but I think it does help me to get my thoughts straight about what I'm doing.

That being said, I had to take this week off. My truck conveniently decided to cost me a bunch of money and still have problems with acceleration. And then I got a bad dose of food poisioning, which has caused me to be stuck at home for essentially the whole week. The bus is not the best place to be feeling ill, even if you're really just exhausted.

In Progress: Coffee Cup 4 and Open Derilict

2010-01-13T22:31:00.000-08:00

8"H by 6"W

A new painting today, in the vein of some works I did last year. I collected some used cups from fast-food oriented places and painted them. This isn't nearly done, and looking at it I can see several problems with the ellipses and how they line up.

Working in the darks on this paintingI posted about day before yesterday. I feel like it's coming together pretty well and is close to the end. Tomorrow I have a meeting with my critique group and I'm anxious to see what they think of it.

Having some trouble with my truck lately which makes getting to the studio interesting. I hope it won't cut into my production.

In Progress: Open Derelict

2010-01-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

This painting has a more architectural focus but is also densely patterned. In the past I've battled the impulse to add a bunch of aimless colors to paintings. Sometimes when I follow my impulse the painting looks like a pile of jelly beans. With this in mind, I've used a very real setting to ensure that my pallete doesn't wander too far.

There's a house I photographed in Mississippi last year. It's been abandoned since the 1970's, down the street from my Grandparents. It's the first of the houses I have in mind- I want to do at least six paintings of this carcass before it's reclaimed by the forest that's around the south and west sides of the building. Not all of the paintings of this house have an architectural focus. This is actually the third painting of this site. The first two are here and here.

It's inspired by the work of Jennifer Bartlett, whose book I found to be amazingly interesting to read as well as to look at. Her work Air: 24 Hours is astonishingly different from her pointilist color fields and balances the geometric focus of her print work with a colorful and painterly approach.

The point of doing this particular painting with Bartlett as an inspiration is twofold: I would like to glean some experience relating my work to the past works of other artists, and I would like to participate in SWAN Day.
SWAN Day is an open studios event for me. In my studio complex there are over 30 participating artists and we'll be hanging our works in the common halls. All works placed on display in the common areas must be inspired by women artists. At the end of March, this painting will be up for all to see in a hall with the works of others. And my studio door will be open for all visitors to come by and see.

Migraine Paintings

2010-01-10T01:13:00.000-08:00

I get ocular migraines from time to time, and while they're not especially painful, they do have the consequence of making me unable to do practically any of the work I would like to accomplish. Weird shimmering blank spots deter me from driving, make reading impossible, and make reading a slow and arduous task.

So in these times of vision-bending nausea, I paint non-objectively. It's either that or sit in a heap in my studio and stare blindly at the floor.

All 5"H by 4"W, gouache and pencil on Rives BFK tan.

This third one has some features that are more coherent than the other pieces. I was coming out of it a little bit and decided to throw in some more easily understood forms.

My truck has been acting up a little bit lately so it will make getting to the studio an interesting task. We'll see how much painting gets done this next week.

In Progress: Tumult

2010-01-06T19:35:00.000-08:00

24"H by 54"W, on cradled birch panel. WIP
(click for enlargement)

The title of this painting is a clue to how difficult it has become for me to make further edits. Usually I reach a comfortable resolution with a painting and no longer have long staring contests with it. I can feel where the finish line is and give myself permission to put down the brush. This painting is an exception.

One of the stresses I often encounter is the feeling that composition fundementals elude me. This painting was started with the idea that I would use it to conquer this lack of expertise. Because of this goal, I run the risk of over-working and over-thinking the image. Hopefully my being aware of the peril will save me from not yielding a result.

These larger paintings are always a long process of uncertainty. But I think that quitting because of some mental difficulty is a self-serving impulse, so I'll only stop when the storage becomes impossible.