Week of 2/11/2019

With a great amount of plastic comes a great amount of exploration.

Sooooo, it’s been a second. I haven’t written a post in some time, but with good reason! I’ve been hunkering and melting down (literally, melting down plastic) – pushing to bring the extraordinary from the ordinary.

You know that thing called vocabulary – that thing nerds like to build? It’s also a term used in the art world. You probably know that and I sound like a pompous jerk, regardless, in the art world, vocabulary refers to the visual variation within an artist’s work. Some artists use symbols as their vocabularies, others use colors, geometrics, textures, or the different marks made by pens, pencils, and brushes. Ideally, artists have vocabularies unique to their work. I tell you this because right now I’m spending hours building a new vocabulary. Working with unfamiliar material is like learning a new language. It’s best taken one word at a time, one sentence at a time, then on to the paragraph and, ultimately, story. It’s an exciting and challenging process. Here are some of my first stuttered phrases.

From the small and intricate . . .

To the large and dimensional . . .

I’m very close to my first paragraph! If you like the mangled language here, be sure to check in on me soon. The syntax can only expand and richen with experience and time.

Week of 10/1/2018

I’m surrounded by bones,

I have no social obligations,

and every wall is white.

I’m in dreamland.

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If you told me two years ago that I’d be in a tiny cow town near the pan handle of Oklahoma, I would have laughed in your face. But that’s exactly where I am, and content. My ceiling drips during heavy rains, I have one friend, I have no vehicle, and feel like !’m living the dream! Everyday I get unrestrained time to explore artistic ideas, hone artistic skill, and peacefully dwell within my creative environment. My stomach, my bladder, and my brain are the only ones making demands. From all others I am free.

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Caring for the Castaway

So great, I have loads of free time, but what am I doing with it? Well, have you noticed how regularly you encounter film plastics? You buy groceries — plastic bag. You order from Amazon — plastic packing material. You need to paint your house — plastic drop cloth. You eat chips — plastic bag. You get my drift. We encounter film plastics on an almost daily basis. We may try to recycle or reuse them, but often their final destination is the trash. From there, some make a jail break for the environment but most are buried alive in landfills. And they don’t die for a very long time. They shrink and shred into increasingly pervasive and insidious particles. So with all this free time, I’m investigating an artistic use of film plastics. It’s challenging and riveting, and weird. I have a studio full of trash! But my hope is that if I start caring for the castaway, others will too.

My plastic yarn.

My plastic balls.

Transformed by heat.

Small

Experiments

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My Plastic Soap Box

“Care and Quality are internal and external aspects of the same thing. A person who sees Quality and feels it as he works is a person who cares. A person who cares about what he sees and does is a person who’s bound to have some characteristic of quality.”  ― Robert M. Pirsig, 

I’ve been listening to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance while slicing, tying, and wrapping garbage. It has been a perfect backdrop. The author’s exploration into quality and care have highlighted aspects of our culture I despise. It has highlighted an aspect of myself I despise. Carelessness.

Our culture takes great care with convenience, saving time, energy and money, but at what cost? When plastic first hit the market, did anyone imagine that in fifty years it would kill birds, fish, and contaminate oceans? Plastic is not at fault. We are. Consumers and companies alike are responsible for the reckless spread of plastic. Consumers choose what they buy and companies choose how they produce what. On both sides we should consider the end life for what we buy or what we create. Buy quality, not quantity. Learn to care for what you own. Buy from companies who do their best to close the loop on their products. Let’s bring some care into the world of plastics, because if we do, there’s a good chance we’ll increase our world’s quality.

Week of 9/3/2018

After a few gallons of sweat and some sleepless nights, we did it! The SMA Octopus Gallery had it’s debut. My greatest event challenge of the year is marked off, and I regret nothing. Each artist’s fantastic community rallied, making our burden light. This event proves that when creativity and grit do some good belly bumping, they give you a child named achievement.

For those able to make the show, many thanks for coming out. You are part of our success. For those unable to attend, here is a glimpses into our wonderland.

Want to know what my studio looks like right now? Sorry, I can’t show you. I tried to take a picture but my camera broke. Seriously, it’s that ugly. Paint, chocolate wrappers and resin blobs are everywhere. And let me tell you, postartum depression is real. It’s been five days and I haven’t darkened the door to my studio. Netflix is a singing siren and I have no earplugs. My phone has turned into a black hole; as soon as I unlock it I’m sucked in. Maybe by the end of the week I’ll develop a healthy case self-loathing leading to a burst of willpower that’ll jump start the next push. One can always hope!

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Fixin’ to Leave for the Great Wide Open

It’s adventure time!

Are you familiar with the term artist residency? Like many things in the art world, they are cryptic, slippery, and like to elude definition. To put it simply, they are programs offering artists resources and time. Residencies move the artist from a known, daily routine to a foreign, focused environment. This frees the artist’s mind from distraction and helps the artist fully immerse in the creative process.

Residencies come in all shapes and sizes. Some are old and fat, like the prestigious Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. (It’s like the Yale of art residencies and acceptance is a big deal.) Some are lean and tough like the west coast Headland Center for the Arts. And some are young, like the the Northwestern Oklahoma State University Artist-In-Resident Program. Since I’m young in my artistic career, I find it fitting that I participate in a young residency. Oklahoma, here I come!

Stay tuned for my adventures in “everything deep fried” country!

Relish the Resin

So I've been dabbling with resin a bit. My experience now extends over the vast range of five whole months! I'm a freaking professional! NOT. So how do I make these shiny objects look almost professional? I'll tell you in two words: Art Resin.

Because Art Resin makes a quality product and gives great advice on how to use it, I can pass as a professional. Not only that, they add a personal touch by reaching out, asking for feedback, and interviewing artists who use their product. (Check out those interviews!)

Why do I use Art Resin? Well, as many artists know, if you make your beautiful painting or drawing on paper rather than canvas, you have to contend with framing. I love doing works on paper. I hate frames. In my search for a way to show my work without the use of a frame, resin presented a compelling solution. Because Art Resin designs resin specifically for the delicate nature of preserving art, I did my trial run with their product and haven't looked back.

Are you curious about how I get those painting on paper under a pretty layer of resin? Keep reading! 

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Rough Start to Satin Finish

In brief, my current process starts by making a painting or drawing on a piece of paper. I then cut out the painting and glue it to a panel (which I custom make rather than purchase). Once the glue has cured I cover the panel and paper with one or two layers of resin. Scroll through the following steps for a simple walk through.

Step 1: 

Make a painting!

Here is a painting I made.

Step 2:

Cut out the painting!

I use scissors and/or an exacto knife. 

Step 3:

Glue the cut out piece to the panel!

You can draw on the panel for added depth, as I did here, or leave it a solid color. It looks great both ways!

Glued and ready for a resin topcoat! 

Step 4:

Get your supplies ready! 

I use disposable latex gloves, an Art Resin reusable stir stick and spreader. You can use any plastic measuring cup, as resin can be removed from plastic surfaces once it dries. I lay down a latex plastic sheet to catch drips (a shower curtain does the trick). This is an easy, reusable method to keep your surfaces free from resin droplets!

Step 5:

Let it pour!

Once I've stirred the 1-to-1 parts of resin for 3 minutes, I pour it over my panel. My panel is raised on a small plastic container to keep it from sticking to the latex and having weird edges. It's also not perfectly level, which is why the resin is dripping off one side. Unlike me, use a level! 

There is blue painter's tape on the back side of the piece to keep drips from drying there. I use my resin spreader to ensure the whole surface is covered, then run a (gloved!) finger along each of the sides to smooth out drips. I do this as many times as needed. I use a culinary torch to pop bubbles.

My work tends to have extra bubbles as air releases from between the paper and the panel. I have found that using a liquid glue like PH Neutral PVA helps reduce these kinds of bubbles. For this reason I don't recommend using a spray adhesive.

Step 6:

Box it up! 

Once I'm satisfied there are no excessive drips or bubbles to babysit I cover my piece and let it cure. If my paper is higher than the resin level (you can see it poke up above the resin) I add a second coat 3-5 hours after my first coat. If the surface looks smooth and unobstructed I leave it alone. 

Step 7:

Christmas Morning!

I feel like a kid opening a present when I take the box off the next day. If I missed a big dust spec, cat hair, or bubble, I lightly sand the surface and do a second (or third) coat. There's nothing quite like that final, satin sheen! 

Finally, while I absolutely love finishing my artwork with resin, I am conscious of its drawbacks. I am looking for ways to be an environmentally conscious artist and want to be careful with my artistic choices. If you're curious about following my exploration in this and other areas, check out my website or sign up for my newsletter. Cheers!

Week of 7/30/2018

Four. Months. That's how long it's been since I gave this website a face lift. Hey! I've been busy! Just keep scrolling. You'll see.

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It's about to happen. The octopoctalypse.

Ok, groan. But seriously, some pretty cool stuff is happening in Sacramento the second week of September. I and three other fantastic artists, (Heather Marshall Bruglia, Yelena Martynovskaya, and Kari Breese) will be showing and selling our finest artwork at our two-day pop-up gallery (the SMA Octopus Gallery). We're looking forward to having people to browse our work, make an origami figure, or just hang out! I'll let you know how it goes! 

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Blast from the Past

September's not the only month putting me to work. May and July kept me hustling.

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What happened in May stays in May -The 33rd Street Bistro Show

My work adorned the walls of the 33rd Street Bistro banquet room for the month of May. Bluefin Tuna was hung for the first time. Her debut was well received, despite the figurative wrinkles still in need of ironing.

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The 6th of July, "Independent Artist Day" - Naked Coffee Roasting & Café

July brought a collaboration between myself and Olympic weight lifter (but also figurative artist?!) Ben Claridad. I crafted pallet walls for the event, brought out some of my favorite musicians (Sara Hall and friends) and showed off my mad construction skills.

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 There it is folks. Four months in a very small nutshell. Until the next overdue update! 

Week of 4/1/2018

I've been cutting. 

Not myself! Whoa! So dark . . . I've been cutting boards! And now I have panels. Enough to fill a wall. Which means art making aplenty. Next I'll craft backside framing, prime and paint the buggers, then beautify them! That's my favorite part.

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Turtle-ing. 

It's been a slow week for work on big momma. Large pieces can be challenging. They require patience, determination and open-mindedness. Here are some detail shots of my focus areas.

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Waste Not.

"Americans make more trash than anyone else on the planet, throwing away about 7.1 pounds per person per day, 365 days a year. Across a lifetime that rate means, on average, we are each on track to generate 102 tons of trash." 

I'm sure my family and friends are sick of hearing me talk about this book. But for real. Read this book. It's well crafted and easy to absorb, but convicting. It claims that an easy first step toward protecting the planet is a reduction in human consumption. I tend to agree. We United States citizens love to consume; it's fun, therapeutic even, but what if there's something more satisfying? Like, focusing on quality over quantity, experiences over possessions, and finding creative ways to reduce the use of disposable containers. Like living in a clutter free home, knowing that your food scraps turn into soil, your rubbish generates electricity and fuel, and you aren't sending plastic to the ocean. It's a good goal to reach for. 

At the end of his book, Edward Humes recommends five ways to start reducing one's trash contribution. 

1. "Refuse." Say no to stuff. If it'll end up in the trash a year from now, don't buy it.  

2. "Go used and refurbished." It's cheaper and has minimal environmental impact.

3. "Stop buying bottled water." US bottled water is fraudulent and wasteful. Reusable bottles filled with tap water are just as safe.

4. "No more plastic grocery bags." If you can stop using plastic bags, it proves you can stop using other disposable plastics. 

5. "Focus on cost of ownership." Rather than buying cheap items with short lifespans, save up for quality items that can be passed to future generations. Say no to things you don't need. Save instead of spend. 

If you'd like one person's zero waste example, check out Bea Johnson, an amazing frontier in zero waste: zerowastehome.com

Week of 3/12/2018

Let me frame this for you . . .

Artists are like picky eaters. Everything has to be just right - not too hot or cold, spicy or mild, salty or bland. I'm picky. I like paper. I like pens and watercolor paints. I like cutting things. I don't like frames. I don't like acrylic paint. Canvases and panels are ok, though.

In order to enjoy my artistic process while crafting a problem and frame-free finished piece, I come up with all sorts of odd solutions. The latest of these has been to glue my small works onto panels and top coat them with resin. I'm pleased with the results and their potential. You can expect more of this stuff, so - like it! Please?

Cutting and sizing the work. 

A stack of small panels ready to for artwork.

Finished work! Some still need their resin top coat. I ran out. Oops!

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In the States we're encouraged to follow our dreams, make our dreams come true, and told that anything is possible. We see it on TV, in movies, and read stories about it; but that's only one side of the coin. Flip that coin over and you'll see "Discipline" on the other side. If you want your dreams to come true, stop dreaming and start some ass-kicking self-discipline. You're the only one who can and should put your dream in action - through discipline. It's not romantic, but it's real. 

I speak from experience. I’ve had to train the hare in me to become a tortoise. I’d rather watch one more episode or play one more game, or Ooo! Shiny! than apply self-discipline; but the time for distraction is over. Rather than hopping off-track to sniff at this, lick that, it’s time to plod along with my eyes on one goal. Ironically, there's been a proportional increase in self-satisfaction and overall happiness with the decrease in lazy, addictive behavior. Rather than being drained from avoiding the hard thing I don’t want to do, I am energized by doing the hard thing I don’t want to do. My dopamine gets a huge boost when the hard thing is done (exercise, tracking expenses, networking, etc.). I am fueled to keep it up. It's been tedious to build good habits, large and small, but on that foundation I can build an empire. 

So what are you waiting for? Start with something small - like when you get up in the morning, or tracking the time you spend on your dream, and sooner or later, you'll change the world! At very least, your own. Good luck! 

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Week of 2/26/2018

Aaaand, they're up!

Dancing with Death made it from the floor to the wall. Progress! 

The framework is laid. Time for the juicy details *madly rubs hands together*.

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The Confused Artist

Initially I thought this piece had a promising future. Upon completion, I believe I've created another X-File - a piece that will never see a gallery wall. But why, you might ask. I believe this a good example of the confused artist. This happens when an artist gets excited about too many ideas all at once. They go a little mad scientist. Their ideas haven't figured out how to live together, and might not belong together at all. The result can be a piece that feels disjointed, not quite right, or busy. If the confused artist is smart, they'll keep playing with the parts (take that however you want) until the parts get along, especially if there's potential.

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Jumping-up-and-down-inside

You've gotta be a real art nerd to appreciate this, but if you are, keep reading.

Over the past couple years I gathered an extensive collection of sharpies. I began using them in my art, loving their bright color and smooth application. They are now possessed by my two nieces and one nephew, between the ages of two and seven. At this point those pens have likely been eaten, smashed, and left to dry. 
 

The reason I surrendered my treasure trove of color to tyrannical hands (only for pens) is that sharpies fade within five years of application. But good news! Faber Castell india ink pens Do Not! Though the investment was significant, here is my new treasure trove of color! And yes, I'm jumping-up-and-down-inside.

Week of 2/19/2018

“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.” – Lyndon B. Johnson

After three weeks of slow progress, I am telling myself "never. give. up." The art world is a terrifyingly huge and unpredictable place. To be an artist is to take a gamble. But my greatest failure would be to never truly try. I may be moving like a snail, but even snails get where they want to go.

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The pieces are coming together - not as anticipated. I'm anxious about melding the disparate bits into a whole. This is the risk of bringing imagination into reality. It's not always what you hope; but therein lies the excitement and challenge.

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Pen & watercolor explorations of the week

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This is gold. Enjoy. 

Week of 2/05/2018

I GOT FRAMED!

Literally, my art got framed. Yep. Go ahead and groan. 

In all seriousness though, framing is a huge headache for artists. They exhaust their imagination, time and money trying to present a framed version of their work. It should be easy, right? Wrong. The way artwork is presented can change the viewer's perception. For example, in galleries or museums I blow past traditionally matted and framed work. To me, this presentation screams, I'm boring! I'm distant! You have to fight to see me. But I stop and stare at pieces that have no frame, or who's framing is a skillfully integrated part of the piece. I strive for this in my own work. 

Finding framing solutions has been a serious struggle. I want the work to appear cherished, important, and approachable. I want there to be as few barriers as possible - plastic, glass, or excess matting. And after much despair and more applied willpower, I think I've found a winner . . .  Behold! The standoff model! 

The wood and paper backing allow for easy custom sizing. Acrylic or glass can be placed on top of the work if additional protection is desired. The design is simple to craft and indefinitely flexible. The standoffs feel clean, modern and professional, though a bit heavy on smaller pieces. Needless to say, I'm giddy over the numerous problems solved by this approach. Yay me! 

“The frame can be virtually invisible; well-made and unmemorable, or it can take a more active role and have a certain resonance with a picture. And when you start from scratch, when you design a frame singularly, to work in concert with a piece of art, you can have something powerful. You can have a dialogue.” -Jed Bark, a master framer

Let the experiments begin.  

*insert mad laugh here*

Up next for framing are these two oldies but goodies. If you love it, buy it! They're for sale!

Saola - Jewel of the Ammonites

12in x 12in, pen, 2017

Mechanized Organics

9in x 12in, pen, 2017

Weeek of 1/29/2018

The Cube of Truth

"One meal, soon forgotten . . . in exchange for a whole life."  -Annonymous

If my morality is defined by my choices, what does it mean when I eat a creature? Am I an accessory to murder? I can say, "they're just animals", but would I eat my cat, my dog? After viewing disturbing content about meat production, I find myself questioning my dietary choices. How can I not? The exploration is gruesome. 

Save for a scant few, roosters are useless to the egg industry, so, fluff-ball, cheeping male chicks are routinely ground to pulp. Compared to fish, pigs and cows, their deaths are mercifully swift. Yet standing in the meat aisle, staring at the tasteful array of pink, red, and white flesh, isolated from the jerking limbs, terrified shrieks and splattering blood, it's easy to disconnect. I soothe myself with "animal fats are needed for brain health", "animal protein helps retain skin elasticity", and "animal protein helps me avoid simple carbs". My desire to healthily thrive clashes with my desire to respect and care for all living beings. How many creatures have died for my convenience and appetite? Not only that, how does my convenience hurt the environment I strive to protect? Where is the balance between survival and murder?

Go Vegan! is a standard cry, but a piece of me rebels. That is the other extreme, but simple to achieve. Cut it all out, no longer consume, make a statement. I want there to be a middle ground. Am I just lying to myself? 

If you're asking similar questions, watch this video on slaughterhouse practice. Look up resources, think, observe. We're in this together.

A resource for these issues is the group Anonymous for the Voiceless. Check them out on the web or Facebook. 

Terra is an artistic and stunning documentary asking these same questions. Worth the watch. 

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Artists have X Files?

Indeed we do. Artists, especially the good ones, have a secret heap of pathetic, deformed failures. We hide them in dark corners, old sketchbooks or send them to die in landfills. Part of being a good artist is editing the work, carefully sorting the apples - rotten, green, crisp, mushy, sour, or sweet and rarely perfect. When we get a perfect one . . . wait, those exist?!

Just for kicks, here are some of my bad apples. 

Week of 1/22/2018

Last week I encountered a significant set-back to my artistic process. I discovered the material I was using (sharpie pens) fades rapidly and is not archival. For the short term, the work is valid, but I'd like it to look good in five . . . or one hundred years. This week I've been exploring pigments that don't fade quickly. I hope you enjoy these little studies. 

Study #1, 3in x 3in, watercolor & ink

Study #2, 3in x 3in, watercolor & ink

Study #3, 3in x 3in, watercolor & ink

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Christmas Morning!!!! 

My inner art child was ecstatic at receiving this beautiful, vintage engineer's tool chest. If you ever want to make an artist happy, just give them a magical wooden box full of little drawers.

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Behind the scenes . . .

Research? Yes, research. Great artists infuse their work with meaning. They use symmetry, symbols, monuments, shapes, and colors to create a response in the viewer. Humans resonate when art, though mysterious, holds intention and purpose. In an effort to educate myself and produce better work, here are some of my study books. Oooo gooodie. 

Week of 1/15/2018

"A setback is never a bad experience, just a learning curve."  -Richard Branson

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."  -Winston Churchill

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The War on Sharpies

In this complex world, there exist horrible and irreversible truths. Computers crash, immediately obliterating carefully stored memories and work. Homes burn and flood - years of toil and care ruined instantaneously. Cars are wrecked and stolen. Jobs are lost, phones break, and . . . sharpies fade. You heard me. Sharpies. Fade. 

Due to this unrelenting, unalterable fact, I have lost 86.5 hours of archivable art making. A massive 6ft x 3ft image of intricate patterns -mostly sharpie - will fade and yellow in five years, give or take a few.

Detail of the bluefin tuna base layer

Like many others I believed sharpie's lie printed on every pen's side - permanent marker. True, it won't run or bleed under my distressed tears, but over the years, as light and oxygen snack on it, this artwork will become dull and thin. Failure is the key to success, right? And knowledge is power. This is not the end, but the beginning of better work. This piece is miles from finished, and the rest of the trip will be gassed by micron pens, india ink, and watercolor paint. If the fires and floods don't get it first, this work will be hale and hearty in 100 years.

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This Week's Work

I finished a skull . . . 

. . . played in Photoshop . . . 

. . . and continued work on this gal.

It's been a good week.

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Artists, always remember . . .

For those in love with sharpies, here are some archival, fade free (a.k.a. lightfast) options. 

Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen

Pigma Micron Pen

Dr. Ph. Martin's Bombay India Ink

Interested in seeing some fade tests? Check out these pages made by art nerds for art nerds. 

The Enchanted Gallery

Chris Breier

Week of 1/8/2018

More doing, less . . . everything else - my profound studio resolution for 2018.

The turtle race is over! The bluefin tuna's base layer is finished. Work has begun on the second layer - its skeleton.

From this . . .

To this. 

Now this . . . time to make some bones. 

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Good things come in small packages. 

Small works provide an efficient, non-committal avenue for artistic problem solving and exploration.  

I hope you enjoy these 3in x 3in squares of beauty.

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Studio Tricks for Solitude

I work thirty hours in solitude every week which means I have a ravenous appetite for noise. If not curbed, the quiet emptiness of my surroundings envelops me and I succumb to loneliness. This is a very bad thing - I end up Netflixing the rest of the day . . . night . . . and week. Substantial background noise isn't a neat little want, it's a gigantic messy need. To survive my studio solitude (which feeds my soul like nothing else), I require an infinite library of music and audiobooks. Thank God for musicians and writers who have filled this world with wonder. I will make art for your eyes - keep making it for my ears and mind. Where would we be without each other? My life would not be the same without you Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files) and James Marsters (narrator). 

To those in a similar situation - good hunting. May your musical and literary spoils be bountiful.

Week of 10/30/2017

Cancer

We look for cures, but the answers are elusive. Cancer is an overgrowth of our own cells in one part of our body. What we eat, how much we weigh, how much we exercise, and where we live all increase or decrease our risk of cancer. With an ever advancing society, cancer seems harder than ever to evade. Is it our effect on the environment? Are we poisoning ourselves with outrageous consumerist behavior? By defying the natural ways of sleep, travel and food production are we bringing this upon ourselves?

Painting this disease is a challenging exploration.

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The turtle race continues - progression on the bluefin tuna's base layer. 

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Talent is a myth - according to David Shenk

Did you know that both Mozart and Yo Yo Ma were born into musically impacted families? Both had fathers who focused their life's work on methods to teach children music. Both experienced great works of music played in the home by siblings during formative years. Their musical "genius" is an environmentally influenced and emotionally driven focus. They put 10,000 hours into musical training during their childhood and teen years, is it any wonder they were prodigies? 

We all have the power to become a "genius" at any skill given the right environment, resources and time. "Genius" is hard won. It comes with obsessive passion, so might not be for everyone, but if you have a dream, don't give up. Give it 5,000 hours, or three hours a day for five years. See how it feels. That's halfway to amazing land. By that point you'll know whether or not you want to dedicate another 5,000. Good dreams are worth the investment.

It's good news that your brain will grow and adapt to every challenge. Knock yourself out.

Week of 10/16/2017

You have a choice; give your work it's best shot and risk being unhappy, or don't, and ensure that you will be unhappy.  -Paraphrased from Art and Fear

I am taking the risk. 

I am giving my work it's best shot. This week I've added more to the first layer of my six foot bluefin tuna and rendered a cancer cell using watercolor and pens. What risk are you taking? Or haven't, but want to? What holds you back?

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Slow and Steady

As my friend pointed out, "It's an act of love". Every pen stroke is for the creatures on this planet who are victims to what we call progress. My investment in each shape and line pays tribute to the kind of attention we should pay to our relationships with our environments. 

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Tattoo anybody?

I've been toying with tattoo designs. If you want a custom design, contact me and we can get started! 

Week of 10/02/2017

If we don't pay attention our world will erode - a complex geometric pattern going awry at the hands of a novice.

The studies are over. The real work begins. 

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artist to artist . . . 

This has been a good listen in the studio. Accurate? Painfully so. And it's free! Thanks to your public library . . .

truth.

"Artists don’t get down to work until the pain of working is exceeded by the pain of not working." 

   -Stephen De Staebler

"This is a book about the way art gets made, the reasons it often doesn't get made, and about the difficulties that cause so many artists to give up along the way. David Bayles and I are both working artists, grappling daily with the problems of making art in the real world — the observations we make are drawn from personal experience, and relate more to the needs of fellow artists than to the interests of viewers."

   -Ted Orland

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in the studio

If you spend any length of time doing something with your hands and nothing with your brain, you'll know that your brain gets hungry. In the studio, audio stimulation is crucial to my process. Here's a couple of albums that did the trick this week. Both of these bands are amazing. Click/tap to take a closer look.  

Week of 9/18/2017

study #3

What you see is a mere beginning. This bluefin will become life sized, stretching across my studio wall, three layers deep - maybe more. The 7 ft sprawl of paper will be terrifying, but I want it, and I'm ready.

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Artist to Artist

Sacramento artists, rise up! There's a new monkey in town. Can it be tamed?!? Learn more by listening to Jen Picard's interview with Jonathan Glus, the new Creative Economy Manager of Sacramento.

Creative Edge Aims To Boost Arts Economy

Capital Public Radio with Jen Picard

As an attendee at the round table discussions of Monday (kick-off) and Wednesday (visual artists) nights, I can promise it's been invigorating. In summary of Wednesday night's discussion, visual artists want the following - a public educated on the value of art, affordable studio and display space, easier access to grants for work, promotion of Sacramento as a city of the arts, an arts district, and a centralization of arts information. If you are a Sacramento artist, now is the time to get involved. Raise your voice! People are listening. 

Resources

Capital Public Radio News

City of Sacramento / City of Sacramento Facebook

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a time to weep

for frank loret de mola

Danny has two kidneys. He would have given one to Frank, but Frank didn't need a kidney, Frank needed a brain. Frank's own brain was his second most beautiful feature - mathematic, fluid but damn fast, a writers brain making connections where others saw gaps. The reckless driver who rammed Frank's car didn't know what he was destroying. If he had, this wouldn't be written and Frank wouldn't be dead, because to know Frank is to love him.

The only part of Frank more beautiful than his brain was his goddamn, mother fucking heart. No one will ever have a heart like Frank's. If he could have been saved, that would have done it. Beneath his uncharacteristically still chest, his heart would have risen with fervor, not to help himself, but to help us. To relieve our terror and pain, his heart would have beat without the meds, without the machine's breath, blood, and pulse and, if it had, we'd have been there, so goddamn grateful to hold his living hands. Instead we ask his sweet ghost to haunt us forever.

May your next journey be full of the love and wonder you generously poured on us, dear friend. Descanse en paz - may he rest in peace.  

Week of 9/11/2017

Study #3

Sacred geometry is a philosophy that investigates the universality of specific geometric shapes, mathematics and ratios. In this study I use a geometric shape known as the flower or seed of life as a symbol of sameness. Fundamentally, sea creatures, winged beasts, four-footed hunters, and two-legged beings are made of the same elements. What we do to plants and animals we do to ourselves. 

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Artist to Artist

While floundering in artist career nonsense I came across this video. Though lengthy, for any serious artist, it's worth your attention. 

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Guilty Pleasures . . . 

I'll let you in on a little secret. Some artists eat chocolate and play phone games in their studios. Seriously, I would go insane without these treats. Alter Eco is my current chocolate go-to. It helps me stay alert and focused, and it's ethical. As for phone games, my one and only is Clash Royal. To all Clash players out there, thanks for the mental break! My senses are refreshed when I return to the work . . unless I've been destroyed. Go easy on me guys! And finally, to everyone, reward yourself in little ways for doing the hard things, cause, you know, they're hard. 

Week of 9/4/2017

Bluefin

Gorgeous speedsters with a high market value, bluefin tuna can live 40 years and surpass 6 feet in length.

This beautiful creature is treasured by Japanese sushi tradition and continues to be caught for consumption. A record $1.76 million was the winning bid for a bluefin tuna in 2013. Will we consume it until it no longer remains?

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Study #2

Is my sorrow over the rape of our seas deep enough? How do I show the toxic relationship between our lives and the life of this earth? If this is a start, is it enough of one?

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Studio Visit!

Gypsy had much to say about my paint mixing. She found it chaotic, but intriguing. 

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