Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Still Here!
...actually spending time at my studio, seriously painting, and painting seriously.Really. I am!
The upcoming show of our watercolor organizations has sent me in there in a frenzy of organizing my work areas and clearing the enormous piles of, well, stuff, that were breaking new records of mess and were miraculously balanced on every surface possible.
So, no more of that.
My table is now adorned with the happy mess of paints and brushes and water buckets and all that healthy disorder that comes with painting.
And I have two paintings in the making - I am just trying to come to a stage that they're presentable enough to be posted.
Soon. Very soon.
Labels: Art
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Incredible Story
Y'all know those touchy-feely email that vring to you all those cozy fuzzy wonder stories, right? We all get them, they go round and round and round.
Well, I got this today from Amir, who added "I decided you will appreciate this story".
He sent it to me in Hebrew, and I liked it so much I tried to find it in a langage y'all can read. And while at it, I discovered the incredible website of sickipedia (where I found this one).
In 1986, Dan Harrison was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University. On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air.
The elephant seemed distressed, so Dan approached it very carefully. He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it.
As carefully and as gently as he could, Dan worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot.
The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Dan stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being
trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.Dan never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.
Twenty years later, Dan was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Dan and his son Dan Jr. were standing.
The large bull elephant stared at Dan, lifted its front foot off the ground, and then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.
Remembering the encounter in 1986, Dan couldn't help wondering if this was the same elephant.
Dan summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the nclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder.
The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Dan's legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly. . .
. . .
. . . Probably wasn't the same elephant!
Labels: Joke, Meta Bloggin', Nature, People
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Show's Over
Had the big show last weekend.
Amazing, how much work is put into a show that is on display for less than two days!
You go through the process of selecting the artwork to submit, a process garnished with extreme self-criticism over the quality and its chances to make it in. (being a juried show).
You send in the photos, pay the entry fee and then spend days sweating blood and biting your fingernails over whether it will be accepted or not.
Then you get the answers, and you mat and frame your art. (not an easy task sans fingernails).
Theeeeeen you deliver it for the receiving process.
Theeeeeeeeeeeeeen you hang the show ('cause you forget what a tough job it was last year, 'cause LimaB is in charge of the hanging and you want to help her, and 'cause you secretly admit to yourself that there's an immense satisfaction in that labor once it's all done). It takes 6 hours, you go home all scratched from metal frames and un-taped wire ends, swearing you'll never ever do it again.
Four hours later, you put on something presentable and try your best to look refreshed for the reception - scratches and all.
The day after, you get up early to do gallery sitting ('cause you volunteered....). Your romantic vision of spending the time chattign to art appreciators turns into a nightmarish policing due to little kids who insist on plucking seashells off a certain artwork and playing catch amongst the panels. Their parents, needless to say, don't bother to keep an eye on their unleashed offsrpings, as they are too busy themselves caressing other textural pieces or sneaking forbidden photos. You transform into a reprimanding monster, repeating the mantra "Please DO NOT touch the art". Soon enough, the word "Please" is omitted from your vocabulary. After an eternity (OK - four hours) of that kind of fun, you go home, swearing you'll never ever...
The day after, you go to pick up your artwork. Of course nothing sold - why would it? and you have a nice chocolaty handprint on your painting. you go home, swearing you'll never...
The day after, you go to drop your winning painting at the community center, where it will be on display for the next 2 months along with the other winners.
Oh yeah... I got an Honorable Mention on my "Dust to Dust" piece.
You think "hmm... maybe, after all, I will do it again next time".
Labels: Art, It's All About Me, Major Achievements
Monday, September 08, 2008
ArtPact #66 - Another Day
Opening the door, he stands in the main room, holding the keys. He is wearing his Tuesday tie, the one that matches his vest so well, and yet nobody has ever noticed it nor stopped to compliment him on his choice.
The only times they talk to him is when they cannot find something. Even then, they don't see him. Not really. He is merely an answering apparatus. They have no idea he won first place in that competition. They don't know he carries the certificate in his breast pocket, in case someone, some day, asks him.
27 years in the same place; day in, day out, 6 days a week. How many mornings is that?
He looks around him at the painfully familiar surroundings, and goes to unlock the cash register.
Perhaps today will be different.
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Friday, September 05, 2008
ArtPact #65 - Addendum
Some of you asked if I would post what I wrote about my pieces in the "Earth Expressions" show.
As I stated, we were asked to write a short statement that relates the artwork to the theme of the show. Many of the artists chose to skip it, which I can relate to, as I personally don't like to explain my art. I'd rather let my art speak for itself. One reason is that my art doesn't have the accent that I do when I speak English. But moreover, I think that giving a very explicit title to your work or saying too much about it, prevents the viewers from interpreting it in their own ways, which are always fascinating to follow.
Imagine 'The Mona Lisa' was titled 'The Mona Lisa smiles because she has such bad teeth'. Now, wouldn't that take away all the mystery and reduce it to be yet-another-portrait?
Still, being the highly obedient me (for the readers who know me - please do not choke on that last statement...), I decided to give it a go, and found it to be a fun experience: putting in words what I've put with my brush (or printer) on the paper.
As I said, The JohnnyB was a tremendous help (both finding tittles and what to write) - he even expanded his services to gallantly come to the rescue of a lovely maiden who was also fighting with this kind of writing. Hmm... dare I think he was also enjoying it?
Thing is, once I got into it, I became unstoppable, so the 2-sentence-only limitaton was actually an even better exercise at being succinct. Kinda like writing a haiku.
And so, there we go.
Uhm... ah... (just clearing my throat here)
(To Bill of the On Painting blog, the title for this one is 100% courtesy of The JohnnyB, and I do thoroughly apologize if the following shatters your bloody vision of me killing my models...).
Title: "Dust to Dust"
"This portrait was painted with walnut ink (a natural product) on Tyvek (a manmade product that lasts forever). The more the painting materialized, it became about the fleetingness of life versus the permanency of some of our creations."
Title: "Open Spaces Blues"
"I took this photo while hiking in an overcrowded park. With all the effort put into preserving open spaces, so that everyone enjoys the same little spot, are we really protecting nature? "
The next one was tricky, as I did not want to reveal WHAT is in the photo. I have quite a few photographs where I wanted the viewer to concentrate on the shapes and textures and bits of color, plus it is so much fun to see people trying to guess what it is. So, I had to keep it very vague. Did I mention I don't like to give away too much? This, by the way, is perhpas my current favorite photo. Perhaps because I just cannot paint non-objective paintings (I always have to toss a figure in...), so taking abstract photos answers that need of mine.
Title: "Found Textures #4"
"So many times I stop in my tracks when I see yet another proof that Mother Nature is the best artist of us all. This is one in a series of photographs on textures found in nature."
That's it. Now I get my act together, frame the painting (the photos are already framed, phew!), update my Bio, go help hang the show (if my Plantar Fasciitis ridden foot allows me - yeah, it still hurts but getting better, thank you for asking!), and attend the reception next Friday.
Now, what does one wear to an "Earth Expressions" themed reception?
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Labels: Art, ArtPact, Nature, Wonders of The JohnnyB
Thursday, September 04, 2008
One Man's Trash...
Pat (of Single For A Reason blog) has come up with a challenge to see what w'all can do with a discarded - yet very photogenic - paper bag. As she put it, "One man's trash is another man's treasure type of thing".Since my creative juices are a bit on the murky side these days, and I am amongst the finalists in the Olympic sport of the procrastination (I persoanlly think I deserve the gold medal!), I decided to act fast while it was still hot and fresh from the email.
So, here is my humble attempt at it.
The first thing that came into my mind when I saw this bag was a cheery Smurf making a fashion statement.
Maybe he's tired of the everwhite Phrygian cap.
Maybe he wants to fly and save the world from the roaming Gustav with his mighty umbrella (you're a bit late for that, little fella!).
Or maybe he just wants to escape reality and feel like Superman for a while.
All that - with a bonnet made from a discarded paper bag, with some extra pieces used for birdies to accompany him.
Oh, and one mighty umbrella, of course.
Ain't recycling wonderful?
So - there. Done, with fun and Photoshop.
Paper bag courtesy of Pat, Smurf courtesy of a free image online. Photoshop courtesy of The JohnnyB and TexieD. Blogger courtesy of Google. OK, enough of the credits!
One thing this reminded me of was my favorite illustration by Mordillo, that used to hang in my cubicle during my early hi-tech days (the poster, not Mordillo, alas).
I think it's titled 'The Non-Conformist'. Sure enough, my manager at the time advised me to take it off, as it was too much of an attitude statement...
Well duh!
Needless to say, I left it there until it was completely faded.
Like many of Mordillo's bitter-sweet creations, it's the kind of image that makes you smile at first sight, but the more you look at it, you realize how disturbingly true it is.
Labels: Art, Creativity of Others, Damn Technology, Ode to other blogs
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Art Pact #65
Still not really painting, but I hope for a change soon.One of the big shows of the year is coming up. This year it's going to be a bit different, as - in addition to the usual show and reception, we'll be having an auction, with the sales profits going to the Shelter Box Project.
And, with the judge and auctioneer being Stefan Baumann from The Grand View TV show. Should be a very interesting reception.
Anyway - as I said in the previous post, we could each submit up to 3 artworks for this show for them to be juried.
Last week we got the verdict of who got in, with how many pieces.
All my 3 pieces made it, plus this one, a photograph that I am donating for the auction:
Since the passing year was a very non-painting one for me, I entered one painting (the serious dude shown at the top of this post - sorry, there was simply no way to photograph this painting in a way that will do him justice!), with the others being photographs.
Hey - photography is art, too!
The theme of the show is Earth Expressions, and we were asked to write something that connects the piece to the theme. With a great help for The JohnnyB, some cool titles and blurbs were created.
Hanging and reception is next Friday, as well as the awards announcements.
In my pre-Plantar Fasciitis days, I have volunteered to help hang the show. Need to see if my foot will back me up on that task.
Stay tuned.
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