ZephiArt

Mystery Guest X and a new Clue about the importance of the lotus

2010-12-21T06:03:00.000-08:00

This week is a twofor because I kinda forgot to post last week.

It seems that science is delivering us new ways to understand why the lotus is such an ancient symbol. It seems only right now that the ancient Egyptians connected them with immortality because genetic research is showing that is is closely related to the very first flowers.

Biologist Doug Soltis, co-lead researcher at the University of Florida in Gainesville says, "water lilies and avocado flowers are essentially 'genetic fossils' still carrying genetic instructions that would have allowed the transformation of gymnosperm cones into flowers." (More in esciencenews.)

Another interesting factoid about the water lily: last I heard it's closest living relative is actually the oak, proving that the quirks of genetics will not easily be untangled by deduction alone.

Now to Mystery Guest X. He is a painting that I have been working on. Don't be fooled by the photo - he's actually about life sized. I don't think he'll show well on the net, so I won't post a full picture, but you'l never guess his identity. [mwahaha] You'll just have to wait until I can display him in a gallery ;) (I also plan to add color to this so it's not exactly finished.) I will give you a hint. He is someone very famous throughout the world and still alive today, but the picture is also based on the koan 'Does a dog have Buddha nature?'

Sunset Clouds

2010-12-08T07:43:00.000-08:00

Gosh, it's getting to be a theme, isn't it? Probably my unconscious answer to the cold weather. Look for palm trees next :)

For this painting I did the cloud's outlines in milk white then used washes of color over the top. Lessons learned: the milk white needs more experimentation, and I need to get much more experience using an XXL wash brush. And a better wash brush.

Dandelion Sunset

2010-12-01T06:04:00.000-08:00

Nothing wrong with traditional, but we all like a bit of modern now and then, don't we? As I continue my experimentations with Asian-style painting materials, I am looking for ways to use the materials in a fresh, modern, and personal style.

This is one of this experiments. Washes of ink and color over my patent pending super secret invisible ink. I like the effect, I hope I can do more with it in the future.

I gotta be me, whatever that means.

Sparklers? In this season?

2010-11-23T10:47:00.000-08:00

Don't mind if I do. I'll give you three guesses as to how I did this.

Red Lotus

2010-11-16T08:35:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite turnouts from the series of milk experiments I have been doing with my paintings. The centers of the flowers were done first with milk then painted over with red after they dried. I think they turned out some kind of wonderful.

The mums are done for

2010-11-09T06:50:00.000-08:00

I managed to finish painting this before all the season's mums died off. How strange!

Well, The effect of the milk on the painting it pretty subtle, but at least there's proof of concept for ya.

See you next week!

Burnt out enso

2010-11-03T07:10:00.000-07:00

One thing I think milk is going to be very cool for is calligraphy as with this enso, a zen symbol that sort of encapsulates the idea, 'form is emptiness; emptiness is form.'

No crying over spilled milk!

2010-10-27T10:15:00.000-07:00

Now you never have to cry over spilled milk again - just turn it into art!

I have begun experimenting with milk. It works a little bit like invisible ink. Paint it onto paper and when you paint over it - voila! All sorts of interesting shapes start to show up.

I've already totally ruined about half of my test subjects. It's clearly going to take a bit of work to figure out how to use effectively (look forward to some more interesting experiments in the coming weeks,) but it certainly seems like it could have an interesting batik effect if used properly.

The piece above only has a background wash at present, but you can start to see some interesting things happening back there. On the right there are some more random practice brush strokes. High contrast definitely looks good with this stuff.

Female Whooping Crane

2010-10-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

Continuing with the cranes, I have been working on this new pose. I think this is a female whooping crane, but I can't really get a look under the hood, so we'll just have to leave it at that.

I can't really describe in words the sort of feelings it evokes in me. There is just this sort of calm and rounded sense of presence that words don't really do to describe. You might even say it was like calm abiding.

I haven't decided for sure if I will add some red to the composition. There's a computer generated preview of what it will approximately look like. I'd love to here your thoughts on the matter.

I am also trying to work larger. This one will be nearly 3 ft tall when complete.

Rocky Mountains foothills

2010-10-14T07:36:00.000-07:00

If I recall correctly, this was done looking at a picture of the Rockies somewhere in Colorado.

Whooping Crane 1

2010-10-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

I just finished this sumi painting last week, and it is one of my final selections to enter in a sumi paintig contest which will start Nov. 15th.

I started out wanting to paint a more lackadaisical crane but soon realized it didn't suit my current mood at all, so I went back to basics. I looked at pictures and remembered what I knew about cranes. And I thought of a National Geographic episode that showed whooping cranes and remembered how heart-breakingly beautiful they are, and this is what evolved.

This is in essence my archetypal crane, the one that sort of lives in my head. If I imagine cranes, this or it's mirror image is pretty much exactly what's in my mind. So this crane is also me. I feel it's very me-ish, anyway ;)

And the winner is....

2010-10-01T10:17:00.000-07:00

Our Contest winner is Blythe! Congrats to Blythe and thank you to everyone who participated. You have helped me pick the best dandelion (d), and Blythe, you can contact me about your prize.

Elephant man is finished - and about time, too!

2010-09-21T10:17:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if I want to call him and elephant god or spirit or sprite or what. But whatever he is, he's done!

Do you know this butterfly?

2010-09-16T11:46:00.000-07:00

I just saw this butterfly outside and I had to take some snaps. It was smaller than a quarter but so beautiful. He is so tiny and adorable I just can't stand it ^^ Gawd - why do they make me turn all girlie?

Anyway, if you know what kind of butterfly this is, please let me know!

Dandelion Contest Entry

2010-09-13T09:46:00.000-07:00

Powered by GoodWidgets.com

Please help me pick the best dandelion to enter in a painting contest . Leave a comment with your choice for best dandelion, and at the end of the month, I will randomly draw one name to win a prize (see here and in the picture below.) You will have a choice of three designs for your prize. You should definitely leave a way for me to contact you if you want to win.

Thanks for your help!

Bad Santa come early (or so late he's early)

2010-08-31T10:07:00.000-07:00

I actually painted this last year and meant to have it mounted and ready to post before Christmas. Sadly, right about that time my grandmother had a whole big medical to-do, and I got pretty side tracked.

Still, better late than never. And really, if you want to post anything remotely Santa-related, I suppose you have to do it in summer these days ^^

At any rate, I love, love, love this guy :D I'm not sure exactly where he falls in Buddhist traditions, but I'm assuming you don't want to mess with him too seriously.

See more at http://www.etsy.com/listing/55173770/bad-santa

The politics of painting

2010-08-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

This piece is a little bit different, and I like that. It marks a change in direction for me because I have spent such a long time studying how to use the Chinese brush and various Chinese and Japanese painting techniques. Here, after all that work, I am able to depart from traditional subjects and lessons and begin to develop my own style with these exotic materials.

I think the Western art community has ignored the potential of this medium. Oil paints and canvases stretched on wood are still king in Western painting. There is an attitude that a painting is not real art if it's not oil and canvas, and I think that's a shame because there's a lot to be learned from Asian art practices that are every bit as impressive and important to art.

For me, a big one is learning to be in balance with the materials themselves in order to create more direct expression. Every brush stroke carries more meaning.

In current Western art practices, so much attention is focused on the new, on proving that one is a unique individual. But new for the sake of new is empty. Trying to make things look edgy and avant-garde in ways that are irreducable to some underlying concept, philosophy, feeling, or worthwhile intention, is empty.

I would rather try to be one with my art, and someday maybe I will achieve that.

To see full views of this painting and learn more about it follow the link to etsy: http://www.etsy.com/listing/54683272/fruits-of-nature

Musings (can there be too many?)

2010-08-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my world - a place of magic, wonder, and... magic ;)

I have been experimenting recently with mounting my rice paper paintings to colored paper, and I'm really pleased with the results so far. You can just see a bit of the blue paper that this piece is mounted to peeking through.

See more of this piece on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/listing/54052495/musings-1

The moon-winged butterfly has landed!

2010-08-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

Well, I almost thought it wouldn't happen, but I have finished this painting, mounted it, and listed it. This painting has been a nice experience. I got to do a goof bit of experimenting with layering color, painting clouds, and doing that most difficult of artistic feats: painting a nightscape.

One of the experiments in this piece was mounting the translucent rice paper painting to a colored paper. Usually it's all just white paper I use for mounting, but this time I used a blue-brown paper. It really enhances the night atmosphere and I'm really pleased it didn't ruin the whole thing, which was a risk.

If you want to see the entire painting, it is right here for sale on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/listing/53846993/moon-winged-butterfly-original-painting

The dancing elephant takes shape

2010-08-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

I am having some fun with this painting, being messy and whatnot. Is it too messy? I guess only time will tell. When I add the fine linework, that will probably change the appearance significantly. I hope it forms a pleasing contrast.

I accidentally pokes a hole in the paper, but hopefully I can fix it during mounting.

Dancing Elephant? Why not!

2010-08-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

Ok, here's one of my current projects in progress. I am working on a dancing elephant figure in what I hope is going to end up a fresh and modern style. YOu can see above what I have completed and on the right I have used the Gimp to plan out how I want to continue.
So far so good. I could still screw it up, but I have a good feeling about this one so far, from the sense of movement, to the texture of the loose brushwork.

Now with genuine color!

2010-07-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, so now I have actually put real color on this thing. I think it has come out pretty well, but I still have the issue of space. Space needs to be carefully regulated. Especially when you're like me and use a lot of negative space in compositions.

This time I have decided to use a bit of an unorthodox approach. I think, after playing around with it on the computer a bit, that I am going to make this a square painting. Usually, paintings have a rectangular shape. This lends a picture an automatic sense of direction. A picture that is symmetrical along both axes is unusual because it is harder for the viewer to orient him/herself.

This, however, seems to be one of those rare cases where an obvious directional cue is a perfect fit. Everything will be floating in this piece if it is square, but it should be appropriate rather than disorienting. Still, I wouldn't mind hearing a few opinions, so please take a gander at the proposed shape (above) and let me know what you think. Other possible shapes are below. Which works best?

very wide

wide

Just one of my colorful little musings

2010-07-20T11:06:00.000-07:00

Just keeping it light this week I haven't mounted this yet, so it still looks wrinkly. But I'm a wrinkly sort of person, I guess ^^

Working the pen angle

2010-07-13T09:28:00.000-07:00

So I am still finding a little time to work on painting in between sessions of tearing out drywall at my brother's new old house. I am trying to go in new directions now that I feel I have some sort of grasp of the basics.

Currently, I am working on this piece, a moon-winged butterfly.

One of the interesting aspects of this is getting to use my new mouse pen & and drawing tablet on the computer.

I have a bad record of taking things from black and white to color, and I think this new tool is going to really get me over that. Using the pen, I can now add color to my work without ruining it in the process. I can preview color combinations much more easily and reliably than in my head.

Here's an example with this painting. The lower left leaves were done with a mouse and the butterlfy with the pen. You can see to difference in the accuracy and smoothness of the line. And it was faster, too!

I feel much more confident about painting color on top of my ink work now.

I am also using the pen to brainstorm adding some more leafy elements to the foreground. What do you think - is it better to leave the landscape very ope, or frame it with more plants?

Shocking update

2010-07-01T06:54:00.000-07:00

Altho in reality the only thing shocking about this is that I'm doing two posts in one week. Must be a sign of the apocalypse. So, does the girl look girly enough now?

Just a head above water (I'm sure many can relate.)

2010-06-29T10:40:00.000-07:00

Continuing work on this drawing I have been asked to do. Well, by the time this posts, I'll probably be about finished with it. But you can get the gist of it already.

I know, I know. I should have finished it already. I have other things to do, too, ya know! I am helping my brother remodel his new old house among other things.

But what I'm really excited about is my new top-secret project. It's much bigger than any ink painting I have done before, and I have big hopes for it. That being said, I don't want to count my chickens, so I won't talk too much about it until I have something to show.

This is not the most obvious pairing, but...

2010-06-22T10:28:00.000-07:00

Ok, it's entirely possible that this pairing has never been achieved in art before. Dandelions, moonlight, and mountains just don't stand out as a grouping you would think to put together.

Why would you? But here it is.

More or less successful. (See the whole image at right, detail above.)

I have no real explanation for how this came about other than this was what I felt like painting at the time.

It's also actually the first ink painting I have done of dandelions, come to think of it.

Does it work, do you like it, is it just plain crazy?

All feedback is welcome, so have at it!

Chance encouner

2010-06-16T23:07:00.000-07:00

A little while back I chanced to notice something different outside. So I ran for the camera ^^ Anyway, I knew it would be my best chance to get a clear look at this guy because the zoom mode on my eyeballs is broken. Not to mention the moment I opened the door to see if he would say, yep, you guessed it - he flapped away. But I thought it would make a nice semi-wordless Wednesday ;)

Keep your head above water 2

2010-06-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

This week I started work on a commission that will be headed for Germany. It is based on one of my larger drawings, Head Above Water (see above). I have been doing more with ink than pencil lately, but it's just like riding a bicycle.

This time I have been asked to draw it with the whole head showing. A young girl's head.

In the original I wanted to focus on the reflections of the water, and also I wanted any viewer to be able to step into the role of the swimmer rising up to the neck. Changing to a full head will have a big change to the meaning of the piece. I suspect the person who asked for it to be drawn that way has a special reason.

Any road, here's how it looks just started. And you can see I like to start somewhere in the middle and let things just start to spread out. Kind of like spreading waters ;)

Splashing through the colors of the rainbow

2010-06-08T08:54:00.000-07:00

I was splashing through my colors, testing out my new paint formula. And here you have an artist at rest.

I was particularly pleased by how the feet came out ^^

And what's it all mean? Artists are magic. Never forget that ;)

My work is helping kids learn to read? Check it out.

2010-06-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

This week one of my original prints is being published in Literacyhead, an online mag that helps teachers find creative resources and techniques to help children learn to read. They have a great mission and I hope they have a lot of success. At only $30 a year for weekly, creative help with lesson plans, I think this will be a great resource for teachers allover. Hopefully they can manage to get grants or corporate sponsors that will enable them to give teachers free access in the future.

I know it may not seem like the most pressing problem in the world, but illiteracy is something that can cripple children for life. Anything out there that can help more children learn to read is worthwhile in my book, so if you are a teacher or know one who is involved in teaching children to read, consider getting or giving a subscription. You can get a free 2 week trial of the magazine here: Subscribe

Surrealism never died anyway. So what if I undulge.

2010-06-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

Playing with my new color paints. They seem to have turned out as good as I could have hoped. The can go from transparent to opaque and they are waterproof just enough that I can paint in layers without worrying about the colors running together.

And here is one of the fruits of my labor. This was painted from one of the drawing in my notebooks. I have this attraction to surrealism and I do a lot of free association. And when something really catches hold, I make drawings, perhaps a few note to jog my memory.

Unfortunately, those notes very often are not good enough for me to really remember the original idea. Hence, most of my surreal pieces are nearly as much a mystery to me at they are to any other viewer. I guess it's more fun this way anyway.

So, I don't know exactly what this piece is all about, but there are a lot of ideas swirling around in my mind about it.

At any rate, enjoy.

Last week's highlight? Turtles! Yes, turtles.

2010-05-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

Went to Cox Arboretum for a bit of a hike last week (gotta whip my sis into shape, right?) But later when we were taking some other photos (should I be mean and post pick of my sis in awkward poses? ^^) we saw these great bunches of turtles. There we lots more, these were just the best pix.

Enjoy :D

Headcase

2010-05-04T08:34:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I'm always making people bald and naked - I guess their vulnerability must be endearing to me ^^

Anyway, yet another head study. I don't know if they'll ever get really easy, but they are getting easier. Still totally need to work on moisture control.

Even better. I finally figured out how to get this thing to do bigger pictures. Now I feel stupid for not figuring it out sooner. Isn't that always the way with technology? I think the designers do it on purpose.

Cloud Chasing

2010-04-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

You could pretty much say that chasing clouds in my mind is just about my favorite pastime.

Given how much time I've spent on the technical aspects of brushwork over the past year and my recent blockage, I decided it was probably more than high time to get back to cloud chasing.

Imaginative free play is really my bread and butter when it comes to drawing, and it's plenty important to make sure I can do it with the brush, too.

So I'm going to aim to get to a level of confidence and efficiency that I can quite simply paint as I think. Sure it's important to plan things, but so many serendipitous images crop up when you paint on the fly. You just can't pass these things up ^^

So it's time to get strong at doodling!
This time around I was liking cloudy lines.
Also working on human figures and face. Always good to get smoother at those.

Dancing elephants and things...

2010-04-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

OK, so I thought I was ready for spring. Naive!
The air warmed up, and I suddenly found I had so many things to do that I could hardly decide what to do first. No wonder I lost my sense of direction in painting. My head was too full - with a sinus infection, too.
At any rate, things are starting to clear up. My sinuses seem to be getting better, and I'm making progress with landscaping, fabrigami, and all the other brands I've got on the fire. It won't be long before I'm back on track, and my next project seems decided.
A nice painting of a dancing elephant god. Good times ^^

Busy Bee?

2010-04-13T10:06:00.001-07:00

OK, ok... so I'm having a little painter's block. It comes at a time when I have a lot of distractions anyway. Coincidence? Maybe. But I'm using the time to try to let my subconscious work out the prob and start up a side project: Fabrigami.

Yeah, I know that's not a real word. It's really just origami done in fabric. Which I like because it feels more permanent that paper even though you can't do everything you would with paper.

At any rate, the above is a bee that I made. As far as I know, I thought it up all by my lonesome, so I'm probably more proud of it that it deserves, but that's ok ^^ I just wish I could have gotten the wings a different color, but that would have been too many pieces of fabric for one little bee.

After this I'm going to applique it to something or other and embroider it some little antennae ^^

And I feel like my blockage is starting to break up little by little, so I had better get this fabrigami thing launched pretty quick.

Wow - I still do oil painting?!

2010-04-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

I had just assumed at some point that I was probably just done with oil paint, but it seems it has it's uses after all.
This is my grandmother. It's pretty recognizable, but not photographic. I decided to start working on this with her cause it's such a good excuse to be hanging around, and I really want to do this before, well... she's probably not going to be around that much longer, so seize the chance.
Perhaps you can see some influence of Lucien Freud. Perhaps I would have painted it just the same way regardless. Either way, I guess it's clear I don't have his color sense, but I get by.
I'm just glad it's not a total mess, and with a little luck it will be a nice memento.

Fabrigami Defrags the Brain

2010-03-30T12:45:00.000-07:00

Ooh, my 100th post ^^

2010-03-23T08:17:00.001-07:00

Wow, I didn't even think about it, or I would have totally planned something better for my 100th blog post.

I'm not one for long speeches, so thanks everyone for reading.
And Spring is making me squirly, so there!

I Also realize now that I don't know how to spell squirell, but I sure think my way looks a whole lot better.

About Face! Forward March!

2010-03-16T10:48:00.000-07:00

I really needed to do something completely different after all the flora in my life lately. And I do sort of feel bad about neglecting the male half of the species to do girlie pictures, so I thumbed through my Taschen Freud book for a male nude.

I won't be doing too many of these. Why? It's pretty damn hard to find decent male nudes these day. Art seems to have a real homophobic bent in the last 50-75 years, so people just haven't been wanting to do, display, or look at male nudes.

Granted, I think girls are much prettier to see naked than boys, I'd rather not get too unbalanced stylistically.

On top of that, I want to continue to develop my skills with the brush, and doing this type of figure brings home the need to practice more and more. My brushwork is still full of unnecessary movement and inefficiencies. Doing this type of work should help my learn to get more out of every brush stroke.

I think I may add some color to this, too. I'm thinking just maybe some reddish brown to the couch. [Sigh] That just reminds me that I need to control my moisture levels more, too. Back to work. Back to work.

With trembling fingers...

2010-03-10T09:31:00.000-08:00

I carefully peeled back the tape that securely stretched my paintings as they dried face down.
I have never done such complicated color work in this medium, and any number of things could have gone wrong - like all the color coming off or running together. Or a big fat air pocket right in the middle of the painting. It's too horrible to even think about.
But both paintings survived. I did two - with slightly different color - because this is on the top of it, a color exercise. It just happens to be one that I wanted very much to turn out well because it is a composition I have admired for a few years but only just got the courage to try myself.
The original was called simply Fruit by Kobayashi Kokei. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a decent image of it to place with these, but here is something else he did that I found on a French site. It looks like it is probably mikan (a small variety of orange/nectarine) with some pretty gold leaf.

I hope I managed to do some justice to my fruit. I'm afraid they are nowhere near as skilled as the original, but I think it's a good start. And I will probably never get into a habit of doing such complicated layers of color, but I suppose it might be nice every now and then. Just when I feel like I have a handle on things and I know what I'm doing. I'll do a project like this and disabuse myself of the notion ;)

Dancing sugar plums they are not

2010-03-01T19:48:00.001-08:00

These darn tree ovulations have been dancing around in my head for the past few weeks. I am not a colorist, so they have been pretty trying for me. To the point where I think I need a few days off from painting to get my head back - it's not just these. There are more than twice as many that have been chasing after me!

At any rate, they are almost done now. I definitely have to scan them when they *are* done because the delicacy of the greens won't show up in these pics.

At any rate, the composition shown here is from a Japanese painting that I have admired for a long time and I wanted to see if I could get anywhere close to it. I'll find a pic of the original to put up when I have officially finished my own version so you can see how far off I am. (I am humbled by how far off I am!)

Taking a moment for a bird slideshow

2010-02-23T10:42:00.000-08:00

I am unwontedly proud of myself for figuring out how to do this slideshow myself ^^

Ok, so these are birds that I painted last summer. I would have posted them before but I just never seemed to have the time to photgraph them and all.

However, this week I am delayed in posting what I am actually working on due to general incompetence on my part ;) so I am posting these instead.

What I am actually working on are some colorful studies of some pears and apples. They are testing me to my meager limits in terms of color use and washes, so it is taking me longer than I wanted to finish. But I should still be done with them in plenty of time for my next posting.

Peony - dramatic?

2010-02-16T10:07:00.000-08:00

Last week my quest for color carried me to peonies. They are quite dramatic in this season, and I found them pretty absorbing.

On the right are some images showing the process of layering the chinese watercolors. I have to say I like the glow of my home-made colors better. I'm not sure what the difference in

binder is, but I can't argue with the convenience of tube color.

Above and below you can see the end results, some

nice peonies if I do say so myself.

It's all fun and games to me

2010-02-09T09:55:00.001-08:00

This is a game I started playing with myself when I was in about the second grade. That was right about the time mice were becoming cheap enough for regular folks to buy and our new computer had paint (or was it paintshop?) on it.

I remember I used to spend quite a bit of time playing with freeform line and plopping colors around.

Now I'm doing some on paper. This is probably why I am so bad at using color realistically. I just can't take the darned stuff seriously ;)

Better late than never

2010-02-02T08:05:00.000-08:00

It's a month late and way overdue, but I still want to do a New Year's Resolution. I was totally unplugged the first week of January, so I think I will do it now.

Last year, I resolved to try to double the amount of time I spent painting. I didn't do quite that good - high goal! But I did work longer and harder. I'm pretty confident I can say I did more than 1500 hours working on art last year.

Not too shabby.

So why am I not an even better artist already? Hanging my head just a little I have to admit that I've got a fool for a teacher - me.

I know me: stubborn, thickheaded, slow to figure things out. It's a real nightmare having someone like that pretending she knows what she's doing while teaching you out of her ass ;)

But I have been making progress.

Enough progress that I have a new ambitious Resolution: This year I am going to tackle adding color to my ink paintings. I have never been a colorist. I have always focused on tone. But I have determined that I will find some way to work color into my paintings.

I have already begun by trying to learn the working properties of my colors. I am making them myself and while it may seem a no brainer to just mix them up and used them, it's not quite that simple.

First of all you need to figure out which colors mix well and which turn into a muddy, nasty mess.

Second, this paint needs to find a happy medium where it will hold onto the paper without bleeding when re-wetted but not so water resistant that it turns to flakes.

On the right you can see I have been working on some color charts. I fear there could be many more of those. Some of them came out quite beautiful, actually. In addition, I am also reformulating my paint. I am trying a couple different formulas that will hopefully cure enough to be useful by summer. I hope I can strike that balance between adhesion, water resistance, and beautiful color.

Once I work out the details the real work of making color a more natural part of my style begins. Look forward to that @@

Winter activity for this artist consists of...

2010-01-26T08:11:00.000-08:00

So early in December I headed off to sunny San Diego, CA to catch up with an artist friend of mine who had been living in Chicago and recently graduated. It was a fabulous idea - escape the cold, take in some new scenery, and hang out drinking coffee with someone who doesn't mind my midly obsessive focus on art.

Unfortunately, I tend to have spates of bad luck when I get vacations - probably why I rarely take them. This time I got a nasty, persistent cold that made me fairly bummed the most of the trip, and my Grandmother had a diabetes crisis just before I was due to leave. They say problems come threes, so I'm glad I was spared anything else going wrong.

OK, so I was probably not the funnest person to be around on my trip, but it was still a nice change of pace, and I'm really glad I got to go.

Once I got back from San Diego, I went to stay with my grandmother as she recovered from her hospital visit. Don't worry - I'm not going to bore you with the details. However, I did not want to take a vacation from artwork for that long, so I brought a travel kit and a roll of paper to practice on. I spent a fair bit of time looking through pictures to find myself some suitable models for figure studies and found some very nice ones (I really need to look them up again so I can get the names of what I was working from.) The results are as you see above and to the right.

I also did a small series of frogs and toads for fun and to stretch my range a bit. You can see them on my flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/etsynozephi/?saved=1

So, why all the bathers? Well, people are more interesting to paint when they're not covered with cloth, and a hot steamy bath is always on my mind when it is this freakin cold outsied. Have you ever taken a really hot soak then stepped out into the freezing cold? It's awesome ^^ I promise to do some men, too! Don't think I'm being one-sided.

I also wanted to do something about my New Year's Resolution, but I'll wait 'til next week because I expect to have some picture by then. Betcha can't wait ;)

New Camera - Weeee

2010-01-22T11:36:00.000-08:00

So over Christmas I organized a camera swap with my sister. I needed something that could take decent pictures of my artwork and she needed something that could do decent video. Solution? I bought her a camera and she sent me hers.

The above picture is one of my first snaps with it. It shows a figure study I was working on and finished around New Year's time.

I know this isn't the king of cameras, but it has more power and functionality than any camera I've ever had (excepting when I was doing a film camera class and we had access to a photolab.)

So far I'm pretty pleased with it, but I still need to learn more about how to work it. Even more, I need to rig up some lighting - if you happen to know anything about that, don't be shy about giving me advice!

Next week: a report on my winter activities and a New Year's Resolution if I am very ambitious.

Zoiks! Totally missed New Year's ><

2010-01-18T14:25:00.001-08:00

With everything that's been going on with my Grandma getting sick and visiting CA, I totally missed doing a New Year's blogpost.

But don't worry, I totally intend to remedy the situtaion - there will be a Resolution and some useless info about my trip, recent artwork, and all kindsa stuff.

Look forward to it! In the meantime, enjoy this lovely picture.

And another thing you probably haven't seen

2009-12-28T23:59:00.000-08:00

Something you haven't seen yet

2009-12-21T23:59:00.000-08:00

This is part of my series of bugs. I actually managed to do quite a few gina bugs. Fun stuff and fascinating creatures ^^ This is the project that told me in no uncertain terms that masa paper does not like my colored inks, but black goes on quite well for some odd reason. Go fig.

Poetic enough for you?

2009-12-14T23:59:00.000-08:00

Someone commented once that a lot of my art has a certain poetic quality to it. Usually, I would not be so ready to agree, but in this case even I can see a certain poetry here. This is another example of watered shaping lines. I think it gives an effect like a tree in summer swelling with growth and life, don't you? Perhaps it's unseasonable, but the contrast is maybe enjoyable, too.

Watered Mountain (I'd love your opinion, plz)

2009-12-07T23:59:00.000-08:00

This rocky mountain is something I did a few months ago and only just mounted. It shows 'watered shaping lines' and I really love the effect. This rocky peak has such a nice presence. I'm not sure it comes across in the photo. Looking at it like this, it almost seems it wants some calligraphy or maybe foggy clouds added. But then, maybe if I just trim it down like this cropped image (below). Any opinions for me?

helping hands, anyone?

2009-11-30T18:42:00.000-08:00

This last week, instead of picking just one thing to work on, I decided to start a series of hand studies. I think they are going pretty well in general. The one in the lower left is from da Vinci. I have always thought he did the most elegant hands ^^ The ones on the right are from my hands (the upper one not as accurate as I wanted) and the upper left one is from van Gogh.

Bad Santa!

2009-11-23T21:06:00.000-08:00

So my 'long' project last week was this beastly fellow. I was quite taken with him because of his big black boots. He looks like Santa's evil twin to me. See the original that I was painting from below.

This guy really fought me tooth and nail when I was trying to figure out how big to make him and work out the shape relationships. In the end I had to give in and make him a bit smaller than I had planned.

Then when I was actually painting him I kept trying to rush. It seems I never fully learn the lesson: Form a mental image and take a breath *before* you set brush to paper! I was not able to be as accurate to the original as I wanted, but during the points when I was able to loosen up and paint freely, it felt good and natural. Not a bad tradeoff.

White knuckles time

2009-11-16T21:43:00.000-08:00

So here's the latest masterpiece. Kidding ;)

This is actually the first finished human figure I have done in the medium. So I guess it could be one of those famous firsts.

For this piece I worked from a piece done by a Chinese artist in the 40's or 50's. I fear I made things to hard on myself. First, I pulled a bit of a Rodin by removing the backscratcher the girl was originally holding. This created sort of a fill-in-the-blank problem that I don't think I handled as well as I would have liked.

I also made things harder by insisting on leading with dark ink first. Doing the outine (right) was fine, but when it came time to work shading, starting dark was definitely hard.

This is the way masters work. I am not one of those, so I spent the rest of the painting on the verge of losing all control. It was a real white knuckles ride for me right up to the finish and I really thought I might lose it ^^

Nevertheless, I am shamelessly pleased with the end result. I think the water element is particularly strong in this piece, and the sense of reflection through some passages really reminds one of living flesh.

We can't afford to wait for nudes.

2009-11-11T18:37:00.000-08:00

OK, so I heard Pres Obama say 'we can't afford to wait' one too many times. But I decided to go ahead a post this pick of what I'm currently working on. This is the pencil study of a painting I'm doing. If the painting comes out half as well as the drawing, I'll be pretty pleased. I'll talk about it some more when I post the finished piece next week. Knock on wood.

Don't read this!

2009-11-09T21:43:00.000-08:00

Just kidding. I'm just having a whimsical moment. I'm still busy with my figure studies. I'm afraid I accidentally let myself get too interested in the horse. Girls and horse - what can I say?

Next week will feature a naked lady - look forward to it ;)

Has it really been a year?

2009-11-03T21:56:00.000-08:00

So it's actually been just over a year since I started studying how to use an Asian brush and ink. Amazing. I feel like I have only just begun, and truthfully, I hear it takes a good ten years or so to become a master.

So what have I learned? I have learned to hold the brush an dmake a line. I can make washes and circles and many different kinds of marks. In short, I have been picking up the basics and find that I still have a long, long ways to go.

Recently, I have begun to have the feeling that what I am really trying to do is learn to dance with the brush. Which gives me a very inexplicable sort of pride. I never learned to dance with my feet, you see, and all girls should learn some for of dancing. Don't you think?

Mothra, my Mothra

2009-10-26T23:29:00.000-07:00

For reasons I don't really understand myself,

I really love this piece. The camellia may be partially imaginary,

the moth may be pure fiction,

but it just has something of a presence.

Sometimes art is just that way.

Figure Studies (Cont.)

2009-10-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

My only question: How do I get blogger to make these pictures bigger?

Plum crazy (yeah, I know, I'm sorry.)

2009-10-12T21:52:00.000-07:00

Well, you'd think I'd get tired of plum blossomes at some point, but they are rather fun to paint.

I think this one needs some color. But what color? Should I do a wash of something brownish on the trunk or just do a few strokes of color here and there fore accent? Maybe I should go crasy and use little dabs of rainbow colors. Ach, I'l have to think on it. And any advice is welcome, so if you've got an opinion, state it here.

I definitely don't want to detract from the energetice brushstrokes I've already got in place.

The closest I am likely to get to a beach this year:

2009-10-05T21:39:00.000-07:00

This is a big panoramic drawing I am working on right now for a lovely lady down in Florida that I met through Etsy. This is the largest architectural drawing I've ever done. It's 29" wide and quite a challenge to fill with a tiny pencil point and no projector. But it's nearly done... and the closest I got to a beach all summer (not strange for this landlocked body.)

Figuratively

2009-09-22T21:29:00.000-07:00

So after slogging my way through all manner of traditional subjects, I have finally made my way back to the human figure. This time with a sumi brush. I feel like I'm back in my first drawing class.

Still, it's not like there's no progress. I include a pic of this baby sketch because it reminds me of that freakish dancing baby vid that started circulating the net in the late 90's. That memory still makes me cringe.

So color does make a difference

2009-09-14T22:35:00.000-07:00

I wasn't sure how well this would turn out, but I recently added color to this painting which was previously just in shades of grey (right). The addition of color has made a huge difference. I now ready the flowers as white instead of grey, and I think I'd like to frame it and hang this somewhere I can see it daily.

A little abstraction

2009-09-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

A little abstraction is a good thing now and then. I'm not a big believer in abstract expressionism, but letting go and freeing the arm to do as it pleases can be very theraputic.

Although I might wish for better ink control, I was actually pretty pleased by the outcome of this piece. It gives form to the energy of the moment, whatever that might mean. In the end, I felt it sort of reminded me of a peacock's tail and a tornado at the same time.

How does it look to you?

Dabbling in Mamals

2009-09-01T19:50:00.000-07:00

I was fairly pleased with how this turned out.

I know it's not entirely anatomically correct,

but as a mental image of a horse,

it's not at all bad, wouldn't you say?

Hail Lotus

2009-08-25T08:40:00.000-07:00

Here's something I have been wanting to post for a while.

Although I have not done much of it yet, I do have some homemade colors that I am starting to learn to use. In this piece (still unfinished for lack of red pigment), I was able to do some nice washes thanks in part to some kind advice from Janine of the Freethinkers Team on Etsy. I used a technique called tarashikomi to make the green in the leaves a bit splotchy.

Compare and Contrast

2009-08-19T08:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I haven't done the admitedly ambitious series on Freud that I had planned for the summer, but today I bring you one of the main things I wanted to write about.

As I was reading about Lucian Freud, I came accross his Painter and Model 1987 (upper left). I was stricken by the parallels between the piece and Magritte's Attempting the Impossible, and I can't help but think that it may have been in the back of Freud's mind when he was composing his.

At first glance you can see there are many similarities. Both feature two figures, one male, one female. One painter, one model. But Freud has chosen to reverse roles. In Magritte's the painter himself is shown in his role, but Freud lets the female model stand in for him. Both painters call attention to the lie - but is the lie art or reality? This is never made perfectly clear, but the painter's role as mediator certainly is.

Although Freud is often considered a realist, many pieces like this show how he doesn't fit the realist mold hardly at all. There's certainly a lot more that can be said about the two additionally, but let's not belabor the whole thing and take a moment to enjoy the similarities and differences of the two paintings side by side.

A little birdie

2009-08-13T11:35:00.000-07:00

As you can see, a little stiff, but not too shabby.

And now to get the ball rolling again...

2009-08-11T10:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the last time I actually posted, I said I was going to do a nice hawk. And here he is as promised.

So I can keep my word after all ^^

I painted this with ink and brush, and it is undoubtedly one of the more complicated subjects I have tackled. I'll post at least one other bird I have done, too. Namely, the first one I attempted in such a detailed style. That will be posted by the end of the week so that I can hopefully get to my Freud posts next week.

Ack - when will I be back with pictures?

2009-07-08T10:21:00.000-07:00

I am getting so impatient about getting the pc stuff fixed so I can start uploading pix again, but it looks like I have to wait a little longer.

I guess that does mean that when I do my Freud posts, I can do them back to back instead of spacing them out.

For now I am planning the bird paintings I am going to work on when my arm is in working condition. I can still provide images from the net where available, and here is one of the birds I want to do.

I am not going to be at pains to do an exact copy, but I hope I can get the right feeling which is more important.

So far, he is the only bird of prey I am thinking of working on. The rest are all song birds that I know better. We do have some really cool hawks around here but I don't have any pictures of them to work from, and this one works nicely anyway.

Neda, Protest, and Pop Art

2009-06-23T12:21:00.000-07:00

Through all the coverage of the protests taking place in Iran, the impression of power and horror implicit in the clash of the masses versus the elite has had a profound impact on all watchers.

The use of the internet and mobile phones to keep the protests moving had been the bane of Iranian authorities and inspiration for supporters of justice all over the world.

Naturally, my fixation is for the visual, and the imagery coming from these events has been very powerful. There has yet to be a single image that encapsulates the feel of the movement such as the man confronting a tank at Tienamen Square, but the proliferation of imagery, particularly video and web imagery has been impressive.

On of the most prominent sights so far has been footage of a woman called Neda. The world has witnesses her passing, shot through the heart by a carefully-aimed government bullet. For many, it put an individual face on a distant movement for freedom.

Almost as soon as it took place, the internet was reacting. In art terms, one of the cleverest things to come out of it was the custom avatars. This pop art has astounding immediacy which is not only an indictment of Iranian authorities but a call to a wider audience. Including people who had previously been sitting on the sidelines and complete outsiders who now feel they can show their support.

Although I have been impressed with the media coverage, one thing bothers me. Some very graphic images have been aired of these protests and violence in Iran, but images of carnage that might make the U.S. or an ally of the U.S. look bad are chronically censored.

The recent Israeli-Palestinian conflict was reported on in pro-Western media with virtually no blood. The Iraqi and Afghanistan wars have also been presented bloodlessly. Such sanitization of war does no service to the U.S. If the citizenry new the real horror of war, they would not let it happen so idly.

[I apologize for the lack of accompanying images. I can't upload any right now, so I'll have to edit this article at a later date.]

Alas, no picture

2009-06-16T10:23:00.000-07:00

This week there shall be no picture :(

There's internet problems and pc issues up the whazoo. I'd like all these things to work reliably, but that probably won't happen for a hundred years. So I guess, I'll enjoy the excuse to slack off writing my blog this week?

I do fear me

2009-06-09T12:23:00.000-07:00

I may have been overly optimistic about hwo often I'll be able to do my Freud posts - my nephews and niece are visiting for the summer (there are some family issues.) Anyway, I'll do what I can. I think once I get them into a routine I can get back to my normal posting next week or the week after.

For the time being, a picture. My giant insect army is slowly growing ^^

Brushing up on Freud

2009-06-02T02:52:00.000-07:00

I've been something of a fan of Lucian Freud for years now. Recently, I've been getting to know him better, and it has inspired me to some some blog posts about him on a monthly or biweekly basis this summer.

But first, I'd like to bring you all up to speed about Freud if you haven't heard of him before.

Freud is the grandson of you-know-who and almost certainly Britain's greatest living painter. I would say there's a good chance he's Europe's greatest, too.

You could say he is a realist, but then again he's not. Fact is, categories don't fit Freud very well, but you could almost say he is a commentator on realism. He doesn't strictly paint from reality, but the way he presents and composes paintings offers us a way to be more aware of reality and the artist's role in shaping it.

In the upcoming season, I'll take you with me as I explore this and other acpects of Freud's work. I hope you enjoy it and learn something new.

Disgusted Fairy

2009-05-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

I was looking through some old drawings and what did I find? This is an expression I fell in love with the moment I saw it. I just can't get over it, and I smile every time I see it. Have you ever seen such a perfect look of disgust? Thank you Soul Eater ^^

Seriously though, I think I'm going to have to get this tattooed on the back of my hand or something, so I'll always have some thing to laugh about ;)

What does this have to do with art?

2009-05-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

What do 6 million Jews and one starving dog have in common? Apparently, that's how much it takes to prove that the human race is awful and that we really needed Hitler and evil artists after all.

In 2007 Costa Rican artist Guillermo Vargas tied up a stray dog and left it to starve as what he would like to call either an 'installation' or 'performance' piece of art. Some art critics say that this is just another in a long line of artists using their work to challenge society. Vargas stated that the exhibit and the surrounding controversy highlight people's hypocrisy because no one cares about a dog that starves to death in the street. I have to say, making an image of a starving dog to make a statement about society is completely a different kettle of fish from actually starving one. And it philosophy/logic just don't back it up.

Starving a dog to prove how indifferent society is - that's some rather twisted logic. By the same logic, Vargas could as easily claim that it was a good thing Hitler killed all those Jews because it showed how rotten the world is.

Surely if you have the pre-existing idea that society is rotten, you must have already found lots of anecdotal evidence which you could use, combined with your own two hands and some actual sweat, to make some actual art?

I think the thing that Shock and Awe artists (yeah, I put them together with Bush, and they deserve it) miss is that getting a cheap thrill out of a crowd lasts only a few minutes whereas the best art (Francisco Goya, The Shootings of May 3, 1808 see image) last and continue to have meaning.

Paintings like this were indeed shocking. If we weren't so jaded they still would be. But they still have great power precisely because we are still dealing with similar situations today. You don't have to claim that literal bodies and corpses are art just to get impact, you really can produce art with your own to hands that has impact, too. I don't know why artists today have lost faith in the power of art so they go running to find ways to create sideshows. It's a mystery.

On a side note, the life and death status of the dog used in the exhibit has not been established, but many believe it to have died as a result.

Lotus Flower <3

2009-05-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

I suddenly understand how Art Nouveau took off so strongly in the 19th century. It has to be because of all those sexy, delicious, curvy lines.

I got a great big taste of it doing these lotus flowers. I was frankly surprised how quickly I took to them. I was enjoying them so much, I fear I put probably way too many petals ^^

The question now is..... do I stop where I am or add some watery washes in the background? I had planned to leave the background blank, but I unfortunately went outside the lines a few times and a wackground wash would cover that up completely. Is a puzzlement.

Shading has it's uses

2009-05-05T19:50:00.000-07:00

You may remember this little number from a previous post, tho I seem to have mislaid it.

The last time these mums made an appearance, they were bare bones outlines. Now that I have started working on washes, I decided to give the mums some TLC, and boy, did they respond.

It's still just a stodgy old picture of mums that will never be contemporary, but they're still a lot nicer now ;)

Mounting Difficulties

2009-04-28T13:00:00.001-07:00

I'll admit it - I've been totally neglecting mounting my artwork. And for the simple reason that I was intimidated by the idea. What if it wrinkles? What if it tears? (Where am I gonna store it all?!)

Well, I'm over it. With the huge backlog I've accumulated, I couldn't afford to let it just keep piling up, so I took the plunge. And it turned out to be not so scary. Naturally, there is a significant danger of damage, but slow and steady does the trick.

It's actually just a combination of stretching watercolor paper and pasting wall paper in the end (see still moist results above). Silly me. Now if I could just find places for it all... any volunteers?

How to Fail as an Artist, 6

2009-04-22T10:47:00.001-07:00

If you want to get ahead in the art world, you have to know how to play the game. But it helps to know that the fastest way to get ahead in the game is to take the normal rules and turn them upside down.

For example, if you're going to write a paper, you probably know that you'll get a bad grade if you 'Beg the question' instead of really making a proposition.

Completely the opposite for success in the art market. For something like the last 50 years, artists have been making money off the dregs of their genius forebears by begging the question, "what is art?"

It goes a little something like this: The less it looks like art, the more it *is* art. The more people question if what you are doing is art, the better. It's kind of like an extra long, extra expensive episode of punkd.

And the biggest secret to this is that rich people love buying stuff that's inexplicable. That way, they can claim to have this extra-refined sense of artistic taste that you just wouldn't understand. (Remember the emperor's new clothes, anyone?) But of course, they still need their investments to appreciate in value, so it's not quite as easy as all that.

Still, it's good to know that you don't have to deal with actually making art to be an artist. As long as you can beg the question, you can rise right to the top.

Next week, how to make platinum, jewel -encrusted skulls that *don't* look like they're supposed to be on your stick shift.

Watch out for those viri

2009-04-14T12:06:00.000-07:00

My brain is incapacitated this week due to some virus, so I'll have to avoid thinking for this post.

I decided to let you have a look at the frame job I did for this little iris painting. I've gotta say, the frame can really make the painting. It looks 400% better now.

I wouldn't normally think to use a mat with a painting, but the painting is 4x6 and the frame is 5x7. I used silk to spiff it up, and it looks quite classy.

Please join me again next week when my brain should be in working order to do another installment of 'How to Fail...'

By popular demand (sort of)

2009-04-08T11:14:00.000-07:00

Here's some raw, wrinkly bamboo. I just couldn't resist using some blue. I still have to work out mixing proportions for the ink; I'm using too much binder.

New year's resolution update (again)

2009-03-31T09:53:00.000-07:00

I hardly ever try to do the new year's resolution thing, so I give the tradition no credit for me trying to improve my painting situation. But it's still a good excuse if anyone asks.

"Um.... why are you spending so much time splashing paints around?"

"Have to. New Year's Resolution."

I wonder how many things you can apply that to?

"Why are you wearing a green 'fro?"

"New Year's Resolution."

"Well, I guess that's OK, then."

Was that as good for you as it was me? ^^

At any rate. Above is my new table all finished. As mentioned before, it's really a glorified coffee table, but it was still a nice project.

I've never made anything remotely like furniture before, so it was interesting. To the right is a picture of the table from the front while I was staining it.

Hopefully this will not be the end of my efforts to try to spend increasing amounts of time on ink painting because I have a long ways to go.

Treeness

2009-03-24T11:02:00.001-07:00

I really love this tree. It's such a humble thing. After painting it, I feel for the first time that I am getting somewhere with my painting. This tree came from inside me, and that's saying something.

New year's resolution update

2009-03-17T12:26:00.001-07:00

So, have you totally given up on your Resolution yet? I set myself a pretty steep goal (considering I'm a novice and just who isn't busy?) of spending 8 hours a day dedicated to painting.

So far I have increased my average by as much as an hour, and hopefully I will be able to do even more soon. I have just started staining and finishing my work table. It's really just a glorified custom coffee table, but hopefully it will be a big help keeping me comfortable and focused while working.

I am starting to run low on all kinds of paper, but hopefully I'll get in a new supply in April or May.

Then I can start doing more fun stuff like the tipsy tree above.

How to Fail as an Artist, 5

2009-03-10T12:00:00.001-07:00

So how do you start pulling down the big bucks? How do you get everyone's attention? The answer is simple: Bigness.

If you want people to know how big you are, all you need to do is demonstrate for them. It really doesn't matter what you are into as long as you can do it bigger than anyone else. It doesn't even have to be better as long as it is inhumanly large. Even manure can become high art as long as you can make a big enough mountain of it in a really inappropriate place.

Therefore, if you paint, your paintings must all be at least 12 feet tall. This ensures that a rich person or museum has to buy it, for one. Also, exaggeration stimulates the brain. The larger you make something, the more stimulating it will be, and people will be forced to acknowledge your artistic greatness by the more primitive portions or their brains.

This also goes for sculptures without saying, but don't forget to apply it to the more popular forms of sculpture making the rounds: installation art and found object sculpture.

Many artists have already successfully applied the Bigness principle, so you'll have to work hard to catch up.

This is why inappropriateness is so important. Exaggerating size is a great first step, but since it a well-known yet never openly-talked-of secret, you also need to combine it with something inappropriate. That way you can overwhelm peoples senses and sensibilities at the same time.

Personally, I am fostering secret plans to release 30 tons of oranges set with sparklers into them Little Miami river on a highly inappropriate occasion. Wish me luck, but don't spill the beans.

(above photo: Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen, Spoonbridge and Cherry, 1985-1988)

Gnarly

2009-03-04T12:09:00.001-08:00

I love twisted, gnarly tree trunks and branches. I'm still a bit messy with them, but that doesn't diminish my enjoyment.

Next week: either an Resolution update or How to Fail post. Whichever comes first.

Is it art?

2009-02-25T09:36:00.000-08:00

There is never ending debate about what makes something art. One answer seem to have become axiomatic over the last few decades. Only the artist him/herself can decide that any given object it art.

To understand why anyone would believe this, it helps to know that in the early part of last century, Marcel Duchamp set up this precedent by submitting to an art show a glazed porcelain toilet which he had grafittoed with the pen name R. Mutt. In his defense, the toilet/urinal thing did have some great lines.

In the decades that followed, particularly the Sixties, people who wanted to answer the question 'What is art?' but were too lazy to put any real thought into it decided to put the whole thing in the lap of the artists and sometimes curators. At least then you know who to blame.

However, this sort of sloppy logic is demonstrably untrue. Many objects that were never intended by their makers to be art now reside in art museums (the spearhead on the right is in the MET). Many objects created with great artistic fervor now reside in landfills.

From bronze daggers to ball gowns, bodily fluids to burnt offerings, what makes something art has little to do with assertions and a whole lot to do with social constructions. Just like money, art exists because we agree it exists. Only the most personal art forms can be considered art with only the artist's assertion because the artist acts as both creator and admirer of art.

How to Fail as an Artist, 4

2009-02-17T11:27:00.000-08:00

Before you can fail as an artist, you must look the part.

Let's use the best artistic failure known to man, Jackson Pollock, as an example.

You may know that Pollack, whose elder brother studied art, wanted to be an artist from youth. What you may not know is that he literally dressed in a smock and beret in the best stereotype of a French painter.

Pollack was smart to destroy as much of the photographic evidence as possible, but the photo (right) gives you a fair idea what he looked like.

Naturally, no one was ever going to take him seriously like that, but fortunately Pollack was cultivating a new look by the time he was 20.

The greater part of Pollack's genius was in being timely. American sentiments towards foreigners and foreign culture had taken a decidedly negative turn after WWII, and Pollack was able to fashion a new stereotype of a manly, American artist.

I can easily see him saying, "how do you like that, you f***ing commies?" when his work went overseas. He could not have been a more perfect cultural ambassador for the States.

So take a lesson from the master and always suit your look to the times. It would not be going too far to have a microprocessor embedded in your forehead just now. Maybe a few LEDs. Think about it.

Late

2009-02-11T21:04:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I'm having trouble getting it together to do a post this week. I'm all hormonal. Sue me.

So instead, I give you this picture that I made from a failed attempt at photographing birds at a feeder.

Next week we'll have another 'how to fail as an artist.' Look forward to it!

New year's resolution update

2009-02-03T11:39:00.000-08:00

So how's the New Year's Resolution coming?

I set a pretty big goal for myself - doubling the amount of time I work on ink painting. In order to accomplish this, I am trying to come up with strategies to help me work at it longer.

I have been doing physical exercises to help cope with working on the floor sitting in seiza (Japanese style.) These are really starting to pay off. I can sit much longer without pain now, but I am still working on a low table hoping that it will make me more comfortable and perhaps increase my accuracy.

The main barrier I am going to have to deal with for a while is the lack of paper. I am currently rationing to make my paper last until at least Spring. Hopefully, I will be able to afford a good supply of paper by then or work could grind to a halt.

I won't be totally stopped at that point because I am saving pieces like the picture on the right so that I can work on learning to do washes and mounting the pieces for hanging.

Until I can get in a steady supply of paper, I am going to be limited in how much I can do in a day. I am going to supplement that as much as I can with pencil studies, art history, and any other forms of training that I think might help.

Today...

2009-01-27T13:32:00.001-08:00

Today, simply a nice picture by a fellow called Hashimoto. I'm perfectly happy today to leave aside any consideration of art criticism, symbolism, or gender issues and simply take this one at face value. Enjoy.

Just a Little

2009-01-20T12:16:00.001-08:00

I am finally starting to get the hang of mums. It is taking longer than I would have hoped (but not longer than expected) to develop my skills with the sumi brsuh. I guess it doesn't help that I'm making myself do it the hard way, but that's just how I roll ^^

Still, I am developing my arm, slowly but surely, and hopefully I'll continue to come up with better strategies for improvement.

Right now I'm working on a lot of traditional stuff just to develope form and technique, but eventually I will have to create my own style, and that's what I'm looking forward to.

How to Fail as an Artist, Painterly Edition 2

2009-01-13T11:47:00.000-08:00

So we have already established that painting is dead. What, then, is a painter to do?

The answer, it turns out, is remarkably simple. If painting is dead then you must revive it by painting in a way that no one else has.

Although the answer is simple, finding a method of painting that no one has ever used before is pretty hard when you consider what has already been done.

Pollack hired some models to roll around covered in paint in front of a watching group of the wealthy and well known. Painting with models took on a whole new meaning, and I kinda wish I had a picture ^^

People with physical disabilities have been painting with their toes and mouths for years, so that's out.

In the 90's some people started painting with their asses (see photo). That was amusing enough to make it on to MTV if I recall.

Someone also made a splash by painting with poo, but I have to burst their bubble - poo was tried in paint going back to cavemen. Tre passe. And forget Pee - you don't want to copy Warhol.

One of the most interesting recent innovations is a Chinese painter who uses the fiery stuff they put in fireworks to paint with. I haven't been able to find video of it yet, but if you go through Art 21's youtube channel, you might find it and will definitely see something interesting: http://www.youtube.com/user/art21org

SO, if you just toss out all the normal methods and some of these more outlandish ones, you get a good base to start creating your very own patented painting method. What will you try? You could cover yourself in tin foil, call down the aliens, and start painting with planets. You might find a way to alter local water supplies so that you can turn people different colors (evil genius cackle can be inserted at any point there.)

Whatever you do, do it fast - or someone else will do it first and you be back to square one. Because painting is dead, and the only way to be a painter today is to do something completely different and call it a painting.

New year's resolution time

2009-01-06T13:07:00.000-08:00

Well, another years has come and gone, and it is time once again to make a Resolution.

My resolution this year is all about painting. I have been working with traditional Asian painting materials for the past few months and really enjoy it. I will sheepishly confess now that I was never able to like oil painting enough to do it every day, but this time it's different.

I like these materials enough to paint with ink every day, and my Resolution is to double the amount of time I spend working on it. Right now, I spend about 3-4 hours every day, but there are some barriers to conquer before I can double it.

Firstly, this type of painting is much more physically demanding than Western painting or drawing which can generally be accomplished seated comfortably. Sitting properly (with one's legs folded under the bum) *and* leaning forward to paint can get quite painful, so I am currently putting a table together that will allow me to sit straight. Hopefully, that along with certain exercises will help me to double the amount of time I can stay in position and keep painting.

I'll post a picture when the table is sanded and stained. I hope it heps, because I really like this kind of painting to want to do more everyday until I get really good at it.

And what is your resolution this year?

Spring Cleaning?

2008-12-30T11:40:00.000-08:00

Like many of you, I've been afflicted with the flu this holiday season, and I don't know what it is, but I always get the urge to start cleaning when I get sick. For some reason dirt and clutter just seem so much worse at those times.

So, I put off working on painting in the afternoon to clean house. I wish I had thought to take before and after pix, but the image above gives you a rough idea of the situation ;)

Happy Christmahanikwanzika

2008-12-23T11:15:00.000-08:00

Fra Angelico is one of my all-time favorite painters. His works exude a remarkable atmosphere, gentle, spacious, and occasionally with a mysterious flavor.

ZephiArt

Mystery Guest X and a new Clue about the importance of the lotus

Sunset Clouds

Dandelion Sunset

Sparklers? In this season?

Red Lotus

The mums are done for

Burnt out enso

No crying over spilled milk!

Female Whooping Crane

Rocky Mountains foothills

Whooping Crane 1

And the winner is....

Elephant man is finished - and about time, too!

Do you know this butterfly?

Dandelion Contest Entry

Bad Santa come early (or so late he's early)

The politics of painting

Musings (can there be too many?)

The moon-winged butterfly has landed!

The dancing elephant takes shape

Dancing Elephant? Why not!

Now with genuine color!

Just one of my colorful little musings

Working the pen angle

Shocking update

Just a head above water (I'm sure many can relate.)

This is not the most obvious pairing, but...

Chance encouner

Keep your head above water 2

Splashing through the colors of the rainbow

My work is helping kids learn to read? Check it out.

Surrealism never died anyway. So what if I undulge.

Last week's highlight? Turtles! Yes, turtles.

Headcase

Cloud Chasing

Dancing elephants and things...

Busy Bee?

Wow - I still do oil painting?!

Fabrigami Defrags the Brain

Ooh, my 100th post ^^

About Face! Forward March!

With trembling fingers...

Dancing sugar plums they are not

Taking a moment for a bird slideshow

Peony - dramatic?

It's all fun and games to me

Better late than never

Winter activity for this artist consists of...

New Camera - Weeee

Zoiks! Totally missed New Year's ><

And another thing you probably haven't seen

Something you haven't seen yet

Poetic enough for you?

Watered Mountain (I'd love your opinion, plz)

helping hands, anyone?

Bad Santa!

White knuckles time

We can't afford to wait for nudes.

Don't read this!

Has it really been a year?

Mothra, my Mothra

Figure Studies (Cont.)

Plum crazy (yeah, I know, I'm sorry.)

The closest I am likely to get to a beach this year:

Figuratively

So color *does* make a difference

A little abstraction

Dabbling in Mamals

Hail Lotus

Compare and Contrast

A little birdie

And now to get the ball rolling again...

Ack - when will I be back with pictures?

Neda, Protest, and Pop Art

Alas, no picture

I do fear me

Brushing up on Freud

Disgusted Fairy

What does this have to do with art?

So color does make a difference