Here are my infrequent online journals where you can read bits and pieces about my life and art making habits. Scroll to the
bottom if you want to start at the beginning.
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| Orchids in Pink, acrylic on canvas |
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June 21, 2010
Orchid painting finished! Although it's already been purchased (it was a commissioned work), I displayed this along with about 15 other pieces at the "Individuality" RAW art event last Thursday at the Shorebreak Hotel in Huntington Beach. Several people asked about purchasing the orchid painting, so I've now posted prints available to purchase here.
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June 13, 2010
Here are the past two beatitude paintings, each done live during the 9am service at PCC. Beatitude 5 was "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." Basically a pay it forward sort of mentality...be merciful to others and when you need mercy you will have it. However, the emphasis is not on what you get, but what you give. For this painting Jon gave some input about the possibility of using a scale with one side representing mercy and one side representing injustice, sin, etc. It may seem a stretch, or maybe it's quite clear, but I choose a dove to represent mercy and a snake to represent injustice and sin. It may seem very generic, but it's not easy coming up with new symbols for timeless ideas! Please also note that actually I have nothing against snakes, they do their amount of good in our eco system; it's a symbol chosen based on the Garden of Eden story in Genesis 3.
Beatitude 6 was a fun painting to make. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." Water is often thought of as being pure...or at least that's how we want it! :) This painting was fun because I choose to minimize the background at the bottom and on the right side, allowing the water to be dominant in that area. It was also the first live painting that I totally finished in one hour's service time!! Unfortunately the video cam that was filming this painting lost battery power about half way through the action. :( Hoping to create a time-lapse video soon of my live painting.
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| Beatitude 5 - Mercy - drawing 1 |
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| Beatitude 5 - Mercy - painting 1 |
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| Beatitude 5 - Mercy - painting 2 |
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| Beatitude 6 - Pure in Heart - drawing 1 |
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| Beatitude 6 - Pure in Heart - painting 1 |
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| Beatitude 6 - Pure in Heart - painting 2 |
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| Orchids in Pink - painting 1 |
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June 9, 2010
I
participated in the first Wholefoods Market Art Walk in Tustin last
Friday. It was a positive experience, though not profitable (at least
not that round). All the artists were super cooperative and kind to each
other, and it was an easy setup since there was no tent needed and
tables were provided. However, the layout of the art walk was a bit too
narrow for comfort. The artists were cramped and the visitors were
certainly cramped! It was not handicap accessible to say the least.
However, this was their first time trying it and I commend Kim, the
manager, for giving this a shot. It was also free to participate, so why
the heck not? :) If they do it again I plan to be there.
At
least during the art walk I did get some creative production time. I
brought with me the orchids painting to work on. I got it up to a
recognizable shape and form, but it no way are the shadows and
highlights finished. This is a commissioned artwork which has been on
the back burner for a while. I hope to have it and another commissioned
piece finished before going to North Carolina in July.
Also, I'm
still painting every week at PCC in the 9am service. Although I do get a
lot done in one hour, I bring them home with me to complete the details
in quiet and peace. To the left are two that I finished this week and
which will be hung up in the sanctuary tomorrow.
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| Beatitude 3 - Inherit the Earth - painting 2 |
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| Beatitude 4 - Hunger and Thirst - painting 3 |
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| Beatitude 4 - Hunger and Thirst - drawing 1 |
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| Beatitude 4 - Hunger and Thirst - painting 1 |
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| Beatitude 4 - Hunger and Thirst - painting 2 |
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May 30, 2010
The painting live experience just keeps getting better and better. Today, I felt that my composition and coloring for beatitude 4 was closer to my usual "style" than the others have been. The phthalo-green background of the table contrasting the oranges and the ultramarine blue used for the shadows gives this a more surreal feeling. Yet, this painting also has the elements of a still-life, which is not common for me. I really like it though and think I'll try some more still-life type of compositions soon. (BTW - this painting is not finished, this is just what I completed in 1 hour of live painting).
This is my favorite so far of the beatitude series of live paintings, and it was the most difficult to come up with a design for! I've often found this to be true - the more I struggle with an artwork, the better it is in the end. I spent many hours this week researching what symbols to incorporate for the verse "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled." I'm so glad I was unsatisfied with my original ideas and kept drawing until I came up with this one! Of course the oranges and the glass of water represent hunger and thirst, and the book (possibly the Bible) represents knowledge and seeking righteousness.
This week has been a personal struggle for me concerning righteousness as I was confronted with the news of the horrific video of the animal abuse at the Conklin Dairy Farm in Ohio (full video at Mercy For Animals). I realized that I have not been living righteously concerning animal cruelty. The Bible is very straightforward that animal abuse is absolutely wrong (Prov. 12:10, Ex. 22:5, Gen. 1:25, Deut. 25:4, Prov. 27:23, Matt. 6:26, Luke 12:6, Ps. 145:9, Ex. 20:10, Ex. 23:5, Deut. 22:6-7,10 are just some of the verses supporting this), and I absolutely don't want to contribute to animal cruelty in farms. Researching the common practices of animal farms gave me insight that suggests animal cruelty is far more common than I ever realized, and that some or much of the food I have eaten over my lifetime has come from farms which have not properly treated the animals whose products I ate (meat, poultry, milk, cheese, eggs, etc.). While I haven't yet come to a solid conclusion on how to righteously eat, it is something I am very conscious of and seeking an answer to. This dilemma is how I arrived at including the book (or the Bible) in my painting this week; without knowledge I cannot make righteous decisions. So, there's the long answer to a short question of "What does the book represent?"
PS - Monday is Memorial Day, a day of mourning and gratitude for those who have passed on to death. I still have room to add the name of your loved one or friend who has died to the painting on beatitude 2 - "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Just send me an email or message me on Facebook or Twitter with the name and I will add it to the painting.
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| Arlissa painting live at PCC |
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May 26, 2010
Beatitude
3 - "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." This
beatitude has a fairly direct message, and a representation for the
painting was easy to come up with - the earth. However, to make it a
little more interesting I've also placed two hands holding the earth.
These could be our hands receiving the inheritance, or some may view it
as God's hands giving the earth to us. Either way is fine I guess. I was
able to get a lot done during the 1 hour period of time, but it's not
ready for display just yet! I'm finding that painting live I really push
myself to make the image easily readable to the general public, which
is also why I've chosen such graphic images. If you look at my regular work, you'll
notice I'm usually not so straightforward.
The second beatitude
painting, the one about mourning, has been brought to a stage of
completion enough to be hung on the wall at the church, but there is
still need for more names to be added. You can read about that in my
earlier journals from last week, but if you have a name to add just send
me a quick message. Thanks!
A
final note about my website... It occurred to me that considering the
fairly high level of traffic that I get here, I should have a way to
stay in touch with visitors to the site. So, I've finally gotten off my
bum and gotten around to having a newsletter sign up page. So, if you'd
like to stay connected with what I'm doing in art, just sign up for my monthly
email newsletter. Easy! :)
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| Beatitude 3 - Inherit the Earth - painting 1 |
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| Beatitude 2 - Mourning and Comfort - painting 3 |
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| Beatitude 3 - Inherit the Earth - drawing 1 |
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May 21, 2010
Sketches for beatitude 3 are complete, now just have to get that sketch successfully onto the canvas. That's sometimes the hardest part, mostly because of my fear of failure. I get so attached to the drawing or even sometimes the painting, that I don't want to change it...or otherwise am afraid of the changes I make causing damage rather than good. There's a book called Art & Fear, and the basic message is to just paint, draw, sculpt, or whatever it is you do as an artist, and try new things. Make something. Then evaluate later whether it worked out well or not. If it did, figure out why and replicate the combination somehow. If it didn't work well, don't try to fix it. Instead, think about why it's faulty and try to make something new that's working better.
I often do consultations for artists, helping them evaluate the effectiveness of their portfolio presentation and how individual artworks within the portfolio are working. I never promise to comment on each of the six individual works they choose to present to me for the consultation, and yet when I don't comment on one I often get asked, "Why didn't you comment on artwork #4 (or whatever #)?" The above advice is what I end up giving them, stating that they should use what they learned from the other works I did comment on to critically examine the one I did not comment on. Truthfully, there are times when I have mixed feelings about one of their pieces, so I don't comment. I think it's better for that artist to struggle with the piece and determine what they like or don't like about it and learn in that way.
Now to take my own advice and just make the artwork, and critique it later! :)
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| Beatitude 2 - Mourning and Comfort - painting stage 2 |
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May 17, 2010
The "surprise" interaction between the painting and the congregation at the 9am service of Presbyterian
Church of the Covenant went well. The beatitude of the day was "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." To help us realize our own mourning and that of those around us, the audience was invited to write the name of a loved one who has passed on to death on the canvas of my painting for the day. I confined the writing input to the headboard area of the painting (for aesthetic reasons only). Jon was worried there wouldn't be enough space for the 50-60 people present to each write a name, but it turns out everyone wrote very small and concisely kept to the curvature of the headboard! With only one mishap (the writing on the pillow AND it's the wrong name - oops!), the writing process went very smoothly. (The writer of the mishap asked me to remove that name as it was incorrect, so I will work on that this week.)
I would still like to completely fill up the headboard with names, so now I open the interaction even further... If you are mourning the loss of someone and you'd like to put their name on the canvas, please email me (or if you're my Facebook or Twitter friend, you can send in that way too) the name and I will neatly add that name to the list. It can be a first name, a full name, or a nickname...friend, family member, or, as one person choose to do, a pet! I hope that by remembering that person in this special way you will also find the opportunity to ask God for his comfort in your sorrow.
I will continue work on this painting throughout the week, as it still lacks a certain sense of depth I'd like it to have and the bedsheets aren't currently capturing the lighting I wish to portray. I will add names as they are sent in, and post again when the painting is complete. If I run out of room, names can also be added to the edges of the painting - so don't worry about not having enough space for your friend's name!
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May 15, 2010
Last weekend was exhilarating painting live at the 9am service of Presbyterian Church of the Covenant! Having a live band play beside you is so much better than listening to a CD or Pandora radio! The experience was a lot less intimidating than I expected once I actually began to paint. With my back to the audience (so that they could see what I was working on), I remained undistracted while I painted...not worrying what others were thinking or seeing. Several people came up afterward to have a look at the almost finished product and discuss art or the sermon. Below is the painting as it progressed until today when I finished a few final details (stage 3).
This weekend I'll be painting live again as Jon discusses beatitude number 2 - "Blessed are those that mourn, for they will be comforted." Having experienced a lot of mourning in my life, I can definitely empathize with this verse. God has never failed to comfort me when in sorrow. Sometimes I haven't let Him near me to do so, and in those cases have wallowed in self-pity. But when I have let Him, it's been astounding the strength and comfort He provides. I chose a pillow to represent comfort. For this painting there's going to be a time of interaction between the audience and the canvas...but I'll let you find out later what that will be. Don't worry I won't be throwing paint on anyone or anything like that! ;)
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| Beatitude 1 - Kingdom of Heaven - drawing |
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| Beatitude 1 - Kingdom of Heaven - painting stage 1 |
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| Beatitude 1 - Kingdom of Heaven - painting stage 2 |
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| Beatitude 1 - Kingdom of Heaven - painting stage 3 |
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May 7, 2010
In
preparation for the live painting I'll be doing this weekend, I've spent
the week sketching, thinking, and staring. Yes, staring is part of the
job duties of an artist. (Ha!) Staring at the sketchbook, deciding on
compositions. Staring at the drawings, deciding what works. Staring at
the drawing to transfer it well onto the canvas. Staring at the canvas
to see if I'm finished. Yes, lots of staring. :)
The live
painting will begin at 9am at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant
in conjunction with worship and a sermon on the beatitudes. Each of the
eight paintings I'll be doing is based on a beatitude. This week is
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they will inherit the kingdom of
heaven." I've chosen a horizon line to represent the kingdom of heaven.
Why? Well, since the time of Christ's resurrection, the kingdom of
heaven became accessible to man. When you view a horizon it seems as if
the sky and earth are joining together, and in this way I see it as a
symbol of the earth joining with the kingdom of heaven. Above is the
drawing on canvas. I used the Los Angeles skyline to add interest, and it
could also be symbolic in that it is the "City of Angels". Next step
will be the texturing process with thin layers of paint. I'll do that tonight or tomorrow, and then leave the rest to do live!
Also worked on the Australian
scene - loosely titled "City by the Sea", which is a commissioned artwork. It's moving along, but there
remains still a lot of work. Here are two images of how it's changed.
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| LA Skyline - Kingdom of Heaven |
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| City by the Sea - painting in progress, stage 1 |
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| City by the Sea - painting in progress, stage 2 |
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| Spring 2010 Visual Overture Magazine |
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April 29, 2010
Wow, what an exhilarating and fast faced ride April has been! Some months my work with Visual Overture Magazine takes a little more priority than my own art and such was the case this month. With Visual Overture Magazine, I applied for a $25,000 grant from Pepsi. It wasn't an easy process and it relied upon voter popularity in order to get the funds. My publicist, supporters and volunteers of the magazine, personal friends and family, and I worked really hard to obtain thousands and thousands of votes. Thanks everyone! :) It was a useful time of promotion and press, but unfortunately wasn't enough to obtain the needed number of votes to get the money. However, Visual Overture will still be moving forward with plans to expand this year.
Also on the agenda for the month was designing and editing the latest edition of Visual Overture, which will be released May 10. Pre-orders are now being accepted, and you can get a sneak peek here. Each quarter I'm always surprised and impressed with what high quality of artists work we receive. The worst part is having to tell so many emerging artists that we couldn't accept them... I try to do it gently and with as much useful feedback as I can. Most people are very polite, but we always get one or two who send back some rude and hurtful comment. I hate that. It's like meeting that one prideful jerk on the other team who won't shake hands at the end of the game.
But anyways, check out the new issue and the awesome work presented!
As for my art...well, I'm still working on a commission of a landscape scene from Australia. It's slow going, but will hopefully come together in the next 3 weeks or so. Next week I'll also begin a sort of project I've never done before - creating work to present alongside a series of sermons. I'll do some pre-work beforehand, but much of it will be painted live during the worship service and sermon speech. Part of me is a little nervous; it's like taking a test with the teacher hoovering over your shoulder. But at the same time I'm also very excited to share the art making process with the congregation. Creating art is a very spiritual act, in that your mind and body seem to go to some place slightly surreal...your hand responding to something that can't be explained in words but that's in your mind's eye. I'll be sure to take a few pics to share here.
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April 19, 2010
I've been busy in both studio and life and have therefore
written little in these journals for over 6 weeks. But that's why I
titled this area of my website as "Journal" rather than "Blog" - I write
when I feel like it.
I recently setup a booth in the Huntington
Beach pier Art-A-Fair to test out the waters for my art at that venue. I
had high hopes, but in the end didn't get much return on the work
invested in the project. It seems that venue relies almost entirely on
its proximity to the beach to attract buyers. Unfortunately, beach-goers
don't seem so interested in purchasing fine art, but rather would like a
surfboard shaped sign with their name painted on it. I even did my best
to conform to what I knew would be a beach market by making several
ocean inspired artworks and having both the originals and prints
available (as seen to the right). Well, since they didn't sell there, two of those works are now going
down to a hotel in San Clemente. Though originally created with a
specific market in mind that some may disdain for "cliche", I'm really happy with how these artworks turned out. Each achieved a certain level of translucency and light, especially the two wave paintings.
I'm
not giving up entirely on festival opportunities, but I will next try
those specifically geared towards fine art buyers - maybe the Sawdust
festival in Laguna in November. Mostly my goals for now are to get
connected with the local art scene - meeting artists, participating in
group shows, and attending art events! Fun :)
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| The Wedge, acrylic on paper, 2010 |
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| Golden Waters, acrylic on paper, 2010 |
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| Seashells, acrylic on cavas, 2010 |
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April 18, 2010
The struggles of being an artist...are many! Here in California I have had some of the most opportunistic times of my artistic career, and yet seen a lot of failures too. Being a naturally determined person, I continue on, but question how artists passionately persevere in this burdensome path. I can see why many of the masters were crazy, depressed, reckless, and/or outcasts. Are these traits the nature of an artist, or does the career itself lead to these qualities? Or, even still, are there deeper personal circumstances which drive the artist to be both creative and chaotic? If someone knows that answer, please contact me! :)
I've also been battling relentlessly for votes to help my business, Visual Overture Magazine, get a $25,000 grant from Pepsi. If you haven't already, please vote to help! :) And remember you can vote once EVERY day! It has been a tiring process, but I'm still maintaining hope to move up the ranks and get the grant.
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