Well, well...here we are my faithful few! My last post of the year! Can you believe it in approximately 3 days we will be in 2008! I am looking forward to next year. It will be a new beginning for me. I am in the midst of working on some new work; as well as going back into old work that I still have unresolved. I have a few series that I started but left open for awhile. Now is the time to return to them, I believe I have some good stuff in them that I haven't explored. I know that these series have unrealized potential that I MUST FINALLY tap into. Next year is a good time to do good work!
Going forward I want to wish everybody a happy and safe New Year. In next weeks post I will list my new years resolutions as well as my goals for the coming year.
Until next week sometime, namaste and stay strong...
Friday, December 28, 2007
Saturday, December 22, 2007
The Holidays
Happy Holidays!!!!!
Well its the time again, my few faithful, another weekly post is amongst you. Let me start by saying I love the holidays but for some reason I find it hard to get excited about it these days. Maybe because I look forward to my birthday(which is a couple of weeks away). Enough of that, now to the business at hand.
I have begun to employ the use of Xerox transfers in work. Its is a pretty straightforward approach with magnificent results. For the time being I am working kind of small with it(8" x 10" and up). Alot of artists employ this technique to some degree of success but I want to take it to a somewhat different level. In the beginning I will be very basic with it but as I get more involved with it, I will begin to do more of a deconstructing process with it. More along the lines of putting it down and removing it then re-applying it and then repeating the process.
I am more involved mentally with my work then ever. I have had a more interpersonal approach to creating art and I am really driving myself to produce more involved and focused works of art. I am definitely trying to carry myself into the new year on a high note.
Until next week sometime, stay strong...
Well its the time again, my few faithful, another weekly post is amongst you. Let me start by saying I love the holidays but for some reason I find it hard to get excited about it these days. Maybe because I look forward to my birthday(which is a couple of weeks away). Enough of that, now to the business at hand.
I have begun to employ the use of Xerox transfers in work. Its is a pretty straightforward approach with magnificent results. For the time being I am working kind of small with it(8" x 10" and up). Alot of artists employ this technique to some degree of success but I want to take it to a somewhat different level. In the beginning I will be very basic with it but as I get more involved with it, I will begin to do more of a deconstructing process with it. More along the lines of putting it down and removing it then re-applying it and then repeating the process.
I am more involved mentally with my work then ever. I have had a more interpersonal approach to creating art and I am really driving myself to produce more involved and focused works of art. I am definitely trying to carry myself into the new year on a high note.
Until next week sometime, stay strong...
Saturday, December 15, 2007
2 weeks!(Just about)
Hello faithful few(trust me next year I am going to have alot of people reading and subscribing to my blog). There are just about two weeks left in this year and soon I will begin posting my resolutions here. I know one of them will be to CREATE MORE. Later here I have been starting work and then stopping work only to pick up on it later or months down the road. Right now I am in the midst of 4 separate projects, not to mention I need to photograph my new stuff for my portfolio. I need to come up with a way in which I can devote more time to my craft. Maybe instead of trying to be more spontaneous with it, I should set aside a time period where I say, "This is when I will go about the business of making wondrous works of Art!" Hopefully that will ignite a fire and I can perhaps get better focused on what I am doing. Well thats all I have for you guys this week.
As always...Until next week, stay strong...
As always...Until next week, stay strong...
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Status Quo and Black Accountability in the Black Community.
Well I am taking a break from writing about my work, instead I want to talk about the status quo as it pertains to the black community and black accountability. As I peruse the 'net, tv news broadcasts, and the newspapers, I can't but help to see the backwards movement of "The American Black" as a people and a culture. I will not try to condone nor chastise nor agree with any instances that I may mention here, but I will delve into the underlying theme in the situations; "us."
In this new millennium, we do not really have any of the strong leaders that our parents or their parents. No Malcolm! No Martin! No William Edward Burghardt! No Rosa! No Stokely! I mean we have holdovers in Jesse and Rev. Al. But come on! They would rather show up afterwards and talk about how we can prevent the degradation and deterioration of our people then to enpower "us" long before we get to that point. Even the N.A.A.C.P. has its faults holding a mock funeral for the word "Nigger." Come on People we have bigger problems than attack and killing words. We need to reach out to the youth today, because that's where it starts. We need to be held accountable for our youth. We need to teach them that everything that they do in the public eye is reflective of us as a people. Its not right but that is how others in America and the world will view us. We need to let them know that no matter what someone says or does that violence against that person will not solve anything. Using racism against out ancestors and themselves is not an excuse to engage in violence. Sure what went on in Jena, LA was wrong and sure they were harsh in the prosecution of the young men. But I grew up learning that if you don't put yourself in situations like that you won't have to deal with it. I mean in some cases it is unavoidable but in the cases were it is, try to come to a more nonviolent approach to resolve the matter. Here in Baltimore yesterday a young white woman was assaulted by 9 black kids(6 boys and 3 girls) on a city bus apparently for no reason. She was trying to take a seat on a bus and they would not let sit down. She finally sat down and they proceeded to beat her and drag her off the bus and continue to beat her. She suffered deep lacerations on her neck and head not to mention to broken bones in her eye socket. Where was the accountability? One of the teens mothers said that the victim provoked the attack by spitting in one her attackers face. Where is a 9 on 1 assault excusable by someone spitting on you. Where is the Black Accountability? Today a 17 year old girl was sentenced to life in prison with all but 25 years suspended because she stabbed a girl and left her to die at one of our light rails stops. All she wanted was the girls cell phone. She wanted the girls cell phone so bad that she had murder in her heart. Where is the Black Accountability? Where are you Jesse? Where are you Rev. Al?
Somewhere we need to tell these kids that they are only breaking down the forward advancement that we as people have been trying to for so long further. We need to teach and mentor this kids in the ways of morals and scruples. We need to put it in their heads that this is not acceptable and that we will not stand for it. Our parents and their parents have fought to hard to crush the stereotype that comes with being an "American Black." We need to provide Black Accountability to our youth. We need to help them see that negativity and violence we only tear down our culture, history, and livelihood.
Until next week, stay strong...
In this new millennium, we do not really have any of the strong leaders that our parents or their parents. No Malcolm! No Martin! No William Edward Burghardt! No Rosa! No Stokely! I mean we have holdovers in Jesse and Rev. Al. But come on! They would rather show up afterwards and talk about how we can prevent the degradation and deterioration of our people then to enpower "us" long before we get to that point. Even the N.A.A.C.P. has its faults holding a mock funeral for the word "Nigger." Come on People we have bigger problems than attack and killing words. We need to reach out to the youth today, because that's where it starts. We need to be held accountable for our youth. We need to teach them that everything that they do in the public eye is reflective of us as a people. Its not right but that is how others in America and the world will view us. We need to let them know that no matter what someone says or does that violence against that person will not solve anything. Using racism against out ancestors and themselves is not an excuse to engage in violence. Sure what went on in Jena, LA was wrong and sure they were harsh in the prosecution of the young men. But I grew up learning that if you don't put yourself in situations like that you won't have to deal with it. I mean in some cases it is unavoidable but in the cases were it is, try to come to a more nonviolent approach to resolve the matter. Here in Baltimore yesterday a young white woman was assaulted by 9 black kids(6 boys and 3 girls) on a city bus apparently for no reason. She was trying to take a seat on a bus and they would not let sit down. She finally sat down and they proceeded to beat her and drag her off the bus and continue to beat her. She suffered deep lacerations on her neck and head not to mention to broken bones in her eye socket. Where was the accountability? One of the teens mothers said that the victim provoked the attack by spitting in one her attackers face. Where is a 9 on 1 assault excusable by someone spitting on you. Where is the Black Accountability? Today a 17 year old girl was sentenced to life in prison with all but 25 years suspended because she stabbed a girl and left her to die at one of our light rails stops. All she wanted was the girls cell phone. She wanted the girls cell phone so bad that she had murder in her heart. Where is the Black Accountability? Where are you Jesse? Where are you Rev. Al?
Somewhere we need to tell these kids that they are only breaking down the forward advancement that we as people have been trying to for so long further. We need to teach and mentor this kids in the ways of morals and scruples. We need to put it in their heads that this is not acceptable and that we will not stand for it. Our parents and their parents have fought to hard to crush the stereotype that comes with being an "American Black." We need to provide Black Accountability to our youth. We need to help them see that negativity and violence we only tear down our culture, history, and livelihood.
Until next week, stay strong...
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Closer
The closer it gets to the new year...the closer I get to feeling like I soon will have to come up with New Years Resolutions...Next year i will resolute to be more creative...I will resolute to make more art...I will resolute to exhibit more...I will resolute to grow and become a better artist...
Until next week tomodachi-san...
Until next week tomodachi-san...
Saturday, November 24, 2007
The (RE)birth
Well my friends, here we are again. My weekly foray into the online world of blogging. I would have never have in my wildest imagination believed that I would be sitting here writing a weekly blog. But as it stands that's exactly what I am doing. So...here it goes!
I have officially gone back to doing figurative work. For the last year or so I have been driven by this strong urge to create abstract work or contextual work that had an abstract meaning to it. After working in this method for awhile, I have had time to do things like seeing how the paint moves, how it blends, how it responds in harmony with other materials and different mixes and swatches of color. In these investigative paintings I was allowed for all intentful purposes to just create. I was able to freely express myself. The work was more about the mark making and the stroke. It felt good. I loved just putting the paint to the canvas and coming up with great visual nuances that had nothing to do with subject matter.
Over the past few months though, I have been driven; compelled I daresay. I have been compelled to return back to the figurative, back to the representational, back to the subject matter and matters that had driven my passion for art for so long. Some of my favorite artists are/were abstract artists or used elements of abstraction in their work (i.e., Pollock, Basquiat, and even Johns to some extent) which earlier on did also fuel my love for the arts. It is with these artists I wanted to learn and try to develop my own niche in this rough and tumble world that we artist live in.
In going forward, today I started a new body of work which is yet untitled, but will entirely consist of the figure. I will still bring along my self-discovery of abstraction along with it but my main focus will be along the lines of trying to re-establish my figurative presence in my work. I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you on this (RE)birth of my Artist Way.
Until next week...shitsurei shimasu, minnasan...
I have officially gone back to doing figurative work. For the last year or so I have been driven by this strong urge to create abstract work or contextual work that had an abstract meaning to it. After working in this method for awhile, I have had time to do things like seeing how the paint moves, how it blends, how it responds in harmony with other materials and different mixes and swatches of color. In these investigative paintings I was allowed for all intentful purposes to just create. I was able to freely express myself. The work was more about the mark making and the stroke. It felt good. I loved just putting the paint to the canvas and coming up with great visual nuances that had nothing to do with subject matter.
Over the past few months though, I have been driven; compelled I daresay. I have been compelled to return back to the figurative, back to the representational, back to the subject matter and matters that had driven my passion for art for so long. Some of my favorite artists are/were abstract artists or used elements of abstraction in their work (i.e., Pollock, Basquiat, and even Johns to some extent) which earlier on did also fuel my love for the arts. It is with these artists I wanted to learn and try to develop my own niche in this rough and tumble world that we artist live in.
In going forward, today I started a new body of work which is yet untitled, but will entirely consist of the figure. I will still bring along my self-discovery of abstraction along with it but my main focus will be along the lines of trying to re-establish my figurative presence in my work. I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you on this (RE)birth of my Artist Way.
Until next week...shitsurei shimasu, minnasan...
Friday, November 16, 2007
...
Its that time again people. I had no real idea of what I was going to write about in my second week here. I had kicked some ideas around in my head; I even thought about just posting some of my old writings from my sketchbook. Still didn't have anything to give you guys. I wanted to real bring something new this week. I had hoped to have something banged out by at least saturday that I felt at the time would be worthy of human consumption but alas nothing. Today while I was relaxing and be contemplative, I got a text from my manager at work, which stated that Larry Scott died. I was taken aback by this text message. My response to her was, Wow! So I did a little research and found out that it was indeed true. I had always heard about him and his work but had never really met him. I remember having a conversation with an actor from The Wire (Clarke Peters) about him. He told me about this Baltimore artist he knew named Larry Scott and how good his work was. So I looked him up online and then found his work. I instantly became enamored with his work. I found it to be very urban. Then when I saw his picture, I was like I know this guy. Not on a personal level but just in passing in The neighborhood of my job and at my job (Mt. Vernon). So it was through this conversation I started recognizing that that was him, Larry Scott. I even went so far as to say that Clarke Peters told me about you. So from time to time when he would come to my job to get his art supplies (He really had a thing for Chroma drawing ink) he would ask, "You seen Clarke lately?" I would be like he stopped by or naw haven't seen him in awhile. Just from the exchanges we had out side of the coffee shop near my job or at my job I could tell that he had a great sense of humor. His passing just reminded me of how short our time is on this planet. Of how we should live not only for our futures but for the moment, because we never know when we will draw our last breathe.
Going forward, in a way I am glad I had the opportunity albeit a brief an opportunity it was, to have at least engaged this man in some aspects of my life. It opened my eyes alot to all of the talented artist that are living here in Baltimore making good work and to realize that as an artist I should enlighten myself to the diverse and multitude of art that is being made by these artist that I may or may not be aware of.
Until next week sometime...
"Good, bad, you want to bring out whatever's inside, not hide it."
-Larry Scott
Going forward, in a way I am glad I had the opportunity albeit a brief an opportunity it was, to have at least engaged this man in some aspects of my life. It opened my eyes alot to all of the talented artist that are living here in Baltimore making good work and to realize that as an artist I should enlighten myself to the diverse and multitude of art that is being made by these artist that I may or may not be aware of.
Until next week sometime...
"Good, bad, you want to bring out whatever's inside, not hide it."
-Larry Scott
Saturday, November 10, 2007
My First Blog Post!
This is my very first post. I will try to every week on some random day post a blog on what, when, where, and how I am doing in my artistic endeavors. I am hoping that by creating this blog, I will be able to start a running dialogue and conversation about my work. My goal is to have a running record of what I am doing as well as keep somewhat of an online journal as to what transpires in my artistic life. I don't know if anyone will ever read this or quite understand what I am going for but I will continue to post. Occasionally, I may rant and rave about something but I feel as though this blog will be here to help you the reader(or me) as to the madness and meaning of the work that I am going to create and undertake. Right now I am trying to do alot of work and I am applying for shows/exhibitions.
In August, I was in a group show at the ARC Gallery in Chicago called, The 8 X 8 show and I currently am participating in a show in Atlanta called "The Sketchbook Project." The "Sketchbook Project," is a show to benefit a rape crisis center in Dekalb County, Georgia. It is a show where artist were given sketchbooks and over the course of about a month we had to create in these books. The theme for the books was "Fear." So we had to write, create or do what ever we wanted to this books, but the had to relate to our fears in some way. This was kind of a hard subject matter for me to deal with because I had to in someways pour the contents of my soul out sometimes. I managed to get it done but in some instances some of the things I wrote and illustrated showed emotions that I knew I had in me but that I don't readily emote.
Over the last couple of years my work has fluctuated from representational to abstract and back and forth. I have begun to veer back towards being more representational like I was in school, especially now that I have undertaken improving my portfolio so I can apply to grad school again and hopefully be reward for having a remarkable body of work(since the cost of grad schools are astronomical, LOL...no but seriously it is...have you seen the cost per credit hours at some of these schools...sheesh!)
I want to take a more forward approach to my work. I want to constantly keep cranking the work out first and be more productive heading into the new year, even if I don't think that it is good or great work.
Until sometime next week, stay focused and stay sharp...
In August, I was in a group show at the ARC Gallery in Chicago called, The 8 X 8 show and I currently am participating in a show in Atlanta called "The Sketchbook Project." The "Sketchbook Project," is a show to benefit a rape crisis center in Dekalb County, Georgia. It is a show where artist were given sketchbooks and over the course of about a month we had to create in these books. The theme for the books was "Fear." So we had to write, create or do what ever we wanted to this books, but the had to relate to our fears in some way. This was kind of a hard subject matter for me to deal with because I had to in someways pour the contents of my soul out sometimes. I managed to get it done but in some instances some of the things I wrote and illustrated showed emotions that I knew I had in me but that I don't readily emote.
Over the last couple of years my work has fluctuated from representational to abstract and back and forth. I have begun to veer back towards being more representational like I was in school, especially now that I have undertaken improving my portfolio so I can apply to grad school again and hopefully be reward for having a remarkable body of work(since the cost of grad schools are astronomical, LOL...no but seriously it is...have you seen the cost per credit hours at some of these schools...sheesh!)
I want to take a more forward approach to my work. I want to constantly keep cranking the work out first and be more productive heading into the new year, even if I don't think that it is good or great work.
Until sometime next week, stay focused and stay sharp...
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