Saturday, March 29, 2008

Day 89!

Well, well faithful few, its that time again. Is it just me or is anyone amazed at how quickly the time is going? I mean in a couple of days it will be April! April! People come on, April! Wow! I really got get cracking on my work.

I am really coming along with it. I am doing more portraiture and I am also working on butterflies. You know what, I need to stop and apologize to you guys. I totally lost my train of thought for this week. I mean I am perplexed, I have looked at this screen for close to an hour and can not recollect my thoughts for the week. Instead of just burdening you guys with drivel, I will end my post earlier then planned this week. But fret not, next week i will really bring it for you guys, ok.

Until next week sometime, namaste and stay strong...

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Art finally!


Hello faithful few, another week has come and gone and its now time for another post. Well my week really wasn't too productive. I tried to do a little sketching, a little brainstorming and you know, try to see what I could come up with. It wasn't until today that I really put something down on paper. This is what I came up with; a nice character study. Its along way from what I have been mainly doing over the last couple of years. I alluded to the idea of going back to being more figurative in my work in an earlier post and I am finally making strides towards that concept. As you can also see I have been promising pictures and haven't produced, but I have finally came through for you guys.

I really feel as though I am going to be running with this for awhile, so I am pretty optimistic. I look forward to sharing more with you guys. Well that's all I have to say for this week.

So, until sometime next week, namaste and stay strong...

Saturday, March 15, 2008

My Painting practice 1: the beginning!

Ohayo faithful few, we come to another week. Where has the time gone? I come to you on the 15th of March, the 15th of March! It seems like the weeks are really flying by. I am still trying to be on my grind. Got somethings I am working on. I have switched my paint medium for the time being.

For a while I was painting in acrylics, but this weekend I am doing a painting in oil. Its been since I have worked in this medium. I really like working in oil because of its slow drying times. In a way I feel as though it is forgiving. If I make a mark I don't have to worry about it drying so fast, the longer open time allows me to decide whether not I am happy with it. Whereas with acrylic there is a sense of immediacy when it comes to decision-making. Do I like this stroke or do I want to go here with it? Acrylic, unless your using Chroma's Interactive Paints, which after it dries can be re-opened, normal acrylics have a faster drying time. Oils, on the hand have a way longer drying time. It is also more conducive to a more direct thought and decision-making processes. I can make a mark and in some cases, come back to it a couple days and it still be workable.

I learned to paint in acrylic and when I made the switch to oils, I was a bit apprehensive. I figured that it would be a hard medium to pick up because of the rules but I got the hang of it pretty quick. So for now, I will see how much work I get done by switching back to oils. Well that's all I have you this week.

Until next week sometime, namaste and stay strong...

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Welcome

Hey faithful few, welcome to another week, another post. This week I wanna talk about the past for a spell. I always try to stay away from the past but it seems as though it always come back. How I do just move on? Why can't I ever get away from the past? It seems like I always get stuck. I mean I try to move forward but they always seem to come back.

Do I just move away from everyone? Do I just forget everything? Do I say hey world, I am leaving you guys in the dust. I don't know. I always felt as though if I moved away from it all, I could leave the past in the past. Maybe that is why I have always been so eager to leave my hometown. Its like no matter what I do, someone or something always seem to try to hinder my forward progress. I must find a resolution. At some point and time I think I will. I have to. It's only a matter of time.

Until next week sometime, namaste and stay strong

Saturday, March 1, 2008

An Excursion with The Arts...

Hello faithful few. Welcome to an evening full of delight and great art. Naw but seriously, as promised I had my little excursion today. It felt great to go and see some art today. Very good art I might add. I went and saw Kehinde Wiley's work as I mentioned in my post last week. I mean if you have seen his work in a magazine or online or anywhere; lets just say you have been cheated visually. His work up close is very majestic. I mean you get really almost overwhelmed with the sheer magnitude of his painting. Even the frames themselves are quite ornate. I really feel privilege to say that I have actually seen his work up close. I mean I am practically speechless right now. I don't know what else to say right now about his work. Rather than go on and constantly ramble about his work, I am going to stop now and include it later on down the line in another post where I can elaborate more on it.

The great thing about visiting museums and galleries is that you go to see one exhibition or a particular artist and you run into another great exhibit or body of work by another artist. The gallery that I went to also had an exhibit entitled, "Let Your Motto Be Resistance." It just so happened that this was the last weekend for this exhibit and I am glad that I got a chance to view it. It was an exhibit of 100 photographic images from the collection of the National Portrait Gallery. They were images of prominent African-Americans(there is that word again) in the arts, sports, music, stage, civil rights movement, and political world; both past and present. I think it would have been the highlight of my excursion had not Kehinde Wiley paintings been there. Some of the photos really captured the essence of its subject. It was nice to take it all in. I walked out of that museum feeling really inspired and better about my work and the direction it is going in.

Well, I think that's all I have for you guys, this week.

Until some time next week, namaste and stay strong...