Project Updates

I just finished up my second "Album" of work. It's been interesting to advance concepts I created in the first series. You can compare and contrast the two bodies of work by clicking here.

For my next effort, I'll be working on eight new paintings: two commissioned works, three for a new series I'm working on based off The Kabbalah, two more music pieces, and one experimental piece.

Seemingly Nothing

As I was painting the other day, I sensed dissatisfaction coming over me. I felt like nothing was happening, that things were stagnant. My current body of work didn't seem all that different from the previous body. As I began to delve further into the feeling, however, I realized my initial impression wasn't really true at all.

The previous body of work (from a series I call Album 1) was already hanging on the walls of my studio so I hung the newer work of Album 2 to the left for comparison. In little, but obvious ways, I saw an emerging confidence in my compositions. The change in value within a single form was more subtle and effective. The colors were richer. Much to my surprise, I saw plenty of growth.

When nothing seems like it's going on, transformation is actually occuring on the inside. Eventually, it will manifest itself outward. I just have to trust it will.

Ten Is The Magic Number

I recently blogged about a DVD series I rented called Art City. It provided an insider's perspective into the world of art through in-studio interviews with artists and other art players in various parts of the United States. I remember one interview (though the artist's name alludes me) where the artist was discussing 'making it' in the art world. He talked about the necessity of biding his time as an artist; honing his craft while proving to galleries and collectors that this was a life-time career for him and not some passing fancy. Specifically, he said it takes about ten years to really establish yourself as an artist.

I really felt this point was right on the money... at least for me. Since watching the series, I reviewed my resume and discovered indeed it has been a little over ten years now since I have been painting professionally (I got a little side-tracked after college, thinking I was going to be a rock and roll star). In that time, I have built up a resume that demonstrates achievements from exhibitions, to commissions, to honors and awards over the course of eleven years. As an artist who wants to make a name for myself, the resume affirms I have cultivated a track record to move in that direction. From my patrons point of view, it asserts they made a good investment in an artist who wants art to be his lifelong career.

Discovery

What Rothko did with abstract space, I am achieving through figurative space; capturing energy, depth, movement, sound and feeling.

Costly Drop / Cadmium's Revenge

There are certain blunders that happen in the studio an artist never thinks about until they ruin his or her world in an instant of carelessness. I have spilled mineral spirits on my hardwood floors... twice. Played a rousing game of "52 brush pick-up." And every now and then, I'll drop a tube of paint. When a tube leaps out of my hands, or falls from the shelf in a spontaneous moment of pigment daredevilry, I see the whole thing happen in slow motion, very much like The Matrix.

As I mentioned before, I have hardwood floors. When I drop a tube of paint, the first thing I attempt to determine when I pick it up is where it made contact with the floor, like a parent trying to find the wound on a child after a fall. If it's a fortunate drop, it will land on one of the few soft spots of the tube with minimal denting. A costlier drop occurs where the impact forces a tiny rupture in the tube. The problem is, I don't find out until a few days (up to a week) later when the linseed oil begins to seep through the newly formed pore, separating from and ultimately drying out the pigment. Not long ago, I dropped a tube of cadmium orange. This was a $18 mistake; cadmium colors are more generally more expensive than other types of paint. No sooner did I get the new tube then I dropped it, just a mere two weeks after receiving it. And now I am resisting the urge to overindulge my paintings with orange while trying to make the most of my dying tube of cadmium orange. Guess I'm off to the art store... again.

Progress

I am finishing up my second Album of new material: six new paintings of musical instruments. They have a completely different feel from my first effort (shown here). The first Album had a very rich palette with darker, earthier hues. The second will feature more modern, brighter colors. Additionally, you may notice the progression of my ability to render the instruments, as I believe the newer works benefited from lessons learned in my first attempt. I am excited to show them soon... First Friday, in fact- October 3rd at Artwork Network, if you can make it.

Unforeseeable Future

Every year around Mother's Day, I go to the neighborhood plant-nursery to buy flowers for two giant pots I have in the front of my studio. This is my garden and I revel in tending to it, watching it grow, and admiring the colors that burst from its soil like thick brush strokes projecting outward from the canvas. This year has been a challenging one for me. There were too many things going on, preventing me from buying the flowers this spring. Lack of time and money, while obsessing about not having enough of either, kept me away from my annual ritual of the season.

The summer months quickly passed, as they always do, and I was reminded of my situation every day as I stepped outside, on to my patio where I saw brown empty pots, void of any color. But somewhere in the middle of the summer, I saw life had indeed returned to my garden without my help. I am not really sure what is growing in my pots, whether it's a weed or perhaps a flower that managed to germinate on the behalf of an artist open for change, but it doesn't matter. It gave me hope. Furthermore, it clearly illustrated that life doesn't always happen the way you want it to, yet it continues to flourish in wonderful and unexpected ways.