The Female Figure

I did these at Palette and Chisel when they had their 7 hr long marathon on labor day. I have plenty more but these are  the ones I enjoy the most. Thinking of doing a series of female paintings. We will see what I come up with. I felt alive drawing that day as well as being among those that love to do the same thing. 

Sketches long due

Painting people while they meandered through the park. Longest one was 30 seconds.

So its been a while...more sketches I did while in Savannah. My do I miss that place.

Memories

I did this a while back in March for Ali's Faceless group exhibition. For some reason, there is something about this piece that is intriguing to me. It is not one of my best pieces and I struggled with the paint on this one, but perhaps how I felt and what I was thinking while I painted this still lingers. It's almost like the one dream you want to remember but you cant. Are our paintings mostly dreams on a subconscious level?

Always running circles in my head.

"The soul that we were given or spirit, are spirits which found a way to swim through the immense network of life that can live in the infinity of space. Is not the human body a mere shell, a form of existence, all too small and weak for consciousness with such vast reach and potential?"
We can live mind out of body, but we cant live body out of mind. Are we as artists searching for this answer consciously or subconsciously through our art?

Something to think about....

When we develop our different and unique styles as artists, we grow to become accustomed to our painting techniques and the place, objects, people, and things we choose to paint. These things become our habits. But do we ever get tired of painting the same things over and over again, the same style over and over again, using the same colors, the same brushes....etc. We take and learn new techniques but we only add to what we are used to. Do some of you wish to paint differently? With a different personality? With a different mindset? Many artists such as Picasso and Matisse painted still lifes, portraits, then switched to paint abstractly. Will we ever be satisfied with our art and the way we paint? I know that we have to brand ourselves with our styles so that our viewers can recognize us but as we get older will we get too comfortable in our skin or maybe even bored? Are we even allowed (by our minds) to switch into something new? Is inspiration our only fuel? How do we truly inspire ourselves to keep going?

Too hot, too dry, not wet enough.

Savannah was perhaps the most productive sketching that I have done so far. I believe to have discovered more about watercolor and the beautiful things it can do on paper and clayboard. However, I do think that weather affects how the pigments react with each other. I had a difficult time creating blooms because the waiting period was unpredictable. Either the wash dried to quickly or stayed wet too long. As watercolor artists, we should take into consideration the climate we paint in and how we can adjust our painting techniques to limit frustrations...well from what I experienced. On the other hand, I felt like I have discovered a different side of me. Savannah is by far my favorite city.  Here are a few sketches. More to come.

The chicken or the egg? Happy Easter btw.

Here's something I struggle with every time I paint.... am I really painting for myself or for others? Who can be singular?
When I plan a thought, set up a still life, pick the right the colors, composition, etc,... I guess its my own personal tastes and what I have acquired from my education but in the end product, I want others to relate to my painting. I want them to take something from them. If I painted a canvas just red, what can they take away but the color red or maybe anger? If I painted a city, perhaps they can take with them a window, a building, the green grass, a memory? Is less more? Or more more? Do we limit what we paint so that viewers can only take what we give them?
Ive noticed nowadays the little voice inside my head that says, "If you put this down, or add this here, viewers will love it!", Get this ego out my head please!
I constantly ask myself whether I choose to paint with my head or my heart. Can't I paint with both? You cant have one without the other...

Its about time.

I'm currently studying at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, IL. I have 3 more weeks of school until I graduate and I'm feeling really nervous. I should have started a blog a long time ago but its hard to find the time to write when you're painting all the time, which I love to do by the way. Nevertheless, I will try to keep up with it, I will post sketches, ideas, finished paintings, and questions on what life could and does mean. Feel free to send me comments, advice, and complaints...I'm always up for a debate.