I was recently a guest on the web show Scary Chat, hosted by one of my very best friends, Stephanie Williams. We watched Devil's Due and give a full breakdown of the movie, which means...yup, SPOILER ALERT! I had so much fun doing the show even though I'm not really into horror films. I think my favorite part of the experience was that the video allows me to have a physical piece of my friendship with Stephanie. Check out my guest spot!
Ohhh snap
I've been planning and making pieces for a solo show that I have coming up in July. Along the way I've been learning a lot about how I work and about time management. What's also been cool yet challenging is having the freedom of a blank slate to build from. This show will be the first time I've really had to sit down and consider the statement that I want to make as an artist. As organized as that seems to sound, there's certainly an element of intuitiveness that's been emerging as I work on these pieces. The painting above is one of the current pieces I'm working on. It's giving me pause because I think this painting might be the precipice of a new development for me, artistically. With each new figure I paint I'm finding that my brushwork is getting looser and more impressionistic. This is the exact opposite of what I've learned in classes and workshops. There was always an emphasis on tight brushwork and accuracy. When I look at this piece, I can point out at least 2 - 3 "rules" that I've broken! And that's ok. I suppose now that it's been a long while since I've been in a classroom environment, I'm becoming more inclined to do what comes naturally. I'm hoping that this is the mark of more exciting work to come and for me to finally discover that elusive "artistic voice" I've been trying to define for years.
Work, Work, Werk
It's rare that I get attached to one of my pieces. This particular one I might consider a self-portrait, in an abstract way. Of course it doesn't look like me, but the objects in the painting certainly represent a huge part of myself. For the last few months, outside of my job and whatever social engagements, I have been consumed by writing and painting. At the time that I painted this piece, I didn't consider the significance of it until after I finished it. Honestly I was just trying to use up this oddly sized canvas, and compositionally it made sense to me to paint something long and thin. So out of mere practicality emerged a surprisingly personal piece of work.The pen and the paintbrush are my vessels of expression. As of late I have been feverishly writing - thoughts, notes, happenings, ideas, emotions...whatever comes to mind. And though I could probably be doing more (don't most of us think this?), I've been painting more than I ever have in my life in preparation for my first official solo show. PLUS I've finally gotten around to putting this space together. There's so much work being done and much work to do!