Blog has Moved

I decided to start a Tumblr. So now you can find pictures of my new work here.

Chloe

Chloe. 11" x 8 1/4". Acrylic on Arches paper. 2010.

Here's another small piece. I really enjoy doing them because they also allow me to be very playful and experiment with my colors. They're size makes them intimate and lovely, in my opinion.

I've also been working on an old graphite drawing. It's amazing what more hours will bring to a piece. All great art takes time, rushing or taking short-cuts simply will not produce the same results. Anytime that I am awed by a work of art and wonder at how it was done, more often than not it has everything to do with the sheer number of hours that were spent on it. This is especially the case with graphite. Pictures soon.

Rebirth

I have been painting a lot these days. I feel so happy when I'm painting, excited and energized.

I've got 3 oil pieces and 1 small acrylic one on the go right now. I've always got something started on my little Arches watercolor block. It's my "lazy day work" when I don't feel like I have the mental and physical capacity to work on something big. It's actually quite taxing to sit down and paint for hours on end. I can't bring myself to do it until I've had at least 2 big meals and then my body says, "Ok I'm ready now". Then I disappear for 3 or 4 hours at a time and resurface when I'm hungry again. (:

Rebirth. Acrylic and graphite on Arches paper. 10"x8". 2010.

Inner Peace

I've been thinking lately about how to make my work into a conscious practice of presence, using it as a way to not simply make art but to become a better person. Being able to shut off the mind, letting go of the baggage of past and present, is easy when I'm sitting in yoga class. When I'm painting, however, all of my worries rise to the surface in a stream of internal dialogue. Perhaps I will try tuning it out from now on. Sometimes it's not so hard to do...

Inner Peace.

(When all you are left with is pieces of yourself, there's no better time to look for the glue that holds us all together).

Acrylic and graphite on Arches paper. 10"x8". 2010.

The other night I had a really productive painting session and finished this little piece. It was definitely one of those lovely evenings when I was feeling inspired and in the mood to paint.

Animalopolis

I'm scheduled to show in Ayden Gallery's June show with Kristian Adam called 'Animalopolis'. Kristian hinted that it would be cool if I had animals in my paintings. Serendipitously, I'd already begun including animals again in my work!

The challenge here will be that I am not used to painting animals, only drawing them. What I will have to do is find a way to paint them well, not necessarily realistically, but in a way that suits my style. I think this will be a matter of doing a high-finish drawing and only painting enough to make it pop without ruining the transparency. My intention is to work on raw wood so as to utilize the grain, which means that I can't re-work areas too much or the grain will get covered.

Anyways, today I begin my search for inspiration.

With Hope

I'm a sucker for romance and unrequited love so this is meant to embody the feeling of optimistic loneliness when you feel like you are just a second away from meeting "the one" but each second feels like an eternity.

With Hope. Acrylic and graphite on wood. 4'x6'. Sold.

(detail shot).

This was a commissioned painting. I was astounded to find out that they had never actually seen my work in person, only online, and trusted me enough to paint them a giant piece! I'm very lucky and appreciative!

I was really happy with how this one turned out. It's always a worry that a client won't like what I've created for them but I was confident that they would like this one. My technique is getting much more refined these days and I'm excited to get back into the oils with what I've learned. I wasn't able to get a perfect photo, you can see a shadow being cast on the left-hand corner of the painting and I had to crop out part of the hand at the bottom, but the details are clear.

Anima

This marks the first time that I did not work from a reference image for the figure! It was interesting to see how her features played themselves out along the way, with tweaks here and there to add more human qualities. I based it all on what I have learned and how I thought the lighting should look as it played across her features. My portraits can often "err" on the side of alien and they usually have to be reigned in a bit due to the feedback from clients. This is also the most detailed drawing that I have ever done and I am very happy with how it turned out.

Anima. Graphite on Arches paper. 30"x22". 2010. For Sale.

Detail shot.

Garden

I started this piece at the '5' opening about 2 weeks ago and have finally finished it. It's a bit of a collaboration with Choplogik. He did all of the ink line work around the flowers (which, bad me, I didn't really get very detailed pictures of).

Garden. 4'x6'. Acrylic on wood. 2010.

detail.

detail.

I really like the texture and flatness of his lines contrasted with the softness of my paint and it's very calming to have him working with me. It takes away some of the creative angst I feel when I paint; that inherent loneliness in the creative process is assuaged when you share a common vision with someone. It's a bit hard to describe except perhaps as a weight that one feels, like a burden pressing down on your mind that wants to be born and you alone experience it, holding it up, until it is expressed onto the canvas and others can share in the epiphany. It can be very stressful if you take it too seriously. When every brushstroke could make or break the piece, especially when you work in an unforgiving medium where there is no hiding or erasing the previous mark, you have to remember that every brushstroke is the epiphany. There is no wrong way to go about painting.

Still Life

I've started a new drawing. This will be the most detailed piece I have ever done. Here is a little bit of it so far:

... much later in the day:

It's really strange for me to work this way. Typically, I like to do the faces first but I always run out of steam at the end and the rest of the image lacks the same level of attention as the face. Here I have decided to do the face last in order to give the rest of the image as much as I can. I always love the face at this point (which you can't see much of), it's like a mask or statue; somber and cold, very inhuman. One day I want to fill a gallery with them just to witness the overall effect.

Live Painting at the Olympics

I was lucky enough to be invited to paint at Cypress ski hill during the events of the Olympics. They were very long days but it was immensely rewarding being a part of the Olympics, working alongside some great artists, and exploring the extent of my creativity. Here are some in-progress shots (all panels were 8x7 feet):

Here I was collaborating with Choplogik. He did all of the beautiful line work. Again, these are in-progress.

Aya

Aya. 12"x12". Graphite and acrylic on wood. 2009. For sale.

This is a little piece from a past show that I've been holding on to for some reason. I think she's ready to go to a happy home though.

Homage

Alex. 30"x22". Graphite on Arches. 2010. For Sale.

When I heard about the passing of Alexander McQueen, I knew that I wanted to do a little homage to him as I have always been inspired by his designs. The feathers on her dress here are reminiscent of the winged dresses shown in his collection a few seasons ago.

Synergist Collaborations

Synergist. Ink and graphite on framed hardboard. 40"x28".

I have begun collaborating with my partner, Chop Logik. He specializes in ink line work. The amount of minute detail he puts into every line has them breathing with life, it's amazing. So here we are creating together utilizing each of our strengths. It's a fun process and this is just the beginning. There is a very good chance that we will be live painting together during the Vancouver Olympics up at the Cypress ski hill on 2, 8' x 7', panels.

New-ish Series

I've been itching to take my work to a more surreal, macabre realm these days. There's a fine balance between beautifully moving and subversively creepy which I want to maintain. My sketchbook contains a lot of detailed drawings with girls dissolving into drips, pools of lines, and lots of play with shading, line work and depth. Most often, these elements never find themselves into the finished pieces but I'm betting they will soon.

"5" Olympic Show

Preview of work that will be up in Ayden Gallery for their "5" show that opens on Feb. 13.