head o' plenty

hello!
Well, I’m back and we are all safe from the fires, zoe and sadie are snug. Nobody had to use the studio to evacuate to..it was full of ashes anyway.. ugh, took a while to clean, but it’s safe as well as our home, so we are very thankful. Classes are back in session after the fires too, and it’s really good to see everyone again. Missed you today when I went to Kaelani’s between classes.
So, this painting looks good. I really like what you’ve shown of it so far…the hint of skin tone in some areas is nicely done. It’s the most you, so far, out of all the ones you’ve posted. I look forward to seeing the rest of the painting and how it evolves. I was thinking about the use of the arrow (symbol vs. metaphor), but since I haven’t seen the rest of the painting, I might wait til then. (..but.. see the comments below the painting in this post too..) Hopefully the hands aren’t cut off, right? The last one you posted.. don’t want to paint hands? Or causing an uncomfortable feeling for the viewer? (ie: where they are cropped and how they are positioned could be a bit disconcerting to the viewer..which may be what you’re going for? Especially coupled with the stiffness of the pose and the subject looking directly at the viewer..). This new one (b&w with arrow) is much more dynamic in the pose – good stuff. Keep going, can’t wait to see. Also, I agree with what Nathalie says in her comments about the boards you used for the painting of the couple. The application of paint is good overall in all of them, I’m seeing that you’re experimenting with different effects with the materials.. Some of the brushwork in this last one is really great. The drawings are looking pretty good. A bit stiff and outlined overall though. Try incorporating the environment.. think about the overall composition of values as a whole picture and less focused on just rendering the figure. Lose some edges, for example. Where do the edges of the figure get lost into the background? Think more abstractly instead of figure with outline pasted on white paper. Well, anyway, some things to think about I hope.

Here is a new painting that will be in the show in LA on the 10th…Zoey’s little brother came in to class and pointed at it and yelled…Cornucopia Head! ..awesome.. oh!.. Happy Halloween! :)

I just noticed that you added more to your post on the 20th. I will definitely add feedback regarding some of those questions very soon. For now, think about this... when they ask why, it's not that you have to answer exactly why, but think about other ways metaphorically to illustrate your ideas. For example, as I alluded to above, the arrow to the heart with blood is a stark symbol. How can you visually describe the concept of what the arrow and blood represent in different ways besides showing an arrow to the heart with blood? make the message more close to your own heart. Speaking from your own unique experience or take on the subject, and less straightforward symbolism. From my own experience, (even though you mentioned that you don't care if other people understand or relate), this will speak universally, and more powerfully. And may lead to many different interpretations at the same time.

...more soon...

everybody ok down there?

I hear the fire situation has much improved down there. Are you guys alright? how about the kids (Zoe and Sadie)? Did any one else have to use the studio as home base? everyone's homes are ok?
i hope all is well =/

I'm working on a new piece. it's way different for me which is why i think i did it. It's outside the comfort zone and it's been good practice as well. experimenting with thin and thick paint, as well as color or lack of.
check it?


The first assignment yet! woo! our first assignment was to do another painting that relates to the last one we did but make it significantly different. Thus the same character but in a very different environment. I wanted to see if i could use white to create an interesting environment. Its pretty hard and I've been messing with it a lot. The photos above are close ups/details the canvas is bigger and there is more to come. this is where I'm at right now. any ideas?

Fires in San Diego

I hope to post more soon regarding art and other projects, but for now, click here to visit my post regarding the fires and the last few days here.

Hope all is well with you

here is a drawing and another painting I'm working on. my painting teacher told me I should always be working on multiple paintings. I don't know if I agree but I'm going to try it out anyway. School is going a little better I think. I'm learning a lot from myself which is pretty exciting.
any constructive criticism for them?

Unlock the door, look at people's work, not say anything, is exactly how instruction goes here. It's interesting you brought up grades a while ago because in the college of creative studies we don't really have grades. you just get more or less units depending on how hard you're working/how well you do in a class. This is supposed to encourage us to take more classes and push ourselves.
Next quarter i will take some classes in the college of letters and sciences. There is one instructor there, a mr. eric beltz, who supposedly teaches drawing and painting? i've heard good things. In Letters and Sciences i will have grades, it will be a more traditional way of running classes.
I've had a difficult time articulating my work to my instructors and fellow classmates. I guess right now my art is this borderline subconscious spill of symbolism that speaks of my feelings in relation to the world around me. Is this immature and oh god. . . arbitrary or trite? It feels genuine to me, but i feel like others may think it's not out there enough. not that it even matters what they think. oh my god, look at me. what a dork. I guess I'm just trying to understand where they are coming from and why they would think that about my work.
How do you talk about your work? I always feel really on the spot and like I'm being attacked. my painting teacher always bombards me with millions of whys. Sometimes i don't know the answer to why when it's not finished because it's still piecing itself together.
oh boy. . .
Maybe if you get the chance you could talk about your clown painting that you're working on?
the art world is a bizarre place.
As for the painting on the floor boards. I see what everyone is saying. i went into it going "hey this would be interesting to paint on." I didn't think to consider the painting surface as part of the subject or how it would interfere with the subject for that matter. In any case it was a good learning experience =) thanks for the crit.

So far

here is the painting I've been working on for my ambiguous painting class. . . not done yet and theres a few things I can see that need fixing. but it could be worse =P. [advice maybe?] My teacher has not given me any constructive criticism for advice for the piece yet. When I asked for it he proceeded to interrogate me on why i chose to paint on wooden floor boards and what it means. . . way over my head lol.
i just think it looks cool. Its already a darker color which is better for me to paint on than white and it is really slick which is also fun.
One time I was working outside of class, it was probably around 9 or 10 at night and I had left the room. when i came back he was checking out my painting. I thought he would say something. instead he just walked away. strange?
Oh man! and this one girl in my painting class told me that she didn't like the figure on the left and that she thought it was "too creepy". I proceeded to laugh to myself at her comment for a minute and then decide that it was good she didn't like it. I'm glad its creepy, i think its supposed to be.
This same girl was painting in the group studio space the same time i was once. . . she had her headphones turned up really loud and was singing in some other language . . . really really poorly. it was really awful and loud. I had forgotten my headphones so I contemplated leaving but i stuck it out and luckily she left shortly after.
oh man. . . funny stuff.


heres my janky group studio space setup. for all the underclassmen... fun stuff. lol

heres my first drawing from my figure drawing class. again, not great but not awful either. That time I managed to get some criticism out of my teacher at the end of class, yay. It was good advice too, he told me i needed to step back from my drawing more often and that my values needed to relate to each other more appropriately. all very true.
One of the weirdest things I've had to adjust to is the different lighting for life drawing. All the light is natural from a skylight instead of the lights at second street. I think maybe its harder this way or I'm just not used to it.

oh man. . . guess who went to art academy of San Francisco as an illustration major. . .
sylvia ji.
just shoot me now. lol

heavy on the flip side

how's it goin?

so, what would be the reason that an art student would choose one internal college over the other? - the college of letters and science or the college of creative studies? The letters and science art classes seem a bit more like what you're wanting, but I do stress the 'a bit'.. Both programs are kinda lacking as far as I can tell - I mean, for what you're looking for. Right now, I'm just talking about their course offerings. I could elaborate on more of this later. And my facetious comment ' do the actually teach art in the college of letters and science' still holds true. I did look up some of the teachers' works too, though. Also not from whom I'd want to be learning figure drawing etc. One teacher (possibly the one you mentioned regarding your drawing workshop) has a gallery site where he is touted as being 'reductive' and a 'chronographer'.. that might explain his briefness with you.. ha! Can you take classes from both colleges and have them go towards your major? And eventually.. can you transfer out of there completely to another college altogether?

I'm a huge advocate of 'speaking' in your work, finding your unique voice or vision, and incorporating life with art and so on. You know this. But these course descriptions are a bit too weighted on that side. There has to be a balance and a progression, and they're not offering much in terms of structure. It's crazy to even read my own writing here. I'm usually talking from the side that wants to see more artists actually say something and not just paint a so-called pretty picture of a foofy woman and her dog or a frilly still life. But hey, I suppose I'm glad there's a whole vacuum-of-a-world of artists taking that route so I don't have to. And to think - I actually did think I had to not too long ago (it was a brief few years of brainwash-stifle-fog, thank god it's over). I'm learning a lot from this.

This might be the reason that parents wonder what the heck their child who chooses to go to college for art is going to do with art when they graduate. They think 'you're supposed to' get a bachelors or masters degree, but the places that offer these degrees are like this. And ironically, this is also the reason (that totally contradicts the former) the general public thinks of someone being an artist as them having a gift - translated to mean they don't have to work at anything, they already have it or they don't. Yeah, right.. I mean, the gift part rings true to some degree, just as a scientist has a passion or ambition for science, and so on. But in this case, what are teachers there for then? To unlock the door when class begins, sit and draw for 3 hours, and then lock up? To walk around and peek over the shoulders of students but not help, so as not to influence them? And if this is the case, then how do they give out grades? Do you think these teachers have become disheartened and so have become this way (and how am I learning about 'speaking' in my work from this type of person?), or did they get into this line of work actually for this reason? I can only wonder. I'm sure it's all relative to whom we're talking about.

Well, for anyone who has some sense of 'speaking' through their art, this would sure dole out some frustration to work with. I will say this.. and don't forget it.. don't ever allow things to stifle you. Frustration or anything or anyone else. Some really great things can come from it. Some really great art can come from it. Don't stop creating because the current conditions are less than expected. Make this all work for you in the best way it can. And figure out the other stuff in the process. 'Tis life.

time to start wearin your afro wig to class.

funny..I just finished typing some answers for an article to promote the show next month. what's funny is.. one of the questions was "Who are your influences?" (a standard question, which I ironically have a hard time answering because I'd say everyone and everything which is what I do say - but I do name a few). Now, I'm not sure anyone on my list ever thought of being my influence in the least, but don't you think if they did have the opportunity of actually knowing they can be an influence, that they'd want to be a positive one?

Can you bring a roll of tissue paper next class (no, not for crying) and suggest putting it over your drawing and using it to help with any corrections or any other kind of information. That way he can be reassured that he won't be 'influencing' you, and you both can feel comfortable knowing you're getting the kind of help you were asking for. Did you ask him.. do they actually teach art in the college of letters and science?

I digress.. next class, I suggest going in there positive with ideas on how to get the information you want - straight up. Let him know about what you're expecting to get from the class, and how you were hoping to work on your own style outside of your fundamental figure drawing class. Maybe there was a misunderstanding in how the dialog happened. ..?.. this is just the first week. who knows. but you have a semester left of it. Try new things. How can this benefit you? Make a list.

just fyi.. I looked online for drawing groups in your area. It's easier to find something like that if you start talking to other artists near you, and see if anyone knows of anything else to go to in SB. Maybe the city college offers something like an open workshop. I know the LA area has a lot, but I don't know what kind of distance you can go. Otherwise, just random.. I found this was going on in your neighborhood this weekend coming up.

more soon.

Oh god. . .

I'm a painting major and I haven't had any time to paint, due to tons of boring and snobby contemporary art reading/writing assignments. I should get to paint monday in my "painting class" though. I hope I hope.
My drawing class was good but a little disappointing also. I guess it isn't a class but a "workshop" meaning the teacher doesn't teach he just draws with us. I might as well just stay at SDA for that.
I asked the teacher why and he said it was because there is no right way to draw and he doesn't want to influence us.
I hope this is the right place for me. when he said that I almost started crying right there in the middle of class.
I'm not looking to draw like him I'm looking for information so that I can develop my own drawing style.
And to top it off he told me maybe I should go check out the college of letters and sciences instead. . . that hurt. Whats funny about that as well is that they don't even offer a figure drawing workshop let alone a class. so that wouldn't help me at all.
Oh boy. . . I hope I still get better at art. . .
People here are very much into the ideas of Contemporary art. Using it as a language. Like being an author but with images. As much as I am concerned with this I feel that at this stage of my learning I'm more concerned with technical aspects and aesthetics. Just like how having a good vocabulary can help you be a more expressive writer drawing and painting skills can make you a more expressive painter with no limits on what you can create.
I'm very much a advocate of the concept that one should know the rules before you break them.
I'll get going on posting some sketches soon. I was painting last night on my tablet pc in the lounge, it was really fun and people were supportive.
I also did a drawing i really liked in a friends sketch book, maybe they'll let me borrow it to scan it.
I miss studio second st. a lot. Say hi to everyone for me, ok?
Can't wait for your show in LA its going to be so awesome!!!

how's that tablet pc?!

hey hey!
good to hear from you! your classes sound great...can't wait to see the new work you produce in some of them. Glad you found some good veggie places too. I do remember that about IV, among the other things you mentioned. But it can be what you make it, and you've always been good with that. As far as the camera goes, whatever. What's the tablet pc for but to record the world around you via sketching directly on your laptop? No need for a camera when you've got your eyes, hands, laptop, pen tool.. am I right?
For example, here's a digi sketch I did this morning of my turp can on my desk.Not that I don't want to see pics of your lovely mug or your new digs, but let's see some new artwork! And don't be a perfectionist either.. Okay, I might be asking a bit too much there (pot calling the kettle black, as they say), but hey.. what's it take to get you to post your work? Do a sketch of something in your immediate surroundings.. like your dorm room in all its colorful glory! ha ha! ;) Miss you 'round here! some of your peeps say hello too...

ps. E Street Bob is posing for the next 2 weeks for the open workshop at the studio.
pps. my show in LA is on Sat. Nov. 10th, 7pm to midnight.. not much more time...crap!
heh, anyway, more info soon. looking forward to seeing you there! woohoo!