San Francisco Loves Their Art!

Thank you to all Art Lovers that came out to Art Explosion's Spring Open Studios.  I loved seeing all of my old friends and making new ones too.

As many know, because I am a monko-tade, (文句を言う), or bellyacher, I have been busy mourning all the artists that have moved out of AE in the past year.  I have been lamenting so much that I failed to notice that there are a lot of really wonderful, accomplished new tenants.  Also, the old tenants have really stepped up their game!  There were some blank walls and some empty studios.  These empty spots, in my opinion, helped give the eye a welcome rest because all the other walls were booming with powerful art.  (At least that is one of the comments I overheard).  Overall, the art work looked finished and spaces were thoughtfully arranged.  (My studio looked, as usual,  looked disheveled,  till Liza B. and Ale B. came by Sunday and Feng Shuied it, whew!  I am such a two dimensional person.)

The kids were networking.  I was so busy gabbing and looking around, that this is the only picture I took all weekend.  But it is a good one.

I admit my reluctance when AE decided to go independent.   Scheduling our  Open Studios on a separate weekend from the rest of San Francisco seemed crazy.  Who do we think we are,  asking the public to make a trek out on an extra weekend?  So, it was a nice surprise that this weekend was one of the best OS I've participated in yet, proving yet again, that San Francisco is full of people that love their art and their artists!

Sneak peek...

This was the beginning of the new  "Sleep" painting.  

Super far to the left.  Will it work?  We shall see...

Sleeping During The Day

"Sleeping During The Day" is one of my favorite titles.  I painted the first "Sleeping During The Day" in graduate school.  I love the concept of incredible relaxation, comfort in a sunny spot! In reality I am a non-napper.  We are faking it in this picture, except for Elmo who is staring right out of the picture plane.  

Right after I painted that painting as part of my thesis, ha!  Thesis cracks me up.  (and sold it to the Swigs), I went on to paint a more autobiographically truthful painting called, "Insomniac".   Maybe this new one should be call, "Wishful Thinking"? 

Ok, I will tell you right up front, I am going to do this painting again.  My intent with this composition, was to make sure that my butt was not in  it.  Duh, I really failed.  However,  I like the red slippers. 

"Sleeping During The Day" 24"x20" oil on canvas.  It maybe finished.

 Gonna do another one, sans butt.  Wish me luck.  Here are the stages "avec butt" has gone through so far.

Sketch in paint.  No painstaking drawing for me.  I know, I could have fixed the butt issue here, but I didn't.   In the olden days I often did a painting up to seven times.  It's no biggy.

Scary hair!  Scary eyes!

Getting there...

This is the second to last version, (last version is posted at top of page)  This is when I had the bright idea to close my eyes.  That made it a less disturbing painting, for sure.  I was playing with crazy shadows on the wall.   

It is finished for now, I think.  However,  I have found with the paintings in this "Family Series" that I can't leave them alone.  I'm tweaking hard.  

For example...

Added more color and stuff to this one.  I can't leave it a lone, agh.

Family Series

So it appears I am still on the Family Series that I started to explore a few weeks ago.  Here is the second in the series.  

Phase 1.  (This is Elmo as a kitty)
These paintings get painted pretty fast, 2-4 days, almost Alla Prima. 

Phase 2.  More yellow, less kitty.  Elmo was not pleased, he loves kitties.

Phase 3. Lighter.  I thought it was finished here...

"Yard View" 15"x10" oil on canvas.
It was finished till I watched "Picasso Sex Magic Death" on DVD and I read the Juliana Romano interview.  They both reminded me how I long to be free.   So, here I am being as free as I can for me, right now, today...

Remember this one?  It got a "Alla Prima" shot too.  

Alla Prima 2

"Trio" 10"x15" oil on canvas

News About Lanai

Yikes, a lot of stuff happened this last month.  I am still reeling. Two things have resulted so far, I have neglected my blog, bad.  But, I have still managed to paint some little Vuillard inspired family scenes... good.  

First, we went to Lanai and bought a little plantation house.  It has been our dream and finally we have done it!

It needs lots of work, but there is studio space!  I will probably paint smaller here.

This is our neighbors yard.  Yes, they keep deer.  The baby ones stay in the living room... in a toddler pen... that they can jump out when ever they want to.  (Lanai is like a Hawaiian "Northern Exposure" episode, full of unintentional eccentrics.)   We should fit right in. 

This is another neighbor's truck.  

Pictured below are some of the tide pools surrounding the ancient Hawaiian fishing village, Kaunolu. These pools are full of tropical fish as big as your head.  As you can see there is no one around, typical of Lanai. Though, that will probably be changing soon.

These are the "jacks" that make up the breakwater protecting the Lanai Harbor.  Another great place to see the sunset and watch the whales go by.    

My mom, Mildred was born and raised in Lanai, along with her 7 siblings.  They lived in a house similar to the one we just bought, but in those days there were no street names.  Mom's house was just on block 15, number 8.

This is the view of our street.  It looks like Tahoe, Hawaiian style.  

My family has been visiting Lanai my whole life.  In fact, we are having another family reunion there in August.

Me and Mildred in the 60's

The island has seen a lot of changes, many more than I can list.  In my life time it went from being a company owned (Dole Pineapple) island, to being an island cattle ranch, and most recently, it's been purchased by Larry Ellison, better known as that Oracle Guy or America's Cup Guy.  The rumor is that Ellison has been visiting Lanai since the 80's.  He seems to love the place and is putting a lot of work into it.  He is cleaning it up and has made many of the improvements that the locals were hoping for, like, re-opening the public pool, yea!  Over all, everyone is very hopeful.

I've taken long enough getting to it, but second, I am getting married.  Ok... that is what really has thrown me for a loop, not the getting married part, we have been in love for a long time, but the planning a wedding part.  There is a certain madness to planning a wedding that I am trying to avoid.  Luckily, I have friends that are creative and helpful!  I am going to focus on not being consumed by the planning.

So far... there is room for improvement.  Hee!

Life Travels From Sharp Focus To Abstraction

...and back again.

I have been in a constant state of flux.  At first the holidays preempted my blogging activity, then it was my monkey mind.  I would start a blog post only to find that before I had finished it,  something in my painting had changed and my mind would start analyzing and thinking all over again. This happens all the time, but usually I at least finish the post before I realize things had changed.  It has been hard to write about it.  I've been trying, and here I am, trying again.   Hope it doesn't end up reading like a bad Dadaist poem.  

First of all, I am feeling a little bereaved.   (Cue in the violins.) A lot of the studios at the communal space where I paint, have for the most part, completely turned over.  Most of my cohorts have moved to Oakland, Marin and/or left to work at home.  

However, the solitude and quiet might be why I was venturing deeper and faster into a new phase.  For the past year, I have been moving like a glacier toward abstraction.  My paintings were/are in a state of flux, a little bit abstract, a little bit rock and roll, oops I mean figurative.

I  was swimming fast in a group of "candy" paintings.  The theme, of course,  influenced by the holidays.  

"Licorice" I added more "licorice"

 I was focusing on pure art elements and problems, not the subject matter.  However , mostly, I was and continue to struggle with what all artists strive for, complete spontaneity and control. 

So anyway, this painting sojourn reminded me of the work of two of my favorite painters, Giorgio Morandi and Edouard Vuillard.  Both were figurative painters that stayed home and painted what was there, over and over and over.   I could be projecting or maybe it is already a known fact,  but though they were not considered abstract painters,  to me, they painted rather abstractly.  The subject matter was sorta incidental.  Maybe I am projecting, because all I see is searingly seductive paint.

"Natura Morta" Giorgio Morandi

"Madame Vuillard" Edouard Vuillard

I love them both so much, so of course, monkey mind took over and viola!  I had to do another family allegorical figurative painting.  

No mistake, there is no comparison to Morandi or Vuillard, but it is my little world, which is what they were painting too.  

It started out spooky in the beginning.

I like how bored Elmo looks.  

Art/poetry are most expressive and operate the most like the brain operates.  

I read something like this somewhere.  I modified it a bit.  I think what they are really talking about is the monkey mind. 

Licorice

It all starts with a  bike.

Version 1

Version 2, (Whoa Nelly!)

Version 3, (Too much like a bicycle)

Final Version, "Licorice" 16"x24", (It is upside down)

Candy Cane

Version 1

Version 2, 

Version 3

Final Version , "Candy Cane"  10"x14"

Tuesday, A Trip

"Tuesday" 24"x36" oil on canvas

This is the end of a story.  This painting had a whole life before that looked a lot different.  I think there is a metaphor there.

Version 1. It started like this.  36"x24" 

It started about eight months ago.  I thought I had the route planned out.  

Version 2. I rendered up the bird.  I was so optimistic.

Version 3. I liked it so far, but there was something missing...

Version 4.  

I know what it was missing...  a semi, a red sky, bicycles and a whole lot of angst.

I had to mess it up.  That is my M.O.  Bring on the hate mail.

This didn't just happen overnight.  This painting sat in my studio for a few months with the red sky and semi additions, taunting me, making me sad.

Version 5.  This is calmer.  

So I decided to take it in a whole new direction.  I tried to keep my favorite elements, but in the end, of course, they all had to go, because that is how life is.  I mean painting is.  

Version 6.  Put a bird on it.  

I liked the bird, but there was a problematic area around it's feet.  I tried.  

Finito!  Bene.  

Just like life, add a bike and every thing gets better.

Locked

"Locked" 16"x24" oil on canvas

Finally, first one finished!  This painting took months.  I had about four paintings going in this same vein.  They were all different sizes and formats, but none was going anywhere.

Version 1.   I kept painting, laying down layers.  

This is how it started.  It kept going back and forth, through all different color schemes. 
Then I had a break through on Day of the Dead.   A conversation with friends reminded me of what I wanted to do and to stop doing the same thing over and over.  Duh.

Version 2.  I turned it on its side and added more elements.

It really started to move then.

Version 3.  For some reason, I felt very strongly about the putting blue on the right. 

Version 4.  This one might look the same as the other one, but I lightened things up.

Here it is again.  It is a little tighter than others in the series, but that is my tendency.  

More Pigeon Prep

This is the fourth post in the "Geek Series."  I am indulging my nerdy paint persona.

Flirt is another reworked painting.  I upped the detail on the flirty bird and did my scratchy brush work on the background.  The color is subtle, a warm grey with ultramarine underpainting showing through.

"Flirt" yesterday, with a light gray palette knifed into the ultramarine brush strokes.  

"Flirt" today, with more detail in the flirt.   The darker value in the background helps highlight the bird.