"Weird Ideas"

A good friend of mine recently introduced me to the artist Eric White.
He handed me a small book called "Who Are Parents" and said, "This guy is pretty cool. I think you'll like him."
I think he's discovered what is and what isn't dianaistic.

I saw his work and was immediately captivated. How is that a painting? And how is it only a 2 foot square with that impeccable detail?

Turns out Eric is a Michigander. I guess he doesn't mind the cold weather.
He went to RISD and has lived in California and New York (currently).
Reading up on a couple of interviews he had, I couldn't help but chuckle after reading: "I didn’t really intend to do caricature work, but I ended up doing quite a lot of it. I was doing work for great clients and getting paid well, but it just began to feel a little disposable. Even though I was very grateful to be drawing and painting all day, every day, I started to get bored with it. I had these other weird ideas in my head that weren’t getting expressed through commercial work." 
http://thegreatdiscontent.com/eric-white
The true mind waves of a fine artist. Now here's someone I could converse comfortably with.

What I like most about his work is his relation to the passage of time in one consecutive moment. He has several car interior paintings that all remind me of the inescapable winding clock of a road trip. It's that nostalgic, relatable presence in his artwork that reminds me, a bit, of my own.

But this painting is what first turned my head.

Three simple colors represent so much sentiment.
I would love the opportunity to see one of his shows. And possibly give him a hand hug.
http://ewhite.com/

Every step is a significant one

As we swim through our lives, there will be moments that the current drags us under.
It is in those few seconds that we kick start our motives.
What will I do to get myself through this?

People are always afraid to "go to the next level," to "move forward."
But if we didn't get out of bed each morning and simply live,
what's the point in having a life?

So here's my advice:
Just keep swimming.

I swam to shore.

And I dove back in.

Just listen

Sometimes I wish I could leave my paintings in their beginning stages.
It's the simplicity that attracts me.

Simply subjective

For my graduation from college, I received several "art related" novels which caused a chain reaction of smirks and rolled eye balls.
However,
I began reading one of them called Making it in the Art World by Brainard Carey.
I found I couldn't put it down.
Let's delve deeper.
Brainard Carey is a collaborative artist with his wife; their breakthrough that got them into the Whitney Biennial was an art installation composed of giving out free hugs.
http://theartofhugging.com/

Imagine that.
My first thought: the thing I love most about the art world is that it always surprises me.
Brainard says, "My goal is to give out hugs for a living." And he has made quite a good living from what I've read. He has had a bit of history in the art world, consisting of owning his own gallery, living in New York, and writing an accomplished book. But everything he has does has been through his passion for art.
What an inspiration.
Recently, he has started an art project with his wife and actor James Franco. It's called The Museum of Non-Visible Art (MONA).

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/praxis/museum-of-non-visible-art-praxis-and-james-franco

I bet that had you scratching your head.

Art is everywhere. Art can be created through anything. You just have to "speak enthusiastically about what you are doing or who you are," says Brainard, and your audience will be captivated.

Maybe it's in the genes

I never was very structurally aware. I'm talented at packing, but to me, that is more like putting puzzle pieces together. I used to build puzzles with my grandfather, even had my own puzzle glue.
But a three-dimensional realistic sculpture is tough for me.
For some reason, I wasn't half bad at wire sculptures.
Made this cat my freshmen year of college.

But that never really was for me.
I'm more of a tactile person, slathering on paint and telling a story through the movement.

I guess my cousin was more interested in the three-dimensional design.
http://www.iveybalderson.com/
He found a way to tell stories through objects.
Perhaps we aren't so different after all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNjYtVxmge0

Showing support

Art isn't just about creating.
Supporting your friends throughout their art career is as equally important.

I attended my first Philadelphia art reception yesterday. My former professor Mark Mahosky was part of a group exhibition at the Fleisher Ollman Gallery. http://www.fleisher-ollmangallery.com/
It was pretty interesting. It was in Center City surrounded by the chaos of city life. You walk through the doors of a dark, unlabeled building to a lobby of six elevators and an old gentleman directing you to your destination of choice. As the elevator approached the floor of the reception, the noise was unmistakable. The doors opened up to a filled gallery full of chatter and color. It was overwhelming, yet exhilarating.
On the pamphlet was a list of each work of art, numbered in clockwise order as you walked around the room. None of the art was labeled on the walls; the only connection one could find from artist to artwork was a very small, black and white photo of the artwork next to the artist name and description on the handout.
Unfortunately, I was only able to snag one photo of Mark Mahosky's works.

He had roughly 10 small drawings, all on this ochre-colored paper. They were beautiful. All were outside scenes drawn with ink and bordered by these intricate doodles.
Here's a close up I found on their website:

It was a great feeling to support my professor and experience a bustling art atmosphere. Hopefully one day, I will experience that first hand, with my art on the walls.

Today I painted to this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eimgRedLkkU&list=ALHTd1VmZQRNqUqaL3KwGxosYUQpcdoaJp&index=1&feature=plcp

How can you not smile listening to this?

Almost time to mark it Le Fin.

Different degrees of dedication

I don't understand artists like Dash Snow and Andres Serrano.
Both are clarified as a photographer first and then an artist, more thoroughly described for their use of bodily fluids in their artwork.
Let's consider Dash Snow's series Fuck the Police.

He cut out newspaper headlines about cop corruption, splashed semen on them, and framed them as a collaborative piece.

How did he get famous for this? Or was it simply that his photography was already capturing attention, and as an establishing artist, he was able to create a piece like this?
Do people really crave this type of artwork?
Whatever the answers, Dash Snow proved two things. One: his powerful opinions on the fraudulent law force spawned an intriguing conversational piece. Two: his dedication in creating the series and its recognition was, indeed, noticed.
I suppose those factors, in themselves, have a commanding presence.

Devotion is a necessary tool for every artist. We must be constantly committed to our artwork.
Although I haven't progressed much with my small painting, today I started another one.

Color. Sketches. Rough draft.
The rain begins with one drop.

Here's a different taste of dedication.
http://www.sonos.com/listeningisback/deadmau5

Artistically worn, artistically made, artistically admired

In brief moments, things are discovered.
I came across an artist today that caught my attention.
His name is Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou, and he was born in Benin.
He is an incredible portrait photographer, and it seems he is a relatively new artist.
He is part of the exhibit Out of Focus: Photography at the Jack Bell Gallery in London.
I was just captivated by his images.

There's a simplicity and vibrance of color that draws me in. So rich in culture and texture, both of which I am also experimenting with in my artwork.

His color palette is sophisticated, capturing the softness of earth tones.
These were just my two favorite pieces. He's had four shows, and his other work is full of pattern and eye-catching contrasts.
It was a lovely stumble I came upon.
I hope to see more from him.
Here's a little more information and images of his, if you were interested.

http://www.jackbellgallery.com/leonce.html

As for my progress? I am also working on increasing my patience level.

A not too distant memory

Ah, Saturday. There's just something about the weekend that has everyone smiling.
Last Saturday was an especially delightful day. I spent almost the entire day driving out to Youngwood, PA right by Pittsburg for an art exhibition I had the fortune of being in. It was called the Westmoreland County Community College Exhibition and featured over 99 artists, including a performance artist! It was an incredible event, beautifully curated by the young Dan Overdorff, who I had the fortune of meeting.
It is a truly wonderful feeling to see my artwork on display next to other accomplished artists all over the United States.

Strangely enough, my outfit even matched my painting. Talk about dedication. Here's another painting I'm very proud of, my very first in my series.

It's right above my head, also similar color palette. Surprisingly enough, it was placed right next to my great friend Katie Hosler's abstract painting. No wonder we did a relatively successful collaborative show together.
This painting is actually supposed to be in another show the curator is hosting called the Westmoreland Arts and Heritage Festival which is from July 2 to July 8, I believe. Unfortunately, I can't make it out to Youngwood for that show. It sounds entertaining.

So many artists, so many artworks, great new material for new paintings.

Today is a day of beginnings

Bonjour. Hola. Hey dere.

It is June 8th and I'm going places with my life. Well, I'm pushing myself anyway.
I am disappointed in myself to admit that I had not painted for a whole month..
Until today. What a beautiful day to start painting again.

I started two very small paintings (out of the usual Diana norm) and have primed them differently than I usually do. Honestly, I'm just happy to smell the familiar scents of my oil paints and manipulate the gooey colors with my palette knife.

As my first blog post, I'll make it short and sweet and simply show you my progress so far.

Pahahaha, I love how they look in the beginning stages.