Plein Airing it again!

Rebecca and I went plein air painting on Fulton avenue Wednesday. It was good to be outside painting again, but I can't say I really like the results (AT ALL.) Here come the excuses.

1) I was ridiculously tired (haven't had more than 6 hours of sleep a night)
2) The wind was whipping up Fulton so I was freezing and didn't stay to finish.
3) It seems like I haven't plein air painted in over a month (oh I guess I really haven't)
4) My painting mind is back on the figure (hence going painting with Rebecca.) I need to keep a balance somehow.

The treat in the end was an awesome veggie sandwhich (a la Rebecca), a trip to the Women Impressionist exhibit at Legion of Honor (a la Rebecca), and coffee, a yummy bagel, and good conversation (a la Rebecca and Simple Pleasures Cafe.)



Headed to the studio till midnight after running errands.

Great day!

Working as a temporary assistant to Paul (an amazing sculptor)

The school year began with a busy start because I started working for a sculptor named Paul (in the middle with the sunglasses. Great guy!) He had a major project to complete for a wishing tree he created that is going to be at Yerba Buena. He had me and a few others assist him for a bit. Here are some pictures from some of those days. It was a great time. He was cool and I met a lot of great people. Paola is in a lot of the pics. Her and I really clicked. We tag teamed a lot of things like bending wires, applying cement and whatever Paul needed us to do around his great studio. I am glad I had the opportunity to work with him and I can't wait to see his finished product. The dedication is this weekend.

Head painting and first workshop.

So on Monday I did a head painting that I kind of like. We used a limited palette composed of only, white, yellow ochre, and burnt umber (hence the yellow feel to the painting.) Can't say I really like this paint combination. It makes the model look somewhat sick. Well at least mine does :)



I did the other painting during part of a workshop the same day (I was exhausted by the time I got home around midnight.) I really like the way this one turned out because I had felt my classwork wasn't that good. It was redemption. Not to mention, I felt like I got it done in a timely fashion. Granted it was a limited palette.





Very quick landscape that I did after the workshop yesterday. I was sticking with the limited palette theme.

Today I had my figure studio class (I am taking it again because I feel like I need to get back to drawing after not having had a drawing class in over a year.) Jason asked us to do a sketch book this summer in Italy and I had such a hard time getting myself to draw (I did little watercolors instead....maybe I will post some of those on my Italy blog at solainitalia.blogspot.com ......later....much later.) So I decided another drawing class was in my future so that I could improve my skills, speed, and enjoyment of it. I just love painting, so much better. But this will definitely improve my painting skills.

I went to another workshop today after class and felt so much better then I did in class because I stopped fighting what I already new and just went for it. I did this one fairly quick at the end of the workshop. I like it's graphic nature. I am really enjoying this going to class and then to a workshop. I just have to make sure I get enough sleep. One can only drink so many Rockstars....

back, back, back to school again. Whoa, whoa, I gotta go... back to school again!

I am back from Italy and back in school again. Check out my Italy blog if you would like at SolainItalia. blogspot.com I haven't quite finished the last two weeks of it though. Soon, very soon.

So here is my first homework for Situation and Environment class. I am taking it online. This is my first online painting class and I really like it so far. For this assignment we were supposed to use a limited palette of four colors and spend about three hours painting from a photo my instructor provided. He wanted us to focus on a two value painting and not to worry about too much detail which is why the time was limited. Not to mention, it is supposed to simulate a painting that we would have done in class.

I like the head but I feel like my colors could be better and the proportions and hands aren't good. I have to work on that. I didn't spent much time on the hands. Overall I like it, especially since it is my first painting of a figure since last semester. All those landscapes got me rusty......but not too rusty :)

Finally: My Surrealism Final

So we were supposed to do a truly surrealistic painting for our final. I decided to really push it and not hold back at all. A lot of the examples from other artists that he showed us had scenes in them that were very busy and some were simple with only one main focus.

As you can see I went for the very busy. I wanted to go with my cupcake theme from my past work. My instructor said that sometimes you just start with a scene and go from there and then things just start flowing and take on a meaning for the artist. That is what happened with me....a desert, then cupcakes, then babies, then women etc. This painting was a labor of love. It took up so much of my time and by the end I just wanted it done, but I loved it. I actually ended up cutting out some of the elements I wanted to include (see initial sketch.) My instructor suggested that I add in cast shadows...DUH! I am an idiot. I don't know why I didn't, but I will probably go back and add them in later.

Ultimately, I think the piece is a commentary on parenthood, children and relationships. I will keep the specific meaning for me to myself :)

All I can say is this is THE CRAZIEST piece I have ever done and I am glad I had to do it. I learned a lot from it and it was fun.

The other part of our final was to do another surrealist piece or to do a painting that we feel could be showcased in an unusual "gallery" situation. So I did a cupcake. Surprise and would put it in a bakery. I am also interested in doing other sweets, candy and cake. I LOVE DESSERT!

Sold

Close up and the painting in my studio.

Quick Study Homework Assignments

These are four of the six quick study homeworks I did for this weeks class. My instructor really liked the first one and so do I. I included some of the in progress photos for that one. I also did one of the same photo of my friend Linda. As you can see it is not as good as the one I did to give to her, but I also did it in less time. My instructor liked it though (as do I.)




Linda/Hotel in New York on New Year's Eve/Cops in either Italy or Spain

Plein Air Quick Studies in Marin

This is one of the quick studies I did when our class went to Marin for the day to paint. It was a beautiful day and a great place to paint. I would like to go back and paint there again sometime.

Gifts for Friends

So these are a couple of paintings that I did for my friends.

The first one is of my friend Linda in Coit Tower where we went a few weeks before she left town in March. I knew I wanted to give her a painting and I thought this pose was great. I have to say I really love the painting and will have a hard time parting with it :)


The other painting is of my friend Sarah. It is a painting of her dancing and flying through the air during one of her dance performances. I didn't take the picture though....I got it from her brother. I loved the picture because it is so blurry and obscure and I knew at some point I wanted to paint it. I decided to do two little paintings. I did one in reverse and then mounted them together. I like this because they made another graphic picture when together. I see eyes or someone's face when I look at them together. Like a picture in a picture. I decided to paint it and give it to her the other day after her first (AMAZING) dance performance in San Francisco.



Both of them said they loved them. I hope so cause I do.

Surrealism Class: Image on an Object

This is the result of a homework assignment where we were supposed to find an image and paint it on an object in order to make a statement. The object one chooses to paint on can add to the meaning of one's piece. So he wanted us to pic an object that would, once again, be juxtaposed to the image. Our intent and meaning should spark a conversation where the viewer could see both the positive and negative.

I chose to paint the Gerber baby on a TV. Any guesses as to why I did this.? I really enjoy looking at this piece. I think it is because it is so small and it was such a pain to do (painting on glass is no joke).....so I am proud of how it turned out.


My Intent:
I decided to juxtapose a picture of the Gerber baby on a television. I chose a television because I am addicted to TV. Up until a couple of months ago I had to watch it all the time and had to watch it when I ate and whenever I painted. I don't watch it as much anymore but that is only because it is more convenient for me to watch movies on my computer. I wanted to show how television can be and is both a negative and positive thing in our American society. I thought a good way to do this would be by painting the Gerber baby on the screen. This trademark is a universal symbol in America and around the world. It is a household name and picture even for people without children. Most of us were probably fed Gerber foods at some point the same way we might have been fed TV growing up. So the question is, "Is this a good thing or not?" I think TV is a positive thing to a certain point, but there is a fine line. [I have more thoughts and examples but no need to list them all...the above is pretty much the gist of it.]

Surrealism Juxtaposition Final: Cupcakes and Women

These are the final two paintings of my Juxtaposition assignment (don't have a final picture of cupcakes cause the finished version was swiped :( in my surrealism class.
We were supposed to paint two images that aren't our own and juxtapose them in order to make a specific statement that can be argued to be both positive and negative....no propaganda. He wants us to spark discussions with our work.

So what do you think? What am I trying to say by choosing these two images? What statement am I trying to make by the way I painted the images and how I painted them? What do you think my intent might be. You wouldn't need to get the exact meanings and reasons that I have but hopefully I did my job well enough so that you can be in the same ballpark.



I wanted to juxtapose beauty and women in our society and how beauty is sometimes seen as something that should be placed on a pedestal and as something that can be consumed and as something that everyone wants to be or to have. So I decided to do this with a painting of picture perfect cookie cutter cupcakes and a black and white painting of very beautiful women painted very flat. I think that this piece shows both the positive and negative of this concept.