In Progress

Picked up the brushes again after a long time; I'm finally continuing work this gal.

Impatient Blue

"Blue"

oil on canvas

20" x 16" 

A quick somewhat experimental piece which I completed in one sitting tonight. It was more about the mood than the actual content.

'Pioneer'

oil on canvas

24" x 20" 

You are a fish out of water; the first of your kind to enter a strange place. You are a pioneer in your own mind and a stranger on the shores of this new land.

'Skin'

oil on canvas

20" x 16"

Painted last weekend, this particular piece has been in the works for years. Years ago, I took a photo of one of my relatives sitting near a window. The play of light and shadows on his person was absolutely fascinating to me and I knew one day I would replicate it.

Scales and Feathers

 "Dragonfish"

Oil on canvas

24" x 18"

"BullSh@t Fish"

Oil on Canvas

22" x 28"

 "Look Up"

Oil on canvas

30" x  24" 

The three paintings above were completed early in July but regrettably I am only now getting around to updating the blog. Since these are all "creatures"  I decided to do a batch post. Plus I have to admit I am feeling somewhat lazy today and I'd prefer to save time with posting.

"Unwrapped"

Oil on board

2' x 2'

I am not particularly fond of this piece. My impatience won out over my other feelings and so I ended up with a painting which I think could have been much better. Perhaps one day I may set brush to it again but I don't see that happening anytime soon. I think I am particularly disappointed in myself with this piece because a lot of work went into prepping the surface.

Typically I use purchased canvases but I decided to try my hand at hardboard instead. Canvas the size of the piece of hardboard used above would cost three times the size. So it worked out quite well price-wise. The downside of using hardboard is the prepping especially if one does not have a sander. Fortunately I was able to purchase a sander of decent cost as well and there was a certain level of satisfaction prepping the piece of board myself. 

To prevent the resins from the wood soaking through and yellowing the paint in the future it was necessary to sand and prime the surface with acrylic three times which I did. And I have to say it was fun, I love to experiment after all. I even liked the way the oil responded to the flatness of the board unlike the toothy canvas. Unfortunately I have run out of acrylic(must buy bigger container next time) and will have to make do with canvas for now. But I do hope to work with board again soon.

A Horse By Any Other Mane

 17" x 11" 

I like the color of my recycled sketchbook paper. And I happen to like the way certain drawings look when laid out against the earthy tone of the surface. I was given the suggestion of doing a series because of the previous drawing, Passive Fish, which I thought was a great idea. The seahorse is the second in the series and much more detailed as you can see. It took me several sittings to finish this one. The only supplies used were a sketch pencil and a mixture of Prismacolor and Crayola Portfolio series watercolor pencils. I'm really proud of the outcome. Especially because I am very impatient when it comes to doing detailed works.

Triptych: The Guardians, The Ghost and The Wandering Heart

 Oil on canvas

Each canvas is 36 by 12 inches

Finally complete, this triptych took a lot of effort on my behalf. It also took a long time for me to finish because I only worked on it here and there for the past year. However, I'm rather proud of the outcome. I'm not sure if I'll be doing more triptychs in the future but I already have an idea for a series. Long before the completion of this project I came up with a bit of prose for this particular piece which I post below.

The Guardians, The Ghost and the Wayward Heart.

Suns and moons of eons go by. Cumulus formations adrift in a sky composed of many shades of blues. I see them all passing by as I sit here, chained and rooted.

The Guardians, women in white dresses that billow in the breezes of ages, do not speak to me. The emotionless masks they wear has worn me down. In the beginning when time was a child, I spoke to them incessantly, tirelessly, yet they never answer. They are stones eternal upon which I cast my crumbling hopes.

My heart, stored in a canopic jar in the shape of an ancient deity left me a long time ago. It travels in the hands of others, passing place to place, person to person - a wanderer in its own right. A wayward heart that will never return home.

I am alone here except for the ghost of my lover that torments me. Wordlessly it hovers in front of me and in shame I don my own emotionless mask. The forgiveness I yearn for will never be given.

Evil Eye

Oil on canvas

20" x 24" 

A portrait of my brother. Replicated from a photo he took of himself and I could not resist painting it. His hand needed more work but I was more concerned with making sure I caught his facial similarity than anything else. Next time though, I will devote more time on hands.

"Bhuddha Sattva"

mixed media on paper

17" x 11"

Drawn at the request of my cousin Bre.

Updraught

Oil on Canvas

24" x 12"

Anger

"Billow" 

Oil on canvas

30" x 24"

"A Story in Each Line"

A quick portrait of my grandmother, completed in one sitting. Medium involved: the usual oil paint on  16" x 20" canvas.

Innocence Exhaled

 24 x 30 inches

oil on canvas

This painting was inspired by a photo of my nephew. I embellished his hair because if you haven't noticed by now, I have a thing for abstract, flowing hair. ;)  

The Guardians, The Ghost and The Wayward Heart

oil on canvas, each canvas size 36 x 12 inches

Another triptych started in May, this piece has been sitting around incomplete for a few months now much like the Fates. The lack of progress could be attributed to pure laziness and the distraction of other projects. Eventually I will get around to finishing this piece.

Untitled

oil on canvas 28 x 22 inches

This was a quick piece, completed in less than two hours. I had no particular thoughts other than letting my hands and brushes do the work. I was simply excited to work with oils again in a less-than-careful manner after taking such a long hiatus. Overall, I'm quite pleased with the result. 

Differences and Tolerance

Abomination 

My art is about expression. Expressing my feelings the best way I know how. While it might not convey to everyone the particular issue I am addressing at the moment, it is more than enough for me. I've heard that something always hits close to home when it affects a loved one, be it friend, family or spouse. Last weekend a problem the GLBT community has been facing hit especially close to home for me. Literally and figuratively. A family member of mine was gay bashed in my neighborhood. Around the corner where we live. Fortunately, he got away lightly by running for his life, no part of him broken or bloody. 

What's unfortunate is the NYPD, who finally showed after being repeatedly summoned but did nothing to apprehend the attackers a couple of us saw filing into a house nearby. The police officers told us to contact the detectives after my relative recovered from his attack. I was disappointed but unsurprised at the callous and lazy approach of these officers. But what truly blew me away was the powerless feeling that came over me when I saw the group of fifteen kids, yes kids, who were still looking for a fight after my relative ran away. What can one do when surrounded by such a large number?   

Anyway, this piece isn't really about my feelings of fear but came about after the incident. Any difference that is ridiculed, feared or misunderstood is still viewed as a threat. I had thought by now we lived in a society where tolerance had more or less replaced violence but it's such a naive thought. And any attempt to enlighten ignorance is deemed menacing. This post isn't meant to sound heavy-handed, nor am I trying to preach from atop the soapbox. Just the opposite. 

I have a hard time with words, so this is a bit difficult to write. But, if there is anyone reading this that is different in any way, please keep going no matter what. Don't let hopelessness overtake you despite what others say and do. Be yourself and don't give up.

Whimsy vs. Angst

I created this drawing for my cousin's wife who requested something for her apartment. She loved the waves and fish on my sketchbook cover so I thought I'd make something similar for her. I used colored pencils on watercolor paper and finished it over the course of a couple of hours since it was a relatively small drawing. 

Unlike the former,  for this sketch I used a calligraphy marker. I call  it 'Inner Demon' and I may or may not replicate it on a larger scale as an oil painting. I like the sketch but I don't think it's quite complete as is however I couldn't do more to it at the time. 

A Page out of the (Sketch)Book

No completed painting so far but here are a few things I've done recently including the blank cover of my sketchbook-

Don't Spill the Ink

So, I'm sure you've noticed the lack of updates. If you notice the new name, it's because I've been feeling really lackluster/listless/muse-less/useless- pick your favorite adjective. I have yet to come up with anything original or  it seems that way so in the meantime I thought I'd play around with ink while waiting for Madame Muse's appearance. The first image is based on characters created by Yuricon founder Erica Friedman and the second image(titled Encounter) sort of fell into place when I received a suggestion about 'rain' from a friend. The third image obviously isn't ink but I thought I should include it in this post since they are all considered practice one way or another and I do know I need all the practice I can get with hands.