Guerilla Art

We have a  couple of "underground" artists here at the studios who just put up this awesome photo. There's a parking lot out back that was the old playground here filled with basketball poles that used to have goals :) A few of them still have their backstops.  Now one of them is extra special.  Thanks Carol and Rich!  Check out the inspiring link.  http://vimeo.com/20543283

Guerilla Art, Inside Out Project

A New Path and Planning Ahead...This is Big

I took a walk this morning.  I could have taken some more photos or a sketchbook or any number of things with me but a good old-fashioned walk was perfect.  Gotta love my Iphone aps.  I clocked myself for just over two miles at 3.2 mph.  So it was an amble more than a walk...I did take a detour or two and made plans to come back to the woods with boots, jeans, deet and sunscreen to explore.  (I'm big on preparation.  I'm not taking a snakebite kit but I will have my phone:)  I'm also bringing a pocket kit of paints.  There are TONS of subjects.  It rained for the second evening in a row so there are more wildflowers than usual blooming right now and the hills will get jungly soon.  

I'm also having a great time getting ready for my new classes.  Intro to Yupo starts tomorrow.  I don't expect a big response right away but I'm on the calendar now.  My design class on setting up a creative space is going to be wonderful.  I did a little bit of research at Barnes and Noble and plan on delving into my design library for ideas.  I'd like to get photos of some friends' studios as well.  It may take a while to get everything I envision together for this first class but it's going to be great.  

Like a spring garden I feel nurtured and ready for growth.  Expect great things!  

It's already evolved or an exploration in shape and color

I've been getting settled in my new home for a while now and am finally at the point where there's more I'd like to do but none of it is necessary.  I just need to live there.

So,  back to the paint.  I'm painting in watercolor on Yupo here.  Yupo is a plastic paper I specialize in.  More on that at the end of the blog if you're interested.  

Red Coral, WC on Yupo, 36x36

Photoshop version of red coral

The piece you see here is just a second layer.  This is the largest painting I've tackled in a while.  It's 36" x 36"  which will be fun if it doesn't exhaust me.  I've forgotten how much harder it is to work all over on a piece this large.  I may have mentioned this before but I like to work organically as I paint.  I pour and manipulate the paper as the image I envision emerges on the paper or canvas.  This piece is no different.  

I've played with a photo of the painting  a little on Photoshop and love what one of the filters does to it.  It exaggerates and intensifies the hue and values.  It isn't possible to make the painting look like this because the paint lifts and moves every time I touch it.  So this beautiful photo is only the idea of a painting.  It may never exist except as my  idea and a digital image.  It will be part of my inspiration as I continue.

Here's another piece I'm working on in oil.  I started this one about a month ago en plein air and have been working on it in the studio off and on since.  It has hours and hours of work painted in and I'm still not satisfied.  To me the textures throughout the painting are too uniform.  The door doesn't have a handle yet either.  Maybe once I get that handle on it will resolve itself.  Hmmm

One of the things I find fascinating about how I work is that for some reason I seem to depict the same shapes/ textures and forms as I move through painting images.  I explore different imagery in different mediums and still seem to be depicting the same abstract ideas. Reduce the blog here and look at the thumbnails of the paintings and you'll see what I'm talking about.  Any input on that one?  Another hmmm

A Green Door in Old Town, oil on canvas 9x12

Now, on those classes.  I'm teaching at Studio Channel Islands Art Center in Old Town Camarillo.  I have a beautiful, spacious studio designed for painting and study!  Here's the schedule:

Tuesday 9-12 AM Basic/ Intermediate Watercolor  $100/ 4 classes

    I cover basic materials, painting techniques, color theory and design.  You'll start painting on your first day.

Thursday 7-10 Introduction to Yupo  $100/ 4 classes

  I cover the same things I do in watercolor but focus on the unique qualities of Yupo.

May 31, June 7, June 14 from 7-9 Design Seminar on Setting up a Creative Space  $120 Three week seminar

   Put aside three weeks of time and follow the suggestions we cover in the seminar and you'll have your own space set up in no time.  We'll brainstorm, journal, create idea boards and finally come up with a step by step plan to make your dream a reality.

I have one last note.  Look at my February 12 post.  California Springtime or Roses in Winter recently won honorable mention in the May Exhibit at the Studio Channel Islands Art Center Gallery.