Projects

Painting: I just completed a painting of my friend’s son. He’s soooooooo cute, and I’m not a kid person, but he is someone I wouldn’t mind spending some time with. The painting actually makes him look like a black Gerber baby, but hey I’ll call it artistic interpretation and keep it moving. I’ll post a pic a soon as I bring it over to her. She doesn’t know its coming so shhhhhh.

Painting: I’ve had a headache for the past couple days now and decided to paint my interpretation of a migraine…a migraine colored interpretation. Migraines are such a big part of my life that I’m thinking of doing a couple pieces. Now I just need to find some canvases on sale.

Painting: I started some demons, I sketched them out in pencil and ink, and now I’m trying to transfer them onto canvas. I started by painting the backgrounds for my demons to dwell. That was like a month ago. I need to sit down and focus to finish making them come to life. I’m trying something different with them, I’m actually going to build them up off the canvas so parts of their lil demon faces are raised. This little experiment has cost me a hack saw and some plumbing pipes…when at first things go awry, keep trying…

Writing: The book (s), are coming along at a start and halt pace. It’s so frustrating because I’ll have the motivation to write, get in the zone, write about 8 pages, then fall off and stop for like 4 weeks. Or never even finish.

Writing: Working up the nerve to perform "Assumptions" at a spoken word venue. Where is Alise when I need her moral support?

Personal website: I just need the time to write up the content; everything else is pretty much done.

Keeping busy busy busy!

New Painting Experience

I have a new painting taking form in my head. I watched the movie Frida over the weekend and was so inspired. I never knew much about her, other than that she was Mexican and had a fierce unibrow. After watching Salma Hayek make Frida come to life, I found a new appreciation for the artist. Her paintings were so raw and real, she didn’t hide behind niceties or art school propaganda, she painted it as she saw it. I love that kind free spirit!!! Ms. Kahlo suffered from an injury that left her bedridden and then in apin most of her life. She painted her pain and loneliness through a series of self portraits.

So I thought it would be neat to do a self portrait (I’ve done a few before because I have no one to model for me), and portray what I’m feeling. This led me to do some sketches and to really think about what I wanted to convey. I found out something that kinda…opened my eyes about what I value most.

I’ll keep you posted, with pictures, on how this work turns out.

Well come to this painter’s chronicled painting experience!!!

The Love embrace of the Universe, the Earth (Mexico), Me, and Señor Xolotl by Frida Kahlo 1949

A Mexican ying yang -- living between night and day, water and desert, enveloped by the Indian mother and universe.

Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo

getting my groove back

I didn’t have to fly all the way to Jamaica to get my groove back. Let me back up. I’ve been sticking my toe in the kiddie pool of painting for a year now. Holding myself back afraid of, who the hell knows. I’ve bought canvases, paints and been sketching and doing a painting every 4 months or so. Then I started to surround myself with artists and been talking to them and just about everyone about painting and stuff. After a brief but encouraging conversation with an oh so naturally talented brother, I’ve finally got my groove back! Now everything I see is a painting waiting to happen. I’m just doing what feels right, so to speak, with me and laying it on canvas. And I must say, it feels good. Any artist can tell you that once you get into your zone of creativity, you almost become possessed. You eat sleep breathe whatever project your working on. I’m skirting my zone, but when I get there, it is so nice. My escape from the madness.

In my zone there are no cell phones, no text messages, no emails, no place to be, no people to please. There is just me and my creativity and my product. Just me and my art. My art lets me do whatever I want with no judgments. My art doesn’t criticize me, not like the criticism I give to myself. My art has no expectations, except to be completed. My art doesn’t care that I make mistakes, and it gives me plenty of chances to fix them. My art believes in me so much more than I ever could believe in myself. I’m starting to think my art is my great love….

I’ve neglected my art for far too long, but it was still there when I came back. It didn’t try to make me feel guilty for being away so long; in fact, it showed me that I’m even better than I was before I left. Dang, I’m so happy that I have my art and my groove back!

*above is a painting by my all time favorite artist. I could blog heavy about my love for Salvidor Dali. This is called Impressions of Africa- Salvidor Dali