road trip/new inspiration

i am going on a roadtrip to florida this coming wednesday to visit my grandma. i really have no plans as to what i want to do while i'm down there. thought i'd take the time to relax and make art. i really think i'd like to get into landscapes but approach it completely different. this has been on my mind for quite some time. in fact, i've been thinking about it ever since i started my abstract painting.

i think out of anything, abstract painting is the most difficult. people don't realize the process behind it and sometimes that gets to me. now i know everyone isn't an artist and we are all different but it's frustrating. i put a lot into my art.

but anyway- with all that aside..i think i need this trip and i am so happy that i have a full week to do whatever with! i'd like to eventually even start a sketchbook again although that will come in time since i haven't been interested in sketchbooks for years!

old idea- new approach

so for a while now i've been playing with the idea of making art based off of books. i've been reading a lot, well, as always and after seeing the francis bacon exhibition, i have a sense of how to make these paintings into something that i want them to be.

i don't want them to be straight forward yet if the viewer is familiar with that particular book or story, they will understand it right away and feel a connection. after all, art is about connecting with your viewers..and books are near and dear to my heart. what better way is there to show that?

i am really excited to begin the series. i want to have a few done for exhibition late fall or possibly early 2010. man, thinking about 2010 already.. this year has flown by, but it's been a good year to say the least.

battle wound

yesterday i was cutting title boards for an art show and sliced off a chunk of my finger. i was in the ER for most of the day. i think it is my first artistic injury so i thought it was worth mentioning. very painful.

Why Francis Bacon matters

Francis Bacon is the artist that got me interested in abstract art and is still my all time favorite painter to this day. Seeing his exhibition at the Met in NYC confirmed that a million times over.

His paintings are like nothing you will ever see from anyone else, yet I felt that I could oddly relate to these paintings. Being able to stand in front of each piece of art was amazing. It was a once in a lifetime experience. I might go back a second time though before the exhibit is over in August.

Recently, I have been struggling to find my place in the art world. Being able to see his paintings and how powerful they are gave me the confidence I was looking for. I feel like we have the same mindset. Funny thing is, he didn't go to art school. He painted on his own because it interested him. He didn't care what others thought of him. I want to be that kind of artist. I want to paint what I want to and the hell with everyone else.

I keep making excuses for myself: it won't sell. people around here have no interest in my kind of art. i don't have time. or money. As Francis Bacon proved to me, that is all wrong. If you really want to do something you can. He did. And he didn't let anything get in his way.

I owe all my painting to Francis Bacon. Without seeing that exhibition yesterday, I think I'd still be lost.

....And that is why Francis Bacon matters....

time

I'm still not finding the time that I need to paint and make art. I am really struggling right now. I have a solo show coming up in September and I am not prepared with any new work. Sometimes being an artist can be so stressful. :(

book sale

library book sale today! got a bag of books for $10! made this humid day a million times better since it's a little too humid for art making.

instead i am working on my webpage while watching fox news for its comical reports. not a fan of fox news but it entertaining to say the least.

ah the pleasures of being off from work.

calling it finished

what i think is a very hard task is finding a point in which you are finished with a painting and can hang it on the wall and call it a piece of art.  yesterday i worked on the same painting for an entire day and having worked on it previously.  i want to call it finished but it is still missing something.  it's a little frustrating to have to look at the same work day in and day out.  i've started other paintings and yet i still go back to this one with uncertainty.  i even accidently poked a hole through the canvas out of frustration.  it seems the artist always knows though, when a piece is finished.  i think a lot of work i have hung in galleries is not finished and the only reason i hang them is to have something to hang.  it is very hard to deal with but that is the downfall of showing in a gallery to represent yourself. there will always be deadlines you have to meet.