Art Plunge

Time enough for everything....even being lazy I had high hopes for doing ALL THE THINGS this weekend. And it started out that way- I completed a pet portrait and got to the gym and...then everything kinda stopped. 😆 Sometimes this really bugs me because Im a high functioning PRODUCER and feel like something can and should be accomplished every day. But in actuality it is totally OK with the Universe if you just enjoy the art of nothing. In fact it's really probably healthy to just turn that button OFF and be a little potato for a day or two. So I did. There was napping and going to bed early and catching up on sleep and some television that I fell in and out of awareness of. Not even on opium- guess I just needed some ZZZZ's. My sleep at night gives me about 4-5 hours then Im usually up and active and might catch a nap or not. So I guess this weekend was me just catching up. But now it's Monday and I'm doing all the things I didn't do before the sun is e...

(Hammering out all the things that haunt me) Up early having my morning brew and feeling pretty accomplished with this week so far. I managed the Herculean task of updating my WEBSITE...and I don't mean just refreshing some new photos...I mean a complete overhaul and rebranding. It was painful.... Theres a lot I had to cut to make my site CLEAN, CURRENT and easy to navigate. That means not having everything I've ever painted clogging up the galleries but a nice smattering of the most recent and my best (albeit older) works. Got everything linked in for anyone wanting to purchase art or prints and any of my art merch.  Made an available art page with pricing (crucial) and had to read up on some DO'S and DON'TS for art websites. I think it's pretty clean and I love it A MILLION TIMES BETTER. You can peep it here and can even give me feedback ☺ MY NEW SHINY WEBSITE CLICK CLICK At some point Im doing a Wordpress site but for now Im happy with this. So wi...

Well guess who is back in the studio again? Me. And my blog is still orange and green because Ive had no time to update yet. But I started a new painting and Im loving being back in the swing of things. You might recognize the pink cloud stuff from when I was working on pink clouds for my Idaho trip. The canvas kept staring at me with its pink clouds and I kept envisioning white birds set against that periwinkle blue. I'm cranking on it some more today (that is just a detail shot btw its a 48" wide x 36" height canvas). This weekend is some serious nose to the grindstone work on paper leaves project for work. Just wrapped up 3 of these layered wood pieces for a hotel project. I like the way they look and I got to design them from scratch and paint them... and they were a pain in the butt- but rewarding to see in the end. They totally remind me of my wood art project that I need to get back to. (Tomato plant my friend gave me) Enjoying slightly cooler temps tod...

My "On This Day" from 2015 I'm not sure why it's my morning ritual to have coffee while reading my ON THIS DAY posts on Facebook. It's usually good for a chuckle, a reminisce, a head shake and some eye rolls. Sometimes its a good reminder of my struggle-such as this one.  Endometriosis. (Early pieces using "organ-like shapes, veins and blobby growths to convey this mysterious pain I was living with) I'm an artist with endometriosis and it still hasn't been "diagnosed" on paper thru laparoscopy. But this is common for women with endo. You are treated as though you probably have it and if the treatment seems helpful then by process of elimination that is what you have. But...not on paper. I could go into a very long boring story of my pain but really- I wrote all those blogs and notes already. Before anyone even knew what endo was, I was thick in its nightmare. Thinking it was everything from fibroids, cysts, tumors, PCOS...

Just sold a very important piece in my reportoire- "Between Dreams"- which had once gotten me all the way to NYC. It had been chosen for a group show called "LANDSCAPE:A SENSE OF PLACE" by Annette Rose-Shapiro (managing editor of ARTnews magazine). (Annette Rose-Shapiro and me at SITE: BROOKLYN) I had only a few days to submit to the competition and didn't think I would finish this painting in time. I was swamped working to pay the bills but I kept thinking- do it-do it-do it...you never know if you don't do it. So I would drag myself into the studio after work and paint. I remember getting the acceptance letter-what a feeling! "Between Dreams" what a fitting title for a piece that shows the boundaries between fantastical and reality- and just which location are you heading to? Which one are you leaving behind? This one's been hanging in my house a few years now, it's been shown a few times. It reminds me that I did it once- which...

I don't remember at what point I became mesmerized by the sport and art of skateboarding but this little rounded piece of wood and wheels has always been there.  From watching my sister make one and stencil it out as a tiny kid in the 80s- to buying my own used Alva board with Santa Cruz big balls wheels when I was in highschool...I was hooked. Granted- I could not skate for shit- I did it anyway and accumulated all the wounds and bloody disasters that come with it. It was after a particularly painful crash on a homemade ramp that I decided to hang it up and stick to painting and watching the videos. I could live vicariously through the Blind: Video Days classic and the new-at-the-time 411 video library. These guys were blowing my mind- the wheels got smaller -the tricks got bigger. My favorite thing to watch were skate videos where I could imagine what it must feel like to pull those tricks. I learned so much about hip hop music and new songs I had never heard. Skate videos w...

Pretty excited about my upcoming trip to San Francisco and it will be even sweeter because another show has been added into the mix. I'll be in a vinyl art show at a place called Pig and Pie. They are doing a benefit show to raise $ to keep and repair their historic Discolandia sign. Discolandia was the place to buy Latin music in SF for over 35 years so my vinyl record art will spotlight some of my favorite Latin artists too. It's in my blood, I love the music so much. Really happy these will be auctioned off in a silent auction to raise funds to help them. I will actually miss the show by a day but am thrilled to have my vinyl in San Francisco, a place I love. The Celia Cruz Foundation loved this and shared it with their 15k + fans on Instagram this week! I'm super swamped getting everything ready for the record show, the show at the Bedford and my two person show...it's a juggling act right now but I'm used to this game. Really feeling the Cali love...

"Use What You Got"  acrylic/krylon on canvas 24" x 24" This is the latest finished piece I did for the upcoming shows. I wanted to discuss the beetle and it's symbology. Beetles are often thought of a symbols of protection, because of their hard little shell or armor. Here are some observations on beetles from the symbolic-meanings.com site:  symbolic meaning of beetles (at-a-glance): Progress Simplicity Persistence Stability Methodical Contemplative Practical Grounded Potential Security Introverted Protection Solidarity Beetles speak to us of groundedness. They move with bellies always close to the earth, and so  their wisdom is sacred and deep .  They are connected to the core of earth, and so they are rooted in their knowledge about the way of life and nature. Beetles also talk to us about steady, gradual progress.  Observing them, they do nothing without pragmatic, methodical movement. Beetles impart messages such as: “Get t...

"The Path of Diligence" 48" x 36" acrylic/krylon on canvas It's finished!  I only worked a zillion hours on it. It's funny to think back on all the hours in the studio and how many hundreds of songs I listened to while this was being produced. I can't wait to get it shot by a professional so you can really see the lichen which was a breakthrough for me in this work. This one was appropriately named "The Path of Diligence" because that is what it takes to make it in this world. Diligence. Like a busy bee always on task to make the honey. Like a crane patiently fishing to feed itself. And all the fruits hung like little gifts if your eyes are open and you are diligent about getting them. There is an abundance of good in the world if you are diligent. As for the lichen, I've always loved the stuff. On researching it for the painting I discovered that it's a way to tell if a place is polluted or not. Lots of lichen means HEALTHY ...

"The Path of Fruitfulness" 24" x 24" acrylic/krylon on gallery wrapped canvas I finally finished this piece I've been slaving away on! It is based on a Gankyil (Wheel of Joy:The Base, The Path, The Fruit) and I took a few detail photos :

Benny Hill, when I was a kid I thought he and Ozzy Osbourne were one and the same! Bowie madness continues. Alladin Sane. Ziggy Stardust mania. Record painting every day! My goal is to finish ONE more by tomorrow and....I can do this....just gotta buckle down and not think about all the other things piling up. They will get done. Like surprise graphic design deadlines. People I thought were on vacation coming back and needing things done this week. Shipping out stuff. It will all get done, especially if I run around like a sped up film while the Benny Hill theme music plays. That will make stuff get done a LOT faster and make me laugh too. In fact I think I'm going to put that song into my ipod so when I go running I can laugh my ass off. Getting my hair snipped today! Writing my bio for the Origin magazine feature! Finishing another record and making dreaded phone calls! I hate phone calls. I hate the phone. It's important business and must be done though. I'll be...

picture of me at Cedars West Arts Festival manning the paint station for Magic Garden Program photo by Gabriela Elguea and Heather Shoulders Sometimes it's good to just pause from the busy life and TO DO LISTS and the stuff rolling around in your brain and take inventory of all that is good in our life. I am doing that right now. It dawned on me today as I turned in my blog for  I Am Bilingue   that the last cover I gave them was for a Fathers Day edition and the very first assignment they gave me was for...a Fathers Day edition. I remember very clearly meeting with Fabian Campos, my contact at the paper/website, and how it just seemed a perfect laidback fit and I hoped against hope they would like my work enough to keep me on. my first cover for Mercado Bilingue, I've been teaching myself Photoshop and Illustrator  Here I am a year later and I have 13 covers under my belt and countless blogs. A lot of the features have been memoirs of my life with my D...

Comp Pass to AKON! It's that time again! Silly fun at the convention dedicated to Anime, Japanese live action, Monsters, etc, etc....GEEKERY! Last year I had a blast shooting photos of all the wild costumes, stuff I couldn't afford and "interesting" personalities. My friends from Monster Attack Team will be doing another panel this year- TODAY in fact! Yamahama- I thought it was gonna be tomorrow! So my day now includes getting dressed super early to catch part of the panel before I head over to Rising Gallery for the art opening. Of course everything fun happens all at the same time and I haven't learned to clone myself yet. At least I'll get to see part of the panel AND my pass is good all weekend long....Saturday I'll be back at it shooting photos to blog about for I Am Bilingue. Will I find the Godzilla shirt of my dreams today? I just might! Tonight I'll be at Rising Gallery showing off the labors of my love. This is the equivalent of me...

Thunderstorms have come to Texas again. There is something nice and romantic about these storms. I am fully enjoying being able to appreciate them from inside the coziness of my home as opposed to the days when I had to bus around in them to go to work. Don't get me wrong, I love a good soaking from the sky ceiling ...it's the rude cars splashing muddy water on me I do not miss. I have/had plans to go downtown to my gym today but will now need to see what the weather is going to do. The rain is reminding me of something important though....I need a nice dry environment to spray and primer records and some of my canvases. I'm also reminded I left my yoga mat outside and it's getting nice and clean by Mother Nature again. So I feel a little thwarted in the art productivity department, but I do have some graphic design work I need to get done anyway. Must remember- rain will halt production, utilize sunny days for priming in bulk!  My inbox had something funny and unu...

The iconic Peter Max After dropping off art at Rising Gallery yesterday I remembered hearing about Peter Max having a show in town somewhere nearby. It seemed like a good day to hunt it down....after lunch. I had my first Twisted Root experience. It was good and the way they call you a celebrity name at the counter was funny. Although I was not thrilled with my name. Everyone else when called to the counter had a funny little joke, quote or lyric with theirs. Mine was simply called out straight and really what else can you say with a name like PINK . PINK?!?!?!  Ha!  At the drink machine I saw the word root beer and filled her up. I took a drink, this was supposed to be amazing root beer. What filled my mouth was not the taste of root beer at all. I was dizzy for a second as pure sugar rushed through my blood. What was this taste....so familiar...almost like cream soda, kinda like root beer but...no...it was...BUBBLE GUM! Then I spied a little piece of paper taped ab...

"The World of Traceable Ghosts" acrylic, krylon on canvas 30" x 40" C'est fini! It's done! I put a lot of hours into this and excited to show it in public this Friday at Rising Gallery. I'm curious to see it hanging next to the mice. Today I just finish off the sides and install hanging fixtures to my pieces, wrap them up for travel and they are ready for the ball. I took some detail shots with my  humble camera detail  detail A lot of symbolism snuck it's way into this one subconsciously. I've also added secrets than can only be seen in person.  One thing I want to say about my work, I almost never have a set idea in my head of how it's going to be. No road map. No sketch. I let the canvas tell me what to do. I feel like I learn so much more when there isn't a connect the dots to follow. The forms, colors, figures, they appear like magic apparitions. Each thing sparking the next thing, like dominoes falling. I ha...

detail from work in progress "The World of Traceable Ghosts" There is a good chunk of time when you first start a painting that feels a lot like hacking through a thick forest with a cheap plastic picnic knife. Then after some time it feels like your plastic knife has turned into a well forged and sharp sword. Things start opening up and becoming easier. Paths begin to appear where there were none before. I finally hit that point on this painting last night. It's a good point. It's the point when you see clearly what all is left to do to the work and not the "what the hell am I going to do?" point anymore. I've posted a few photos on facebook of my progress and gotten a phenomenal response so far. YAY! I was very skeptical of the color scheme at first. I've been living in aqua, green and pool blue land for so long! I even had a fellow artist and blogger (Lizzie Fortuin) from the Netherlands ask about putting my piece on her website ...it...

Ever so often I reach my fill of social networking, communication responsibilities, promoting and self promoting and the general constant noisy jibber jabber of life and the people around me. My little inner hermit kicks in and starts getting angry. Hermit wants peace and quiet and.....solitude. This was solidified yesterday when I found myself getting annoyed and angry for not really any good reason. I know the world works a certain way, is interested in certain things....not things I am necessarily interested in or wish for humanity but nonetheless....it is that way. The second sign that hermit was tapping on my heart with his old cane was I found myself painting on autopilot and NOT FEELING IT. Meh! Blah! By all accounts I was where I love to be in the Universe, in my studio and I was angry... with the Blah Mehs. Thats not a good feeling for an artist. It then dawned on me as I sat in front of the canvas.....my work comes from a love of Nature and the Natural world and I was di...