Art Plunge

A Body of Work In this photo are all the pieces I deem worthy enough to show in a gallery. They are all now at a gallery and will be shown starting tomorrow night. But that's not what this post is about. This post is about PURE FOCUS and getting what you want. I can only explain how I have come to get what I want and keep in mind that what I wanted was NOT to be rich. What I wanted were two things essentially....One: FREEDOM Freedom to create. Time. Time to hone my skills, enjoy life, paint, fall into new situations, freedom to be ME. Where I was working before at the back breaking 9-5 shipping job...that was not freedom and the people who called themselves my bosses at the time were not interested in my freedom or happiness. Which brings me to Two: HAPPINESS Happiness comes with the joys of many things experienced in life, love, icecream, etc...being able to give my creativity wings every day makes me HAPPY. Painting makes me happy. People enjoying and being inspired ...

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...

Latest works in my studio I snapped a shot of these two together before I wrap em up today. They are going to go travelling to Rising Gallery and my studio is going to look like a boring old dining room again. Little tip for the artists, a nice roll of painters drop plastic goes a long way towards protecting your art for travelling! Wired up the pieces yesterday so they'll hang nice and decided that the latest piece would look much sharper with the sides painted black. I decided that after messing around with a photo of it in Photoshop and seeing how striking it was against black. This one would actually look cool framed in black if someone bought it and felt like doing that. :-) I've entered two juried competitions in the past week, one was the Hecho in Dallas put on by the Latino Cultural Center and the other was the Craighead Green New Talent show. Both were free to enter and I have found it's best to promptly forget about these things as soon as you sub...

"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...

Work In Progress: "The World of Traceable Ghosts" This one is so so sooooo close to being done. If I put the heave ho on it I might be able to finish it today. Maybe. Good news is I get an extra day to work on it if necessary- tomorrows drop off date has been pushed to Tuesday. Win for me. I'll need to get a pro photographer to shoot these latest pieces so you can see some high res details on these things. So to recap, these newest pieces will be on view this Friday June 1st at RISING GALLERY. Click the LINK and you'll have the event invite. All 7 pieces I collaborated on with the other artists will be auctioned off in a live setting and will benefit Alley's House   - a charity that helps teen mothers and provides education about teen pregnancy.  This has pretty much been the big thing on my radar of late. I'm giving myself a pat on the back right now. I've been out of work for two weeks and have finished off a large painting and started and al...

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...

"Damn those are big! I thought you were painting LITTLE cutesy paintings" That is the quoteable quote from my best friend Gabe, who popped into my studio yesterday to grab me for lunch. It was nice being rescued from the studio for a short while and seeing the outdoors and some pizza. I've been having to put myself in the mindset that I'm clocking into work just like I would if I were working for someone else. In fact I'm working for MYSELF so shouldn't I work even harder to bring my "A" Game to the table? Freelance art is not for the faint of heart or those who are used to the finer things in life. I'm trying hard to finish this before Monday and yesterday was a nice full session. Lots of things were accomplished on the canvas. I was reluctant to post a photo, I'm working with a whole new color palette and subjects.I'm liking the direction though and hope to crank out at least another 7 hours on it today. Fingers crossed....

(photo by  tomboytigress.deviantart.com) "RIDE THE TIGER, THE WARM REFRESHING TIGER" Those were the words that were bouncing loud and clear and I rollerskated my way down Jefferson Ave. I was looking good in my tiny 70's shorts, zoom, zooom, skating around trees, people, parking meters. There were some people rollerskating behind me in a little group. I was up ahead. Alone. Zooom Zoom, singing along to the music "RIDE THE TIGER, THE WARM REFRESHING TIGER", the song was by St. Etienne only it isn't really one of their songs. It was like a video! It made no sense! Then silence and I woke up in the dark. There was no music. No warm refreshing tiger. In fact the fan was off and so was the air conditioner. POWER OUTAGE! Motherfffffff..... In the middle of my disco dream! Earlier in the dream I dreamt my bike Tuco had a flat tire- the resolution of the dream was me skating confidently in my rollerskates. Does this mean when things get rough I just f...

My foray into the Great Outdoors yesterday ended up being a 3.30 mile run where I revisited 12 Hills Nature Center and marveled at the wildflowers. Not quite a hike though but I am pressed for time to get this painting done, perhaps a hike this weekend. I had a most beautiful dream last night. I dreamt I was sitting in a garden and had just finished eating an apple when I looked down and on the ground was a little plastic bag. I opened it and inside was something that resembled a plum but pouring forth from where the stem should be were these brilliant blossoms. It looked a lot like apple blossoms and was one of the prettiest plants/fruits I had ever seen. Somehow I knew that this was a gift from my Dad and was meant for me to plant it right there in the garden so it could grow and flourish. I had tears in my eyes and was happy and sad when I woke up....my eyes were wet. It's these little reminders that my Dad is with me always that make me feel never alone. I looked up the me...

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...

"Alles Ist Gerade fein!" meaning All is fine or well. By the way I named this little guy LITTLE IVAN and he's been my computer pet for about 10 years or so. Im not sure if he's a bunny or a dog or something magical or demonic but I love him. I tell myself ALL IS FINE today...even though I have no steady income. That only means it's time to produce a steady outcome....of art! Nothing like freelancing to make you lean heavy on your skills and really test your mettle. I am starting a new canvas today and pushing hard to get it done by May 28th- due date for the show at Rising Gallery. So I have 8 days, yikes! I can do this! The weekend was full of wedding fun, congrats to my big sister Linda and her new husband Johnny. It was a lovely wedding and I wish them the best :) This week includes some fun stuff like BASS PLAYING! Im reconnecting with my ol' guitarist from The Shapes and we're going to jam around on our old stringed things we haven't touc...

I've been blogging for so many years that all my best Blog Titles have been taken and I'm relegated to writing things like "WEEKEND!"  Creative. Forgive me. I need more coffee obviously. But it is what it is and it is THE WEEKEND. For me anyway. :) The pieces shown have been hanging up at Zubar along with the last stash of my painted records- they come down this weekend so if you wanted to see them head over there tonight.  Interview actually got done yesterday which means my studio is in good shape and clean enough to start another painting...which is primed, base coated and just waiting for my brushes today. A trek up to Latino Cultural Center to drop off a submission packet is in my forecast. I need a printer. Someone remind me to buy a printer. A trip to Kinkos/FedEx is also in my forecast apparently. Hello DART! The focus this month is getting ready for this: I'll feel good if I can get one more piece under my belt for it. Wish me luck! 

When I was working I would look outside longingly at the pretty sun and wish I was outside instead. Yesterday I decided I should take full advantage of this time not being somewhere everyday and do just that. I threw my yoga mat in the backyard, sprayed OFF on myself and SPF and....sunbathed. Hell yes. Lying in the sun, listening to the birds, watching little dandelion seeds float by. Taking  a little time to just BE right there in the moment. The sun is a great kisser by the way. Today I wake up sore from PiYo class - just like I knew I would. It's a good pain, the pain of muscles coming back to life again. We did tons of planks, downward dogs, ab work and balance exercises all with weights. My shoulders and arms got the worst of it.  I'm hooked. We ended the class with relaxing music, deep slow breathing and stretches to massage our backs. It is the perfect way to start the day and just what I needed to jumpstart my self again. Today there is the rumor that I'm finall...

I feel about as smiley as that photo would have you believe!  I'm about to hit the gym for the first time in awhile and more importantly I'm about to go back to PiYo class which I have missed dearly. PiYo is a Pilates-Yoga fusion class with emphasis on strength training. There are some weights involved with your downward dogs and warrior poses. PiYo was so awesome for my health and back that I was easily addicted even though it is a HARD HARD class with lots of pain. Like tomorrow....I'm going to be so sore and crying for Epsom salt baths. I know this. Hit the road yesterday for a 2.30 mile run and felt awesome. Not having pain in my day was cause to celebrate a working body. On the road to health and kicking the bad habits behind me...Spring cleaning if you will! Its nice having some time to take care of ME for a change.  Started base coating a new canvas yesterday and liked the look of the spray so I tried it again, different colors and a whole different idea o...

THE FINISHED PIECE! "Sometimes You Feel Small part 2" 36" x 48" acrylic/krylon on gallery wrapped canvas ...will be on view at RISING GALLERY on June 1! I started this thing on April 15th and finished it respectively on May 14th. Thats about a months worth of work on this thing, snagging a few hours a day or whole days sometimes to work on it. This was my first piece I fully documented publicly through it's various stages and also the first piece I used a different approach to. That being for one....the krylon spray in the background and also the very careful layering from back to front...all the elements in my pieces are usually just placed on as my brain sees fit, whether in the foreground or background.  It's been an interesting process and a few people were watching diligently and offering supportive words- thanks friends! Let's have the whole story now from start to finish: This thing is 36" x 48...

Professor, what's another word for Pirate Treasure? My studio is a tiny dining room in my house and I don't have a garage or the tools to stretch my own canvases so when gallery wrapped canvases go on sale I buy a few. Yesterday was such a day. Theres another 3 foot by 4 foot waiting in anticipation for me to paint on as well as a 24 x 24 and another size, I'm too lazy to go look at my booty but feel like Christmas exploded in my dining room. I'm also doing a vertical triptych exclusively for a friends new business venture....but hush hush and more on that later. Its going to be awesome though. :) Blank canvas is sexiness personified. It is availability, possibility and opportunity. It's the equivalent of open arms for my passion to be poured into. Blank canvas in a CLEAN studio....hubba hubba, HOT DATE! Yes this is what nerdy art girls think about and yes I said the word BOOTY. Go take a cold shower and wish your Mom a Happy Mothers Day. :)

First things first, the TOOTHIE is feeling much better and for now the gut pains have subsided so I'm feeling a little better about life. I also have a renewed inspiration and am anxious to be back in my studio creating my wonderful ideas....and now I can! Oh beautiful, glorious creating time...I have missed thee! First on my agenda is finishing this painting for the Project 7 x 7 show and hopefully- getting another one done just in time for it too! I'm going to submit some pieces into a juried competition for kicks so I need to get some pro photos taken and am revving up a new email campaign account and getting ready to hit my studio hard. Turns out quite a few friends and fans have been patiently waiting for me to have some time so I can paint for them, this makes me happy. I love that my friends collect my stuff, that means the world to me. THANK YOU AWESOME PEOPLE! I have so many ideas Ive been simmering in my head I'm unsure where to start first. I guess the very...

I am ready to feel better. In fact ...I can't wait to feel healthy again. That is all. Happy Friday everyone.

I'm sitting here a few hours after having dental surgery. "Retreating Root Canal" as it is called. It was interesting. My mouth is no longer numb and my lips are bruised and slightly blue from having a variety of instruments applied to them for about two hours. Some strange device covered in plastic held my mouth open for two hours and because I was afraid to swallow (they were draining infection and no one wants to swallow THAT) and the little vacuum wasn't always handy -I had the equivalent of a swimming pool of saliva in the bottom of my jaw. Mmmm, p.s. don't eat snacks while you read this blog. The worst part was the initial shot. POP right into the bottom of your jaw that is already tender and painful. My dentist was a doll and super sweet. He explained everything to me very lovingly and by far was one of the best sweetest dentists ever. He also had nice eyebrows. Sigh! So the initial thought was that if there was a crack spied in the root canal then the ...

Wow what a wild time it's been these last two weeks. My body has decided to FLIP out and wreak havoc and show me the extent of human suffering in multiple facets. THANKS BODY! I was even feeding you expensive organic blueberries and this is what I get? :/ Last weeks horrible abdominal pains have led me to make an appointment (read $$$ appointment) at my doctors office on Monday morning to get some tests done for PCOS...polycystic ovarian syndrome, respectively. The pains have subsided just enough to focus on the other wonderful thing thats been going on....my old friend TOOTHIE decided to abcess on me out of the blue and I can't even explain in words the amount of horrendous suffering that is. Even vicodin didn't touch the pain and in fact I woke up nauseous and puked because the pain was so intense. EW! Sorry. I should have warned you I was going to write like a 12 year old boy. A trip to the dentist yesterday revealed that a tooth that already had a root canal done an...

I had every intention  of painting all day and possibly finishing this thing until.... The Pain Monster grabbed me by the gut and ripped his rusty claws into my abdomen and twisted and....ok, it sounds dramatic but it really is the most accurate description of what it feels like when my Pain flares up...it's either that or rusty machete stabbing me to death pain. IN either case I seriously contemplate the ER as I lie in a ball of agony whimpering. It's like that. No one understands it, let alone me. So today I'm calling up my doc to see if I can't blow ALL of my money on stupid tests to see whats wrong with me. Meh. Part of life. Inevitably doctors get ALL your money in the end. So....I had just taken all my paints, brushes, canvas and chairs outside to paint happily. I got through ONE MOUSE and had to stop and go lie in bed for the rest of the day. But nevertheless...one mouse closer to being done I guess. :/ squeak! eek! It's kind of fitting I am ...

So many little updates and changes to post about! First I want to say that the Project 7x7 show has been pushed back a little so please pull out the ol' calendar again and mark JUNE 1 as the new event -this will allow the show to be up a little longer for everyone to see the work. I hope you can make it out! All the artists work are so diverse and it will be exciting to see the completed collaborative pieces in person. Project 7x7 are running little spotlight features on each artist and I'm up right now, check out :  Project 7x7 FEATURED ARTIST In other news, I'm going to get a little taste of what it was like to be a kid again. SUMMER VACATION! At least a month of it. I'm finishing up a project at work and after next week I'll have some free time to work on building up my own arsenal of paintings to start aiming at galleries and competitions. A little much needed downtime from the ladder is welcome right now. I also have high hopes of cleaning this damn h...

So you've heard me mentioning this thing and now this thing is just about HERE. The event is the 7 x 7 Project Art Show that is going to happen on May 26th at Rising Gallery and you are going to be there right? Of course you are! Check the event page here  and RSVP pretty please! I can  honestly say that I have never had a house warming party, engagement party, baby shower or any other of those fanciful things that girls throw  that require you to throw gifts upon gifts at them in one sitting. *Although, I do have a broken toaster if someone is needing to unload one that works. No registry to sign up on. Heh!*  What I do have are ART SHOWS and they don't require you to buy me one damn thing! You just show up. You check out the art and hopefully SMILE. See? IM A LOW MAINTENANCE FRIEND!!! I'll be posting more about this here but thats the gist of it. Ive come home tired from work, painting all day on murals to unfold my paintbrush caddy as soon as I got home and...