Art Plunge

Take it where you find it... As a freelance artist of the starving type you most likely won't be able to afford a "vacation" like most people. You really can't afford to not be hustling or completing projects and you most likely can't afford a plane ticket anywhere. So it's important to take your fun where you find it- and hopefully as cheaply as possible. For me that was 3 luxurious days in a row SWIMMING at a local pool. I hadn't been swimming all summer and the summer before I went swimming once so I was taking advantage of it but not irresponsibly....I was up early in the studio making sure the days work got done before I hit the water. Building boxes to ship prints in, to the post office mailing out orders and painting and graphic designing before the bikini could be put on. I knew my body was about to revolt and could feel the pains coming on and my symptoms flaring up but the relaxing water and fun really helped and as soon as it was over.....

A woman who is comfortable in her own skin, doesn't require you to clothe her in your judgements ( Danaë by Gustav Klimt) She knows full well she came into the world this way, she will leave this way and she is not ashamed of the way she was made. (Nude fountain sculpture by Camilliani)

One of photographer Franks Lopez's vintage cameras Last week was a whirlwind of deadlines, bus trips and fun...all culminating in an art show on Saturday night and two glasses of celebratory wine for all my efforts. I had set a goal for three new vinyl works  to be done in about a week and actually made that happen (actually make that 4!). Normally 3 new vinyl pieces would be nothing for me to do in a week but I had challenged myself to work outside my realm of expertise and delve into the world of LED lights, epoxy, drills, bolts and other fascinating construction. The end result is that I can now push my vinyl creations further - the finished piece was well received! Sales were made and sales are pending and a whole new crowd has been exposed to my work. YAY!  I found myself modeling for local photographer Frank Lopez last week and was thrilled because I like his work very much. He was doing "tintypes" and I got to see the whole process in action as well as ex...

Spend any inordinate amount of time on facebook and you'll see a lot of this....only it's in printed format on a computer screen. I wonder if this would be so prevalent in person with face to face confrontations? I had this picture up as my profile picture for awhile because I really identify with that little guy who doesn't want to hang in that herd back there and is going to cross the street and do his own thing. Maybe hitchhike or go eat daisies in someones garden. Either way he is not down with a big group, clique, herd... and has his own thoughts about what suits him. I have never had good experiences with large groups that all think the same thing and think you should too.  And when I log onto facebook first thing in the morning with my cup of coffee in hand I liken it to opening my front door to see how the day is, whats the weather, how are my friends? If I get run over immediately by a big ol' POLITICAL turd post (umm, repeatedly) I block you from ...

Only those who read this blog will reap the benefits of what I'm about to say here... As you all know I've been hustling and bustling to get ready for the Sacred David Bowie Art Show that's happening this Saturday. I won't lie and will fess up that I procrastinated a whole month before starting my pieces which led to me finishing them on the ACTUAL DROP DATE! Sometimes I roll like that. Sometimes I need pressure to push me. Under Pressure....doo doo doo dee da dooo dooo...da doo doo doo dee dah doo doo. Sorry. Anyway....as a result I had to turn in my pricing list BEFORE the pieces were even created. This led to three things.... 1. I underpriced my light up Bowie piece I worked so hard on and threatened my very sanity 2. I overpriced my other two painted vinyls. and last but not least.... 3. If you read this blog and come up to the show on Saturday wanting either one of the above pieces and say the code word "Aladdin Sane" I will sell them to y...

yeah, yeah, yeah.....i'm super busy. what's new? I have to remember to keep gas in my tank so I can keep on going today. Way too much to do but hopefully FOCUSING will get me to my goals. Yesterdays plans were a bit derailed by an impromptu beauty day. I had signed up to be a hair model at the salon my friend works at and thought I was getting a cut and out the door to work again but it turned out I was lavished with the works! Color and cut AND a manicure by my favoritest manicurist, Lydia Johns ! In a nutshell I feel like a brand new girl again, even if I didn't get much done in the painting department. It happens. And no way am I passing up an opportunity to get spiffy on the cheap/free! New hair cut and color! Lovely new manicure by Lydia Johns ! Color: Charisma by Zoya Dropped of the Harajuku vinyl art to Lydia and with the completion of ONE more her walls will look pretty sweet! Today is the drop date for the Bowie show. As of right now I have 2 finis...

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...

Wake up you sleepy head Put on some clothes, shake up your bed Put another log on the fire for me Ive made some breakfast and coffee This has pretty much been my weekend. Starting early in the studio (7:30 am!) and working on THIS, THIS up above for hours without stopping to eat, drink water or even pee. TRUE! If you read my post from yesterday you might have an idea of the hard fought battle this became. Since yesterdays post more mistakes popped up and had to be fixed, such as accidentally scratching the pretty pink painted smoke and having to fix it with another layer of light pink. I let the mistakes dictate the direction of the piece. I decided whatever FATE intended this to look like in the end would be the way I would roll. So...what was just going to be a straight up backlit David Bowie became him standing poised in front of pink smoke and stars. Suddenly it was taking shape and I owe it all to mistakes and errors. You have to see things this way so you don't start h...

David Bowie on red see thru 15" phonograph vinyl record, work in progress...possibly cursed! I like making up fantastical stories in my head. It makes life more exciting. For instance I like to think that this red phonograph record I'm painting on is possibly cursed and the minute I laid my paintbrush to it I shook something deep inside the earth and some miasma  I could not see enveloped me and started making everything wrong happen. That's much more exciting than thinking that because I'm tired and unfocused and because things just happen... that is why mistakes and folly have beset me. No...it's HEXES and CURSES! HELL YEAH! Friday the 13th found the new car with a smashed hood, thanks to some dipshit who decided to stop abruptly on the highway -which caused the vehicle in front of us to stop abruptly on the highway -which caused us to stop abruptly on the highway and the brakes....locked and slippity slide right into the SUV in front of us. Nice. Thanks...

Finding your purpose When anyone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I always had a different answer. Geologist. Anthropologist. Fashion Designer. One of the people I saw on PBS who would follow the animals and talk about them on Nova. Artist. It was apparent I had many interests. Interested in  Nature and the planet, interested in Design and Arts. But I always found myself sketching and doodling at the dining room table in my spare time. I would rush through class assignments at school so I could have a few minutes to draw on the borders of my paper while everyone else was working. Kids asked me to draw them pictures. Boys wanted me to draw girls in bikinis for them. At a young age there was already something inside of me that compelled me to make marks on paper and retreat into my own little world where I was the maker and producer of little creations.  My older sister went to Arts Magnet and I wanted to be like older sister. There was no other thing in my h...

September 17, 2009   "This is gonna be me in a bit" - Patricia Rodriguez This is another installment of ART PLUNGING- HOW TO DO IT. I thought it appropriate to give you some background on why I took the art plunge in the first place and go back down memory lane a bit to show you that I know where you're at, what you're feeling and wishing for because that was me. Apparently on September 17, 2009 I posted this picture on Facebook and was about to go in for an open air MRI. Why? Because the damn job I was at broke my back. At this point I was on Workers Comp -which if you've ever had the pleasure know it is one of the most difficult NIGHTMARES of your life at a time when you don't need that kind of extra stress on your fragile self. But I digress. In a nutshell- MISERY. I could barely walk, couldn't lift, had to pull myself up using the walls or whatever was near. There was no comfortable position to lay in because your back which is the control c...

The Prints are here! The Prints are here! Both make me feel like dancing. Tonight we're gonna party like it's 19  ninety nine! I was super psyched to get my prints in yesterday and headed right away to pick up a few frames. I was thinking small and that people would probably want the prints as cheap as possible and NOT want frames but the framed ones sold like hot cakes within 2 hours of posting so I had to go hunt down more frames. That was a task and it's still a learning process for me -pricing and finding things affordably so I can offer them affordably and still make my money back I put in plus a tiny profit. At any rate the framed pieces (I have a few more left now) are priced at $32 (does not include shipping) and the unframed prints are $22. These are limited edition, numbered and signed, printed in full color on glossy card stock. If you message me I'll send you paypal info, etc. Quite a few of these have sold already and I haven't even put t...

My "studio" aka The Dining Room aka The Cat Room This is going to be a MULTI-PART blog, oh Lord...because I have so much to explain about taking the ART PLUNGE and I don't want to bore you in one fell swoop. Yesterday I got a wonderful email from a dear friend of mine I have never met in person. We've been internet pals for years ...since the....watch out theres about to be a dirty word dropped here...MYSPACE DAYS. She's a fellow creative, artist, fun soul and also a blogger so I've been able to keep up with her adventures and mishaps through the years. Much like me she isn't afraid to bare her soul and in that regard I feel like I know her well through her postings even if we've never met. She messaged about how I inspire her and she wants my advice in doing just what I did- leaving a life of misery to follow your artistic dreams and feel fulfilled. So I promised her all my my most helpful advice and since I know she isn't the only one who ...

Harajuku Sweets- new vinyl record pieces for..... A dear friend of mine has taken a cue from the Universe and leaped out of her day job to do a scary thing. Work for herself! YOU GO GIRL! As someone who has done just that I know what those scary moments feel like and I know how high the really good moments feel too. Believe me, the HIGH outweighs the BAD. She is now doing what she loves- she's a manicurist specializing in non toxic products and she is working in a little salon called Sweet 200 in Oak Cliff- doing what she loves. Her name is Lydia Johns and I want to see her succeed! Don't you? Here is a link to her facebook page where you can see all her happy customers! The little vinyls posted above are a new little series I'm working on with her fun arty nails in mind! I was inspired by the nail art she is always posting and also by HARAJUKU....what is HARAJUKU you ask? Harajuku is a large fashion capital of the world in Japan, known for it's edgy street f...

Street Artist 'My Dog Sighs' Paints Faces on Cans Found Littered on the Street I found this interesting art on Pinterest and thought it would be a good example for a proposed scenario.....indulge me if you will.... The scenario is this....this street artist paints on cans. Pretty cool right? Pretty neat! He's probably not the only one who paints on cans in the world but he most likely is the only one in his little neck of the woods and art circle. Ok, let's pretend I invite this CAN painter to be in this big group show we do annually at my gallery. (This is pretend land, I dont have a gallery but roll with me...)  Ok, he is a hit, everyone thinks his can faces are awesome and he's considered pretty unique for doing this medium in our little art circle. Ok fast forward into the future....it's a year later and it's time for our big annual show...here's the scenario....we don't invite the CAN artist to come show again BUT we do hand out a can ...

"The World of Traceable Ghosts"  I saw the words "GET R DONE" in HUGE letters on a truck this weekend and laughed. I took a picture too but am too lazy to go find it in my instagram thingie. And while it sounds a horrible redneckish thing to say it is what is looping in my head today and I try to get stuff done. Looking into getting some prints made today- or at least get the ball rolling. This will be the first image I print until I can get some money rolling in. Hopefully they sell and don't sit around in my house for a year. Today entails scanning paperwork, sending emails back and forth, figuring out how to claim amnesty on some stupid sales tax fluke and hopefully working on record orders.  Busy. Sorta. Really just the usual day of GET R DONE. New blog is up at I AM BILINGUE just in time for Fourth of July. Guess I better get crackin' and hit the trails before the sun gets brutal. My new goal is 2 miles a day any possible way...running, ...

Me at Latino Cultural Center with my work "Flourish" photo courtesy of Angelica Navarro   Friday evenings reception at Latino Cultural Center was one of the best I'd ever had the honor to be part of. The space was elegant, all the work was excellent and curated beautifully. There was a wonderful spread of food and libations and lively music to greet you when you entered and all the artists were introduced by Ben Espino the host- to better connect with everyone. The cherry on top were the beautiful color catalogs printed and stacked by the sign in book for everyone- all the artists work were reproduced with small bios! How is that for taking care of artists? I'm afraid I've had too many dealings on the flipside of this...galleries that don't send press releases, don't bring their people to the show, make you submit bios or statements...but never put them out for the public to read. Mainly just very careless about whether the work gets viewed and o...