December 20. 2012 - Winter Wonderland

I was excited to finish this one because it was one I did with no plan and I was worried it wouldn't turn out.  I'm going to be traveling up north soon and so this seemed appropriately seasonal.  I hope
everyone is having as good a holiday season as I am- it's been a great year.  Now I have to get out
of here and go run last minute errands like I do every year.  Happy Holidays!

Painting #24
12" x 16"
Mixed Media on clayboard 

December 6, 2012 - Starry Night Heart

This is a sister piece to the one I did a couple weeks ago.  Same size, same
starry night.  I wish I could've gotten a better photo of it and come up with
a more interesting title but what can I say?  It's been a long week.

Painting #23
12" x 16"
Mixed Media on clayboard  

November 22, 2012 - Seashell

It didn't occur to me when I started this painting that I'd be posting it on
Thanksgiving.  If I'd thought of it I could've done something that was more
holiday appropriate.  But we did go to the ocean today so I guess that
counts.  This painting is based on a drawing I did in my daily drawing
series.  I liked doing this- it became more intricate and defined in the
painting.  It's fun to take an idea and improve it.  It was tremendously
gratifying.  I might add to this post more later but I need to get back to
cooking!

Painting #22
12" x 16"
Mixed Media on clayboard

November 8, 2012 - Praying Mantis

There was a time- not so far in the distant past, that I would research my posts before sitting down
to write them.  When I started my first drawing project I worked hard to learn about the subject
matter I was writing about.  Now I find myself simply sitting down and beginning to type.  Why
did I choose a praying mantis?  I don't know- primarily because I think they're cool to look at and I
like the way they move.  Nothing profound--I just like them.  Admittedly though, I kind of thought
they were native to exotic locales unknown to me until my dad told me he saw them in our backyard
sometimes.  Really?  How did I miss that!?

Painting #21
16" x 20"
Mixed Media on clayboard

October 25, 2012 - Honeybee

I think I might just have to do images of insects for the rest of my pieces.  I highly enjoyed doing
this one.  Coincidentally, the first image I did in my drawing series was of a honeybee as well.  In
that post I wrote about the history of them and how their hardworking tendencies were monastic in
nature.  I also think I wrote about the mystery of the honeybees disappearing and how sad I think
this is.  I mentioned that one of the theories was that it was the cell phone towers- how the signals
mess with their ability to return to the hive.  I've heard in the meantime that now the experts are
saying it's the pesticides that we use.  Whatever the case, we should revere the hardworking,
amazing honeybee for as long as we can.  I find it hard to imagine living in a world where
honeybees and honey don't exist.

Painting #20
16" x 20"
Mixed Media on clayboard

October 11, 2012 - Grasshopper

I did a drawing of this grasshopper in my daily drawing series.  It was really fun to translate it into
a painting.  I worked on it from looking at my initial drawing and it was interesting to translate my
own work into, well, my own work again in a larger format.  It was a nice technical piece to get
me away from my recently discovered indecision about what kind of work I want to create.  I have
a tendency to overthink my art.  Didn't I learn anything from my daily drawing project?  When
I did that, I didn't have time to question my work and what I was going to do- I simply did it.  With
this bi-monthly project, I've harkened back to the olden days of overthinking and questioning  everything I do thats art related.  Silly things like:  Is this good enough?  Will people like it?  What
am I doing?  Do I have a direction?  A theme?  Is this art?  And so on.  I wonder if now that I've just realized this as I've been typing that this will change in the future.  I guess that's up to me.

Painting #19
16" x 20"
Mixed Media on board

September 27, 2012 - Third Time's a Charm

This is the third time I've worked with this image hence the title.  It's a photograph I took while
visiting my parents in Shelter Cove.  I've always loved this image.  I did a painting of this the
first time for a solo exhibition I had called "Treescapes".  It was one of the first paintings I did in
the series that ended up selling.  While I was glad to have found a home for it, I admittedly kind
of missed it.  So I did a small drawing of it during my daily drawing project which looks really
similar to this.  Then I decided I wanted a painting of it to hang in my house so I did another
version than the one I sold and here it is.  I've worked with the shape of this tree so much that I almost have it memorized.  I really like this painting- I think it's magical.  I was going to work
with collage this week but I just wasn't in the mood.  Maybe next time.  For now, this will have to
suffice. 

Painting #18
16" x 20"
Mixed Media on board

September 13, 2012 - Incarnation II

This is the second part of the piece I did a couple weeks ago.  It's a
mixed media collage piece similar to the last post.   It's made out
of old wallpaper samples from the seventies and mounted on a canvas
I painted.  I think 2 is enough of this style, but I'd like to work more with
collage and mixed media.  I've always loved collage and have done it
since I was a kid.  Sometimes I get stuck on whether it's a valid art form
but that's ridiculous- of course it is.  Some of my favorite artists worked
in this way.  I don't know why I apply self-imposed rules to my art at all-
I think if I loosened up it would probably get better.  The daily drawing
project I did last year while honing my skill has now made me confused
about what my style is.  In that project I learned how to draw what I saw.
But each piece was so small and technically precise that now I'm not sure
how to translate this into larger work.  This painting project has made
me realize I'm in a transition phase artwise.  I need to loosen up.
I have no idea what I'm going to do for my next piece.  It really will be a
surprise.

Painting #17
12" x 16"
Mixed Media on canvas

August 30, 2012 - Incarnation

The first image is the way I intended this experimental incarnation.  Then
I flipped it around and thought it looked interesting that way as well.  So,
I decided to show both.  This is a mixed media collage piece and I really
enjoyed working on it.  I've been talking about wanting to do something
different for awhile and I'm glad I did.  It's made out of old wallpaper
samples from the seventies and mounted on a canvas I painted.  It was
a thoughtful way to work - cutting out shapes, deciding which ones use
and moving them around the canvas until I felt they could be secured
onto the surface.  I'm pretty happy with it and think I'll do another.

Painting #16
18" x 24"
Mixed Media on canvas

August 16, 2012 - Raccoon

This week I did something a little different.  I did this one as a drawing on a
piece of raw birch.  I had planned on painting into it, but decided I liked the
way it looked on plain, unfinished wood.  I thought of doing a raccoon because
I dreamt of them a couple weeks ago.  It wasn't the most pleasant dream
actually- they were nipping at me to get at some food I was trying to give them
but when I woke up I the first thing I thought of were raccoons.  I know they
can be somewhat aggressive at times but I still think they're cute.  I think
they're most appealing when a family of them climbs down a tree at night
to forage for food.  I've seen this a couple times and they'll be climbing down-
usually one mother and four or five kids, and when they realize they've been
seen they'll freeze.  This is when you can really check them out because you
can see the wheels in their heads turning and probably thinking "go back up
or continue going down?"  In both cases, they stopped, then decided that going
down was their best option so they started moving again towards their mission.

Painting #15
12" x 16"
graphite on birch

August 2, 2012 - Flamingo

I'm just back from being out of town and can't believe it's August already.
I've barely gone swimming this year yet and once more, the days are
getting shorter and the end of summer looms on the not so distant horizon.
How can this be again?  I'm constantly surprised at how rapidly time passes.
I try really hard to stay in the moment, but yet find myself flashing into the
future.  I can't help it.  At my job, I'm scheduling things that are taking
place in March 2013 and my head is already in the fall.  Our school starts in
3 weeks in fact.  I used to talk about this a lot during my daily drawing
project but it's still a subject that resurfaces constantly.  I guess it's a question
of balance:  Enjoy every moment of each day and keep the future in mind.

Painting #14
16" x 20"
mixed media

July 19, 2012 - Crane at Dusk

As I'm writing this post, I'm watching a little temperature icon located at the top of my toolbar drop
slowly as the afternoon passes.  It's hot today in downtown Los Angeles.  At noon it was 91 degrees,
now it says its only 85.  I know this is nothing compared to what's been going on back east but when
you spend your days in an air conditioned office in a sweater and then step outside for lunch- it can
take you by surprise.  It feels nice though to go out in the heat after sitting at a desk.  It's like a
warm embrace.  The hottest I ever saw it get here was 115 degrees.  It was so hot on campus that
day that when you'd step out, it was hard to breathe.  Even the birds looked parched that day so we
put out a saucer of water for them on the windowsill.

This nothing to do with this painting except for the fact that as I sat staring at this post, thinking
about what to write I realized I've noticed that temperature icon more today than I usually do.  I'm
Not sure why that is- maybe because it's reading higher than usual.  In any case, I like this painting.
I like the magic dots and it's dusky quality.   This one was a good example of picturing
something in my mind's eye before painting it.  Sometimes one visualizes a painting prior to
beginning, sometimes one has an idea that changes or sometimes one goes to the surface without
a clue what to do.  This one turned out just as I envisioned it which was nice.

Painting #13
12" x 16"
mixed media

July 5, 2012 - Ostrich

Happy Day after the 4th of July!  I hope everyone had a great holiday.

Painting #12
11" x 14"
mixed media

June 21, 2012 - Clouds

It's a minor miracle that I finished this one on time.  Over the past few weeks I got really
busy and kind of stymied about what to paint next.  And actually, this one really isn't even a
painting- it's  pastel on canvas.  I like the way it turned out but my procrastination level hit an
all-time high with this one. I did it at the last minute and didn't put as much time into it as I
would have liked.  I probably shouldn't admit that, but sometimes I say too much.  In my
last post I spoke about wanting to move in a more imaginative direction but when faced
with what that would be I found myself stuck.  I feel like I'm on the cusp of some kind of
turning point in my art but haven't formulated what that's going to be yet.  It's like I can feel
it, but can't see it.  In the meantime, I've been thinking of doing a cloud study so that's what
this is.

Painting #11
18" x 24"
pastel on canvas

 

June 7, 2012 - Night Sky

I really enjoyed working on this one.  I liked it because I did it from imagination and memory rather
than looking at an image. While I enjoy doing representational works derived from photos, it
was refreshing to do something different.  It put the fun back into it for me.  This one is based on my
recollection of how on a clear night where I grew up, the night sky would teem with stars.  It doesn't look like this where I live now by the beach.  Too much marine layer and too many city lights.  The
nights simply aren't as dark here- artificial lighting is everywhere.  For instance, if the shades are open in my bedroom- I can literally read in bed with no lights on.  Artificial lighting is not necessarily good for us- it messes with our circadian rhythms.  Sometimes you'll hear a bird chirping at 3am-they're confused because the streetlights are so bright that it could be morning.  When I go home to  visit my parents, I'm struck by how dark and how quiet it is.  The only light comes from the moon, and the only noise you hear are the sounds of nature, which are soft and subtle instead of street noise in the city. I have to say though don't really mind street noise- I'm so used to it that
I find it strangely soothing.

After finishing this one, a friend and I set all 10 paintings out the other night and looked at them together as a group.   It was an interesting thing to do.  Even though I consider this one quite
different than the others because of the way I did it, it still looked like my work.  I'm wondering if this piece may be a turning point in this series for me.  I've been wanting to move into a more imaginative direction so maybe this piece is a bridge to that.  I have no idea what my next piece will be, but I kind of like that- it feels like freedom.
 
Painting #10
18" x 24"
acrylic on canvas

May 24, 2012 - Windy

I love the wind.  Well, I love the wind to a certain extent.   My boating friend
doesn't though in terms of being on the water.  High level winds make being
on the water less fun than moderate amounts of wind.  Now that I've gone
out on his boat a couple times I can understand this even though I don't
have anything to compare it to since I've not really been out on a summery
wind-free day. He swears there are days when the water is flat and glassy
but since I've never experienced that, it's difficult to imagine water with
little motion.  I just like being out on the water although admittedly the
wind does make it colder.  It's  kind of like when I lived in NYC one
winter and dealt with the concept of windchill which was something
I'd never fully experienced until living there. I can only say one thing
about that: BRRRRR.  Palm trees are a great indicator of wind because
they're tall, they're everywhere and you can tell how windy it is by their
sway and how their palm fronds are behaving.

Painting #9
18" x 24"
mixed media  

May 10, 2012 - Completion

This painting is based on a piece I did during my daily drawing project on July 14, 2011 called
"Courtship".  I really loved this image when I came across it initially- the body language of these
two creatures emanated a simple grace that I found myself quite taken by.  I thought it would
translate well into a larger image and decided to do a painting of it.  So I started one, sketched it
out, put some layers of paint on it, got frustrated and never finished it.  For six months it's been
sitting in my studio in that unfinished state, across from the couch where I watch television,
mocking me.  Not finishing a painting is something I've done often in the past.  It's a really
frustrating thing to leave something unfinished like that.  I've always been a strong starter and
a poor finisher in many areas.  When I have a deadline- no problem, the job gets done, but left
to my own devices quite often I'll start something with fortitude which then dwindles into a lack
of interest which then turns into an unfinished project.  And this has happened A LOT. 

So, when I was thinking about what to paint a couple weeks ago, I looked across the room at this
one and a little voice inside my head whispered: "Finish that one mb.  Don't start another until you
finish it.  Completing this one would be more satisfying than starting another"  So I finally did.
And it was hard to go back in and fix the stuff that stumped me the first time around but I did it
and boy am I glad I did.  It was completing the cycle- closing the circle of the painting if you
will.  It makes me want to go back and finish all my unfinished paintings. Either that or get rid
of them altogether to make room for new ideas.

Painting #8
11" x 14"
mixed media  

April 26, 2012 - Wayfarer

I think this might be the smallest painting I've done since high school- it's only 8" x 10".  This was
sort of by accident really- I've been working on a mixed media surface called "clayboard" and my
local art supply store had only one panel left, which was this size.  I admittedly consider it more of
an illustration rather than a painting because it's so little.   I was also going to name this one "Flight"
then realized that's what I called last week's painting.  Duh.  So instead, I thought of wayfarer or
traveler because that's what this bird appears to be doing.  I daydream about being a wayfarer often-
of just setting out and meandering around the world seeing and experiencing things for the rest of
my life.  But although I dream of doing this, I admittedly like day to day routine.   I'm about 50/50
on this one- I want adventure, but I like stability.  I guess I'll just have to figure out a way to do
both.  And really, I guess it's just a matter of perception.  We can infuse adventure into everyday
life just as we can add stability to travel if that is our desire.

Painting #7
8" x 10"
mixed media

April 12, 2012 - Flight

I think I enjoyed doing this one more than the others.  This is ironic because I find large
bugs scary.  This is a June bug in flight.  Despite the fact that I find biggish sized bugs
intimidating I can't deny the beauty and grace of this one in flight.  I think I enjoyed doing
this piece also because it reminded me of my daily drawings due to it's intricacy.  It's another
mixed media piece- a combo of acrylic, water based pencil, colored pencils and graphite. 
I may as well just admit the fact that I enjoy drawing more than painting.  And I'm better at
it.  I'm not sure why I fight this so much- I guess because traditionally painting was
considered the zenith of art.  Drawings were what you did to prepare for doing a painting-
like a preliminary study.  But this is an extremely outdated notion and I know this.  There
are no rules or standards in art anymore- art can be anything and everything nowadays.   I
wasn't sure what this painting project would bring when I began. I thought that maybe I'd
become more skilled at it by doing one every few weeks.  What I've discovered though, is
that I sometimes look at it as a chore, which is not what art means to me personally.  This
one brought the pleasure back into the act of it and I've realized that for me that's all that
matters.  So from now on, I'm not going to worry about the what of what it is- I'm going
to focus on the joy it can bring me if I do whatever the hell I want and not worry about
rules that don't even apply anymore.

Painting #6
11" x 14"
mixed media  

March 29, 2012 - Rabbit

I'm not always sure if I choose the subject or if the subject chooses me.  Or
rather when I say "chooses me" I mean it's a subconscious decision instead
of a premeditated one.   For instance I chose this subject without even
thinking about the fact that Easter is right around the corner.   I picked it
because I liked the image then realized, well, duh- it's almost that holiday. 
I've always loved Easter not because of it's religious connotations necessarily
but because to me it symbolizes fresh starts, the beginning of spring and
at certain points in my life, my birthday has landed on it. In fact, my 16th
and 21st both happened to be on Easter Sunday.  For my 21st, I was in
my tiny hometown visiting my parents, but I had the pleasure of going
down to the store and buying a six pack of Heineken.  I remember
I sat out on the desk in the sun, had a couple beers and felt kind of
grownup.  I'm basically twice that age now, but I remember the day
clearly.   I remember feelings of promise and an expectancy of the idea
that I had my entire life spread out in front of me.   Twenty years have
passed since then and the stereotype is true- as you get older, time
goes faster which kind of sucks.  Luckily on the flip side,  I think
that as time speeds up we simultaneously learn to slow down
and enjoy the moments which is a good thing.

Painting #5
16" x 20"
mixed media  

March 15, 2012 - Umbrella

Love this painting- don't love the photo.  I blame the time change.  I shot a picture of it this morning,
but it was a too dark in my apartment and I didn't have a chance to set up my lights before heading
out to work so I'll probably re-shoot and post.  But in the meantime, you get the gist of it.  In any
case, this one is a bit of a departure from the others.  This piece is based on one of the drawings I
did in my Drawing a Day for a Year project-  May 4, 2011 #105

View here:  http://mbsdailydrawing.blogspot.com/

I've always loved Magritte's work and this reminds me a bit of that. He was fond of placing
objects in front of blue skies in his work.  I've also been wanting to do some pieces that take an
element out of it's usual context and place into another.  Although admittedly this context isn't all
that unusual:  umbrella-sky-rain- floating -all possible when you think about it.  This painting is
actually regionally appropriate in that they're (the weather people) promising us that we're going
to have a nice rainstorm this weekend.  I want to believe it because I miss the rain and would
really love a nice rainy weekend but I'm skeptical because they're always going into "storm watch
2012 mode" and then nothing happens but a light sprinkle.  Fingers crossed.

Painting #4 
11" x 14"
mixed media  

March 1, 2012 - Sea Turtle

This one was kind of touch and go for me.  I liked it, then I didn't like it, still didn't like it, then
decided I liked it in the end.  I seem to be somewhat unintentionally working the animal theme. 
I didn't set out to focus on this as subject matter- it just seems to be happening on it's own
accord which is cool.  But I do love the animal kingdom.  And sometimes I love the animal
kingdom more so than the human race.  But no, I'm not a people hater and yes, I love people
as well despite all our flaws and the puzzling ways in which we act.  And I realize this has
nothing to do with sea turtles but I'm in a pensive kind of mood this week.   I guess that
happens sometimes.  Ups and downs, highs and lows, the neverending flow of our existence. 
We can't be up all the time, and hopefully we're not going the other direction all the time
either. I think about this quite often, how our very nature is to think about and over-think
things constantly. Would it be better to just be floating blissfully around like this sea turtle,
with just it's own instinctual rhythm to guide it?  We've gotten so complicated as humans-
we're complication within complication within complication and still more complication down
to the smallest specks of minutiae.   As I'm writing this, I'm reminded of a poem that a friend
of mine gave me in high school called something like: "I want my beast self back".  I tried to
google it so I could read it again since it's been like 23 years since the last time I did, but
when I typed in different search iterations to find it all that came up was breast-related info. 
Oh well.  Anyway, the poem was about a desire to simplify, to get rid of complications and
details like social security numbers, driver's licenses, cars, money, careers, advertising-
anything-and everything one could possibly think about and just for a moment to let all these
things slide away that won't mean anything in the long run and just live in an instinctual way. 
This isn't realistic, I know. (Don't worry mom and dad, if you're reading this- I have no
desire to quit my job, drop off the face of the planet and live like a wild animal but still it's
interesting to think about)  I mean, I think we saw the hard reality of that kind of impulse
in the book "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer.  I'd do a synopsis but I think I've already
subjected you to too-long-of-a-post- if anyone is reading this.

In any case, the gist of all this is that sometimes I think it would be easier to live a simple life,
with simple thoughts in a not-so-complex world.  But truthfully, I love my life the way it is and
wouldn't change it.

Painting #3 
16" x 20"
mixed media

February 16, 2012 - Donkey

Second painting.  A bit bigger than the last one- this is 16" x 20".  Still using
a mixed media approach- combining paint and pencil.  I'm not really a purist and
have always preferred this method.  I actually did a drawing of this one during my
daily drawing project, but liked it so much I knew I'd translate it into a painting.
This is a picture of a donkey that belongs to 2 of my good friends in Northern Cal.

It's been really weird for me doing a painting every two weeks instead of a drawing
every day.  Though I have to say the timing is exceptional- my life has been really
busy in other ways so doing a daily drawing would be tough right now.  I still
miss it and all, but for now- less is better.  It allows me to explore other areas in my
life.  I still walk around with a vague but persistent feeling of slothfulness though and
have to remind myself that it's ok to not produce something every day and that this
actually allows me to have more of a life balance.  Which is good thing.  Right?  Yes.
Absolutely.

Painting #2

February 2, 2012 - Groundhog Day

First Painting.  Admittedly, it's more of a mixed media drawing painting combo.  As I started working on this piece I realized that I'm much better at drawing than painting.  But really, I knew that before I started this one.  When you do something every single day you inevitably get better at it.  And painting is a bit awkward for me after working so tiny with pencils and ballpoint pens.  So it's a transitional piece really- it combines both mediums and it's not very big- 11" x 14".

I'm really happy that I decided to start this project on Groundhog Day.  I was talking about this with a friend and we started talking about the movie Groundhog Day.  She told me something I never knew about this movie which is that the film is a favorite of the Budddhists.  The film is considered to be one which addresses the idea of self-improvement with an emphasis on the importance of looking inside oneself.   The theory is that true satisfaction in life then comes from turning outward and focusing on others instead of solely on one's own wants and desires.   Also, some Catholics see the movie as a representation of Purgatory.  The movie has even been referred to by some religious leaders as one of the most spiritual films of our time.   If you haven't seen it, it's a movie about a bitter, cynical, egocentric newscaster named Phil Connors who during a hated assignment covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney finds himself doomed to repeat the same crappy day over and over again.  It's a hilarious movie.   After indulging in hedonistic, destructive behavior and numerous suicide attempts, he begins to re-examine his life and priorities and realizes that he needs to do things differently.  It's a classic.  If you've never seen it, I can't recommend it enough.

I've written about this kind of thing in my daily drawing project that I just finished, and that is the idea of self-improvement.  I don't mean self-improvement in the kind of way where nothing is ever good enough, but more so as an understanding that there is never an end point to trying to better oneself.  It's kind of like this rich life flow- there's never a point where we cease to evolve.  And I really like that.

Painting #1