The Figure: Finding a Balance

Figure drawing. Finding the nuances of the human form and documenting them faithfully or using it as an excuse to express creatively?

I've been battling with this for the past several weeks. As an art student I am required to draw the figure, and frankly I enjoy drawing from life, but lately I have been really struggling. My inconsistency as an artist is really starting to chip away at my confidence. Some days my polychromos pencil will act as if it has been blessed by the nine muses. Other days, not so much.

Part of the issue is that I am trying so hard to document the figure faithfully while finding new and interesting ways to adjust the form on my paper to create a more dynamic and well composed work of art. I am stuck between practice of technique and being creative... and most likely compromising too much on both ends.

As I obsessively work out the form and try to make it as true as can be, all my technical shortcomings are exposed and the drawings are not expressive enough to show anything about me as an artist. Yet I can't seem to get out of my headspace. Herein lies the bigger problem.

In my head I...

• Draw too tight
• Obsess over minor details
• Ignore the "big picture"
• Draw what my left brain "knows" rather than what I actually see

Once it is time to step back from the artwork, I am left disappointed in myself. If these are things that I know are inhibiting my ability to be creative, why do I continue to do them? Answer: I am afraid of myself, plain and simple. If I ever tapped into a real place it could be amazing, or it could be terrible. But one thing is for certain, the thick layer of shellac I have been layering myself in would crack wide open. Not to mention it would put the real me on the wall for others to judge. Which is something I am far too fragile to endure at this point. The one time that I had done that I left with great feedback and a bruised soul.

If I am being honest, since then, it has been difficult for me to entertain the idea of taking risks artistically. I've been second guessing everything and retreating further into my head. How do I break out of here?!

Here are some things I am going to try...

• Stream of conscious art making
• Take risks
• Take breaks
• Just draw / paint / whatever / do something!

Hopefully by doing so will enable me to approach the figure more creatively and less documentary. Van Gogh struggled with the figure as well, but knew that drawing the human form would only further his abilities with drawing organic shapes in nature. In letters to his brother, Theo, he expresses both a love for and frustration with figure drawing. But rather than obsessing over how true to life, he used the expressive lines of the human body to inform non human elements in his other works. I only hope that I too can find balance within creativity and technique.

Here's to reaching for the Star(ry Night)s. Wish me luck!

Want more on Van Gogh? check out  www.artsy.net/artist/vincent-van-gogh

What I learned on the Flight to San Francisco

This weekend I flew up to San Francisco for a brief, unplanned, whirlwind weekend getaway with my two best friends: my husband and my creative accomplice.

We got a great deal on flights on Virgin America. This was actually my first time flying with them, I usually go cheaper chicken if I get on a plane at all. For those of you who did not know this about me, I would love to travel but just can never find the funds or the time to do so. Therefore this trip was a much needed change of scenery.... But more on that in another post. For now, the topic is: "What I learned on the Flight to San Francisco".

Virgin America has so many things going for it. In air wi-fi being a huge plus. Su was tweeting from above the clouds, while Dust and I watched TV on our personal screens (sharing a head set).

One of the channels offered was boingboing TV. This is a channel based upon www.boingboing.net which is host to all kinds of quirky news stories, commentaries and interviews with artists, techies, innovators, activists and all things alternative. Some of it really fascinating, some of it just plain odd. Though it did introduce me to an artist I had never heard of, whose work I find truly inspired.

Cassandra C. Jones is a San Francisco based artist who works with found photographs to create collages or animations that take something we see everyday and turn it into something completely new. Her 2D works are trompe l'oeil collages that are never what they seem... ugh. cheese-ball. You know what? Just watch the video.



Thank you Virgin America. If I had not flown on your plane this weekend, I would have never been exposed to such a fine artist with interesting perspective. And now, I want to share it with all of you...

xx
t

Deadly Murals

This past Sunday we participated in the Dia De Los Muertos Festival in Canoga Park. There was music, food, arts, crafts, altars, custom car show, and of course, street painting.

Dia De Los Muertos (aka: The Day of the Dead) is a holiday celebrated in Latin and North American countries. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember loved ones who have passed on. There is a common misconception that Dia De Los Muertos is the "Mexican Halloween." Actually, it is believed to be a fusion of an existing Native tradition of honoring the dead with the Catholic holidays All Saints' Day (Nov. 1) and All Souls' Day (Nov. 2). And although face painting and dressing as skeletons is a part of the festivities, it is intended to make light of the very serious subject of death and loss and to celebrate our short life in this realm. Traditions include building offrendas (or altars) honoring the deceased. Offrendas are usually decorated with sugar skulls, marigolds, photographs, favorite foods and beverages of the departed.

At this particular festival, all the street painters / muralists chose artworks in the spirit of Dia De Los Muertos: from paintings of deceased family or pets, to skeletons, to representations of Latin American culture. We chose to do a reproduction of a Sylvia Ji painting. Ji is a California artist whose portraits of beautiful women in calavara face painting have gotten much attention in the low-brow and urban art scenes. In fact, many people at the festival immediately recognized her work, which made it easy for festival goers to approach us and talk to us about the original artwork.



At the end of the day all the artists voted for their favorite street murals under the following categories: "Funniest", "Scariest", "Most Beautiful", and "Best in Show" There were so many amazing and diverse street paintings so it was a very pleasant surprise when we were announced as the winners for "Most Beautiful."

Thank you for everyone who came out and supported us! It was a great time. The event staff were friendly and helpful, the children were so enthralled with the artwork, there were thousands of people, we reconnected with some street artists we hadn't seen in a while and we even got our photo in the Daily News. All in all, it was a great way to spend a Sunday.

Dia De Los Muertos

Just when you thought you heard the end of street painting... The Dia De Los Muertos festival shows up. You know what that means. Susanne and I will be painting the Streets of Canoga Park Sunday November 1, 2009. Come and see the altars, the car show, the crafts, the food, and us!

More info at: http://www.mainstreetcanogapark.org/dia2k9/index.html

Santa Clarita Festival of the Arts

It was a successful weekend for Susanne and I... but rather than blather on and on about our adventure, why don't you just see for yourself!






xx

Painting the Streets

The first weekend in October means it's time for me to hit the streets! No, I haven't found a new career in the world's "oldest profession." It's time for the Santa Clarita Festival of the Arts! (formerly The City of Santa Clarita Street Art Festival) where Susanne and I will spend 2 days knelt down on the burning asphalt of Old Town Newhall, chalk in hand as we re-create a beautiful work of art by Taiwanese artist, Der Jen (Dezhen).



Also, for all you Santa Clarita locals, a poster of Susanne and our artwork from last year (Oiran by Audrey Kawasaki) is featured at the bus stop in front of College of the Canyons. This was taken last year by the talented, Ryan Resella ( www.ryanresella.com ). This was one of ten artworks that won the honor of being an official advertisement for the festival.



Santa Clarita Festival of the Arts
Old Town Newhall
Oct. 3 & Oct. 4
www.scfestivalofthearts.com

Come visit us!

Adventures In Art: Downtown Art Walk 04/09

There are hundreds of thousands of excuses for not doing a follow up on the Art Walk show of April 9. I will not use a single one of them to appease you. I just didn't do it, and that's all there is to it.

The show was nice, just on the outskirts of the main thoroughfare for art watching. Although, not an official DAW affiliate, Motion LA / Gallery X had plenty of drop ins. The bright inviting colors of the space itself, and the music pouring from the adjoining performance room was enough to entice passersby into the gallery to view the modest collection of up-and-coming artists. Two of my three peices were hung. Unfortunately I think that there were fewer submissions, or perhaps more wall space than anticipated. The show seemed sparce and spread out. I was expecting all of the peices to actually have been in the 12 x 12 format and assembled to create a wall of art. Unfortunately the actual exhibit was more traditional. Maybe I just misunderstood. But I think that would make an awesome show! Anyone want to organize it? I've got a slew of 12 x 12 canvases to work on!

I have shown pretty regularly over the past year in Chinatown near the art walk. However, this was actually my first time experiencing it. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this is what I got. Los Angeles opens her doors to all walks of life on these monthly events. Galleries mimic night clubs, Night clubs mimic galleries, and there is music and art pouring out from every crack in the sidewalk. The wealthy in their designer suits rub elbows with the barely surviving city dwellers and creative types discussing, admiring, or sometimes mocking art and sipping their free wine; becoming intoxicated with the buzzing urban atmosphere.

I definitely think it is a successful event. I would have loved to spend more time in the heart of it, but my stomach had other plans. Just a few blocks from the venue is my favorite noodle house / diner dive in all of Los Angeles: Cafe Suehiro.

The no frills, no sass of Suehiro and the cheap eats that never disappoint keep me coming back for more. Just look at how amazing this Curry Rahmen with tofu looks! Make it a meal with vegetable gyoza and bowl of rice, and TRUST me, your tastebuds (and full belly) will thank you for it. My partner in crime ordered the Shrimp Tempura Udon, but got a little extra excited with the special spices that we almost had to uncap a fire hydrant!

There was also Happy Hour all night at one of the hotel lounges in Little Tokyo, but we decided that we would skip it this time. We had some art to see, and free wine to sip.