New Concept!

From the feedback I got in critique I have decided to go a different route with the paintings I have been working on. The biggest response I got in critique was to work more narrative and to incorporate figures. I definitely want to use chalk and crayons to give a more childlike feel to the work. I’m also going to work with very specific childhood memories. This will be a good direction for me because it relates to the work I want to do for Graduate school. I want to be an Art Therapist who mostly works with woman and children who have been mentally and physically abused. Through art I want to help them heal and move on from their pain. In this painting project I will play the role of the patient and the Art Therapist for myself. I want to capture very specific childhood memories of mine—good times with pleasant connotations, funny moments, and heart-wrenching memories that have held me back and therefore only continue to hurt me. In this project I will use art to help myself heal from certain negative memories from my childhood. I will be my own Art Therapist. I’m going to start with drawing on paper with paint and slowly work towards developing a painting.

Lagging

Wow, it's already been over a month since I updated. I've been so busy lately. It's been hard to put time aside for my blog. But I have a lot I'm working in and I'll update with images soon! Get excited!

Wise Words FromTwo Wise Men

On Sunday I went to Hillel with my good friend Zahara to hear a Rabbi speak about the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah. Now, no, I'm not Jewish, but I actually got a great deal out of his speech. One thing that stood out to me was "Inspiration is temporary, we have to learn to make it more permanent." As an artist that really spoke to me. What inspires me is constantly changing, just as I am always changing. I've gone through many long phases of having no inspiration at all, and phases where everything seems to inspire me at once and pulls me in all different directions. Already this year I've really had to narrow down and hold on to my inspirations. It hasn't been easy, but hopefully it will get easier.

Yesterday I went to a Postsecret Event that was held at the University. I've been a fan of PS for some time now, but was very surprised to see how intelligent the creator, Frank Warren, was. He really left an impact on me. He was such a caring, strong, interesting man, who made jokes, and kept the audience completely captivated. Something he said that almost brought me to tears was that, and I'm not going to quote it because I don't remember his exact words, the children who grow up abused, who have struggled and known true pain, grow up to be the adults who change the world. I just thought that was so beautiful. It's a realization I made only a few days ago. That all of the negativity I've know in my life is so important because it is going to bring me close to True happiness and peace. I think that's a very powerful thing to know.

Chickpeas & Onions

So one beautiful night my room mates (David Tarafa and Ryan Gillis), our friend Sam and I filmed a video. Ryan edited all of it and this is the amazing final product. Get ready to be blown away!

Chickpeas & Onions

Recent work--Bug Series

Here are a few pieces I have been working on the past three weeks:

This is the first painting I did this semester. It's of a South African beetle called the Dicrnorhiha Derbyana. I tried to create some interesting beetle-like texture.


This is a detail of the wing on a Phaon Crescent Butterfly. In this one I tried to create a texture that mimics the dust found on butterfly wings.



This is a painting of a Thornbug. It's the most recent one I have done. It's more abstract than the other two. I'm not sure if this is the direction I want to head towards or stick with what I've been doing. I want to start incorporating the full insect body into the paintings though. This one does that in the under-painting. You can see it coming through in the bottom middle of the painting.

Stu Stu Studio!

Hello! I know it's been a while since I updated, but I've got some exciting stuff for you now. Here are some pictures of my fabulous Studio! I've made it very nice and cozy. It should be since I'm spending 12 hours + a week here. :)

Figure Painting Quick Studies

Here are a few quick studies I did in my figure painting class this last week. I have definitely improved from the last time I had to paint figures. Yay for improvement!

First painting and Bill Jensen

I started my first painting in advanced last week (Images to come soon!). In this painting I’m working with complimentary colors, and trying to be more painterly. I’m really trying to layer paint, and use short brush strokes. I’m working with symmetry, but not perfectly. Jerry showed us an artist named Bill Jensen on Monday. He is an abstract artist who layers paint and then squeegees it off creating this amazing depth and layering where some colors show through and others don’t. I think he is an amazing colorist! I really want to experiment with that this semester in my bug paintings. I think it could be really interesting.

Some of Bill Jensen's work:



He has some pieces I like more, but I couldn't find them online.

New Semester

So, I'm a Senior Painting major now. I have my own studio all set up with Rachelle as my studio partner. so far so good. For this semester I have decided to do paintings of bugs! Lately I have been really inspired by nature. I have been researching bugs and insects as part of my inspiration. There are so many different species of insects and so many different colors and forms. It’s really quite amazing. I want to do paintings of details of various beetles and insects to the point where they are abstracted. I will use colors and forms inspired by these bugs. I will play around with composition and work with ideas I learned in Structure and Transformation, like points, color relationships, and use of brush stroke. There will be a lot of symmetry due to the natural symmetry found in nature and a sense of texture. I want to possibly incorporate sewing into my work this semester. I would like to use different colored threads and different stitches to create patterns and images while incorporating paint. My goal is to have at least two or three paintings completed by each critique. I would like to work with a canvas size of about 2-3 ft by 3-4ft, and a little bigger.

So all in all, I'm pretty excited for this semester. Also, I decided as of today not to get the Minor in Art History that I was planning on getting. it will just make this semester so much easier, and with getting a job and all, I'm going to need all the time I can get!

Tara Donovan

Tara Donovan is a sculpturist who uses small, everyday objects to create large scale, beautifully intricate installations. She installs her work on floors, walls, and hanging from the ceiling. Her color palette is limited for each piece because she only uses one object in varying lengths and widths. He work is amazing. I was very inspired by her for my last sculpture piece with the wax and plaster peppers. Here are a few images of her work:





































































More images of her work can be found at http://www.acegallery.net/artistmenu.php?pageNum_ACE=0&totalRows_ACE=58&Artist=8