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.