Thirty. The night of the show...intense

At 6 pm, when I showed up, the place was already full. It wasn't supposed to start until 7, but people were already scoping out their favorites. The artists were able to have first pick of the work. At 7, the packed house was asked to exit back out the door and then line up outside. As they went in, they were then given stickers with their names and were able to purchase the work. Well, this created a frenzy and the place filled up again and everyone was squished like sardines. Till 9, there was still a line around the building up Burnside. The place remained packed even up to its closing at 11. It was crazy. It felt like it was a rock star/art show. There was music and drinks and a really intense atmosphere that one does not get during a usual art show. I sold 17 out of my 30 and bought an amazing piece by Rebecca J. Becker. I had a lot of fun and did not realize the show would turn out to be such a frenzy. I love these kind of unknown adventures.

Thirty Show: Native Oregon Plants

This is my work for the Thirty show. Below, please find the press release for the show. It would be great to see people at the event. I am curious to see what the other 29 artists did with their time.


Om Tradition Arts

14 NE 10th Ave. Portland, OR 97232 (at 10th and E. Burnside)

One night only, Dec. 7th, 2007 7-11pm

Thirty! is a 900-piece affordable art extravaganza featuring the work of
thirty Portland artists, both established and emerging. Each selected
artist was challenged to create thirty 7” x 7” original paintings in just
thirty days. This exciting and unique concept creates a space for artists
to push the boundaries of time, size and style. The resulting 900
paintings on pine panels will be available for thirty dollars a piece.
The paintings will be hung salon style at OM Tradition Arts on Dec. 7th,
2007 for a one night only frenzy, in conjunction with the Central
Eastside’s First Friday Artwalk. This is a cash only event you won't want
to miss!

A percentage from each sale will benefit OM Tradition Arts, a new movement
arts studio, also hosting rotating visual art exhibitions. OM’s mission
is to provide affordable classes to the community in various traditional
movement arts (yoga, capoiera, dance, martial arts, etc.)

Native Oregon Plants Information

For the work in my Thirty Show I used a poster created by the Portland Environmental Services. For more information on this, check out their website:
http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?c=32142&

Portland Environmental Services offers this information about local plants:

Naturescaping is landscaping that allows people and nature to coexist. By incorporating native plants into your yard, you can attract insects, birds, and other creatures and help keep Portland's rivers and streams healthy.

If you would like to see some of these plants in their native environment, check out the following places:
* Oxbow Park, 3010 SE Oxbow Parkway, Gresham
* Forest Park, Northwest Portland
* Powell Butte Park, 162nd & SE Powell Blvd.
* Leach Botanical Garden, 6704 SE 122nd Ave.
* Tryon Creek State Park, 11321 SW Terwilliger Blvd.
* Berry Botanic Garden, 11505 SW Summerville Ave.

Guardino Gallery Show: Little Things

This is my work hung at my show. For more info, check out Guardino's website:
www.guardinogallery.com

another piece

right now, as i finish my work for the shows that i am in, i am trying to piece together what new work i want to expand upon. as i do this, i am posting them to see what feedback i can get.
"repression" this will be a watercolor on paper. maybe a smaller piece 18"x24"

new work

these are some images that i recently created. i am interested in introducing the figure into my work, but i do not want it to be a narrative. by adding a little of the figure, it gives a hint of a story, but still some ambiguity. i might turn these into drawings or paintings. they may just work as manipulated photos. however, by turning them into paintings these will be a real challenge

"love can't last on consequences" i think this one will be a 60"x60" acrylic with overlay of oil painting


"your fireworks were my addiction" this will be an oil on 24"x36" canvas



"awaiting that day" this will be a large 30"x70" oil painting

mistaken identity and mississippi studios

i was really excited to catch this picture of larry rinder



then, i realized that it wasn't him, but it is so hard to match a beer cozy to a face these days.



i was under the impression that larry rinder's lecture was going to be set up differently. i enjoyed hearing about the work coming out of CCA, but i wanted to find out a little more about his history and experiences. as a grad student, it is good for me to hear him talk about work that is being created around the same time as my own. it was even harder to hear that students coming from one of the best MFA programs are not even funding their lives through art. i really liked how he wanted to bring up the idea of giving business advise to students. that is something that i feel would be a really important part of school but is left out. for some "object" makers, work can be sold and it feels good to sell the work. in my undergrad, they touched a little on that, but it was always this hush hush thing. going to art school is about building up your concepts, techniques and studio practice. it really can develope someone. what happens though is that you get to that point and you wonder, "what do i do next? where should i show? can i show this work?"
it has been an interesting experience learning alongside "social practicers." talking with them recently has been interesting because many of them are also "object" makers but are more interested in the interactive social part of what art can do. i think that this is an amazing venture, and one that will be morphing the "art world". what it does show to me is that i am more of a "traditional" artist. it will be interesting to see if any of those concepts will creep into my work, but i want to stay stubborn in my art practice. it is hard because you want to push yourself to do work that is compelling to the "artworld," but i would love to be able to just paint. be a painter. sell my work to sustain my life. it is an idealized world, but one that i would like to try for. is that ok?



so, after the lecture, i went to mississippi studios and was still processing some of the things that were brought up in the lecture. it was a cd release show for Run On Sentence, The Builders & the Butchers, and Shoeshine Blue. they were all folky, eclectic and emotional. it felt good to go to something were i was able to just sit back and let the music take over. going to all of these lectures has been great, but this was a different "art" experience. folk music has a history of giving people the chance to overcome something difficult in their lives. i want to paint as if i were writing a folk song. i want to deal with many of the emotions that are going through me right now and interact with people in that way. maybe that can be my social practice; practicing letting myself go to influence someone else's emotions quietly through my paintings.