Working Portfolio

bird

2011-03-18T20:16:00.000-07:00

Terra's bird.

The Nurses- Technicolor.

2009-11-29T07:22:00.000-08:00

What a great song. I think I want to see them live if I get a chance.

Via You Tube

Progress is good.

2009-09-13T18:47:00.000-07:00

Click on images to enlarge.

Artist Statement Draft One: An idea for an upcoming series of works.

This is not a conceptual piece. This is not an artist’s emotional experience, and initially the painting itself has no meaning. The subject simply exists, and thus is re-produced in two layers, using the materials acrylic and graphite, respectively. It is a critical subjective viewing experience, encouraging the viewer to change their physical position in relation to the drawing, using the light available to detect each layer. This allows the viewers unique perception to emerge and find personal interpretation of each work.

The piece should be viewed in real life, the image via photograph represents a different idea, and it is difficult to show what I am describing above. Oh well.

I bought my first Art Piece

2009-08-24T17:54:00.000-07:00

I found it at an antique mall for 75 bucks. I couldn't afford it, but I was drawn to it. So, I sold some old hip cloths and took my change to the coin star. I am so glad it is in my house, as it inspires an new kind of style in me. This piece was well worth it.

The piece is pastel on paper, framed in a heavy wooden faux-finished black frame. I cant wait to hang it up.

Pots Pans and Glasses

2009-08-18T07:14:00.001-07:00

Ballpoint pen on Graph paper. What does it say when I prefer to draw the dirty dishes than actually clean them? I think doing the dishes is the bane of my existence, I really hate doing them. Shane and I are supposed to have a system down, I make dinner, he cleans the dishes. He rarely does his part, but I can't blame him.

I just read the book Skinny Bitch, which was a bit extreme and bias, but non the less probably more true than not. When I was in college at VCU in VA, I went to a PETA seminar and thought they were too radical. It felt like church, and they were preaching to me, and if I didn't listen and follow through, I would absolutely go to hell. As I was so impressionable, I decided meat and cheese wasn't for me. I was a vegan for an entire week.

I didn't set out to buy the book Skinny Bitch. Initially I went into the book store to read up on diet/food/and how it effects mood/depression/anxiety. I found a fantastic book called Sugar Blues (written in the 70's) which pretty much labels sugar as poison. At the counter, when purchasing, I saw the Skinny Bitch book, which I had heard from more than one friend that it changed their lives. I decided to pick it up, as I was curious how those Skinny Bitches did it, how are they able to get so fantastic looking. I had no idea it wan an animal rights- "be a vegan" book. Normally, I would have put the book down because I just don't want to be that extreme, but, I kept reading, and finished the book in one sitting (and for those of you who know me well, this is SUPER RARE). I decided I would be a half vegan. Eat veggies, and stay away from dairy if possible, but not go to the extreme of not eating bread because there is egg in it.

Yesterday was day 1, and was a success. I started my day off with an Apple, and had a fantastic day (all in the mind? Who knows). When I got home, I did some on-line recipe research.... totally came upon the PETA website. I still have a bad taste for that organization. I poked around a bit and watched.... The Video. Yes, if you haven't seen it, its been around for a wile and makes you cry. It is really hard to watch. Once I started to tear up, I quit watching. OK, it was serious now, I had to be vegan. It's just wrong not to be right? I wouldn't eat my dog right? Why would I eat a cow?

Anyways, I can't decide if I am brainwashed or genuinely effected. Last night I made a really fantastic vegan meal... Sauté Onions and garlic in a pan, add chopped mushrooms & 1 grated apple. Then add diced tomatoes and a bit of tomato puree, add a mixed herb seasoning, let simmer for 10 minutes. Cook Spaghetti (whole Grain) on the side, drain. Then mix it all together, add to a casserole dish. Add fake cheese to the top, and bake at 350 for 25 min. It really was good. Who knew apple in spaghetti tasted so good. I got the recipe from VeganChef. I wonder how long I will be a vegan, or if it is even possible, living with the biggest meat-eating man in the world.

Dora

2009-08-13T18:38:00.001-07:00

I love my dog.... acrylic on parchment.

Cemetery Drawing

2009-08-10T06:31:00.000-07:00

St. Mary's Cemetery in Brussells Missouri. Acrylic on Parchment paper, with graphite. I am really enjoying this transparent graphite look, which gets a bit lost over acrylic paint. The dryer the acrylic the better, especially when used on parchment.

Cows and mud

2009-08-09T18:20:00.000-07:00

Shane and I went on a drive and saw a herd of cows hanging out in a river of mud. They seem to mimic the mud as their silhouettes blend into each other. They wouldn't stop staring at me, and I at them. It Poured all day.

Mojo Gallery last week

2009-07-27T21:45:00.000-07:00

I went to Mojo studios on Thursday and did a few more drawings. I really enjoy this style and want to try out drawing other subjects, like an animal, or a house.

I am really into folk lately....

2009-07-18T17:58:00.000-07:00

This guy is great.

Mojo Gallery

2009-07-16T22:02:00.000-07:00

I am back on track. This is it, this is what I was trying to find. Bless Mojo gallery and their studio drawing night. It is pretty sweet, laid back, and lots of great people. There was music and beer... I cant wait until next week. Here are the drawings.

Art Guild July9

2009-07-09T21:02:00.001-07:00

Charcoal, watercolor pencil, acrylic ink, umber, phthalo, orange, & pencil. I think her head and arm aren't in correct proportion. It is hard to tell what she is sitting on, like she is uncomfortable, her feet and hand look weird too. I love the graphite lines in the background over the water/color look. I think this is may be a good idea for next weeks drawings. Prepare backgrounds before you go.

Art Guild July 7

2009-07-08T12:28:00.000-07:00

Charcoal on Paper.
Acrylic ink in sketchbook.
Sharpie in sketchbook.
Micron Pen on wallpaper with Acrylic.
Micron on Paper.
Acrylic ink on Transparency Paper.

attaching wallpaper

2009-07-05T21:11:00.000-07:00

Source: Rd.com

Background

2009-07-05T19:57:00.000-07:00

"The environment is all gold and the idea behind that was to tell the viewer that these figures were in a spiritual realm [...] If I put them in this all white background, that would maybe also hint that this is in a psychological realm, this isn't a real place. This isn't even a comic book. It's a blank slate"

-John Wentz

Source: Arteaser

Image Source: Jananchandler.com

This interview with John Wentz made me think about my work, and how most of the pieces lack a background. Most of my drawings/paintings have a wallpaper background, or none at all. I never really thought about why, so this is a good time to think about it.

Wallpaper. What is wallpaper. Pattern, a Skin, a Covering to a Blank vertical plane. Suburbia. Decor. Something to look at. A Claustrophobia of sorts. The wallpaper continues off the page, and who knows how far it goes. Most of the time, the wallpaper bleeds through the subject on top of its surface. The subject is transparent in a way. The only real thing there is the wallpaper.

It was originally introduced into the drawings to fill the blank white void. An excuse to come to terms with the empty space I was too lazy to fill with paint or ink. I also liked the idea that they were leftovers, left in a dusty box at a second hand store in Chicago. Did I feel like some sort of hero? Saving the wallpaper...

How boring, that the wallpaper could have spent it's life on a wall... only to be tore down or covered over, suffocation. I have rolls and rolls piled in the corner of my studio, and on any particular 2nd hand outing, I cannot hold off from grabbing it if i see it. My urge to purchase something familiar to me, or my american tendency to purchase.. in general?

What is the difference between them sitting in the corner of my studio, and a box at the thrift store?I should give them the life they deserve. Put them to use.

Shane Sleeping

2009-07-05T19:34:00.001-07:00

Bon Iver

2009-07-03T08:21:00.001-07:00

Update: Add light

2009-07-03T08:02:00.001-07:00

I took the piece off of the Masonite this morning, to move it to a larger piece of Masonite, and dropped it in front of the Refrigerator. As I picked it up, the light from the window came through the page. Stunning. It is illuminated.

I am Going Blind

2009-07-03T07:15:00.000-07:00

I heard that if you are going deaf, you should seek a hearing aid immediately. If you delay, your brain begins to forget how to form sounds and words. I think that is the saddest thing. When I apply this to my own condition, I realize my sight has been diminishing for quite some time now. I don't have glasses, and am collecting crease lines on my forehead from squinting so frequently. Why don't I get some glasses?

I went and drew a model last night, and couldn't see her details. Her face was so difficult to see, and I did a lot of hard squinting. I wonder if I have slowly been loosing my ability to see things. Really See Things. I have lost my lust for the things I was so obsessed over, years ago. Death, anxiety, people, drawing, emotions... It has all mellowed out. I am not obsessed with anything at the moment, and it feels so wrong. I am missing a very important something. I would rather be horribly scared, and full of anxiety, than be bored and calm. There is nothing interesting about calm.

I can't see anything, and I believe I have been ignoring life for quite sometime now. I will get glasses next week and see if it dramatically changes the course of my life.

Art Guild Sketch Group

2009-07-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

Process: charcoal on thick watercolor paper. Transparency layer- white charcoal for highlights. Transparency layer- ink drawing, blue watercolor pencil, gold acrylic, tape and varnish...

Next time... layer umber on top of the phthalo blue. more gold, more graphite. Add varnish in between each layer, let dry. I want to see the layers more transparent. I want thicker lines, maybe a black acrylic ink and paint brush.

bat for lashes

2009-07-01T07:49:00.001-07:00

Update

2009-07-01T06:45:00.001-07:00

Update on piece: Added a varnish transfer to lower left. I used the old graph paper given to me by Michael Crotty. I am thinking graphite lines should go over this area, something architectural.

This piece has no focus yet. I am hoping Carl Ray Miller was right in saying just start. Maybe something will happen to me today to give me motive for the piece.

I have a date with a model

2009-06-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

well... technically a nude model, which I am invited to sketch. This thursday evening. Cant wait.

Thursday Night Sketch Group

Meets:

Thursday Evenings, 6:30 - 9:30 pm

Cost:

$5 for students and members, $6 for non-members

Meeting is in the third floor studio. (Subject to change without notice)

Draw from a live model. Improve your drawing technique. The model may be nude or partially nude at times

Coordinator:

Greg MacNair

Phone:

314-862-1410

314-621-7883

Email:

gmacnair@stlouisartistsguild.org

Potato Bug

2009-06-30T21:37:00.000-07:00

Potato Bug...

Image source Mandolin cafe

Update on Piece

2009-06-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

Process: Added old pieces of transparency paper in layers to the bottom left with varnish. Then added white acrylic and wiped off. Added a thick piece of old graph paper to the top left, with some additional graphite lines. Added transparency paper to the top of that. I am thinking I would like to add graphic of some sort, something from nature.

This is a Dobson Fly. Wile camping this weekend, we found two of them around the lantern. They look so vicious. The boys thought it was a freak of nature and wanted to use it to catch some bass the next day. They ended up dying the following day after their tupperware container was flooded by boat water. So Sad. Upon investigation, I found out the following... They are in a larvae state for 2-3 years, and live under rocks in fast flowing, clear water. They then crawl onto land and cocoon, then hatch into a fly, measuring 2-3 inches in length. The one shown above is a female. Once they turn into a fly, they only live for two weeks. They don't eat during the two weeks, they mate, and their eggs fall off trees and into the water. Its sad that the ones we caught were born in water and then drowned in water. The guys used them for bait, but didn't catch a thing.

Andrew Bird- Anonanimal

2009-06-24T14:34:00.000-07:00

Studio Content

2009-06-23T13:02:00.000-07:00

This is my studio. Engulfed by my home life and day job crap. I will find a solution, and put up a curtain for separation. One Section for Home, One for Studio, and One for Work crap.

2009-06-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

I just realized... I am searching for content. I want content in my works, and am unsure of what to include. I feel that right now, the work is about process. I am hoping that content will emerge.

–noun

1.Usually, contents.

a.something that is contained: the contents of a box.

b.the subjects or topics covered in a book or document.

c.the chapters or other formal divisions of a book or document: a table of contents.

2.something that is to be expressed through some medium, as speech, writing, or any of various arts:a poetic form adequate to a poetic content.

3.significance or profundity; meaning: a clever play that lacks content.

4.substantive information or creative material viewed in contrast to its actual or potential manner of presentation: publishers, record companies, and other content providers; a flashy Web site, but without much content.

5.that which may be perceived in something: the latent versus the manifest content of a dream.

6.Philosophy, Logic. the sum of the attributes or notions comprised in a given conception; the substance or matter of cognition.

7.power of containing; holding capacity: The bowl's content is three quarts.

8.volume, area, or extent; size.

9.the amount contained.

10.Linguistics. the system of meanings or semantic values specific to a language (opposed to expression ).

11.

a.Mathematics. the greatest common divisor of all the coefficients of a given polynomial. Compareprimitive polynomial.

b.any abstraction of the concept of length, area, or volume.

Does it make a difference in an artists work, if they have a studio they work in? I remember in College, when I had my own space to work in, and it was fabulous. I worked in a frenzy, and in constant struggle to fill the walls of my studio with drawings. The space needs to be empty, with no inspirational images, just my work and me. I cannot work at home, home is draining me of myself. I need a place that is void of any distractions.

Image Source: Cooper Art Designs Flickr

Artists

2009-06-23T11:27:00.000-07:00

Below are my findings for the day. I am attracted to a sense of contemplation in an art work. I am attracted to people, drawings, unfinished looking pieces, transparency, and clashing patterns.

William Eggleston

Image Source: Cameraposition
Sophie Jodoin.
Idea for Large Sculpture #2
2002-2003

Image Source: Artnet
Sophie Jodoin.
Bathroom Scene #6

Image Source: Artnet

David Hockney Drawing

Image Source: Camera Lucida

David Hockney Drawing

Image Source: Camera Lucida

David Hockney

Image Source: Tomatocan

Alex kanevsky

2009-06-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

Fantastic works in progress by artist Alex Kanevsky. Click here to see his process. He responded to the question posed by Making Art: Dialogues, Q. Is painting a comforting endeavor, or is it terrifiying? maybe neither? what’s your relationship to the process?

A. Certainly not comforting. Who wants comforting? It is not a sofa. Nor is it terrifying. Painting is not something I do to a canvas. It is a form of conversation, and just like a conversation it can turn out exciting, boring, ugly, beautiful, enlightening. Like a conversation, it can have unexpected turns, sudden discoveries and hidden subtext and periods of silence. All this is what makes painting endlessly fascinating.

My time without TV

2009-06-19T20:48:00.000-07:00

Very nice. I worked a bit. It is really hard not to give up and go watch tv, to "take a break." But, i will go to bed soon, without TV as a night cap. The urge is strong.

This piece: Process. Started with Brown Taco Bell Napkins. No plan, just went. Drew a pattern in Micron. Then, on a second napkin, painted it with white acrylic. Uneven edges were blended with graphite. The napkins were sewn together. They look bruised. They were then scanned a few days ago and used as this blogs Graphic. Tonight, I took the napkins and varnished them to an old piece of drawing paper from the 70's. Michael Crotty left to live on a Ranch in Colorado and gave me the oldest paper, with sun burned edges. It is BEAUTIFUL, and fragile, and so transparent. After varnishing the napkins to this paper, I added a bronze dust, and saw it was too Bronz-ey. I decided to play with a transparent white acrylic and hated that as well, washing it with water. Then came the Phthalo Blue, watered down, and then blotted off, which gave a nice stained bruising to the paper. I brought out the Payne's grey and went to work, laying tape over the napkin, painting with a que tip, wiping off, and then ripping off the tape, which took off some of the napkin. It was a controlled rip. I added a bit of photocopied linens and then added some graphics with the micron. My favorite was adding the payne's dots to the surface. I am looking forward to seeing where this goes next.

Addicted to TV

2009-06-19T17:36:00.000-07:00

I waste more than 3 hours a day watching television. By the time I am 75, I will have waisted 9.5 years of my life. Thats worse than smoking. I might as well trade TV for Cigarettes. I have hated television for years, and yet, I have never given it up. THey say that watching TV can decrease your problem solving abilities. The funny thing, is that over the past few years, I have felt dumber and dumber. Things take a while for me to grasp and figure out. But, I know I'm not dumb. I know it is going to be hard, but I am going to quit TV this week. I will document it here.

I remember the summer i went to an Art Camp for kids in all areas of art, I was a Junior in high school i think. I don't remember watching any TV, and i also remember it being one of the best times in my life... in fact, all the enjoyable times in my life have been when i am too busy to watch tv, i have more energy, and accomplish more. Yup. I've got to quit tv... But how??? Do they have a support group for people who are addicted to tv?

Ivan Albright

2009-06-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

Ivan Albright. I think it would have been great to study under him as a student. He would spend months, sometimes years working on the same painting.

Older Work

2009-06-17T18:39:00.001-07:00

This is my work from a few years ago. I think its good to take a good hard look at it. To remember what it was like to work that hard, and care so much about what I was working on.

Unidentified Persons in America's County Morgues. 56 Portraits. 5"x7." Acrylic on Hardboard.

Fish on wallpaper. 22" x 11." Ink, Acrylic, & Graphite on Paper.

Burial Site for the Unidentified. 2' x 4.' Graphite and Ink on Vellum.

about myself

2009-06-16T09:34:00.001-07:00

This was me 3 years ago. I haven't done any work since college and am looking to get IT back. We can only hope I care enough to take the plunge, otherwise, I may continue in this constant state of boredom.