Karma 04 / Samskara

Karma 04

Ink and acrylic on panel. 36x48 inches. 2010

This is the fourth piece in my Karma Series (they seem to be getting bigger each time I do a new one!). Check out the first three here and here. 

The relationship between karma and samskara has been front and center in my life over the past month or so. Big changes are underway (more info coming soon!), and I think it’s really important that I stay aware of possible samskaras (automatic responses) that can take over in stressful situations. Hopefully I’ll be able to use some of what I’ve learned through the painting process and meditating on these ideas to achieve positive results.

North Carolina Museum of Art: Art of the Auction 2011

 Tangential Thinking (03)

The North Carolina Museum of Art just posted online all the available works in their upcoming Art of the Auction event that will benefit the North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation. I’m honored that one of my paintings was chosen for inclusion in the auction.

The work will be on display at the museum from May 6–20, and the live auction will be held on May 21.

Go check it out!

Spring Weekend in Southern Utah

 

Matt and I spent the weekend poking around one of our favorite springtime stomping grounds—Southeast Utah. Matt took this photo of the Colorado River near Lake Powell, with the Henry Mountains in the background. Check out more of his beautiful landscape photographs here.

 

This was the view of the full moon from our campsite in Lower Johns Canyon, on the edge of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Lots of amazing Native American rock art was there to be admired.

I think Kokopelli might be one of the figures featured on this rock (above, center). Kokopelli is a fertility god, according to the Hopi tribe. He’s also considered to be a trickster and represents the spirit of music. He is usually pictured playing a flute.

Mojo and Kala had a blast exploring the canyon. This was Kala’s first camping trip, and I think it agreed with her! I wish I’d gotten more photos of her romping around in the creek. She loved splashing around and sprinting through the water pools even as Mojo was quite content to watch from the sidelines.

North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation: Art of the Auction 2011

Tangential Thinking (03), 2010

Ink and gouache on paper on panel

A few weeks ago, I submitted some of my work to be considered for the North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation’s inaugural Art of the Auction event. I just found out that my painting, Tangential Thinking (03), was chosen by the jury for inclusion in the auction!

There’s a special sentimental feeling I have about this opportunity, because I spent a lot of time at the North Carolina Museum of Art as a young art lover. As a design student at NC State University I would often go to the museum, choose a painting, and just sit in the gallery staring at it until I felt I understood something about it’s essence... And now one of my own pieces is going to be a part of the life of the institution. Perhaps, if I’m fortunate, one of my works will someday make it into the museum’s permanent collection.

My piece will be on view at the Auction Preview on May 6 and remain on display for two weeks leading up to the Art of the Auction event on May 21 at 7pm.

Cindy Sherman: Favorite Famous Artists / Part 8

I mentioned in some of my earlier “Favorite Famous Artists” posts about Barbara Kruger and Georgia O'Keefe that I've always loved Feminist art. I especially like art that is somehow creepy or disturbing in some way (see my post on Francis Bacon). As a young artist, I loved when women artists were in your face. I wanted to be in your face, too!

Even though I’m not usually inspired by photography, there is something about Cindy Sherman’s work that grabs me, on a visceral level (which is exactly where I like it!). Her photographs are painterly, imaginative, and abstract, even though the images are (sort-of) representational. The colors and lighting are so vivid, so saturated, so dramatic. As a viewer, I really get a sense of emotion, something sinister under the surface, something surreal and dreamlike.

Maybe activist art about Feminist issues has fallen somewhat out of fashion since the 1980s, but I think it’s as relevant now as much as ever... especially with many of the services that benefit women (and children) who live in poverty on the government’s budget chopping block. Cindy Sherman’s work isn’t directly about these issues, but I think her female caricatures are so powerful and disturbing precisely because they reflect something truthful about the way women are (de)valued in our culture.

Downtown L.A. Fashion District Mannequins

On Friday morning I went down to the Fashion District in Downtown Los Angeles to get some visual stimulation, and to see what’s new at Michael Levine’s fabric store. Whenever I’m in L.A., I like to see what’s new.

These two displays of head-wear were right next to each other on the street. I like the juxtaposition of the rainbow-colored wigs next to the rainbow umbrella (top). And there was just something funny (and a little creepy) about all those stuffed animal hats, especially on the head with drawn-on eyes (bottom).

I bought two small blue feather boas for $2.50 each. I have an idea I want to try with one of my paintings. If it works out, you’ll probably see it in a future blog post.

Grand Junction Free Press: My Art Featured Today!

My artwork and trip to The Artist Project New York were featured in today’s Grand Junction Free Press!

Western Colorado Center for the Arts Curator (and my friend) Camille Silverman said about my work, “You can feel her restraint and her letting go of control within the body of work. That’s interesting; it adds this tension and release that makes her work alive.”

This summer, I’ll be teaching a workshop at the Art Center based on processes for conceptualizing and creating abstract art. It is already open for registration and space is limited. Find out more here.

New York to Colorado: Road Trip Detour(s)

 A covered bridge in Greenup, Illinois

After my art show in New York City, Matt and I decided to take the scenic route back home to Colorado. The first couple days were dreary and rainy, so we waited to take our detours until the weather was more pleasant.

We found an old road in Illinois called the Old National Road (US Hwy 40). It was America’s first transcontinental highway, before the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System was implemented. It once ran all the way from Atlantic City to San Francisco.

 

Gateway Arch at dusk in St. Louis, Missouri

As we traveled, Matt and I listened to the audio book of On The Road by Jack Kerouac. He mentions many of the places we passed through on our journey cross-country. I suspect the characters spent a lot of time hitchhiking along the Old National Road. Of course, now I'm obsessed with this book. I don’t know how I never read it before. Apparently, they’re making a movie to be released sometime soon.

A silver lining somewhere in central Kansas

Kansas is comprised of flat, rolling plains. Many of the small towns we passed through seemed to be half-deserted, their better days behind them. Mojo wore himself out barking at cows as we passed by. At dusk, our spirits were lifted by this beautiful glowing cloud with a silver lining.

Mojo, exhausted after confronting all those cows

I Dreamt of Things: Sand Storm

I dreamt of an immense windstorm. Dust blew all around, darkening the sky as far as the eye could see. Sand dunes buried all the local homes. No one seemed to notice. Everyone went about their business as usual.

The Artist Project New York: My Experience

 Unpacking and hanging the paintings. 

Matt and I arrived at Pier 92 in New York City to set up my booth for The Artist Project New York after a 3-day drive cross-country from Colorado.

Here I am, sitting in my booth.

Overall, I think the quality of the work on display was very good, and professional (Check out The Artist Project New York Facebook page for images). I met tons of people, got lots of great feedback, shared my info with some interior designers, and met several gallery owners who were interested in displaying my work. Most importantly, I was able to develop the narratives that best describe my work to everyday art lovers.

I met people who were genuinely moved by my paintings. Two separate women had such strong experiences, they were nearly brought to tears! These are truly the moments that artists (at least myself) hope to achieve through their work — the transcendental communication, the electric connection, with the heart of another human being.

This is the other side of the booth. 

If I go again next year, I think I'll fork over the extra money for more lights. The only downside of this show is that the booth fee is so expensive, and then you have to pay extra for every little thing (lights $90/ea, the table was over $100, the chair over $50, internet access, and electricity are all extra — and they’re only rentals... highway robbery!), on top of travel expenses. Luckily, we were able to stay with Matt’s family, and my mom gave us a gazillion Marriott points we used to stay in Manhattan for a couple nights during the show.

I will also bring an iPod player to have music in my booth. It was so quiet on the pier, except for the rattle and hum of the industrial air conditioner. I think some music will add a bit of excitement and energy to the air! Research shows that people are more likely to linger longer and spend more money when there’s well-considered music playing in the background.

Come See Me at Artist Project NY in March!

 

I will be in New York City for The Artist Project New York from March 17-20. Click the logo above to get your complimentary tickets to come out and see me and my work in person!

Check me out at Booth #130.

In association with the Architectural Digest Home Show: 

The Artist Project New York
March 17-20, 2011
PIER 92 • 55TH ST AT WEST SIDE HIGHWAY.
NEW YORK CITY

Chitta Vritti 02 & 03

Chitta Vritti 02: Night Fire

Mixed media on panel

24x48 inches. 2011

Here are a couple new works in my Chitta Vritti series. See the first one here.

Chitta Vritti 03: You Like Mustard

Mixed media on panel

24x24 inches. 2011

Patanjali, sage and writer of the bedrock text on yoga practice—The Yoga Sutras, begins his famous work with the statement “Yogas citta vrtti nirodaha”. In English, this phrase roughly translates to: “Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.” This new series of paintings seeks to juxtapose the chitta vritti (mental chatter) against its opposite (mental stillness). 

Richard Serra: Favorite Famous Artists / Part 7

My first job as a graphic designer out of Cranbrook was working at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. As soon as I arrived , I was asked to design the invitation to Richard Serra’s retrospective. I’ve read stories about Mr. Serra’s temper and passion, but he was nothing but welcoming and friendly to me when I showed him the comps of the invitation. I was in awe.

I got to walk around behind the scenes as his work was being installed at MOCA at the Geffen Contemporary. If I remember correctly, they had to cut a giant hole in the side of the building in order to get the work inside.

It’s hard to talk about Richard Serra’s sculptures, because they’re better experienced first-hand. I wonder if he has ever been influenced by the slot canyons of Utah’s red rock canyon country. His leaning and twisting surfaces of steel rusting away, remind me of the red iron-stained walls of the natural rock canyons out West.

 The San Rafael Reef, Utah

Little Wild Horse Canyon

My Work Chosen for “Process of Peace” Exhibit

  Jewels of the Mind (01)

Ink on paper mounted on board

24x24 inches. 2010

These two pieces were chosen by curator Sarah McCann for her Process of Peace exhibition at the Towson Arts Collective in Towson, Maryland (just outside Baltimore).

The exhibition will be on view from March 4 – May 20 at the Towson Arts Collective. Since I won’t be able to attend the exhibition in person, if you get a chance to see it please let me know how it looks!

Intertwining Strands of Something ... (06)

Ink and gouache on paper mounted on board
Triptych, 6x19 inches. 2011

Click on the image above to see it larger.

I Dreamt of Things: Dinner in the Sky

 

I dreamt that Matt and I were having dinner high up in the sky atop a small round pedestal.