30 Day Challenges - I'll Make a Man Out of You

Hello world!

It has been a long time without you... but I think I'd like to write a bit more... and express myself a bit more. It's been a busy summer filled with work and I'd like to do something for me.

I stumbled accross a couple of "30 day challenges" online and I've been mulling it over and I'd like to set some goals for myself. Lately I feel like I have had to be a grown up and I'm not sure I'm ready for that. So I think goal-setting is good... but creativity is better.

These two I caught on Allison Lehman's blog that I stumbled upon using STUMBLEUPON.

Handwriting Tag like Ali?

  sooooo... Ali posted this:

Loteria de mi famila - almost complete!

Well here you go.. some almost complete works! Still some final touches needed.. but basically finished. Unless I decide to do the one of my dad as the sun.. so maybe I will do that...
Images after the break!

WIP - loteria de mi familia

WIP! Almost complete (critique tomorrow).
Alex L kept me company while I painted! (hence the I HEART AL EX)

This one of my dad is pretty much done. Just need to put in the face/skull-face. And finish the lamp...
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More after the break...

loteria series

Back to the old inspiration... looking at those Loteria cards

I'll be working on those some more. My goodness third year is pretty much almost done. One more day of classes then this painting series + one more essay.


photos soon.

Dia de Lost Muertos - Final

I'll just go ahead and leave these here...

Mama y Abuelito Bailando:

[MORE AFTER THE BREAK!]

WIP - painting of Dad for Dia de Los Muertos Portrait series

So I'm LOVING the new stuff I've been painting.

Last night I started this painting.. and finished it (by 2am!) Inspired by a fantastic b+w self-portrait of my Daddy...

This is just a photo of my other series I'm working on - with Loteria cards as inspiration.. more on that later. (I was considering making Ali "La Borracha" with her cute lil bachelorette tiara on.. but she'll be the mermaid instead)

Getting started! Cute little 8x10 wood board.

WIP space - I'm going to miss the studio so much over the summer. I'd rent it out but the fee this summer is insane I think.. I'll look into it.

palette!

I'll post up the final paintings soon!

papel picado!

In good news and full of happiness. I figured out what felt wrong about the other painting (this one)

It was just missing something at the top.. the top 2 inches were empty.. and needed something nice.

Here's the WIP (finished product soon!)

grumble grumble

I will be happy if I never have to look at oil paints again.. Hopefully this is the last one.

crunch time!

Exams exams exams...

More importantly.. all of these essays that need to be completed. In addition to paintings. TIME TO FIGHT!

mi amor - WIP

First painting of Monique!

I didn't realize that I'd never painted her or anything...

but here she is!

what do you think, should I put in the glasses?

VOTE: []YES []NO []MAYBE

ali catrina

Painting cute little ali!

Mama y Abuelito bailando

Painting is going well so far!

I'm really enjoying the experience.

My mom is such a babe!

more to come!

crows at hurdman

On my way home from school I saw these crows at the Hurdman bus station. I had to get off and try and take a few pictures... If only I had my tripod then the sunset would've been perfect!

Still it was pretty fun.. I felt like I was in The Birds...

Sexy Lady

Something I drew in horror+fic. Thanks Tor for the faboosh insipration <3 Your computer contains the most lovely images to be inspired by.

Grumpy birds "I'm grumpy when you're not around"

Old photos and new paintings

I think I'm happy to put these together....

Both still a WIP I think? maybe? Maybe not?

P

PS: Watched Evita. So wonderful. Love Antonio Banderas in that...

First Painting of the year...

WIP!
Source image:

WIP:

So far I like it.

**UPDATE: (better photo and a bit more on the first doorway)

Back to School

Well... It's time for school again!

2 paintings this sem.. I'll try and post more frequently. I'll have a total of 5 works (min) per course.. so there should be 10 paintings coming soon! Perhaps more?


Also.. I'm trying to do an artistic rendering of a room for a friend. I am a bit clueless- but I think I can make it work.


**UPDATE: AND we need to get cracking on our show for Five&One. I think the show title we went with may be.. "caught in the moment" ? Maybe?

I'm thinking of a painting of this photo:

and also a Shane (L word) inspired one..

Critique

So here's the painting from my crit (Friday's class).

I'm not too sure it went over very well. I feel a bit defeated to be honest. I didn't get a sense that it was liked...at all.

But hey... here it is. I like it, that's what counts sometimes.

 

Source image

There it is! I really enjoyed painting it.. I really enjoyed the class... I may feel better about all of this in a week or so.

On a side note: Yoga with Michelle tonight (with my Mom and Ali!) - SO amazing! I'm sore already.

***

UPDATE:

I found the official source imagery. 

and here is my write up:

"

Photography allegedly killed Painting, and now Digital is killing Analog.

My inspiration for this painting comes directly from my sources. Not only my source images (taken from 35mm film) but from my personal sources that inspire me in art. I feel displaced in my life and I've always used art as a tool to reconnect with myself and more specifically my roots in Mexico. Mexican Dia de los Muertos has continued to inspire me aesthetically and spiritually within my art.

The specific source image used is the Kodak Digital LAD Test Image found at the head of several commercial and trailer reels in 35mm film. This image is used as an aid to produce properly exposed negatives and prints. The film industry is moving away from 35mm film and towards Digital formats implementing new technology in Projection Booths making the old machinery and the Projectionists obsolete.

In short, this image represents, to me, the death of the Projectionist. I have combined this image with iconic representations of papel picado from Mexican Dia de los Muertos. Paired together I am celebrating what I find beautiful about film; but also celebrating an aspect of the world that is not foreign to me.

This juxtaposition of the Kodak LAD Test image on film combined with the Mexican Papel Picado, for me, expresses a self-portrait from within. Film and Projection has been an obsession and fascination of mine over the past three years that has appeared as a constant theme within my art. Furthermore my tendency to feel out of place and my struggle to connect to Mexico is articulated through the Papel Picado that quietly decorates and interrupts the film. In an effort to express my sense of displacement the portrait was painted sideways at an angle and "backwards" (also so that the words were not immediately legible, ie: distracting). In addition, Film is used as a recording tool where one can go back and retrace specific instances in time, specific memories, and relive them shortly.

Film Projection is an unseen world to most viewers and I enjoy sharing my fascination with these unseen images with an audience.  To further this collection I would like to expand on the use of Mexican imagery to further illustrate my concepts.

"

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