In Memoriam
I’ve been thinking about getting a memorial tattoo for Granny. I want something on my inner elbow that I can see when I paint. just something small that will make me smile and remember her.
Granny’s favorite advice was go with the flow. it’s something that still resonates with me. she was a very relaxed person, the very epitome of practicing what she preached. I, on the other hand, am wound up tighter than a swiss watch. when I find everything getting to me it’s like I hear her voice telling me to just go with the flow. especially when I’m painting. she always taught me to relax when creating and let my art flow through me and I want to remember that always. now, I know that there is nothing that will make me forget, she’s etched in my memory, but a visual reminder that’s always there just when I need it. that sounds wonderful to me!
I just want something small. no outlines, just filled ink that looks like watercolor wash on my skin about the size of a 50c piece. my ideas are either a small chinese air cloud or a sakura blossom in some water. delicate, classic and all about the flow.
I miss you Granny!
What I Like Most About My Job – Artistic Freedom!
Silf - Acrylic and Gesso on Canvas by Jennie Rosenbaum
Being an artist is like being a kid in a candy store. the world is full of colorful possibilities- ideas overflowing, shiny packages and tasty treats waiting to be explored. there is always something new around the corner!
at other times it’s like being the owner. you get the same surroundings, but you get to make money from it and work hard for your passion.
I love having a job where I am paid to let my mind wander. where I can live on my imagination. I also get free reign to be a complete disorganized mess (read: artistic), to be grouchy randomly and to wear what I like.
I also have Pink hair. or purple, or teal or whatever I want. it’s ultimate freedom to be myself.
Nude of the Week – Ennui
Watercolor and Pencil on Watercolor board
16.6×11.7 in
$200
Watercolors are suiting me very well at the moment, I can fit them in with my schedule easily allowing me to enjoy studio time more often- even if it is only for 10 minutes! the drying time tends to take about one breastfeed’s worth.
it’s often said that people either work best in tones or colors. I am (surprise surprise) very tonal! watercolors give me a chance to stretch my color legs and have a play. they are also great for loosening up my technique and getting into the flow of things. it’s very relaxing!
friday nude quotes
“We’ve been swimming at nude beaches and I love to go skinny dipping, but I’m sorry, sitting on top of a mountain, that’s just, you’re trying to show off or something. That’s ridiculous.”
what I had for breakfast…not!
Interlaced – 12×12 Oils on Canvas
It’s been becoming apparent to me that I don’t actually write about myself very much in my own blog. this has come about for a number of reasons. Mainly, it’s because I have a mostly loathe/hate relationship with myself and the thought of writing about myself is a worry. I don’t want to bore people by discussing what I had for breakfast or mentioning my day to day trials with pain management, being a new parent or breastfeeding and all the millions of things that go into making me who I am. I worry about minutiae and obsess and never end up writing.
I like to keep a professional blog, with relevant and interesting information, but it is increasingly missing that personal element. and I think that is a bad idea. I started this to be a journal of my progress as an artist, and as my art is intimately tied up with who I am it makes sense that I should write about that too! I realize I don’t share good news when it happens, or, increasingly, no news at all and that just isn’t right. being an artist is more than just your genre or your finished works, it’s about the person behind it all. I promise I will try to keep it relevant, and hopefully interesting! and no, I won’t talk about my choice of breakfast!
Nude of the Week – Pop Daz Render
Daz|Studio render
Not quite sure about the lighting in this one, I really like the shadows on the thigh, but not so much the ones on the chest. the pose came really fast, but the lighting was a trick as usual – still, that’s where painting can come in! a chance to fix up the discrepancies and play with the elements I like while downplaying the ones I don’t. I love not having to paint exactly what I see, imagine how boring the world would be then!
Link to the original sketch here
Daz|Studio products used
Figure: Victoria 4 *free*
Character: Eve
Hair and Hat: Sienna Hair
Lighting: Studiolight Pro
Shoes: Stylish Shoes
Morphs: Morphs++ NGM for V4
friday nude quotes
“The trouble with nude dancing is that not everything stops when the music stops. [on the musical "Oh! Calcutta!"]”
Building Blocks in Michigan ‘Not a sex act’
Nonetheless, Miller says this week Chatterley will come to St. Joseph to disassemble the sculpture and re-assemble it inside the gallery. That way it will be out of the view of the general public.
“We are hearing their voices and because of the sensitivities of some, we’ll move it into the galleries,” said Metz.
“To have to drive back and move it because people are offended by the content, in my wildest dreams, I’d never expected that piece to do it,” Chatterley added.
“I want to be very clear. There is not a sex act happening in this work. There is no genitalia. If you look at it closely, there is not a sex act happening in this work. The Krasl would not put a piece of work on display in which the interpretation I’ve heard would be happening. We would never do that. I do empathize. I do see where people could have that interpretation,” says Miller.
The fallout from “Building Blocks,” however, is creating some unintended consequences.
“I’m both extremely frustrated and elated. I’ve seen more people stop and look at our sculpture than in the last two years,” Miller says.[From Sculpting controversy on the lakeshore | WSBT - News, Weather, Sports South Bend | Local News ]
I think it’s great that the arts center is receiving more visitors and notice as a result, that’s a great way to expose people to art. it’s a shame that the controversy is forcing them to move the sculpture. I agree with the Artist Mark Chatterley that it comes as a real surprise. I can’t help but think that if they move the piece the people who think that it’s a sexual piece will feel vindicated. even others will be wondering if there is something wrong. giving in to the great unwashed often makes them believe that they were right all along. this ends up being counter productive for the arts. take a look a the alt tag for this piece in the article- it;s titled and named “obscene_art.jpg” -does that tell you something? it might be for Google’s benefit or it might be their opinion but either way it seems to be very biased
What gets me is that these can barely be called nudes. they are so androgynous and stylized that they don’t have any details that might be offensive. it’s the positioning of these humanoids that seems to be the issue for everyone, get your head out of the gutter! the thing about art is that you bring what is in your mind to what you see.
Do you think this piece is dirty?
Nude of the Week – Apex
Oils on Canvas
10×12 in
$200
a random inspiration leading to a random painting! this was one of those occasions where it all just clicked together, I knew the exact pose, it was easy to model, the lighting just fell into place and the shadows created such an interesting effect! I am thinking of revisiting this pose in a couple of other angles just to play around. I especially like how the pose continues off the edge and is echoed by the shadow of her hips on the background – all accidental, all very kewl.
friday nude quotes
“If you get invited to your first orgy, don’t just show up nude. That’s a common mistake. You have to let nudity “happen.”
Nude of the Week – Pop Sketchbook library sketch.
Watercolor and Pencil on Paper
Sketchbook Library Burlesque Sketch.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this series lately, I’m looking forward to painting it so much and a number of people are very interested in the works so I’ve been thinking of approaching this series a bit differently. rather than painting the entire series in one hit and doing an exhibition I am thinking of doing them commission style where collectors can pre-order the painting they like. This will allow for you to have some say as well- what do you think of that idea?
I’ll write more about it later with more details. oh and fair warning, I’m getting a new sketchbook library sketchbook soon.. the theme is ‘In Flight’.. ooooh…
friday nude quotes
“Nothing to do but work,
Nothing to eat but food,
Nothing to wear but clothes
To keep one from going nude.”
Unscheduled nudity and vomiting- visitors react to Abramovic at MoMA
He just ran up to the outer ropes stuck his fingers down his throat and threw up. He then stumbled back and tried to throw up again, but not much came out. The guards grabbed him and kicked him out. Marina didn’t move the whole time
[From Vomit! Nudity! Litter! Marina Abramovic's Marathon Performance Ends In Chaos]
The Artist is Present has now finished it’s run at MoMA. this piece has been laced with controversy from the beginning and has fascinated the public and the web. what is particularly interesting is the implied permission for audience participation that has led to behavior both interesting, sad and strange. it is extremely sad that some visitors felt the need to grope the nude figures on display, it’s strange that someone voiced his lack of appreciation by vomiting and it’s very interesting that a woman was so moved by the exhibition that she chose to do her pace to face participation in the nude.
…I thought hard about how to thank her—write a letter, make a film and hand it to her when I sat with her? When I landed on the idea of sitting naked across from her, I knew that was it. I could be, for a moment, as vulnerable to her as she constantly makes herself to us.
Alas, when her moment came, and she disrobed, seven security guards quickly made their way over to escort her out of the museum. Decker tells us:
I thought nudity would bring joy, spontaneity! Not TEARS, CHAOS. I honestly thought that the worst that would happen was that I would be asked to put my clothes back on. I still can’t believe I was escorted out of the building by a group of guards and told that if I returned, I would be arrested. In “The Artist is Present,” the audience is a huge part of the work, and by entering that space and following the rules (sit silently, do not bring anything into the space, maintain eye contact, and the unstated one: don’t touch Marina), I expected any audience member could stay as long as he or she was willing to be present.
I actually understand her thinking here, it’s the kind of statement I would have been tempted to make as well. sometimes things can only be expressed with nudity. it’s a shame that MoMA didn’t see it that way, perhaps if she had pre-arranged it, it would have been fine. I wonder if it was the act of getting undressed that was the problem rather than the nudity itself. it seems to me nudity is often not remarkable, but the process of moving from clothed to nude creates a sexual context, and the inappropriateness. I do wish that Decker had been allowed to express herself the way she wanted.
This piece keeps reminding me of the buckingham palace guards. and reminds me of how seeing that stoic determination and discipline makes people irrationally want to break it. it’s a need we seem to have. why is that?
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