three things I'm in love with

Berlin, Germany

July 2010

I took this picture on my trip to Germany this past summer, and have no idea why I've kept it hidden this long. In reality, it is the epitome of three of the major things that I am constantly drawn to both in photos I take, and paintings I do (even in things I buy!): --color, --grids,--architecture. And one other one I just now thought of was: my obsession with things that are extremely similar, but just slightly varying. I even day-dream of making a painting that is just an entire grid filled with slightly different shades of white (or any color really).

 It is refreshing to me to have this ordered, laid out structure---that sets down the foundation for everything. The excitement then for me is getting to discover the slight differences between each square--getting to explore each section within the frame, essentially. The compare and contrast section of tests always were my strong-point.

Reflecting on these things, I feel like so much of it is clearly traced to my family. Two of my brothers and my Dad are all engineers, and my grandfather and uncle are builders---so in a lot of ways... it makes sense that I think in terms of structure and order, grids and architecture. The love for color though (especially bright color), I think is all my own. 

on my studio wall

it's pouring rain outside right now, and I even just heard thunder---
campus is just an absolute flood.

I had to run from my last class to the painting studio, just a few minutes ago, and was stuck outside the locked door for a full minute, trying to scramble through my bag to find my i.d. card, getting dumped on----finally found it, and burst inside, and I'm now currently seeking refuge in my studio, until my next class starts in a half hour.

So I thought I'd share my drawing of Ray, which I did a few weeks ago in class, and is currently hanging on my studio wall

last year's drawing of the same model, Ray

Garnett's Birthday: Huntington Beach Pier 17

marvelous friends, indeed. 

One Orange Wall

love the contrast here of stillness (i.e. major straight on, straight-forward geometry) with past movement, past actions. 

absolutely nothing happening here, on this wall, in this space----- but so many traces of recent (& not so recent) activity.

 posting and removing, opening and closing, attaching and dismantling, painting and scraping. 

Tuesday

i tend to post at a pretty slow and steady pace, and sometimes end up posting photos or paintings from a month or two ago (if not longer). but the best part about this is that I also tend to post images that that day felt like me, felt just how I was feeling.

 sometimes it's the colors, or it's the composition, or the subject matter. with today being a tired tuesday, full of much work ahead of me, something simple, subdued---but highly ordered---hit just the spot.