Demo Number Two

Last Thursday I did a demo at the San Gabriel Fine Arts Association to a small but very receptive group of members. I was a tad nervous after a long drive from Marina del Rey but I think things went swimmingly. I decided to paint an airplane from a picture I took at the Burbank airport with the intention of not only explaining whatever techniques I thought of but also trying to convey that a painting can be lurking anywhere, even in a seemingly sterile environment like Los Angeles.
My main emphasis painting the piece was the idea of a verbalized "concept" or main idea before starting. Also the avoidance of errors of color, drawing (including perspective) and tonal value while in pursuit of the idea. And finally a few notes of reflections and edges as defining of shapes rather than lines and detail.

Thank you Alice Lee and all the organizers for a nice evening of fun.

Ribbons, ribbons

After all the October events and having a bit more time in my hands due to vacation, I started reconsidering my painting direction. Armando makes me reconsider it *every day* but that is another story :). When I get in this kind of "funk", I find it useful to go stroll in a museum or a good exhibit to stay enthusiastic and even though I have no ego problems, humble and conscious of the way ahead. I also find it helpful to enter smaller events and socialize with artists and people interested in art.

So

a) I visited the Laguna Plein Air 2009 event and let my jaw drop in front of the Ray Roberts, Calvin Liang, Jennifer McChristian, Greg La Rock, Ken De Waard , Bryan Scott Taylor and J. Budicin masterpieces among others. I also took a peek through the "Pasadena, City of Trees" organized by the California Art Club.

b) I entered some paintings in the San Gabriel Fine Arts Fall show -that is where I got the ribbons in the pictures- as well as the Craftsman Weekend in Pasadena where my gallery Jose Vera had a booth. I also entered the miniature show at the Segil gallery which afforded me the opportunity to talk with Jason Situ and Laura Segil for a while.




Here are Tania Verafiled and myself at the Masonic Temple in Old Pasadena during the Craftsman weekend. My paintings separate us, figuratively speaking.


So many questions bubbling in my head. One is the matter of size. Painting bigger and not in just one session as I usually do. I am not a subscriber of bigger is better but it would be interesting to see a painting through in a larger scale. The other is the question of the physical studio. Part of the reason I don't tackle certain projects is a lack of appropriate space. I need to work on a solution and quickly. And of course the question of "quality". That I don't expect to ever solve.... fortunately.

SLO Quick Draw

This is the part of the week when all participating artists paint a 2 hour piece around the Mission Plaza. My painting reached a high price so needless to say I was elated. (Thanks Ray and Elaine!) Here are two pics of the painting and the auction.

San Luis Obispo 2009

I just came back from San Luis Obispo Plen Air 2009. This event gets better and better every year. The selection of artists was amazing. The main benefit any artist can obtain from entering this events is beyond monetary. Sales this year were a little slow and that can damage the validation necessary to "keep at it" for sure. I sold four paintings so I can't really complain.
The main benefit comes from knowing some wonderful people and learning from all. I was lucky to room with Ken DeWaard. This master from Wisconsin is talented beyond words and has a natural ability to tackle big formats with dynamic brushtrokes and a very solid concept. Check out his website.
Some pics form the event. Here are Greg La Rock, Ken De Waard and Mike Rada, three masters I was lucky to meet. Catch them at Laguna Beach next weekend!
A view from the gallery in the Art Center. The paintings in the front are Scott Lloyd Anderson's.And here are Ed Terpening and Chuck Kovacic in front of Ed's paintings.

Here my corner of the gallery....all these are sold!

vendedor de paletas

Adding people to your paintings definitely makes them more narrative. I was painting in Hollenbeck part in East Los Angeles. A whole school of children was leaving school soon after I settled. Between comments like "Not bad" and "That's rad"(really?), most of the kids were fascinated by the fact that I added a "vendedor de paletas" in the background, a popsicle salesman. One kid paused for a bit and blurted "So how do you do it?" I immediately recognized a certain urgency I used to have regarding painting (I still do) so I put down the brushes for a minute and gave him some hints: can you see how things far away look more and more like the sky color? what color are the tree trunks, really? (very confused look after I said they are not really that brown and compared them to his shoes). If you mix yellow and blue, what do you get? When he started to show signs of saturation I felt my job was done. It is work kid. Forever. But it is fun work.

San Fernando (III)

Endured the blustery Santa Ana's in the San Fernando Valley last weekend. A girl came out of the shop behind where I was painting and said. "Do you mind me asking *why* are you painting ?" Good question. I mumbled something unconvincing. She looked around and said "Oh, You are painting suburbia." I thought, well yes, I guess I am painting "suburbia". I figured she must have wanted to sound educated or something ....only later I noticed the name of the gown shop I was painting: Suburbia. A poem in pink, chiffon and fluorescent lighting.

Some paintings from North Tahoe.

This was my favorite painting, a small lagoon around Donner Lake. I liked the abstraction of the water reflections and the row of trunks in the back as a lattice of sorts.
The second one was my last painting (currently at Backstreet Gallery in Truckee) , I painted it in an almost impossibly beautiful spot by the Truckee river.