Progress on A Rainy Day Wildfire...

I'm working on my new piece for Portland City Art's April show, themed, "A Rainy Day Wildfire".
This is the largest I've worked in scratch board so far (16 x 20), and poses all it's own challenges. Working in scratch board has been interesting so far. I'm drawing light, only light, and ignoring the shadows, which is the opposite of what I'm used to.

For this piece, I plan to finish it in black and white with red lighting filtering through an open window (There will probably also be some blue tones). This will be the first real attempt with this styling, which is what I plan for the next series, which will be the couple series to the last Perpetual Motion series, focusing on all those moments we cherish and revel in once the sun sets.

My photographer friend, Benjamin Frothingham took the photo for me. At one point, I wasn't sure if we were going to get the shot. First I lost my male model, then once I had a new male model, I lost my female model, found another one, and the guy dropped out. At the end of the night, my original photographer had gone home for the night and we were left with two girls and no photographer. Benjamin came to my rescue and shot the piece for me, and in the end, I decided to use what I had, the two girls. It's a moment I haven't captured so far with numberism, and one that is perfect for the piece, actually.

So after all the half stops and reversals, we got the shot, and I am now diligently working on it so that it will be ready for the show on April 15th.

It's 16 x 20 inches, and so far, I've drawn about 2 inches. There's much work to be done! You can assume that I'll be in my drawing room all next week and hardly reachable.

Here's a quick snap shot of the candle. (I won't be posting the finished piece online until after the show, so if you want to see it, you'll have to come.) :)

The image below is about 2.5 inches tall.




Also, I will be at Swan Day working on this today from 12 - 5pm at the Portland Expo Center. Seven of my originals are hanging (some new). They gave me a nice wide space for me and my booth, so I also have prints with me, including some of my limited editions (a new 30" x 24" limited of Transitional).
Tab and co are set up at Skidmore Saturday Market in our usual place with the rest of our prints.



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Scratch

I have recently started drawing numberism pieces in a new way. I suppose this is a new technique, or is it a style? Maybe it's just a process. It's still numbers, but now I am using scratch board, scratching the numbers off a black surface to reveal the white clay beneath. This means I get to actually make smaller numbers than I could with a pen. What I'm really excited about is the color.

I've loved drawing with pen, but I've found there is a limited color range. With scratchboard, I can mix any colors my heart desires, which means I can do accurate skin tones and washes. This makes for a very excited Sienna.


(Scratch Board Numberism. Photo reference by Ian Dawson).

It's challenging. I'm working with light now, instead of shadows. I will be playing with the numbers setting off from light sources and reflections instead of falling off in the dark shadows. This will be challenging, and I love a challenge.

I have decided this will be the main focus of my next series, which I hope to finish by May or June. It will focus on all the adventures we cherish once the sun sets. Dancing, romance, indulgence, smoky streets with long walks that lead to who knows where. I can't wait. I've asked my two photographer friends, Ian Dawson and Benjamin Frothingham to supply me with all my reference material (their photos are beautiful and tend to have dynamic lighting, which is what I need). Once I finish this series, I will be looking for the right gallery to show in with my drawings along side their photography. I've looked into a few places but haven't found the right venue yet. I will be sure to blog away once I do.


(For those of you who haven't met me, this is a self portrait I finished today while at Market. Photo reference by Ben Frothingham.)







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On another note, next weekend is SWAN Day at the Portland Expo Center. Come see original work by myself and a select group of Oregon based artists. This takes place at the Portland Better Living show. Find us in the connector Hall. There will be music.

A selection of my originals will be on display.

SWAN Day

(Support Women Artists Now Day)

Saturday and Sunday, March 27 & 28, 2010

Exhibit and Performance Showcase: Noon - 5:00 pm

Connector Hall, Between E and D Hall

Portland EXPO Center

2060 N Marine Drive
Portland, OR 97217

Sandy High Auction

The Sandy High Music Foundation is holding a silent auction this weekend to raise money to get their kids to Carnegie Hall, as well as helping fund the yearly expenses of the Music Foundation.

The Auction is March 20th at 7:30pm, following the 6pm dinner.

I donated one of my Numberism prints to their auction. So go on down to Sandy High and bid on my print of The Butterfly Effect.

Good luck to Sandy High's music program!

March 20th, 2010
6:00pm - Dinner and Silent Auction
7:30pm Live Auction


Sandy High School

17100 Southeast Bluff Road

Sandy, OR 97055-9597

For Contributions contact:

Mr. McGlothin -- mcglotr@ortrail.k12.or.us
Mr. Scarth -- scarthb@ortrail.k12.or.us
or call 503-668-8011

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SWAN Day

I will be presenting some of my new numberism work at the SWAN Day event this March, along with a small group of Oregon based female artists.

SWAN Day, or Support Woman Artists Now Day focuses on supporting female artists at a grassroots level. This event is showing at the Better Living Show at the Portland Expo Center.

You can read more about the show HERE


Description:

A weekend of visual art, music, film, writing, crafts and performing arts kicks off Saturday, March 27th at 12:00 pm at the Portland Expo Center with a performance by local singing favorites, Jenni and Amanda Price of Acoustic Minds. This two-day showcase features over 50 area female artists: visual artists, filmmakers, writers, comedians, musicians and community organizations such as Siren Nation, POW Fest, Women in Film (WIF) and pdxcreativeXchange that support Women in the Arts. Admission is free and it is open to all ages. This event is co-located with the Energy Trust Better Living Show.

SWAN Day

(Support Women Artists Now Day)

Saturday and Sunday, March 27 & 28, 2010

Exhibit and Performance Showcase: Noon - 5:00 pm

Connector Hall, Between E and D Hall

Portland EXPO Center

2060 N Marine Drive
Portland, OR 97217

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Endless

There will never be enough time. I will never be fulfilled. My desires will never be sated. I know this, and it terrifies me and it fuels me. How can we possibly be satisfied with this life? It is so short.

I know that at some point, I will die, and most likely, my last thought will be of regret, because I can never be satisfied. It will never be enough. I want a hundred lifetimes, a hudnred thousand lifetimes. I want it to never end. It's so cruel to know how precious this is, how rare, and unlikely our lives here on planet Earth are and to know just how limited it is. To know that it will all end far before we can know what it is we will be missing.

And we fill it, we fill it with insecurity and doubt and useless things that waste our lives, mislead them down unimportant paths. I want so much more.

OH to give me immortality. There is nothing more I want than that. There is nothing more to have. To never die. I wish I believed there was something else, because knowing this is it, knowing there is nothing else is the worst feeling. It is so cruel. It is unfair, and to know what you will be losing, without the ability to change it is so unjust. God!... if only I believed in one!

This is not enough! I am a quarter through an average lifetime and I'm nowhere near a quarter full.

At any point, our fragile lives can end. A crash, lightning, an earthquake, deep vein thrombosis, and it's all over. That's all she wrote, and we won' t even be there to miss it.

The five stages, right? I'm aleady in it. Stuck in disbelief, stuck in denial and bargaining. There must be a way around this, a way to live forever. I know what I'll be missing! It's all that I haven't yet experienced. All the people I could meet, all the things I could learn, all the days I could etch into my human mind. There is so much and I want to fill every ounce of me with it, but doesn't this world know that there is more room in me than just one life can fill?!!?!?!?!?

I will give and give and give all that this world, this universe needs, to keep me alive. I will sacrafice, and love, and adore, and comit to life on this planet, and I will be magnificent, if only I can do it forever!! If only I had the chance. If only we had the opportunity to live life to it's fullest, to live without end. If only there wasn't a limit to life here on this planet, with these ambiguous people and our ambigous lives. If only we had time to experience all of it. I would drink every moment fully and be drunk on the endlessness of it.

Springing Forth

Tab and I have been going to PCC Sylvania for the past couple of weeks, doing our usual thing. We've had a warm reception there and I think we'll be making more of a habit of going. This week, we are coming back for Tuesday - Thursday from about 10am - 4pm.

The really big news is that Saturday Market comes back this weekend! Boy have we missed it. We're currently preparing for the big comeback, and I hope to have prints up of my new work. The originals are in our gallery, which we will be reopening with a big to-do soon enough.

March is here and Portland is soon to come alive again with those art walks and events we love so much. The weather has been amazing (yay for early spring!) and I think all the early blossoming has inspired me a bit. I have been painting recently with bright, vibrant colors. Here is one that I'm working on now. I'm waiting for it to dry so I can finish it.



I've also just hung a good selection of my Numberism work at Boyd's Coffee house in the Eliot tower, including the "Transitional" fall tree set. This is really a selection of my favorite pieces on display, including larger prints "In the Embrace", "La Morte D'Ase" and "Gotham".



Other than all this, I've had a chance to take more time doing things I love lately. I went sailing with a couple friends the other week, took a drive up to the Oregon coast just yesterday, I am studying German with a friend, and I'm enjoying stealing trade secrets from my chef friend whose specialty just happens to be Asian cuisine. With a few tips, a couple new tools and a trip to Fu Bon, I'm nearly jumping around the house with joy. All that food I missed so much from China, I'm now learning how to make myself. Thank you, Kenna.

All of these things are made possible by the wonderful people I've found here in Portland. :) Big smiles, and eager hands. Time to work, and time to play!