Hello, Again

It's been nearly a year since I've written. This type of thing is like a diet for me, I always go into it with good intentions and then never stick to it. Since the last time I've written I graduated with honors and moved back in with my parents. This is not ideal but it's a lovely house and I love living there but it's hard to be around people that want to micro-manage your life while at the same time telling you to take more responsibility. I've been painting more recently and have several of my pieces displayed in an upscale consignment store. I also got a job there so hopefully that will go well. I've also been in the throes of starting/taking over a business with my friend, Hannah. It's local to San Marcos and is geared towards teaching art to kids. Hopefully, this will become successful. I want to cultivate an appreciation for art in a small Texas town. This evening I've been organizing my poetry into a manuscript. Currently, it's in alphabetical order. I intend to print it out and organize it by tone/theme. I'm planning to submit it to the Yale Younger Poet competition. I'm not holding my breath, but I think it will be a good exercise to try to put my poems into an official collection. One of my poems was published in the 2011 Persona student literary magazine. The hard thing is trying to balance writing and painting. A big part of me feels I shouldn't have to, that they can be simultaneous. Sometimes, though, it's difficult trying to do both. I feel like poetry is painting with words, but it's hard to incorporate poetry into aspects of my paintings without them becoming corny or trite looking. I mostly paint portraits. One day maybe I could compile all of the commissioned portraits I've painted and write a poem about each person and publish that. Hopefully, I'll remember to write again soon. If not have good days, my friend. Most of my poems can be read here: http://www.webook.com/project/Stumbled-Upon-Truths

The Beginning

I ran into Eric Weller yesterday, what seems like today because I barely slept. It was awesome to see him because he's always so infectiously enthused and is exactly where I want to be at his age. I showed him the thesis work I have so far and he was surprised that I only had two this late in the semester. This didn't make me feel any less apprehensive about it, but I know he meant well. I must say I'm surprised myself at only having two. This is partly due to the size of the works, being that they're on doors. Mostly though because it took me too long to find my core interest, not in art but in what 'message' i wanted to share. By over-thinking the concept behind the work, I began a descent into self-doubt and criticality. I've always known I wanted to paint people, but I really like the un-pretentious work of Paul Wright which has mood and gesture without context. Yet so far in my undergraduate studies I've mostly been told to put my figures within a context. While I understand the validity of this idea to make the people relevant, I'm so inspired by capturing personality that social relevance isn't yet a subject I feel compelled to explore at this point in my life or work. That being said, I really like the work I've done so far. It's some of my best in my opinion and in painting my friends I always find a self-awareness and humor in the work. The piece I'm working on right now is a life-size painting of my friend Tiffany wearing rainbow suspenders and a cardboard box with drawers drawn on it playing off the pun "suspenders holding up your drawers." So, I'm on my way and I'm writing this to remind myself that I'm on the right path and that once I have more time, I'll be able to bring together a cohesive body of work.

Thesis

I have recently decided to revisit this blog and use it more proactively. This is my senior year of my undergrad eduction and am currently working on the first section of my Thesis Painting work. My idea for it is to do watercolors of chaos in the background and then painting my peers on a clear surface to point out their interactions and non-interactions. I intend to paint the figures with thick oil to contrast with the washy background imagery. I admit I am apprehensive about starting my thesis work. It's nerve-racking trying to focus my concept into a cohesive series. Through the images I've posted on here I hope you can get a sense of my work and my interests as far as color and mood go.

Angel Face

Guise of Modesty

A Father's Vision

Cowboy Up

Jolie

Taste the Rainbow

Chad Gray

Leather and Pearls

Ashling the Extinguisher

Ashling the Pilgrim

Jim Morrison

Eastwood

For the Love of the Game

Hendrix

Marilyn Drips Sex Appeal