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.