Working through the sickness

So we just ended a nice long Thanksgiving holiday weekend, albeit a sick one. :( I'm still thankful I got to rest a lot, which I did. And not only me but my brother & sister-in-law as well. It also gave me a chance to continue working on my kitteh, although not as much as I had hoped for. Still, I made progress, not only sculpting but educating myself further and experimenting a little too. I really believe it's important for artists to educate themselves constantly, gain inspiration from other sources, and especially experiment a lot. I think some artists can get static by never thinking outside the box and constantly doing the 'same ole' in their art. But having said that, I've also seen artists doing the same paintings or sculptures over and over with just small nuances of differences in them, but those artists also have a lot of passion for what they do and never seem to come to a stand still, which I greatly admire as well.


I've been learning, experimenting and finding much inspiration during this first kitteh sculpture. I actually didn't intend to blend it with too many natural elements in this first one but I've been inspired a lot by it lately so I thought 'what the hell'. I'm still trying to keep it simple, however. Once it's all done, I'll adorn it with a few crystals here and there and call it done. Then move onto the next! I may continue the nature theme with the next sculpture but create something more dynamic. I admire the work of Ellen Jewett greatly and am fascinated by her work and craftsmanship, and would love to include elements that are similar to hers, even if it falls way short of her style. She puts a lot of hours and time and thought into her work and she gives me something to strive towards. I've only recently found out what type of material she uses and funny enough, I was on the right track when I found out. But even just knowing what she uses is a tiny fraction of the whole story of her work. It's one thing to know what an artist uses; it's another thing entirely to implement it! That's why she advises other artists on her site to use what's right for them. And I agree. For example, Crystal Morey uses porcelain for her work which turns out just beautifully when complete, while others like Jessica Dalva uses a wide array of materials including super scupley, fabrics and other materials that suit her style and storytelling which come out just wonderful as well. It's all what you want to accomplish and what look you're aiming at presenting. For me, for now anyways, I always had to goal of creating elegant kittehs (cats) that are almost life-size, in various ways of colors, materials and styles. That was my goal from the beginning. It took some time and thinking about how to accomplish this, but I think I'm on the right track thus far.


I'm hoping to wrap up my first kitteh very soon, but in the meantime I will also continue to experiment and learn more. I just ordered a book that I'm hoping will help even more, that focuses on a different methods of sculpting. We shall see in about a week or so. ;)

Halloween and more...

Fall took awhile to get here, but before I knew it, Halloween was here! And on this Halloween I find it weird that the World Series is on too. I guess the Sports Industry could care less about holiday traditions. I mean seriously, it couldn't be scheduled on Wednesday instead? Was it that vital? Cause once it's over, it's over. It's not like there's some vital deadline like a work schedule. It's a game. It could have waited one more night. But anyways...enough with the nightly rant...


As of late I've been getting back into the sculpting and working on a line of unique kittehs. I haven't revealed too much just yet, I'm keeping most of it hush hush until I have a good handful of kittehs to show. I've also been getting some sites ready to go online and preparing for their 'revelation' as well. I'm trying to keep it simple right now, with just one or two sizes, as well as the decorating as well. I'm still figuring this out as I go. All I know is, I want to create an elegant line of unique kittehs that are nicely decorated in various ways. What ways? That remains to be seen. ;)


I've also been doing some research on starting a line of 'dolls' or figurines to get some advice. One good piece of advice that applies well to me (as well as many artists I dare say) is the importance of staying focused! As an artist, I have ideas running through my mind all the time. I come up with a concept and during the day the ideas start to come and I'm thankful that they do! The problem is, if you're not focused, those ideas, if not properly managed, can start 'running the show' and start to pull you this way and that way and every which way. If you understand what I mean, then you know that when those exciting ideas pile up in your head, those ideas you want to implement NOW, are taking you off course and disturbing your focus. And what happens is, with so many options in front of you, you soon find yourself doing...nothing. You find yourself at a standstill. It's not unlike going to the store and buying a new product, seeing a gazillion options, and not knowing what to do and feeling defeated. You have to stay focused and keep it simple! Start with step 1, STAY on step 1, and finish step 1. In fact, don't just 'finish' step 1...master step 1. Then step 2 and so on. Get good at what you do, take it slow, think it through and understand what you're doing. I think too many people are too anxious to make it big without putting in the work to get them there. Research stories of famous people and where they started; many people in high places got there by starting small and building an empire day by day. Some of them just started at home or with a small cart or with hardly any money. They got there from hard work and determination...and focus. And let me say, they got there without distraction! Yes, something probably comes to mind. TV? Your mobile phone? Bad habits? You can't achieve a dream, by sitting there doing nothing. And the worst position to be in is having a dream, doing nothing, while seeing all the stories of people achieving their dreams. Don't do that! Become one of those stories! Be that story people read about! Inspire others!


Okay I didn't mean to get into a 'here's my advice' post. If it encouraged anyone, that's awesome. But just writing that encourages me as well. I think I needed to hear that too, cause God knows I can tend to get caught up with tv shows, with my phone and just plain procrastination. What I've been telling myself lately is, if you don't work hard now with your product, no one is going to know what you have to sell, cause you'll have nothing to sell. I see many artists with sculptures, paintings and other products who are self-motivated and create things DAILY! I want that. I want to be like that. I need to be like that if I'm going to go anywhere with this line or any line of products.


So that's what I've been doing, creating daily, even if it's only an hour because I'm just tired from my day job. Sometimes I'm just really tired from the day and I'll allow myself to rest. But I get back on it asap! I have to or I'll end up taking 2 days, 3 days and I'll look back and for a week, I've done nothing. That's the worse. If you have a great idea, a great vision, motivate yourself with that original idea. Remember how great it is, don't forget about it when you get stuck or in a rut. Work out the rut! Work through the rut and keep moving forward. Figure it out. There are no excuses nowadays. There is so much information out there today online. There were a few times I was ready to give up cause I wasn't finding any info out there. But I kept looking and pushing...and I found something! I found some great info on my subject. So don't give up so easily. Ask people. Go on places like Quora.com or ask your coworkers or even people at the store in the same aisle as you. It's worth a shot, right? The worse they can say is 'I don't know'. But keep looking, keep asking and keep stepping.


It's tough when you already have a day job and that's why it's important to stay focused and motivated. Find the time that works best for you. Sometimes I wonder if I should just get right to it after work before I start getting too tired. I might try that. Being tired is definitely a de-motivator. Don't start things too late. Do it early. Do it on lunch if you can, or at least do some simple research on the subject. Do what you can. Then implement it later. It's a great feeling when I find something new and want to go home to try it out. But again, stay focused. Don't get on the 'I want to try everything new' train cause before you know it, you'll have come to the end and lose your way and wonder where your focus went. Too many ideas, can cause too many delays. I know, believe me. I've been there too many times. And it defeats your original purpose. There's nothing wrong with experimenting, nothing wrong! In fact, if you can experiment, that's awesome, cause experimenting with new ideas can lead to new and unique things! But do it with caution. Don't let it distract you from the original vision and take you off course. Write down those ideas and save them. Don't be too anxious to implement them if it takes you away from your 'product'.


Which brings me to another great piece of advice: whatever product you have to offer, stay focused on that product and be known for that product! When people think of you, let them think of that product. If you keep jumping from idea to idea without ever establishing a solid product, what are people gonna think? I'll tell you...confused. They won't know what to think, cause you've gone on too many tangents along the way. When people ask them what you do, they'll probably have a hard time nailing it down for you. You don't want that. You want a clear, focused product to offer, at least at first. We follow other people because we love what they do and keep us coming back for more, right? Cause they have a consistent line of posts that you love seeing everyday. That's what you want to establish. Keep it consistent, keep it focused.


So that's what I'm trying to implement myself nowadays. There are many things I love delving into; painting, photography, sculpting and even writing music. And I've come across some great ideas with each one that I'm sure would succeed, if I focused solely on that idea. So this time around, I thought of a great idea from my drawings that I want to make into elegant sculptures, and I have a lot of ideas for this line. But I need to stick with it, or it will become another great idea lost in the mix because I lost my focus, my motivation and grabbed the next 'cool' idea that came my way. That needs to stop!
Although having said that, I keep some of those other ideas in mind. I haven't forgot about them cause I think they're great. I'm just staying focused on this project now and not letting go. Cause I see the potential of it, I see the influence of it and want to stay where I am. I think it's worth it.


And speaking of that, time to get some work in! Have a good night all. :)

Making the Journey

Lately I've been more willing to get out and find spots to photograph nature, whether it be a local college, a scenic park or the mountains not too far from me. I've already found some nice areas that I never would have discovered had I not ventured out like this, which motivates me even more to discover more of what's out there in my 'backyard'. Eventually, however, I'd like to take a bigger step and take a trip up north, preferably with my son who likes to camp, and venture into some real forests and wildlife and try to get some nice shots. Another goal of mine is to educate myself more on my subjects, or at the very least know the name of the tree or flower I'm photographing.


Even along the coast and homes in Corona Del Mar, for example, there are plenty of flowers to be seen, surprisingly, if you just look for them. Plus you have the added benefit of an ocean view rather than a foresty one, which is a nice change. The multicolored flower pictured here, from the Lantana plant, was actually taken near a home in CDM, although the angle I chose reflected lots of bokeh from the plant itself behind it, which is what I was aiming for. If there's one element I love in my photographs, it's nice bokeh and blurs that contrast well with the foreground subject. :)

(click to expand)

An unexpected photoshoot

So today I got out to do some photography, not sure where initially. I thought of the mountains or Claremont Colleges, which has a lot of nature to shoot. I finally decided to revisit CalPoly Pomona campus where the farm animals were. I went there before with my son and saw some different animals such as pigs & hogs, llamas and horses. However, when I arrived I didn't see many animals except for sheep. I thought they must be in the shade somewhere since it's been so hot. However, after driving a little further uphill, I discovered a trail that led uphill, so I found a parking space nearby and thought 'well, lets see what's in store for today'. Well, thankfully it turned out to be both a nice hike and photo opp. Mostly nature shots such as trees, flowers and plants. I took some photos of the trail and benches along the way as well. Pictured is just one of many photos I got in today. I post most of my photos over at 5oopx but I wanted to share at least one of them.


There are definitely some areas I would love to use for some future portrait shots I want to do with a friend. Hopefully we will make it before school starts this Fall, or on the weekend. :)

Delving Into Retro Palletes

Last month I became highly motivated to start creating pieces that were a goal of mine but never put on canvas, until now. Basically, positioning both human and animal portraits in front of retro color patterns. Although one of my past pieces came close to this theme, it didn't quite capture the mood correctly, although I was still happy with it at the time. My current piece pictured below, however, captures that mood and theme much better - a color pallete and pattern straight from the seventies era, that has admittedly been a great influence in my own life, both with it's colors and music as well. Much of the music of that time has had an emotional impact in my life, albeit somber on many occasions, which may explain why the attraction is so great. It is still a work in progress, but not too far off from being complete.

But my plan is to create many more pieces with this basic theme. I already have the next piece figured out, both the background and the subject, which will be my good friend's cat. For this series, I will be using larger canvases without any frames, compared to my smaller, framed pieces of the past. I believe they will have more impact and will give me more breathing more to paint. These pieces are also bringing new challenges in my work ethic and creativity as well as problem solving. 

I look forward to the challenges ahead and hope to produce many interesting pieces with my retro-era, 'stuck in the seventies' pieces. :)

Special Commission Painting

Just finished up a special commission painting for a friend. She asked me to create a painting for her friend who's dog just recently passed away, as a birthday gift. The dog who passed away is on the right, with his 'brother' on the left. She wanted them together in this painting, which was no problem. This is about the 5th commission painting from her, for both her family and others as gifts. The first few paintings were in acrylics, until I made the switch to oils. Once I got a taste of oils I never looked back. I love the way oils work and use them for all my work now, including this painting here.

For this particular painting, I kept things a bit more loose than the previous paintings. In my work, even when I was younger, I always aimed for realism in both my drawings and paintings. I can spend much time getting the details right in a painting. And although I did pay attention to details here, I tried to approach it from a more painterly perspective, rather than just a realistic duplicate. For the left and right areas, I had to be a little creative and add elements that were not there, since the reference photo was more square. I almost resorted to using a matte frame inside to match the photo's crop area, but instead I filled it in the best I could using some other references for the blankets.

Overall I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. My hope is that the new owner will be just as happy or happier with it too! :)

Felt like buying Felt Mountain

So we took a little trip to Rhino Records in Claremont today to browse some new music. My son ended up buying a few CDs, one of which was Black Sabbath. I felt like browsing the record section and seeing if anything caught my eye. I don't have a record player as of yet but plan on getting one as soon as possible. (I have my eye on the Crosley Bermuda 2-speed turntable right now. I love that it has legs you can attach so it is free-standing and I love the overall vintage 70s type of style it possesses.) I saw a few I wouldn't mind getting in the near future, but to my pleasant surprise, they just happened to have Goldfrapp's Felt Mountain, which I couldn't pass up! Especially since this was part of a short run of albums. Plus this is just the kind of music I want playing on my player. And if I ever find Tales of Us by Goldfrapp, I will most likely be buying that as well, since it has a similar style and mood as Felt Mountain.

After walking around and looking through some of the shops in the Claremont Village, we headed up to Mt. Baldy for awhile and took a little hike and just enjoyed some nature and fresh air. My son was feeling motivated to fish, seeing how nice the stream was, although we didn't have any fishing equipment with us. Maybe next time. :)

Meet Na'an

Meet Na'an, one of several scuptures I created for my last show at PB&J Gallery. Sculpting is something very new to me still that I've only recently taken on but I've been learning alot so far. While in the midst of learning, I got an unexpected message from an old friend who gave me the opportunity to show at his gallery, which was still a few months away at the time. So I made it my aim to finish a good handful of small sculptures and learn at the same time, which worked out nicely. I'm currently working on a commission painting right now but looking forward to returning to sculpting and creating some more interesting little pieces. :)

A year of new music!

So far this has been a year of some great new albums from both favorite artists of mine and some unexpected surprises. Although I'm excited to see new music from Depeche Mode : Spirit, Feist : Pleasure, Sylva Esso : What Now, and The Wild Reeds : The World We Built, the biggest impression that came my way was from Goldfrapp. Not only did I enjoy their new album Silver Eye, but after digging a little deeper into this band that I've been mostly unfamiliar with, I found an album called Felt Mountain, and I haven't stopped listening to this amazing album that has touched and moved me tremendously these past few weeks. It has been my painting music and dream music as of late. It's hard to explain why it has had such an impact on me personally, but this debut album from Sarah Goldgrapp and Will Gregory is just astounding, melodic, nostalgic, dreamy, and emotional. 

Just prior to 2017, another personal favorite band of mine, Phantogram, came out with Three, which did not disappoint either, who kept true to their previous electronic-driven work yet with a stronger, guitar-driven presence in their songs this time around. Depeche Mode, probably my all time favorite band, made a great impression on me with their new album as well. I can hear many influences of their album from past music but still infuse new elements into their songs. Their new album Spirit almost sounds like a mix of sounds from Delta Machine and Playing the Angel. Martin Gore really hit the mark this time with his shorter ballads in between. Although some may disagree, to me, they were the Depeche Mode I've listened to over the years, and this was another great album!

The new album from The Wild Reeds, I must admit, was a little too rock & roll for me. I still hear the early melodic and harmonic influences I'm used to hearing from their early work, but I think this album will take some time to grow on me. I think it's great that they're still going forward and producing albums to this day, quite a difference from the 'street ally' and backyard shows they used to put on, of which I had the pleasure of seeing in their early beginnings. But if you like folky, melodic light rock infused with beautiful, melodic voices, you will certainly love them.

As for Sylvan Esso and Feist, I'm hoping for great new music, especially Feist, who had an excellent last album Metals. So far with the release of the songs Pleasure and Century, they are coming on strong with influences from Metals and more raw, guitar-driven music, which I believe was Leslie Feist's intention from the get-go. I admit I'm hoping for the same sound I enjoyed from Metals, but with an understanding that as artists, usually change is inevitable and comes in many forms in an artist's life, whatever form that may take, I'll be ready with open ears to hear what they deliver. 

This is my short review. These are the bands I love. Hope in some small way it makes a difference. :)