Painting the Changing Face

I recently finished a series of crayon and oil pieces which was shown in my featured artist show presented by Cannibal Flower. This is one of the first pieces in the series I completed, entitled "Searching for the Lost". It ended up being the most common favorite of everyone. As the artist too, I must admit that this was the piece closest to my heart. This piece I came up with and started in a studio other than my own, and did the first layer while listening to The Smiths. I'm ashamed to admit that, other than one song, this was my very first time EVER hearing The Smiths ( How I avoided them, I have no idea?! I was clearly missing out...). This piece took me a while to complete and the process interested me, as I noticed how every time I worked on it, it seemed the expression changed delicately with my own changing emotions. Hmm...an odd version of The Picture of Dorian Gray?

While the girl in the painting doesn't entirely look like me, I will say I consider this painting a self-portrait. I am pretty stingy on which paintings get the title of self-portrait, because at first glance many people assume all my paintings are self-portraits which is a major frustration as it is usually not my intention. However, this piece is a self-portrait in it's purest form. More than anything, these in-process photos are a documentation of that.

Along with the expression changing, so did the title. At first I named it "Lost in a Forest" ( partially inspired by the song by the Cure "A Forest") Then when I looked at it later, I suddenly realized that the character in my painting actually wasn't lost, and instead seemed to be searching for somethign else or someone else that was lost in the city-forest. Thus, "Searching for the Lost".

In-process photos in chronological order:

Telling the story of the lost?

Finally- I finished one of the recent paintings I've been working on :) Currently I have 5 works in progress! This one is 9" x 11", crayon and oil on canvas and called "Lost Connection". I actually started it a few months ago, and began working on it again recently. I want to go back to integrating more of my symbolic makeup designs and jewelry into my paintings, so this was a start to that idea. I was looking at this piece today, trying to think of a name and ended up figuring out what was going on symbolically in the piece. My art has always worked this way for me...I create entirely driven on instinct and feeling. Then once I live with the painting for a while, I figure out what it was really all about and why I made it the way I did. For this one, when I was painting it I sort of felt like her necklace was a tight collar/choker, then when looking at it today, I saw that it sort of extends and attaches her to the unknown. Then there is the city...very far in the distance. Thus "Lost Connection" is what I named my painting, but read into it what you like :)

This is a piece I started the other night working at a friend's studio and listening to the Smiths and Siouxsie :) So far, it's just the crayon sketch. I had to use a lighter-colored masonite board I got from the home depot in Hollywood. Apparently the state of California does not have dark masonite and it's also against the law for them to cut it for me too....very strange! So that has hindered my masonite works, while at RISD I was able to create life-size ( or any size) drawings on it. I admit I miss the RISD store! Anyways- I did this, looked at it, and I now see a theme in all my recent works; I think this is my "lost girls" period...heh.

Recent Sketches

Here are some recent sketches I've done here in L.A. I've found that my sketchbook has two main purposes these days; compositional studies and ideas, or drawings that capture very current personal emotions or thoughts.

This is the sketch for my brother, Michael's CD release show's poster I designed. I have since done a color/final version using one of my all-time favorite mediums, marker, which I will be posting soon as well.

This is a small drawing I did of the trees that have recently made their way into my paintings. I like the idea of nature growing in unnatural ways...thus the trees sprouting cityscapes. I'm still figuring out the symbolism of them...

This drawing reminds me of a similar sketch I did while in Greece. This I drew after a night visit to the Griffith Observatory here in L.A.. The drawing in Greece I did which was similar was done after I saw the lights of Athens one night from a mountian. So both were inspired by different cities but the same stars. Now looking at this drawing, while the girl seems hopeful, the city below seems to creep up foreboadingly

This reminds me of many sketches filling my books of the past. I think I used to draw in a similar more simplistic and direct style in highschool. Sometimes I just have to draw soemthing quick to capture a fleeting idea or memory. I drew this after a day at Manhatten beach.

This is a quick sketch for a collaborative installation project I'm working on.

Some compositional sketches for recent and future paintings. This is how all my paintings start out- phase one of creation :)

My multiple artistic personalities

This is my newest finished painting for the "Black Sugar Market" show coming up this Saturday at The Artery, in Costa Mesa, California. This painting I entitled "Sweet Dreams", and it is purely oil on canvas. Hmm...I'm relatively happy with how it turned out, but also felt it led me astray a bit as it was a break from my crayon rendering technique. Each piece I do naturally leans one way or the other or focuses on different aspects. I think the actual painting of this is exciting (it was great to just paint!), but it overall seems more illustrative than my other recent work. Well, you win some and you lose some, and art goes on. I admit it was refreshing to paint an insect again though, It's been a while!

...And now for something completely different! This is, oddly enough, my other most recent painting( acrylic/crayon on masonite and found objects) entitled "Nightfall". It's very LA to me. It reminds me of late nights driving around on the streets past dark corners and colorful lights, never knowing what you might discover. Now while this painting is non-figurative and 3-D, unlike my other work, it does have it's purpose. It was more of an experiment. I think my greatest work is yet to come and will consist of a combination of everything I've been doing experimenting with lately. The parts and various ideas will come together and become one greater whole. Think cities, girls, nature, crayon, paint, and 3-D or found object elements. I'm busy starting a whole series of works going along with this idea, so I will be posting more soon! I also hope to start posting more sketches and process documentation. My process is honestly very intuitive and music-influenced. Lately that influence has consisted of the newest albums from The Cure and Depeche Mode, Radiohead's "Kid A" album, and also Siouxsie and the Banshees' "Peepshow" album. I highly recommend all of them for playing during art-making.

New Painting: "In Her World of Blue"

"In Her World of Blue", oil on canvas, 18" x 24"

This is my newest finished painting which was recently shown at the New Puppy Gallery in Los Angeles along with three of my crayon drawings and the painting, "Entrapment". My friend Nicole posed for this piece. It turned out being very classical or renaissance-looking which I like, and the gold frame I chose for it also really helped the whole look of it. Antique or classical style frames seem to be working really well with my paintings because they add this other layer of mystery. I have always liked the idea of discovering old mysterious portraits, so I hope I can create a similar sense of mystery about my own work.

The idea behind this painting actually started with a song from the Twin Peaks "Fire Walk With Me" soundtrack called "Questions in a World of Blue". I was listening to the song and came up with this composition. I liked the idea of someone blending in with a dream world and portrayed that through color. To keep the blues the same I decided against any crayon accents.

Neo-Egyptian Dress

"Neo-Egyptian Dress", fabric paint on denim

Front detail, photo by Grace

This is my newest painted clothing creation inspired by my trip to Egypt this past summer and the art I saw there. It was sewn by my mother in Minnesota, and sent to me in Los Angeles where I made a few adjustments and painted on it. So this was really a collaborative project which I hope to do more of in the future. The dress is a simple empire waist design and made of a dark stretch denim. I've found that the fabric paints I've been using show up very well on denim, but I'm eager to try them on other materials. The design is purely free-hand and not copied. I simply used some photos of Egyptian artifacts and paintings as inspiration. The makeup I also did myself, and the necklace is from my antique jewelry collection.

Front view, photo by Grace

Front view in natural light, photo by Grace

Back view in natural light, photo by Grace

"Decorations of the Past", showing soon at the C.A.V.E. Gallery

"Decorations of the Past", oil and crayon on canvas

This is my newest completed painting which will be showing May 1st through May 24th at the C.A.V.E. Gallery in Venice, California. The opening will be from 7 to 11 pm on May 1st, which I will be attending. For this piece I did my new technique combining oils and crayon, and my model was my friend Nicole. I was really inspired by her pink flower headband, and the painting's composition sort of grew around that as a focus. For the background I looked at some photos that I took in Greece this summer of anceient ruins on Aegina Island. The Cure's album "Disintegration" was basically my soundtrack to my Greece trip, and was primarily what I listened to while painting this. I think unknowingly, this painting became a reflection of my time in Greece, thus "Decorations of the Past".

I took my painting in to get framed by my new favorite frame shop just a short distance away. I realize how important choosing the right and best frame for a piece is. Ultimately it's the make-or-break finishing touch, and in this case, I am very happy with how it turned out!

Check out the gallery I will be showing at and a flyer for the Brushfire show at the C.A.V.E. Gallery featuring this painting at:

http://www.cavegallery.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=23