Open Studio

This is a painting that I wrapped up for Open Studios a few weeks ago. It's part of my ongoing narrative work forcing an elephant into a ominous scene with a man made object. With this piece I was focused on the symbology of the five pointed star. I'm interested in how we use reoccurring symbols for meaning. I find the origin of symbols pretty fascinating.

I've been in the studio a lot this last few weeks. I've been trying to get work done for group shows, and open studios. The image is a close up of a larger piece. The painting is 3'X6'. Of course theres an elephant or two that will be present in the landscape. This painting is a pseudo commission piece that I'm doing for a couple that have been super patient. The colors in the photo are off quite a bit from the actual painting. The waves are up this morning, I think a surf before the studio is in order.

Zebras

I have always really like Zebras, their contrast and pattern make them pretty unique creatures. Here's a close up of a painting that I'm working on that is going into a group show related to street art. While I wouldn't call myself a street artist, I certainly have some street art and graffiti influences in my work. I don't know what else to say about my Zebra herd. I think that I paint much better than I verbally articulate myself.

Here's a piece that I just wrapped up last week. It's part of a small series of paintings that I'm painting around elephants in open spaces, interacting with man made objects. All of which have ominous skylines. The painting measures 36"X72". I just dropped off this piece at my favorite coffee shop in Santa Cruz,Verve Coffee Roasters. They've been kind enough to house some of my work, as I have run out of space in my studio in the past. If you're ever in the area, you should definitely take the time to stop off and treat yourself to some of their amazing espresso. I also would highly recommend, a slice of their carrot bread, or their chocolate chip cookies. Their treats are insane.

Riding Waves

After taking a pretty long sabbatical from surfing I finally got back into the water last week. There was a nice little South swell hitting Santa Cruz. One of my favorite spots to surf opened up, that is usually pretty fical. It takes a good size South with a really low tide to get it going. It may not break more than a dozen days out of the year, but when it's on, it's super fun. I was fortunate enough to surf two days with my buddy Alex, who makes all of my canvases and frames Check out pacificcoastfineartcanvas.com. I'm getting antsy to get back into the shaping room after being out of it for the last year and a half. I think the next board I'll shape will be a longboard, that I can take my son out on. I think he's just about ready to get out on a surfboard.

National Donut Day

Oh boy, one of my favorite days of the year. I do feel though, that it is a very under observed National day. The first form of the donut can be traced back to Europe, however, the donut is as Americana as it gets. I fortunately live in the land of donuts. Although I haven't confirmed it, I think that there are more donut shops per capita in Santa Cruz County then anywhere else in the world. If you weren't already aware that June 3rd was National Donut Day, don't beet yourself up, most donut shops don't even know that it exists. So go on, get out there and support your local donut shop. Crispy Creme is not a donut shop. For for more on the history of the donut Check out donutdayusa.com.

I was just checking in on S.F. based band, "Big Light Band" website to see what they're up too. They are all really good guys. I've been able to get to know them a bit through working on the album cover for their 2010 release, " Animals in bloom". While I was on their site, I noticed they were offering a free download. If you get a chance, give it a listen. I don't really believe that anything is free in life, but these guys challenged that notion. Nice work, guys. Check out.Big Light Band.

Never Ending Project

Heres a painting that I started a few of months ago. I've been working on multiple paintings simultaneously, so things tend to go a little slow. I'll be hanging up a show at LuLu's downtown Santa Cruz tomorrow. The work will hang for 6 weeks. If you happen to be in the area, stop in a check it out.

New Art Studio

I found a new space for making my paintings. It's a huge space on the third floor of the complex that I've been at for the last couple of years. With the help of a couple of friends we framed the space into three sections. In the video I'm painting a 65' section of wall in the most efficient way that I could think of. Skateboards are amazing tools, I always keep one around. You never know when one might be handy. I should be moved in by next week. Feel free to stop by for some coffee and check out the space.

Slow and Steady

Well here is where my latest painting is currently. I have 5 paintings that I have going at once, which is a nice way to paint, but it feels like you aren't making any progress. The photo doesn't show it well, but there is some amazing gold paint on the piece. I just discovered a brand of gold aerosol paint, that is super shiny. Bling Bling, now if I could just get my bedazzler to work on the canvas, I'd be set. Sorry about the pour image quality, I blame it on my Droid.

Forge on

This is a pic of a under painting that I just started a few days ago. I have been working on paintings that have vast skies with deserted landscapes. I have been enjoying working on the series, but thought it would be fun too work on something a bit more spontaneous. The jet will be covered by layers of large text and imagery. The piece is 72"X36" . I use the word "forge", a lot in my work. I am interested in words and fonts. I think the word is a bit ambiguous without context. Often I think of it in the sense of, pushing on, or moving forward in ones life.

I'm Horrible With Titles

Well, there it is all finished. The colors are a bit more accurate than the close up image. I'm super happy with the piece. It was nice to finally get this image out of my head and onto a canvas. I have had this idea for a while, and did a preliminary drawing collage piece some months back. The piece is 36"X72" Unfortunately there are some little nuggets in the piece that don't translate in the photo, small drawings and text that have been scraped into the paint.

I've Been Traveling

I have been very disconnected from the cyber world the last few months. Holiday travels and school have kept me out of the studio as well. The last couple of weeks I have been in a painting frenzy, trying to wrap up some pieces for my portfolio, so that I can pursue some gallery connections. This is a close up of an element, that resides in my newest painting. I finished this piece at one in the morning the day before yesterday. I have to speculate that all the flying over the holidays may have had some influence on the imagery. I can't help but think of plane crashes every time I step foot on one.