The Last Couple of Weeks

Client Work

I have been super busy with client work between a wedding invitation and paintings of various subjects. I can't wait to share them when I'm done! I also hope to get some free art time this summer to work on personal work. I have lots of ideas I want to get to.

 

The Dancing Cat Workshop

Last weekend I taught a watercolor workshop at The Dancing Cat. I love their space! It's always amazing to see what they come up with, but I found this group to really impress me with their compositions, colors and style. We had a blast talking and painting with each other. I love my neighborhood and how we have lots of great things going on like this.

 

Figure Drawing

I have been getting back into figure drawing these last couple of weeks. The poses were from one minute to twenty-five minutes. As usual, I find drawing women easier, but after working on the short poses, I got into working on drawing the male model. I am finding this to be really good for me. Even though I don't always paint the human figure in my regular work, it teaches you so much about form, light, composition and your style. I hope I can continue to make time in my schedule for this! 

Next Weekend!

I already had tickets for this Obi Kaufmann talk and book signing at Forager in San Jose, CA. I even spread the word to friends and got them to sign up for it. So it was super exciting to be invited to do a watercolor table for attendees of the event. Guests will be able to make a small watercolor painting with me. Obi Kaufmann is a rad backpacker and illustrator. He primarily works in watercolor and recently wrote The California Field Atlas. This event is in collaboration with the Peninsula Open Space Trust, an amazing organization that preserves natural space in the area. They will be working to fight against Measure B and preserve this special open space in San Jose, North Coyote Valley. Bring your love of nature and signup here! 

Weekend 3/11/16

It's been a few weeks since a weekend post so I gathered a few weeks here. It's been all dog, taxes, cleaning and sketching around here lately. I'm heading off on a trip at the end of the month so I am trying to get everything in order before we go. 

Cleaning

Ahhhh, the studio looks so good again. I tidied it up for a photo shoot for an interview. It was the perfect excuse to clean the place. After a few recent art shows it became disorderly quickly. You'll hear about a creative block I had further on, but I think it happened because my space was messy.

Hiking

Heading down to the beach

We went to Fort Funston for the first time a couple weeks ago. It's basically a dog paradise where they can roam free off leash in bluffs over the sea and down below on the beach. We brought our new dog, Homer, with us and he loved it. 

Fort Funston beach

Listening

I listened to this Nick the Tooth podcast with the founder of Shoyoroll. Only jiu jitsu fans will know what I am talking about, but it's great to hear a story of how someone got started in creating something. 

Marc Maron's interview with Abbi Jacobson and Iliana Glazer is so good. I think these ladies saved the day when I was getting frustrated by all the male ensemble comedy shows. Men can't have all the fun! Listening helped me uncover this video of a drum off between the ladies while doing Broad City Live. I had no idea, Iliana. 

I just discovered this Bay Area art podcast Congratulations Pine Tree. I will let you know how it is soon.

Parking

A rainbow just prior to sunset

Unedited photo of the sky last week

Having a dog has sent us to the dog park frequently. Because of all this wet weather here in Northern California, the skies have been really beautiful. I love having a dog for many reasons, they have awesome personalities, they are so loving, they make you get exercise throughout the day and when you are training a new dog, you have to be present and pay attention. Getting out of the studio to walk him has been really good for me. 

Reading

My friend Suhita Shirodkar was featured in this San Jose Mercury News article. She has been painting signs and relics in San Jose lately. I love her fresh style.

I read this great New Yorker article on Resilience. I think about this topic often. The author mentions you have to experience adversity of some sort in order to know whether you are resilient. I see how different people react to bad situations and I'm often amazed at how some people with the biggest hardships are able to overcome difficult situations and experiences.  

This article on How Complaining Can Actually Make You Feel Worse is great. It's short and really worth the read.

Sketching

The nice thing about being someone who likes to draw all kinds of things is I don't get huge creative blocks. Sure, I'm stumped sometimes, but last weekend I couldn't get anything going in my sketchbook for three days. I know it was basically due to me wanting to make something really great and letting perfectionism get in the way. 

Lastly, I sketched my cat Stanny last night after she brought a mouse in the house. After we couldn't find it, we put Broad City on the episode had an eerily similar theme. I love when that happens:)