Art, Art, Art Weekend in San Jose

Whew! Last weekend was something else for art in San Jose. Despite having to spend every waking moment wrapping up my taxes, I spent a little time checking out some exciting things in San Jose. The Silicon Valley Contemporary art fair had a diverse group of work from galleries across the country and attracted many visitors. It started on Thursday night and ended Sunday. I had a chance to pop in on Friday night and had passes for the VIP room for some free wine. Although I could only make it for a one-evening visit, it was really fun and I saw works by everyone from Andy Warhol to Chris Johanson. I didn't get to photograph too many artists, but there were so many great familiar and new artists to see.

Alex Katz - one of my all-time favorite artists

Mel Kadel - another favorite

I also debuted my first full-sized art installation for the Shelter show at The Citadel Gallery. It was nice to be part of this dual exhibition at The Citadel Gallery and Works Gallery while the art fair was taking place. As you may have seen in my previous post, I have been working for the last few weeks on this piece. It was an incredible experience, to build something up and let it evolve naturally at that scale. It sort of told me where it wanted to go and the result is what you see here. No rulers were used and everything was drawn freehand. A real chair and hanging bulb are the only tangible objects. All else is ink and paper. The show closes on April 26th.

My Shelter installation at The Citadel Gallery

Empire Seven Studios had their 6 year anniversary party and boy, it was fun! Many friends came out of the woodwork to celebrate their amazing influence they have had in San Jose. They showed work from artists who had shown their before and artists they would like to see in the future. Artists included Jason Adams, Jason Arnold, Ken Davis, Jeremy Fish, Jayde Fish, Mitsy Avila Ovalles, Kyle Pellet, Jai Tanju and a whole lot more. One of my favorite pieces was a black and white pyramid that you could sit inside of. It was all drawn in black and white. You can guess why I'd like that, huh?

Seeing Things Gallery showed work by Lance Cyril Mountain, a mix of oil abstractions, mixed media and photographs by the son of Lance Mountain. Last weekend was the closing party for the show.

Just before writing this, I came across this Forbes article about Cherri and Brian from Anno Domini. It's a nice read if you want to learn more about who I consider to be hometown art heroes.

The energy around town was pretty great. San Jose has come a long way!

Have a great weekend everybody!

Chris Johanson at the Silicon Valley Contemporary art fair. He was born in San Jose.

Black and White Mood

Have you noticed that I've been in a black and white mood lately? If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you may have seen a lot of black and white art in the making. I have been working with Sumi ink and paper a lot in the last few years, but it wasn't until I hung my drawing wall at my Lay Low show at Seeing Things Gallery that I saw just how much I was using this medium.

Keeping it simple with Sumi ink, a rag, brushes and a palette

A few months ago, I was approached to do a show called Shelter. This dual exhibition was to take place at two galleries. The first show at Works Gallery opened last weekend and the second show at The Citadel Gallery opens this Saturday night, April 12th. For the Works show I submit a drawing, titled Buried History. It shows a living room underground, the living room of my childhood. It shows my dad's records, mom's books and my grandmother's black floral loveseat. We had to get rid of all this furniture due to financial circumstances and moving when I was young. It's actually one that I almost wanted to keep, but it sold so I will let it go.

For The Citadel show, each artist explored the idea of sanctuary and creativity. The initial idea was to create an installation that shows your creative space. At first, it seemed too easy. I have lots of interesting things in my studio, including my paint-covered studio desk, little vintage nicknacks and natural objects like driftwood and rocks. At some point I came up with the idea to draw my studio instead. It was for a mix of reasons. For one, I thought about how I could live without my desk in my studio for a whole month? I've been wanting to do an installation for awhile now. I also loosely had an idea to draw my show at Seeing Things Gallery, but decided against it. I am so happy I finally made it happen with my piece We Have Overcomplicated Things. The title comes from the drive I have to simplify my life and minimize this past few months. I am in the process of cleaning my studio and plan on having a much more calm and clear workspace, much like this art installation.

We also got a lot of rain in the Bay Area recently, so maybe these overcast skies had something to do with all this black and white too!

This has been quite the project. It was all painted freehand. Mistakes were made. They were erased, covered up, left. I definitely planned some things in advance but a lot of it was carried out intuitively and spontaneously. Very satisfying to not have any pressure but from myself. It’s been a test of my patience and a will to roll with mistakes. This little installation shows how I feel when I am in my creative space. Everything feels expansive, good, simple.

You can see the show at The Citadel Gallery. Opening reception is April 12th from 7-11pm. Can't make the show? I will post an image of the work on the day of the show.

Spring Cleaning Cliche

Some cliches exist for a reason and I definitely think spring cleaning is one of them. Every year, I dedicate some time to minimizing and cleaning up after myself. It's weird though, I never consciously think of it as spring cleaning, but a few months into the new year and right before taxes are due I always seem to purge myself of junk I don't need.

The before!

I don't know what it is, but I can be so nostalgic about things. For example, I just found an article on Bill Callahan from 1999. Why? Yes, it is nice to look at these things and remember a time. Yes, it is nice to have every art supply known to man, but do I use all of it? No. Do I need to save art materials for a future date? No!

As I get ready for some new things in the coming months, I am so happy that I will have yet again less stuff. I used to think having endless art supplies and keeping random stuff around was necessary, but no way. I'm over that now. I can't wait to show you when I'm done in a few weeks! After taxes, of course:)

The Planning Phase

There are times where I feel like I am not doing much. In reality, it's a little bit of lots of things that are working toward something bigger, but it becomes such a blur. That's how this approaching April is feeling. As usual, the year is going by way too fast: the projects I want to accomplish are not as far along as I would like, I wanted to have my taxes done back in February and I panic as I see the year rolling by and not getting a proper start on my children's book. I like to let things happen, but sometimes a little bit of a guided path is necessary.

View from a recent hike on Saturday in Napa's Skyline Wilderness Park

With the first quarter of the year being done, I think I need to acknowledge what I have accomplished so far:

• Applied for an international art residency
• Applied for the West Elm/Minted design challenge
• Applied to be a contributor to a new magazine
• Opened a shop on my website in addition to my Etsy shop
• Ran my first giveaway
• Nearly completed my redesigned wholesale line sheet
• About to have my work in one new store
• About to have my portraits in a wedding guide
• Close to launching my travel paintings
• Close to launching my tote bags

So this brings me to a public to do list. If I let you know what I am doing, I will be far more likely to do it. I made a public list at the beginning of the year, so here's another one.

The list!

1. Complete drawings for my Shelter show
2. Edit and add ALL custom portraits to my website
3. Deep dive into the rest of my taxes
4. Shoot stylized photos of my art prints and their packaging
5. Order business cards and postcards
6. Write to stores for wholesale (past and potential)
7. Print my first few tote bag designs in April
8. Sketch and write one new page for my children's book
9. Finish a few Skillshare classes
10. Add more designs to Society 6
11. Try out Spoonflower

Some of these items are ongoing, but I definitely want to accomplish most of them in the next month!

What do you need to get done?

Art Theme: Portraits of Women

Since one of the main things I do is paint portraits, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite portrait paintings of women this week.

Okay, so the first one is not your traditional portrait. You can't see the face of the woman, but you sure can feel it. Clare Elsaesser is one of my favorite artists, with her palette and mood always being on point. Print available here.

Swamp Thang by Clare Elsaesser

I love the work of fashion illustrator Samantha Hahn. She is a true master of watercolor and her subject matter is often women. Check out her book Well Read Women for her interpretation of famous female book characters in her signature brilliant and colorful style.

Helen of Troy by Samantha Hahn

I love the expression on this woman's face by Bret Pendlebury. There is just something about the direction of her eyes and that bob that speaks to me. Bret created the painting in acrylic, ink, colored pencil and watercolor on paper. You can purchase a print of it here.

Vintage Woman Portrait by Bret Pendlebury

One of my very favorite artists is Maira Kalman. Her work comes to life with her palette, sense of humor and imperfect brush strokes and lines that become...just perfect. If you haven't seen her blog for the New York Times, do yourself a favor and spend some time with it.

Fountile by Maira Kalman

Alex Katz captures the upper middle class of the 60's, 70's and beyond like no other. These cool people are often caught hanging out in oversized sunglasses and gorgeous acidic colors. The way he simplifies shape and form never ceases to amaze me. Isn't this portrait of his wife and often-subject Ada just sublime?

Ada with Bathing Cap by Alex Katz

If you have an artist that you'd love to share, please leave the name(s) in the comments below.

Don't forget to check out my Portraits board on Pinterest!