Shared Art Studio

Earlier this year, I had been working toward fixing up an art studio at my house. You can see in these past Home Art Studio Project posts I was going to make the space in the backyard, up against the cottage wall. Long story short, I ran into some issues with uneven floor and a falling apart fence, so all summer I worked in a corner in the house and in the backyard. 

Then fall arrived and I felt ongoing anxiety about turning a corner of the living room into a workspace and never dealing with this room. It had been an office for my boyfriend, then what felt like a storage room/work space for for me (see photos below) and now I love that it is a place we can both work in. I was insistent that I don't want to take it over as my own since he shoots photos and draws too. 

Just looking at this wall makes me shudder. What a disaster it became. It's pretty embarrassing to share this, but this is the state it turned into at the end of the summer. Because the room gets pretty warm in the summer, I basically didn't work in here and it was like a neglected storage room. 

This isn't a great photo, but you can see how dark the sandy brown walls made it look. The piles, oh the piles. 

The aftermath of painting. My speckled phone and encrusted hands. 

I think I was getting a little crazed by this point. 

Art studio at the Linea de Costa art residency

So first off, I'll show you my inspiration for the room. And yes, I understand that this is the prettiest picture in this whole post. Last November, while on a residency in Spain, I had the world's most beautiful art studio. It had an ocean view, was pristinely white, plants everywhere and hints of blues. While my results weren't exactly the same, I knew that I wanted to paint the new workspace white, to be a lot less cluttered and have plants. 

And here it is. The new studio has bright white walls, empty surfaces to work on and one hanging plant (planter by RossLab). Now, you might want to compare this with the first picture. BIG DIFFERENCE, huh? By the next post, I'll have worked in here for a bit and will give more details on what was done. Thanks so much to Bryan for the help in making it look like this. 

For now, I am ready to be productive in this clean, bright new shared space. 

What Goes On 9/25/15

Arting

Sketchbook page by Rob Sato

Sketchbook page by Rob Sato

Print from sketchbook by Rob Sato

Sketchbooks by Rob Sato. All numbered as you can see here. 

I stopped at the Rob Sato show at The Arsenal on Tuesday. Rob is a truly incredible painter. He works on paper primarily and creates imaginary worlds and draws from life. I just loved this show of his sketchbooks and prints from his sketchbooks. It seems like he mostly works in ink and watercolor, two mediums that I love. Watch this video to learn more about him and his work. 

I'll be exhibiting at The Arsenal in February 2016. I can't wait to fill this space with my work.

Eating

On Sunday I made avocado egg toast. It brought me back to Spain, where I often ate this. Just toast some baguette, smash avocado into it and in this case, add sliced tomato, eggs scrambled with mozzarella and top with dandelion greens and basil. Best breakfast ever. 

Watching

I went to the Bellator MMA fights at the San Jose Arena on Saturday night, which if you know me, may seem a little out of character. Although I love jiu jitsu, I often have a hard time with other combat sports when it gets too bruised, bloody or violent. Still, I had a great time at this event which featured kickboxing and MMA. 

Have you heard that the artist Jeremy Fish has a residency at San Francisco's city hall? It's pretty cool. I would love to visit him while he's working there. Check out this NBC video about the experience. I love seeing all the ways artists are being utilized and respected these days! 

De Young and Ocean Beach Field Trip

Last week I went with to San Francisco with my friends Elissa and Laura. We wanted to catch the Turner exhibit at the De Young Museum before it was gone, so that was the catalyst for getting up there. Turns out, so was everyone else. The show was CROWDED to say the least. 

Of course I'd photograph one with a palm tree

I confessed to Elissa and Laura that I was never a huge fan of Turner. I always thought his work was too atmospheric for me and maybe he used too many layers to get his point across. 

We first went up to the tower to have the 360 degree view of San Francisco. It will always be one of my favorite cities. You can't beat the bay, hills, park and buildings. In the entryway to get up there, these Ruth Asawa pieces were hanging on display. I love sculptural installations like this. The shadows are gorgeous and the metal work so detailed.

A Turner watercolor

We moved into the Turner exhibit and were soon suffering from mild claustrophobia. It felt like solid people pushing forward to make a wall around each painting. "Wow!" I thought, "who knew everyone loved Tuner so much?" As we made our way through, I found myself far more draw to the watercolors than the oils. Seeing all those layers on paper only makes sense in person, but the photo above shows an example. There was also a room of unfinished works, which all of us like as well. Turner definitely grew on me after seeing the show. 

Elissa and Laura checking out the velvet bordered paintings

We decided to head off to the rest of the collection and found this amazing, expansive breath of fresh air in the empty gallery spaces. From here on out, our day became super relaxing. 

Elissa brought three blankets for us to sit on at Ocean Beach. I sketched people at the beach and a Sumi ink of cargo ships on the ocean. 

Here's Elissa's beautiful landscape. I love all her layers and textures she gets with watercolor. I felt like we need to do this more often!

We stopped at Mollusk Surf Shop after we left the beach. I had been dying to come here, but always get here after they close. I guess I always spend too much time at the beach! They have the softest t-shirts with the coolest designs and beautiful built-ins like this treehouse. 

We stumbled on this tiny shop The Last Straw. Don't expect me to link a website because the owner doesn't take credit cards and lets you purchase by cash, check or IOU. She was so sweet, reading her library book while we browsed her soaps, jewelry and other objects. The fence you see above protects the cute garden beds behind.

Good times! It was pure bliss being in San Francisco for the day. What a way to end the summer!

What Goes On 9/18/15

This week I have been busy working on commission sketches. I have several portrait orders going, including a returning customer from 2 years ago. She wrote me to say that they have had a child and he is mesmerized by his parents' portraits and dog portrait I made. She wants to add him to the wall too. How sweet is that?

I am also working on some new make-believe book sketches. These are for a couple of musicians who live in the North Bay. Hopefully I can see them perform someday! 

Now onto the list...

Arting

Ok, LOTS of arting happened since my last post. I've been making it to more art shows recently and sketching out and about. 

Colin Frangicetto and Drew Roulette at Empire Seven Studios - I thought these two artists' works went great together after attending last Saturday's opening. You can see Colin's work above. I didn't get any clear enough photos of Drew's work, but you can see them side by side here.

One piece of exciting news is that I will be in a Screaming Hand group show at Empire Seven Studios in January. Jim Phillips came up with this image in 1985 and it has been a classic skateboarding logo since. The show is part of a Santa Cruz Skateboards art tour sponsored by Vans. It is an honor to be included in this show with such an iconic theme. Watch this Jim Phillips video to get a little background and for some good tips on being an artist.

Opening today, Naoki Onodera, one half of Bahama Kangaroo has a show at Luggage Store in San Francisco. I worked with him and his wife on Jen Stark's mural at Facebook headquarters. Both he and his wife are amazing artists. The work is just so pure, fun and brilliant.  

Also opening today, Nine Lives at RVCA in the Haight in San Francisco. If you didn't know, RVCA has an Artist Network Program that supports artists in many ways. You can watch some artist videos here. Mitsy Avila Ovalles, an amazing artist I met in art school, will be showing amongst eight other artists. 

Drinking...and sketching

I have been having such a blast meandering around and sketching while drinking coffee, tea or wine. In the last couple of weeks, I have met with my friend Kyle Pellet a couple of times and it has spawned more sketching in public. I'm so excited for the next SoFA Sketch, which is coming up September 30th. I feel such a great sense of artistic community in San Jose right now. Between SoFA Sketch, The Exhibition District, gallery and museum visits and random meet-ups with fantastic friends, I am thoroughly enjoying being an artist in the San Jose and the Bay Area lately. It's about time:)

The sketch above was done of Le Bateau Ivre (French for The Drunken Boat), a great dining spot and cafe in Berkeley, CA. The brick section of the building is so cool and the place has a relaxed vibe with a kind staff. It's the perfect, quiet place to draw or read. We'll definitely be going back! 

Okay, this one wasn't sketched in public, but I really liked how it came out. I wanted it to be freehand and loose, embracing any wonkiness. I really liked how it turned out and I will definitely be working with Sumi ink a lot more. 

My friend Kim had a baby a few months ago and it struck me that she must continue making art even so. I invited her to come and sketch with me at B2 in San Jose. I thought we could stroll over and I could help watch the baby. It worked out amazingly well. We both got work done. I sketched her and she worked on her annual Halloween card. Her daughter fussed just a little bit, but mostly sat on either of our laps or slept. Parenting is easy, right?? 

Friday, I will be heading up to San Francisco with my friends Laura and Elissa to see the Turner exhibit at the De Young Museum. I'm so excited to hang out with them and meander around. It's gonna be, as always, a really inspiring day.

Eating

I made this last night. Boy, was it good. This is one of our classic meals around the house since it involves sweet potatoes, onion, mushrooms, kale, fresh basil, pork and an egg top. These meals are super satisfying and give me lots of energy, especially after working out. This time, I chopped up some insanely good pitted green olives and it really made the meal. I say put an egg on everything all the time. Same for olives.

Listening

I listened to Lee Fields on Employee of the Month with Catie Lazarus. He's one of my favorite singers and I love the way she interviewed him while he was on stage. So cool. 

Danielle Krysa on Tiffany Han's podcast - These two ladies are great. I've been a longtime fan of what they have to bring to the world. They have their own podcasts and do so much more to help the creative community. It was a blast to listen to them together. Be sure to give this one a listen. 

Last night we listened to so much good music. T-Rex, Vashti Bunyan, Ariel Pink, Roy Orbison, Talking Heads, The Cure and My Bloody Valentine. I've been listening to a ton of podcasts and interviews so it's always good to get back to the music I love.

Reading

https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/11/10/pico-iyer-the-art-of-stillness/

Training

I did my first jiu jitsu competition class (note class, not actual competition) last Saturday and second one on Monday. It was really hard, but awesome to put what I know together at a faster pace. Of course, you realize how little you know. The funny thing with jiu jitsu is I learned a lot in the first fundamentals class. You kind of think you know what to do, but when you go to apply what you learned you forget one or two little things: the placement of a foot, where to distribute your weight or to not let your arm hang out, and are immediately are back to square one or submitted. The technique is super important. 

I've probably said this before, but I do find jiu jitsu really amazing for the mind and body. It has changed my perspective and made me a much, much more chill, open minded and expansive person. No, really. I love being a part of Heroes Martial Arts. It's been amazing. I was pretty timid at first there and far less nervous or afraid then I was when I started. 

Have a great weekend!

What Goes On 9/11/15

I missed last week's post since I was so busy with a wedding, birthday and otherwise. Happy to be catching up today!

Arting

A collaboration with Kyle Pellet

Last week, I sketched with Kyle Pellet. He is one of my favorite artists. His work is super funny and original. We collaborated on the above piece, which is available for purchase here. 

Tonight, Empire Seven Studios will be opening their show by Colin Frangicetto and Drew Roulette. 

When I had work for sale at the Oakland Museum of California, I had the pleasure of meeting Dawline-Jane Oni-Eseleh. I loved her work and on Saturday her show at Oxtail Studio in Berkeley opens. 

Rob Sato is an incredible artist with sketchbooks on display at The Arsenal. I can't wait to check this show out. 

Listening

I've mentioned the podcast Death, Sex and Money and I'll mention it again. The latest episode with Maria from Sesame Street is really, really good. 

The latest That's Deep Bro episode, Why Be Good? is really excellent. Christina ponders, "Why bother being a good person when some people seem to opt out?" I consider myself to be someone of pretty good morals and do question humanity a lot so this one was quite excellent to listen to. 

Meeting

On Thursday, I was waiting for Bryan at the SoFA Market when I ran into an old friend, Demone. Demone is someone I worked with at Streetlight Records, many years ago. He is now really involved with arts in San Jose and was there for a meetup for MALI (Multicultural Arts Leadership Institute). It was great to learn that something like this exists in San Jose. Being loosely to extensively involved in the art, blogging, Etsy/maker world, I constantly notice the lack of diversity in it. I had no idea of this organization until last night. I met a new artist who knows my work through a mutual friend and she came over and introduced herself. It was great to meet her and she has a potential new and exciting project happening in San Jose.

Reading

I started the book The Old Patagonian Express by Paul Theroux. My mom had given me a small stack of his books and I've finally gotten around to reading one. So far, so good. I like his writing style. It was written in 1979, so it should be interesting to hear his perspective on travel back then. 

Redesigning

The website got a redesign this week. I have often gone back and forth with this style and a single image on the front page. I do like being able to show all that I do on one page. I have also been thinking about my artistic goals and I want to do a broad range of work, so I think this reflects that. Hopefully sooner than later I will be working on a book and other special projects. There are some things that I need to do like adding all the sizes of the artworks, a new logo and such, but I wanted to let you know about the new look. If you have any feedback for me, please leave it in the comments below. Thanks!

Training

I labored on Labor Day. I trained for 2 hours midday and it was so much fun. I love Heroes Martial Arts. Everyone works so hard and has a great personality. I also couldn't ask for better exercise. I learn so much from everyone when I go. It felt great to go in after a long wedding weekend with a few too many drinks:) I ended up training 3 hours on Tuesday, 2.5 on Wednesday and an hour on Thursday. Somehow, it still feels good to work this hard at something and progress so slowly. 

Hope you have a great weekend!