Light and Shadow

I figured it was time to post some of my progress. This series of work was based off of the Shintoism idea of spiritual embodiment of every day objects. In this ancient Japanese religion all living things (and some non living like mountains and rocks) had spirits. In my recent work i have been depicting and illustrating these spirits.

 Here are some terrible pics of my sketchbook pages~

All three of these images became prints. I decided to use etching, because there is something very satisfying working with zinc and acid. The quality of the line is very fine and because i tend to do a lot of hatching and crosshatching, the medium fit my style.

I really like the way they turned out, the top diptych is called "Light and Shadow" as they are neither good nor bad, but rather opposing spirits of equally important things. I wanted to depict Light as shy and fleeting as it is always changing and moving. Her hair is straight and long like beams of light. Shadow is a lot more bold and daring as she is everywhere. Her hair is curly and flows like the edges of shadows seem to flow. The bottom etching is called "Air" and i wanted her to look like she is taking flight. I got the gradient of the background by doing several layers of aquatint on the plate, which is a process of covering the plate with resin, baking it, and then stopping out all the areas where you don't want the acid to bite. Really fun stuff.

I didn't want to stop there, though. I felt there was something really compelling about the balanced compositions of "Light and Shadow." I liked the idea of the dual portraits, and my mentor suggested that i take up the challenge and make them life-sized paintings. Challenge accepted. 

After many hours of work, i came up with these:

 She is "Light." I wanted her to look tired and worn, as if she has traveled all over the world carrying with her the heaviness of day, I know it is hard to tell from this photo, but there are stars in the background.

 She is "Shadow." I had a lot of fun putting in the red of her hair. Just like the prints, I wanted her to be more outgoing.

Here is the finished product! Each painting is approximately 56 inches by 35 inches in size and the portraits are life-sized.

Details:

Updates and Business:

As the semester is winding down, stress levels and productivity are increasing for me. Being fair-skinned, or as some affectionately refer to it as "pasty," I tend to burn easily. I am also not a big fan of heat and temperatures over 80 degrees. Either way, I ended up getting both heat-stroke and badly burnt this past Sunday playing Ultimate Frisbee on the beach. I had quite an interesting reaction to these (other than being fatigued, nauseated, dizzy, and over all feverish) : my forehead turned lobster-red and became rather swolen. You can imagine the wonderful looks I got all week! Luckily the redness and swelling has subsided and today I look almost normal with the exception of the bridge of my nose (which is still swollen and makes me look like a Na'vi from Avatar). Moral of this story: wear sunblock and drink ridiculous amounts of water. All of this happened, of course, just in time for final exam week (Hurray!).

Despite the recent set-backs I finished a new painting today. I also put together a small collection of poems (will post here soon). Photos will be taken of all recent work (paintings and drawings) and will be posted soon as well.

In other news, I have started to put together a preliminary itinerary for San Francisco and have selected travel dates and hotel location (Yay!). I have also started the Holy Cow Yoga Challenge this week for the second year in a row. I am a big advocate and fan of yoga and have been practicing for almost two years now. Its really helping me relax and recenter in this time of chaos. Lastly, I have started gathering a list of projects that I will be undertaking over the summer involving a lot of art but also some performance art (poi, fire poi, aerial dance, and various other things).

So hang in there and new work will be posted soon! Namaste!

On Palettes

When it comes to artists' palettes you can use virtually anything (I accidentally used my pants as a palette once). So how to know which palette is right for you? Well, there are four basic types of palette: paper, wood, plastic, and glass.

Paper palettes, otherwise known as disposable palettes, are basically just sheets of waxy paper. These come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and some even have the thumb holes that mimic traditional wooden palettes that I've only ever seen Bob Ross use. These are great for quick and dirty painting and for fast and neat cleanup. The problem arises when you try to save the paint for more than just one day. Because they are paper, they are also absorbent (despite the waxy coating) and soak up all the oil (or water) from your colors, making them dry much faster. Storing an in-use palette is also problematic since they are in a sketch-pad format and you pretty much can't start a new palette without ripping up the first one. So if you are a fast painter, or an en plein air painter, these are great and portable. However, don't waste the $10 its gonna cost to buy one, because if you dig through your kitchen and find some wax paper (like the kind you bake cookies with) it works just as well.

BUT, if you happen to be a tree-loving hippie like me, you might want to consider something more environmentally friendly.

The wooden palette is what most people imagine when they think of "artist" along with a French beret and a cigarette (although it is mandatory for all artist to always wear a beret, not all of us smoke). They are portable and easy. The problem with wooden palettes, however, is the same as with paper (since they come from the same place): their absorbency. You have to clean a wooden palette after every use or the paint will dry and cake and will become near impossible to scrape off. And frankly, if you are hell-bent on using a wooden palette, buy/find a cheap piece of wood, varnish/seal it and viola, a palette. No need for overpriced art store wood.

Plastic palettes are better than wood, as they not as absorbent, but still pose the impossible-to-clean problem. This palette is ideal for projects that last about a week. After that, paint starts to dry, scraping it off becomes difficult, and your palette ends up looking like a rainbow slaughterhouse. For watercolor or acrylic, however, plastic palettes are ideal. Some even come with designated paint spots and covers. And with water-based paint, cleanup is never a big problem (get someone else to do it). These can get pretty pricey though, so shop around.

Lastly, and my personal favorite, glass palettes. I like glass for a few reasons: it is non-absorbent, paints stays wet for a long time, and super easy cleanup. The downsides to glass is that it is breakable (and sharp!), and can be heavy (if large). To clean a glass palette all one must do is run a little turpentine or water over it (depending on your paint) and then scrape with a razor blade or palette knife and even the most dried up paint will magically come off. Mixing paint is also super easy since you don't have to worry about ripping or slicing the palette accidentally. Storage is simple; a piece of saran wrap does the trick. And it doesn't matter if you paint fast, or paint over a long period of time, this palette is trustworthy. So if you're interested in a glass palette (and I recommend that you be) the best thing to do is to either find a piece of glass (or mirror) or go to Home Depot or Lowes and by a piece. DO NOT buy a glass palette from an arts store because they are smart business people and they will charge 40 bucks for a 4 dollar piece of glass. So go to Home Depot and buy some glass (I got a 16 x 20 piece for $4, and they come in all sizes). Now, the thing you have to be careful with is (if you haven't noticed) glass is see through, which is problematic for mixing colors (also why I discourage using a mirror, you can't do anything about the reflectiveness). Taping a sheet of white paper to one side works wonders, or as in my case, duct taping the white cardboard it came in to the underside. It works great and looks all nice and ghetto-like (you're an artist, it's not gonna look neat and pretty, its okay!). The duct tape also acts like a protective barrier from the sharp edges so that you don't accidentally slice or shank anyone in your palette-swinging artist rages.

Hope that was helpful, good luck palette hunting!

Revisiting Simpler Times

Due to my lack of any recent work photos, here are some progress shots from my senior thesis concentration:

It was a long, grueling process of long days and way too little sleep. In the end, though, I felt accomplished and ecstatically happy. I finished my last piece for the art show an hour before the opening and it was hung wet. I look back with jealousy at my former self, in those days I was producing a painting a week. Now I have so many other commitments, that I can barely find the time to paint. I plan on changing that though...very soon!

This was my senior art show/one of the happiest nights of my life: