All Kinds of Pieces.

Change--intentional, directed change--moves as fast as you want it to. And if you choose to resist, to hold yourself back, don't fool yourself into thinking you're standing still. Life is a current. Resistance is retrograde motion by default. The end result is always broken pieces.



Sometimes, though, you have to break first in order to heal.

Everybody stumbles. Get back up. Keep moving.

Turn to Stone.

Early on, these self-portraits were fractured, disconnected, dislocated. Here's an example.



As time passed the forms gained flesh and grew whole.

We never heal perfectly, but we're strongest in the broken places.

Take a seat.

Been a while since I posted....drat! Back to weekly posts, starting now.




Doesn't look comfortable, does it? The Angry Chair ain't there to make you feel comfy. You're supposed to hate sitting there.

Crunch.

Bite the Bullet, Baby.

Gingerbread Man

Maybe this time HE eats YOU.



I'll get a post on last weekend's big concept workshop up soon. Thank you LCAD, thank you Concept Design Academy. 'twas awesome and then some.

And I hurted my back.

Goddamit, Gingerbread Man, let that little kid GO.

Motherf*cker.

Because, of course, the asterisk renders the word above a complete mystery to you.



Some days are easier than others. That's how it works. Chin up, lil' camper. Tomorrow's a fresh, blank slate.

Thoughts of Saturdays Past.

Did it happen on a Saturday? I don't remember.

Thirty years of being in the same room. No wonder the world seems frightening. He's got no experience to tell him otherwise.



But it's better than being in the room. Anything is better than going backwards.

It's a mitzvah to take care of yourself: a blessing. Remind yourself of that when you next feel the need to tear yourself down and stop before you get stared.

If it's Tuesday....

..it must be this guy.

Got you all wrapped up

This is necessary.

It will keep you safe.

Don't struggle.

You need to be protected. The world's a dangerous place.

Stay inside.



(No. Don't. You don't need this anymore. Let it go.)

Who are you this time?

The kid stopped at age seven and a few days. The body kept on going. Life kept right on happening.

You can labor to build a business, a relationship, a family, pay off your debts, exercise to keep your body healthy, be timely in all senses, stay abreast of the latest news, play the stock market carefully, save a little with each paycheck; and in an instant it can all be wiped off the map.

You can have power over how you live your life. That is the essence of what is meant by "living in the moment". You aim to soak up all that each instant has to give you. Conscious existence. Deliberate awareness, even when the moment sucks rotten eggs, gives you a keystone when the world around you breaks.

But what happens when you can't trust your mind?



Where does your depression take you?

Grin and Bear It.

Is that what it looks like? That feeling?
Is it all the time or just sometimes?
Is there anything to be done about it?



Won't know until you try.

Who's Listening?

Are you? You need to. No one else can hear it, not so clearly as you. They can see the envelope. The letter inside isn't meant for them.



Change will happen, no matter what you want. You might as well make it deliberate. It's better than being swept out with the tide.

On the Following Tuesday.

I thought you deserved to see a more recent piece.

Grump.

Shit doesn't shovel itself.



Nobody's gonna get you out of this but you.



Get to work.

My Own Private Saturday.

More personal work. I started this series in late 2006, I think; details stick but dates, they often swim out of my head. Art therapy. Good as pharmaceuticals and cheaper by the dozen, too.

Some of the images I've developed, like the one in the previous post, came straight from my pen, no planning nor pondering. Then there are the pages I filled with thumbnails for bigger projects. This sketch comes from one of my noodle-sheets.

Considering that, I probably should post another finished sketch too, don't you think? Yep. Thought that's what you'd say.

In Person, Part One.

No, not really. This is (as noted) number 64 in a series of....? Who knows? I don't, but I am curious where they'll eventually lead.

Processing via art: funny, it's something we do naturally when we're kids. Then we become Big Grownup Artists and we must "set aside childish things".

Must we?

I'm coming to realize how foolish that advice is, as seen through common wisdom.

It's always worth giving things a second glance. Chances are, you missed something.

What the hell?

Welcome, August. Summer's coming to a close. And life? Life's crazed, but good.

I labor now for Red5 Studios, easily the best place I've ever worked for, full stop. Being at Red5 has done wonders to mitigate the bad experiences of my first year in the OC. Good riddance to bad rubbish. Though I have to make mention of the good that took place in the past 12 months. It wasn't unmitigated badness. Meeting and working with Stone Perales; Del, Bryan, Aaron, Geoff, Dave, Jennifer, Will, Bronwyn and the other cool folks at Meteor; doing some decent Magic art, getting back into plein air, getting to see all those I've missed at SDCC, even if it was for just a day. Taking Marshall Vandruff's anatomy class. If you haven't, do yourself a huge favor and take it. Friends and family, first and foremost, got me through to where I stand now.

Right this minute? I'm happy. And I AM what I am. Dig it, Stinky.

Blah blah blah.

Hey there!

Two weeks ago my fellow Magic artist Darrell Riche and I attended the Shadowmoor pre-release event in Richmond, Virginia. It was the first chance I'd had to hang with Darrell in eight months, and seeing as how he's a soul brother, that meant something gigantically good. Getting to meet with some fans and earn a little cash on the side was pure gravy.

Peter Hoefling and his crew at Star City Games engineered the event like an event ought to be run, smooth, slick and easy. We'd both worked with him in the past, for the Time Spiral pre-release if I'm thinking right, a couple of years ago. Good times then, repeated in 2008. He deserves vast and polyphonic kudos for showing us another great time, he and his staff both.

Topping the cake was a gab session with a fine gent named Evan Erwin, who put together this artist's interview for your enjoyment. Listen to Darrell and Yours Truly babble like a pair of Wags!

You can find the link here!

Evan, you do great work. This is one of the best prizes I've ever had come from any event. That couldn't have been easy to manage! I remember clearly devolving into sputtering lunacy but, somehow, you got rid of those bits and made gold with the remnants. You rock, sir.

Brush Bums Alert.

The next locale for the monthly Brush Bums excursion has been set. It's the Getty, baby:

http://www.getty.edu/

There are several good exhibits going on, including one on Fragonard and the Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide. I'm planning on getting there around 11 am on Sunday the 16th and working until closing (6pm). Sounds like there are a lot of good candidates for value studies and master copies (such as their exhibit of Greek and Roman busts). That's my goal.

To recap: this isn't a formal group. There are no formal requirements, no fees, no responsibilities on your part, and my only burden, an easy one, is to give you the wheres and whens. These monthly trips are missions I undertake to get my ass out of the house and work. I spend most of my time operating alone. I don't mind that, but I don't mind company, either. Come if you like, hang out and draw, leave when you wish. It's a free-form thing.

Sunday, March 16th, the Getty! The Getty's free but parking's 8 bucks.

See you there, folks.

Some Kind of Wonderful.

Artists have chops to maintain. In this, we're like musicians or athletes. Subjects as demanding as the human figure or drapery need to be practiced. The eye needs to be kept sharp, or we start getting lazy. We're like athletes.

Excepting, of course, that we can get fat, even while practicing. Do not look for justice here, compadre. There is none.

Two weekends ago, on a fine Saturday, a group of my friends went out and painted. Not all the work come in yet, so check back periodically. I'll post everyone's work as I get the jpegs. Here's mine, a pastel done from the "equestrian lot" in Laguna Canyon.


This isn't a one-time thing. It'll be a monthly excursion for me and as many folks as want to tag along. I'll announce the date and locales in advance, on this blog. Feel free to join us; we bums of the brush and pen aren't snooty. Once a month, generally on the third weekend of the month, with targets ranging from Los Angeles to San Diego County.

More to come. I had forgotten how much I love plein air.

EDIT: here's my buddy Pat's piece from the same day:



And this is a study my friend Jeremy did of a truck across the way from the park: