Fine Art by Amber Massey

Week 12

2011-11-30T15:29:00.001-08:00

Like the Rain, Ink and Watercolor on paper, 26"x26.5", 2011

Week 11

2011-11-30T15:28:00.000-08:00

Don't Speak, Mixed Media, 41.5" x20.5", 2011

Week 10

2011-11-10T19:27:00.000-08:00

Conscious No. 1. 14 3/4"x12". Pen, Watercolor and marker on paper. 2011.

Conscious No. 2. 12"x7 3/8". Pen, Watercolor and Marker on paper. 2011.

Conscious No. 3. 14 3/4"x10". Mixed Media on paper. 2011.

Week 9

2011-11-10T19:15:00.000-08:00

Visions. Acrylic and Watercolor on paper. 27"x24". 2011.

Week 8

2011-11-10T19:12:00.000-08:00

Journey. Mixed media on paper. 41"x36". 2011.

Week 7

2011-11-10T19:04:00.000-08:00

Dreamer. Mixed Media on paper. 35"x23". 2011

Week 6

2011-10-10T23:21:00.000-07:00

Noh Face. Mixed Media on paper. 3'x2'6". 2011.

Week 5

2011-10-03T15:51:00.000-07:00

Cosmic Heart. Mixed Media (Soft pastels, watercolor pencils, and watercolors) on paper. 4'1"x2'6". 2011

Week 4

2011-09-29T00:10:00.000-07:00

Untitled. Tombow dual-brush pen and Watercolors on paper. 4'3"x3'1". 2011.

Week 3

2011-09-29T00:01:00.000-07:00

Untitled. Mixed Media on paper (all water-soluble materials). 36"x16 1/2". 2011.

Week 2

2011-09-28T23:58:00.000-07:00

Alchemy. Sharpie marker and Acrylic on canvas. 20"x16". 2011

BA Senior Seminar

2011-09-28T23:53:00.000-07:00

So this is my final year at CSU Sacramento. Time always moves so quickly.

I'm not really sure what's next. I would love to stay here. I've really grown to love this town and the people who reside in it. *sigh* But enough of that talk. These new updates will be on my Senior Seminar collection - which is basically the final class I take to receive my degree in Art Studio.

This series of work is very personal for me. For the past few years I have been struggling with myself; whether art is something I still love. I feel as though I've lost a lot of the passion I once had. Maybe I am just burnt out. Maybe I'm just growing to love my second degree,Art History, more. Maybe I'm not cut out to be an artist. I don't know any of the answers. I do know that I am not the only one who feels this way, but since we are all unique and all of our feelings and experiences are unique, we cannot truly understand one another. Trying to explain to someone that you don't know if you love what you do/who you are is very difficult. Art has always been a part of who I am. I am nothing without my art. When I started to understand what internal conflict was going on inside of me, it was like being ripped apart. I feel as though the artist side of me is drifting/pulling away, more and more each day, and it creates such sadness in me, that just talking about it brings me to tears. I literally feel as though I've been watching someone I love slowly, painfully die and there's been nothing I can do to prevent it. There are so many emotions that are at war within me that the only way for me to express them is through this final body of work.

I'm not trying to make a statement, change the world, rally against political events or delve deeper into the human psyche. This is about me; my feelings, my struggles, and my way of coping with them.

WEEK 1

Everything You Wanted. Sharpie marker and Acrylic on canvas. 20"x16". 2011.

Chibi!

2011-05-17T22:53:00.000-07:00

Bad quality photos because I took them with my cell phone to document them before I gave them to each respected person as end of semester gifts. Kasumi, Linda and Arjun. I've got to know some really awesome people this semester that I'll never forget! Just lovely folks!! xoxoxo

From the beginning

2011-04-25T15:38:00.000-07:00

Paintings from the beginning of the semester....

Midsemester - (this last one is a 2 min painting of the scene above)

More Landscapes...

2011-04-25T15:11:00.000-07:00

Both are acylic on 90lb drawing paper...same location, different times of day.

Sorry for the strange views...it was the only way to take a picture of it without a flash reflection.

Ugh Landscape

2011-04-14T22:02:00.000-07:00

Limited Palette - Black, White, and Yellow.

START

FINISH

Emotional painting

2011-03-02T01:03:00.000-08:00

This is the after effect...release and calmness. (charcoal and acrylic on canvas)

Anger, frustration, and just a hot mess. (charcoal and acrylic on canvas)

Mother Daughter

2011-01-10T16:12:00.000-08:00

So here's the other commission. Mother and daughter (same baby as previous post). I'm not too thrilled about the way it turned out, but if I work on it more I feel like I'll mess it up more...I hope they like it!

8x11 colored pencils

Baby Zhiva

2010-12-19T18:52:00.000-08:00

Christmas commission for my dear friend, Brandi. She wanted to give two portraits to her friend and this is one of them. This is Zhiva, the baby girl of the friend. 8x10 colored pencils. I still have one more of the mother and daughter that I need to do, which I'll then update this post.

Finals

2010-12-09T16:43:00.000-08:00

This was the final project for Figure Drawing - 3 figures incorporated -Oil Pastels - Large Scale - This is what I came up with. The original figure is the solid skin tone under everything, but I hated it, so with encouragement from my professor I "destroyed" it by just overlapping the following 2 figures. I still plan on working on it so any suggestions are welcome! :)

Oil Pastels

2010-12-02T18:23:00.000-08:00

Never really worked with oil pastels before.......they're an interesting medium

(Same female model in both)

Color

2010-11-16T16:17:00.000-08:00

half self-portrait -- colored pencils (various colors)

Keeping it simple

2010-10-24T21:12:00.000-07:00

Contours & Shading

2010-10-19T01:10:00.000-07:00

(once I get a digital camera again, I'll probably redo these posts)

Male Gestures

2010-10-16T17:50:00.000-07:00

Female Gestures

2010-10-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

(again, sorry for the bad quality)

Live model

2010-10-15T16:35:00.001-07:00

Charcoal - 18x24

Curating a gallery exhibition

2010-09-25T14:43:00.001-07:00

Photos of the opening reception for the CSUS Library Gallery exhibition I co-curated! I'm really proud of it! Please come check it out if you get the chance!! :)

http://www.al.csus.edu/sota/ulg/currentexhibit.html

I'm Back! Weeeeeee

2010-09-23T16:49:00.001-07:00

First one is an unfinished self portrait (graphite 18x24) that I found in the back of my sketch book. I completely forgot about this. I believe I did it last (last?) semester. I had lasik over the summer so clearly this is from when I still wore glasses.

The others are muscle study drawings. Front and Back. The back is in progress sequence. (charcoal 18x24)

Music

2010-09-19T22:55:00.000-07:00

I thought music might help me loosen up enough to paint. It's been around 6 months since my last painting. It's been stressful. I don't handle stress very well.

I've stopped using paint brushes. I've gone primitive and started using my hands/fingers. It's freeing.

I'm out of a digital cam so I have to use my cell phone for now, so sorry for the bad quality shots

Playlist
---------
MGMT - Eletric Feel
Metric - Gold Guns Girls
The Temper Trap - Fader
Anberlin - Impossible

Long Overdue...

2010-03-12T15:11:00.000-08:00

I've been in a ~~bit of a~~ huge slump since December of last year. I didn't want to even touch my sketch book. I didn't care that I hadn't bought new paints or new canvas. Honestly I felt tired. When the new semester rolled around I had 5 classes, 3 adept to art (medieval art history, art in the marketplace, and figure drawing). I was excited for the marketplace since it allowed me to continue to work on the gallery exhibit I was part of with several fellow students. The medieval art history was pleasing since I knew I would learn a lot and the figure drawing I was happy because it's one of my favorite subjects to draw. But as the first week came and went...I wasn't happy. I wasn't excited. I felt...indifferent. I felt tired. Tired of making art. But art was a part of me...so was I tired of a part of myself? I'm still not sure, but I did realize that I was tired of making art for others. This included making art for class...after treating art as an assignment since my freshman year of high school, I realized that I've been making art restricted by the boundaries of others (professors, clients, friends, competitions, etc) for so long I forgot what it was like to make art for myself. I've always wondered: Why can't I make a line that way? Why can't I mix these two medias? Why can't I shade that area that way? Why do I have to use this specific brush? Who makes up all these rules? I thought art was suppose to have no boundaries. I thought the reason certain artists become famous or infamous is because they ignore all the "rules" that dictates what makes art, art. If you don't make art following these rules, does it make it "wrong?" Am I wrong? This whole thing bothers me tremendously.
Eh...but I don't want to think about that now. My art has most likely suffered because all of this, but who knows. I'm working with what I have now, which isn't much. A 36x40 canvas, sharpie markers, and acrylics, no brushes...just hands. Unfinished...I think.

Sharpie

2009-12-11T15:24:00.000-08:00

I recommend opening a window or two while using the amount of sharpies I used while doing these pieces...

The Traveler

2009-11-17T15:42:00.000-08:00

9'X48". charcoal. two pieces attached in photoshop

I'm probably gonna redo it.....I don't like the ocean...or the hill on the right hand side with trail...

Distracted

2009-11-06T23:48:00.000-08:00

My friend Rene ~~requested~~ bugged the crap outta me to do a doodle of me in a bubble. So here you are Rene. I hope you're damn happy. :)

mental torpor

2009-11-04T12:17:00.000-08:00

Deep

2009-10-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

3'x5' done in graphite

Stretch

2009-10-23T15:23:00.000-07:00

This buddhist inspired drawing was done on a 24"x68'' yoga mat in various sizes of sharpie marker.

Faux Fur

2009-10-15T17:03:00.000-07:00

Happy 25th Birthday to my brother.

Time to spare

2009-10-02T17:06:00.001-07:00

Lost, but never found

2009-09-29T19:43:00.000-07:00

Missy, reincarnation of Miko
Yuki, my first kitty :)
Miko, the anti-social mini-bobcat
Ginger, the nicest, laziest cat ever!
And Ebony, my brother's crazy boxing cat

Over the past 10 years that we have lived out in the country we have had quite a few of our cats go missing. This is dedicated to those awesome, lazy, food munching, mice catching, get cat hair all over your new blouse cats my family loved :)

One of my favs

2009-09-19T00:27:00.001-07:00

This is my favorite watercolor that I've done. Probably because it was the only time I felt like I was actually "controlling the flood" as David puts it.

Learning from the Masters pt. 2

2009-09-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

Jan Vermeer is one of my favorite artists. This is a copy of Vermeer's "Girl with a pearl earring." ( I couldn't get a decent photo due to the reflective quality of graphite pencil...)

Thought

2009-09-08T21:45:00.000-07:00

"Three Loves" - Charcoal on Newsprint - 18x24

Love of your family, love of your significant other, and love of oneself.

My professor said the border was cheesy...

I dunno...what do you think?

Lions and Tiger and Bears, Oh My!

2009-08-16T22:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, so no lions or tigers, but definitely bears! Just wanted to share a few photos from my trip to Yosemite National Park. It was gorgeous! (That last picture was taken when we woke up to a 27 degree morning! Least I say we froze our asses off!)

Good News!

2009-08-07T21:43:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier...I have a scanner but a non-working computer...My mother has a computer but no scanner....DUH! Why don't I bring my scanner with me next time I visit home!? Genius, I know.

1)Watercolor Sketch - Folsom Power House (cut off Machine shed), Folsom, CA

2) Ink - Fisherman & Rainbow Bridge, Folsom, CA

3) Ink - Creek/Swimming hole, Indians, Los Padres Nat. Forest, CA

4) Ink - Blue Angel, McClellan Aerospace Museum, Sacramento, CA

Hiatus!

2009-07-14T14:18:00.000-07:00

I'm sad and frustrated to say that I have to go on hiatus for a little bit. A few weeks ago my computer decided to rebel and completely reboot itself........I lost EVERYTHING. Four years worth of stuff gone...I assure you I cried. Anyway, I decided to not touch my computer until my friend who is my "geek squad", literally, can come up and fix it and retrieve all my files from my hard drive (crosses fingers). In the meantime, I can't post anything up because without my comp, I can't scan anything in, and my mother's computer, which I'm on right now, doesn't have one. I can't even take photos and upload them that way since this comp is not that modern....

But I do have tons of artwork to post up when I do get back up, so look forward to that!!

~Amber

Docked

2009-06-14T14:17:00.000-07:00

Here's another sharpie sketch from Miller Park...
It seems unbalanced on the left hand side, but I'm not sure if I add more dark that it will over due it and take away from the main focus (the dock)....Or maybe I already over did it.......
Any suggestions?

Back from the Boondocks

2009-06-14T00:40:00.000-07:00

I've been home this past two weeks, visiting family and friends. My house is seriously in the middle of no where, and so the internet is practically non-existent. Hence the reason why I haven't posted anything up....plus I, like the ditz I am, didn't even remember to bring my art supplies home with me. All the well I probably wouldn't have done anything since I nearly slept every day anyway....

Here's a simple sketch done in sharpie pen of some cement towers...silos?...down by the marina here in Sac.

LOGO

2009-05-27T00:12:00.000-07:00

So my friend's husband asked me to design some logos and posters for his band, "Set Aside" and I said "sure!" They're a punk rock band out of my podunk little town of King City, CA and I'm glad to say they're pretty good! From left to right: Saul, Luis, Hector, and Alfredo. You can check them out here: http://www.myspace.com/setasidepunx
I thought this would be fun...I guess they're gonna make this one into patches to sell at their next show in Los Banos. I'm also working on a poster that displays them as the Star Wars cast (original 1980's version). I'll put that one up when I'm done.

....My photoshop is on the fritz so whatever mistakes or corrections I still need to do to this is put on hold.

Uno, Dos, Tres

2009-05-20T01:31:00.001-07:00

Another late night wonder.

Electronic Art Final

2009-05-19T23:48:00.000-07:00

Acrylic (with molding paste) and transparency photographs - 18x24 canvas

My cat totally sabotaged any attempt of me trying to work on this.......I have green paint stains on my carpet for proof.

Late Night Coloring

2009-05-07T01:39:00.000-07:00

I can't sleep, so I color. <--color pencils-- (bad scan, bad scanner)

Students

2009-05-02T20:59:00.001-07:00

These are two of my students, brother and sister, Ken and Maxine, 6 yrs old and 12 yrs old. They are freakin' awesome kids!! And they both have great talent!! I love teaching these guys! I go every Saturday to their house to tutor them privately. Even though I spend 3-4 hours with them, and I'm usually tired after, they are so funny and intelligent, that I always leave with a smile! Check them out! Ballers! hahaha ;)

Take Me Home

2009-04-24T23:48:00.000-07:00

First of all, I'd like to give awesome credit to my friend Kayla Caulk, who took these photos for me!! Thanks again Kayla!! :)

This was a project where I integrated text into photographs to make a statement. I decided to make commentary on the housing development of small towns, specially when economic hard times happen. These are pictures of an abandoned housing development in my home town of King City, ca. I think the project was suppose to complete by now, but with the run out of funds and the bad housing thing, there's a lot of empty houses, empty lots, half roads, and left over equipment. I feel like these companies come to small towns promising hope, better futures, more money and community parks, but when things fall through, small towns are the first ones abandoned. The text I integrated is subtle but visible enough that you can get it. I hope haha. I did A LOT of corrections to these photos (cloning, patch tooling, overlay, levels, curves, etc) Well I think if i developed this idea further it would be better.

Stop the Violence

2009-04-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

I also wanted to make a little statement about senseless violence that happens everyday, every minute, in every town, everywhere. Today I learned about a shooting that happened in my small town of King City, Ca. Now it isn't the greatest of towns, but it is home. I grew up there, went to school, and made friends of a lifetime there. Unfortunately, like many towns, ours has a gang problem. It has been climbing steadily over the years, the violence getting stronger and more frequent. Today was probably the worst in what...20 years the police said. Last night around 9pm, a group of friends, two of them I knew personally, were having a peaceful hangout session, playing video games in the garage. No one thought that 4 of them would end up with bullets in their heads and one with it in his arm. No one thought that 2 of them were going to die.
Senseless, Thoughtless, Worthless, Heartless, Cowardly. That is what I call this act of gang violence on my community. These kids, KIDS, 13, 14, 18, 22, 22. Now I'm not sure about the kids I didn't know, but I know for a fact that the two I did know were never involved with gangs, drugs, or violence, ever. Absolutely no reason to be targeted, except for the fact that they were easy targets. I can't even imagine what was running through their heads as it happened. I don't want to know, and I don't want to find out. What I do want to find out is WHO did this. NO one, and I mean NO ONE, deserves to die, to be snuffed out like candle before you even got to live your life. NO one should watch their friends die in front of them. How much longer can the community sit by as these gangs ruin our town. They take our Friends, our Family, and our Community away with a gun. Will no one speak up, take a stand, and make a difference!? Can our police please stand up, and CLEAN UP our aggie town!? Won't the school extend for an after school program to keep kids off the streets and into the hands of gangs. Won't the parents take a more active role in their children's lives? When will it be enough? How many more innocent people must die for stupid street cred and territory!? How much longer until we finally make it stop.

My heart goes out to the families of the mourned and to those recovering. I know for a fact that everyone in the community is behind you guys.

Books, Books, and more Books!

2009-04-23T18:05:00.000-07:00

I've always secretly wanted a bookstore of my very own....

Learn from the Masters

2009-04-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

I had to go the Crocker for my Art history class. I had to fill out a worksheet, take pictures, take pictures of myself in the gallery to PROVE I went there, and also make a 15 minutes sketch of my favorite piece there. Two and half hours is seriously NOT enough time to really appreciate the collections they have going on there! That museum is GORGEOUS! I love the Victorian house, and specially the Salon-style gallery. That was like a kid walking into a candy store for me. So after rushing through, I finally decided to sit down and draw (another thing I love about this place, you can sit in any of the coumfy chairs/benches and sketch to your heart discontent). I chose Seignac's "Venus and Cupid" oil on canvas. Simply stunning. So I drew. I ran out of time due to the Museum actually closing, so I didn't finish. I suppose I could finish it if I wanted to, but I kinda like it unfinished. I wish my professor didn't feel the need to fold it right in half though *cringe*

Impossiblity in the Making

2009-04-20T21:25:00.000-07:00

So I saw the theme of "Impossiblity" for this week on Illustration Friday (Thanks Cass for that link!) and the first thing that came into my mind was this......a really really really rough idea sketch of "a walk in the clouds." Impossible!

Overdone

2009-04-14T01:08:00.000-07:00

I really over did the green background (aka leaves). I wanted to do sunflowers because I saw David did some sunflowers in acrylic and I thought it would be fun practice with my "tutoree." I think I'm gonna redo this one.

Looks like...

2009-04-10T23:48:00.000-07:00

I sketched this as an idea for a tattoo. I dunno if you've heard of this, but I have a few times about wearing your heart on your sleeve; meaning you show your emotions and put your heart out on the line for the world to see. It pretty much describes a part of myself.
These two started out as mindless doodles and then I realized they reminded me of 2 close friends....

Cemeteries

2009-03-25T15:47:00.000-07:00

^I always laugh at this one because of how crooked the monument came out...

I think I've posted at least one of these up before, but since Cassie asked to see some of these, I'll post them again. These are a few cemetery tombow wash sketches I did over the past 2 summers. They are from the Old Sac City Cemetery over on 5th and broadway. A really great cemetery always has really old graves, giant monuments that no one can afford anymore, and great shady glades. I've been wanting to take these and mesh 'em up and create one big background scene. When I'll get to that...I have no clue. But when I do, I'll sure to let you know.

2 unfinished and 1 doodle

2009-03-21T00:34:00.000-07:00

The Doodle - "A typical conversation between Yanelis and I." You probably won't get it, it's ok, I think only us two do.
#1 unfinished: "The Sumerian Goddess Ishtar", goddess of sex, lust, and violence. I based it off the Gilgamesh description, artifacts displaying her image, and my own imagination obviously. The finished will include a temple background. (I'm taking World Myth <--- influence)
#2 unfinished: An unnamed dragon. Just because I wanted to.

Update

2009-03-21T00:20:00.000-07:00

I recently went and worked on this instead of doing what I originally intended to do in the lab. Can you guess what that was? Yes, your right, it was homework. I'm seriously majoring in procrastination since my transfer over to CSUS. Gosh, college is a horrible thing you know. You get to choose your own schedule, classes that don't even have to do with your major, (jeezus you can even choose "walking" if you want). You decide whether you want to show up for class, stay the entire time, or just come for tests. You can decide if youre going to turn in that 3 page research paper on time or try to sweet talk the professor into letting you email it to them. You don't even have to know the name of your professor, or even what they look like; you could go the whole semester without learning each others name. You can sleep through lectures. You can play games or myspace during the lecture. And the catch is that there is NO guarentee that you'll ever get your degree. Plus, you're actually fishing out thousands of dollars every few months to do this. Sweet high schooler, you have no idea what you're getting yourselves into.

Therapy Session!

2009-03-18T01:43:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling kinda depressed lately so I decided to do something different. I decided to do a cute little doodle of myself surrounded by all the positive words and descriptions that I could think of that are ME. By the last word, I felt so much better. It's cheesy, I know, but it worked. :)

NOTICE: I didn't include "speller" for obvious reasons. ha.

Scanner as Camera

2009-02-27T21:25:00.000-08:00

These were two projects I recently completed in my Electronic Art class. The projects objective was to use scanners as cameras and creating compositions out of personally scanned items. It was so nice to use such a powerful scanner. Compared to my dingy home scanner, these things were like secret high powered government scanners! It was a fun project but as always, frustrating at times because at points I just didn't know what to do with all the items I scanned. In the end I think my kaleidoscope composition turned out the best.

Dazed and Confused in SF

2009-02-22T16:34:00.000-08:00

When it comes to modern and contemporary art, I feel like an old person who doesn't get text messaging is. This past Saturday I was made to go on a field trip for my Art 97 class to Sf to view various galleries and the MoMA. Though it was more, get lost on your way, your problem, kind of field trip. So much for google maps telling you half the block where you need to turn left is going to be blocked off. Thank goodness I had my buddy Jane and fellow classmate Crystal as co-pilots (not that they knew SF anymore than I did). First we went to the CA college of the arts, which totally confused the heck out of all 3 of us. I'm sorry, I just don't understand an empty laundry stroller and a conveyor belt rolling down pennies while an recording plays annoying phrases over and over. Take it there was some nice work in the students indv. studios, I still left this place with the same amount of understanding for the category.(Above are two pieces I really liked at the CA school of arts)

We then managed to get lost on our way to the Embarcadero trying to find food, almost running over a few bikers, and realizing that it had taken us the time we had for lunch break just to get there, so we ended up just going to the parking structure on Mission St. for the remaining galleries. They were interesting, but we had such little time to go to all the galleries plus any extra we felt like seeing, I don't even remember 90% of the stuff there. Mind you, we were walking all over the place by this time and hadn't even eaten lunch. I think Crystal said it the best when she said "It's no fun when we have this set schedule of having to be here and there at this certain time to even enjoy anything." (and this speaks volumes since she hardly ever talks). Let me take a deep breath now.ABOVE is a one beautiful piece of an even more beautiful series. They were in one of the private galleries and I just found this to be so moving. Fragile, delicate, mournful, depressing, inspiring, individualized, a grasps on the fragility of life.

We ended our day at the MoMA (museum of modern art). It was great, but our feet were hurting so much by now, Jane sat out most of the tour while Crystal and I tried our best to see each piece of the 4 floors. Paintings by Matisse, Mondrian, Rivera and Pollock attracted my attention of course. I think I stood and stared at Matisse's painting of his wife for a good 15 minutes before moving on (he's one of my favorite artists). But then there were the strange, repetitious videos of blinding shapes and crazed masked dancers that left me dazed and confused. REALLY NOW!? (What were they smokin' and where can I get some for myself!?) Maybe I'm just biased to Traditional Fine Arts. That said, it was still a fun day filled with laughs, yells of "turn left!" and "Where the hell are we!?" and reunions of old friends. Oh, and we finally got to eat around 6pm. Totally worth it!!

Proud

2009-01-28T00:03:00.000-08:00

I also wanted to post up the drawing done by the young girl that I'm tutoring. Her name is Maxine. And this was the first drawing that she didn't constantly give up on or tell me she didn't like it. I was impressed by her for trudging along even though at times I knew she was frustrated. It's a little wonky in some places, but for a 10 year old, I think she did very well. I was proud.

Dark-Hunters

2009-01-27T23:54:00.000-08:00

Her arm bothers me. Just a doodle of my interpretation of Artemis, the Greek Goddess of the Hunt. This is based off the description from Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter novels. They are GREAT reads!

Quickie

2009-01-27T22:54:00.001-08:00

here's a quickie - took like 10 min max- charcoal of anna paquin - was giving tips to my tutoree on how to start out portraits

Happy Holidays everyone!!

2008-12-20T01:08:00.000-08:00

"...she had the attention span of an artist who seldom stayed focused on the here and now. Like an out-of-control slingshot, her thoughts drifted from one topic to the next and then back again. Her mind was constantly wandering and sifting through new ideas and techniques— the novelty of the world around her and how best to capture it." -sherrilyn kenyon

Work In Progress

2008-12-15T22:21:00.000-08:00

This is a work in progress. I started this a couple weeks ago and so far it's still sitting against the wall, waiting to get finished. This is just like much of my artwork, haha. I don't know why I do this, I wish I would just finish a piece in one sitting or at least one day. I think I just get bored, and I want to start something new, and then the cycle starts over. This was suppose to be a gift for a friend, who has been there for me every time I needed someone, without questions or objections. He's always heard me out, no matter our pathetic my problems were, he let me stay over so I wouldn't have to drive the long drive back at 2am, he's been there for me through a very difficult break up, and has been since high school. He currently lives in Daily City, but most of his time, and heart, is in San Fransisco. I noticed in the house that he had many photos of various areas of SF and even a satellite map of the city, so I thought it fitting to do a painting of the Golden Gate Bridge at night for him. Oh, it's in acrylic.

Belle Morte

2008-12-08T14:56:00.001-08:00

"beautiful death"
Skeleton Study -- charcoal--18x24
I've always had an interest in the dead. I think cemeteries are beautiful and incredibly fascinating. Walking from headstone to giant monuments and reading the dates, seeing those 1800 digits, seem so old, beyond my young minds comprehension. Then there's the aspect of knowing there are bodies, people, dead and gone underneath your feet. What secrets did they take with them to the grave?
Then there's the language of the dead. In spanish, french, and italian, death sounds so beautiful. "muerte" "morte" "la mort", it just rolls off the tongue (as it is with most words in those languages compared to english.) As with life, death can also be a beautiful thing; a celebration of a life lived. I guess it just depends on how you view it.

Yellow Thumb

2008-11-05T20:22:00.000-08:00

Man, I don't know what's going on, but every time I buy a "house" plant, that says it doesn't require a lot of sun light, that it does better in the shade, it DIES! Slowly too. Now, I'm really good about not over watering or under watering, so I just don't get it. I've even set it out in the sun at a sad last attempt to redeem it, but that always seem to make it worse! All my outside plants are doing incredible! They are reblooming and growing like there's no tomorrow! But my indoor plants........gosh. Forget green thumb, I must have a yellow one, because that's what my poor plant looks like.

Oh, this done in regular ball point pen.

VOTE!!

2008-11-04T14:16:00.000-08:00

Today is Nov. 4th. VOTING DAY! This year was my first time voting, and I am really happy I did. I'm registered in my home county of Monterey County, so though I didn't get to vote on what measures were in Sacramento (except for Prop 1), I did at least have my opinion heard for Monterey county measures. I actually sat down and read each proposition, arguments for it, against it, and went online and researched them more so I could be completely informed. Get out and Vote, Make your opinion heard, Make a difference, VOTE FOR CHANGE, no matter what your opinion of change is! All I hope for is that for once, they're be a difference made in the country after this electon!

Cold Blooded

2008-10-27T13:22:00.001-07:00

And I wasn't talking about my spiteful drawing teacher, although......hehe I won't start. This is a portrait of my beloved pet veiled chameleon "Lilith." Her name taken from bible folklore (my own opinion, so don't go nuts on me), was the queen of demons and adams first wife who left him, because she is a damn mean chameleon. I need to clean out her cage at least once a week, and I have to remove her in the process, and every single time she's gotta puff up so big and try to bite me! She never does, but I'm still cautious because I've witnessed a much smaller chameleon take a nip of my previous honey, and he said it was like little pieces of glass cutting through. She's also got me with that sticky tongue of hers a couple of times, it's the weirdest sensation, but it's just like those 25cent sticky hands you get out the vendor in front of Safeway! Anywho, this is all done with a cheap ball point pen. No preliminary pencil sketches, I just dived right in. I think it turned out pretty cool, not exactly anatomicaly correct, but I still like it, and her. :)

stumbling through sleep

2008-10-20T03:25:00.000-07:00

This is just a sketch from the black book for the spirit of the season.

Sad, Sad little plate

2008-10-17T16:39:00.000-07:00

So this is the acrylic version on the coffee cup I mentioned below. I did this a while ago......I wanna say a few months after I moved from Davis to Sacramento (feb 08). I hadn't done any acrylic paintings in a long time before this one and I felt like my acrylic paints were being neglected. Also, my friend Yanelis was bugging me for a while to do something for her, since I don't usually do paintings for anyone (they usually end up piled in my closets haha). Anyway, I think it turned out alright, lots of "I should've fixed that..." now that I look at it HAHA! But it's no longer in my pocession, so whatever. I'll just do another one.

Black and White

2008-10-17T16:32:00.000-07:00

Wow. I really need a new camera. I had to really throw in the contrast or you wouldnt have been able to see it, it was so light from the camera. This was an assignment from my drawing class. A white coffee cup with something black. It was a light and dark practice assignment, I guess people are afraid to get dark. But I love doing dark values, it makes for more drama. So I chose this cup, which I've painted before in acrylic with all the decorative flowers on it, but this time I excluded that. I think it came out really well, and the black object is my reptile dome lamp. I had to wait 'till night to do this drawing becuase I actually use this lamp for my Veiled chamelon during the day. I think doing this drawing at night allowed me to have more drastic lighting and shadowing. The background is just a simple 1/2 composition, boring, but what my professor wants. OH, this was done in 6b graphite.

With Magic Always

2008-09-14T20:11:00.000-07:00

So today was one of the best days ever!! I finally got to meet my favorite author, Terry Brooks! It was the last stop on his Californian tour, and thankfully, the Borders book store that he came to was only 5 minutes away from my apartment! I've been reading his novels since I was in, geez, 5th grade?? His writing is so compelling and full of emotions, it truly makes you feel apart of the story and the characters. He was very kind and sincere and asked me a few questions while he signed my 2 books I brought, took a picture, I shook his hand, and thanked him, and I was on my way. Even though it was less than 5 minutes, this experience will stay with me forever! If you enjoy reading fantasy/science fiction, or you enjoy reading Tolkein (who was one of his many influences), you will definitely enjoy Terry Brooks! I know I didn't post a drawing today, but I've been so excited that I just had to share this moment with everyone! :)

Hot and Ready

2008-09-08T12:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the darkness, but I had to use my crummy camera to be able to upload this image, my scanner is much too small. So this is a drawing I did of some black heels (that I've never worn for obvious reasons!) with a 6b graphite pencil. It's done on a 18x24 pad for my int. drawing class- our first assignment. This is actually the first time I've done a complete drawing of a pair of shoes and I'm quite pleased with the outcome! Though I think if I put some background it will probably help since right now they seem to be just floating in space.......I'll probably post an updated version where I actually do that. But anywho, I chose these pair because my friend suggested them because it would be "hot" (She has a thing for pointy, shiny, feet destroying shoes haha)...... I just noticed how the composition looks like a display in Nordstroms or something, haha, all ready for someone to pick them up and try them on.

Tutoring Sketches

2008-09-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

So for the past 3 weeks I've been tutoring a friend of a friend's daughter in some basic art skills. It's been really interesting and fun since this is the first time I've ever done anything like this before. I never thought I would have the patients to actually teach someone, let alone a 10 year old. But it's been a really great experience because Maxine (that's her name) really likes art and if she likes the subject that we are sketching she really gets into it, which makes me happy that she's happy. However, now that I've started at CSU Sacramento, I'm not going to have as much free time, even on the weekends, to be able to go draw/paint with her, so I'm probably only going to get to go every other weekend or so. So anywayz, these are 2 sketches I did while she was sketching the same subjects. I focused more on the ribbon rather than the hat and box themselves......and again I mainly focused on the pair in the still life.....I dunno, but I think I have a thing for pears........ :)

Capitol

2008-09-03T19:16:00.000-07:00

So this is a watercolor sketch I did from my plein air summer class. It's of the back of the Capitol Building nearest the Rose Garden. It was a beautiful (and very hot) day and there wasn't much shade from the perspective that I was drawing, so I did most of it running in and out of the shady parts by the giant bushes lining the street. There was another woman in the class that also did a (BEAUTIFUL) watercolor of the building along with roses in the foreground.....I forget her name though.......I really do have a bad memory......ANYWAYS, it was a great day but also sad because it was the last day of the class (besides the final day bbq/party) and also the last class I was going to take from the City college with David Lobenberg- I really do already miss him and his classes now that I'm at the State College.....but I hope to take this class during the summer again even if its not through the school! I also think I've improved a lot since I started a year ago.....

Ghost Hunters

2008-07-25T23:49:00.000-07:00

...Which is an awesome show by the way! However, there was no ghost hunting during this sketch from the Sacramento City Cemetery. I'm taking a summer watercolor Plein Aire class with David Lobenberg, who is an amazing artist and person (http://davidlobenberg.blogspot.com/). This is my second time taking this class, and about the 4th or 5th time taking a class from him in general! This was done with a preliminary sketch, gone over with a sharpie, and then put in tombow and the wash for the watercolor effect. The tombstone belonged to the "MeckFessel Family".

First Time for Everything....

2008-07-25T21:51:00.000-07:00

SO this is my first time ever doing a "blog," let alone a blog for my artwork! Now, I've been doing art for as long as I can remember but I'm still pretty young (21), [a baby in my art professors eyes] and a still have a whole lot to learn when it comes to art, but one has to start somewhere right? Plus, I think I need to be pretty confident in my own work, so I thought, if i post it online and let people actually see it, that should help my confidence, or at least, help build it. Or it could have the worst possible outcome, but who know unless I try! So anyways, I'm going to try and be productive and post at least one painting or sketch a week, if not more (hopefully more!) and start getting my name out there! So please join me and lend me your support of this new me! :)