Happy Holidays!!!

A Few Days to Finish a Few Dozen Things

Exactly as the title says.

Here is a detail shot of one of the paintings I am finishing up.

The disadvantage to viewing art online is you cannot really get up close to look at the brush strokes and textures. I might just start posting detail shots of various paintings. As always, you can click on the image and then click again to zoom in for a better look.

In the future, computers will have a hologram option that will enable viewers to see the whole actual painting and rotate it 3-dimensionally so that the textures can accurately be portrayed... one day...

Plastic Sleeves for Prints

When I am not painting or drawing, I package prints or work on hobbies, or other side projects.


The plastic sleeves I use are 8.5 x 11 inches and fit my prints perfectly. Most of the time. Until I get a package of sleeves that are a quarter inch off! What the hell, a quarter inch is a significant measurement difference!!!

It is supposed to look like this:

Not this:

At least it is a quarter inch too big, and not too small. But still, really!?!?So I just adjusted the size of the mat board and it looks fine.

Watch out for that...

By the way, prints make a great gift! The holidays are coming up ;-)

Attack of the Palette Knife

Apparently you can slice your finger pretty bad with a round tip palette knife.
Got enough blood to paint a face of utter dissatisfaction. I won't lie- the eyes are my blood, but the mouth is actually red sharpie.

Mini Fighter!

Want a soldier of your very own to stand guard?

Own a mini fighter! Each print is 8.5 x 11 inches, card stock, matted, and sealed.

If you are interested and are

near San Francisco: Head over to WonderlandSF and get one right away! Or contact them, info@wonderlandsf.com and they will help you out.

near Los Angeles, particularly in the western area: contact Ting-Tien, tingtienwee@yahoo.com, for details

or near Claremont: contact Xiau-Ling, xiawee@students.pitzer.edu, to get hold of your favorite animal!

For all other inquiries, shoot me an email: xfwbird@hotmail.com

LOVE SF

Come out this Friday night for a drink and wonderful art!

From 6-10 pm, WonderlandSF will be hosting the opening reception of LOVE SF.

Amazing works by:

Hilary Williams
Jeremy Mann
Leo Bugel
Mark Campbell
Todd Laby
Ursula Xanthe Young
Xiau- Fong Wee

WonderlandSF
2929 24th street (between Florida and Alabama)
415-641-4600

Drawing Mediums and Inconsistencies

I want to make a post about the drawing mediums I use, and I want to warn you allll!!!!!
First, I use HB charcoal pencils, vine charcoal, conte crayon, and compressed charcoal shown above in that order from top to bottom.

Vine charcoal is like powdered soot in stick form. The picture below shows what the conte, compressed charcoal, and the HB pencils look like from left to right respectively. I can't really see the difference between conte and compressed, the difference lies in the feel of each. Conte is smoother and waxier, like a crayon, and compressed is dryer, like charcoal.



Here is the warning!

There are many many many inconsistencies with art supplies. Here is the first example. HB charcoal pencils are all different even though they are supposed to be the same. The last two strokes on the paper are from two charcoal pencils, both stating that they are HB Hard. One is still drastically softer and darker than the other.

So watch out!!! Save yourself from some frustration and check the pencil lead before you buy.

I still use both though- the harder one normally for smudging and smoothing the pencil strokes of softer mediums, in a small tight area. I wrap masking tape around the end of one of the HB pencils so that I can tell them apart immediately without having to test it out each time.


There are so many inconsistent art supplies. Why!?!? You can be sure I will make a post about all of them. For now, this is just on drawing supplies. You would think that it would be especially important to have art supplies be consistent and reliable! Ha.

Tiny

There is a tiny show coming up. With over 170 artists and lots of great art, it really is not all that small. Actually, it is Studio Gallery's largest show ever!

Everything is under 7" x 7" and under $400. Heck, there are even pieces under $200. This is the perfect time to pick up a unique gift, add to your collection of cool stuff, or start collecting art!



Hope you can make it! See if you can spot familiar pieces by your favorite artists! I've got one painting floating in the sea of art, and can't wait to see what else is going to be displayed!

The opening reception is this Sunday, November 6th, from 2- 6 pm. If you can't come to the opening, there is another reception party coming up, in celebration of Studio Gallery's 8th anniversary. You can also stop by anytime between now and December 23rd. See the images above and click on the links for more detail.

Finishing up Bloody Work

Happy Halloween!!!


A handy hangar that lets me dry and reuse my Viva paper towels. I reuse them once or twice, or until they become hard and crusty. You can get a variety of unique hangars at The Container Store.

Muwahahahahaha

A Thought

Art is simple.
And art is hard.

Tribute to Kazu

I am participating in the Tribute to Kazu Project.

Kazu Sano was a great person and he will be missed. Students are invited to participate in this project dedicated to Kazu and all works will hang permanently in 540 Powell street, the Academy of Art University building in San Francisco. The last of the paintings are being collected and soon the art will be hung. Click on the link above to view all the artworks. All art is 4 x 4 inches in size.

Here is my piece- It is titled "A New Way," and the medium is acrylic on canvas. Click here to read my post on the Tribute to Kazu blog.

Juxtapoz

I forgot to make a post about this.

Thanks Juxtapoz for the feature! It was a great surprise.

Witches of Wonder

I should have posted this sooner, but if you don't have plans tomorrow, the opening reception for "Witches of Wonder" at Big Umbrella Studios is tomorrow night!

Artwork featured above is by Helice Wen

The postcard says that the opening starts at 6 pm, but the website says that it starts at 7 pm, so arrive sometime around that time. Food, drinks, and art, until 11 pm. The duration of the exhibit is until November 11. For more details on the show, click here.

Canvas Carrier

I am grateful for my wet canvas carrier. Although I have not used it in a couple years, it came in use a couple days ago!


Stretching my own canvas means that I normally do not install a support bar (unless the canvass is long), and a support bar serves as a good handle in addition to keeping the frame bars from warping.

I am working on a pretty large painting, about 42 inches height, and needed to transport it by foot 1.2 miles, through the wind and hills of San Francisco. I thought about taking the bus, but was worried about crowds and other people on the bus potentially damaging my painting. Taxis are expensive. It took me a while before I realized I still had the wet canvas carrier stashed somewhere.


This thing can be pretty handy from time to time.

Beyond the Horizon

Juggling acrylic painting, oil painting, drawing, and other activities, there is just too much to do!

In the process of making a lot of stuff, and while painting, I was greeted with this pretty mini brush-stroke scenery.

I love it when art just happens.

There will be a new page added to the top menu, can't wait.

Self Portraits

One of the toughest challenges are self portraits. Staring at your own face for hours is not something I prefer to do.

Years back, my then primitive and ugly website featured one self portrait...Nevermore! However, I do model for myself in a couple paintings... go to my official website and see if you can spot some of me in a couple of them. Hint: click on the 'Concept' series ;-)

Upon request, and instead, I will post self portraits here. These were all done between 2007 and 2009, click on the image for a larger view.

The painting above shows the collar bone surface piercing I used to have. I miss it :-(

Gaaarrrrr!

Bird 2

Another small animal.


The body was still warm when I picked it up. A reminder that anything can happen at any moment. Life can evaporate into thin air. Treasure the moments.

Currently on a leaf bed, sitting on my balcony now, I hope to be a bit more careful with this one.

An update about the squirrel- my schedule has prevented me from spending adequate time back in my hometown Los Gatos to properly re-dig the body, so RIP forever in the earth little guy.

Birds and Bees

A great show at STUDIO Gallery starting now!


Presenting Brandon Smith: The Birds and the Bees

The show runs September 15th - 25th, 2011, but also join us at the opening reception: Sunday, September 18th, 2-6 pm

There is a benefit silent auction on Sunday September 25th from 4-6 pm.

Located at 1815 Polk Street (between Washington & Jackson)
San Francisco, CA 94109 415-931-3130
Gallery hours: Wed-Fri 11-8, Sat-Sun 11-6, Mon-Tue by appt.

The image above is called "A Bird and a Poppy" oil on canvas, by Brandon Smith. Click on the links for all the information and images of Brandon's great artwork!

Hi-Fructose

Hi-Fructose is a great site/ magazine to check out! So much great art and inspiration!


A little bit about Hi-Fructose:

Hi-Fructose is a quarterly art magazine, founded by artists, Attaboy and Annie Owens in 2005. Hi-Fructose focuses squarely on the art which transcends genre and trend, assuring readers thorough coverage and content that is relevant, informative and original. Hi-Fructose showcases an amalgamation of new contemporary, emerging as well distinguished artists, with a spotlight on awe inspiring spectacles from round the world all of which help to define the future of art in our culture.

I am happy to find a blog post about my army! Thanks everyone for the support!

Preparation

Preparation can take a while. Depending on what I am preparing for, it can take a full day or two. Stretching and gessoing multiple large canvasses, or researching anatomy, or taking photos can take time. If I take all the prep work into account, I would say the finish art pieces are the result of 50% research/prep and 50% painting/drawing/doing/making the actual art.

After being sick for a while, the last few days have been days of recovering and prep work! Canvasses, sketches, art supplies! Here are sketches of previous work... recognize which pieces they go with? On to the next sketch!

Changes are Interesting!

Because the galleries on my website have recently changed to a slideshow format, I have rearranged the order of my work to show the newest and latest painting as the opening image. This is only for the Concrete and Concept galleries. This way, you would not have to keep clicking to get to the latest piece, and also, you can check back and see any changes made right away! Changes are interesting!

New cityscapes and drawings just done and over with, and more to come.

Yes, changes are interesting. Once in a while I love to sketch in ballpoint pen. And I like to sketch wood grain.

City Streets

Come see the city this Sunday!

You should come, not just for the city of San Francisco itself, but for different views, visions, and expressions of it. Come check out City Streets!

The opening reception is at Studio Gallery and I am happy to be showing with many great artists! If you can't make the reception, at least stop by while the show is up. It will be up starting this Wednesday until September 4th. See below for more information

10 Annoying Things to Happen while Painting

I love painting. But sometimes things happen while I am working that really annoy me. Here is a list!

1. Nature's Call
I really really really have to go to the bathroom.
I hate to break my concentration. Cant. Stop. Painting.

2. Hair
Hair gets trapped on the painting. I don't know how it flew horizontally from my head to the canvas. I don't know how I did not notice it. Either I pick it out with a needle and tweezers or paint thicker over it and hope that it blends in with the brushstrokes.

3. Aliens
Foreign materials invade my palette. Like outer space aliens invading earth, dust particles, paint skins, bits of paper towel, food show up on my palette suddenly. I don't remember when they have landed, but they are there, and my brush picks them up and they mess up my strokes. The coating on my paint brushes also flake out everywhere. And again, my HAIR!!! It gets on my palette and I have long hair so it is annoying. I shed so much it is a wonder I am not bald!

4. Holes
I throw my palette knife into my paint box. I see the blade sticking out of a tube of cadmium red oil paint. Fuck.

5. Itches.
My hands are dirty and gross. My forehead itches. Cant. Stop. Painting.

6. Crashes
My computer crashes and I lose all reference material.

7. Materials
I run out of paint.
It is an important color, like white.

8. My decisions.
I change my mind. I change my mind about a color, I change my mind about where to place what subject, I change my mind about the size of something in the picture... whatever it is, I change my mind and there goes a few wasted hours of work :-/

9. Delusions
I am more than 50% through when I realize that the painting is stupid.
Whether it be the concept, or the color choices, or the execution, whatever it is, the painting was not worth starting in the first place. What was I thinking!?!?!

10. Magic
Paint on my ceiling. Paint on my t-shirt that was under my sweater. Paint under the floor mats. Paint can show up anywhere and there is no explanation. It is magic.

So that's it. If there is anything else that I may have missed, feel free to leave a comment below.

Lights!

One of the many things I find beautiful about cities are the lights. Suspended in the darkness, in various shapes and colors, they add excitement to the cold concrete everywhere!

I have made a new page showing the process of bring lights into your world. Click on "Illuminate Your World" in the menu above, or click here.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out the other pages in the menu above and have fun creating art.

Art on Walls and Online

Hey everyone!

The shows went great! Mischief at StudioGallery has lots of great art hung up and Opposites at WonderlandSF was a party!
I don't have any photos from the Mischief show, but got a few from the Opposites show:

I don't want to give away too much because you need to see the art in person! But the last pic is my piece. It was my first time doing installation work, and I love painting on the wall.

The shows are still up, so make time to check it out! They will be going on for about a month from the opening. See the Shows and Events page above for specific dates.

My website also just got a bit nicer for the galleries are re-structured! Thanks to my friend who helped me out with the galleries, you can now view all the artwork on one page instead of in separate tabs.

That's it for now. There will be a new addition to the menu of pages above! Illuminate Your World will be coming soon!

Opposites

Ever wonder what lies beyond the borders of the picture? Then go to WonderlandSF, where artists continue their world past the edges of their paintings. It is going to be a great show! The opening reception is Wednesday, July 20, from 6 to 10 pm.

The theme for the show is "opposites." I will be showing next to many amazing artists.

Here is the wall space provided for me to paint on:


I got some painting done today, and will return Monday to finish. The work will be up from then on, but come for the reception for the party and to see what all the artists have done!

For more information, click here.

Mischief

Come out this Sunday! Studio Gallery is holding the opening reception for the Mischief show and there is a lot of great art to look at. I will be showing a few drawings alongside many talented artists.


If you love characters, critters and cartoons, you should definitely come check it out! More information here.

See you there!

Paint Applications

So, if you follow my facebook page, you may have guessed that I have been working on a diptych. I am nearing completion, and so here is a small sneak-preview section of it:



Meanwhile, let's talk more about paint. Acrylic paint.

I have two palette boxes as my main holder for paints (one for oil and one for acrylic), but sometimes I grab whatever is in reach. When using a plastic lid for a palette, I found out something amusing...


This works for acrylic paints. It is especially cool when clear acrylic medium is used. After the paint completely dries, I can peel it off and stick it to walls, windows, and various surfaces.


Oh no! Green goop on my laptop!!!


Ha ha! Alright, information about shows on the way, and I hope everyone has a great fourth of July weekend!