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.

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!

Roots in my Face

After a few new city-scapes, a new drawing of a fish wearing glasses armed with a gun, and a 16" x 16" painting that belongs in my "concept" series that I just finished a couple hours ago (still have yet to upload a pic of that on the internet), I am ready to move on to the next idea!

But before I do, I thought I would make a post about finding inspiration in nature, something that my blog needs a little more of... there is only one "plants" label on here so far.

Plants can be inspirational from their unique qualities and their many bizarre forms can act as gateways to new ideas.

Beauty is not just on the outside. Even plant roots can be beautiful. What is normally hidden from our view grows right at our eye level with this plant.


It is known as Curtan Ivy or Princess Vine. You can read the description below (click for a larger view).


They feel waxy and smooth...


I love the gradation from the green leaves to the red tips of the roots. From afar, its like a curtain of hair, or a curtain of veins!

Ack! Don't Touch Me!

First of all, I want to thank everyone for checking out my first international show in Singapore! Thanks to all for your support!

One thing I love about traveling is the constant flow of new discoveries and inspiration. I am exposed to the life, culture, and art scene here; it is a great learning experience.

Singapore is known not only for their big brand-conscious culture and growing art market, but also for their wide variety of wild and unique plant life.

This little weed/fern-like plant grows everywhere! Not so aesthetically outstanding, but I like that it is an active plant, and is able to respond to stimuli, such as touching, warming, blowing, or shaking.

I have known it to be the "shy plant", it hides away when touched. If I want to be specific and if I want to sound smart, I guess I would address it by its' binomial name, "mimosa pudica." The flower head is pretty, but my video does not show any so you can click on the link to find a flower on the right side of Wikipedia's page.

I Have Four Hands!

I have discovered how to clone bodies! or parts of bodies!

A great artist and good friend of mine, Anderson Lewis, makes awesome sculptures. See some of his work!!! The other day, we made molds of my hands for him to work from as reference. I thought this is a great idea to get the pose you want so that you can work from it almost from life, without having the model pose for infinity.

I want to record this process here so I don't forget it and share it with all. Sorry, no step by step photos, only photos of the finished product.


I may want to try this one day. I can build up a collection of random body parts! Then I can piece them together and with a few bolts of electricity, make a monster assistant he he he...

Anyway, let's start with the materials:

• water

• alginate- the one Anderson used was called "dermagel."

• plaster- any type; your main options are red tag ( the normal one), hydracal ( a litle denser, and ultra cal (that's the one Anderson used)
  

• 3 buckets or containers- one to prepare the alginate, one to prepare the plaster, and one for the mold. Make sure you puncture a hole in the bottom of the container being used for the mold. Then seal it with tape. This is so that after the plaster dries, the mold can be easily removed.

1. Measure out equal parts of alginate and water. Pour water into alginate and mix with your hands until you get a smooth runny consistency. No lumps!!! Add more water if necessary.

2. Pour the alginate in the container for the mold and insert the item/ subject matter to be replicated. This is when I stuck my hand into the alginate and held it for about 10-15 minutes until the alginate started to set. Setting times may vary depending on humidity and temperature of the environment.

3. While the alginate is setting, prepare the plaster. Fill up a container with water and scoop in portions of the plaster until it emerges on the surface, like the formation of an island.

4. When the alginate is ready, carefully wiggle the object out of it's cavity. Fill the cavity with plaster tap the sides of the container to release trapped air. The plaster is ready to be removed when water and moisture has completely evaporated from the top.

5. To remove the mold, turn the container over and remove the tape over the hole. The whole thing should slide out- alginate and plaster. Carefully remove all the alginate by carving away at it. And, if you did everything right, you will have a sculptural clone of your subject matter!!!

Every detail is recorded - the nails, finger prints and knuckle creases!

Squirrel

Back in my hometown, Los Gatos...

I was riding my bicycle along Winchester Boulevard, when I passed by this little fellow.


So many

dead animals

So sad.

Whilst I am away of the city, I might as well take advantage of the setting, as I cannot bury animals anywhere near my apartment in San Francisco. He deserves a proper burial. It's the least I could do in exchange for his skeleton.



I'll check back the next time I'm back down.

Dead Bird

My first animal carcass!!!

I was walking home a couple days ago and found this dead bird on the sidewalk.

With the protection of tissue paper, I peeled the body off the cement by one of the birds' leg. It was gross! As I trotted towards my apartment, the body bumped against a part of my hand, which made me very uncomfortable. Even though I was only a block away from home, it felt too long to have a dangling carcass in your hand. I freaked out a little because I thought I felt it twitch, and thought maybe this sticky lump of feathers was still alive. Nope- just me freaking out.

There was a cross-guard near an elementary school I was passing. She looked at me funny. I told her I was going to give it a proper burial :-P

Got home, threw it in a soil box on the balcony, found a container, cut holes in the container, bird in the container, sprayed water on the body to keep it moist, hid it in shrub.

Now I wait. Hopefully bugs will get to it to clean the flesh off the bones.

I will have to do some research eventually so I can reassemble the bones if all goes well. I hope to have some great bone/skeletal structures soon!!!