It’s Been Awhile

Once again, I’ve managed to totally ignore this blog. I was hoping to avoid doing that, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be….

Not really a whole lot to report right now in the way of artistic creativity. I’ve been doodling here and there, but nothing much in the way of anything inspiring or interesting. Looks like I’m in the midst of a big dry spell.

One thing that may account for this dry spell is the fact that I’ve recently moved into a new place. I’ve got everything set up in my “studio corner”, ready to go, but I simply can’t bring myself to sit down and actually do anything. While I was unpacking my supplies and various artwork, I was looking over the various pieces I’ve created so far for my “mystical” series and got really depressed. Right now, they all look like major shit to me. I really would like to scrap them all and start anew, because I feel like they need some sort of fresh start or outlook or something.

Only one seems to speak to me, and I’m getting the feeling that it’s a sign of the kind of direction I’d like to go in. That would be the piece called “Phoenix Rising”, which you can peep here:

As always, keep in mind that a) this is a composite of mulitple scans and b) therefore, this does not do the original justice in any way shape or form.

I personally like this piece for a few reasons. First, I composed it on a pretty large scale for me – 18″ x 24″. I never really work on a large scale like that. I pretty much stick to my 8″x10″ or 11″x14″ format. The second thing is, for this piece I found my groove again with materials other than acrylic paint, such as gouache, pen, marker, and even coffee. Yes, you saw that right – coffee. It was a liberating experience to use materials I hadn’t used in awhile, and I don’t think the piece would be as dynamic if I had simply stuck to using acrylics. This sort of opened up a lot of doors and some inspiration came with the completion of the piece for other pieces and ways of creating.

However, for whatever reason, shortly after this the well seemed to run dry. I don’t know if I simply tired of the mystical/religious/occult subject matter, or if it was because of various life stuff that’s been happening lately creeping in, but I hit a block somewhere that’s not going away that quickly.

But, I’m not fighting it. My policy is that when this type of thing happens, it’s best to just go with it. Interestingly enough, I’ve been writing more poetry lately, which I haven’t really done as much of for quite some time. I’ve also been feeling like I want to do a little music of some kind, although my current resources for that aren’t viable right now.

These kinds of bursts of creativity come and go. I’ve made peace with the fact that I can’t be a “full time artist”. It’s just not possible right now at this stage of my life. Nevertheless, when creative urges beckon, I will do my best to follow through as best as I am able.

Updates and Crap

I’ve been majorly slacking on updating this blog. Just general life getting busy stuff going on. Plus, let’s face it–there’s just not a whole lot to talk about.

 But I was browsing through a few of the regular artist blogs that I read, and realized that I probably should post something here at least, just to be a good doobie about the whole social media thing.

So…what’s been happening? Well, for starters, I finally finished the Asymmetric Biz Cult “logo” painting that I started awhile back. I’m VERY pleased with the results. Here’s a pic of it (not the greatest pic, but not the worst, I suppose):

This pic really doesn’t do it justice, but it will have to do. 

My fellow A.B.C.-ers are also very pleased with the results. It’s got a kind of magic quality about it. A lot of power associated with it. Lot’s of psychedelic and mysterious, quasi-sexual things going on in there.

 Still working on more “mystical” paintings. Just finished one that was loosely based on the theme of the High Priestess tarot card, and I’m reworking one that features a burning bush type of tree. I’m also starting to work on some drawings that will accompany the paintings in whatever venue I end up showing this series off.

And that brings me to my next thing. Lately, I’ve been feeling rather depressed and everything about this whole art schtick. Now, I’m no wide-eyed, naive fool–I know for a fact that it can take years and years and years of hard work and dedication for the majority of artists to be recognized. Unfortunately, the current trendy-style Art Stars out there make it look easy to be an artist and “make it” in the gallery scene. It all looks so glamorous and slick, don’t it? But I bet anything that there is a lot more than meets the eye happening behind the scenes. One can’t simply walk into a gallery and demand that they show your work. It’s hit and miss.

I take comfort in the fact that artists like Edward Hopper struggled and did their thing for years before being accepted into the gallery realm. I used to think “I have to do it when I’m young!” (young meaning in my 20’s). But now I think…what’s the rush? I can take my time and hone my skills, focus my attentions on the right reasons for wanting to be recognized for my art rather than simply doing it for glitz and glamour.

The thought of endlessly promoting myself and my art is exhausting, but I know that that’s the lion’s share of the battle to be a recognized artist anyway. But who has time? I guess I could try to make some time, but….I dunno. I feel like, is it the right time to make time? Am I really ready? I look at all the art that I have…at least the stuff online in various places…and I’m left feeling vaguely unsatisfied, although that could just be because I’m sick of the old stuff.

So I guess that’s why I keep doing it. To keep fresh, with the idea that someday, perhaps, the world will notice. Or something.

Not A Whole Lot Going On

Summer’s here, and things have quieted down a bit–at least on the art front.

Still working on the Asymmetric Biz Cult “logo painting”. So far so good. I’m quite pleased with how it’s turning out. The painting is developing as I work it, and changes occur frequently in it’s evolution. I’m taking some risks with it, too, and the experimentation is refreshing.

I’ll be heading out on a little getaway this coming weekend, so the time spent away will be a very refreshing thing. Of course, I’ll be bringing a sketchbook with me, and it’s always exciting to see what pops up in there when I sit with it for awhile.

Been reading a lot of artist blogs lately. I love reading what other artists have to say and what they’re up to. They always seem to be up to much more interesting things than I am.

Sometimes I wonder why I even bother writing this blog. I feel like such a hack. I don’t think anyone reads it; then again I’m not doing a whole lot to promote it, so that makes sense, I guess.

Whatever. That’s it for now.

Taking Branding Back to the Easel

My friends and I have a podcast that we do called Asymmetric Biz Cult. My good friend Matt is sort of the mastermind behind it all, but along with our good friend Mark, it’s basically a group effort…or attempts to be, at least, when we can get it all together enough to make it one.

ANYWAY, so we have this podcast. What’s it about? Well…this is the million dollar question right here. The short answer is that Asymmetric Biz Cult is a podcast which attempts to help creative people of all sorts realize their inner potential and vision by utilizing social media techniques like blogging and podcasting, as well as other new “disruptive” techniques. However, it’s not as cut and dry as that. Matt’s incredible and creative production wizardry turns the episodes into compelling listening experiences. Lately, the three of us have been comparing the podcast episodes to European art films. So in effect, we are to the world of podcasting what European art films are to the world of film.

Here’s a quote from Matt, taken from the latest episode’s show notes:

The podcast, as I’m producing it, actually is real time.. recordings of real time..  it is a kind of documentary of the living of life.. an exploration of it..  For the podcast this shift in time compression…  is there to explore consiousness..  in a certain way:  Lets focus in on the gestures.. the rhythms of conversation.. at little things that happen in reality but not in traditional media representations of reality.  I’d say the non-verbal communication.. cues.. unconscious stuff…  accept that in an audio podcast it’s all just audio.. all just verbal.It’s a little bit like James Joyce.. we are throwing you into a story without giving you a lot of clues as to what the story is about.. how to orientate yourself to the story.. Yes.. I give you a little intro to try and make it accessible.. inviting…

That, more or less, sums up the current thing that we’re trying to accomplish with the podcast and what it’s all about.

BUT….Asymmetric Biz Cult is more than just a podcast. It’s a vehicle to present our creativity as well–a collective, if you will, in which we hope to bring our art, music, video, and whatever else we do to the world. One thing we have in mind to sort of kick this all off in a big way is to have an event of some kind that includes paintings and multimedia projects of all sorts that celebrates the Asymmetric Biz Cult gestalt. The very early “baby-steps” for this have begun with the 3 of us creating our own take on the Asymmetric Biz Cult logo. We can be as creative as we want with it, but we have to include the main symbol somehow, which is an anarchy sign connected with a pentagram. I started mine this weekend–an acrylic painting, lots of symbolism, a little nakedness (not explicit, mind you, more in the “artistic nude” type of vein), and an interesting, sort of surrealistic and psychedelic take on the logo.

What this does, then, is it takes the idea of branding and puts it back into the hands of the artists. It blurs the line between fine art and graphic design–which, truth be told, has become pretty blurry in the last few years, as people who would maybe traditionally be called fine artists have been called to do more design-oriented and illustration work. It also allows us, the members of the Asymmetric Biz Cult team, to put our own spin on it, and allows our personal creativity to come through in order to give it a real communal type of feel. It’s an interesting endeavor, for sure.

One thing we all would like to do is become “social media designers”, where people who perhaps are a little lacking in the design sense of things want to spruce up their blog or website can approach us to do just that. It may be a cool way to make some cash, too, although the fun of it all is what gets me interested.

So that’s about it for now.

Distillery Open Studios

This is a few days past it’s original intent to post, but I had to write something about my visit last Saturday (June 9) to see the Distillery Open Studios. The Distillery is in South Boston, MA (”Southie”, for all you out-of-towner types), and is, as their website says, “a vibrant community of artists, artisans, and small businesses located in a beautiful mid 19th century converted rum distillery building.” Indeed, the building is beautiful, and it’s one of the coolest old-building-converted-to-studio-spaces I’ve laid eyes on in my limited experience with such things.

ANYWAY, my good friend Brother Matt and I drove out to check it out. As luck would have it, my camera batteries decided to shit the bed on me just as we got there. Man, that sucked!!! I was really wanted to capture some of the groovy artist’s studios and even some of the artists themselves, but alas, it was not to be.

I can’t really remember all of the names of the artists, but I was very excited by the work that was being created there. Lots of painters and printmakers, as well a few doing some experimental sound work. Everyone was very hospitable as well,  including one particularly friendly gentleman named Lock (or was it Locke with an “e”, I’m not sure…he wasn’t specific) who offered us a lot of booze as well a his couch to sit and chat in for a few. His girlfriend had these awesome mixed media drawings on display with a “doing the laundry in a laundromat” theme. I also ran into an old co-worker of mine from when I worked at Pearl Art & Craft in Cambridge, a great guy named James Weinberg. James is a phenomenal illustrator and printmaker and had some excellent work to see in his studio.

All in all it was a fantastic time, and it was really refreshing to see what’s happening these days with the Boston art scene. It seems as though there is a lot going on–behind closed doors, for the most part, but still worthy of taking a look at. I’ll be keeping my eyes open for the next open studios around the area, and hopefully, I’ll have working camera batteries next time!

Rediscovering the joys of drawing

I’ve been drawing a lot more lately. Actually, let me rephrase that: I’ve been creating drawings outside of the sketchbook environment, which is where I usually find myself drawing. Usually, as any artist knows, the sketchbook is a good place to work out the initial ideas. These ideas can lead to the basis for a finished piece of some sort, or they can stay as they are in all their sketchy glory.

After a recent perusing of some of my sketchbooks of the past couple months or so, I found a few of the ideas contained within worthy of experimenting with. Also, a desire to play with some mediums that I haven’t really worked with too much in the past few years has also surfaced; thus, the perfect opportunity to play came about.

My approach to these drawings has been very loose and playful. I didn’t want to think a lot about how these were going to come out. I was also inspired by a lot of artists that are out there now that are going for the “simple” method–basic, loose composition, minimal color, materials that aren’t all that glamorous. Subject matter that is dadaist or surreal in nature, perhaps even bordering on the zen. All in all, I’m pretty satisfied with the results.

My next adventure will probably be to start using collage techniques with lots of layering. The thought of using all different kinds of materials and surfaces is exciting, and it’s a good way of keeping things fresh.

Here are a few of these drawings. Mostly pen and gouache:

What I’ve Been Up To Recently in Art-Land

The creative juices have started flowing again, after a small slump. My sketchbook is filling up fast. Three–count ‘em, three–paintings have already been “born” out of this creative resurgence in the past month. Another is nearing completion, and I may just start another one this weekend.

All of the recent paintings that I’ve been working on have a sort of goal to them. Without giving much away, the goal is a theme-oriented gallery show that explores some issues relating to mysticism and spirituality. Hmm. I hope I didn’t give too much away! What I would like to do is include both paintings, drawings, and maybe even some kind of an installation. In other words, a pretty well-rounded experience for the people who see the show.

This is all, of course, in the extreme gestation phase of the game. Right now I’m dedicating my time to develop the work, and then once I have a few pieces completed, start to really bring it all together in a conceptual way.

I’ve always been fascinated with the ideas of mysticism and spirituality. I grew up Catholic. My parents, particularly my mother, were (and still are) very dedicated to the Catholic faith and follow it to the extreme. Not in an oppressive way, mind you, but in a more spiritual way. We visited many a monastery while I was growing up; in fact, my Godfather is a Trappist monk. Somewhere around the beginning of my art school days, I began feeling the need to expand my spiritual horizons. I started exploring the ideas and beliefs, particularly the more esoteric ones, of other religious traditions. Among these were Judaism and the Kabbalah (the real Kabbalah, not the pop-culture, Madonna, celebrity-style Kabbalah); Islamic Sufism, Zen Buddhism, etc. I also became fascinated with certain aspects of the Occult, such as Tarot, Astrology, Numerology, etc. Of particular interest to me were the symbologies of these and other paths. Over the years I’ve grown more and more fascinated with symbols and their meanings, and also intrigued with the idea of how symbols have been re-appropriated again and again throughout history.

This is but a mere example of the kinds of ideas I’ve been incorporating into these paintings.

Again, we’re still in the early stages, but already I’ve been thinking of galleries that I would like to show this work at. Some that I have in mind are the Rhys Gallery, the good old Out Of The Blue Gallery (where I had my first out-of-school show back in 2002), and the cream of the crop, the one that I’m REALLY hoping I can show at: The Mills Gallery at the Boston Center For The Arts. (Oh, by the way, in case you were wondering: all of these galleries are in the Boston, MA area.) I would love to do the show locally, as I’m a big proponent of local art and artists; however, the art scene here in Boston is…well, let’s just say it’s lacking in a lot of different areas. (I’ll be blogging about this soon, too).

So that’s kind of what’s been happening with me lately with my art stuff.

The Question of the Art Star

What exactly is an Art Star? Well, you’ve heard of Rock Stars, right? An Art Starcould be seen in a similar light, except, obviously, they are people who have gained some sort of notoreity in the art world in some way. The “typical” Art Star, the way I see it, is young, usually somewhere between the ages of 18 and 25, and produces work that pays homage to some of the more “low-brow” or underground scenes that they are probably a part of. There are plenty of examples of this type of person; all one has to do is flip thru a copy of Juxtapoz Magazine or go to any number of websites out there (FecalFace is a good example) and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

A lot of Art Stars are obsessed with skateboard culture, something that I was into for a few months when I was like 17 or something. Still, these folks carry the torch for it. A lot of them are also associated in some ways with graffiti culture, which I personally find much more interesting. (I’ll save my thoughts on graffiti culture for another post soon). Others are recent graduates from any number of art schools and have aggressively (and wisely) worked their way into their local and likewise, national art scenes by organizing group shows, wooing gallery owners and rubbing elbows with essential networking types.

And what of the actual work that these so-called Art Stars produce? Is it any good? Well, like anything art-related, it depends on who you ask and what your tastes are. In my own opinion, I think a lot of it is pretty interesting. Humor is a common theme among the young Art Star scene, some of it overt and a lot of it tongue-in-cheek. Another big thing among these hipsters is what a lot of people are calling “sketchbook drawings as fine art”. Wouldn’t you know it? This stuff is hot among collectors right now. I have to admit, it kind of makes me laugh–I was doing this kind of thing a few years ago and always had an inkling that it would take off. What really makes me laugh, though, is the fact that people are hanging this stuff on gallery walls in these ornate frames. Maybe it’s the frames that sell the work? Who knows, really. Frames have their place, yes, but I don’t care all that much for them. Let the buyer decide how they’d like to display the work, in my opinion.

But, I digress. In any case, the Art Star is all the rage right now, but we all know how the art world is–what’s hot today can quickly cool down in a year or two. A lot of the “upper-echelon” Art Stars are incredibly profilic on the gallery scene now, with a few shows each year. But will it last for them? For their sake, I definitely hope that they do. But if it doesn’t….well that kind of brings up a whole lot of other questions. For instance, how will they deal with a sudden “slump” in getting their work shown? Will they be so established at that point that they could get commercial work? Will they get depressed, suicidal, etc.?

For the record, I kind of get a kick out of all these young, fresh-faced Art Stars and their sense of optimism and ambition. For one thing, they have succeeded in turning the tables of the establishment a bit, challenging the art viewing and buying crowd to look at things a little bit differently, telling folks that it’s okay to work any way that you feel comfortable and present it as art. I do have fears and reservations about them coming off as too “faddy” and shallow perhaps at times, but at least they’re giving it a shot.

A New Blog

Greetings and The Story Thus Far. Hello, and welcome to the latest incarnation of my attempts at an art-oriented blog. I’ve been blogging on the infamous myspace for quite some time now, mostly ranting about life in general. However, since I am an artist and all, I’ve tried many attempts at starting a blog about art and the art scene, my struggles as an artist, etc., all to very little avail.

Well, let me revise that a little. I have STARTED a few art-oriented blogs with the goal in mind to keep up with them on a regular basis. Ya think that has happened so far? If you said no, then you’d be correct. The only one that I kept up with in any capacity was one on vox.com, which seemed to go pretty well for awhile, but I have some issues with vox that I won’t go into here.

ANYWAY, the gist of it is I’ve decided to soldier on and start a brand-spanking new blog here on wordpress. With any luck, this one will stick.

What To Expect From This Blog. My aim for this blog, as sort of previously mentioned, is to talk a little bit about what I think about art, both in my own personal experience as an artist, as well as my thoughts on the current art scene, what I find to be groovy and maybe not so groovy, and to, as the title of this blog suggests, rant a little bit. Hopefully the reader will get something out of it, even if it’s a good way to waste some time at the office or something.

So on that note, I shall post this now.