YATTA!!! A post to usher in the new year!

Three months Later and I finally get to posting! I woke up this morning (actually it wasn't morning, more like afternoon) and low and behold it's snowing. I went on a bike ride yesterday and it started snowing lightly. And while i had bundled myself up well, i could only seem to find fingerless glove, it took a couple of hours to afterwards to feel my fingertips again.

 The positive side of it being so cold is that i've been quite productive. I'm working on 2 paintings, and yesterday i spent all day clearing my brain by writing/ sketching out my ideas. I've got about a years worth of stuff to work on, but as you know much of it will be discarded or manifest into something else completely. But either way I'm not at a loss for inspiration and or content. I'm working really slowly, enjoying not having deadlines and having the freedom to move at my own pace. In slowly i mean i'm spending a great deal of time in the planning/ process phases. Pages of comp studies, full on value studies, color studies, then more detailed oil studies of some of the more complicated elements of the painting. It's kind of Dean Cornwell methodology, having everything worked out before the final painting so things go fluidly. 

I've also set up a course for self study. I'll be focusing primarily on drawing for the time being  i figure i'll get my painting practice in with the oil studies. I'm going to focus in particular on anatomy and perspective, i do wish i had access life drawing sessions. For now I'm just asking people to sit for me for a couple of hours at a time.  Of course, i am my most accessible subject, so i'm  also doing self portraits. After about 4 or 5 months this will ultimately culminate in a shift in projects. I've a grand idea for a series of drawings, densely packed with figures, unconventional points of view, etc...   so this course of self study is preparation for that series. We spoke of it briefly during our last conversation it will be more humor oriented, based on observations and experiences in japan. If all goes as planned and i can stay for 2 years, i'm hoping to compile the drawings into a book and pair them with brief writings. 

When i make the shift, my self study will become more painting oriented, but i haven't ironed out all the details on what that will entail. 

I got back from Tokyo about a week ago now, and I'm really not sure how i feel about that city. To be cliched it's a sea of people caught up in a current they have no control over. To some extent you just have to give yourself to the natural flow and order dictated by the city itself. It's also sensory overload, bright lights, massive television screens, the constant chatter of people, cars, etc...  I took me a while to adjust. I would say that Tokyo is very much like any major city in the world in that the culture is hidden behind mass consumerism: hight end shopping, endless streets of boutiques, countless multi storied malls. Given the sheer size of Tokyo it me a while to seek out points of interests, beyond consumer culture. I geeked out in Akihabara( an area in tokyo) though, it's a maze of streets but instead of pushing the latest fashion, these stores were selling, Gadgets, Models, Toys, Manga, Crazy Japanese porn..., In fact i found those fixed gear model bikes that you emailed me about. I Also stumbled into an 8 story Manga Cafe, with 1 story dedicated to cos-play, 2 stories worth of  toys, and 5 stories worth of comics,  I'll share some of my findings in another post. I had fun, but I reserve judgement on Tokyo as a whole as i don't feel 5 days is ample time to explore a city of 35 million people. 

Upon returning from Tokyo i set about fulfilling my new years resolutions. As always it's about achieving a balance. This time between, work (school), work (my art), excercise, studying japanese and making the most of this experience. I've been quite successful in developing a routine thus far, although the major stumbling block is still smoking. I did give into my inspiration last week and shut of my phone, to prevent any distractions... you know recluse mode. Well damned if all hell didn't break loose, i had somebody unexpectedly stop by to ensure i wasn't "cutting myself". I told this gentleman that i was busy working, being productive ... and this is the skeptical response i get " uhh.. i guess it's cool that you can hibernate and do you art thing." Like we discussed, those with creative drive don't relate although the concern was appreciated. 

Well i've been spending a great deal of time in my studio, which i've included pictures of. I've  set it up so it's fully functional but while working I'm continually discovering means of optimizing the functionality of the space. Once i start working in different mediums i'll be in need of better storage methods to keep things organized. My drawing table is completely makeshift, i constructed an angled board that sits atop a flat desk.  I'm in need of a better storage space for my pencils as right now their rolling off the desk and disappearing into unseen crevices. I temporarily solved the issue by sticking a kneaded eraser to desk which serves as grip for the pencils. Though I'm having great fun in constructing a working space that best suits my working habits, it's a project unto it self. I seem to have the lighting and the ventilation down I've got ample light over my drawing table, another set of lights that sit the right and left and it casts an even light field. I've also got a fan mounted over my easel that blows the fumes directly out the window. BOOYA!! so thats my studio, and some life updates. Lets get the ball rolling on this blog, Yeah i know it was me who dropped the ball in the first place. What do you say to at least once a month?

Oh i've included a drawing (i say drawing because it's far beyond a quick value study) of the painting that I'm working on. You did see the drawing in it's beginning stages way back in June. Let me know what you think. Their was a glare on the upper left corner, so the values are a bit out of whack up there. In the actual drawing the values match those of the bottom right corner.

Current music: 

Animal Collective-Merriweather Post Pavilion, Santogold- Santogold, Huaschka- Ferndorf, Blondie- Parallel Lines,  Robyn-Robyn,  Nomo - Ghost Rock (you'd like this)

Current Books:

Murakami- Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.

Japanese Tales- Collection of 250 Japanese folk stories 

Compostion- A series of Excercises in Art Structure (Larry McLarey recommended)