Takako Yamaguchi

I went to an artist talk given by Takako Yamaguchi at Jan Baum Gallery yesterday, sponsored by the Southern California Women's Caucus for Art. I love Takako's work, and it was great to be able to hear her talk about her process and some of the philosophy behind her concept.

The thing that really struck me was something that Jan said. She described Takako as taking decorative art to a new level, and then said that decorative art used to be a pejorative term. My ears perked up. Used to be? Jan said that since Matisse, decorative art has been accepted as a legitimate form of fine art.

Huh! You could have fooled me. Some people still dismiss my paintings because they're decorative. I'll have to use the example of Matisse next time that comes up. Jan said that decorative simply means beautiful -- art that is wonderfully beautiful.

Sunday Thoughts

I'm back in the studio -- first time in several weeks since Cinnamon went downhill and died. It takes me a while to get back up to speed, so I started by doing some cards.



I also did a couple of monoprints on watercolor paper.



They aren't done, but I thought the texture turned out kind of nice.

There was an interesting comment on the PaintersNYC blog today:

"every morning i wake up and hope that my work doesn't show up on this blog. i hate my work more than any of you people possibly could."

I know that feeling. I love what I do, but I am always dissatisfied with the end result. It never quite measures up to my expectations.



John Robertson spoke and presented his work at Jon Swihart's art salon last night. He said that for him painting is all about the process, and the end result, the paintings, are like dead carcasses. He doesn't much care what happens to them after he's done painting them. For that reason, he doesn't worry about using archival materials, and his primary medium is house paint on drop cloths.

I like the concept of painting for painting's sake, and not worrying whether other people like my work or not. Although I think it's more difficult to make a living from painting when you have that attitude!

The Basquiat Shoe

Basquiat on tennis shoes? This is the new Reebok Basquiat Shoe, based on the graffiti-inspired designs of Jean-Michel Basquiat. I suppose this beats the plain white shoes, but there's something weird about putting fine art on shoes. Did his estate authorize this? What were they thinking?

Dream

I'm still recuperating from Cinnamon's death and the flu, and Sashi isn't doing well right now, which is also stressful. Katherine Kean has inspired me to share one of my dreams with you. She sometimes writes about her dreams on her Fat Over Lean blog and the 365 Dreams blog. This dream is from this afternoon.

I dreamed that I could float on the wind, but I could only do it when I completely relaxed into the wind. My feet stayed rooted in the wet sand, like a plant, and the wind blew me this way and that, but I never fell. I was told that this is something that I've always known how to do, but maybe forgot at some point, and that the sun and the wind have always been there for me, and will support me.

I see in my dream symbolism book that wind represents change. Before I looked it up, I had been thinking maybe adversity. And the sun feels like life itself -- that which sustains life.

PaintersNYC

I really like the PaintersNYC blog. A New York City painter is presented each day, and other artists discuss their work. I don't get to see many of the New York artists, so it's great for me to be able to see what's going on there. The above is a Julie Mehretu painting, which is being discussed in the comments today.

Transformational Thought

There was a nice Lao Tzu quote in my e-mail box this morning from Zaadz:

"What the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly."

Of course I'm still thinking about losing Cinnamon, and how this might apply to her. Death is such a mystery. I wish I could see the big picture and understand it better.

Cinnamon 1989 - 2006

My beloved Cinnamon is gone. She died very quietly and peacefully this evening. I miss her terribly, but I am thankful that I could spare her a painful death. She would have been 17 in June, and I loved her so much. She was a beautiful and loving companion.

Thank you to everyone who provided me with so much support and love. I wouldn't have been able to make it through this without you.

Happy Birthday Pat!

Today is my mom's birthday, and we're going out for lunch. Happy birthday, Mom! See you soon.

More Rain in Southern California

It rained again today. I guess our dry spell is over. The weather report said showers, but instead we got another deluge. This is one of my camellias, photographed through the rain-spotted window:



Today I started a couple of paintings on watercolor paper. I usually work on canvas, but I've had a few people ask for works on paper, so I decided to try it. It gives a whole different look, because some of the paint soaks into the paper. The brushstrokes are much more evident than they are on my paintings on canvas.



We had a visitor on the patio tonight. I think these guys are so cute! Kind of a like a cross between a teddy bear and a big rat. The cats were not impressed, however.