Sicko Opens Today

Oh my God . . . you must go see this movie. Michael Moore's latest movie, "Sicko," opens at theaters today. I saw it at the first showing this morning at the Landmark Theater in WLA, and I'm still in shock. I didn't know The United States was in such bad shape -- not just healthcare-wise, but in other ways, too.

Go see this movie! It's a real eye-opener, and brilliantly done. Kudos to Michael Moore! This is his best movie yet.

New Work

Here's what the underpainting from four posts back turned into. I covered it with a faux encaustic gel to obscure the marbled look, and then did some painting on top. It's 24" x 30".

Theo Jansen

I saw this on Katherine Kean's blog. It's a short video about the kinetic sculptures of Dutch artist Theo Jansen. They are fantastic! I've never seen anything like this before, and I'd love to see them in person.

Welcome to My Monkey Mind

I don't want to let fear get the better of me, but I've been hearing some really scary numbers lately. Things like we can expect massive global climate change in ten to twenty years, including floods, drought, famine, epidemics, hurricanes, tornadoes, and whatnot. How can I create "happy" art with thoughts about the end of the world as we know it running through the back of my mind? On the other hand, nothing disastrous is happening right this minute, and worrying about it doesn't do any good. Welcome to my monkey mind -- a Zen Buddhist term for runaway thoughts.

Colin had this video on his No Impact Man blog today:

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It's interesting, and it makes sense, but it also makes me feel afraid. I don't want to bury my head in the sand, but it's hard to listen to stuff like this day in and day out.

Time to Talk Green

I think it's time to start talking about our impact on the environment. I can't NOT talk about it anymore. It's on my mind every minute of everyday, the background mind chatter to everything that I do. Americans are the biggest consumers of resources per capita, and I've heard that we need to cut our consumption by 90% in order to avoid disastrous environmental effects. Ninety percent! How is that possible? I don't know, but I want to start exploring ideas and discussing options here. I don't think we can wait for our government to come to the rescue. I think whatever change happens is going to happen at a grassroots level, which has always been the case with societal change historically.

Colin Beavan's No Impact Man blog and Greenpa's Little Blog in the Big Woods have made a big impression on me. They've got me thinking about different ways to live. I also like Alex Martin's Little Brown Dress blog, which got me thinking about clothes, and what I really need as opposed to what I might want.

I already stopped hiking in the mountains everyday, because I feel like I can't justify the use of gasoline to get there. It's nice to be in nature, but it's a luxury, and I can just as easily walk in my neighborhood for exercise.

And what about art supplies? They're mostly toxic stuff. What are we going to do about that?

I have lots of questions and not a lot of answers, but I'm hoping that together we can open a dialog and begin to see our way clear to some practical solutions for some of these problems.

Underpainting

I thought this underpainting turned out nice. It's almost too pretty to paint on top of!

Fire!

Click on images to enlarge.



There was a little excitement in the Santa Monica 'hood tonight. A building two blocks north of me caught fire and burned down -- across the street from the cemetery. I heard the sirens and saw thick black smoke blowing across the backyard. I ran out front thinking I might be in imminent danger and wondering how I was going to round up and evacuate four cats, one of whom is feral, and another of whom is never home during daylight hours. It looked like the fire was close, but it was two blocks away, and my house wasn't in any danger. It created quite a stir in the neighborhood, though, and a huge traffic jam. Did I scoop the Los Angeles Times with this post?

Nelson's Lion Cut

Nelson got his summer lion cut today. Doesn't he look handsome?









Here's a short video of him accompanied by music drifting in from the neighbor next door on electric guitar.

Nancy Baker Interview

There's a really good interview with artist Nancy Baker on Eva Lake's Art World Internet show. Nancy is a contributor to the Anonymous Female Artist blog, and she also has her own blog called Tire Shop. Nancy and Eva talk about women and the art world. It's a fabulous conversation! You must hear it.

More New Work

I thought this piece turned out pretty nice. It's large -- 36" x 48". My friend, who doesn't like me to mention his name on this blog and wants to remain anonymous, said I shouldn't tell you how I did this painting. He also doesn't want me to mention that his birthday is this Sunday, June 17th! Any guesses about how this painting was done?

Little Brown Dress

I'm really drawn to the blogs of people who are experimenting with simplifying their lives and living intentionally. Here's another one along those lines that's great: Little Brown Dress. Alex Martin decided to wear the same dress everyday for a year, accessorizing it with things already in her wardrobe, such as sweaters, shoes, a coat, and jeans. Her intention was to make an anti-fashion statement by showing that it is possible to wear the same thing everyday and survive. In the process she learned a lot, and she shares her experiences with us on her Little Brown Dress blog. Her story is inspiring.

Homo Luminis

In her June newsletter, Diana Pepper of Tree Frog Farm talks about human evolution:

Years ago I saw an episode of Star Trek the Next Generation about a species that was undergoing a transformational leap. A person of that species was found adrift in space with amnesia. Curiously, he had unexplainable symptoms like waves of pain, energy bursting uncontrollably from his body and extraordinarily fast cell mytosis. During the course of the show, as his symptoms grew more intense, he finally remembered who he was and what was happening. At the end, he completely transformed into a being of light – a grid of light in the shape of a person.

Inka elders say that Homo sapiens are evolving into Homo luminis. From my experience, I would agree. We humans are undergoing a rapid transformation much like the person of light. I believe it is as radical a transformation as fish evolving into amphibians. And our evolutionary process is happening within lifetimes as well as between generations. Sometimes I feel much like the person in the Star Trek show. I have experienced -- along with some of my clients and friends -- inexplicable flu-like symptoms including body aches, headaches or digestive distress, unexplained heat coursing through the body, a sense of the nervous system “shattering”, or a sense of the body losing cohesion like the cells could fly apart at any moment. Thankfully, we have Red-Osier Dogwood Flower Essence as an ally.

Red-Osier Dogwood is one of the flower essences that Diana makes and sells.

I've heard talk about Homo luminis before, and I certainly hope we're evolving into something better than what we are now. I don't think life on the planet can take much more of Homo sapiens abuse.

Serendipity

The white plastic bowls I use to mix paint end up with a beautiful patina over time. These are not color combinations I would normally choose, and yet they work well together.









I added some red to this piece today. It's hazy looking because it has a faint gold glaze, which scatters the light. It's not quite that hazy looking when you see it in person.

New Work

Here's a piece I've been working on for a while. It's not done yet, but I haven't decided what to do next. It's 24" x 30".



This little piece is kind of fun. It's tinted molding paste with several layers of paint on top. Then I sanded it down to reveal the layers. It's small -- 6" x 6" on canvas board.



I like this one, too. If I'd known the red was going to turn out so nice, I would have put it over the entire painting. It's 24" x 30".

Process versus Product

I was listening to Natalie Goldberg read from Thunder and Lightening, one of her books on writing. She was talking about the popularity of books about writing, and how people are now more interested in the process of writing than in the end product. Her books about how to write have sold really well -- much better than her novels.

I wonder if the same thing is happening with other forms of art -- that the process is more interesting than the end product. Would people rather try their hand at painting, for the experience of it and for what it reveals about themselves, than own paintings?

Pharmakast

I highly recommend the Pharmakast art roundtable podcasts about the art world, produced by members of Pharmaka, a group of painters here in Los Angeles. The first one is just a very brief introduction, and in the second, they discuss how Pharmaka got started and their feelings, as artists, about the art world. It resonates strongly with my own experiences. Painters, you need to check this out. You can listen directly, without an iPod, by clicking on the direct download option.

Refrigerator Alternative

This is so great! I want one of these! It's a cooler made entirely of clay, designed to be an alternative to electrical refrigerators. This cooler uses no electricity, and it keeps foods cool with water. My mom was telling me that cool boxes were common before ice boxes and then refrigerators became available. I'm beginning to think that maybe I can get along just fine without a refrigerator, especially since I don't eat meat, dairy or eggs, and therefore don't need to store those more perishable foods.

The Meaning of Art

I've been questioning art and why I do it lately, and then I read this section in the book, Art and Fear:

If art is about self, the widely accepted corollary is that making art is about self-expression. And it is -- but that is not necessarily all it is. It may only be a passing feature of our times that validating the sense of who-you-are is held up as the major source of the need to make art. What gets lost in that interpretation is an older sense that art is something you do out in the world, or something you do about the world, or even something you do for the world. The need to make art may not stem solely from the need to express who you are, but from a need to complete a relationship with something outside yourself. As a maker of art you are custodian of issues larger than self.

Some people who make art are driven by inspiration, others by provocation, still others by desperation. Artmaking grants access to worlds that may be dangerous, sacred, forbidden, seductive, or all of the above. It grants access to worlds you may otherwise never fully engage. It may in fact be the engagement -- not the art -- that you seek. The difference is that making art allows, indeed guarantees, that you declare yourself. Art is contact, and your work necessarily reveals the nature of that contact. In making art you declare what is important.

I'm not sure what direction to go with my art. I'm becoming more and more interested in things that I know most people won't appreciate, and yet I want to sell work. I don't know if I can afford to go in that direction. But can I afford not to?