May 23, 2011

Short notice: June 4th Art Crawl

I thought I locked myself out of my studio today and while being let in, I discovered that Cummins Station and Track 13 Gallery will be a stop on the shuttle bus for the June 4th Art Crawl, though it's not officially sponsored by Cummins Station, which is why there was no official word and no official organized open studio. Meaning, I'm going rogue. My train car studio is hitched to the train car gallery, so any and all foot traffic will flow by my studio. It seems like a no brainer to participate though I have less than 2 weeks to devise my plan and organize. Fortunately I have DIY roots. I'll show the recent watercolors in one room and M. Thackston Addie, visionary, wants in as well. He'll be showing recent work in the smaller room. I'm tempted to visit a nursing home and borrow a resident for the evening, but that would be so wrong, wouldn't it? If I were in LA, I would consider hiring an actor. I'd like to make a limited edition zine- highlights from Process or a print on demand book for sale. I have a lot of work to do.

I introduced oils to the train car studio. It's best when I use either/or, so I decided to phase out the acrylics. Even with the a/c on and loads of retarder, acrylics tend to dry super fast in this climate. And acrylic and hot weather aren't really the ideal mix for those of us prone to leaving wide-mouthed jars of paint uncapped for 6 hours or longer either.
Skywriting on the Wall, 2011
14" x 11"

I think I need to tweak this painting a tad more. I just noticed the "C" is bothering me a bit. I was walking home one day in LA when I saw the word, "choose" written in the sky above my house. It kind of freaked me out because at the time I needed to make some decisions and I remember shuffling home thinking about something so very relevant that it was downright freaky when I looked up and saw this.  I starred at it and realized that when it was fresh, it had said something else, but the wind had caused all the other words to dissipate. I miss skywriting. It's a beach thing. I don't think I ever really made a decision, but you know how that goes. Even a non-decision is a decision.

I hadn't locked myself out either. My keys were at the coffee shop across the street waiting for me to finish my double Americano. Mr. Coffee, sir, you are no Starbucks Barista Home Espresso Machine.

2 comments:

Carla said...

I had noticed the open jars in the video, and it nagged at me. They're going to dry out, they're going to dry out!!

I read the skywriting as Hoose.

M.A.H. said...

Acrylics are not very cost effective for me in general. I noticed the paint getting thicker the first day in the train car and I've lost at least 2 ounces or more per jar, around the edges. I'm somewhat sorry to make the switch-I tend to be more uncouth with them in the beginning.

Taking pictures helps clarify things like that. I was going for the wind dispersion effect and kept overdoing it and then having to redefine it...while on my way out the door...after I had cleaned my brushes.

It's over.

Nov 7, 2020. Tears of joy and relief. It's been unreal and I'm ready to get back to a sense of normalcy. The desert has been tough.