Sunday, December 10, 2006

Uploaded my old animation "The Flying Snowman" to youtube for the holidays (made in 2001 using Blender). Enjoy!

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

I am ALMOST finished with my final semester of regular classes in Graduate school. I am still worrying about everything, because I have a lot to do in a very short amount of time, but overall, I think things are going well.

So much has changed in my life in the past few weeks. There are things that I can't wait to talk about, but I have to wait. I am still pretty nervous about doing my student teaching in January, but I am also really excited! My hope is that once I am in there, I will quickly overcome my fears, and start having a lot of fun being an art teacher. I know it's in me to do a really good job at this.

Friday, October 27, 2006

I've been running around like crazy trying to get all these paintings done for my November show at Western. I am proud to say that there are no less than 5 new paintings in the traditional section... I'm also proud of some other things, but I have to wait to talk about them...

Wednesday, October 4th, 2006

So glad it's October. I love how it's getting cooler. I've added a new portrait "Brother in Law" to the Traditional section. It's a portrait of my brother in law Dave. He rides bikes all over the appalachian mountains and is in terrific shape. I feel rather large next to him, lol.

Friday, September 29th, 2006

New painting "Coffee Mug" in the traditional section. I'm proud of it because I haven't done a painting quite like that. I focused a lot more on detailed shadows, etc. It might be something I want to do a lot more of.

Wednesday, September 27th, 2006

Man I'm looking forward to October! I really need some good cool, fall weather. Also, I've got the October show up and running at my new site http://www.contumacies.org. I am going to have a new show there every month, showing artists from deviantart.com.

Things are also heating up on the teaching front. This Stuckism thing has been a nice escape from the realities I've been having to deal with. I'm still shy about getting up in front of people, and teaching does not come to me naturally.

Still, my involvement with this Remodernist group and all these new thoughts have given me a confidence I didn't have before. Hopefully it will see me through this and next semester....

Monday, September 18th, 2006

I like this manifesto found in this month's Artforum. It's in an ad for this exhibition
[link]

(I think the emerging presence of these artist's manifestos and declarations is a sign of positive change. Artists are finally starting to stand up to the establishment and go their own ways. Some always have).


MANIFESTO
For Abstractionists and friends of the non-objective

BE A FORCE

Don't shoot blanks

Black and Brown: that sh*t is the future

Triangles are your friend

Don't pretend you don't work hard

When in doubt, spray paint it gold

Perverse formalism is your god

You are greased lightening

Bring your camera everywhere

Never stop looking at macrame`, ceramics, supergraphics and suprematism

Make work that is so secret, so fantastic, so dramatically old school/new school that it looks like it was found in a shed, locked up since the 1940's

Wake up early, fear death

Whip out the masterpieces

Be out for blood

You are the master of your own universe

Abstraction never left, motherf*ers

If you can't stop, don't stop

Strive for deeper structure

Fight monomania

Campaign against the literal

ABSTRACTION FOREVER!

Friday, September 8th, 2006

It's completely pointless to have that blog when I'm basically "blogging" on the front page of this site. I'm shuttin' it down. I'm still not entirely happy with what Googlepages can do, but it's turning out to be enough, especially since I'm also posting more than ever over at Deviantart.com.

Lately I'm so excited because the Remodernists group over there has really taken off. It's wonderful to see how the effort it takes to start something up can really pay off. More than ever, I think that art is becoming vastly more democratic. People are forming their own little groups and eventually there will be so many different kinds of galleries for different kinds of art. Everyone will have a place in the artworlds (plural) of the future.

As far as what is important or significant... I think it's utter folly to confidently say in one's own time what will stand out as significant in the future. The high art world is totally collapsing. What remains after that collapse will be a democratic art, where different groups of people with different aims can establish their own goals and priorities. I realize this situation already exists to a degree, but there is still the lingering, dying notion that the art in the high galleries is the important, significant art. This notion will die completely soon.

Wednesday, September 6th, 2006

(added new painting "Plisteen" in the traditional section...)

Worthy vs. Unworthy pursuits:

Unworthy:

• Trying to be cool
• Trying to be relevant
• Trying to be original

Worthy:

• Making art that expresses your own real journey through life.
• Trying to get better
• Putting your honest self out there

Thursday, August 31st, 2006

Added a new painting, "Scared But Still Going" to the Traditional section. It's my second painting since reading about Stuckism, and I really think things are changing in my art in response to that. These portraits are evidence that I'm back in the world, with people again...

Saturday, August 26th, 2006

Added a new painting "Uncle Bobby" to the Traditional section. I'm going to work this semester on doing a lot more figural painting. I think it's a strength that I haven't focused on. Reading stuff by Billy Childish, particularly THIS interview, really makes me interested in exploring heartfelt, honest art.

Thursday, August 24th, 2006

I've been really busy. Not only am I fully loaded with grad school classes, etc., I am just loving reading stuff online about Billy Childish and the Stuckist art movement. It's been going on for like five years and I really had never heard of it until a few weeks ago.

I've gotten so into their idea of "remodernism" that I started a group of remodernists on Deviantart.com. Here's the link:
http://remodernists.deviantart.com

Anyway, it's really making me solidify some of my beliefs about what is important about being an artist, etc. If anyone is interested they can go to the stuckists website and read all about it!
http://www.stuckism.com