Poetry Vs. Candy...what's in your room?

When I went to refill the Starbursts candy in my fake coconut bowl, I found THIS...
...Piece of paper taped just underneath the mermaid. As it turns out, its a poem from the poet "Brash". He goes throughout ArtoMatic and tapes up poetry as a reaction to the artwork he sees. He was inspired enough to pen (er, type and printout) this little sonnet about my painting "Screening At The Organ Grinders Local". I have reproduced the text from a bad cameraphone shot...in order to approximate the effort it takes to read the thing when its 3 inches from the floor!So I leave the interpretation up to you all... I am not entirely certain that my work is not somehow being dissed in this poem...I also like the way it almost rhymes...

From high art we go to the low art...I met with Trixie last Friday to talk about her can (pun intended) As it turns out, she wants to do all sorts of things that the current can can't. But eventually, I was able to come away from the meeting solely with the responsibility of designing and painting the label. And the best part is, she wants it to be a French sardine can!

The next most eventful, er, event was Vern's Birthday party. It was a low key affair, one where we all huddled around the 20th century hearth and watched Lawrence Whelk...as well as the making of the Seattle worlds fair, the making of the Enchanted Tiki Room, and finally in the small hours, we watched music videos that Vern had personally cataloged from 1989! It was a blast from the past...it really is surprising to think that MC Hammer videos were made 20 years ago! (as was the Dead Milkmen's video, Punk Rock Girl...)

Other semi noteworthy moments this last week were, getting contractors over to my house to get estimates on new windows and a bathroom remodel. And I got a new catalytic converter from my new favorite Kustom car shop KELLEY'S

I am going to give you BTT readers a sneak peek at some of the stuff I have been working on in preparation for WPAC's 9x10 show (as well as Hukilau and Art in Heat)....I have been playing with the idea of making submarine paintings for years, but I never wanted them to be dramatic things, or serious critiques of war etc. So I have been using the monkeys as a stand in for the sailors. This is a preliminary sketch of what I hope will turn into a series:

"Sea Monkeys" Sketch
Pencil on Paper, Photoshop

I am approaching the last two weeks for the corcoran, so this segment will not be part of the weekly entry...so get your academic kicks while you can! 14 paintings class was all about the Washington color school. Steven didn't even have a project written out. I think he is so excited about the Washington Color School events around town, and what they represent for contemporary Washington painters, like him, that he has devoted the rest of the semester to discussing what their impact was, and continues to be. So, this weeks painting was an attempt to make a "contemporary Washington color school" painting...

"Washington Color School Painting", 14 paintings...

In Academic Portrait painting I blocked in the color over last weeks drawing. I cant help being a fast painter, so I will probably spend next week painting over the whole thing again... Natasha sometimes has a hard time expressing (or perhaps I have a hard time comprehending) what is wrong with my painting...but I am definitely improving through her instruction, however I think by the classes end, I will have learned about 5 good lessons about portrait painting...For certain, I will never look at a Sargent painting the same way again.

Academic Portrait painting
Third Model, Second Session

Art-o-Matic open! Sympathy for the Devil!

So, to start up where I left off in the last post, I went to Yuri's night...got there at the end, "to the moon" was playing, and I started to talk to those guys about doing a gig like this next year...at an art show...Let me see how Art in Heat goes, then we can talk about the Yuri's night 2008 art show and space cabaret!

Panoramic "Stitched" photo of Art-o-Matic room (just Jared's side)

Anyway, Artomatic opened, I happened to be the only one in a devil suit on Friday. Turns out that the costume aspect of the Friday the 13th opening was not as well publicised as I thought...anyhoo, It was a great opening, and there were many people I scared off because I was dressed like the devil. Sara and Kirstra had my back in KT's absence, and I was introduced to Robert, who bought a painting (one of the hula lamp series)...all I can say about Robert, is that he knows how to get on an artist's good side...One of the other pieces I sold at the opening was still life with takeout:

Still Life with Takeout

this was sold to a collector who already owns two of my works..."00001" and "00010" (robot paintings)

On Saturday I did my volunteer shift (they sent me an email the next day saying that I didn't show up and that I would be banned from AOM forever!...it wasn't true! I DID work on Saturday!) and sold a few more pieces:

Screening at the organ grinders local

Mermaid

Projectionist

So the subtext here is that you folks who want any of this stuff better get your butt down to AOM ASAP! Cuz its goin' fast!

I have experimented with using Paypal for the payment method for these works, and It has seemed to work out so far...I'll let you know if there are any problems over the next month or so.

Oh, hey, I almost forgot, I couldn't attend the opening of MAP's Out of Order in Baltimore, but I did have a piece there:I haven't heard if its sold yet...but it must not have because I have until Saturday to pick it up and I haven't gotten an email or anything...

On Monday I skipped out on half of my classes to go to the DC Voting rights march...I got there too late to march (it was really crappy out too!), however, since I was down there anyway, I went to see the Jasper Johns show at the NGA...it wasn't too bad, but I still got the feeling that I didn't agree with the purposeful "impoverished" or "bohemian" stance these pictures take...

Anyway, here is the final picture of the the second Academic figure drawing class painting:

Academic Portrait painting, second model Final

Here is the first session of the last model we will have:

Academic Portrait painting, third model, first session

And here is the latest 14 paintings classwork:

14 paintings...number 8 (?)

I'm off to Baltimore tomorrow to talk to Trixie about the Sardine Can 2.1 (remember that?)...later gators (as Trixie would say)

Art-o-Matic opens!

I need to be brief because I am trying to get to the Russian Embassy for Yuri's night tonight (and they stop serving vodka at 11!)

As the title states, Art-o-Matic opens this Friday, April 13th. You can get the scoop on everything here. I am located on the 6th floor, in the red section...I'm the first room as you turn right at the reception desk by the glass...Here are some pics of the room, so you will have some idea of what to look for:


This is a view from the doorway...I am not showing my roommate's (Eric Peterson Photography) work here, because the Treo camera has no fish eye lens...

This is a closeup of the tiki...he is kind enough to hold all my cards and starburst candies...
Loyal readers of BTT will recognize some scenery getting a second shot at the spotlight...This wall has most of my latest work
This is "BBQ Bear" which is one of the new "bear" paintings. I had an old plastic frame from goodwill, and he seemed to fit the "tondo" format...(I again want to apologize for the Treo photo, I have better ones at home, but I took these once we finished installing...)


This one is called "Screening at the organ grinders local"...the photo here is particularly bad. There are lots of blues in this painting, because I was trying to concentrate on painting a picture about being in the dark...Anyway, its much better in person, so you'll just have to come to Art-o-Matic to see it!
This is the "Backyard Bear" painting, which if you look closely, has the negative of the "BBQ Bear" (that is, the cut paper negative) I have been stuck on a lighting kick lately, and I think that this one has a real presence in that dept.

I am also showing some pastel drawings, but the photos were so full of glare that it made it useless to show you pictures of them.

Oh, yeah, I forgot to add my homework....I'll do another post tomorrow...or perhaps a twofer next week!

One Revue Down...One O-Matic To Go...

So the Lobsterboy Ship of fools has gone into the history books. It was a really great show, and it was particularly nice to work with the Birchmere. It was the most pleasant setup and strike that I have ever experienced. The staff was helpful and willing to make an extra effort to make the show look good...which is different from many other venues.
Anyway, Here's a bad cameraphone shot of the show:

Lobsterboy Ship of Fools set at the Birchmere

A few photographers were there, so I have been looking for better shots on flickr...like this one from someone named "birdcage":

Cardgirl's feet (notice how the pearls rhyme with each other...Artsy!)

Needless to say, as the photos roll in, I'll post 'em.

Glory is quite fleeting here at Between the Tines, so we are immediately immersed in the next project. ARTOMATIC! My In-laws are coming into town next week...and I have just done a schedule breakdown on what needs to be done between now and opening night...I am Fu*ked! But not to worry dear reader, as I circle the drain of sanity, you will be kept updated with frequent blog entries!

Now on to my academic progress. The assignment for 14 paintings was to do a Munch-esque painting...incorporating open lined crosshatching, as well as an object very near and one very far away.]I chose to also make a existential statement that Munch would appreciate.

14 Paintings, Number 6
Munch-esque

In Academic Portrait painting I made a second pass over all the clothing. I especially made out well with the boots. I did them in a Franz Hals fashion...well, truth be told, Natasha ordered me to stop when I got to this point, saying that I had done enough and I needed to move on (lest I ruin them) So the takeaway lesson I got here is that sometimes the overworked area is not the best area of a painting. I have one more day with this, so I will do my best to fix the portrait and make the skin work better...and if I have time, I'll make the space she's in feel more solid. (next week Natasha has to choose some our work for a student "show"...which is really just stuff in the hallway...so I have to bring back the last portrait. I hope she picks one of mine!)

Academic Portrait Painting
Second Model, 4th session
(check the boots!)

Lastly, I'd like to look forward to Birthday Volleyball on the Mall this Saturday...and to thank Jide for wishing me a happy birthday, even if skynet told him that it was the 4th...

Art/Ship-O-Matic/Fools

The "O" in the middle is the "eye of the storm" this past week. The two major developments are site selection at Art-o-Matic, and finishing the scenery for Lobsterboy's Ship-o-Fools...

Since its always great to have boobies be the first thing to appear when you open the blog, I have chosen to post my Lobsterboy scenery first:

Mermaid figurehead, SR
Lobsterboys' Ship-o-Fools, Painted luan flats Aprox 7'x11'

Barnacled pier and treasure chest, SL
Lobsterboy's Ship-o-Fools, Painted luan flats Aprox 7'x11'

These are going to be the flanking pieces around the Squid and Whale backdrop from the Toxic Tiki show last spring. The Mermaid will get some real tassels, so that she will comply with the law (I wonder if that really applies to scenery...) Unfortunately, that is the extent of the "functionality" of the scenery...i.e. it doesn't have an ass for anything to come out of....

The other major development was the site selection at Art-o-Matic. KT and I got there on Sunday and picked through the scraps that the other artists had left from Saturday. I think we did pretty well, we got the first room when you turn right from the info desk on the 6th floor (the room number is 6T17, in the red section) I have one roommate, who's phone number on his card is not connected...so I have yet to coordinate with him about what part of the room is his vs. mine.

Room 6T17 Red, Art-o-Matic
Ably demonstrated by KT

I think I will be doing some sort of installation in my room...perhaps a big tiki in the corner. If I luck out and get the whole wall (not pictured, but its on the right) I might stick the mermaid on the wall...

One of the things I need to do for Hukilau is send some of my promotional materials to them for their website. They specifically asked for a logo, so I have been kicking around making a new logo in conjunction with a new business card. Let me know what you think.

New logo design on redesigned business card

Speaking of logos, I also developed a logo for Jarett Bakers new theatrical sound company...he said he wanted a pinup girl sitting on his lettering...

Theater Image logo girl

All that's left now is to show you my schoolwork. 14 Paintings was a another day of figurative abstraction, this time centering on line. We started a discussion on Brice Marden in class (actually Steven was kinda dissing him) so I ended up trying to make a similar sort of painting. I really just wound up doodling with the paint...which is where I don't like to be when I am making abstract work...I don't think that this a very good painting in the end.

14 Paintings...Fifth painting
Figurative abstraction with lines

In Academic Portrait painting I actually got a chance to paint. I was really suffering from not having the color "permanent rose", which is a magenta-like color...the model has a magenta-purple dress on, and she has read hair. So I borrowed some from a classmate and the whole painting brightened up. I only have two more sessions with this model...

Academic Portrait Painting
Second model third session

Next week I will have photos of this Sunday's Lobsterboy's Ship-o-Fools @ the Birchmere!

New Directions...Old Business

This last week heralded the coming of the "lets get down to business" side of making art. What I mean to say is that I took stock of the projects that I have coming up (Lobsterboy's ship of fools, Art-o-Matic, WPAC's 9x10, Hukilau, and Art In Heat) and started to plan out how I was going to make so much work in such a short amount of time...but first, I needed to take some good photos of the Hexagon Show:

Strike While the Irony's Hot, Hexagon

False proscenium with circus cartsStrike While the Irony's Hot, Hexagon

Freak banners

I have yet to hear from the official Hexagon photographer about getting some shots with actors in them...but I don't think these are too shabby for my old film camera...(BTW, there is still a chance to see the show if you are reading this before April 1)

The strategy I think I am going to employ for the painting I will be doing for the upcoming shows is based on the idea that I need to be channeled...like a mighty river (hey, its my narcissistic blog, I'll be as hyperbolic as I wanna be!) So I have set forth to create a set of six "thesis" paintings. That is, six totally different paintings (thematically) and then pursue further paintings from the most successful of those original six...So if you want to get a glimpse of the headwaters of the mighty stream of consciousness that is Artbyjared, you'll have to swing by my booth (or wall, or room or whatever is left for me to claim) at Art-o-Matic!

For St. Patty's day, KT, Jared R, Mark, Amy and Sara all made our debut (in attendance) to Blobs Park. Brave Combo was playing...and we did the chicken dance. Nuf Said.

Over the course of this week I have been laying plans for the Lobsterboy's Ship of Fools (Birchmere April 1) and I actually got around to designing some scenery, here's a peek:Stage Left Mermaid

She'll be great with real tassels! (check out her burlesque feather fan)

Lastly, I am happy to report that I have classwork to show you, since I did not have jury duty, nor was it any sort of holiday.

14 paintings in 14 weeks
Painting 4, figurative abstraction

This week, Steven had a model roam around the studio while we painted one figure on top of the other. Eventually we were supposed to achieve a "DeKooning-esque" painting...I stuck to a limited palette and wrestled with the oil paint a bit...this represents 4 hours of work...I cant tell if it confirms or denies my ability as an abstract painter...

Academic Portrait Painting
Second Model, second session

I told you last time that I had a really hard time with this model...She's in a funny place (well, I am in a funny place) and I just couldn't get the figure right...turns out that I need to be looking at the model from the right side of my canvas (since I am right eyed, I think). I did as much and found the results improved dramatically (so much so that I feel confident showing you the results here) There are three more days with this model...I hope that my three day lag behind the rest of the class will not prevent me from finishing...

CD and CB in DC with Me

I don't know how this has slipped my mind, but the official "pre-marketing" campaign has started for Art in Heat. Which means you should be on the lookout for this postcard EVERYWHERE!

As the card says, you can get all the up-to-the-minute-dirt at www.artinheat.com

Other than that oversight, I have little in the way of actual work to show for this week...Mostly because I was showing my parents around DC all weekend. It was a weekend of nonstop theater for them, so I hope that they went home for a bit of well deserved rest. When they got in on Friday, I took them to the new portrait gallery, in an effort to open up a dialog about painting with my father. He finds the whole business of "being an Artist" a bit mysterious in the first place, let alone that his son has chosen it has a vocation. After that we saw The Constant Wife at Olney. A very good show, even by Olney standards. The next day we spent shopping and tasting wine at the wine tasting event downtown, topping the evening off at Hexagon's production of Strike While the Irony's Hot. My parents seemed appropriately pleased with the quality of the show (and appropriately proud of the scenery), however it did lead my father into discussions with me about "getting a 'community theater' reputation"...On Sunday, my Mother was treated to close to $1000.00 worth of shoes. (she obviously didn't intend to spend that much, but she bought three pair, and can you really put a price on comfort? More importantly, she deserves to have them) In the evening we went to see the final performance of Lipscynca's Passion of the Crawford. It was a bizarre show, but quite memorable (it may haunt my nightmares for years to come) On Monday, I trundled them off to DCA...and I haven't heard from them since...(perhaps I'll email them after this post)

In the course of events, I also ordered two more segments of Pipe and Drape, so that I can A) use them for scenery for Lobsterboy's Ship of Fools, and B) use them as my "booth" at Hukilau!

servitude) for Art-o-And lastly, I got in line (and paid my money, and signed up for my 15 hours of indenturedMatic! So check back here soon for concurrent posts about Lobsterboy's Ship of Fools at the Birchmere on Sunday April 1, and the Opening of Art-o-Matic on Friday April 13!

Guilty!...of not blogging!

My absence from the bloggosphere has largely been due to the murder trial I was serving as a juror on. In the end we found the guy guilty of shooting his AK47 into the street (and killing one person) in Southwest DC. I hope that he has a good long time to think about what he did. As for me, I am glad that I am getting my life back...

Lots of things have happened since we last, er, spoke. Since then, Hexagon has loaded into Duke Ellington, and has opened. One of the last pieces of the set design was the "freak banners". The idea was to have a large sideshow banner "wall" that would portray different politicians as "freaks"...below are the eight that made the cut. They are all 8'x8', and painted over a four day period.I didn't really know who Sam Brownback was...now he 's running for President...in fact, there are so few caricatures of him, that he turned out looking a bit like Al Gore!Tony Snow is another relatively nondescript white guys...so I played up the whole FOX NEWS connection...
I hope that BtT wont get banned in Iran for this!
The older writers in Hexagon are a bit paranoid about Blackberrys...then again, how do you make fun of a mayor who has been in office for only a month!
Because of Anna Nicole Smith, this has become "old news"...I still think its funny...BTW, she is being propelled by a can of "pepper spray"!

Not limited enough!

I didn't want to be too mean here...but I think that the pink power suit says it all...

He's so cute!This is a fire truck that will be on one one of the carts for the traditional "save the baby" clown fireman routine...Here is a bad cameraphone photo of dry tech...you get an idea of how the banners look all together...This is a picture of the "false proscenium arch" sitting just off the stage floor, ready to be hoisted into position. Its about a 30' span, with no cables holding it up from above! The whole thing weighs about 200 lb...
And here it is during dry tech. The arch is up and lit (the little lights even chase), the spotlight operators are inside, and you can see three of the five carts in this picture.

I think that this is going to be a really great production this year, I have tickets for this Saturday, so next week I can give you my review. I would like to encourage anyone reading this to think about going to see this show. Since all proceeds go to Ronald McDonald house, it is theater for a good cause, not just my designs...

Other than Hexagon, these past few weeks of jury duty have given me a chance to, do my taxes, hang out at the Raven with Greg and Scott, go to Dr Sketchy's at Palace of Wonders...(we are now looking into having Molly Crabbapple be the third event in the Art in Heat lineup)

I also did not win any WATCH awards...as usual, I was robbed (I was nominated for Best Set Design, Noises off and also Best set Painting, Pirates of Penzance)

The other GINORMOUS event that happened was Tug of War at Hemphill. All of the big lowbrow folks were included in the show (I got to meet Glenn Barr!) and that of course includes Scott Brooks. If you missed the opening, then you missed the opportunity to buy Scott's work...snooze you loose!

Me, Scott and Greg at Tug of War (it was really hot inside...because it had these three hot artists, duh!)

Lastly, the other project I have been working on is being the scenic painter for Rep Stage's production of Bach at Leipzig. It is a "Milagros..." designed set, so there is plenty of painting to do. I spent the better part of three days painting faux marble for the floor!
Somehow the cameraphone makes this marble look really fake. In person it is (if I may immodestly say so) really quite convincing. This is 24 panels out of 200...

Because of my Jury duty, I have not been to class for the last two weeks (actually three because of the Presidents day holliday...and its "spring break" next week...for a total of 4 weeks before I return!) so I have no classwork to show...