New Knowledge

Inspiring Artists

2010-02-28T23:53:00.000-08:00

Carlos Rodriguez

Jet Martinez

Apex

Susan Cervantes

Studies

2010-02-28T20:18:00.000-08:00

Studies. An important element to painting that I many times overlook and don't take advantage of. Studies should be something that comes automatic when thinking of new ideas for paintings or when trying to work out issues that you run into. The struggle for me is setting aside the time to constantly make new studies instead of delving directly into a project. I also have to remind myself not to get caught up on a single image or idea so as much as I hate to put something aside and move on to the next idea without feeling a sense of completion, it is sometimes necessary. But making sure to add something new to each study or making a shift from the last can keep the project fresh and interesting. Once you have a wide variety of studies it is easier to see the issues you will have to work on for the project itself. For this project in particular, I need to make sure each different element is able to work with each other and create the story and feeling that lies behind it.

Third Painting

2009-12-09T01:48:00.001-08:00

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Holiday Art Sale

2009-11-25T02:44:00.000-08:00

A little something for everyone...

Street Art San Francisco: Mission Muralismo book signing

2009-11-03T21:50:00.000-08:00

Cultural Encounters: Friday Nights at the de Young presents Street Art San Francisco: Mission Muralismo, in partnership with Precita Eyes Muralists

Friday Nights at the de Young | Lectures and Symposia | Artist Studio | Special Events | Music at the de Young

5:30 PM - 8:45 PM November 6, 2009

The de Young Museum hosts a year-long series celebrating the just released Street Art San Francisco: Mission Muralismo(Abrams, 2009), edited by Annice Jacoby, with a foreword by Carlos Santana, as part of the museum's weekly program Cultural Encounters: Friday Nights at the de Young.
This series celebrates one of San Francisco’s greatest assets—the Mission District arts community, a rising star on the global art map. Both cutting-edge and traditional street artists will offer lectures and performances sharing their art, insights, musings, experiences, and perspectives.
These programs are offered FREE of charge in the free zone of the museum. For more information, visitwww.missionmuralismo.com.

Eternal Sleep

2009-11-03T15:07:00.000-08:00

Last chance to check out Eternal Sleep.

Dia de los Muertos Showcase and 1 year anniverary of 1 AM gallery @ 6th and Howard.

Coming down november 6th.. Check it.

Sneak peak of my pieces..

Te Amo Siempre.. Detail

Remember Me Always.. Detail

October Walls

2009-11-03T13:50:00.001-08:00

Clarion Alley. . in progress

Lilac Alley

2nd Painting

2009-11-02T12:28:00.000-08:00

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 7

Influential Artists

2009-11-02T12:23:00.000-08:00

Aya Uekawa

The work of Aya Uekawa is very interesting in my opinion. The way she incorporates figure painting with design is intriguing to me and relates very much to the series I am working on now. Her figures are very stylized and unique but are painted with a very soft and smooth touch that creates an elegance in her work. This mixture of portraiture surrounded by design is what I am also playing with right now, but the design created around her figures is pattern oriented and repetitive whereas my design is very much more lose and freely created with a continuous design that flows off the surface and does not repeat. Her work can be seen at ayauekawa.net

Kehinde Wiley

Kehinde Wiley is an amazing portrait artist. His representation of the human figure is very photorealistic and his work deals with everyday people, their lives, and society while also putting the subject in relation to traditional classic painting. I admire his work because he takes the subject out of context and is able to create a personal reality for each individual through design and pattern. Somewhat similar to what I am trying to accomplish with my series only my subject matter is more personalized. His work can be viewed at kehindewiley.com

Ryan McGinness

Ryan McGinness has a very diverse range of work, from painting, design, silkscreen, and even sculptural mixed media creations. This example of his work is inspirational to me.. taking it back to Von Dutch. But just the cleanliness and symmetricality (if that's a word) and brush work is impressive and not easy to create and repeat. As a graffiti artist I have much respect for this. Check out ryanmcginness.com

1st Painting

2009-10-03T01:46:00.000-07:00

My paintings for the series will be a group of portraits based on a trip that I took to the Middle East this past January. 7 artists and teachers were a part of the project to travel and teach the mural painting process to youth and communities in Lebanon and Palestine. The portraits that I paint will all be of individual students that we worked with throughout the month.

My idea with the series is to really focus on conveying the feeling that each person is showing in the images, and tell somewhat of a story for each of them trough the paintings. To add to this and personalize each one, the background of the figures will be painted abstract, feeding off the emotion of each person and my reaction to it. The composition also serves as a comparison and collaboration of two different worlds coming together and the similarities and differences in the struggles we live.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

2009-09-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

Doing live painting here on Saturday!

Come check it out..

Mural artists from the 4 corners of the Bay!

2009-09-21T11:44:00.000-07:00

30 Studies

Everything that appears in my studies is inspired by something in my life. All the formal themes visible are based on things that are a part of my life or that catch my eye and interest me living in the city; such as landscapes, buildings, sky, people, etc. Then I take these compositions and paint through my interpretation of them, whether being a realistic image or abstract to the viewer.

All studies i believe are successful in one way or another. For some I find myself doing exactly what I had planned from the start and for others I find myself going in the complete opposite direction from my idea after the first brush stroke is put on the surface. Either way it is part of experimentation and finding innovation in your work. If you allow yourself to go in a direction that you might not have seen coming from the start, and don't limit yourself to one idea, you open the doors to a new realm and the possibilities on what you can achieve are endless. To me, the most experimental studies are the most successful.

In these 30 studies my most experimental are those that I start with only a color or shape in mind and let loose from there. These are also the most successful to me because you can sit with a reference and recreate what you see, but you already have what you want right in front of you from the start. When you come at the surface that you are painting with your own interpretation and you are still able to create an image is pleasing to the eye in the end, that is a success.

2009-09-09T23:43:00.000-07:00

A Few Studies ...

Playing with abstraction and color schemes

2009-09-09T12:02:00.000-07:00

A taste of 2009