A Different Kind of Inspiration

I haven't posted in a while :P
I realize that it's been a little more than a month. I guess I've been caught up with life and where it's been taking me. But this semester has proven to be very interesting. I just finished my first still life with oil painting. And it's not bad for someone who hated painting. I know that no one will teach me how to paint and that it must be done myself. But at least in my oil painting class, my instructor Julie Kirk has been very thorough in guiding us through this new medium. She gave us tips on how to use our brush and how much paint would suffice etc. Just little tips that you think you know, but you don't. And it's been great.
Actually... the picture of my painting isn't finished, but all I had to do was fill in the rest of the background on the bottom. Oops. For some reason, the painting looks a lot more monotonous. I hope it's my camera or the light bouncing off my canvas.
Now that I can see my painting in another context, I see that my sphere looks like it's deflating. Haha
I can also improve on using less paint next time. For this still life, I applied a lot more paint that I wanted to because I often misjudged the lights and the darks.


We'll be starting on a new painting on Wednesday and I'm not dreading it :)
But on Monday I have jury duty... which I hope I'll be excused from because I'm too young or something.
My mom reassured me by telling me they won't pick me because I look inexperienced and young.
I guess that's kind of reassuring :P
I'm also fighting off a cold right now. (another reason why I haven't posted) Maybe they won't choose me
cause I'll be coughing. Hopefully

Since I'm not enrolled in any life drawing classes right now, I'm a little rusty with my pencil work. And for fun, I thought I would draw a portrait of my boyfriend.... and make him into some glass superhuman type being.
The empty half of his face will be rendered into glass after some research and observation. Seeing this piece up and on the blog, I can see that I can darken some areas on his face. That's usually the problem that I have with pencil. It looks dark enough but when posted or put up, it can always do darker.
We'll see how this turns out.

Also, since I'm not pounding through a portfolio right now, I've been focusing a little on something that I've been doing for a few years on the side.
Jazz dance. Dance has always been another get-away for me and another form of expression that I enjoy.
I think having a dance background, it has made me appreciate the human form a lot more.
I remember when I first went the Bodyworlds exhibit, the plastinated bodies looked fake to me even though they were real. My drawing teacher wanted to discuss the topic of being alive and what life is.
I thought that, seeing the body in motion and performing to it's limit is beautiful and that is life.
Recently, I went to see a Giordano Jazz Dance Company performance. It was my first time seeing dancer's on stage and it was almost surreal. But it was exciting and fresh at the same time.
I recommend that any artist interested in anatomy go see a jazz dance performance.
Seeing the energy and flexibility of the body is inspiring.


I'm still waiting for Cal Arts to send their decision. I've also sent in an application and portfolio for Otis, another art school in Los Angeles. I'm hoping that if Cal Arts doesn't accept me the first time, I can go to Otis for a year of their foundation program and try again for Cal Arts. It feels better knowing that I have a back-up plan. So either way, it will work out. The month of March is coming, which is also the notification period. I will have my fingers crossed very tight for both schools.
Until then, I will continue to plow through oil paint.