Tuesday Morning Protest

"Tuesday Morning Protest" 2011

Oil on Canvas, 24x18"

This is a painting I completed the other day based upon what Matthew and I witnessed over by the Washington Square Mall.  It took us by surprise to see a man in a plush bathrobe taking his dog out in a bank parking lot.  I thought it said a lot of about the state of the United States right now in a quiet and funny way.

Justified Clutter vs. Nesting

This is part of the studio area Matthew and I share.  To work is to make clutter.  You will also notice one of small furry studio assistants.  She cares for the paintbrushes mostly.  Our other assistant cares for paper...but he was napping during this photo.


The clutter is caused by several works going on at once...usually a clean studio area is what we aim for, but once we begin getting more involved with works, all matters of clearing the areas are forgotten.  We gather more references, more materials, and putting it all away at the end of a work session would only be giving us more work for the next day.  To have to go about gathering everything all over again would be an obstacle to creating.  I try to minimize that as much as possible - there are more than enough obstacles to creating on any given day whether imagined or concrete for most artists.  We do what we must in order to ensure that we show up.  That freedom to just sit down and begin working is WONDERFUL.


I think back to a few professors in college that were exceptionally organized and tidy.  The work spaces were always meticulously clean.  I admired their expectations in the communal spaces so that we all provided eachother with a clean work environment that limited accidental tragedies of ruin.  One professor took cleanliness and lack of clutter to an extreme.  The apartment she lived in was void of the typical "home" environment.  No comforts of furniture outside of a solid wood dining table and four chairs.  Decor consisted of two houseplants in a window, and a rug by the entry door.  As shocking as it was to my system to see an uninterupted sea of beige carpeting, I found it refreshing.  The minimalism seemed to allow more room for thinking, for speaking, for focusing, for being.  I loved her home.


Matthew and I went through a phase of that before we left for Portland.  We tried to declutter our home as much as possible.  We donated, we threw out, and we prioritized our "stuff".  We have now lived in Oregon for over a year and it was only recently that we adopted some real furniture - two plush chairs that I think our cats love even more than we do. 


Notice that I said Matthew and I went through a "phase" of that in our home...it seems that it's now getting to the point of the great decluttering once again.  We both realize that we do need to do some sorting and organizing.  Some studio clutter is just what happens as a result of work.  It's a given and it is a means to an end.  Yet, it is that time of year for "nesting" type of activities since we are getting ready for a winter's worth of spending more time inside our homes...I'm feeling it coming on strong while I wait for the gesso on the canvas to dry.  You'll know where I'll be if you need me.  Happy nesting to all of you who are feeling the same way!

The Especially Kind Rejection

"Hello Krystal

Thank you for submitting your work to the ____ exhibition at ____ University. Unfortunately, your work was not selected for the exhibition.

We wish you well in your artistic endeavors and encourage you to apply again next year.

Thank you for introducing us to your work.

Sincerely,

________

Director, Art Gallery

_______ University"

I have to admit, out of all of the rejection letters I have recieved, this one was the most enjoyable.  It has a polite and kind tone to it...and at least it is addressed to me. 

Yes, I have recieved rejection letters for other people, but with my name on the envelope.  I was puzzled if I should find a way of contacting them to let them know the bad news and revel in our rejection together.  teehee  Is there an ethical way to go about that or some code of conduct?

"Hello, is this Sally Jo Bob?  This is Krystal Booth and I'm calling to let you know that you have been rejected by the such and such gallery for an exhibition.  I was too.  You may or may not know that already depending upon the letter you recieved.  Shall we meet for ice cream?"

In the Studio

A peek at what I've been working on and what's been staring back at me in the studio.  I'll be working to finish this drawing this weekend.  There's always something so pleasing about working with charcoal - the directness of that rich, dark mark.  It seems like it is indulging that 2-year-old inside that just wants to make marks appear on a page through simple movement.

What's Better Than Watching Paint Dry? The Runs!

This morning I came across this video on the Huffington Post site.  It's a timelapse video of artist Amy Shackleton and I quickly became mesmorized by it.  There is something so fantastic about paint running down a canvas - and what a great end result!  Love it and it's a cup full of inspiration for my day of drawing.  Enjoy your day and each other!  Love to all!

America's Most Wanted Painting

Why is this painting titled "America's Most Wanted"?  George Washington standing among children, deer and a hippo on the bank of a blue landscape...what is this?

This painting was created by Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid based upon their research of the most wanted and least wanted art in different countries around the world - this one was the compilation of what Americans wanted to see in paintings. 

I just started reading The Art Instinct: Beauty, Pleasure, and Human Evolution by Denis Dutton and already by page 18, it has my attention.  It is a great mix of my loves of anthropology, art, and sociology.  In short, I will be geeking out until I turn the last page of this book.

Komar and Melamid turned their extensive research into somewhat of a prank - what is not to love about that?  They turned the favorable variables into paintings that no one would want to buy and hang...but I don't know.  The more absurd something is, the more I love it.  I would buy it because it's so ridiculous.  How about you?  Why do people think art always needs to be so darn serious anyway?

For more paintings that they created for this project and their data results, check out their site at http://awp.diaart.org/km/usa/most.html

Cheers to Komar and Melamid!  And I guess if I would like to sell more art I should make blue landscapes or calendar art?... or George Washington petting a puppy in front of a river with mountains? Perhaps I will leave that to others...

"Did You Have Fun? That's all that matters then."

Did you have fun?  That's all that matters then. 2011

Oil on Canvas.

24x18"