Dana Farber

Here is my donation to the Dana Farber Cancer Instutute.  I hope somebody likes it.  I had a lot of fun doing it and it went together quickly.

The Weather That Wasn't

With all the hurricane hype that was going on for the last couple of days, it was no surprise that nothing really happened around here.  There was very little rain and the wind only lasted a few hours.  However, a big portion of the neighbor's tree fell in our yard so I guess it's our tree now.

Road Trip!

We took a road trip to the De Cordova museum which is most known for its sculpture park. The museum itself had a few exhibits and I was especially intrigued by Alan Goldsworthy's idea of taking a large dirty snowball and letting it melt onto paper.  The result was a subtle pattern of brownish black.  I tried it at home with ice but I was less subtle.  I put rusty nuts and bolts and some handmade paper that I know runs and put it all in water and froze it.  Then I put the ice chunk out on the deck to melt.  As an after thought I sprinkled some cumin on top of the whole mess.  It was warm and humid so the paper took longer to dry than I thought.  I am still studying the results and wondering what to do with it.

But in the mean time, here are a couple pictures of the sculptures from the grounds:

Do You Know What I Mean?

Like, it was not long ago, like, when everyone could not say more than, like, six words without using the word like.  It was like they forgot all their adjectives or like something like that.  Like, it was really irritating to hear like fingers on a chalkboard or something like that.

Well apparently there is something out there taking the place of the overuse of the word like and equally irritating.  I am talking about the phrase "Do you know what I mean".  I am hearing this too often and if you are one of the many offenders out there, stop saying it.  People are saying after the most obvious statements:  I had to go to work today.  Do you know what I mean?  No, I haven't figured it out yet.  Are we supposed to even answer that?   If you have to keep saying it, them maybe you should rethink what you just said and restate it more clearly.

Do you know what I mean?

At Last!

Well I guess this is the finished product.  I'm not sure how I feel about it but here it is anyway.

I have reopened my long dormant Etsy account and you will find this listed there with a few other familar faces. I don't know if I am getting smarter or if Etsy is getting easier, but loading the items was a breeze.  Not too many false starts or frustrations.

Another Attempt

We are still at it and I am not sure where this is all going.  Here is the latest version.  I am still not happy with the colors but I like the eyes and the nose.  I also like the mouth but it may be too dark.

Etc.

Here is another version of my current project.  The face isn't much different from the picture but I spent a couple of hours "improving" on it. I am attempting to add an ear but I don't know how to paint one and some hair.   Still not happy.  The colors are in danger of getting muddy.

Back to Work

Here is the next version of my now long term project.  I am still not happy with the colors so that will change, to what I am ot sure.

A Break From It All

I thought I would take a break from my painting project and show you something I found at the dump last week.  It is someone's unfinished project and I like it a lot. I like the colors and the style.

Step Two

Here was the result of working on my latest Buddha effort.  It is looking a little like those Avatar people.  More to do next time.

My Newest Project

Here is a new project at its beginning stage.  So far I like the drawing so we will see where it goes from here.  It is 18 x 24.  The colors are left over paint and I like what happens when they are mixed together to get that neutral color.  I wish I had more of those paints.

At Last!

It was a long wait but it is finally here:  my RISD diploma.  I guess I am officially an alumni.

I am somewhat disappointed because I was expecting a little more like some gold foil or embossing.   It is just printed on some ok kind of paper.   Somebody did a nice job on the calligraphy and they spelled my name right.   I really shouldn't complain.

Finally Finished

After much going back and forth and a few coats of gesso, we are finally done.  I guess it is ok.

I was recently presented with an interesting opportunity.  I was asked to donate a 12 x 12 piece of art to benefit the Dana Farber Cancer Institute..  I am excited about this because not only does it benefit a worthy cause, but I also get to show in Boston.  You never know who is looking.  Not only that, the theme is pretty easy:  Color, Contour and Comfort.  What am I going to paint?  A Buddha face of course.

Still Struggling

I have been trying to get another Buddha face to work. I was unable to work on it for a few days so I tried to get it to work today.  Still not happy about the results.  I think it is time for a few coats of gesso.