Sunday, December 27, 2009

Cookbook Editor



The cookbook by Kids .01 and .02 was a big success. I made only 12 copies, trying to save color printing expenses. All the relatives who received it appreciate how authentic it is, with very little adult intervention in the writing and illustration (just fixed spelling).
Tomorrow kids and I are baking 100 cupcakes for a big party we’re throwing for my parents.
Am rather tired… but it’s been that kind of year.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Wishing You



A Very Happy Christmas.
K

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Trade Show to Ankara







Got word today that the Trade Show will be exhibited in Ankara in January/February 2010 at Zirrat Bankasi Gallery.
They'll make a catalog. Nice Xmas present.
R. Threat, USA
Z. Akcaogul, Turkey
G. Lombardo, USA
F. Pelit, Turkey
A. Morales, USA

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

More Home Depot Guys



See the first set here.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Catch Up



Oh goodness, almost Christmas. Am about to turn my house into a book- and cookie-making factory. Of course, after I finish my grades.
Saw this exhibition by my friend Michele Guieu. It looks best from this street view. The text on the windows makes moving shadows on the mural. Michele, who lived in Africa as a child, created a show that is part anthropology and part art installation.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Drama



The moment before a 160 lb. pig that has been roasting underground for several days gets pulled up, like a mummy. Yummy.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Winter Garden


It’s been raining here, practically a miracle. My romaine is very happy. Winter lettuce in the garden is pretty and eliminates those nasty surprises you forget about in your crisper—you simply nip off as many leaves as you need for each meal. Both my kids eat salad, and like to dress it themselves with Euro oils and vinegars a friend brought me.


And if you were wondering, my worms not only lived through the hot summer days, but are thriving! Yes, Kloe hearts worms.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

You Can’t Stop an Artist from Making Art

This is absolutely lovely. Not the car, of course.

Friday, December 11, 2009

What I Did for Love



I just watched “Every Little Step”, a documentary about remaking the musical, “A Chorus Line.” It came out when I was 10 years old and is seared into my consciousness—unappologetically raw about what it takes to be a dancer.
Watching it again, I realize it speaks to all the arts. How difficult to be an artist, how much sacrifice. Especially the parts about trying to win parental approval for what you do, and always falling short. Parents don’t seem to understand, or give enough support. I hope I’m not that sort of parent. I want the best for my kids (success, ease, family), but I also want them to know that if they have that drive to be an artist, then that’s it. Settled. Your life will be hard, but I will be proud.
Painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1982

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Dolls and Spatial Relationships



Barbie in a Burka
, so I sort of think that’s cool…
Last night I taught my final linear perspective class and we discussed how males are generally better at perspective drawing. Boys play legos and ball and shooting games, and also apparently hormonally have the edge for understanding spatial relationships. In other words, males naturally think in 3D.
Girls play with dolls (Barbie!) and housewares, and excel in interpersonal relationships, probably also hardwired to some extent. They are better at language.
One of my students, however, talked about his research work. He takes volunteers, maps parts of their brains, and then sends them to a 10-week course on how to play video games. He then re-checks their brains, and THEIR BRAINS HAVE CHANGED as a result of the gaming.
So isn’t that a reason drawing should be taught in school? To both sexes, but especially to girls? And maybe the boys should learn to play with dolls? I tried, futilely, providing my kids with boy dolls (a cute boy Cabbage Patch--poor thing gathered dust).
These things are on my mind as I search for non-violent, non-computer-game holiday gifts for boys. Sigh.

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Children’s Drawings and Monsters




Here’s an interesting drawing project. Artist/Fantasy Illustrator Dave DeVries takes children’s drawings as his source for monster paintings. I’m really glad he displays them together, because his work doesn’t really stand up for me without his inspiration.
It’s interesting to compare the spare drawings with the complex paintings. Personally I like the drawings better because they leave more to the imagination.
Part of his project is to help kids get over their fear of monsters. Part is just to immerse himself in the logic of kids. A few years ago I used some of my child’s drawings in my paintings, because they were both honest and loopy.
Really hate DeVries’ presentation, though—very distracting mats and frames.
(Critical Kloe in the house tonight…)

Monday, December 07, 2009

Almost Live



My online education website is getting closer to going live.
It’s been almost two years since I began to work on this project. I knew that academia wasn’t going anywhere for me, and began to look around for something to replace it. I got inspired by the story and personality of a celebrity chef, Sam the Cooking Guy—his idea is to be casual about the way he teaches cooking. I thought I could do the same for art instruction.
I soon realized that no one replaced Bob Ross, who died of cancer ten years ago, because it’s difficult to produce a show about making art. And expensive.
I started with my step-father behind the camera, and we did some great initial work. But technicalities overcame us. I then used some friends, D Movies, but they moved to Europe. Now I have a team shooting and producing the videos, and creating the website.
Short vids have been up on YouTube for a while, and have had moderate success. My website will be subscriber based, for people who can’t travel to a classroom, or just want to learn at home.
I’ll also be writing a blog about drawing, and some of those posts will show up here on Kloe. So if you start seeing much more on drawing techniques, you’ll know why.
Above is an example, “Man with Folded Arms” by Roy Lichtenstein from 1962.
I don’t draw a picture in order to reproduce it—I do it in order to recompose it. Nor am I trying to change it as much as possible. I try to make the minimum amount of change… I want so there is no record of the changes I have made. Then using paint which is the same color as the canvas, I repaint areas to remove any stain marks from the erasures. I want my painting to look as if it has been programmed. I want to hide the record of my hand. -RL

But the beauty of Lichtenstein’s drawing/painting is that it IS done by hand, not a computer like we are used to. He wanted to be like a digital printer. He could only have been successful in the 1960s when he painted.

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Two Opening Weekend






Have two shows opening this weekend, one south, one north. Lots of schmoozing is in order. Let’s hope my cold is finished, so I’m up to it.
Northern show is with T. Meyer at Roark. Come by if you’re nearby.

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

A Chocolate Room



This was installed at the MOCA. It’s chocolate on paper, an installation 30 years in the making, from 1970 to 2004, by Ed Ruscha.
Visually it’s not much, but the smell is crazy. Even weirder to have chocolate in a museum.
Personally I prefer Ruscha’s paintings, and am proud he’s a West Coast guy. We’re all about the sensual here. Kiss.

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Getting in the Spirit



First of December, wow, yet another year finished. It’s been a hard one.
My kids are already excited about the holidays, so I’m trying to be, too. We put up some lights, we’ll start to bake, I’ll try to buy just a few things to wrap up. A recession shouldn’t affect kids, it’s just too unfair. I want them to have great memories, even of this bleak time.
I did have a recent break, though. A dealer may put some of my work up on his ArtNet site. We’ll see if anything comes of it.
And I started a new series of paintings today, on birch panel. They’ll be collaborations with another artist. Should be fun.