Conclusion to My art and my motives part I

prologue

Apart from my art, I play bass  and do back up vocals in a pop punk band called Harmful if Swallowed, over the years of playing in my band, I have come to realize and appreciate the differences between the music world and the art world, one of the biggest differences being that there seems to be more opportunity for growth and sales as a visual artist then as a musician.

Photo: Paul Archuleta

For example, just Google “Artist Call” and page after page after page of artist submission invitations pop up, then Google “Music Call”… nothing appears. Perhaps it’s because there are more musicians in LA than artists? Who knows… but one thing is for sure, as an artist, your art speaks for itself, as a musician, your music does not.  An artist is chosen for an art show based on his/ her art not how many people will pay to come see their art, whereas for a band or a musician,  selling tickets  to prove how many people you can bring into a club on a tuesday evening at 8, 9 or 10 pm is most often the determining factor. That being said, both musicians and artists must work their asses off to create opportunities, each must be it’s own marketer, promoter, agent, manager and booker.This blog entry is about my continuing journey as a DIY artist.

Part III

Stalking the Cemetery

Every year, there is a huge festival that takes place at the Hollywood Forever cemetery, where many of the silver screen’s biggest stars have been laid to rest. This cemetery is one of the more progressive ones in Los Angeles as they open their doors to music concerts, festivals and outdoor film screenings, thereby making a strong connection with the community. Ever since I learned about it, I had been interested in being part of the Day of the Dead celebration at the Hollywood Forever cemetery, the problem was that my art repertoire was lacking, I had never before done an actual series of any kind. My art up untill 2010 was alot of different  pieces and styles because I was an illustrator for hire, never having had developed my artistic voice. But after doing “Monsters Skulls and Pin ups” in Silverlake, “Painted Rituals” in New York and a year long exhibit at Yxta in Downtown LA, I felt that I was prepared to show along side other artists in a Day of the Dead festival. Early in 2011, I cold called the main offices of Hollywood Forever and after a series of calls and emails, i went in and showed 4 of my pieces to some of the organizers of the event. They put me in touch with “Art”, the coordinator of the art show in the Cemetery. After a review, my art was chosen to be part of the art show in the masouleum purely based on the content of the art pieces. needless to say, I was overwelmed with delight! The Hollywood Forever Day of the Dead Celebration boasts an attendance of 10,000 – 20,000 people in one day!

Photo: Nanette Gonzalez/ LA Weekly

It was the first time that i had done anything of this caliber, I was nervous but not scared, fully welcoming this opportunity because deep down inside, I knew that i was at the right place at the right time and that doors would soon open for me. The night of the event was a blur, I gave out at least 2000 of my business cards, shook hundreds of hands, posed for countless pictures and talked about my art with passers by for 10 hours sraight. At the end of the night, after the public had gone, all artists took down their art. Unable to park in the cemetery, I made several trips to and from the masoleum carrying a stack of paintings at a time, I didn’t even notice the effort that I was exherting doing this because I was still in a blissful fog over how the great the night was! I had such a great feeling of accomplishment, like I put an idea out into the universe and the universe in return manifested it for me. I have been learning that more and more now. when you have a goal and start putting it into action, the universe does the rest and eventually it manifests into a reality! As much as I loved being a part of the art show, I will most likely be a part of it  in a different respect this next year, i’ll come back to that in a moment

Part IV

Sweet Aftermath

Several days later, I began to call some of the people that gave me their cards at the event.  one of the cards was from Tienda De Reyes, an amazing shop in Old Town San Diego. I called them and spoke with one of the owners and was invited to do a live painting and sell my prints at the shop. Since then, Amazing things have happened. I have done several live paintings there and have become a regular fixture in their annual Day of the Dead celebration as a face painter, having participated now in two consecutive festivals.

“Tina” in the Tienda De Reyes Storefront window

This last one, I had to bring a fellow artist, Alexandra Kube to help out, we had a three hour long wait list of people that wanted their faces paitned! It really has been an amazing experience working with the flolks at Tienda de Reyes and I look forward to working with them for a long time to come!

Another card was from the Forgotten Goddess, a website devoted to the empowerment of women and all things Goddess. I called the creator, Russelle and after a talk, she expressed her interest in showcasing my Day of the Dead ladies in her website and she invited me to be a part of an all woman group show! I was honored and humbled by this. we began work together to put on a show and recently co-curated a first ever “Hollywood Forever pre-party” in Beverly Hills which will hopefully turn into a yearly thing!

I was surprised a few days after my first Day of the Dead festival at the cemetery when I recieved a link to an LA Weekly photo slide show, It was of the event. I began to scroll through the pictures and there I was! Standing next to one of my pieces in the mausoleum!

The photo journalist, Nanaette Gonzales had come by that night and taken pics for LA Weekly and took a liking to my stuff. since then, we have been in touch and she even covered the Hollywood Forever Pre-party that I co-curated in 2012 at CUSH salon in Beverly Hills.

Part V

Transition

I had reached one of my goals, to be part of a “Major” art exhibit. I felt empowered so I began to actively seek out opportunities online, bookmarking the website for the California Arts Council and checking it bi-weekly for artist calls. I realized that I was beginning to set short tem goals for myself,  was actively putting myself out there. My attitude was “No art show was to big, too small, too close or to far.” Even when I was part of a Downtown rooftop art show where the ONLY people there were the hosts AND the artists, I wasn’t able to sell any art but I did network with a few other artists and I was able to complete a painting! So that was the silver lining to that show, plus I had an amazing view of Downtown! not all shows were like this, in facet I had an amazing experience showing along side Alex Kube and Charles pickering at the Animators Guild in North Hollywood.

Charles Pickering, Alex Kube and I

due to a last minute change that resulted in the opportunity to be a part of it. I had enough art to fill a whole wall and sold 3 pieces and several prints!

Researching artist calls have helped me submit my art to shows as well as to find artists to participate in shows that I have put together. One Artist call that I replied to led to my art being featured in a juried Watercolor show in Palo Alto CA at the Pacific Arts League, This was my first ever juried art show and I created a new watercolor piece called “Illumination” for the submission process, I was so excited to be chosen to be a part of this show!.

@ the “Pacific Arts League” in Palo Alto

I rented a car and drove up, stayed in a friend’s RV the first night, washed up at a local Starbucks restroom the next morning and stayed the rest of the weekend at another friends home who most graciously put me up

Another search led me to submit my art to and be accepted into a Day of the Deat art show at the Pico house on Olvera Street called Sacred memories. After that show, I had even more interest in my art, in fact Gina, a local business owner on Olvera street invited me to begin selling my art at her shop!

Live painting on Olvera Street Plaza

I went there on a Sunday to do a live painting to intruduce myself to the community and it was a magical experience! I am planning on being there to do Dia De los Muertos face painting on Cinco de Mayo and I will be having an exhibit there soon! Details up soon…

Back to the cemetery- When I met the curator for the Hollywood Forever art exhibit, it was a huge honor! Art is a hard working artist/ promotor and he has steadily been building his clientel list over the years, he has put together successful shows at Mercado La Paloma, Hollywood Forever and even Home Depot Center! Working with him has helped me to branch out as an artist to the point where I am planning bigger and better things for myself. So This year I am planning on participating at the Hollywood forever Day of the Dead fesival as a Vendor, Allowing me to better control what I display and how I sell my art!

Much like the cemetery, early this year in January, I set my sights on the Ink-N-Iron festival, a huge 3 day tattoo and music festival. I cold called them and began planning how I would become a vendor there, it is slowly becoming a reality! (I will dedicate a blog to that process) This year promises to be better than last year in regards to my  career as an artist. I have plans for a solo show in NY in September 2013, my art will be displayed at a show in Cathederal City in October, I will begin working with Stay Gallery in Downey, I am becoming a regular at the Bacon Social art show both with my art and with my band, I am working with Gallery Sev Ven in Huntington Beach on doing more shows there. Once the ball starts rolling, momentum takes over and you hang on for the fun ride! The more that I meet other artists, gallery owners, shop owners and public, the more I realize that I am in the perfect place in my life as an artist! The sky really is the limit!

Let me preface this blog entry by saying that I do not like or listen to any of the right wing talking heads or their radio and television shows and that this blog is written from my liberal/ artistic/ Buddhist point of view.
 I have heard of Glenn Beck but know nothing of him more than an occasional rant of his that I read in passing. So I did a double take when I saw an article about him and his art piece “Obama in Pee Pee”  (Yes, he called it that) A mason jar filled with Beck’s urine (supposedly) and containing in it a small plastic figurine of President Obama draped in a white robe and wrapped in an American flag looking up to the heavens with a hands outstretched.

Obama in Pee Pee – Glenn Beck – 2012

My first reaction was not that of disgust or hatred towards him but “Wow, Glenn Beck does art?!” Having lived the latter part of my life immersed in art, the shock value of this piece seemed secondary to it’s message but I’ll come back to that…

From what i know, I have never known Beck to be an artist nor to have any interest in art. To me, he was just another hot head conservative, spouting dumbing verbal diarrhea across the airwaves of America. Right wing pundit yes, artist no, but that being said, there is a precedent of famous artists who started out in completely different careers like:

Henry Rousseau – Sleeping Gypsy – 1890

Paul Gauguin – Two Tahitian Women – 1899

American music icon Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan – Train Tracks – Drawn Blank Series – 2006

and Paul Stanley of the rock group KISS

Paul Stanley – Self Portrait – 2006

So what exactly makes one an artist? Is it years and years of formal training and practice? Can anyone be an artist? My answer to that question is Yes, anyone can be an artist.  But even saying that is being very general, If Glenn Beck is an artist, what the hell kind of art is Obama in Pee Pee and how is it classified? Well, if you delve deeper into the world of art you will find it has two main facets:
Aesthetic Arts and Practice Arts. Aesthetic arts is the branch of art in which art is created for the sake of beauty, art made under this branch is surface deep and will not necessarily have a message beyond itself. Practice arts, on the other hand, will more likely express a concept or idea which is intended to inform the viewer or challenge the viewer to think and perhaps question an existing ideology. Obama in Pee Pee falls under Practice Arts as it was created to elicit a reaction from the viewer and since it is the manifestation of a concept that Beck had, it can be labeled as Conceptual Art. I was intrigued by the offensive nature of the piece, not because I agree with it but because Beck was copying the work from an artist in the 1980’s… Andres Serrano

Part II.

Following the leader

In 1987 , New York artist and photographer Andres Serrano created a piece of art in which a small wooden crucifix was submerged into a glass filled with his urine. He photographed it and manipulated the color and tone a bit and called it “Piss Christ”. Needless to say, there was a public uproar over it and was denounced by public officials, church groups and private citizens. Serrano received hate mail and even death threats, his prints were vandalized at various exhibitions and in Australia, the court tried unsuccessfully to prevent it from being displayed in a gallery. Obama in Pee Pee sounds rather identical to Piss Christ. If you  put them next to each other, it is immediately apparent that both contain the same elements, an effigy of a highly regarded icon submerged in a glass vessel filled with human urine. 

Piss Christ – Andres Serrano – 1987

Obama in Pee Pee – Glenn Beck – 2012

When I first saw Obama in pee Pee, I immediately knew that Beck was trying to replicate Serrano’s Piss Christ, granted it as an amature attempt but i was fascinated that he would choose to try and replicate something that when first unveiled was considered un-American and Filth. Both wprks of art are making a statement but just what Beck trying to say with his? As stated before, there are several messages that he is putting forth to his viewers. In Serrano’s case, he has stated that the Piss Christ was a reflection of what was happening to Christian icons in contemporary society. this feeling was echoed by Sister Wendy Beckett a popular art critic who happens to also be a nun

Michael D’Antuono – The Truth – 2012 While D’Antuono is making a justifiable argument to back up his painting, Beck seems to just be reacting to the controversy and his own dislike of D’Antuono’s painting, as if to say, “If he can do it, then i can do it too”. Controversial art for the sake of controversy and yet the art world has shown that there is a market for just that…case in point Robert Maplethorpe.

Robert Mapplethorpe – Self Portrait – 1980

One of the most important questions that was brought up during all this was: if art can be considered a form of free speech, is it a violation of the first amendmant to take away federal money that was already given for funding based on obscenity issues? In other words, no matter how much a person may dislike another’s opinion of something, the right to have that opinion is protected under the first amendment. Now, if an artist manifests his or her opinion into a piece of art, and others diagree with it or hate it, the artist still has a right to show it but if the art is seen as obscene to a certain percentage of viewers, do they have the right to force censorship on that art? Throughout history, artists have continually pushed the envelope of what is acceptable in a society and as an artist, I feel that this is one of the most important issues in the art world.  Not because it creates controversy but because it is something that is uniquely American, our constitution states that a citizen’s opinion in the form of speech and action is protected under the appropriate conditions, this means an american flag can be burned as a statement about or commentary on society, such as the opening sequence to Spike lee’s 1992 film  “Malcom X” which features the intercutting of the Rodney King beating video with that of an American flag burning synched to a Malcom X speech  

Thanks for reading

Several weeks ago I was part of CHLA’s booth at the Beverly Hills Affair in the Garden art show, In my previous blog, i talked about the amazing job that HARK does on behalf of the art and music department at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. After my enlightening conversation with the folks at Lincoln, who had a booth and a car displayed as art there, I started walking around and take in the art which took a while because believe me, art is not lacking at this event, there are 4 full blocks dedicated to this event and each block filled to the brim with art.

Gabe Leonard and I

 The first artist that i went to see was an old favorite of mine, Gabe Leonard. The first painting i ever saw of his was a portrait of the LA River seen from the bottom looking up at the expanse of one of the bridges that crosses over it. Growing up in Silverlake, I had spent lots of afternoons in the Atwater potion of the river looking at all the graffiti on the bridges, the dense forest of trees and bamboo that grows out of the river at only 2 parts, this area and up by the Sepulveda dam Where they filmed a sequence for “Drive”. Gabe has an amazing way of portraying expression with color and brush stroke, his subjects jump off the canvas weather it be a portrait of a star of the silver screen or a 1930’s mobster or a classic rock legend. Two of his newest series of paintings that I really loved are the Wild West and Pirates! I had a pirate weekend at the 2011 Buccaneer days on Catalina Island about a month ago and ever since pirates have been on my radar (I may even be one for Halloween)

Gabe Leonard – “Live by the Sword”

 His pirate paintings spoke to me, as  lover of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland, it was like an extension of that world, his figures frozen in the most dynamic of poses, each painting telling it’s own rich, multi-layed epic story. His Wild West series came in a close second, ranging from portraits of infamous outlaws and legendary lawmen to scenes of bar fights and shootouts, the closest depiction i can imagine of what that time may had been like.

Antonio Pelayo and I

    The next artist that i headed over to see, i had been wanting to meet for a while now, i had friended Antonio Pelayo a few months back on Facebook and admired his work, then recently i got to see his work up close. At the top of Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale CA there is an art gallery and museum shop, the current show is entitled “Adelante! Mexican American artists: 1960’s and beyond” and Antonio is one of the artists in this show.

Antonio Pelayo – “Historia sin tiempo”

I was very impressed with his level of detail and craftsmanship so when i saw his name on the program of the Art fair that morning, i knew i’d have to go meet him. Antonio’s work has a classic beauty to it but it’s when you look at them up close that you see the exquisite pencil work, his portraits of Frida Khalo, and El Santo among others are awe inspiring, the range of light and dark that he gets with pencil is amazing. I had the privilege to show along side him a few weeks later at the Hollywood Forever, Dia De Los Muertos festival (blog coming up).

YaYa Chou – “Beluga’s Journey”

   On my way through the art fair, I stopped in my tracks, there were Beluga whales hanging from a tree, I was intrigued at once,  i asked around who the artist was, and i was directed to a petite asian lady sitting in a lawn chair.

YaYa and I

 YaYa Chou is a graduate from CalArts and a breath of fresh air. Her beluga whale installation is called Beluga’s journey. This whimsical sight had many admirers, she also makes sculptures with gummi bears! how awesome is that!!

Harold Pickern and I

  After YaYa, I met Harold Pickern. What struck me about his work was the mix of ultra realism mixed with subtle abstraction, his subjects center around beautifully rendered dilapidated autos against the back drop of the American heartland. The painting of his that we took a photo in front of was his newest, it was an R.V. with Occupy LA phrases spray painted all over it, pretty cool…

Anja and I

   I next saw the work of Anja Van Herle, her  paintings of close up faces of women reminded me of my series “Painted Rituals” they are beautifully stylized against a white backdrop and very reminiscent of  the 80’s and her prints are unique as she adds some actual paint into them by way of brush strokes into the hair of each.

Artist Cindy Jackson next to her piece “Big Yo Yo Man”

    A sculpture of a man curled up and split in half and in the middle, a rope making him look like a giant human Yoyo, caught my eye next. This is the art of Cindy Jackson, an amazing sculpture artist,  her sculptures are strongly rooted in classical human figures it’s like a classical painting come to life!

Kristal and Brooke and a little one

I settled in to listen to my awesome firends Brooke (Music Therapist) and Crystal (music Therapy Intern)who are from CHLA, play tunes with some kids,  behind them was the second HARK booth where Lori was busy painting with some little visitors.

Lori getting down with the paint!

It was a great day I was so glad to meet all of these artists that weekend and have been inspired since then. I’m looking forward to seeing more of their art! Now,  going out to buy some gummi bears…

I want to preface this by saying that I am an artist who is self taught in Photoshop, and because of this, i am hyper aware of advertising that may have been photoshopped. I may be right in my assumptions or I may be wrong, i just like to explore things like this.


~DISCLAIMER~
(I have nothing to do with Kick Ass the movie or comic.)

So for those of you who have seen “Kick Ass”,  you know that Hit Girl is undoubtedly the surprise star of the film. I was looking at this bus stop poster of her a while back admiring the design of it.

The way the yellow letters pop out against the black of the background is very reminiscent of “TheWatchmen“.
The way the spray paint behind her gives the whole thing a young, urban, violent look.
then i noticed her left hand:

At first, it looks like she is making a fist, a perfect choice for a girl super hero. But then i got to thinking,
it looked off a bit because of the thumb, almost as if she is grabbing something.
it seems as if she was holding something at some point.

most likely it would have been a sharp, pointy weapon. But perhaps at the last moment, someone at the design studio decided that it was too distracting from the rest of the poster of maybe it would’ve come across as too violent.

I was intrigued, so i thought I would make 2 mock-ups of what the early poster might have looked like.
In the first one, she might have been holding another knife:

Another possibility might have been that she was holding her double bladed staff, which seems more likely because she actually uses it in the film:

just a thought…

~Carlos

The Big Blue C: Anime Drawing workshop @ the BENJAMIN FRANKLIN LIBRARY!!!!

The seven week comic workshop at the Pacific Park Branch Library in Glendale is closed, no more spces are available.

The Cartooning Workshop on the 27th @ the Calabasas Public library is still open, this one will be from 2-3 pm and will cover drawing cartoon characters like Spongebob Squarepants, Bart Simpson and Avatar- the last Airbender using basic geometric shapes! (open for ages 11 and up)

call for directions and more info: 818-224-1753

this is a Wall Tattoo that I painted a few months ago. I will be posting more videos of projects that i do…

I will be doing several library Art Workshops around the L.A. area in August:

Thursday, August 6th, 4 pm
Architecture Workshop
Leon H. Washington Jr. Memorial Branch Library
4504 S. Central Avenue
Los Angeles, 90011
323-274-9106

Wednesday, August 12th, 4 pm
Anime Workshop
Felipe de Neve Branch Library
2820 W. 6th Street
Los Angeles, 90057
213-384-7676

Tuesday, August 18th, 2pm
Anime Workshop
Malabar Branch Library
2801 Wabash Avenue
Los Angeles, 90033
323-263-1497

wednesday, August 26th, 4 pm
Anime Workshop
Panorama City Branch Library
14345 Roscoe Boulevard
Panorama City, 91402
818-894-4071

All programs are free of charge, please contact the library that you are interested in visiting for more info
thanks!
Carlos