The Santa Cruz Art League is hosting a PopUp INTERACTIVE solo exhibition of The 'AND' Series! My vision for the 'AND' Series is to take it out into the world, and use the paintings' topics to encourage the viewer to take a moment to pause and reflect. How does this issue affect my life? How is it playing out in the wider world? What is my story? ... And where does my story originate from? I believe that by reflecting on what our values and beliefs are, and what are their sources, we better understand ourselves with more self-awareness. By examining our belief systems, we can decide whether or not they are serving us and the greater population at large. We can CHOOSE our actions, rather
October 10th - The grand opening of Google's new San Francisco location at Two Rincon. This evening was extra special to me. It was a celebration of year long project; one that I am very honored and proud to have done. I am grateful to Google because I believe they recognize the value and importance that original art brings to our culture and how it enhances our lives. THANK YOU Google for being the modern day art benefactors of our generation!
Installation Day! This was a crazy day! I built the canvas and painted the painting in my art studio. In order to get the painting, 8 feet tall and 10 feet wide, out of my art studio, I had to dis-assemble it to get it through the door! Then, I had a team ready to help me re-build the canvas and install it on-site at Google! I can not thank my team enough. THANK YOU Kim, Dan and Cesar! The installation is not a one-woman show. It took us 8 hours to re-build the frame, stretch the canvas and hang it on the wall! At one point, to hang it on the earthquake proof hangers, my friend Kim, who thankfully is very thin, had to climb between the wall and the painting to hang the wire on the hanger
Part 3 - the painting process was my absolute favorite part of this project! I am so grateful to Google to have the opportunity to paint a painting - not a simplified mural - rather an in-depth painting on such a large scale! When I paint, I love to MOVE! I play music on full-blast in my art studio and use the movement of my whole body when I paint. To paint a painting that's 8 feet tall and 10 feet wide means I could really get into it! I first had to build the canvas. You can't just go to the art store and buy such a large canvas pre-made. I ordered high tech stretcher bars lined with aluminum framing that allows the stretched canvas to be relatively light-weight, and square. To build
Hello again, After doing research on the hundreds of wildflowers that are native to San Francisco, it was time to create the concept painting. The concept painting is what I submitted to the design board at Google for approval and it was a miniature version of the final painting. For the concept painting, I did roughly 100 sketches of different compositional layouts, featuring varying flora. In addition, it's in this stage that I experimented with the color palette. Here are some photos from the concept painting process: I began doing several watercolor studies of various flowers and combinations of flowers. Then, I began sketching on large pieces of paper - 4 feet x 5 feet (1/4 of the siz
