Pictures of me and my figure studies (circa 2008)

Wee-o!

HI!

Why yes, I am still a big creep.

I was an even younger fledgling in the art world... I was seventeen.  (Aha!  I make myself sound old, but I'm still waiting to turn 21.  Waiting... waiting... waiting...)  The paintings are from Studio Incamminati when I was enrolled in their Emerging Artist Program in 2007-08.  We worked in grisaille the whole time.  This place completely changed the way I look at light and shadow.

Self-portrait

Jung Told Me So.  Oil on canvas panel. 8 X 10 inches.  2010.  Uban.

I was inspired by a reference to the Red Book (a.k.a. Liber Novus or the New Book) last summer when I was all about philosophy and screwing with my own mind.  I've been thinking about it again, and have thought of buying it off of Amazon... anybody recommend it?

Tea bag.

Tea bag. Acrylic on canvas panel. 6 X 6 inches. 2010. Uban.

3.79

Omg.  You have no idea.  My grades haven't looked this good since high school.  College has been a very humbling experience for me.  My first semester at Temple I had a 3.24 GPA, and I was just uber confused as to wtf happened.  But this past semester I took four studios, which even my academic advisor thought was rough, and came out of it alive and well...  Let's see what happens when I take five studios... eep.

I think I made the Dean's list... Tyler's cut off is 3.73 this semester.  God, I am such a loser :)

Inventions

Front cover.

They are inventions of

the Spirit-- which

persists

in the stars.

"They are inventions of the Spirit-- which persists in the stars."

Back cover.

Inventions of the Spirit.
Accordion book.
Mixed media on paper.
12X12 inches.
2010.
Uban.

I made a lot of books for Katie Murken's 2D design principles class last semester.

I finally declared my major as B.F.A. with a concentration in painting yesterday when I went over my course selection for next fall when I'll be studying in Rome.  Woohoo!

Encaustic Town

Town.  on pine board.  maybe 14 X 10 inches?  2011.  Uban.

This was made as an experiment in media in my Painting: Materials and Techniques class this past semester.  Unfortunately, it probably isn't going to last very long since this painting was made from candle wax instead of encaustic wax (beeswax and damar resin)... the shipment of supplies didn't arrive on time so we just substituted for the experience.  It's going to fall apart, I accept it.

On my pinky and a smidge on my wrist.

There was an accident.  I ended up getting a nasty burn on my pinky.  I had a few other burns elsewhere on my hands such as on my wrist that weren't too bad, but the pinky was the worse.  The initial blister swelled up to about half the size of the section of my pinky.  I mean, it was cool that I could gross out everyone with it... Someone actually said, "Ugh, gah, gross... that makes me want to throw up."  It's healing fine now, although as my mother pointed out, "That's so ugly."  She's always liked my hands, I think.

Preparing for Battle

This is my basement.  I'm gesso-ing on a beer pong table.   hahaha

I've been preparing for battle for the past two days now.  I stretched all of these yesterday in my basement, and then gave them two coats of acrylic gesso.  I got up at 8AM today to give them another coat before I sand them down, and then give them another coat or two and sand again, and repeat as necessary.  I am terrified of canvas rot (I don't know if this is a technical term... when the oil paint soaks through the gesso and destroys the canvas and the painting).  I take gesso-ing very seriously.  I started using Rabbit Skin Glue and probably like it more than acrylic, but since I had a tub of acrylic gesso, I just went for it.

Burlap.

I stretched two surfaces of burlap, one over a frame, and the other over a bad panel that I originally had made for egg tempera painting.  I'm hoping I fall in love with painting on burlap, since it's a lot cheaper than regular canvas...