Oakland Museum Update - Part 2

This is 1 of 2 wall installations I painted for the Oakland Museum of California. The wall will be displayed in their Natural Sciences Gallery as a part of OMCA's annual Dia De Los Muertos exhibition. The curator, Eduardo Pineda was interested in creating a show that put Dia De Los Muertos in the context of natural sciences and California. This image is in honor of the California state Grizzly bear. The image was inspired by Nahuales which is the belief in some Mexican traditions that everyone is born with a spirit of an animal who is responsible for protecting and guiding us. In this case I was thinking of the Grizzly as a Nahual for our state. Unfortunately we've killed off all of them in the state of California. 

New Studio!

Just recently landed my first work studio! Its small, but has just what I need to get work and studies done. I recently cleaned up the spot and added some of my own essentials. I've already broken it in this week with some graphic design, drawing, and painting. The work flow has improved so much since now all my tools are in one place. The best part is the large wood sliding doors which provide some great ventilation when I use spray paint. Below is a before and after pic. YEEEE!  

LOOK/SEE x Sam Rodriguez

Click here to purchase>> Look/See!


Words by Look / See:

LIMITED EDITION:   Limited to only 50 pairs. Once thes are sold out, They will not be made  again. 

ARTIST collab:  LOOK / SEE ITS Continues 2013 LOOK / SEE Artist Series with a special collaboration with  Sam Rodriguez . Sam is an incredibly talented artist based out of San Jose. Sam Created to sketch and painting whichis matched the size of the raw acetate sheets we used to make the frame. Sam you have a very unique style and provides whichis Interesting blend of color and Geometric patterns whichis connect the cultural thematic elements of historical work. From the custom Materials we developed, the frames Were Cut Out at random so thatâ in two frames are the same. Be sure to check out the OTHER "sketch" piece  from this collection, Which is based off of the artwork's original sketch.

FRAME:   Custom artwork depicting acetate Created by Sam Rodriguez On The Outside, black on inside.

LENS COLOR:   Dark Grey

LENS MATERIAL: 100% UV-protectant CR-39

FRAME SIZE:   53mm (width of lens) - 19mm (Distance Between Lenses) - 145mm (temple length), 4.5 base curve

About Siqueiros

Collaborative painting with artist Poesia.

I recently came together with artist Poesia to create a homage to David Alfaro Siqueiros.

 About the artist and his techniques

As a prominent painter and political activist, David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896 -1974) was an integral member of the Mexican School of Painting along with Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco. He continues to be viewed as one of the most important Mexican artists of the 20th century although his artistic influence spread far beyond Mexico’s borders. 

Siqueiros organized artists in both Mexico and abroad to promote the idea of creating collective works. At the beginning of the 20th century, under the protection of Mexico’s Secretary of Public Education, he created his first decorative mural. He advocated using art as a political tool and thought that mural art should be used as a public service for el pueblo (the community). As an active member of the Mexican Communist Party, Siqueiros fought as a colonel in the Mexican Revolution and again in the Spanish Civil War. He also fought for the rights of laborers and on several occasions his political activities put him in jail and even led to exile. 

Siqueiros passionately declared his artistic and political views in public, arguing endlessly at conferences and in his writing. Although Siqueiros is represented in the historic canon of modern Mexican art as one of the leading proponents of public art for social action--largely due to his mural painting--it was through his easel painting that he studied an extensive variety of techniques and styles that allowed him to examine pictorial space, composition, light, shadow and color. 

In addition to his exploration of techniques and styles, Siqueiros constantly experimented with new tools and materials. Of utmost importance is the technical aspect of the works of art included in this exhibition. After discovering various types of industrial materials produced in the United States in the 1930s, Siqueiros’ produced most of his easel works with uncommon materials which include Duco paint, a DuPont brand name for pyroxilin paint, a tough and resilient type of nitro-cellulose paint manufactured for the automotive industry. Also utilized was vinylite paint, a type of lacquer with a vinyl base used for easel paintings or as a primer for mural works. Rarely working on canvas, Siqueiros preferred to paint on various types of composite wood surfaces such as Masonite, because of its low cost, ease of preparation, durability and receptiveness to pyroxilin and acrylic paints. The use of these industrial materials

Source: Museum of Latin American Art

 

Love From Hawai'i

A recent commission for a collector in Hawai'i. I had fun and learned a lot doing this painting. I'm very grateful that the collector respected my space as an artist in that they had no special requests as to how the work would turn out, just that I do what I felt. When they approached me, I simply picked a handful of my daily sketches which I intended to make into paintings, and they selected their favorite. These are in most cases, the only commissions I will accept since I'm no longer 100% interested in portraying specific people. Sometimes I will do a recognizable personality, but even then I prefer not to render exactly what's there. For me the face is a starting point in a process of construction and deconstruction.