New Haven Open Studios

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open studios inviteI can’t believe September is gone. Three quarters of our year just went by in a flash. We know that the last quarter of the year is going to fly away as well. With the fall season also comes the opportunity to enjoy art in its many forms. I have the privilege through Project Storefronts to set up camp during New Haven Open Studios at 23 Temple St. in downtown New Haven, CT. I want to invite you to come by and visit the exhibit, enjoy the creative process, and ask questions. We have some special events too and I hope you can join us for that as well. I’ll be body painting some of those days and you can watch the process. You can also enter our raffle to win a body painting experience* (details bellow).

In addition, I have some hours available for those interested in private lessons and private viewing (in case you can’t visit during scheduled hours). Oct 24th we have a reception and it would be an honor to see you there too. Lastly, check out our painting and sculpting parties also happening during the month and join the fun.

open studios invite back

raffle

You can enter online HERE.

Acquiescence

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Life Incomplete

Life Incomplete

“I am not satisfied yet.” “I am not done.” “I am still working on this.” “In progress.” When I am working on a sculpture or a painting I post pictures on social media of the progress and process. Sometimes I take short videos to give viewers a feel of it. Interestingly, some people acquire the pieces before they are complete because of the connection that grows on them seeing the process. It is like they are participating in the creation process. I find it an honor for people to trust me with the finished piece.

On the other hand, I find some people who are not interested in acquiring a piece but are very fast to make comments on them. I appreciate the comments as well. The comments that I find more interesting are those on unfinished pieces saying “Leave it like that”, or “I like it as it is”. Why are those comments interesting to me? If a piece is in progress it means that I am not done yet, therefore I am not going to leave it like that. It is not finished. There is only one person who can tell when an art piece is finished and that is the artist himself. Incomplete is not better than complete.

Those comments make me think of acquiescence. Acquiescence is one of those words that I can hardly pronounce correctly. I found it by looking at the dictionary searching for other expressions for a phrase I heard recently: “passive resignation”. How many times do we apply acquiescence in our lives? How many times do we accept things “as is” without questioning? We often “go with the flow” without asking or questioning if there is something else for us. We often prefer to live unfinished. There is no reason, no need, and no rush to accept less of what our lives could be. Even when we might feel or think we already reached completeness, whatever the process we are in right now, only The Artist can tell when we are complete.

Three Way Interpretation

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11126231_10150557249669956_2207303122166726283_nNot too long ago I wrote about a pencil drawing that inspired a few more sketches and a few other ideas. It ended up being a three way interpretation of the same image. I played around with four or five more sketches and then decided to paint. After an amazing private painting night with the ladies of the Orange CT Chamber of Commerce 11147867_10150564658444956_5834943068492316670_nI thought I could use the leftover paint on a few canvases I had available here at home. It was a lot of fun to paint again. Before arriving to the image that started it all I used another sketch for the first painting, then another for a second. The third painting was using that first sketch. I called the three paintings together “Spring Fairies”.

The first 11128803_10150564658469956_8933270425009002914_oone has the extra long hair. It was a lot of fun adding all that extra paint around the figure. I tried to keep the figure as monochromatic as I could. Based on this result I decided to paint the other two on longer canvases I wanted to recycle. That’s something you maybe didn’t know. When people talk about the mysteries of Leonardo’s multilayered paintings I just laugh. Sometimes, not to say many times, I paint over paintings I don’t like that much, and over again. 11070544_10150564658484956_8377671706688468462_oI can’t wait until someone decides to x-ray one of them. Nevertheless, I covered the previous paintings and continued the fairies. The third one was inspired on the pencil sketch. There is a sequence of the process in Instagram and Facebook. I didn’t stop there. I tried a sculpture with the same sketch. After all, I am a sculptor primarily.

11136631_10150563648774956_2926769332023686813_nIt is interesting how one image can get multiple interpretations. I can still try a full round sculpture. Someone might think about trying a more modern art version of it. Maybe we can create a cubist version or something more abstract. The possibilities are endless. That is the beauty of art and the human mind.

Guest Post

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The artist and his artFirst, I want to apologize for my sporadic absence in this blog. I’ve been busy and honestly, I had no inspiration to write. Last week I completed 3 paintings and this week 1 sculpture (after destroying a nearly finished one). I’ve been also working on the sculpting and painting parties, and also started teaching a basic computer skills class for the Literacy Center of Milford. Soon I’ll be announcing a group art show in New Haven. Before that show, I’ll be speaking at The Grove in New Haven May 21st, and where we are holding our Sculpting Night, Friday, April 24 (get the information and RSVP here). Speaking of which, better than writing a blog about oneself or what is going on is to read when someone writes about it. I want to share this guest post article with you: Sculpt Your Brain. Enjoy it! Let me know what you think about it.

No Title Yet

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Sunday night I drew a sketch on a canvas. Monday morning I began a painting. Tuesday afternoon it was done. Each part of the process was great. One thing I can’t stretch enough is to maintain awareness of what’s going on in the process of creation and execution, and what goes on inside the mind. That awareness can transform the way an art piece is approached. It can also change the way an art moment is perceived. Such awareness brings also a greater connection with the work and the surroundings.

So, I did. From the time I began drawing I tried to study each moment. I reviewed my technique and provided closed attention to how I wanted to proceed to painting it. At that moment I had a good idea of what I wanted to do. To my surprise, the brush strokes began flowing better than I thought possible while I painted the background. The colors came together nicely. Once the colorful background was complete, I began working with the figure.

549318_10150558024964956_1284033348735649579_nI tried to understand each shadow and each brush stroke leading to the shades I wanted to achieve. I was looking for an almost monochromatic figure and at the end it was accomplished. I wanted to pay close attention to the face and the detail of the eyes and I am very satisfied with the results. I really enjoyed working on this painting. I can’t stop staring at it, specially at the details. There is no title yet for this painting but I am considering working on a new painting following these steps. That is another upside of the awareness I mentioned before: by keeping track of the steps and technique it is possible to reproduce them in a new project. Now that the painting is ready for sale, I am ready to begin a new one.