FIN

I really enjoy this. I wish I could design noodle bowl packaging.
I (kind of) finished a painting. I just have to bring it in to school for deliberation. I'm rather pleased with it though, so I think anything that needs to be changed should be minor...
Lindsay and I went to PNCA today to learn about how to document art work for submission to competitions and online or whatnot. It's a lot more complicated than you might think. From his example, it might take anywhere from 10 minutes to half an hour to have a good photo of a piece of art. It involves a gray card, metering, a histogram, self-timer, the choice between black white and possibly gray backdrops, photoshop, levels, skewing and stretching. It's craziness. be glad mrs. mcbride does most of it for us!

and i finished The Whistling Season. I have no idea what I am going to paint for it...

rage

First I'd like to say that I really like that we're required to update our blogs every week because it gives me something interesting to look at now. Before, everyone's posts stayed all static and boring.

Now i'm going to bitch about my mom. A minute ago or so I was just trying to type out a letter to Gayatri in French, and my mom comes in first saying how feminine and pretty SAIC's viewbook is. I'm already kind of annoyed because I hate it when she tries to affirm her undeveloped aesthetic senses by talking about how colors match or how she swears she could do graphic design just because she likes to call things pretty. Then she demands to know how many pieces I have done, so I tell her 8 because that's how many I've done since the beginning of the year that would go into my portfolio.
This number clearly incites some complaints. She pulls out a pen and writes down the number eight, while admonishing me for not being more productive. Still talking with that irritating sense of infinite wisdom on everything related to art school, she writes down the numbers 15 and 20 with a dash between them and underlines 15 twice while emphasizing that this is the minimum number of works required by art schools for portfolios. She again admonishes me for not being more productive.
You have no idea how fucking pissed I am that she thinks she can berate me for something like this. Since the beginning of the year I've been working as hard as I can, with as much creative productivity as possible while still balancing other school work. When we were visiting schools on the east coast she insisted that I needed to focus on studying and standardized tests before I could work on art, so I conceded, telling her that I would study for the ACT and subject tests and whatever else she thought was important.
Now that I've gotten all those tests done and have everything I need to start and complete applications, she cannot reprimand me for not having completed more art pieces.
I think I started screaming at her to get out and shut up and then I pushed her over and stormed upstairs. I don't think I even had time to not get mad.

This artist is so cool!!! She uses primarily palette knife so everything looks all choppy and layered. Love it. I need to do a self portrait for the Utrecht thing! I mean, if i don't crank out a new one by dec 4, i can use fish tits, but i really want to do a painting.

http://www.francoise-nielly.com

pondering amidst the storm

I think it's great that art is the one thing for which I can handle working on several things at once. Normally, with like essays and assignments, it's stressful to be working on too much at once, but not with art! The more projects the better!
The only thing I'm not happy with is the pressure to get things DONE, as in completed and finished and ready to put up on a wall or sent away. We talked to this William Park guy at the Open Studios, and he said some bit on how he thinks that having deadlines detracts from the quality of the art because the constant pressure to be done changes your purpose for creating the art in the first place. Instead of just wanting to express an idea or illustrate a concept, you're looking to put something into your portfolio or sell something.
It must be real freedom to just do art for the sake of doing art.

favorite song words

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?qkzootxqtw0
"Climbing up the Walls"
Radiohead

I love this song. I always have. To me, it's just so sensual and mysterious..it's great.

"I am the key to the lock in your house
That keeps your toys in the basement
And if you get too far inside
You'll only see my reflection

It's always best when the covers up
I am the pick in the ice
Do not cry out or hit the alarm
You know we're friends till we die

And either way you turn
I'll be there
Open up your skull
I'll be there
Climbing up the walls

It's always best when the light is off
It's always better on the outside
Fifteen blows to the back of your head
Fifteen blows to your mind

So lock the kids up safe tonight
Shut the eyes in the cupboard
I've got the smell of a local man
Who's got the loneliest fear

That either way you turn
I'll be there
Open up your skull
I'll be there

Climbing up the walls
Climbing up the walls
Climbing up the walls"

5 faves A-Z

If you don't consider right now to be late, I don't envy you in the least because I hardly ever think there's anything romantic about the wee hours of the morning anymore.
I guess I have to pay for all the time I spent on the east coast not thinking about the homework I would have to make up.

Anyway, I know we have to make a post about our five favorite pictures from the A-Z project, and I think I heard that our next assignment is a piece inspired by them/finish the jesse reno paintings. well here are my five...
This is MY gluttony picture, i love it so much with all the hands holding doughnuts and little grady's mouth cut off and ilya....not gonna lie melis i like mine better than yours! I don't think it would make a good painting, but then again there's a difference between 'inspired by' and 'of'
This one is sly because I think Becky is looking particularly on the sly here. I just really like the emotion that comes through on the partial bit of face and the spy environment of the background...it hardly even bothers me that it's a little blurry.
Mmm...took this the night before, organic. I really like it though. Sweet apples are the best.
Ugh, pictures of animals are so cliche and overdone, but I love this dog so much; every time i see a dog i miss him! he's "one of my favorite kachels". I called it best friend
Yesterday night. what can i say, my neighbors party hard.

So most of my photos I like much much more as photos than I ever would as paintings, but yes i know it's inspired by not of and i dont want to do such a literal painting as just painting straight from the picture itself. i remind myself more and more every day i need to do more painting from life, but it's hard anyway to separate what i like as a photo from what i'd like as a painting. or a drawing. I could do a drawing, and I do always like those more...
I'm really good at coming up with ideas for art, and not so good at being proactive and starting them. I made a list (I make lists ceaselessly, not just when i procrastinate i promise) of all the ideas I have in my sketchbook, and then i made a list for each one of why I haven't started them yet. it looks like this

cat pattern painting - no reason
black like me - no reason
washing machine - no reason
eat fish - picture not back yet
3 legged animals - no lino block yet
make sweatshirt - no materials yet
do as i say not as i do - no canvas
boy fisherman - no materials yet

no reason = no time
schoooooooooooooooooooooooool

R to the I to the S to the D

RISD IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AMAZING

Well, like a true pacer, I'm sick right now; I've got this beastly sore throat that makes me wheeze and pant and sigh and hack out coughs, especially when climbing up hills.
Anyway, RISD is great. It's beautiful and has amazing facilities. We went to the drawing building and the pieces up on the walls did not look like first quarter freshmen work...maybe it wasn't.

and this is part of their application!

"Three drawing samples are required of all candidates. Each drawing must be done using graphite pencil on a sheet of white paper measuring 16” x 20” (40 cm x 50 cm); other drawing materials should not be used. The first drawing must represent a bicycle. The second drawing must utilize both sides of the sheet of drawing paper. For the third drawing, consider something from three perspectives and relate your three visualizations together on the page.

You may approach these three drawings in any way you wish. For example, your drawings may be realistic or abstract; you may choose to draw an object alone or place it in a situation; you can draw the whole object or only a portion of it, etc."

sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know for sure that if I'm going to apply to one art school, it'll be RISD. Pratt was OK, but nothing as amazing as RISD...let's just hope i can get in :/:/ that portfolio is going to need work...good thing their application isnt due until like February.

I'm really excited for portfolio day.

i can't wait to be home, really. Just Brown tomorrow and then Boston University after that, and I get to be homehome home where loads of make-up homework awaits me. shit! I miss art! maybe pictures later!