All Categories

O.K., so here’s another amazing Muralist and Artist out there that I’ld like to share with you all:
https://elmac.net/

"Ánimo Sin Fronteras" (Spirit Without Borders), 2014, aerosol

Painted in downtown El Paso, Texas.
This mural represents resilience and strength,
and complements the fighting spirit
of the classic boxing mural next to it.
The figure is based on a man named Melchor Flores,
who has been fighting to get answers and justice
for his son who was picked up and disappeared by police
in Nuevo León in 2009.
In honor of all those who fight for justice.

"Abuelita of Presidio" 2018, aerosol on metal

Mural located on the US-Mexico border and commissioned
by the Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs.
A binational gesture of goodwill painted on a ten-story high water tank in the remote border community of Presidio, Texas, facing its southern neighbor Ojinaga, Chihuahua, and bearing the likeness of a humble local resident named Linda.

"Native Son (This Saint Flyod)” 2016, aerosol on stucco

Commissioned for The Manitou Art Center (The MAC)
in Manitou Springs, Colorado.
The mural is a collaboration with FUSE AWR,
a Los Angeles graffiti veteran artist
who began painting in the 1980s before relocating
to Colorado in the 1990s.
The mural depicts legendary and reclusive local artist
Floyd Tunson (born 1947), who had a retrospective at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center a couple years before
EL MAC's exhibition there in 2015.
Tunson is a Colorado native who has been creating art in his Manitou Springs studio for over 30 years.

"It was a pleasure getting to know him, and I would consider him one of the most inspiring and interesting people I've met.
I recognize in him a deep love for creation, experimentation, and a certain shared philosophy that art and life are inseparable." -EL MAC

"El Regalo Mágico” 2016, aerosol enamel & ceramic tile on brick

Located in the East Harlem section of New York City
in collaboration with Celso González and Roberto Biaggi
of CERO Design, Puerto Rico.
The title of the mural,
"El Regalo Mágico / The Magic Gift"
refers to the gift of inspiration.
The figure is based on respected Nuyorican author
Nicholasa Mohr, who lives nearby, and is known for being one of the first widely published Latina authors
in the United States.
Cero's part, the geometric infinity pattern that forms a halo around the figure, is composed entirely of tile mosaic.
The mural is located in "El Barrio", East Harlem,
on the side of a large elementary school
at 111th Street and Lexington Avenue.
The mural was created as part of a public arts project
called MonumentArt, curated by Celso Gonzalez.

"Our Lady of Aalborg" 2013, aerosol

Painted in Aalborg, Denmark
while there for a solo show at Galerie Wolfsen.
The mural is across the street from the maternity ward of Aalborg University Hospital,
so an iconic symbol of motherly love
seemed appropriate for this location.

"Tower of Songs" 2017, aerosol and acrylic on brick

A massive tribute to Leonard Cohen
commissioned by the City of Montreal and MU
in cooperation with the Cohen family.

Paintings: Aerosol/Indoors
https://elmac.net/aerosol-indoors

19 Videos! about El Mac / https://elmac.net/videos-

El Mac, Retna and Kofie were commissioned to create a mural for the Manifest Equality Event
held in Hollywood, California in March, 2010.
The mural was painted over three weeks after completion without notice or warning
by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences!

About EL MAC (Miles MacGregor):
An internationally renowned artist born and based in Los Angeles. He began painting both smaller indoor works as well as public murals and graffiti in Phoenix in the mid 1990s, and since that time has developed his unique visual aesthetic and rendering style which utilizes repeating contour patterns. His work draws on influences from classical European art, social realism, symbolism and devotional art, as well as the Chicano and Mexican culture he grew up around. He is best known for his meticulous paintings and large-scale murals exploring feminine beauty and honoring ordinary, overlooked, or marginalized people. He has been commissioned to paint all over the world, for museums, universities and other cultural institutions, including the Groeninge Museum (Belgium), San José Museum of Art (California), Northeastern University (Boston), University of California (San Diego), QAGoMA (Brisbane), Fondazione PRADA (Italy), and the Mexican secretariat of Foreign Affairs, as well as murals in Belgium, Cambodia, Cuba, Denmark, England, Germany, Ireland, Morocco, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and Viet Nam. For over twenty years he has aimed "to uplift and inspire through careful, perfectionist renderings of both the sublime and the humble".

All images copyright MAC ART LLC ©MMXXII

0 Comments

Anamorphic illusions

9/19/2022

Anamorphic illusionism:
anamorphic | ˈanəˈˌmôrfik | adjective
Denoting or relating to a distorted projection or drawing that appears normal when viewed from a particular point-of-view.

VF Corporation headquarter’s office in Switzerland. By the collective Truly Design – Urban Artists.

Felice Varini is a Swiss artist who paints on architectural and urban spaces,

http://www.varini.org/

By muralist Peeta

Portuguese artist Sergio Odeith creates remarkable anamorphic murals that appear to pop out of the walls on which they are painted. Odeith began making graffiti in the 1980s, before branching out into large-scale murals and his signature anamorphic works.

And of course a few murals by the Queen of 3D

Pandora

Tracy Lee Stum

Tracy Lee Stum:
“Today, artists have a wide range of tools to achieve what’s called contemporary anamorphic art, a designed method or technology used to create the illusion of 3D on 2D surfaces. It’s a method of drawing founded on the geometry of perspective, often using photography or computer programs as tools to achieve the final chalk-and-paint illusion.”

2 Comments

Roberto visits ’The Cheech”!

9/12/2022

"Man!...
You gotta be careful going into Riverside these days!
I just went to 'the Cheech'
and look what happened to me!!"

“The Arrest of the Paleteros”, by Frank Romero, 1996, part of The Cheech Marin Collection of the Riverside Art Museum

Here I am getting arrested with the Paleteros!
...and all I wanted was a popsicle!!

Videos:

‘The Chicano Collection’
____
CHICANITAS: Small Paintings from
the Cheech Marin Collection
____
CHEECH MARIN : UP IN ART
____
Cheech Marin - An Interpretation of a Culture Through Chicano Art

‘The Cheech’ is a public-private partnership between the Riverside Art Museum (RAM), the City of Riverside,
and comedian Cheech Marin,
one of the world’s foremost collectors of Chicano art.
‘The Cheech’ will be the center of Chicano art,
not only for painting, but for sculpture, photography,
and video arts as well.

The 61,420 -square-foot (get it!) center is displaying hundreds of paintings, drawings, photographs, and sculptures
by many artists, including:
Patssi Valdez,
Sandy Rodriguez,
Carlos Almaraz,
Frank Romero,
Judithe Hernández,
and
Gilbert “Magú” Luján.

A significant portion of this collection will always be exhibited and can continue to be toured at venues across the nation and throughout the world!

Located in Riverside’s downtown historic core adjacent to The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in the cultural hub of Inland Southern California.

Students and faculty from five local colleges and universities will research and learn about the finest private collection of Chicano art in the U.S.

“Collidoscope: de la Torre Brothers Retro-Perspective” June 18, 2022 - January 22, 2023

Upstairs they had a FANTASTIC collection of
glass sculpture by
‘The de la Torre Brothers’.
Exhibition: June 18, 2022–January 22, 2023
The exhibition is a thematic retrospective on the artistic and exploratory trajectory of Einar and Jamex de la Torre, the two siblings that comprise this artistic duo known as The de la Torre Brothers. Einar and Jamex were born in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1963 and 1960, respectively, but they have navigated life on both sides
of the border since they were very young.
Due to their bi-national and bi-cultural background, their work has been interpreted through the lenses of border art and Chicano art
for the past couple of decades.
The brothers use an array of materials and techniques
that range from the mastering of glass blowing to the more recent practice of lenticular printing, signaling to an appreciation of
traditional crafts as well as to an interest in technology and popular mass-produced objects.

There was even an
“Olmec-Planetary-Exploration-Rover”
on display!
"Man! Those pre-Columbians were WAY more advanced
than I thought!! I wanted to learn more about all this…
but they didn’t have a catalogue or brochures or pamphlets
or any supporting materials!
(And I couldn’t find anything on their website!)
Must be REALLY Top Secret!
Oh well, “Que sera', sera'!"

But...
the most outstanding piece in the whole show
was this one by John Valadez!
(a realist painter and muralist who takes as his subjects the urban landscape and people of Los Angeles.)

John Valadez, ‘Getting Them Out of the Car’ (1984), Pastel on Paper, 100” x 37.5” (8.33’ x 3.12’) [ 2.54m x 0.95m ]

A very large pastel drawing on paper!
"Really quite stunning!
I’ll have to do a separate post on Valadez and his murals
on a later post!" -RQ

Exhibition: June 18, 2022–June 18, 2023
Cheech Collects weaves a story of Cheech Marin’s efforts as a passionate and laser-focused collector, exploring the making of a major collection from the first works acquired through the most recent acquisitions. This inaugural exhibition is a celebration of the foremost champion of the Chicano School of Art. Unflinching in his faith and commitment to the excellence of this art, Marin does not bother with past debates on the legitimacy of this art movement but dares to posit that it is the most significant American art movement to date. The creation of The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture furthers his advocacy and will continue to shape the art world’s perceptions and understanding of Chicano art. Inarguably, Marin’s efforts have brought unprecedented attention to Chicana/o art with exhibitions of and loans from his collection to over 50 museums nationally and internationally. The inaugural exhibition features almost 120 works from Marin’s generous gift of over 500 works to the Riverside Art Museum as well as from his personal collection. It includes iconic works that have toured in Chicano Visions, among other notable exhibitions, works that have not often been exhibited, and some that will be on view for the very first time, reflecting a 40-year span of art production. A second iteration of the inaugural exhibition will open in December of 2022.

LOCATION & PARKING
The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum is located at 3581 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside, CA, 92501, on the corner of Mission Inn Ave. and Orange St.
Metered street and lot parking is available along Mission Inn Ave. Click here for more information and a map of parking areas located downtown.
Many large-scale downtown events occur along Mission Inn Ave. throughout the year. Please be advised that street closures regularly take place during these events, e.g., Festival of Lights, Dia de los Muertos, etc., which will affect parking and drop-off/pick-up. We thank you for your understanding.

"Nice Job, Homey!
(Except for the catalogue thing.)" -RQ

1 Comment

The Painter’s Craft

9/5/2022

“Here are two of my favorite books from my library… ”

“The Painter’s Craft”
An introduction to artists’ methods and materials
By Ralph Mayer

The author is regarded with respect by artists in all fields. In this book he concentrates his attention upon the practicing painter, the hobbyist and the student and supplies a unique guide to the crafts of painting, dealing expertly with the ingredients of pigments, carriers and grounds, and the ways in which these materials are applied. It is an authoritative treatment of the techniques of painting, concerning the mechanics rather than the aesthetics of these skills.

Contents:
1) Introduction
2) Color
3) Pigments
4). Grounds
5). Oil Painting
6). Tempera Painting
7). Aqueous Paints
8). Pastel
9) Mural Painting
10) Synthetic mediums
11) Studio and Equipment

When I am asked what to do to learn the basics of mural painting, I say get a job prepping for a good all-around House-painter. Then, after you have been fired from a few jobs, and you have learned how to prep and work with gallons of paint, how to carry ladders and set scaffolding,
and how to fix a few mistakes...
I used to say "get a job as a scenic artist",
but that’s way too old school now.
(I don’t think those jobs even exist anymore!)
So now I just say "...get Ralph’s books." -RQ

Also by this Author:

“The Artist’s Handbook”
of materials and techniques
By Ralph Mayer

Since 1940, when it was originally published, The Artist's Handbook has been indispensable for thousands of practicing artists and art students. The book has remained continuously in print through many editions and has sold more than a quarter of a million copies.

It is, as American Artist Magazine calls it, the "artist's bible," an invaluable reference for the painter, sculptor, and printmaker. During the past few years, however, new art movements and new research have led to many changes in the technology of artist's materials. With the assistance of Mayer's widow, Bena, and his colleagues, Viking and Steven Sheehan, Director of the Ralph Mayer Center at Yale University, have prepared this latest revision of the book, which is now completely updated and expanded.

The Handbook does retain its original, user-friendly format. Mayer intended that this encyclopedic volume be referred to frequently, and he therefore gave specific, practical advice on every aspect of his subject. In addition, he compiled valuable lists for the artist: retail sources for materials, a pigment catalog, a bibliography, and an extensive appendix. The detailed index makes all of this information immediately accessible.

0 Comments

JOHN PUGH / Narrative Illusionism

8/29/2022

"Pool of Thought"

John Pugh, Trompe L'oeil Artist,
American Muralist, Optical Illusion Painter, has created
more than 200 murals and is considered to be
the leading proponent, authority, and practitioner of
Narrative Illusionism.

JOHN has been creating murals since the late 1970s.
He attended California State University Chico,
receiving his BA in 1983 and the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2003. He has received numerous public and private commissions in the United States, Taiwan, and New Zealand.
John lives in Santa Cruz, California.
Visit www.illusion-art.com

John Pugh's murals appear in more than 30 cities throughout the country, including San Francisco, Miami, Honolulu, and Anchorage.
Pugh's work has been featured in publications worldwide, including Time magazine, Artweek, Art Business News,
the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times,
and the San Francisco Examiner.

"Okay, So here is another great book for the library!":

“The Murals of John Pugh: Beyond Trompe l'Oeil”
by Kevin Bruce
A full-color collection of master trompe l'oeil muralist John Pugh's art, alongside detailed analysis - from conception to unveiling - with an emphasis on how his work relates to and enhances its setting. Includes more than 40 full-color photos of the murals depicting architectural, natural, and pictorial settings.
This full-color collection showcases Pugh's most famous pieces, discusses how he revitalized the trompe l'oeil ("trick of the eye") genre into a vital mode of artistic expression, and illuminates the artist's creative process from sketch to finished mural.

"River of Mercy"

“For more than three decades, world-renowned trompe l’oeil artist John Pugh has engaged and captivated the public with large-scale mural projects in spaces across the world, including San Francisco, Miami, and New York, as well as Taiwan, Mexico, and New Zealand. His “trick of the eye” murals cleverly fool the viewer into seeing a modern facade’s broken wall revealing Greek columns or a woman reading in a cafe. But Pugh’s paintings also capture the imagination and engage the mind. Within a framework of artfully rendered illusionary space, he orchestrates layers of historical, social, and mythical commentary that challenge the viewer to find deeper levels of meaning.
With a body of work now exceeding 200 murals, Pugh has been instrumental in revitalizing the trompe l’oeil genre, turning it into a legitimate and vital mode of artistic expression that is both aesthetically and intellectually challenging.
In Pugh’s own words: ‘It can link people together, stimulate a sense of pride within the community, and introduce the viewer to new ideas and perspectives.' ”
-Kevin Bruce, (Author of The Murals of John Pugh: Beyond Trompe L’oeil, 2006) is a native Californian born in San Francisco in 1941. He is currently engaged as an art historian and author with a focus on chronicling the contemporary mural. He resides with his wife and fellow mural archivist, Pauline, in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Berkeley, California.

'Light Walk"

1 Comment

Michael Carter / pendulum painting

8/22/2022

‘Solstice’ 2017 48x34, Acrylic on Canvas by Michael Carter

Michael Carter, b. 1975, Cambridge, MA, lives and works in Los Angeles, CA, he received a MFA from Claremont Graduate University.

His work is an investigation into metaphysical theories of art and the cultural history of science, philosophy, and religion.

Recent exhibitions include:
Seasons, Los Angeles, CA; Hansell Art Gallery of the Philosophical Research Society, Los Angeles, CA;
JOAN, Los Angeles, CA; Nicodim Gallery, Los Angeles, CA and Bucharest, RO; Laband Gallery at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA; the Art Gallery at Glendale Community College, Glendale, CA; Machine Project, Los Angeles, CA; Steve Turner, Los Angeles, CA; and Roberts Projects, Culver City, CA.

‘Making Space’ -Glendale Community College, December 4, 2017

‘Making Space’, sited off an elevated footbridge connecting the Science and Humanities buildings on the campus of Glendale Community College, is a practical investigation into the possibility of universals today. What are the conditions that connect us in the human experience? Gravity is one such condition—an ever-present force that intimately effects our lives yet also is responsible for shaping planets, forming solar systems, and structuring our galaxy. The pendulum is a highly sensitive instrument that facilitates a personal collaboration with this cosmic-scale phenomena. The pendulum series is an encouragement to question a mechanistic understanding of reality and recall to our awareness the infinitely receding and never-crossed boundary of the unknowable.

'Out of Discord Comes the Most Beautiful Harmony'
Philosophical Research Society
October 10, 2018

'Out of Discord Comes the Most Beautiful Harmony' is the simultaneous creation of a cosmic mandala by a monumental-sized 'pendulagraph' and a healing sound-bath by quartz-crystal singing bowls. Together with artist and metaphysician Michael Carter and sound-bowl practitioner Kristin Palombo, the audience will contribute their vibrational presence in seeking to harmonize the impersonal, cosmic law of gravitation and the felt experience of pure sound vibration. 'Out of Discord Comes the Most Beautiful Harmony' proposes the possibility of unifying the grand opposites of our shared reality: finite and infinite; subjectivity and objectivity; form and emptiness; masculine and feminine; cosmic and terrestrial; law and chaos. In this unified field, our consciousness can travel into altered states of being, opening the doors to new conditions of mental and spiritual experience.
Out of Discord Comes the Most Beautiful Harmony
Philosophical Research Society, October 10, 2018

“MICHAEL CARTER: THE SPIRITUAL IN ART"
March 18, 2021
"EMS visited the studio in February 2021 and produced this
17 minute short film. I discuss the origins of my work with the pendulum, Thought-Forms and Theosophy, my performances at the Philosophical Research Society and Nicodim Gallery, and preview new work." -Michael Carter

Watch “MICHAEL CARTER: THE SPIRITUAL IN ART”

0 Comments

UNIVERSITY AND PARK AVENUE MURAL PROJECT

8/15/2022

The Riverside Art Museum
(RAM)

Riverside’s Eastside community has a rich history of diverse residents coming together to make their neighborhoods spaces where families can gather, connect, and feel safe. The Riverside Art Museum proudly supports an artist-in-residence program with Juan Navarro who works with residents and non-profit organizations to beautify and transform spaces throughout the Riverside Eastside.

During October 2021’s Artswalk, Juan Navarro, the lead artist on the University and Park Avenue Mural Project, took over RAM’s Instagram, live, with all the participating artists: Adrian Boyer, John Cuevas, C. Matthew Luther, Robin Luther, and Daniel Toledo to celebrate this new community mural project located at the gateway to the Eastside, at Arci’s Candy at 2870 University Avenue.

Take a ride with Juan Navarro through Eastside Riverside
to see the University and Park Avenue mural!

0 Comments

Break-Through Murals!

8/8/2022

Break-Throughs are playful illusions utilizing the wall-surface as a design element to create an opening or a break-away effect, thereby revealing a hidden world or an emerging subject. Break-Throughs often incorporate linear perspective techniques, trompe l’oeil and/or faux finishes, quadrature Illusionism, and/or anamorphic effects.
I’ll do future posts on all of these Illusion techniques.
Here are a few examples:

John Pugh: Taylor Hall, California State University, Chico, California

Roberto Quintana for Carrow’s restaurant interior

Roberto Quintana: private residence entryway

Roberto Quintana: Oculus ceiling mural for Tourmaline Studios

Morgan Mural Studios: Santa Clara County Fairgrounds

Tracy Lee Stum: Raider Power

Roberto Quintana: Grand American Fare/ Paddy Boots, Denver, Colorado

Boss Graphics

Roberto Quintana for Boss Graphics

Laurence ‘Link’ Linkus: ‘An Hows Yur...?’ for Grand American Fare

0 Comments

A Purple Portrait!

8/1/2022

I just put the finishing touches on this portrait
of my beloved, Susan.
It is an Oil painting on a canvas panel, about 24”x18”

Susan liked to wear and surround herself with purples, so I chose a split-primary color scheme using Ultramarine Blue (semi-transparent) and Quinacridone Red (semi-transparent), which when mixed together makes a very lively Purple, with a tad of Burnt Umber (a purple-like earth tone) and a micro-tad of Perylene Black (semi-transparent). The Perylene is a greenish-black used as a foil against the Quinacridone. I prefer using Lead-White when mixing flesh tones because it is more transparent than Titanium-White, and doesn’t make for ‘chalky’ colors.
The difficult task was to paint a 'Purple Portrait' which didn’t look ghoulish, and to try and capture Susan’s big ‘toothy’ smile, which I love so much and which was such a joyous aspect of who she was, while not turning her beautiful grin into 'a Grin'.
I started this during the last year that she was with us and I have been noodling with it until just recently when I added the Black and Burnt-Umber to the background behind her jaw and neck. At some point you just have to let go... and call it ‘done’.

Susan My Beloved,
Farewell...

On a forgotten journey
to somewhere once
a long time ago
I found myself
distracted by a beautiful
wildflower,
bright and true,
growing amid the roses.
I came to you
down by the river
like a perfect Fool
as Parsifal to Blanchefleur.
Your scent filled my senses
and I became drunk with you!
And dreamed…
The Drunkards’ Dream
of hearth and home
and contentment.
My cup overflowing
as you poured your love into me.
Your love transformed me.
Transformed my World.
Transformed my Universe.
My Forever Love.
My all.
My ally.
My Wild Iris
Mi Corazon.

...But now the banquet is over,
the courtyard stands empty
the drawbridge withdrawn.
The Grail Castle has vanished!
Now I know the treachery
of the lost precious.
The bewilderment of Parsifal
abandoned and lost
in a wilderness of pain and sorrow.
Now I know the despair of Rumi
at the murder and loss
of Shams of Tabriz.
Queen of my heart
My Forever Love.
My Perfect, Perfect Love.
I miss you so much…
Without you
I am like a speck of dust
blown away
in the breeze...

1 Comment

What’s up at The Cheech!

7/25/2022

Cheech Marin (Yeah, That Cheech Marin!) finally has a place to show off his amazing art collection.
Check this out…

Frank Romero, The Arrest of the Paleteros, 1996

The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture
Cheech Marin Art Collection in Riverside
Exhibition: June 18, 2022–June 18, 2023

Cheech Collects weaves a story of Cheech Marin’s efforts as a passionate collector, exploring the making of a major collection from the first works acquired through the most recent acquisitions.
This inaugural exhibition is a celebration of the foremost champion of the Chicano School of Art.
The creation of The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture furthers his advocacy and will continue to shape the art world’s perceptions and understanding of Chicano art.
Marin’s efforts have brought unprecedented attention
to Chicana/o art with exhibitions of and loans from his collection to over 50 museums nationally and internationally.
The inaugural exhibition features almost 120 works from Marin’s generous gift of over 500 works to the Riverside Art Museum as well as from his personal collection.
A second iteration of the inaugural exhibition
will open in December of 2022.

"Nice Job, Homey!" -RQ

0 Comments

How to Paint Anything!

7/18/2022

"How to Paint Anything
The complete Guide to painting and refinishing”
By Hubbard H. Cobb

"So when it comes to painting...
I’m pretty much ‘old school’, and I love books!
I have many books on materials and techniques in my library, but a few are really the most useful because they are well organized and have a lot of good foundational material and are clear and to the point.
This is one of them!"

Contents:
1) paints: general information
2) enamel, clear finshes, and stains
3) specialized paints and finishes
4) brushes, rollers, paint equipment, and supplies
5) paint problems and failures
6) how to remove paint
7) how to paint and finish wood
8) how to paint masonry
9) how to paint metals
10) how to paint the outside of a house
11) how to paint the inside of a house
12) how to paint and refinish wood and concrete floors
13) how to paint and refinish furniture
14) special finishes for furniture woodwork
15) how to paint boats
16) how to paint swimming pools
17) how to paint special materials
18) how to paint anything

"I always say that if you want to be a muralist, the best foundation you can have (while you are learning to be an artist and how to draw) is to get yourself fired from several different house painter’s jobs, preferably by an ‘old-school’ craftsman or two. Learn your materials, how to carry ladders, how to match colors, how to prep, and how to avoid and fix mistakes.
I have learned valuable information from every one of these chapters, for one project or an other." -RQ

1 Comment

Fun with Paint! / Pour-Painting

7/11/2022

I recently had a visit from a good friend of mine from up-state New York, and he reminded me about a pour-painting project his fiance' worked on during her collage years. I looked up the YouTube video and there she was! Pouring her little heart out.
Nice job, Rita!

If you think this looks like fun...
Here are a few great blog-sites for some cool
Pour-Painting techniques and materials:

Jerrys Artarama

Acrylic Pouring Painting Art – 3 Acrylic Pouring Techniques & Supplies

Fluid Painting Blog:

acrylic-pour-techniques

Ken Bromley Art Supplies

9 Basic and Advanced Acrylic Pouring Techniques

Olga Soby

Pouring TIPS! Gorgeous VIOLET + TURQUOISE + GOLD ~ Acrylic Pouring

0 Comments

Black is Beautiful! Part 2

7/4/2022

Black vs Purple
As a professional artist and muralist,
I have developed a deep appreciation for the power and significance of Color.
For instance, Purple really is the most appropriate color to attribute to my Beloved Susan’s Memorial Bench, as anyone who knew her will rightly attest to!

Purple is the Royal color, and the color of Dignity,
and the color of Joy, and of Compassion,
and of Exuberance!
and... of Non-Conformity.
and
Purple is Playful! and Fun!
(and it reminds me of her Raucous Laughter!)
However...
I am beginning to realize, after many enlightening and insightful conversations with the persuasive
Superintendent of Parks, Recreation, and Community Services for the City of Pasadena,
that the color Black is not without its more positive attributes especially for a Memorial!
In addition to being the appropriate color of mourning…
Black is, after all, Beautiful!
Black represents Strength, and Courage and Justice!
Black, in all of its Elegance represents
both Defiance and Conviction!
And being the color of printers’ ink,
typewriter-ribbons, marker-pens, and pencils…
Black stands for Communication! and for
Speaking Truth to Power!
All of which Susan would be very proud to embrace in her Memorial, as she did in her life.
And so...
in the spirit of Community Values and Cooperation
(and of choosing one’s battles wisely)…
and realizing that there are many, many other
more important causes to stand for...

Such as calling out social injustice,
as when she sought to protect the informational privacy
of her JPL co-workers against intrusive
Homeland Security badging and privacy issues in 2007,
when she was instrumental in helping to instigate a lawsuit against the Federal Government.
(The lawsuit went all the way to the
United States Supreme Court!)
Or...
Her involvement and work in giving voice to the concerns of Human Trafficking Victims!
or Her concerns over the unfair over-representation and incarceration of black and brown men
and women in our penal system…
and while She was certainly not pro-abortion,
She was deeply concerned about the invasive tendencies
of our government, and our society, to legislate away
the rights of women to have dominion over their own bodies, and the same for gays and lesbians,
and all the LGBTQ! …
or her conviction that it should not be a
Death Sentence to drive while black…
or to be shot in the back for a petty crime…
and that, while guns are indeed inanimate objects...
flooding our streets with human slaughtering
weapons of mass distraction is not making our children and our public spaces any safer!
And that, indeed, Black Lives,
Just as All Lives,
really do matter!
"So with that said… I don’t think that Susan would want her Memorial tarnished by a silly little battle over mindless and insensitive bureaucratic rules in support of conformity and the stifling of creativity and free expression.

   I think we should name Susan’s new
Memorial Bench
(which has been returned to the park)

“The Susan Foster black ‘Lives Matter’ Memorial Bench!”

(It’s the Mexican Muralist in me!)
-Roberto Quintana de Foster

2 Comments

Edwin Austin Abbey: American mural painter

6/27/2022

Edwin Austin Abbey (1888)
by John Singer Sargent

Edwin Austin Abbey was an American muralist, illustrator, and painter.
(April 1, 1852- August 1, 1911)
He flourished at the beginning of what is now referred to as the "golden age" of illustration, and is best known for his drawings and paintings of Shakespearean and Victorian subjects.
He completed a series of murals for the Boston Public Library in the 1890s. In 1908–09 Abbey began an ambitious program of murals and other artworks for the newly completed Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. These included allegorical medallion murals representing Science, Art, Justice, and Religion for the dome of the Rotunda: four large lunette murals beneath the dome, and multiple works for the House and Senate Chambers. For the Senate chamber he finished only one painting, 'Von Steuben Training the American Soldiers at Valley Forge', and he was working on the 'Reading of the Declaration of Independence' mural in early 1911, when his health began to fail.
Studio assistant William Simmonds continued work on the mural with little supervision from Abbey, and with small contributions by John Singer Sargent. (from: Wikipedia)

Lunette and medallion murals (1908-11)
Pennsylvania State Capitol Rotunda.
Left to right: The Spirit of Vulcan, Science,
The Spirit of Religious Liberty, Art,
The Spirit of Light.

Apotheosis of Pennsylvania (1908–11)
House Chamber, Pennsylvania State Capitol.

More over here at the GurneyJourney...

Part 1: E.A. Abbey, "Greatest living illustrator"
http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2013/06/part-1-ea-abbey-greatest-living.html

0 Comments

‘THE ART OF CHALK’ by Tracy Lee Stum

6/20/2022

Here is one of my favorite books in my library:

‘THE ART OF CHALK’
Techniques and Inspiration for Creating Art with Chalk
by
Tracy Lee Stum

“This is the go-to book for everything from
chalkboard art to anamorphic murals.
From the history of chalk, to how to make your own pastels.
From 'fine-art' to street-painting,
Tracy has it all covered with gorgeous photographs
and contributions from 50 contributing artists!
I highly recommend this book!”
-Roberto Quintana, WFA

In ‘The Art of Chalk’ by noted street painter Tracy Lee Stum takes an inspiring look at the many exciting creative applications for this easily accessible medium. With a historic overview of chalk's origins as an art medium, and how its artistic uses have evolved over the centuries, this book is a wealth of knowledge for anyone looking to get creative with this time-honored art medium.

Featuring the impressive work of some of today's most prominent artists and designers, 'The Art of Chalk' explores helpful and inspiring techniques used in typography and lettering, fine art, and the intricate, elaborate, and mind-bending chalk designs known as street art. In the resources section, you'll even find a detailed listing of chalk festivals held around the world.

(for 5 bonus points)
50 Down:
Medium that Tracy Lee Stum draws in

0 Comments

I Madonnari Chalk Festival: Santa Barbara, CA - 2022

6/12/2022

This last Memorial Day I had the pleasure of attending the
I Madonnari Chalk Festival in Santa Barbara, California.
I went up to see Tracy, Sayak, and Julio’s artworks and to enjoy the grounds of the beautiful Santa Barbara Mission on a gorgeous Southern-California afternoon.
The Bands were Jammin’, the food was great, and the crowd was well masked and glad to be outside, and it was all for a good cause:
Supporting the Children’s Creative Project (CCP)!

I Madonnari serves as the main fundraiser for the Children’s Creative Project, a nonprofit organization that brings arts education to thousands of school children throughout Santa Barbara County through workshops and performances by multicultural touring artists.
Local organizers were the first to bring this romantic Italian festival to the Western Hemisphere from Santa Barbara’s sister festival in Grazie di Curtatone, Italy.
For information about the I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival, including participation and sponsorship opportunities, visit:
https://ccp.sbceo.org/i-madonnari/welcome.
To support the Children’s Creative Project go to:
https://ccp.sbceo.org/donate

Featured Artist: Dawn Morrison Wagner

Street painting probably began in Italy during the 16th century and has a long tradition in cities in Western Europe.
Artists began street painting by traveling to religious
and folk festivals where they drew images of the
Madonna using chalk on the street.
These artists became known as “Madonnari” or street painters. Their images are called street paintings because when well drawn they resemble paintings.

Tracy Lee Stum: “In the Studio” by Maria Bashkirtseff 1881

Sayak Mitra: Photo Reference by N.H.Reed, circa 1893

Julio Cesar Jimenez: Bugatti Royal

Jennifer LeMay

Artist?: Sponsor, Psychedelic Honey

Delphine Louis Anaya

Cheryl Guthrie and Terri Taber

If you think this all looks like fun,
Look what’s coming up in Pasadena!

Pasadena Chalk Festival
Father’s Day weekend
June 18-19, 2022 at The Paseo.
The event is open to the public 10:00am to 7:00pm.
https://pasadenachalkfestival.org/

200 murals and over 500 artists
• Art Gallery & Silent Auction
• Animation Alley & Chalk of Fame
• Children’s Art Area
• Live Music
• Dine and Shop at The Paseo!

KIDZ LAND
Saturday & Sunday
10:00am – 4:00pm
Upper Fountain Court

If you’re a chalk artist: Entries are closed,
but if you’d like to be put on the waiting list:
Email: PasadenaChalkFestival@yahoo.com

LIVE MUSIC LINEUP
Saturday, June 18th
2:00pm – 3:00pm
Taylor Plenn (Jazz)

3:30pm – 4:30pm
The Carlos Ordiano Trio (Latin Jazz)

5:00pm – 6:00pm
La Güera Chakaloza Y Sus 5 Animales
(Norteño)

Sunday, June 19th:
3:00pm – 4:00pm
Rhythms of the Village Family Band
(Nigerian Highlife Fusion)

4:45pm – 5:30pm
Lucas/Heaven (RnB/Jazz)

6:00pm – 7:00pm
Spaghetti Cumbia (Cumbia)

(Dress like your going to paint a mural in the hot sun!)

2 Comments

Black is Beautiful! Part 1

6/6/2022

“Picasso’s choice of black and white for his painting intensified
the drama of it, giving the painting a picture-like quality
as if it were part of a photographic record. It also highlights the essence of war being evil, reducing life around it into
dichotomous composites of good and evil.”

John Singer Sargent:
Charcoal portrait sketch of Kenneth Grahame

One of the many topics that I am looking forward to exploring here on my new Blog is: Color and Color theory! This is such a wide ranging topic… it is hard to know where to start! But we’ll have many opportunities for interesting posts. So let’s start with probably the oldest and widest used color of all, Black!

Mark Rothko (1903-1970) ‘Black’

Most People don’t consider Black a color 'Black is the absence of color!’ they say. But not me! As a painter, I see black as another rich and varied pigment. It can be created by mixing at least three of the darker (transparent) primary-color pigments, or even just two of the darker secondary-color pigments. Black is essential for creating ALL of the Shade colors (by definition), and along with White it makes up the most versatile and constructive color of all the color families: The family of Grays… and all of the Toned colors as well! Not just a mixture, It’s also a pure pigment! And several kinds of pigments as well, with a wide range of useful qualities.

Pablo Picasso, Guernica 1937

Ivory Black is the most popular Black, originally made by burning ivory, now by carbonizing bone (versatile but it has a weak tinting strength). Lampblack (good for making grays as it shifts towards the bluish/purple) and Carbon Black, made from the soot of charring petroleum, (not so good for mixing but very dark and permanent as a body-color over larger areas). Vine Black is made of carbon by charring vegetable or wood products. Carbon pigments make weak mixtures but are good for outlining and the sticks are good for drawing, and in its powdered dust form it is very fine and light, good as a pounce for transferring cartoon patterns for signs, murals and fresco paintings. Mars Black is an iron oxide, so it leans toward the red, not a very rich or dark black, but it mixes well with transparent colors and doesn’t ‘Go to mud’ so easily as the carbons do. Payne’s Gray is a particularly rich mixture of Black with Ultramarine and a little ochre (good to know when it shifts all of your mixtures towards green). Black primers are very useful as a block-out layer and black gesso makes a great ground for darker compositions or to make your opaque colors ‘pop’!

The Black Paintings: Frank Stella (American, born 1936)

Photo: Hollis Frampton,
The Secret World of Frank Stella
[painting Getty Tomb,
unpublished print], 1958–1962,
printed 1991, gelatin silver print,
Addison Gallery of Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts
(gift of Marion Faller, Addison Art Drive, 1991)

Parisian bad-man FUZI, paints a mural on the side of
Boomtown Brewery in sunny Los Angeles, California
He covered the wall with a host of characters
in his trademark style.
https://ironlak.com/fuzi-paints-large-ignorant-mural-dtla/

...And of course Black Enamel ‘Rattlers’ make great
‘Paint Bombs’ for quick attacks over rough surfaces
and hard to reach Trophies.

Coming soon...

Black is Beautiful! Part 2:
Black vs Purple

Black is Beautiful! Part 3:
Black as the absence of Light,
Black-Body Radiation, Black-Lights,
Black Holes, Anti-Photons,
Black Matter, Black Energy

2 Comments

Unfaded Pageant: Edwin Austin Abbey's Shakespearean Subjects

5/30/2022

“Here’s another of my favorite books from my library”…

"Unfaded Pageant: Edwin Austin Abbey's
Shakespearean Subjects"
by Lucy Oakley
Wallach Art Gallery, 1994
8 1/2 x 11", 104 pp.
88 illus., 9 in color
ISBN 1-884919-00-6, Paper

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/wallach/publications/
Unfaded-Pageant.html

This excellent catalogue features 75 items.
Extensive note section for the five sections in this catalogue. A mighty reference. Includes a useful chronology and the following essays:
Abbey and Shakespeare;
Illustrations for the Comedies;
Paintings Exhibited at the Royal Academy;
Costume Designs for Henry Irving"s Richard II;
Illustrations for the Tragedies and Histories.

Chronicles the history of the artist's Shakespearean work, which influenced late Victorian stage productions, and examines his interpretations in the context of late Victorian attitudes towards the plays and the wider context of English art. Contains numerous b&w and color illustrations spanning the range of Abbey's Shakespearean art, including sketches, book and magazine illustrations, costume designs, and oil paintings and studies.
Distributed by the U. of Washington Press.

King Lear, Act I, Scene I (1898)
Edwin Austin Abbey

"The Queen in Hamlet" 1897
Edwin Austin Abbey

See more over here...

The American Artist Who Loved Everything British: Edwin Austin Abbey’s Shakespeare Paintings
https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/abbeys-shakespeare-paintings/

2 Comments

The 2022 Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival!

5/23/2022

Hey, Check this out!
Mark your calendars and enjoy great performances!
live under the stars!!

The Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival returns
for an entire summer of theater under the stars!
From July 2 - September 4,
join us Wednesdays - Sundays in Griffith Park.
____________

The Knight of the Burning Pestle
by Francis Beaumont
July 2 - July 31
This wild and wonderful 17th century comedy
receives a 21st century makeover
in an anarchic, Los Angeles-specific adaptation.
_______________

Macbeth by William Shakespeare
August 6 - September 4
The iconic tale of magic and mayhem will get a seductive, environmental treatment as we take advantage
of the secluded Dell performance area.
____________________

Plus our signature offerings of pre-show events
including salons, great opening acts, and the return of our playful family workshops.

Taught by Joseph Culliton
May 8th - June 26th
Sundays 11 am - 2 pm ONLINE
Be part of an engaged digital ensemble
that collectively explores the fundamentals of
verse structure and Shakespearean performance.

2 Comments

Miles Toland: Surrealist / Muralist

5/16/2022