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News and Updates

Tuesday, 12 Jan. 2010

I am cold and restless. It is 2:28 am, Tuesday morning. I went to sleep at ten, which would have allowed me eight hours sleep, and two hours to relax before morning classes. I suppose I'll enjoy the spoils of neither.

My phone rang from three seperate phone calls from the same number. That didn't wake me but I did register them on an unconscious level. The number is unknown to me but I suspect they are from a certain person whom I am not well aquainted with, and yet somewhat jealousy despise despite having continual empathy for due to shared life experiences and overall having similar types of crazies.

I am worried about class later today. It's a life sculpture class with David Pelletier, a teacher whom I've not had before. The class is an extension of the course I took last semester in which George Boileau instructed us in modelling the clay figure from life... but after reading this new class's outline it seems we are expected to sculpt from memory without a model for at least some of the course time... scary.

Yesterday I had my six hour figurative studio class with Maria Gabankova. She is an accomplished painter though at times I feel quite incapable of understanding the method in which she wants us to paint... not so much the instructions, but more so a lack of feel for the essence of the method (currently being monochromatic underpainting for later glazing); she is also all too fond of limited palette painting for which I am quite miffed as to how to how to go about. Often in art I feel like I am told to create somethng similar to an example, and yet i feel like I'm missing a fundamental algorithm to calculate how to go about it all or at least understand what going about it all should feel like.

Alas, at least a small nugget was revealed to me. It is apparently easier to apply paint when the brush is at a very close angle to the canvas, opposed to being perpendicular to it. Of course that is common sense, but I often forget the fundamentals of poor form like choking the brush or starving the palette... all more fuel to the fire.

For guidance, inspiration and motivation I have been reading these: Sargent's Painting Notes, and Sargent Interview); They include somewhat of an interview with John Singer Sargent, whom my previous professor David Owen Campbell holds in such high regard for his Alla Prima technique. Both Sargent's and his student's comments thus far seem quite enlightening. I have yet to read James Gurney's more in depth post on Sargent, but I'm sure they'll be just as enjoyable as the former.

Away from thoughts of school I must admit to having enjoyed an outing with Taras and his friends, Lena and Harsh, last Friday. They introduced me to The Press Club, which in actually is a small cozy bar. There was live music, real earthy stuff by two older gentlemen (I say older though I suppose they were only a mere fifty odd). The leader sang and played an acoustic guitar while the other man joined in on the chorus and played his electric guitar (it might have been a bass). I have too little knowledge of music to describe what they played, but it felt really human with the grit of life, opposed to the polished fluff I often hear on the radio.

While soaking their music up I was also captivated by the paintings on the walls. The pieces were all by the same artist, quite small and framed in old weathered wood. Their imaginative imagery more than made up for any lack in realistic representation. Nowhere could I see the artist's name, only the pieces' titles and prices were posted. My favourite was of a milk maid walking into a field of hay, carrying two flaming milk pails into the night. I must go back to ask about the artist.

I hope sleep will come. Something roused me last night after three hours of sleep as well.. please let this not turn into a reoccurring theme or a side affect of the B12 supplement I've been taking. Alas, I will curl back into bed and will more dream to come.

Thursday, 7 Jan. 2010

Hmm, decided to revert to an old layout because the new one kept collapsing in on itself. Oh well, I had fun refabbin' it.

I officially don't trust leaving paintings to dry at school, so I picked up a camera from home over the holidays. At least now I'll be able to take pictures of them beforehand if they are doomed to share open storage.