100 Day Project: Days 71-80

Well, it's feeling pretty good right about now. I'm 80% done with the 100 Day Project. Funny thing is, this was probably the slowest going batch yet. At this point, I am really looking forward to the art to come after it's done. In fact, I'm already working on some new work based on these sketches from this project. 

Day 71 Take a break

I bought a large and long photograph of campers at the YWCA Girls Camp in 1917. They have the most interesting faces and I thought it would be fun to do a large Sumi ink painting of these ladies. Their expressions range so greatly! Some are smiling, some smirking and others frowning. It makes me wonder what life would have been like for them back in the day... 

Day 72 Only one element of each kind

On the day I drew this one, I realized lately I have been training jiu jitsu, sleeping, eating, reading and painting lately. It's been busy but productive around here. 

Day 73 Discard an axiom

I went with my dad to see Michio Kaku speak a little while back. His talk focused on the topic of "the future." It was pretty mind blowing to hear his vision of the future so I painted this portrait of him.

Day 74 Use an unacceptable color

I have often avoided the color pink because of the princess and girly association it has so I knew that would be my unacceptable color. While sketching with a friend at our neighborhood coffee shop, I decided to draw/paint these geraniums. 

Day 75 Simply a matter of work

I tossed a few unexciting ideas around until I thought of painting a Greek vase with some hard working silhouettes. I was so happy with how this turned out. I think I will be doing more silhouette and vessel paintings.

Day 76 State the problem in words as clearly as possible

I don't quite remember how I exactly came up with this, but it was exciting to me once it hit. I wanted to convey that my head was in the clouds. This painting came out quite naturally, from the hairs around the bun to the complementary orange and blue color scheme. 

Day 77 What are you really thinking about just now? Incorporate

Some friends and I were headed to a cabin for a friend's birthday at the end of the week. My mind was on the mountains and the possibility of seeing snow (which we did). This serene scene reminds of a tiny painting I made a few years ago. 

Day 78 Retrace your steps

I decided to draw my favorite shoes I have had over the years. These classic shoes have been trustily getting me from one place to the next: Salt Water Sandals, Vans, Sperry Top Siders, Bass and Clark's Desert Boots. I really loved how these turned out. 

Day 79 Voice nagging suspicions

As you can see at the top of this image, I decided to compete in my first jiu jitsu tournament. It makes me nervous and excited, but I am so glad I decided to do it!

Day 80 Accretion

You know, the build up of layers over time. I once visited the Oregon Caves, which were at the end of miles of windy road, cold and dark as you would expect.

Well, onto the last 20! 

What Goes On 8/28/15

Admiring

Hyperallergic posted this article on Richard Diebenkorn's sketchbooks. I loved his work when I was in art school and plan on checking out his print show at the De Young Museum soon. I love the simple and raw look of his work. 

Buying

I bought the book Amphibian Love a few months ago through Leah Jay's Indiegogo campaign and it just arrived in the mail. What a great book! She did a beautiful job on the artwork and the writing on each amphibian is informative and concise. A percentage of sales go to the Save the Frogs campaign and it was printed in an environmentally friendly way on recycled paper. 

Arting

I went to the 100 Day Project meet up in SF on Thursday. What a blast meeting all these great people! It was pretty moving to see all these people who have worked so diligently together. Many of us have followed each other online so it was great to meet in person. It was also great to have Elle Luna there interacting with everyone. I want to do it all over again! 

The event took place at DIY, the headquarters for an online global creative community for kids. Kids can learn new skills and even get real patches for their efforts (just like girl and boy scouts). They were great hosts for the event and they even shared kids' 100 Day Project (including the pom-poms above). I was very impressed!

Collecting

What a sweetie! My friend Elissa brought me some treasures back from South Dakota including sage, quartz and slate. It was so thoughtful for her to think of me. I will definitely put these in a special place. 

Listening

I love the podcast Death, Sex & Money. A recent one I checked out was the episode  "In New Orleans: From Raising Hell to Raising Kids." With the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Anna Sale is interviewing a handful of people that experienced it and where they are now. The individuality of these stories is captivating and I suggest you check them out. 

Sketching

SoFA Sketch happened again this week. This time it was a much bigger turn out! It was great to meet new artists and see everyone working. From top left: A new group of artists working, Laura Johnston's portrait of a woman, Sean Patrick Kenney's pencil portrait, my 100 Day sketch of KNTV news reporters Dennis Richmond and Elaine Corral, an unknown artist's portrait sketches and Elissa Nesheim's beautiful landscapes and owl (with my sailboat above). I can't wait for the next one! 

Training

I'm continuing my training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I am somehow feeling a little more comfortable with it, even if it's still really challenging. I have been going about 4-5 days a week and my brain and body feel so much better for it. I will be heading to a competition in Santa Cruz on Saturday to watch teammates compete. Maybe someday I will, but definitely not now. 

Watching

I watched the Tig Notaro documentary, Tig, and was pretty blown away by all the things she has been through. I knew a bit of this comedian's story, but hearing it all in her own words was quite heavy. The second part of the documentary almost felt too personal, like reality TV, but I think a lot of her life has been an open book so she just kept going I guess. Definitely worth a watch. 

100 Day Project: Days 41-50

YES! The halfway point! This project has taught me so much. Now that I have been really sticking to it, I see changes in my work and have ideas for new paintings and other creative projects because of it. 

I am actually quite thrilled with this group of ten. The next 50 should be a breeze, right?!

Day 41 Do something boring

My sister bought me these gorgeous color pencils in Italy a couple of years ago. I finally used them to make #41. I figured a yellow #2 pencil is pretty damn boring and thought of the work by John Baldessari. This is inspired by two different pieces of his. I think it's really great that he had his students write "I will not make any more boring art" again and again. What a great exercise! Makes me think of Bart Simpson at the chalkboard. 

With this piece, I layered color pencil and used the yellow #2 pencil to draw the tip. When I wrote the phrase below, I messed up on the word 'boring' and tried to erase it but my stupid eraser messed it up more. I was frustrated because I wanted it pristine, but then realized I could just run my finger over the whole phrase and blur the graphite. I am loving how with the 100 Day Project I am making mistakes work for me! 

Day 42 Courage!

For this one, I had thought about making an abstract painting since I don't really work that way. I thought about someone on a tightrope or something like that. In the end, I stuck with a classic. I love painting boats. We would often go to harbors when i was a kid and just admire them. My parents were great in that sense. We didn't have to spend tons of money to explore and have fun. I took sailing lessons last year in Redwood City and just loved it. I hope to get back on a boat soon. This painting also felt inspired by people I know who are going through a rough time right now. 

Day 43 Gardening, not architecture

Initially, I pictured painting an apartment building covered in or being taken over by plants (a similar building to Day 3's Tidy up) but remembered this photo I shot of a house in San Jose. These particular plants aren't in front of this house in real life, so this is a mash-up. I wanted the plants to be taking over the house, but I'm not sure I accomplished that. The cacti at the lower left are surrounding the stairs though. I feel like it turned out 'pretty' instead.

Day 44 Once the search is in progress, something will be found

I had actually sketched the skyline and land the evening before when my friend and I were seated at a picnic table overlook. As I worked, a streak of paint accidentally went through the sky. I turned this into a contrail and painted the sunset. All day I wanted to add something to the middle or sitting on the land. Something like a portral. I decided to stop and let it be done. Funny enough, the card the next day spawned a sort of portal-feel...

Day 45 Use filters

I wanted to work with the idea from the day before and create a circle filter over the landscape. I am super happy with how this turned out. It reminded me of the work of Oliver Adams somehow. 

Day 46 Do we need holes?

I brainstormed about plot holes, I played with a hole punch and settled on this: the Sooke Potholes on Vancouver Island, BC. It was one of my favorite ever places to swim. The river has these pools or potholes throughout. 

Day 47 Do the words need changing?

WhIf you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you may know that I spilled Sumi ink all over myself after I stubbed my toe on my coffee table on Monday. Funny enough, this was the idea I had before said incident. I felt like I was right on track with things after having a super productive working weekend. Still, I felt this way after I cleaned up the black ink mess. 

Day 48 Which frame would make this look right?

I got some window frames from a contractor friend. I will be using these for several upcoming projects. The idea here is that the small watercolor needs a picture frame, rather than these large window frames. 

Day 49 Make a sudden, destructive unpredictable action; incorporate

This was an interesting one. I originally intended to make a really beautiful painting and rip it to pieces, but that felt premeditated. I sat at the table at Makeshift Society before my Publishing for Creatives class and brainstormed. I started thinking of fires, explosions and those kinds of destructive things. I was going to paint something on fire with billows of smoke when I looked up at the donut piñata and thought "Oh! I could have it bust open!" So, here it is. I kind of love that it was so spontaneous.

Day 50 Remember  .those quiet evenings

Once in a blue moon. This month, there are two full moons. The first was July 2nd and now tonight. The moon won't be blue in color, but it is a nice occasion that we get two full ones in a month. 

And that's 50!