if anyone has ever had this problem before and has found a solution, please let me know. i’d even updated my WP files but that didn’t seem to help.

much appreciated.

if you’re on facebook, please add me for updates there: FACEBOOK PAGE.

i’m doing Artopia this weekend at winter street studios;
i also have some work at Gallery ChimMaya in l.a. for their big winter sale;
Amor Eterno is just around the corner at the Continental Club Houston;
Once again, participating in El Corazon exhibition at Dallas Bath House Cultural Center;
and you can find my work at Betz Gallery on W. Gray in Houston.

cheers.

here’s to 2010.

my work is on the right. the beautiful iconic judith on the left is by none other than my personal art hero, George Yepes. never in a million years would i have ever dreamed that possible. thank you, steven, for inviting me to participate in this wonderful collection. it was truly a dream come true, and i look forward to seeing ChimMaya in person one day soon.

again, many thanks to kimmy and teo for all their support and love. here is a video of one of the gallery rooms. if you have a chance and you’re in the area, check out this place, it’s AMAZING, as kimmy says.

a sweet girl named Dana, a fine assemblage artist in her own right, recently bought one of assemblage pieces, “I Renounce Thee, Eros“. she sent me photos of what she calls her “Monster Corner”, wherein she has displayed her beautiful work along with other artists she has collected:

[click on thumbnails for larger view]

how delightful!! i love how they all flow, and in her words, “is dedicated to the raging villager with a pitchfork in all of us.”

the piece on the far left with the soldiers is hers, you can see more of her work here. the mary magdalene is by Ravenwolf on etsy. the pitchfork wall hanger is by thelovelys on etsy. and the frankenstein painting is by Jennifer Balkan of austin, texas.

there’s something quite magical about collecting handmade crafts and art. and this is a wonderful example of personalizing one’s space. i just adore this. thanks, dana!!

all the “rough spots” you see are from the underpainting. the smoothness of the new layer is what you see over it and against the skin in some parts. this is how i work … layers and layers of translucency. it’s slow going, but very satisfying, and i love how the depth in this piece is becoming more evident.

my palette [with hues i'm using in several recent pieces]:

my “detail” brushes [the one on the right is the "applicator" and the one on the left is the "dry brush"]

these are size “3/0″. typically, when i buy a new brush i’m able to use it for about 24 hours worth of work [with constant cleaning in between] before they began to fray. then they get rotated into the “dry brush” category. dry brush, which is not necessarily “dry”, is the brush i use to “pull” and “blend” the fine detail lines. sometimes i use liquin to help give it a better pull if it’s too dry. [i don't use linseed oil, i don't have the patience]. sometimes the paint itself [depending on the brand] leaves traces of linseed oil on my palette [as evidenced by all that blown out red on my palette above] and i’m able to use traces of it.

—————-
Now playing: Boards of Canada – Into the Rainbow Vein
via FoxyTunes

a year ago yesterday, we laid molly to rest.
she’s in our hearts and thoughts … always.

i miss you, baby girl.

“Your Long Journey”

God’s given us years of happiness here
Now we must part
And as the angels come and call for you
The pains of grief tug at my heart

Oh my darling
My darling
My heart breaks as you take your long journey

Oh the days will be empty
The nights so long without you my love
And when god calls for you I’m left alone
But we will meet in heaven above

Oh my darling
My darling
My heart breaks as you take your long journey

Fond memories I’ll keep of happy ways
That on earth we trod
And when I come we will walk hand in hand
As one in heaven in the family of god

Oh my darling
My darling
My heart breaks as you take your long journey

i doubt i can explain it as eloquently [or liquidy] as t-rex, but i’ll try.

person A is driving in car A at the speed of sound. person B is driving behind person A at the same speed. person A sticks his head out the window and yells something. will person B encounter the soundwaves BEFORE the physical point of yelling, or will he encounter them AT the point of yelling.

or does person C [i.e. me] have it all wrong and should just leave science to person D [i.e. someone much smarterer].

tim put it there before he left to work.

that? that’s love.

i called lizbeth when i was about 71 miles outside of dallas to see if they had arrived … they were 50 miles BEHIND me. lol! i guess i was making good time. at any rate, i showed up to the hotel and they arrived soon thereafter. we had a lovely room at the sheraton, which seems to be undergoing some remodelling. what a view! it was spectacular 31 floors up. we had a little time to get ready before dashing out the door and getting to the bath house cultural center. and by little time, i mean we were an hour late. [my apologies if i missed anyone who came to the opening].

what an opening. so much wonderful work and so so many people. i got to see Billy and Bettie Bucher again, as it had been almost a year since i had last seen them [on pick up day]. and it was so so nice to see Jose Vargas once again, he really knocked it out of the park with curating it all and making it all look flawless. [thanks, jose]. and thank you, enrique, it was so wonderful to have met you. i look forward to working with you soon

the work was awesome and the girls were radiant. it was so nice to be showing with lizbeth and stephanie again.

i met several artists who were also in the show that night. joe zarate sarate, whose powerfully large assemblage piece was used for the mailouts [drat for me not picking up any for my scrapbook!]; juan valdez whose marvelous assemblage sculpture floored me when he explained what it was made of. good art conceals … and that it did. wow. john morrison, who wasn’t in the show, but i enjoyed speaking to about his silversmithing [he does great work, by the way, crossing cultures, which i love.]

we stayed well past closing time, getting to spend some time with jose and talk about art and dallas and the evolution of El Corazon [this was the 15th annual event]. soon, though, we were making ready to leave. we decided to hit Deep Ellum, a hot art spot near downtown. we found parking along one of the brick paved roads and marvelled at all the quirky buildings and hot spots … which sadly had all seemed to be closed. i’d never been to deep ellum, but the girls had, and they all lamented at how dead it was. we were starving at this point [i hadn't eaten anything all day except some fruit at the show, and i was beginning to feel it] we went into cafe brazil but left after the service was crappy [at least they told us in advance that it would be a while till we were served.]. we walked further down the street, passing up closed restaurant after closed restaurant, until we found a sweet little sushi place. yum.

after eating, we headed back to the hotel for a proper celebration, complete with champagne and libations. after a proper toast and group photo with timer, we all settled in … and promptly began to feel the effects of a long day. one by one, we all nodded off. lol! not even “the history of sex” on the history channel could keep us awake.

the next morning, we took a walk down to the museum of art. what a great experience, we were all so inspired. many photos were taken [that we were allowed to take ... and some that we were NOT allowed to take, but took anyway]. in one hall there was an interactive area complete with a table and some chairs and writing utensils. the girls were really excited and began to put their skills to work. i sat in a corrugated cardboard chair that had been recycled [and i wanted to take home, it was so comfortable] and just snapped photos instead. they found an area where they could hang their work up … and i pointed out the large sign on the wall … and we all cracked up over it.

after a rousing viewing of wonderful works of art, we all agreed that food was in order, so we ate at the cafe there, enjoying one another’s company and the memories we created that weekend.

thanks, ladies, for wonderful weekend. i hope we do it again.

[all the photos from our trip can be found here]

. . . . . . . . . . . .

i ordered this recently. it was dug up from the ground near a german toy factory. i’m going to see if i can cast a mold from it, so i can make resin duplicates to use in my assemblage pieces.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

totally unrelated, but cute:

the services were beautiful. full of laughter, smiles and a few tears … just like barnich.

dallas went by far too quickly. the show was wonderful [we were late]. i sold “icarus” and we went to the art museum today. we tried to celebrate but were so tired we fell asleep half inebriated in big luscious beds watching the history channel.

i’ve got around 400 photos i need to edit. not really looking forward to it.

sorry if i missed anyone at the show. thanks for all the well wishes.

and for all the condelences in the last week.

i feel like i need to power down. i’ve taken monday off from work just in case.

my favorite line from the services:

have a spiffy eternity

i took my mind off things by working on something for my pal ira of starhead. i would love to make their cd release party on the 22nd, and depending when the pick up day is for art in dallas, i might be able to swing it. *crosses fingers*

also … my dear friend underwent her first chemo treatment yesterday and i’m waiting with baited breath to hear how things went. i don’t want to disturb her if she’s resting. as it is, i wasn’t thinking clearly after the bombshell on tuesday and phoned her … while she napped. urgh. i’m such a doof. sorry, girly. you probably won’t see this until you’re feeling better, but you’re on my mind and i hope things fared well. been thinking of you.

saturday is a go. i’ve taken off monday from work because i know everything is going to come down on me after the fact. i wouldn’t be surprised if that cold i’ve avoided all last year will finally kick me in the buttocks. the timing would really suck, too, as i’ve been invited to participate in another show in dallas at the bath house. this one is called “Natura Fragilis” and it is strictly assemblage art. i find it incredible that less than a year ago i took this up, through the divine inspiration of my favorite assemblage artists, michael demeng, and here i am …

it’s a trip.

my jpb, my mentor, my love

answering phone:
me: “law office”
jpb: “no it isn’t.”

that’s the way our conversations start. i told him i’d been thinking about him, that i called him a while back, asked how he’d been. [he has many health issues]. he tells me a week and a half ago he went to the e.r. and for the first time in his life was “coded”.

me: “coated? like sugar coated?”
jpb: *laughs* “no. coded. like dead.”
me: “oh my god!”
jpb: “that’s what i said.”

he goes on about how he got there to begin with:

jpb: “when they asked me what was my religion, i said ‘old time’.”
me: *laughs*
jpb: “a rabbi showed up later.”
me: *laughs harder*

the man has a way of making light of situations. i admire his strength, his sense of humor, but it’s beyond that. and the story is much more complex than i care to get into. i’ve spent many years offering advice and then realizing it’s not advice he’s after, just someone to listen. and i always enjoy listening to him. he’s going to be leaving for a bit of a family reunion next week and we’ll be getting together after his return. i told him that i had something special for him, something that upon seeing it, immediately thought of him. [this is the guy that has a stuffed deer's head whose nose has been replaced with a red bulb ... and he puts it up every christmas].

[i had to take a call during our conversation]:

me: “okay. i’m back.”
jpb: “that’s what i said then, too.”

i’ll be looking forward to our get together, or as he says “we’ll kill something and eat it.” i miss him. i miss working with him. i even miss the insectual harrassment. i … hate to think about anything else that makes me sad about the future. i think he’d want it that way, too. enjoy the moment, crappy dime and all that jazz.

jpb: “i’ll call you when i’m back in town from my trip.”
me: “i’m looking forward to it.”
jpb: “you have a blessed day, that’s what i hear a lot these days.”
me: “yeah, me too.”
jpb: “and i tell them i’ll have any goddamned kind of day i want.”
me: “hahahah! shalom.”

. . . . . . . . . . . .

i found the photos upon his initial swearing in: