Friday, May 27, 2011

Soul Separation

How to motivate an artist - buy new supplies.

This in turn will drive the reorganization of said supplies.

In the midst of the fun and exciting reorganization party, I noticed I have never used the two black and white oil sticks inhabiting the space within my plastic case for the past 6 years. So I peeled them open and began with my second-ever attempt at a self-portrait.

The sticky, smeary substance (near impossible to clean off your hands by the way) leaves bold markings, almost cartoon-like, as I played with chairoscuro highlights and shadow.

This inspired strange thrash metal portraits, contrasting the bright stage lights of a dark venue.

So I have expanded my horizons using new media. It's certainly not my best work, but it is probably the first time I laughed out loud, realizing every project doesn't have to be taken so seriously.

Photo Series Eighteen: Old and New

























Friday, May 13, 2011

Photo Series Seventeen: Blooming Buildings

















Summer Reading Challenge

'Tis the season for my annual reading challenge, and my favorite part of Summer. It's simple - read as many books as you can for the next 3 months. The goal is to beat your previous amount of books read within that duration. My record still reigns at 15.5 from several summers ago. Maybe this will be my triumphant year.

I'd like to kick off this year's challenge with AAUW's 50th annual used book sale. I spent nearly 4 hours rummaging through the wall to wall tables of books...

So buy some cheap books, get pumped, and let the reading commence!!!!

Photo Series Sixteen: Chalk