oh please LIKE ME! (and other social crap)

I think, that when all my social media sites are properly in sync it'll be a happy happy day. I'll be taking part in some shows later this year, and I'm planning on doing some traveling around (more on that later). So I figure it behooves me to make all my ducks be in little rows. I admit I do like the Facebook, but I don't want to publicly broadcast the conversations that I have between friends (who cares right?). So, I made a Fan Page. If you'd like quick posts, seeing my art in progress & new finished stuff, or interesting art related things, go ahead and like my page (you can also just click the 'like' button on the right). I promise only interesting things, and not to spam the newsfeed. I'm working to link it up with this blog and the sketch blog I have, so you should, in theory, be able to get all your updates there. I also have it synced to Twitter, so if you use that you can just get all your updates from there.

So yea, all terribly exciting eh?

So here's Thelonious Monk, Nice Work If You Can Get It.

Post Roanoke and whatever!

Soooooooyeah! I got busy and neglected posting. It's winter, I'm busy, don't make me spork you. Anywho, last weekend I went down to the Marginal Arts Festival in Roanoke Virginia. Super Great Time! I didn't have any work showing there... but I did get a chance to take part in a few performances, one with Warren C. Fry that you can see here (yeah I gotta project more) and another with the Be Blank Consort, where we read several avant garde poems. The rest may go online at some point (I don't have video or they would be by now). I did shoot some other stuff at the festival, check out my youtube channel to see what if you're so inclined (0r if photos are more your style you can check out my album of the event). I still have a few other things to load, which I will do eventually. Stuff I think you should see are these:

The first video is some stuff I shot and put together of festival overall... lots of stuff I didn't personally record though.


This performance by Zierle Carter was very interesting and many were moved by it. These folks were flown in from Europe just to perform here, and they did several 'acts' as it were. They are also super-awesome inspiring folk with lots of interesting ideas, I'm glad I got a chance to meet them.


There is this bit of silly, during the Marginal Arts Festival Parade, Piano Activities by Philip Corner (1962) was re-enacted.

Above are some photos I took of a side performance by Zierle Carter.

So yeah, lots of fun and it's given me lots of food for thought as well. I got to thank Sue & Jim Leftwich who gave my friend Bela Grimm and I a place to stay during the event, John M. Bennett for giving me a chance to perform with the Be Blank Consort, and everyone who participated! I don't know if I can be called a 'marginal artist' per-se, but I'm definitely influenced by it.

tumble

Contain your excitement, the tumblr sketch blog is up. Fun trivia about me, I (or rather, my mom) have been keeping sketchbooks as far back as when I was eight. Not a one tossed, only time I lose one is accidentally (hey room service people in Chicago, I hope you enjoyed that!). What they mostly contain is metal vomit, observational drawings from cafes or wherever I'm at, and notes about whatever I want to look into later. Also of course are rough ideas for finished paintings, and the line work for digital prints. I want to post about once a day, but right before I set to do this my scanner decided to have some software issues and doesn't want to scan anymore. Honestly all my equipment needs upgraded, which will only happen when it needs to happen... and will probably happen soon if this laptop will stop being a bastard.

All this random joy can be seen at http://saraadrian.tumblr.com/

And also, I'll be going to Virginia for the Roanoke Marginal Arts Festival which runs March 3-8. I'll be taking a crack at performance art in the parade on Saturday, and causing general mischief. If you're in the area, come on out. The event happens in various places all over the city so check the website or Facebook for details. If you want to find me I'll most likely be with the Pos-Neoabsurdists.

& I don't feel like posting music today, so you get this instead. Later!

Cloud Cover

Right on new years I got a horrible plague that set me down for a while. Then life got busy, and with the weather as cold as it is I've been feeling a strong desire to go inside and not, well, basically be more selfish with my time. It's necessary, time to start new work, which means telling the world to fuck off. I mean that in the nicest way possible of course. I love my friends and there's a litany of people I want to see more, but if I do that, then I'm not making work. My energy is finite. This is by the way one of the reasons why it's rough dating artists, or anyone with a drive/passion that isn't their primary partner. Sometimes (well, oftentimes) we have to put the work first. If we don't we can't be who we are...

So anyway, last month or so I've been prepping panels. These are pine plywood panels that are about a quarter of an inch thick. They have been treated to prevent insect damage, and primed with a high grade gesso, and then left to hang out for a while. The cracking was unexpected but rather desired. I want the wood to show through, I want the viewer to know the materials they are looking at.

When I go to make a painting, I have an idea of course, but it always changes. I will do some sketches, to decide the general composition however I always change it when I lay out the underdrawing. You can see on the right one of those sketches (by the way, click the images to zoom in). I don't use models, what I do is I'll go make reference sketches, take photographs, and look at photographs online of people/things/situations that contain what I want. When the drawing is done I don't use any one person as reference, the people in these drawings don't exist. I may borrow a nose, shape of the eye, or something, but I always change it. I will also use myself as reference also, sometimes (rarely) I may as a friend to help, but with the type of drawing I do and my years of studying human anatomy it's rarely necessary. Most of what I do is observe, internalize, and regurgitate.

So the image on the left is on an 18 x 24 panel (which is what most of my paintings will be for a while, I had a bunch cut to that size). Right now it's winter, and while many complain about the grey Ohio winters, I rather like the clouds, and how they change. So hence the color palate is going to be largely greys, purples, blues, greens, blacks, with highlights of gold with this one. The background's palate will be cooler than the figure in front (from a color standpoint). I'll be painting this largely in acrylic, and may switch to oils later if I am so motivated. What's it about? Well you'll have to decide that for yourself. Of course I have something in mind but in the end it's not what I say but what the viewer gets out of it. I may make a video of the process if I get off my ass and get a tripod. That's something I want to do... When I started my youtube channel it was supposed to be more artwork, but I do like to document, so there's lots of stuff on there from when I go camping, and that's ok. It is time though I show more about my process, especially since now I can edit videos again (that's largely why I haven't made any art related videos of my own work in a while).

So yeah, aside from the work I am planning out my year. Odds are good I'll be going west for a visit that I've been meaning to take for many years. I'm also looking into vending again, which is something that I want to do but kind of intimidates me. I like stability, and vending full time at fairs and festivals would mean quitting my day job. For a time I'd be flying blind, and that makes me nervous. I have already done a lot of research on taxes, I'm on several mailing lists, and I've worked for and assisted with people who have done this for a living... it's a plunge though, and I don't want to mess it up. The idea of traveling during the summer and painting full time is too rich to pass up, and I think my more conventional paintings and prints would do well.

Soooooooooooo anyway. Workworkwork, time to get back to it!

For music we're going back a few. Here's Simply Red, Holding Back the Years.