NOT YOU

ALAS!

A little background of how/why this specific idea came about (for the kids, you know). . . Over a year ago I painted a self portrait in school. It was really symbolic of everything going on in my life at the time. Hearts ripped out, lost salvation, broken mind and body, things like that. (Side note: I got a 17.5/20 on it. haha). It was something I painted to remember what has happened and who it made me. What I didn't expect was to move on. Ever, actually! So I decided, not only to paint a new one, but to paint it on top of the old one. It was hard at first but then it was kind of liberating! (It still has 17.5 written on the back!) Check out the emancipation (minus the lame pix of me looking giddy):


So the show was pretty cool, too. Really, really, REALLY crowded, but cool. Its all good. Better have a ton of people than none, right? I dunno. Whateva.
So, thanx to Evan, I enjoyed a nice cold. . . coke and he and I admired the art together for a while. Chris was outiside (in the POURING rain) moving the car to a better spot for when we were ready to leave and he was showing O, Lys, D, and Mo in (he's great, I know)

Check out (far left) Cora, (to her right) Evan, (and almost all the way to the right) and me represent. Pretty awesome, I know...


And (when he my bay finally came inside), he was there with me showing his support. I was feeling a lil reluctant to go at first (b/c of some attendance issues :( ) but he got me motivated and I think we both enjoyed it


And a few other pictures from the show. . .

















That's it!

:)

A bit of thanx to Travis Smith (who put the show together), my bay (who is one of the main reasons my portrait is soo happy), Kim, Lys, Shaunte, Monique, Cora (of course she'd be there anyway), Suberina, Meliscia, Laurie (for being amazing women and coming to support an artist tryin to make it), Marcel (for coming while the playoffs were on. Yeah, I noticed), Orin, Demitri, Morris, Evan (again, of course), and my POPS (for being supportive men and showing love). I really am blessed to have ni-- friends and family like you ;-)

first item of the year...

My first show post-graduation from the Art Institute of Atlanta. I need to stay active. Working full time at HSPS could easliy wreck my creative mo-jo (working 7:30-6 everyday is haaard). What better way to stay active then to give yourself a show deadline. Its a group show starting this Saturday night at the MINT Gallery and will be running for 3 weeks. BE THERESooo... after many days of procrastination (and that includes sketches after balled-up sketches, gesso layers on top of under-paintings on top of finished paintings and many glasses of wine later) I finally started working on the painting as you'll know it. Here are a couple of progress pix...


I'm adding a little more to the background and a couple of tweaking I'm about to do to the face but overall this is it. Expect to see the final piece in my next blog: NOT YOU