Teaching Day. February 2, 2012

 

Criteria for Demonstration:  


Held at Butterfly Beach along Channel Drive across from the Four Seasons Biltmore Hotel, the lecture began with a thumbnail sketch, then articulating the process and importance of designing the composition; like creating a road map for the sub conscious.

Using a warm and cool of each primary color and white,  advancing the colorist theory achieving vibration through the juxtaposition of warm and cool colors.  Creating the entire painting on the palette first, then laying then blending masses together on palette for the purpose of achieving color harmony.   

Along the way, editing patterns; simplifying, then weaving the masses together like tapestries and holding to the principle of using one brush stroke instead of 50.  I'm thinking, "poetry, not prose," and applying the paint as briskly as possible in order to capture the light before it changes.  

One must paint as if their house is burning down.

Searching for Sponge Bob: L.A. Art Expo February 1, 2012

What can you do with a bunch of Green Boas? Hang'em from the ceiling, and have giant plastic jello molds, each with fans inside blowing their lids making the boas shimmer and undulate...  Wow, this concept was most certainly anti C L A M actic!!
It did provide comfort for those suffering from aqua phobia...no need for anyone to ever swim, scuba dive or snorkel again; they can experience the magic of the undersea world right on dry land!  


I looked for Sponge Bob, but I guess he'd run away with Patrick.  Someone had last seen them chasing Damian Hirst's static butterfly decorations.

Pearls of Wisdom from a Monkey's Uncle January 31, 2012:

As if the Second Thursday Art Event in Los Angeles wasn't edgy enough, I attended the L.A. Art Expo a few days later. 

At the Expo my first introduction to 21st Century Conceptual Art was this particular installation; designed to evoke some kind of  primal instinct in the viewer; it was about multi-dimension, time collapsing on itself, all roads lead to Rome in this moment of NOW, esoteric kinda thinking.


It reminded me of the Ape(s) coming across the big black bar in  Stanley Kubrick's "2001 A Space Odyssey", (root word ODD). However, in this case the primate comes face to face with the  conceptual Pearl of Wisdom axiom. Here, the monkey is frozen in time with a funny look on his face; are we to assume this died of fright? Or maybe it died at the instant revelation of ecstatic enlightenment, or maybe of after merely witnessing the enormous size of the pearl! (I might have died if I discovered a pearl this size). Maybe it's about witnessing a moment of transformation? Who knows. The artist wasn't there to answer any questions.

Whatever,   in any case, it's nice to know taxidermy is still available for stuffing family pets; or, to put it in a politically correct manner, "Preserving" them for art installations.




Alas, Shakespeare had it right:  there  is "nothing new under the sun", and at least from my perspective, at the 2012 L.A. Art Expo, this held true, and I don't care to doddle around this Monkey Business any longer.



In 10 Days My Blog will be moved to my website: www.thomasvanstein.net 

The Postman Always Rings Twice: Teaching Day January 28, 2012

Old Barnsdall Oil Co. Gas Depot, on Hollister, near Santa Barbara

Every now and then things fall into place. Wednesday's class location was changed at the last minute due to unforeseen  circumstances. (Construction Equipment)


Instead I opted to relocate the class down the lane near Ellwood, to paint this historic icon which is behind a fence, and slowly decaying.  Still, it was there for us to paint it's portrait.

Light and Shadow in Art, on location Jan. 25, 2012

I only know this building was used as a film location for the movie, "The Postman Always Rings Twice", starring Jack Nickolson. Then one of my students in class told me he use to work there pumping gas. (a long long time ago).


Another student then sent me this image of the gas station, taken not long after it was built. (Thanks Bill)
Now we can only hope to make each brush strokes count, as we paint away each moment; imagining the ghosts of the past...and it all comes together.

The postman always rings twice, because if we don't answer the first ring, we may be out painting. 


In two weeks I will be running this blog through my website:  www.thomasvanstein.net 

Chase Banksy on Fire January 27, 2012

Chase Bank in Flames by Alex Schaefer, seen on the cover of Artillery Magazine

During the L.A. Art Walk, I  got a chance to view a different  type of Street Art.

Stumbling into the Hive Gallery in Los Angeles turned out to be a surreal ordeal. Artists to the left, to the right, then to the left again...busy creating like bees. I bumped into this bearded bee wearing a hat. I took a look at his paintings; one depicting a Chase Bank of Fire. I remembered hearing about Alex last fall; that he was being investigated by the L.A.P.D. for projecting the Chase Bank on Fire. 

The Vincent Van Gogh look-a-like, plein air painter, Alex Schaefer,

Alex Schaefer Maulsticking it to the Bank

was a humble man with a sense of ironic humor and fiery personality...and this was the story he told:
 
His paintings depicting Banks on fire were, “was intended to be a visual metaphor for the havoc that banking practices have caused to the economy.”  The prompted a police investigation.  

He told me that somebody had called the police on him, and said they felt threatened by his painting. The police questioned him, and were curious as to find out his intention. They asked if he was a terrorist and if he was I going to follow through and do to the bank what was depicted in his painting(s). They even came to his house. Since this confrontation, his paintings have gone up in value.

I was interested in his process, and as he got going on his rant, he was more passionate about the social commentary depicted in his paintings, than the actual process of painting. His meek appearance disappeared and he became inflamed and wild eyed...spitting fire at the as he expressed his hatred for the capitalist system, hoping in some way his paintings would be instrumental in "bringing this whole system down!"


I was so inspired by his passion that I wanted to buy his painting right there on the spot. Alex was now a discovered street artist, like Guerilla Artists, Shepard Fairey, JR, and Marco.  However, being I was a stranger in a strange land I didn't have the cash on hand, and there was no ATM Machine nearby, I went on a search. When I eventually found one, it had been vandalized (ahem, Gratified)  so I  couldn't get MY MONEY OUT!! 


Inscribed on the ATM Screen was, "We are the 99%!"

So, I guess I wasn't meant to collect this street artist's work at this time.  Hopefully I will be able to do this soon before all banks are burned to the ground, and along with them all my money they keep inside. 

Night Fall, L.A. Art Walk January 26, 2012

Had a strange surreal dream regarding a moon goddess.

Nightfalls in L.A. and the quirky come out. It was edgy, abrasive,  outrageously outlandish. Most of the art was expressing the morbid, morose, horrific. It made me realize the artwork produced in the bubble of Santa Barbara, is relatively tame.

The  Artwalk was  near the downtown financial district. 

It was fun; looking up seven floors to see these glowing hearts in a window.

The night evolved... 

L.A. Art Walk, the Bradbury Building

Walking into the Bradbury Building was like strolling into a time warp. There are few atriums in the world which compare to this masterpiece. Completed in 1893, it has become an icon 19th Century Victorian Era Aesthetic with it's wrought-iron banisters and railings. It's perfect for Movie Making...

In fact, It recently appeared in the Sherlock Holmes movie, "A Game of Shadows". It's well worth the trip inside, even if the security won't let you past the first floor landing.

No matter though, there was more to see on the Art Walk. When leaving the building, I caught the image of Charlie Chaplin out of the corner of my eye.








In two weeks this blog will change to the location of my web site: www.thomasvanstein.net