Just a thought while in studio

More than anything else, surviving as an artist has to do with learning to deal with rejection.

Spring Break

A little tiny post; to find myself before I begin working. 

I said ‘I’m Back’ then didn’t post for a little while. Well. . 

I got back with my girlfriend. 

Spring break has been lots of fun. I’ve pulled four all nighters. Periodically I’ll sleep for twelve hours, then do it again. It works! Wild. 

I’ve got to paint over some stuff. Patching over areas of the painting to reorganize the value schemes has been important. In exchange for a little bit of freshness, you get a successful painting; often worth it, but very hard. Painting is a touch of inspiration and a ton of perspiration, so the adage goes. 

On my list of things to do are sculpt machetes for a few composition ideas. I think I’m getting closer to working from machetes, ever closer. Next weekend I’ll do a workshop with Kyle Staver, a brilliant painter, to sculpt machetes for painting. I hope to do a few trial runs on my own before the workshop, so I can come with practical questions. 

I wanna do paintings of falling dogs, from painters such as Abraham Hondius and Paul de Vos. I’m doing a painting of Rockwell’s Freedom of Speech. I want to do it well, then move on to making interpretive versions like how Ron English did Guernica, or Picasso did the absinth drinker; mostly Ron English though. 

Upon graduation, I plan to send photos of my ASE (graduation show) wall to Sean Landers, Jim Shaw, Peter Saul, that ilk. See if I can’t meet up with them. I just messaged Sean Landers showing him a picture of the (kind of direct) bite I’m working on in my studio. He’s yet to reply. I still like him and his work. That should do it. 

Oh yeah, I’m doing an artist talk when I get back to school on Tuesday, so I’m thinking a lot about that. I have a stop motion video due on Monday. I am in a show that opens on the 25th. And I’m trying to do an installation in the ‘Broad Street Studio’ on the 28th. I want to do a still life setup in the 9th floor still life room too. Little gauntlet ahead; and I’m in a tiny pocket called ‘Spring Break’ looking at it. It’s 10pm, and I’m about to get to work. I slept till 2pm today. So, I’m back. I haven’t had this schedule in about 5 years, but it’s a good one for making work. That said, depression is a distinct possibility, and it’s especially good because I know I’ll be back as a day walker soon enough. Truly, Kemeys. 

Self-Agrandisement

Another day another blog post. I feel pretty good. I slept at school last night and got a phone call waking me up at 6am from someone I suspect from the number works at the school; especially the head of security. Well, I’ll say it again here; paranoia will destroy-ya. I called them back and no answer. More important things are at hand. 

I ran my mouth at the draw-a-thon a bit (I was a mess- or was I in a zen ‘being’ state?) and mentioned I’d do a still life setup for the 9th floor advanced still life class. Scott Noel who teaches it was thrilled, and I was thrilled to make him thrilled. Though I’ve distanced myself from his influence, I do want to do well by and for him. Likewise I was spitballing with Doug Martenson and we bond talking over the manipulative games of curators. So we got to a logical platitude that I should do a show in the Fishbowl gallery in the front of the museum; something like my open call still life idea. The fishbowl is the bottom corner of our contemporary museum. It’s got four glass walls and is trapezoidal with an open ceiling. Architecture influences art; this is no place to hang paintings. Those neo-postmodernists who subvert painting (mannerists?) get shows shows shows. They monopolize the show itineraries, and appropriately name their shows things like “Crosscurrents” (rip tide), and “Make Me a Summary of Us” (we’re in charge now). So I might do a show; an open call for the disenfranchised, and cram it into a space designed for something else, designed for architects and financiers that just want to seem hip, let’s be honest. 

I’m still thinking of the scholarship. I had a tiny funk probably from tiny sleeps, where I thought I was ‘losing it’, like my spirit, but it was not so, just a time of subconscious living. Goethe says we spend most of our time in the subconscious. It feels good to hear someone say it; better yet, Johan Wolfgang. 

I compiled documents for a show last night, a hoop to jump through I thought, but in the end I found it helpful to organize my thoughts. 

Speaking of which, I will give a thesis seminar artist talk on Tuesday after spring break. I live for the artist talk, I’m very excited. I have made many notes. Which directions should I take it? I’m weighing out oversharing, fabricating, biography, topic-centric (the devil in the studio), therapeutic, strong man, life advice, failures, theory speculation, jokes, rules and habits, confessions, weak man, and Christ. 

I’m sculpting a little more than I’m painting, but I’m still a painter.