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Seeing that my last post was such a hit (more than a handful of views), and in conjunction o otherwise falling off, I took a little break from writing. Here’s to trying to get back to it, as I believe it is good for my mental health. 

My eye has been twitching for a week now. I began to sleep more and drink water, and eat potassium and not drink coffee, but it’s to no avail, so now I’m back to doing all the bad things, in exchange hopefully for some product. My practice has been product oriented such that I have not carried a sketchbook for a couple of weeks. I am expressing myself solely into studio works, putting things into practice without rehearsal. As a result, my paintings have been much fresher; I mean, the drawings in the paintings have never been so lucid. I did begin that large painting; about eight feet by five, where i load up a blank canvas with cartoons. It’s going pretty well and ‘liberating’ as one of my critics put it today in a crit. 

Yesterday’s crit with Jan Baltzell went alright. She mentioned that some (I think all) of the paintings were bad, and not good. She encouraged me to keep on with the split studio, one third in drawing, and the other thirds split between painting and sculpture. She also encouraged me to use variation in my marks, my stoke language, which I was happy to hear, as I am reading a little about the brushstrokes of the Japanese ink painters. Not just marks, but overall how the paint is put on. 

Today’s crit with Clint Jukkala also went well. (God, I’m tired). Jukkala asked if maybe I could be applying some things differently. How application becomes symbiotic with the communicative. He mentioned I might be being held back in my painting; and that it’s not uncommon that painters get hung up and slowed to a crawl. For this reason, he speculated maybe sculptors have greater access to good painting, being not mired in its trappings. Clint also gave me a handful of good artists to look at. 

I got into this show, and tonight I have to draw a plan for my installation, and submit the specifics. I’ve also been asked to do a zine for the show. I like both of these propositions, and with my crits under my belt let’s see if I can’t work smarter in order to wrench this thing into shape. Oh god. 

I’ve been a prolific little sculptor. Lots of little sculptures.  

My paintings are not good. They’re not special. I think on one hand my ideas that ‘I’ve put in the work’ have everything to do with the trappings. The idea that my work has ‘become’ good is a mistaken one. Obviously I must pay attention to my inventions, to hear them, and to see them through to what they want to be, on their terms. My paintings are weak I think because I assume they will do the trick, but they need much more attention than that. 

Sleeping in my studio

Things have gone pretty well today. I just have to remember to turn my sock inside out tomorrow when I put them on. Nah, fuck it, I’ll do that now. .. done. One less thing. All I want to report today is I has pretty good success in sketchup. 

I’ve got a crit tomorrow so I’m going to annotate some things I’d like to ask Sarah Peters.. 

Here’s how I had it set up for open studio night. Based on what you’ve seen of my work before, what do you think in terms of this showcase? I feel like I might not have captured many facets by curating like this. I’m such a sporadic artist. Rob Roesch notes that he’s surprised that I meditate. He said ‘I thought you were the one to thrive in the chaos’. I guess I am, but I can get angry without the meditation bookending my days. What’s being a sporadic chaotic artist mean for me in terms of shows? Or career or whatever? What’s the prognosis? 

How could I ro-sham-bo this kind of work into a show?

I’m thinking of wrapping up this semester with ‘my style’ in addition to challenging myself and doing well in coursework. Thoughts?

What might be a good model for me in terms of sales in relation to producing a large volume? Should I go cheap, or sit on drawings? What’s your model? What about your taxes? 

Do you teach? Might grad school be a good idea coming up? Would some or all of these things look good with a frame? How should I present some of these sculptures? In the ASE? On one of these bootleg shelves? 

Read my artist statement and bio? How are they? Look at my website? Look at my video works? 3D models? How did you get into the New York scene? How would I? 

These unfinished ‘finished’ looking paintings- what do you think? Unfinished? What about Paul Theck? 

Tomorrow I would like to claim a size wall for the ASE, and declare what size paintings I anticipate showing. I have to mock up the show in a way. I also could use tomorrow to ship some sold work and write an itinerary for a travel scholarship application. I could also read and watch tutorials for a video class. After class, I could screen print my ordered my larger size shirts. My glass sculptures will come out of the kiln tomorrow. I have to email some people. I broke the 3D printer. I have to formulate a plan for a show submission about scale. I could distribute flyers for submissions for the draw-a-thon forthcoming this weekend. I could batch an advertisement for the Kemmy does PAFA shirt. The event could be a perfect corral for selling the shirt- Maybe I should screen print even more, or a new design. ‘PAFA does Kemmy

‘ 

I could sculpt the mockette for the procession piece and mock it up in the evening. Or afternoon. 

I’d like to build the strainer for the nude model piece in the wood shop. And ask Sarah about doing a big nude. painting. 

Open studio night

Open studios night was on Friday night; last night. I cleaned out my studio, then hung what I thought would work well in relation to other student’s studios. I hung a couple ‘hits’, some newly arrived at works, and a couple dozen sketches; mostly recent. I had my screen printed shirts for sale draped over the back of a type of bentwood chair, and I wore a suit that my dad bought me for Christmas. The night went off well. I played defense mostly, and tried foremost to make people who entered my studio feel welcome. Visitors brought energy, and I got a nice high throughout the night. Some good advice was given. I feel like I have a lot of work to do. 

I have been modeling up some stuff fro 3D printing, and printed four of one design of kind of humps on a plinth; something simple. The idea is a procession of rocklike forms, to be used as a mockette. Thing is, once printed, I’m thinking of painting the objects themselves. I would like to design a project and outsource the painting. I’ve long wanted to outsource. It’s clear that many arts are taken for granted (as they are irrelevant craft) and relegated to hobby. I’m thinking of adult coloring books, and warhammer figurine painting mostly, but now I’m thinking of background painting for traditional animation etc. (largely extinct, but I think of the Korean animation houses from time to time). Point being, if I could get an audience; people that buy everything I make, I could have a good foothold on a large an proficient labor pool, and be a good boss. I would like to be a good boss. For the 3D printing stuff. I’m thinking having the printers running all the time, and mixing the colors for a dark-to-light painting scheme, premixed a la old school Disney cel painters, and again, outsourced. That suit must have had an effect on me. 

Something else I’m thinking of a lot now is style. Something that Alex Katz said in one of him interviews is that style is all that matters. It’s true. Also, I need to love myself, because when someone likes my style, I shouldn’t pretend I’m on my way to somewhere else. I am where I am, and it comes with its influences. 

I ought to do some painting, Brave painting; willing to knock some things out entirely. The work is not worth much. 

landscape class

 Things went better than my mind would allow myself to believe today. I made studies of light out in landscape class. Martenson eluded to a scholarship (or was I projecting?) Martenson also spoke kindly of me, to me, saying I had humility. I’ve been into Alex Katz recently after a friend of mine asked me to name the greatest living painter. I think Katz is that. I was thinking of Alex Katz in Landscape class today. I watched a couple interviews with him. I made a run of screen printed shirts- cyan ink on green tees. The design is of a cartoon of me carrying a stretcher bar canvas support, with text that reads ‘Kemmy does PAFA, c. 2019 A.D.’. I bring up Katz and humility and this shirt because the content potentially incongruent with humility, but Katz argues (not expending much energy, he is efficient) that style is more important than content, and I agree. Some that have seen the shirt say ‘that’s very you’, and I’ve heard before some commentary ‘most Kemeys thing ever’, and often I’ll draw something true to my aesthetic, not for some class or whatever, and so I do think I have a style. Today I junked a graffiti piece I thought was cool. I don’t think my Graffiti got very far into ‘my style’, but at the same time, I think Graffiti is kind of wasteful the way I was doing it often times. When I matured graffiti wise, it was characterized by much smaller and more intimate tags and pieces, not blockbusters etc. 

So I like this Kemmy shirt. I thought $15, but now I’m thinking $12. I probably printed 20. 

Things I am supposed to do: make 3D models to print for 3D print class 

Watch 1-31 demos for premier pro 

Read reading for Moving Images class

Read syllabus for moving images class, to stay on track. 

Bring gouache kit to school. Or watercolor kit. For landscape class. 

Work out a few thumbs from memory of landscapes from Wednesday’s class 

Make flyers, business cards, and advertisements for shirts in photoshop 

Distribute flyers like mad 

Print the larger sizes tonight 

Plan out panoramic under the bench composition of procession of rocks, draw, sculpt, light, paint (long kite)

Build 8 by 58 stretcher. For Lexi. Do small studies for it. Cutout like Katz 

Clean studio 

Bring and scan Henry and hang and gift for open studio. 

Build several small figure armatures 

Get an apple for Friday morning class 

Prepare a sculpture for Friday morning class. 

Bring in Bridgeman

Drum kit has arrived

This morning I went first to the post office after meditating. I was to pick up my 70 pound package which held my drum shells. The package was delayed by about a month, but it was alright. I heaped the package onto my back like a Jewish slave in Egypt and walked it with my head down for a mile home. I almost threw up and felt lightheaded when I got to my porch. Up the stairs, I quickly assembled it and I heard my roommate warming up his guitar next door and invited him to jam. We jammed for about fifteen minutes, and it was good. We were both pretty noodley. I was badly out of practice, but we met somewhere in the middle. 

I went to school and saw a little bit of a talk by artist Leroy Johnson. He was a great artist, you could see it glowing from him. Magnificent. I got a business card and said thanks. In images class we went over tutorials and watched some anti-video conceptual videos. The mfa students shrugged and left class. I heard the next section of the class, which was bfa students, got all riled up. Indeed the undergrads have more fight in them, the mfa students are just punching the clock; in preparation to punch the clock. I walked home from school yesterday and today. I’ve put in some walking miles this week. I ran from school to old city in the snow on Friday night to go to gallery openings. I didn’t paint on the big snake in a chair painting this weekend. The thing is in a dangerous spot. I don’t want to rush it. 

Open studios is this Friday. I have to prepare my studio, and screen print t shirts. I’m going to stick with ‘Kemmy does PAFA’, because it’s not funny if it’s Kemeys- that implies I’m too serious. I mocked up the design with Kemeys and it didn’t look good either. I feel like a Hercules, my back and stomach muscles are tight, and my legs are firm. I got respect at school today, and had a genuine swagger on my long walk home. 

I’ve been listening to a band called Orange Juice; the earlier project of the guy from Momus. I love both bands. Patrick Mickinney who I played in a band with once said to me ‘how cool to have Aloonaluna under your belt, at such a young age. He was right; that band was awesome, and anywhere I would go from there I would keep the quality up. I learned a lot in that band. The Frenchman, Thierry was a great bassist, and felt blessed to be playing with us. He was so good, we were blessed to be playing with him. There was so much mutual respect in that band. 

I worked a little on a bunch of unfinished paintings today. No bad moves, everything worked out. 

On the walk home I thought of this artist statement: “I have to make art. It’s like tearing off a piece of flesh every time”

Also a bio:

Robert Kemeys Goethe’s childhood was spent primarily in Florida, where he did gymnastics, graffiti, and played in bands. He always drew, and made communion with animals. He attended Ringling college of art and Design for two years studying illustration, and now studies painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. 

Break up again

That girlfriend I spoke so highly of a few weeks back is no longer speaking to me. That’s okay. I wrote a letter to her outlining my side of things. Hopefully it helps her along wherever she’s going. My tinder account got banned. I know it’s suspicious to say I didn’t break conduct, but I didn’t. I suspect my ex girlfriend reported me. Looking it up online, it seems that it’s the case that when (especially males) get reported tinder errs on the side of automatically banning. To get my account back, I would have to file a claim, which seems like murky territory and not wroth doing in the very short term. Long term however, what a blow. Outcast from one of the best talk-to-people-of-the-opposite-sex tools. What a shame. 

I called my mom twice this month. My girlfriend would accuse me of my treating her like my mom, and this bummed me out. She’d put up walls when I tried to talk about my thoughts. Men tend not to have anyone. I’m in nowhere land. One thing my mom and I did talk about was my sleeping at school so often. “Do you not like your roommates?”

And no-one had asked me that question, but no. It’s alright, but I get attitude all the time. I live with two couples. Couples bug me because they, after accepting one another, join forces in being shitty together. My four roommates count as two ego teams. They don’t reply when I say hello when I come in after being away for three days. I feel unwelcome and burdensome, even though I wait for the shower, wait for the kitchen, often sweep and do their dishes, and supply amenities such as coffee, soap, and olive oil in bulk which gets annihilated. It won’t be enough because I’m not their shit ego team. 

Some other things. Love is a lie. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said ‘I love because to hate is too difficult’. That’s true enough, but the process whereby to get to love is just that. I don’t buy the love is all there is. Love is giving up. If you’re worried that I’m an advocate for hate, please reread this paragraph with the concept that our inherited language is flawed insofar that it’s dualistic and reflexive. Love and hate are intertwined, in balance. The presence of one is not the absence of the other. 

That’s it. 

alright, one more thing. I think most people want most of all to be told what to do. Myself included, sometimes. I want to know what I’m being told to do, and most often I say ‘fuck you’, but pretty soon I’ll be out of money so we’ll see how that works. I think I will be a good entrepreneur. This week I will make shirts, to try to flip at PAFA’s Open Studio Night this Friday. I’m thinking $15, but part of me thinks $20. I’m thinking $15 for students, and $20 for outsiders. It says ‘Kemmy does PAFA’, but now I’m going to change it to Kemeys because I fucking don’t like Kemmy at the end of the day. When I put it on the screen it didn’t sit right, so I’m going to redesign it to Kemeys. I’ve put some effort into this name, not for nothing. 

Alright now that’s it. Toodles.