new finds

Discovered another painter I like (Portland Oregon's Hal McCartor) and his blog is groovy too. It's interesting to read about his process (as much as I hate the words 'his process.')

I also ran across Julia Kay's site and looks like she's right here in the East Bay - maybe our paths will cross.

Edge case

My art, when will I have time for it when I have to paint, pack move? Will I have to sneak in a doodle here or there, around the edges?

I see the words "my art" that I just typed. I think perhaps that makes no sense, that phrase. What about the creative activity I enjoy can be "mine" in the same way as a teapot? Hmmph.


I have this very cool book called "Drawing From Life - The Journal as Art" in which one of my favorite journals is this very dense pen and ink work a guy did every day on his subway ride in NYC.

I had a couple of reactions to this:

a - why can't I have a subway ride? if only I had a subway ride, I would be fulfilled happy artist with a cool journal

b - if that guy can do such cool artwork on the 'fringe' of his day, surely there is something I can find to do, some edge or fringe that I am overlooking.

I have been trying to remember to bring my sketchbook whenever I am going to be sitting around the dog park. Part of me thinks - who am I kidding, these dogs keep moving too much and I'll never get any fruitful sketching done this way. But I gave it a shot anyhow, because what can it hurt, and when I looked at the page the next day, I thought it was pretty cool. Worth doing.

Part of my challenge is to be braver about drawing stuff when I'm in public and people can see me. I get so shy about it and I also worry that people will get upset if I am making them my subject.

low art / high art

I have spent so much time being delighted with myself for knowing tacky from tasteful, kitschy from edgy, and am lately just finding it all kind of pointless and a bit mean-spirited and superior.

Lo and behold, I ran across Jon Carroll's column today and it fit in perfectly with that theme. Just brilliant, that man.

Do I sense a trend back toward sincerity and enthusiasm? Let me be among the first!

This afternoon at work, a gaggle of folks noticed big flames and smoke coming from a nearby building and we heard lots of sirens and then helicopters too. Shortly after that, we got an email from our IT guy:

Subject line: Please stop watching the live feed of the fire

Body: Unless you are using the proxy server, please stop watching the video of the fire so we don't keep spiking the T1.

Just go to the QA room and watch it live it you really gotta watch it.

Thank you

-Robin

Vegan semi truck?

Driving south on 1-80 this morning on my way to work, I thought I was seeing a big semi truck announcing that it had gone on a VEGAN diet, but when I got closer, I realized that the words marked out in bits of tape on the back of the container were "GOT HITCHED IN VEGAS 7/31". Excellent.

And then the Foo Fighters came on the radio. KFOG.

Making 3 nice new entries to the gratitude list and it's not even 9 a.m.