Self in Thought

I did this with a pen on old sketchbook paper. It's a self-portrait done in a rough sketch. I like it though, because it has interesting shapes.

Guadalupe

This is a rapid sketch I did of the Virgen de Guadalupe.
In art history class, which I ironically failed, we had to sit through many, many versions of the Virgin Mary.
I found a lot of them to be colorful and radiant.
Mine, I feel, is a little more stark. Her features are sharp, angular, pointy. Her shawl is marked with rough lines. That's just what came out of me.

I'm trying to draw something on commission and I'm feeling artist's block. I can't draw what I've already drawn...my mood changes, my life changes, and so does my ability to create art. I'm afraid this person will be unhappy with my artwork, as she has already taken a liking to an older painting I did, and wanted something similar. I am starting to realize how ephemeral the artist's moment of creation is---it comes and just like that it vanishes forever. I can't recapture that moment, that stroke of paint, that image from the past. But maybe I can make something new...something she'll still like.

Beauty Pill

This is a collage I did today from an outdated fashion magazine. Yes, I know, the words are all backwards, but I had to hold it up to my imac to take this photo, so please accept my apologies.

There is a kind of resentment lots of women feel towards modern beauty standards. We put some women up on a stage and expect the others to either conform or get out of our sight. I find this terribly upsetting. I was sort of venting my sadness at not being able to conform. I'll never be Marilyn or any waifish woman, but I can create artwork with next to no money. Does that make me pretty?

Aftermath

I did this for an intermediate drawing class. I used charcoal, charcoal pencil, kohl, white chalk, and red nupastel.

I like this sketch because it looks urban: cluttered, busy, dramatic, and claustrophobic.

My teacher liked it a lot, complimented me, and then asked me to please follow the instructions next time. I forget what the assignment was, probably to use gesture. I always got that: love it, but it's not the assignment.

Next up: some new pieces.

Narcissus' Musings, 2

I haven't created any new art due to a tragic death in my family. However, I feel the need to transform my anguish into something positive so I'll be drawing this week and posting new pieces. It won't be anything fancy, just plain old sketchbook paper, but I'd like to share it with the few people who stop by.

A friend asked me if I was afraid somebody would steal my ideas since I post up my artwork. I replied that even if somebody would do that, the difference is I can keep producing new original art and the copycat can't. Plus, it's kind of an honor to be copied, in an illegal, copy-right infringement kind of way. It means I've done something worth stealing, and that's not easy to achieve.

So my goal for next week, aside from studying for my Arabic 1A and British literature classes, is to create something worth posting.

I like to create art not just because I feel an unstoppable urge to produce art, but also because I can adorn the walls of my room with my own work instead of shelling out hundreds of dollars for a Jackson Pollock print. I can surround myself with beautiful creations without paying lots of money. This is especially good since I'm broke and waiting on next semester to start so I can get my grant money to buy new canvas and yes! real oils!

With This Arm I Draw

This is all plain charcoal, white chalk, and a little dark kohl. I did this about a year ago and it's one of my favorites due to the expressive quality of the line and the chimera-like flower above my extended arm.

I like to think of this as a stark self-portrait, as I am not smiling or posing. I'm actually drawing myself as I draw. I also included a flower in the background whose petals were falling off as I drew them, thus making it rather difficult to catch the whole flower.

I like the stained window motif in the background. It's kind of my wry attempt at chiascuro, an art technique where white and black are placed in juxtaposition.

Narcissus' Musings, 1

Periodically, I might post just writing, as I love to write about art.

I have a book in front of me to inspire me (hasn't kicked in yet) called Mikhail Larionov and the Russian Avant-garde. It is an excellent book detailing the Rayonists of the early 1900's. I just wish it had more color photos, as Rayonists were well-known for making exquisite use of hues. By chance, I stumbled upon "head of a bull" which Larionov did in 1912 (also called "the farm"). It's black and white with rays that strike the head like a halo. These "sun rays" are reflected in the composition of the bull itself through the design of the nose and flared ears.

I did my own head of a bull, called "bull-headed" and this can be found in this blog. Rather than use a background, I just did the head itself, because I didn't want to detract from the bull. Now I see that it might look a little empty, having seen Mikhail Larionov's bull head. I don't know what I can do to make my bull's head have a background. I filled it with so many lines that I'm afraid I might make it look cluttered.

I guess that's the art process of learning as you go. Something finished might look bare and unpolished a year later. It's the curse of the artist, to mature after you've created so much!

Unfinished Portrait

I'm posting this because I am really fond of this wannabe German Expressionist piece I did about a year ago. I used Vine charcoal, white chalk, and kohl.

I'm actually a little afraid to do anything to it. In fact, it was propped up on a board for about a month before I realized I was not going to finish the background. It's just one of those pieces that will haunt me for the rest of my life, as in, how could I have successfully completed a composition? Sometimes you just have to let your art stand, even if it means leaving it alone unfinished. Sigh.

Lightning, Thunder, and Sun

This was all done with crayola oil pastels. My budget doesn't cover those fancy Van Gogh pastels that are for sale at the art supply store, but I think it worked for this image all right.

Sorry that the photo is crooked. I haven't figured out how to crop in picassa yet, plus I'm lazy.

I also used a little bit of yellow splashed poster paint over the top to sort of mimic chaos.

I might have been a little hyper-active when this was created. I'm sure you can tell by the shapes, colors, and overall presentation that I was "up", manic, if you will.

I think the inspiration for me was this moment of pure elation I was feeling---hope for my future. I was also surrounded by friends and I think it comes through. Even though it's "spiky" and "chaotic" there's something exciting and unexpected about it, like lightning in the middle of the day. My favorite bit is the green circles creating a larger curved line with black spikes, outlined in blue and splashed with yellow paint (mid-right).

My Canvas is a Full-Length Mirror

I used poster paint on these full-length mirrors. The front is still a mirror but I painted all over the back. I'm more fond of the red and blue one with the serious black glyphs than I am of the lighter one. I did the red and blue one (on the right) several years ago. Then that mirror broke and my mother went and bought me a new mirror, which I promptly painted all over, much to her dismay.

The one on the right is more serious, more nightmarish than the one on the left, which is sort of dream-like and humble. If you zoom in on the left canvas, towards the bottom where the maroon circle is, I used pelican ink to create light lines.

I consider this to be an expression of Pollock-esque painting. He is one of my favorite painters and I love to imitate him and even when I'm not intentionally imitating him, I wind up with something that reminds me of "Totem" or or another canvas.

Reunion

I did this for an intermediate drawing class at Fresno City College. The assignment was to find an old object and transform it. I had a broken watch that I wanted to use. I decided to imitate Van Gogh, but using only black and white. Then, I wanted to do a Pollock-esque effect with a bottle of pelican ink my professor had handy. I turned the clock into a globe, beneath a starry sky, with time exploding as two figures meet.

I used vine charcoal, white chalk, kohl, pelican ink, and a band-aid.

Dissident

I published this on-line for a local arts community, my.fresnoarts.net.

I used wax crayons, nupastel, and a fine pen to do this piece. It's from one of my sketchbooks. I originally did this for my intermediate figure drawing class. My professor liked it, she even said it was beautiful, but that I didn't quite follow the assignment's instructions. I was supposed to use gesture (an art technique) and I was supposed to use charcoal. Inspiration can be fussy!

Skeleton with collar

This was an assignment I did for intermediate figure drawing class. I used vine charcoal, white chalk, and thick black kohl. This is one of my larger pieces. I used standard Allard's supply drawing paper and I fixated the image.

Self-portrait A

This is a very small self-portrait. As a student, I have very little money, so when I'm pressed for canvas I reach out for whatever is handy. In this case, it was one of my 3 by 5 notecards and a #2 pencil.

Bull-headed

This is a simple fast sketch of a bull's head I did this year. It's on thick sketch paper. It's about 8 inches by 11 inches.

Purpose of this blog

Hi, I'm a college student, artist, and volunteer.
This blog is under construction, so please bear with me.
My name is Maya and I've been featured on my.fresnoarts.net as an up-and-coming artist. My medium is mostly acrylic and poster paint, though I do draw with charcoal. I use mostly canvas, though the drawings are on thick paper.
I intend to upload images of for-sale pieces. 10% of proceeds will go directly to West Care, California, a mental health rehabilitation facility in Fresno, CA, in order to pay for patient supplies such as clay for art therapy and the like. The rest of the proceeds, well, are for me to continue my passion for the arts.
If you would like additional information about this make-shift site, feel free to email with questions or concerns.
At the moment I am working on a college campus computer and I don't have my art flash drive with me, so please, revisit in the next three weeks, as I plan on uploading images of my artwork before the start of March.

Thank you very much for stopping by and I hope to hear from you!
~Maya