One Artist's Journey

I haven’t painted for ages, it seems. I think what happened is I painted something I didn’t like and got stuck. I couldn’t figure out how to fix it, but it was very boring, even though I really liked the photo it came from.

then Christmas preparations came and I have been soooo busy.

I finally got a big sheet of Masonite and today I got around to cutting the panes. I cut 27 11 x 14 panesl from one 4′ x 8′ sheet. I am very happy with that because I have 30 paintings left to do and 10 days to do them in. I am really going to have to hustle to get them done.

I am going to sprint to the end and I really hope I make it. I never take a challenge lightly and I mean to finish this one!

Shaun Ellsworth (Me) and Abigail Herrly as "Sun" and "Moon" in Iona Dance Theater's first production of "Worshiping Sun"

Hey, I thought you might find this interesting. When I was in school in Hawaii, I was part of the IONA Contemporary Dance Theater. Then it was called “Iona Pear.”

It was so much fun. The choreographer, Cheryl Flaharty, held classes at a local church. * calasses for $80 or something like that. I had seen a performance, “Mythology of Angels” and was totally addicted. It was like nothing I had ever seen before.

When I heard about the classes, I decided to go. I had to take the bus an hour and a half to get there, but it was worth it. I loved the class, even though it was really hard. The dance form is based on Japanese butoh, a meditative “anti-dance,” with Cheryl’s special twist.

After taking the classes, Cheryl asked me to take part in a fund raiser, (I think). then I worked back stage, then I had a little part, then I was asked to be the “Sun” and a dancer in the first “Worshiping Sun” performance.

Well, last night, I was poking around on the internet and found IONA’s web page. There is a picture of me (above) playing “Sun” with the moon, Abigail Herrly in the “Early Years” section.

They are based in Hawaii, but come to the West Coast. If you ever have a chance to see them, you must. You will never look at performance art the same way again. It is unbelievable. Love you IONA Dance Theater!

Check them out at: http://www.iona360.com/

Castles in my Mind - 18" x 14" - Acrylic and graphite on Masonite - $500

I am really trying to loosen up to be able to create pure stream-of-consciousness abstracts. I started out doing this one, drawing lines and shapes as they came into my mind. I erased some lines and added more and before I knew it, I had come up with this castle. Why are my free flow drawings turning into castles? Any psychoanalysts out there? It might be interesting to look into.

I am reading a book about Modigliani right now and it focuses on the neurosis and mental instabilities of Modigliani and some of his contemporaries. When I die, will people look into my art to decide who I was and whether I was mentally unstable or not. I am sure there is something to it, but some of it is a bit of a stretch.

Me with one of the "dwellings" paintings I submitted to the "Off the Wall" show in Riverside

Tonight I went to the “Off the wall” Artist reception/show in Riverside. The art filled two galleries, pretty much from floor to ceiling… well, at least 10 feet high. It was really interesting. Some of it was fabulous, but some of it was not. Enough said about that.

Two of my friends, Richard Manookin and Serena Potter, exhibited their art too. It was fun to see their work. I didn’t see them, though.

My beautiful wife, Christina, was kind enough to accompany me, so it was a mini-date night.

Three of my paintings are hung on this wall. Can you spot them?

After the show we walked outside to the car and there was a band playing in front of a local church. It was fun to stand and listen to them for a little while.

It reminded me of living in Honolulu, where on the weekends, you could wander the streets and hear bands and see performances here and there. I miss that part of living in a large town that supports the arts. I love the mountain town I live in, don’t get me wrong, but large, thriving cities have a lot to offer.

Me teaching my first art class in a school

Today I taught an art class in my 2nd grader’s class. I had spoken with his teacher during our parent/teacher conference. I mentioned that I was an artist and could teach a class. She took me up on the offer and today I taught my first real school art class.

I did the second exercise in Steve Aimone’s “Expressive Drawing” book. We did some automatic drawing with a little “veiling.” the kids did a great job and I think I blew it when I said “OK kids you have 2 minutes left…” because they just started whiting over everything and scribbling over everything they had just done. There were a few really nice pieces.

I told them their parents just might not understand what they were doing because it wasn’t really a picture of something. So they should just tell their parents it is “Expressive drawing.”

One little girl was crying because she scratched her paper and the teacher wouldn’t let her get a new one. I asked her how she felt and then told her to draw how she felt on the paper. She started scribbling within the lines she had just drawn and it looked really cool.

One boy's "Expressive Drawing. I like the use of color to add a focal point to the drawing.

I will have to try this again if the teacher will have me back!

The Mission Inn in Riverside. Photo courtesy www.simplycreate.files.wordpress.com

PAINTINGS COMPLETED TODAY: 0
PAINTINGS COMPLETED TO DATE: 38

After a week off, I am back to work. I am excited to paint. But of course, I spent the morning online paying bills and looking for local art organizations.

I am on to step 2 of my master plan. I have built a small body of work over the past several weeks and now it is time to tell people about what I am doing. I plan to write press releases and join organizations for artists.

We have a local artists group, the “Mountain Artists Network” that I will probably join, mainly to support the local art scene. There are several artists that are listed on their site that I think it would be beneficial to get to know. Like minded artists anywhere are an asset.
http://www.mountainartsnetwork.org/

Then there is an art association in Redlands, a nice city down the hill from here. It is a classy city and is doing a good job to support the local artists. I visited the web site and they have a “hanging-day” for members every six weeks. You bring your art and can hang two pieces and then you work for 8 hours in exchange. Sounds like a fair deal. I will probably drop by tomorrow and sign up for that group and start exhibiting.
http://www.redlandsartassociation.org

Then I found the web site for the Riverside Art Alliance. http://www.riversideartalliance.org/index.htm

Riverside is the biggest town around here with any kind of art scene. They are working hard to develop the arts in this area and I would love to support that. I read something on the web site that I can’t find now, that said  major cities are judged by their support of the arts. I think they are doing good things, so I am excited about joining them too.

They are having an “Off the Wall” fundraiser. Artists can submit up to 5 pieces of art. Everything is priced below $300 and it is a 50/50 split with the association. They are raising money for the Riverside Museum. They have done it for 6 years, so I guess it is successful. The entries are at the end of this month and you don’t even need to be a member to participate!

Talk about good timing. I usually hear about great opportunities right after they happen and then I have to wait for a year for it to come around again. Not this time. I will let you know how it goes, but right now it looks like I may join 3 art associations. Talk about busy!!

I have really been seeing the correlation between art and music lately. Music has its meter, tune, beat, musical “hook”. Is the vocalist a male or a female or a group? Is there harmony, a little bell in the background, cowbell? When does the chorus come in? Is that as good as the verses? Does it carry the theme or change it completely? All these parts create the whole and determine whether the piece is fun to listen to or not?

Art is the same. What colors are you using? What is the size? Is it vertical or horizontal? What size brush are you using? What is the medium? How is the energy? Is it hurried, energetic, fun, crazy, languid, smooth?

A lot of planning goes into creating a work of art, whether painting, sculpture, music, poetry, literature, etc. I am really appreciating the elements that go into a beautiful work of art, and they all need to go together well.

Red Head - 12” x 12” Acrylic and pencil on Masonite - $200

I just wrote my aunt who left a comment on this blog. I thought I came up with some pretty good stuff, so I would like to share it here:

Contemporary art is all about what the artist is trying to say. Not what the piece looks like.

I believe that the viewer completes the artwork. I do my best to create something either with a message or something that is thought provoking. Then, when the viewer comes, they bring their background and baggage and they get a certain meaning out of the art. Now it is complete. And each person that looks and understands something or feels something, creates a new piece of art.

Right now,  I am trying to whittle down 13 years of neglect to find the artist I was at school 13 years ago.

Abstract #7 - 12” x 16” Acrylic on Masonite - $200

PAINTINGS COMPLETED TODAY: 2
PAINTINGS COMPLETED TO DATE: 18

First let me say that my art paintings for sale include everything you see on this site. If you see something you like, you can email me at shaun[at]oneartistsjourney [dot]com. I would be very happy to hear from you.

I worked on two abstract paintings today. I had absolutely no time but with my new-found determination to get into the studio every single day, I made some time and painted two paintings.

Abstract #8 - 16” x 12” Acrylic on Masonite - $200

I have been thinking about getting a star rating system for the site, then you can vote on pictures you like. That is good so I know what people like. It is also good because artists need validation. What do you think? PLease comment below and let me know if you would like to vote on my pictures. Thanks!

The two abstract paintings I did today were fun to do. I am trying to make up 10 years of lost time and get back the style I used in college. I understand things have changed; I have more experience, etc. But I really liked the art I created in College so that is my first goal. To get lose and instinctual like I was then. My wife said the two I did today reminded her of my work back then. Maybe I am on the right track.

I found a blog of a draftsperson. I really like her stuff, especially her koi and garden drawings. She uses really bright colors in her (pastel?) drawings. http://alethakuschan.wordpress.com

Kanji #1 - 12” x 12” Acrylic on Masonite - $200

PAINTINGS COMPLETED TODAY: 4
PAINTINGS COMPLETED TO DATE: 16

I have decided to keep track of how many paintings I complete so I don’t have to go back and count them again and again.

After looking at the two of the abstract images I did last week, my wife mentioned they looked like Kanji, or Japanese or Chinese characters. So, I Googled some beginning Kanji (up, down, man, woman, etc.) and decided to paint those today. I used them as a starting point in some abstract paintings. I think they turned out OK.

Kanji #2 - 12” x 12” Acrylic on Masonite - $200

Last week, I did 5 paintings on Monday and hardly made it down to the studio after that. That isn’t the point of this experiment to paint 100 paintings. The point is to get into the studio for the next 100 days and create art.

So, I made an effort to get down there today I ended up completing four paintings. I need to get down to the studio (I say “down” because it is downstairs) and paint every single day till New Years.

While painting, I get frustrated because what I am doing looks silly or contrived. But then I have to remind myself that this is supposed to be fun and natural. “Art is Fun and Natural.” I should engrave that and put it up on the wall.

Here’s to Fun and Natural…