Episode 24 - "Deep into the blue"

This episode has is introduced  from a cablecar high above the expo '98 grounds. I take off to visit the aquarium Ocenario de Lisboa and a few other sights and sounds. I talk about the colour blue (azul), my references and add tidbits of what i've learned  about Portuguese heritage. Meanwhile my time lapse is working as hard as me and I complete my latest piece for exhibition at the Belas-artes residency in Lisbon this summer. Link to the video by clicking here or watch it below.

My residency is quickly coming to a close. Below are the invitations created for the main as well as the group exhibitions following the completion of the residency at Belas-artes Lisboa.

 After the exhibition my next stop is Apulia, about an hour north of Oporto. I am visiting Martinho Correia as well as to do a little painting for him on a church altarpiece commission. .

Boy in the box

I work diligently on a drawing of a blue figure trapped in Lisbon architecture  at my Faculdade de Belas-Artes residency in Portugal.  That sentence is a mouthful...... (segue) I've been  drinking a lot of coffee, so we begin this episode by taking a quick aside in visual celebration of my current automated coffee machine vice.

https://youtu.be/7xDxqnXE8LQ

For the nerds in my demographic.....
you are right! "Boy in the box"........there is a tiny reference to Corey Hart in there, you can faintly hear it in the background. When I was really young growing up in Surrey BC, we lived in an apartment and I had the top bunk bed, I had a "never surrender" silk tacked to the ceiling, and a spiky haircut to match my musical idols.

Belas-artes Lisboa residency week 1.5

I completed my first blue series drawing. The colour is inspired by the tile work found all around Portugal. I purchased all matter of blues in different materials so I could discover what wold work best. None of which are col-erase, which would probably have been sufficient and I have a huge stack of them back home. Below is my latest episode which offers a glimpse into my thought process and some time lapse of my physical one.

https://youtu.be/UhY1m_qtdzU

My ideas are developing about what I hope to make for this residency, it just seems that time is ticking away quickly. I am managing to keep my focus but there is a full roster with many workshops and assignments between work days. I decided to skip one that did not interest me yesterday in favour of some seeing some sights and visiting the Gulbenkian museum.

It collection was amazing and up lifting.  I revelled in the beauty of decorative arts and traditional collections, that was just what I needed mid week.  I am going to try and get in more museums and take a bit of the pressure off, it is a "working" / "vacation" after all.  Afterward I walked through a park and visited the Estufa Fria  which is an outdoor botanical garden housed in a converted quarry.

KRISHNA creation + Horror 3 show

A peek at the self portrait I've been developing the past while.

We start with a charcoal sketch on the canvas of me playing the flute.

I ended up not liking the original legs I drew in. I decided to go with one in front of the other and in the other direction than originally planned.

Resulting in this. Interesting accidental discovery is that the erased out lower half is darker and better represents the proper fall of light tonality.

At the time this was the studio space I was working in. It sure has come a long way since them. You can see the smaller Krishna canvas on the right on my newest easel acquisition. I sprayed the image down with fixative an gave it a quick clear coat to lock down the charcoal particles.

Krishna has blue skin so I rubbed in some pigment off a rag.

I then used a little left over green paint to outline the figure to help me "see" it better. I'm going to leave a little mystery today and end this post here.

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WHAT TO DO TONIGHT!!!!!

 Read the FFWD ARTicle!

I have two small works in the Horror 3 show at the House Gallery tonight, go see it there are tons of great local artists in the show, so go damn it, no excuses!  FB Event click here!