I apologize for being lax re the blogspots recently but I’ve been hit with a rather heavy workload and as much as I like looking, I’m just not so inured with seeing the world through a lens [like a tourist instead of a participant]. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve taken my camera along but never out. I’ve made over 20 paintings since the beginning of the month [all but 2 of them jobs- and those 2 were 24x24 inches big]. If you want to know “nervous” give it a try. And I admit, as a traditionalist, I use every item in the Museum of Forgotten Art Supplies [including alkyd oils]. I’ll post some of the work soon enough but I just wanted to skim some of the East Bay ArtBeat stuff that got swept under the cracks in the meantime.
Caught the transcendent Pharaoh Sanders kicking off the San Francisco Jazz Festival this year at the appropriately awe inspiring Grace Cathedral. In the piece, called “Sacred Spaces,” Sanders and a lone sideman on piano and hand drums cajoled the beejeezus out of the sonorous acoustics of the cathedral’s nave.
Caught up with Richard Downs at home during the annual Nevada City [CA] Open Studios tour. Downs [a founder of Picture Mechanics] and fellow Illoz [er] studied at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. These days, he executes his work almost entirely on a computer in his studio [actually the hill-top pool house –surrounded by a screening wall of thick bamboo –another brother behind the grass curtain!] in Nevada City, Calif., where he lives with his wife, artist Gwyn Stramler, and their daughter, Jillian.
SF’s Mark Ulriksen did his wonderful dog and pony show at the California College of Art [Potrero Hill campus], which was open to the public. Spotted in attendance were fellow Drawger Robert Hunt, Bob Ciano, Josh Gorchov, John Mattos and David Pohl.
A similar rag tag contingent met for beers and BS at the Mayflower Inn in San Rafael. This time joined by local digital gurus John Hersey, Mick Wiggins, Gordon Studer, Isabelle Dervaux and Craig Fraizer.
The Berkeley Art Museum [BAMPFA] in conjunction with UC’s Digital Media department is co-sponsoring a hybrid course called Rip/Mix/Burn: Digital Media 0101 that I’m sitting in on. It’s run by UC’s Richard Rinehart and kicked off last week with a lobby party and interactive artworks drawn from the BAM collection.
Kim Scott, Travis, me, and Shawn Barber.
Art Dork Travis Louie was in from Red Hook NY for his part in a group show at The Shooting Gallery. Man, his work is SMOOTH!
That’s all for now but look forward to a special report from Germany and Austria from the folks at Beer & Pencils!
