The Wonders of Windy Wellington

Set out on a 6 and a half hour drive down the North Island to Wellington last weekend, in order to attend an interview as part of the application process into the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at Massey University.
After an array of stop offs, disappointing milkshakes, plenty of caffeine, and a gorgeous sunset, we made it surprisingly comfortably into the welcoming arms of the Windy City.

Wellington has held me captivated with every visit, and this time was no exception. There's just something magical about the ruggard hillside speckled with rickety old houses and winding roads disappearing around hairpin corners -vehicles haphazardly parked on makeshift carports jutting from the side of a cliff face. The center of town is always bustling with such interesting individuals- from the suit and tie businessmen, to the jeans and t shirt shopper and the horrendously clashing prints and top hat busker on the corner. Its a city with such an amazing sense of character that draws you in and steals you're heart without you even realising.

As well as getting an in depth insiders view into the Fine Arts Campus, (and a particularly short interview), I managed to case out a few quirky cafes, wander through countless racks of gorgeous clothes, and catch up with a couple of really good friends who moved down at the beginning of the year to begin their own endeavors into tertiary study.

Unfortunately I was not in possession of a camera whilst amid the cultural commotion that only a city like Wellington can produce, but I did manage to get a few shots on the journey out through the hills, coast and Desert Road to share with you just a tiny bit of my lovely little excursion from reality.

Tumbling

Had a play around, customizing my Tumblr format recently. I am now considerably happier with the layout and style now. http://aesthetic-explorations.tumblr.com/

Creative Endeavors

Apologies for being a little on the quiet side lately. As you would all know, life has a way of filling your life with time consuming activities, and consequently we end up left with little time for the all the extra things we want to do.

Fortunately though, the activities filling my time at the moment are one that still feed my creative hunger. I’ve been spending quite a bit of time branching into different areas of the arts and crafts industry, developing my skills a few other areas.

This includes;

• ·         Starting a few commissioned drawings for some extra dollars to put towards a flash new camera. Obtaining said new camera will hopefully help push me into developing my skills in photography so that I can start taking pictures of my own to draw from rather than relying on the internet to provide the setups that I want.

• ·         Creating a small range of product to sell in the local monthly market. Been spending time making some custom jewellery pieces and researching ways to produce fine art and t-shirt prints which is super fun and exciting to work on.

• ·         And working relatively full time at a local café (not exactly pushing I know, but definitely beneficial to fund my artistic endeavors) 

Testing colours

 

Had a decent play around with colours, and colour combinations at my oil painting class on Tuesday morning. Managed to get paint EVERYWHERE (as per usual), but came out with some test paper and trials that I'm pretty happy with. Can't wait to start on some bigger pictures!

TED: Simon Sinek

This is the video that inspired my last blog post (which is only just an offset of a thought sparked at the very beginning of the speech)

Seriously, I recommend you watch. Such an aspiring speaker and his ideas can be applied to many shapes and forms of life

Why Do You Get Out Of Bed In The Morning?

Watching a TED talk recently (in attempt to find inspiration to write my artists statement) the speaker, Simon Sinek, raised a point that while simple, profoundly hit home in my mind.

That question was "Why do you get out of bed in the morning?"

He talks about the fact that most people know what they do, and how they do it, but very few people can explain why.
So when posed with the question- Why do I get out of the bed in the morning? -my reasoning descended from confidence to confusion incredibly quickly.

We all know that we awake from our slumber in the general hours we consider to be morning. We go about our day and then go to sleep at night. Any behaviour that doesn't conform to the cycle is considered 'unusual'. But WHY?
Because we're told to do so? Because its what we've always done? Because it's what everyone else does? Because getting up in the morning serves a purpose (to our lives or to others)?

Sure, if you delve deeper into the question you can come up with logical answers of how our ancestors had to make use of the daylight hours to hunt and gather. Its just human nature. Its in our DNA.
But this information is no longer relevant to our modern lives of technological advancements and non existent socialization constraints. We possess the capabilities to get whatever we what, whenever we want. Our habitual waking routine serves no fundamental benefits to us. It has it become a societal ritual that we have never bothered questioning. You could probably spend the entire day in bed, and still have access to all your daily needs and desires.

So the question now turns to what purpose does getting out of bed really serve? What are you doing in your day that is any different to what you did yesterday? Or the day before that? (which "conforming to predetermined behavioural cycles" is by all means, a legitimate answer)

So I'm curious to know- Why do YOU get out of bed in the morning?

New Pathways: Illustration

While I love drawing 'realistic' pictures, I've been feeling a need to explore a more creative approach to drawing- so I've been working on a new style of sorts that lets me be a little more expressive with my (cliche) hippie side. I've found a few super inspiring artists to follow and study and quite unexpectedly developed my own kind of style in the process.

It has been super fun playing around with ideas and developing techniques in this style. I also feel that it opens so many more doors for me in the creative industry (and in such a competitive industry it never hurts to have different options available to you).

I look forward to being able to show you more work like this in the future.

Exciting News Of the Art Competition Kind

About 6pm on Monday I opened up my emails to check on the array of email subscriptions (I've found that signing up to the weekly newsletters of sites like ArtBiz and EmptyEasel super helpful to both the creative development of my work, but also the more 'business-y' side of things as well), and to my delight, saw an email informing me that the painting I had entered into the WSA National Youth Art Awards had been selected as a finalist.

Needless to say I was stoked.

From Friday 27^th September, until Monday 28^th October there will be a gallery exhibition at the ArtsPost Gallery - 120 Victoria Street, Hamilton, New Zealand - showcasing all the finalists work ranging in ages between 15 and 27 years. If you're in the neighbourhood, I highly advise for you to pop in and check it out.

Untitled
Acrylic Paint on Canvas
24”x24”

ArtsPost Gallery, Hamilton, NZ

A Point To Remember

I recently stumbled across the poetry of Charles Bukowski in my endless internet endeavours. The name was one that I recognized, but the work associated with it was an unfamiliar territory.
Whilst reading through a collection of his works, "Upon Reading A Critical Review" was one poem that really stood out to me. Quite often as an artist, even before you have finished one piece/body of work and idea, you have already moved on to the next thing to capture your attention. This can cause varying amounts of frustration when all other people can see is the older, decaying ideas that no longer spur your artistic capabilities. All you want to do is show them the inside of your brain, to say "Look! Look how many better ideas are to come", when they get caught up in things no longer relevant to you or the art you are producing.
To me, this poem captures that sense of creative progression in a very simple, but powerful and clever way.

upon reading a critical review
by charles bukowski  

it's difficult to accept
and you look around the room
for the person they are talking
about. 

he's not there
he's not here.
he's gone.

by the time they get your book you
are no longer your 
book.
you are on the next page,
the next
book.

and worse,
they don't even get the old books right.
you are given credit for things you don't 
deserve, for insights that aren't 
there. 

people read themselves into books, altering
what they need and discarding what they
don't.

good critics are as rare as good
writers.
and whether I get a good review or a
bad one
I take neither
seriously.

I am on the next page.
the next book.

"F nish Th s B k": An Adventure Of Sorts

 
Got my hands on this little gem today. "F nish Th s B  k" by Keri Smith is an interactive book that allows you to write all over it, and has an array of instructive steps and activities that you must complete in order to ‘finish’ the book (as the title so aptly states). Its a great tool to harness you sense of adventure and creativity. I’m having so much fun with it already.

A Spot of Sunshine

Have to say, I've been busy dreaming of the summer months (and all their glory) quite a bit recently with all this cold, cloudy weather lurking around. Just thinking about sunshine, sand, ice cream, bikini's and temperatures that could actually be classified as warm is like emotional torture, seeing as summer still seems so far away.

With all that daydreaming I chanced upon this pair of uber-cool Sunflower Harem Pants recently from Sabo Skirt. (Don't you love it when a great fashion find coincides with a moments thoughts!) These pant are the perfect little number to see in the warmer months. They're classy and casual, and not to mention super fun. I may also have a slight bias considering the fact that sunflowers are my favourite type of flower. But, in any case, I have to have these ASAP.

The Benefits Of Studios

Willem de Kooning's Painting Studio

I am so envious of any artist (developing, established, or hobbyist) who has access to a quality studio and work area. The number of benefits from having a large empty space to work, spread out, and get messy are beyond imaginable.

Trying to produce quality artworks from your bedroom is achievable, yes, but I can promise you not only is it incredibly frustrating but impractical and (unbearably) unproductive.
I can't speak for all artists, but my experiences cover everything from getting distracted by useless and time wasting exercises to managing to get paint everywhere, such as the splotch of turquoise paint that now permanently resides halfway up my curtains.

But the tidying- that's the killer. So often I feel forced to stop and tidy away my current project in order for me to also live in my room. Not that my room is particularly tidy anyways but is is a necessary element to the respect of our rental property (and ultimately my safety) if I don't have canvases strewn across the floor, pencils disappearing in piles of wet paint palettes, jars of turps being knocked around, or a nest of paper inspiration and old works instead of bedsheets. Because if I don't sustain and injury via art materials, then I certain won't be as lucky when my mother finds out about the damage that such a lovely mess is creating.

The tidying sucks. So many times I wish I could just leave everything out, and come back to it ready to jump straight back in, without having to worry about getting everything back out again. It's almost as if you have to reset your ideas and inspiration over and over again every time you pack down. Its something that I've always wondered just how much impact it has on my amazing ability to lose interest in 50% of all paintings/drawings that I start.

Seeing studios such as Willem de Kooning's (top image) and Charmaine Olivia's (bottom image) just turn me green with envy thinking about how much more productive it would be to have access to such an amazing facility. But unfortunately as always, these things cost money. Something that's not easily come by in the market of developing artist. So for now, I can only dream that I will some day be able to call some form of studio my very own.

Unknown Studio Space

Charmaine Olivia's New Studio

Colour Love

Had a play with colours this morning in my oil painting workshop. This sketch is based on the painting that I'm working on in the workshop at the moment, which actually has a completely different colouration. The colours that I was using were starting to get boring so I had a mess around on the sketch. I'm going to have to work them into the painting now somehow, because I like them too much now.

A Familiar Tune

In my pursuit to further my artistic abilities, and broaden the audience that view the work that come as a result, I have been immersing myself into the social media hype to increase my chances of  'getting my name known'. This (of course) includes beginning this very blog as a way of showcasing my development as an artist, the things that inspire me, and anything and everything in my so-called 'creative journey'.

I felt it was necessary to provide this (cliche) introductory posts even though soon I will most likely have posted so much that it will be lost in the distance realms of a blog that not even the most dedicated fans venture into.
But for those few who will see it before it melts away into bloggers no-mans-land, please excuse the tackiness of such a post, but I do feel that now that I have got this trivialness out of the way, i have clear the path for more interesting (better) stories, ideas and inspiration.