Saturday, October 5, 2013

David

David
gray Prismacolor on drawing paper, 18 inches by 24 inches
October 2013

Nudes

Torso practice from life drawing class
Prismacolors on newsprint, 18 inches by 24 inches
September 2013

Skin Deep

Skin Deep
watercolor on watercolor paper
October 2013 

Trojan Soul, art by Miha Sarani

Miha Sarani is a fantastic artist. His art is not only beautiful, provocative, and well executed, but thought provoking and full of deeper meaning. This past Friday was the opening reception of his latest works, titled "Trojan Soul." During the reception, Miha gave a really good talk about the meaning of his art and the symbolism throughout. 

His art is currently on view at the Vargas Gallery at Mission College in Santa Clara. If you are in the area, I strongly suggest you check it out. Also, as an addition, Miha wrote music for each piece. There is a scan code located by each painting where you can download the music and then listen to it while you view the art; very cool. 
Excellent work, Miha, and it was great seeing you again!

Also, be sure to check out his work online: 

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Waiting

Waiting (self-portrait, cropped)
watercolor and graphite on watercolor paper
12 inches by 12 inches
August 2013



Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Vanitas at Kaleid Gallery


With my painting (center) 
And the Smiling Crocodile Laughed as He Exclaimed That Your Time is Almost Up
at the Vanitas Exhibition
at Kaleid Gallery in downtown San Jose.
Acrylic on canvas.

Great art at this show! If you're in the area, definitely check it out.

KALEID Gallery
88 S. Fourth Street
San Jose, CA 95113
Tues - Sat, noon - 7:00 pm
Free admission

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Deep-Seated at DDEF

With my paintings, Amber and Bryan's Hands
at the Deep-Seated show at DDEF Gallery.
Both acrylic on canvas.

Thanks to all who came out, it was a fun night!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Progression of Vanitas Piece





And the Smiling Crocodile Laughed as He Exclaimed That Your Time is Almost Up
acrylic on wood
18 inches by 24 inches
May 2013

The above is the progression of my piece for the Vanitas Feature Exhibit at Kaleid Gallery.
I've been working on this piece extensively for the last month and am very happy 
with the finished work. Although this is obviously a contemporary group art show, 
the idea of vanitas is centuries old and I decided I wanted to take a more traditional approach to the subject. I painted the work from a photograph I took of stuff I had 
laying around my room, which I thought fit the theme well. 

Vanitas at Kaleid Gallery

And the Smiling Crocodile Laughed as He Exclaimed That Your Time is Almost Up
acrylic on wood
18 inches by 24 inches
May 2013

From Kaleid Gallery Vanitas Feature Exhibit:

"KALEID Gallery is proud to present VANITAS.
Vanitas vanitatum omnia vanitas. ~ Vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
A Vanitas is a work of art based on the idea of the transience of human existence and the knowledge that all has it’s end.  They have been common throughout the history of art, sometimes incredibly morbid with a sharp focus on death, others with obscured meaning hidden beneath a veneer of beauty.  KALEID presents over 40 artists and their contemporary interpretation of the classic theme VANITAS."

Artists’ Reception:
Friday, June 7, 2013  7-11pm
part of the South First Fridays Art Walk in downtown San Jose

Participating Artists:
Albert Almondia
Fernando Amaro
Lucy Amador
Shannon Amidon
Erica Atreya
Deb Barba
Mariana Barnes
Julie Barrett
Lisa Benham
Sandi Billingsley
Mike Borja
Lacey Bryant
Nicolas Caesar
Vanessa Callanta
Kim Christman
Brandy Damian
Matt Deterior
Michael Foley
Monica Gonzalez
Michele Guieu
Jeff Hemming
Leah Jay
Oscar Knutsson
John Landry
Lucy Liew
Mariya Milovidova
Marcos Montes
John Paulson
Joe Perea
Archil Pichkhadze
James Pollard
Al Preciado
Steven Reece
Jenifer Renzel
Drew Roulette
Valerie Runningwolf
Karen Carlo Salinger
Miha Sarani
Steven Suiter
Kori Thompson
Victoria Vaz
Michelle Waters
Dorothy Whitman
Exhibition dates: June 7–July 20, 2013

Deep-Seated at DDEF Gallery

Flyer by Erica Atreya

"Chronic pain, mental illness, addiction, all subjects that no one wants to talk about 
but all of us have experienced, if not ourselves but a parent, sibling, spouse or friend. 
Deep-seated is a chance to bring this taboo subject to the surface 
and to our hands to create something powerful without saying a word.
Please join us for an evening of viewing the creations 
of some amazingly talented local artist.
Free to the public, plenty of parking, Bar, great music by local DJ!"

Creations by: Erica Atreya, Anthony Barbaria, Julie Barrett Bilyeu,
Vanessa Callanta, Kim Christman, Oscar Lars,
Rene Lorraine, Mark Martinez, JoJo Perea, Kristen Pollock.

Saturday, June 1st 
8:00pm - Midnight

DDEF Gallery 
395 East Taylor Street 
San Jose, CA
(Gordon Biersch Brewery parking lot)

I will have the two pieces below in the show, both acrylic on canvas.
Hope to see you there!  


Sunday, March 31, 2013

Legion of Honor

This past Saturday I went up to the Palace of the Legion of Honor with my friends, Oscar and Myles, and my husband, Bryan. I've been to the Legion of Honor before and I love this museum. It has a fantastic permanent collection, wonderful exhibits, and is situated in Lincoln Park which has a beautiful view of the San Francisco bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. 

Here, Oscar and I are posed in front of a copy of the wonderful Laocoon statue. The original statue was a Greek sculpture of the Hellenistic period, found incomplete. The arm extended upward is a modern restoration addition. The fig leaf that Oscar is pointing to is also a later addition (the original, of course, being nude). I love this sculpture and I love the story behind it (if you have time, look it up, it has to do with the Trojan War). Thanks, Professor Thickpenny, for sending our class to the Legion of Honor for our paper assignment. :) 

Also, for any of those interested in visiting the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, you gain general, same day admission to the de Young Museum (nearby and also worth the visit). Please visit the links below for more information:

Artists To Check Out

I'm very fortunate that I live in an artistic community, that people here value and cherish art. I'm also very fortunate that I know many amazing artists. I want to share their websites because these guys are great and are really going places. Please check out the links below for some awesome art...

I met Cuong at the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara, at the opening of his solo show: ASPECTS: Multiple Faces, Multiple Views (September 29 - November 11, 2012). I was blown away by the talent this artist has, his work is amazing. And he is such a nice guy and just a pleasure to talk to. Cuong is really going places and I wish him nothing but the best.

Oscar is a crazy guy, a good friend, and an awesome artist. I've been friends with this guy for a while now (we met at Mission College and have had many of the same art instructors) and his art just continues to improve with each new painting and drawing. He works hard at his art and he inspires others to keep working hard too.

I also met Miha at Mission College (seems to be a great artist hangout) and was just wowed by his art. He is a fantastic illustrator and has a very creative and unique painting style, you won't find art like his anywhere else.

Wadl 
I was in a group show at a local Starbucks called stARTbucks - When Passions Collide (March 31, 2012) when I first viewed Patrick "Wadl" Hofmeister's art. Holy cow, can this dude paint. I literally could not stop starring at his paintings (there's so much to see!). He is so creative and talented, especially check out his "pattern" paintings (they show some serious skill and patience).

Now these aren't the only awesome artists I know, but I don't want to overload you right now so expect some more soon! :)

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Seed Show at the Citadel

With Oscar Knutsson and his piece Self-Portrait
 Seed Show, the Citadel
March 23, 2013

This past Saturday at the Citadel, in downtown San Jose, was the very awesome Seed Show. This show was great and had lots of amazing art (painting, drawing, sculpture, and installation). My buddy, Oscar, participated with his piece Self-Portrait.

Check out my friend's website for great art:


Triton Museum of Art Spring Art Fair

Triton Musuem of Art Spring Art Fair
March 23, 2013

This past Saturday at the Triton Museum of Art was the annual Spring Art Fair. This was my first year participating and I had a great time. I was able to meet other local artists and crafters and check out some great art. Thank you to all who came out and helped support my art and the Triton Museum of Art.

For more information on the Triton Museum of Art, 
please click on the following link:

Saturday, March 16, 2013

The Field Where I Died

The Field Where I Died
ink and watercolor on watercolor paper
started late 2012 (in progress)

I have been working on this large piece for a little while now and I am really pleased with how it is coming along so far. I first drew the image on watercolor paper using Pigma Micron 005 ink pens and then painted it in with watercolors.

I will discuss my subject matter after I have posted the completed image (so stay tuned!).

S. Dali #2

Salvador Dali
black and white charcoal on toned pastel paper, 9 inches by 12 inches
March 2013

S. Dali

Salvador Dali (As a Youth)
charcoal on sketchbook paper
February 2013

If you know me, you know my favorite painter of all time is Salvador Dali. I recently picked up a book on Dali called Treasures of Dali which is absolutely wonderful and even contains replicas of Dali memorabilia. There was a picture of him in there where he was quite young and I adored it (so I had to draw it!).

Moon Goddess

Moon Goddess
black and white charcoal on cardboard, approx. 11 inches by 14 inches
February 2013

I drew this after listening to one of Preston Metcalf's lectures on art history at the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara, California. The lecture I attended was on the history and art of tattooing (primarily, where did tattooing and the images there were originally tattooed come from?). It was a fascinating and there was a section of his lecture where he spoke about a "goddess" (that was much more ancient than the popular male deities of the past). Long story short, I was inspired to create this drawing from that lecture. 

If you're ever in the South Bay Area and you enjoy art history, I would definitely recommend dropping in on one of Preston Metcalf's lectures: Triton Museum Art History

Lips and Eye

Lip Service and Eye with Influence from Dredd
colored pencil on toned paper, 8 inches by 10 inches each
February 2013

Lip Studies

Lip Studies
pencil or charcoal on sketchbook paper
January - February 2013

I love drawing lips. They are such an intimate and unique part of the body. The first drawing is in pencil and the subsequent drawings are in charcoal. I found that I could gain better values with the charcoal and this made certain features, like the teeth and highlights, stand out more.

Ear Studies

Ear Studies
pencil on sketchbook paper
January 2013

Ears are a bit of a challenge for me to draw. I tend to oversimplify them whenever I draw heads. I did these ear studies (my husband's and my ear) to force myself to slow down and draw more of the detail and shading.

Eye Studies

Eye Studies
pencil or charcoal on sketchbook paper
January - February 2013

Eyes are always fun to draw and though I don't always use a reference, I did with all the ones above (my husband's eye, my eye, and the one at the bottom is Salvador Dali). For these I tried different methods of shading, experimenting, to see which would look better. I feel I need to do more studies with charcoal since I can gain such dark shadows with that medium.