If it wasn't for the darkness of night, we'd never see the stars (finished)

Here's an iPhone quality snapshot of my piece that I painted last night at BYOA held at the Fillmore Center in SF last night. It measures 24" x 18" and is painted with acrylic on canvas. Painting time was about 2 and a half hours (yeah, we got there kinda late).

Below is the money shot... Enjoy! (click image to enlarge)

I like the composition of the piece, but having to paint so fast makes the execution less than what I'm capable of. I want to paint this again someday, because I like the idea and I think that given the time, I can finish the piece with a higher level of quality. I got a lot of meaningful compliments on it last night, which I totally appreciate. In the end though, we as artists are a nit-picky bunch and know when and where we can improve.

There was great talent on display out there last night, and my good friends Chris de Leon and JToddO won a $150 prize for best live piece. I cheered extra hard for them, because I'm big fans of their work, and they totally deserved to win. I only wish I woulda remembered to take a photo of their piece. In attendance from IC was Ant, Ron and Albert. Ant and Ron collaborated on a piece and Albert was happily snapping shots and meeting people all night.

Performances were on point with Mandeep Sethi (hope I spelled that right) MCing the event and The Mighty Delrokz on the 1's and 2's. My favorite act of the night ,and another $150 winner) had to be Do-Dat. He did a set at our last OSS, and brought more heat this time around as the night wore down.

I was impressed again with the folks at BYOA for throwing a quality event that lets all of us independent artists shine. I, myself, am lucky enough to have a career to pay my bills with, so my painting, for the most part, is something I do on the side. But meeting and seeing people who live off of their craft and love what they do is inspiring to say the least. It was an honor to paint amongst such people, and I hope to do it again soon. PEACE!

If it Wasn't for the Darkness of Night, We'd Never See the Stars

That's the theme behind my live piece that I'm painting tonight during the Independent Artists Week event at the Fillmore in SF. And here's a series of sketches to guide my layout when I'm up there. Enjoy!

There'll be a few more things in the final piece that will make the title make more sense, but I don't want to spoil it here. Check my previous post if you want more info about tonight's event. Hope to see you there!

Upcoming Events this week

Two really great events coming up this week gang.

The first is Independent Artist Week hosted at the Fillmore Center in San Francisco TONIGHT from 7PM-10PM! There's gonna be a TON of artists and performers in attendance, and it promises to be a great time out. Click for directions and for info.

Then on Saturday night, there's gonna be the 2nd Open Session Saturday at the IC Gallery from 6PM-10PM. ALWAYS FREE, Open Session Saturdays features open mics, open turntables, open canvasses, and open minds. So if you or anyone you know likes to perform poetry, rap, sing, dj, paint or if you just want to come enjoy the talent that Vallejo has to offer, be sure to be there. Sign up for the open mic, bring a canvas to paint on, or just freestyle with us at the end of it all. And if you, for some strange reason, can't make it this Saturday, we'll be hosting this event every other Saturday from here on out. We're located here, and check out the official OSS blog for more info. Can't wait to see you all there!

PS if there's anyone from IC reading this and you want to make prints of this flyer, e-mail me and I can send you a print-friendly version of this flyer. Peace!