SPAM! FAM! STUMP! AND DRUNK!

The weekend was insane. Scratch that. The weekend was full... I've had an insane weekend, and that wasn't quite it. Anyways... here's the haps:

Friday, as you all know, Aldrie, Marielle and myself went to SFSU, to do some live painting for an event called SPAM! (Showcasing Pilipino Artists and Musicians) The crowd was wild and it made me remember my college days, even though I didn't go to a traditional college. Performances were great, and even though I didn't know the headliner, the crowd apparently went crazy for him. Our setup was nice, but they turned the lights out on us about an hour in. Luckily a fellow artist, whose name escapes me now, lent us a lamp so we could continue our work. We couldn't have done it without him. Anywho Here's my piece that I painted live! (I took more shots, but Blogger is being yucky so you only get one!)

My piece was called: A Great Friend Can Help You Reach the Stars. It has our good friend Stump this time and is part of my Stars series. I haven't named the girl yet, but I'm leaning towards Matsuri, the name of my late Great-Grandmother... Matsuri is about 7 years old and somehow meets stump while she's alone. They become fast friends and travel together across the land, having adventures and learning about life.

This piece is a commentary about all the great friends I've been lucky enough to meet. Many of which helped me get to where I am today. Granted I still have a long way to go, but I am grateful for what I have now, and I haven't ever forgotten the people who helped me get there.

It's painted in acrylic, LIVE, in about 4 hours. The piece is painted on two canvases, that when placed together, create the whole piece. I wanted to make it so each piece could also stand on its own, but I really didn't sketch too much out beforehand so I think the top one ends up being much stronger.


Saturday was much more chill. Live painting always takes a lot out of me, so I spent a lot of Saturday morning recovering, and trying to get my feet back under me. In the evening, I went to my Auntie's house and celebrated many September birthdays, my nephew's and my great-grandmother's included. After that it was off to the studio to attempt to get some more work done.... but when I got there, I promptly fell asleep....

Eventually, I woke up, and got my lazy ass back to work. Here's the newest evolution of Stump:

One of the most major changes I've made to the composition, was the addition of Matsuri sitting on Stump. She looks on at the moon as Stump rests from a long day of traveling. Hopefully, she'll be able to sleep soon. I wonder what she's thinking about.....

After looking at all the detail I added to other parts of the piece, it felt like a shame to leave the leaves in the condition they were in. SO.... I went in for more randomness and details... which, in turn, adds a few more days till it's finished. I feel like I really want the piece to end, but I keep finding things that I can play with... so on and on it goes. Artists that I've spoken to about this (like Chris de Leon and Sherwin) have told me to take my time and step away if I need to. They know what it's like to keep adding and adding and adding, and these are guys that I look up to, so I take their advice to heart. I've gotten great compliments on the progress shots I've been posting, so that tells me I'm at least doing something right. I promise though... I will have a print of this guy for sale eventually. So to everyone that's been encouraging me, you will see it finished sooner or later!

Sunday, we went with Melissa, Phil and Michelle to the Oktoberfest in San Francisco and that was a blast... Lots of beer, polka, sausages and tomfoolery... I got thoroughly sloshed. Let's just leave it at that. Here's my beer...

Ahhhhh... Refreshing! The Germans really know how to party. :1

SPAM! & Stump update 5.0

Super late promo, but I'll be at SPAM (Showcasing Pilipino Artists and Musicians) at San Francisco State University FRIDAY... 6PM -- $10 Will Call $12 at the door. The flyer below has more details:

Myself, Marielle and I think Aldrie will be in attendance representing IC. I'll be live painting as well as selling a few pieces and taking orders for a couple of different prints, so come through and get yours!

Annnnnnnnd here's the latest on Stump... As always, click to enlarge and ENJOY!

More grass and star detail, as well as the moon is now getting some more attention... I'm planning to be able to put in some hard work tonight, so hopefully I'll be able to have a preview print by tomorrow... We'll see!

Stump 3.0 and Events!

Here's the latest update for Stump! More tree detail, and I started the highlights... It's slow going, but keep in mind, sometimes I only get thirty minutes to an hour a day to work on my own stuff, so it takes a while to get a piece done. Trying to keep a consistent posting schedule of Monday, Wednesday and Friday is motivation for me to continue working on projects so I'll just keep em comin. But check it out and tell me what you think! I'm hoping to get prints of this guy in the future, along with some of my better digital stuff. As always, click to enlarge. Enjoy!

On another note... It's looking like a busy three days. Last night I got to kick it at Fluid in SF and watch 3 eye elephant paint live. Homeboys/girls Albert, Kris (Happy Belated!), Chris and Sadie (Did I spell that right?) were in attendance. The guys from 3 eye elephant are quickly becoming some of my favorite NEW artists. All three of them are great to kick it with and bring something unique to the group. Here's what they did last night (via crappy iPhone Cam)

I was also rewarded by Chris de Leon for doing some side work for their group with this awesome painting!

I'm gonna study it and steal his techniques Kakashi style! (Had to get my anime nerd on at least once in this blog)

Today, marks the opening of "Off the Wall" at Space gallery. Homies Dyno and Tim (DAT:AA) have pieces hanging and I'll be there showing support! These guys are some of the most talented and hardest working members of IC, so if you get a chance, head down to Space gallery in SF and show support for these Vallejo natives. Check out Dyno's site for more details. After that is my good buddy Kris Mestizo's birthday bash at Poleng Lounge in SF. He won't tell me how old he is so lets just say: Happy 88th birthday buddy!

I can't party too hard tonight though, because tomorrow morning I'm running my first double digit distance. That's right! 10 whole miles in preparation for the half-marathon (13.1 miles) I'll be running in October. I'll be going down to Long Beach CA with a few friends who'll undertake this adventure by my side. I'm excited and nervous at the same time so I'm just gonna focus on finishing. THAT will be an accomplishment on its own. Later that night is Open Session Saturdays part 3. The 3rd installment of Individual Collective's open mic extravaganza. You know the drill... OPEN mic, OPEN canvas, OPEN minds. Be there:

Individual Collective Gallery

419 Georgia St

Vallejo CA

You can check out details here or here.

PEACE!

OSS part 3!!!

That's right! Next week Saturday marks the 3rd OSS! We have Paulie Think and Spends Quality doing live performances and as always IC will be live painting during the whole thing! Come down between 6PM-10PM and get on the Open Mic and share your song, poem, rap or whatever you got inside! Or bring a canvas or paper and paint, sketch or draw with Vallejo's own Individual Collective. Tell your friends!

The Individual Collective Gallery is in the heart of Downtown Vallejo at 419 Georgia St. We're open during the Vallejo Farmers Market and welcome interested artists to join us during our meetings/sessions every Tuesday @8PM. Hit up individual.collective@gmail.com or 411@individualcollective.com for more info. PEACE!

OSS 2

Open Session Saturdays 2, which was held this past Saturday was another great success... We had some open mic performers, and the talented guys from 3 eye elephant came across 2 bridges to get down with our live painting. I only have one photo from the event that I took with my iPhone before I got down to painting. This is our setup outside the IC gallery positioned so those who were watching the performers could see the paintings as they were being completed.

The theme this time around was for all of us to have a horizon line that continues through the piece from one side to the other. Then we'd connect all the paintings side by side making a long landscape. Below is my piece, "If it wasn't for the darkness of night, we'd never see the stars 2". We'll have some photos up soon taken by the talented Albert Lam, but until then enjoy more crappy iPhone photos!

I got some great compliments on the piece, especially from people who saw the first one that I did for BYOA. A couple of the guys said it felt like following a storyboard which got me to thinking of actually making a series out of my concept. Talking to Chris de Leon about the series he's planning and checking out the sketches in his book inspired me to possibly take the "stars" series a bit further. If you're reading this Chris, big thanks for sharing that man!

The next OSS is on the 26th of September, so if you missed the first two, don't fret. There's more coming around the corner! Hope to see you there!

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!

And I'll Form the Head!!!

hmmm... now what in the hell could this be?? Come on down to Open Session Saturdays, this Saturday @ the IC Gallery from 6-10PM to find out! We're located at 419 Georgia St. in Downtown Vallejo, and at $0.00 cover to get in, the price is right!. Go here for more info!

Open Session Saturdays!

Live painting by IC, and open stage for MC's, poets, DJ's, musicians, etc. Come share with us or sit and appreciate the talent Vallejo has to offer. Plus it's FREE!!!

In case you need more motivation: Paulie Rhyme, Hope Spitshard, Do D.A.T, and Jayne Rio are all gonna rip it on the mic. EMCEES and ARTISTS get ready! You can and will be heard too! OPEN MIC! August 29th. THIS IS IN VALLEJO! Show some love! :)

INDIVIDUAL COLLECTIVE GALLERY

419 Georgia St

Vallejo CA (map)

6PM-10PM

FREE ADMISSION!

Live Painting July 10th at Minna Gallery in SF

Title says it all... Myself and a troupe of IC members will be at 111 Minna in The City this Friday night 10PM - 2AM for the 21 and up. Come down and have some drinks with me and we can be great pals. Here's the officials from Oh Dang! Magazine:

By now, your 4th of July hangover should have worn off. While those fingers you blew off lighting fireworks won't grow back, it's okay, you can still sorta wrap your hand around a drink and enjoy some dope art. Catch over a dozen live artists and a photo exhibit from Nina Parks, Karla Amaya and Kirstina Sangsahachart at 111 Minna this Friday. Check the flyer for more...

Oh Dang! always throws great events so I'm really excited to be doing this one. I'll be brainstorming today after work, and hopefully I kick out a good idea. If you want to get on the guest list and save yourself 5 bucks, get at me by the end of the day and I can make it happen. Hope to see you there!