through the owl eye lens

1. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Michael Anthony Ibarra top left

2. Tuba chairs @speakeasy. The ceilings were too low top right

3. looks like a glowing dandelion being admired by a couple

fireflies. In reality, It was a ghetto bird scouring the 

L.A. river for it's prey. If that makes any sense left center

4. surviving "carmageddon" on PCH right center

5. first time at the lavenderia bottom left

6. shadows walking into deathly hallows bottom right

Thinkspace and the NAP

This past friday, I attended the awards ceremony

for an art show I was in at the Los Angeles Superior Courthouse.

I didn't win anything :( but I did get this nifty certificate!

These were the only two paintings I actually liked.

Afterwards, I headed over to Thinkspace to meet with LC.

He is always so honest and extremely helpful.

I showed him the landscape he had me paint

and some other paintings I'd completed since the last time 

I saw him. We talked for a while and he told me the next thing 

I had to work on was expanding the environment my characters

reside in. He showed me some examples online 

and told me to walk a few doors down to LeBasse Projects

where the work of  Andrew Hem was on display.

He said my paintings were here

source

When they needed to be here. In terms of space.

source

Looking at Andrew Hem's work, I could feel what LC was saying.

My paintings feel constricted. With more space for my characters 

to play around in, my paintings will feel refreshing, 

like you want to jump into them. Imagine the man from Reading Rainbow.

Anyway, I have a lot of work ahead of me. 

I'm so glad I went to Thinkspace before I started my next painting.

I'm going to document my journey on this one. 

You'll be able to see where my head was at before I was 

advised by LC, and after. plus my step by step process.

July Giveaway!!!

The winner of this giveaway will win 

a signed print of this painting.

To enter, leave a comment below with your 

answer to this question,

If you were a monster, what would you look like?

This giveaway will be open until the last day of July.

visions from May

I just stumbled upon this clip of Jose 
from May when we played at UCLA's Royce Hall.
I thought I'd share this video (shot by Eddie Ruvalcava)
because it reminded me that no matter how hard I'm
working, I can be working harder. The video takes place 
around 10 pm. We arrived at UCLA at 4 pm
and I don't think he put his trumpet down until 830 pm, after we had
performed two sets (one which took place under blistering sun rays).
Jose and I watched Preservation Jazz hall, and when they played their last 
encore, he went right back to playing. warming up for our next set. 
He's only been playing trumpet (seriously) for almost a year and a half.
ah, dedication. brass are amongst the hardest instruments to play.


I'm almost finished with my painting for July. 
I thought I would have it finished much sooner, but you know,
Things Happen...
Look for the entry for the giveaway within the next day or so.
Tomorrow I go to the courthouse awards ceremony 
for that art show I'm in...I'll let you know how it goes. fingers crossed.

July {paint layer one}

I'm always a bit embarrassed to show images of incomplete work, 

personally, I like to see other artists post progress shots of their artwork.

It makes them seem human. vulnerable. It's also interesting to see their process.

I'm halfway finished with my monthly series!!! 

I'm already becoming a much faster painter, better at skin tones,

and inventing environments. Ideally, if I had an unlimited amount of time,

I would do three layers of paint on each piece.

Throughout this process (thus far), I've discovered that I can get away

with painting only two layers. The first layer is solely used for blocking

in the color and the second layer is for painting in the detail.

I've also discovered that after I've done the initial sketch

I can knock out a 5x7 painting in three days.

day one: prep illustration board and transfer sketch

day two: layer one

day three: layer two.

I think I'll show you my process in pictures sometime soon.

Secondhand Haunts

I'm not exactly sure what this was originally used for. 

The lady at the Council Thrift shop

thought it was used for toothbrushes?

I think it makes a much better paintbrush holder.

toothbrush/paintbrush holder: Council Thrift shop, $5.00

speakeasy

The recording session at the Hobby Shop was highly productive. 

We finished 3 songs in 2 1/2 hours. which says a lot

when you're playing with 20+ musicians.

Two months ago, we recorded in the afternoon.

This time our session started around 9 pm,

The energy was glowed much brighter.

I guess we're night people. 

Andrew (far left) and the Horn Section mic check

Frank (left), Zelda (center) and AK (right)

accordions behind the glass

Oscar and Erica in our "drum fort"

Eddika, running "blood bag" in the garden

Jose and the rhodes

We also have this gig on saturday.

for more information, click here

When I got home I started painting,

Halfway through, my eyes became heavy

and the whisper of Hypnos (slumber god)

was irresistible. so I went to bed.

through the owl eye lens

1. watercolor sketch for a birthday card top left

2. two bunnies underneath plastic tress top right

3. electronic wonderland 2nd row left

4. looking for broken dog bones at the E.R. 2nd row right

5. Luis and his doppelganger at Watts tower 3rd row left

6. crossing over with Andy Ben 3rd row right

7. the rooftop of the Ace Hotel 4th row left

8. I wish chinese dragons existed in pocket side 4th row right

9. red, white, and periwinkle blue bottom  left

10. lonely tenor bottom right

Sketches of July

This past week I've been taking things

fairly slow. Sunday was the last "meet me at the metro"

gig with Killsonic (huge sign of relief). While it was fun, The days were

hot, the drives were long, and by the time we were finished 

playing I was exhausted. The media was present all four days 

and captured all of our performances. I'm hoping something

will surface within the next week or so. 

I've finished the sketch for July!!! Below are some photographs of some

 sketches I did and a peek into how I get from initial concept to finished sketch. 

I'm hoping to start painting tonight after we come home from our 

second round of recording at the Hobby Shop with Killsonic.

If you'd like to come along with us tonight

I'll be posting photos and video on my twitter.

my initial concept. 

figuring out the seahorse and composition

For a day or so I was going to put her in a submarine.
I couldn't get past the idea of a coral beach/desert.

final sketch before I transfer the image onto the board.

Palm Springs

Sunday was one of the longest days I've had in a good while.

We arrived in south central at 1:20 pm
Then waited on the platform of the 103rd street stop
for the guests of "meet me at the metro" to arrive.
As soon as they exited the train we (Killsonic) started playing 
and walked them over the bridge to the Watts Towers. 
The walk was about a mile or so?
I'm not very good with measurements, but we walked and 
played in temperatures slightly over 100 degrees.

photo by satish kunisi
After that gig, Bryan, José and I (Dulce de Leche)
hopped in my mom's car with our friends Esau and Luis
and headed to Palm Springs. 
After only one pitstop for gas and saxophone/clarinet reeds
we arrived in the sweltering city of Palm Springs, California.
We stopped for dinner and then headed to the Ace Hotel.

As soon as we walked in we had to set up and play.
There is some video Esau shot, but I don't 
know if it will see the light of day. 
The lighting was poor and they were having a hard time
with the sound. During our first song, an old lady
clad in red, white, and blue attire walk up to
us and informed us that she "had to shut the door 
because she was singing in the diner next door."
In the middle of our set! while José was singing!
hilarious now, but extremely irritating in the moment.
I might post a clip of that, just because It's priceless.

photo by Esau Rosales

 photo by Esau Rosales

Photo by Esau Rosales

Photo by Esau Rosales
We played around 715 pm
I'm not one to complain about whether or not
there's a crowd. We've played to two people and we've
played to a crowd of over 200 senators, tuskegee airmen, and their families.
But the funny thing was, most of the crowd that was there
(besides some people from the other bands and the magazine),
was talking louder than the music we were playing. Oh yeah,
the funny thing. After we we packed up,
Bryan went to hang out with some people in 
one of the hotel rooms, and they were bumping Morning Flowers (our cd)!
It's just really funny and kind of surreal. Just moments before
they could have seen us live. I guess we're just one of those bands :)
anyway, here are some more pictures, shot by José Varela.

hip bear

Bryan and I

Carlos' Rhodes

Jenny and Carlos 

Jenny Long 

Erica, Sam, and Ryan 

Sister Rogers

me

Bryan, Esau, José

all in all, a grand adventure.