Hello!

Well I thought I'd blog, hmm I've come to the conclusion that no one is reading my blog so I have to branch out, I think the problem is no one knows I have a blog. I'm going to do some research and reinvent the wheel I think, with maybe my own website! Well I've started a new chapter this year, italy is now becoming a distant thing of the past. I will always cherish the memories I had there but I'm ready to move forward with what I have now, my own painting studio, yes I'm back in the studio already and have completed 2 paintings this week, a head painting and a still life painting. I tried to start painting a week after I got back to the states but wasn't ready so I didn't paint for the rest of the summer. My big issue is I sleep too damn late and have not gotten much exercise since italy but somehow things are just played by ear these days. Well, I'm hoping this new semester will be a awesome journey, ttl. Robert

Hello Freinds

Hi Guys, Yes it's been too long again and it's time to restore the blog. So alot has happened since I last blogged, so I'll give you the basics. I got to go to italy for another study abroad this summer, I was there from june and returned to montana last week. It was another wonderful experience, I made a bunch of new friends and got reconnected with some of my old ones. I must say it had it's challenges as well. Many people think that going on a study abroad to another country to study art is just fun and glamorous twenty four seven. Yes it is all those things but there is a great deal of hard work behind it as well. This group was much bigger now that the printmakers are included and overall, despite a few bad apples, everyone was great and I'm so grateful to have shared the experience with so many talented artists. My plein air painting skills have improved considerably since the first study abroad in 2008. Aside from producing around fifty paintings on location, there was all the fun activities such as the weekend trips to florence, venice and rome, swimming, eating and of course doing something we didn't do the first year, going to giglio island and spending the day at the mediteranian. It would take five blogs to cover everything that happened. I was a bit sad to leave corciano because I just spent eight weeks with the group and they became my family. I'm home now, resting and not doing much of anything except recovering from jetlag and tying up unfinished business from before I left and slowly I'm getting back into the swing of things. I go back to work at shodair saturday, I dread it but it will be nice to have money again and see a few familiar faces. I'm regestered for fall and will take head painting 2 and still life painting 2 and have lots of plans for the future, including art shows, galleries, new artwork and hopefully a new book somewhere down the line. Well thats about it for now, cheers to a very fruitful summer! Robert

Hey!

Hi Guys, well it's been way too long so I better blog while I have the chance. So 2010 has been a very exciting and busy year so far. I went flex at shodair and decided to devote all my time to my artwork. I've been in the studio nonstop since February 1st, making one interesting piece after another. My artwork has gone in an amazing new direction thanks to my new classes and instructors at the academy. This semester I took mixed media, digital imaging and abstract painting. Since I went flex, my grades have never been better, all A's and B's and with these classes I feel I've had more artistic freedom than ever before. It's definately me at my most experimental, my drawing skills have also improved considerably, I'm faster and way more confident. It was as if that short winter break was much needed because it seemed like my skills just refined themselves on their own. I never dreamed I would have so much freedom in abstract painting and it's a whole lot of fun, basically there are no rules just a few guidlines to follow. Then there's digital imaging, I'm so happy to report that I'm now photoshop friendly and have created a couple great digital paintings and it feels like my artistry has also gone to a greater level with all this new technology that keeps flying at me. I've grown tremendously as an artist only since february and it feels soo damn good and fullfilling. Now that the semester is almost over, I'm going to take a very short break and then it's off to italy again for another study abroad! Yep it looks like it gonna happen for sure! The main reason I decided to go back is because I'm a much better painter than I was in 2008 and I guess it's a great way to showcase my growth and of course have some fun out of montana again. I'm way excited but I still have tons to do before I go. On the side note I'm still taking care of the grandparents and spending time with freinds and family when I can. Well, there's a brief report in a nutshell for you, I'll be posting new pieces soon. Later!

2010 The Beginning

Hi Folks, well I decided to put my thoughts here instead of facebook because I just don't have anything to say there. So far 2010 has been full of ups and downs. I'm happy to report that I've not smoked a tabacco cigarette at all this year, I decided the electronic cigarette is a much better alternative for me. For those of you that don't know what an e cigarette is, it's a battery operated device that looks very similar to a cigarette, it delivers nicotine through a smoke flavored juice that has no carbon monoxide, tar or any of the other chemicals that causes cancer and other deadly things. You don't burn anything, it's vapors. So far I like it very much, it's basically my new interest these days. It tastes way better than a cigarette. Of course there are cons to it like anything else, it should only be used if you're a long term smoker, it's not a toy and it's not healthy. It's merely a safer alternative for a smoker. Of course weeks after I get mine, there's this stupid article in the paper strongly discouraging e cigs, stating they have carcinogens but not giving any specific examples. Okay I've done my homework on these things and yes there may be carcinogens but compared to whats inside a fucking tabacco cigarette I'd much rather take my chances on one of these pups. Is the FDA suggesting all smokers go back to analog ones, well fuck you! So far I've tried two different models and both are pretty good. I'm not going to lie, I'm sure I've been withdrawing to some degree from traditional cigs but I feel the desire to have an analog cig slowly disappearing. Since my life is going at a much slower pace these days, I tend to get more depressed, moody and unmotivated but I find that if I can do at least one productive thing a day, that always helps. So far all I've really done on winter break is slowly get organized, watch my new flatscreen tv and work at the hospital. I've done no drawing or painting this year but I'm slowly starting to think about working again. My grandma is now going through chemo therapy again, the first one was incredibly hard on her but she eventually got better. It's just a one day at a time thing and I continue to hope the best for her. As far as Shodair goes, it's worse than ever, I was just telling my freind Matt last night that I used to be so confident in what I did there and now everybody's afraid to do anything because management will come down on us. I think the truth is I've been there way to long but I feel trapped there because I need the money. However I look forward to the day I never have to work there ever again. My plans so far for 2010 are to cut back on my hours there, spend more time on my schoolwork and hopefully make some great new art projects. There's a possibility I may head back to italy this summer but it's still uncertain at this point. Well I'll leave you with that for now, todays my day off and I'm planning on eating chicken and dumplings with my family and then heading to the movies!

New Work!

New work!

Happy Holidays

Hi Guys, Sorry it's been so long. I tried to blog a few months back but apparantly my blog was having some malfunctions but it seems to be working now. Anyway alot has happened since I last blogged, I officially went back to evening shift at shodair and took head painting and printmaking for fall 2009 at the AAU. Overall it was a pretty good semester but continues to be difficult for me balancing out school and work but I try. I've come a long way as far as painting heads go, I'm still learning but I'm getting much better, I think I finally have a firm grasp on drawing but seeing color and value continues to be a work in progress. Printmaking was pretty fun too although challenging at times, I learned the basics of linocut, silkscreen and lithography. It was a pretty busy semester and I'm glad I survived it. On Novemeber 13th, 2009 I finally returned to the artwalk which resulted in my first solo show at the great northern town center. It was alot of fun, I displayed about 25 of my best pieces over the last few years. There was lights, music, refreshments and even a lava lamp! I was pretty surprised how many people came out to see me, some people I haven't seen in many years. Matt Welsh an old friend of mine helped me set up and it was great seeing him, I haven't seen him in over ten years. I ended the night by going to the bar with a few few friends, something I hardly ever do. Although I didn't sell a single piece, I was grateful enough that so many people took the time to come down and see me. Christmas was also wonderful, we finally had a white christmas with lots of snow, I got lots of great gifts and got to see everyone I love. I'm now on winter break and living life at a slower pace for the time being. As far as the future goes, I plan on cutting down my workload at shodair, gearing up for the spring semester and there's the possibility of going back to italy again in summer 2010. The only disappointing news I have to share is that my grandma who I live with must start chemo therapy again tomorrow, her tumor mark is getting high again so I'll be taking care of her again and as always hoping for the best. So I'll leave you with that, I'm hoping for another fruitful year with new artwork and other exciting adventures, Happy Holidays to you all and I hope you also have a great new year.

The Boy of Summer

At last! Here's a new painting-The Boy of Summer-Oil-2009

Vacation all I ever wanted!

Ahh what a great week it's been! I figured it was time to blog. So after my Pat Benatar extravaganza in phoenix I went back to work, hung out with friends and family a bit and have attempted to enjoy the last moments of summer, I feel an end of an era coming up and the start of another. I discovered out of the blue last week they've found a replacement for me on nights which means I'll be going back to evening shift soon. Everyone on night shift now knows after the new girl told some of my co workers in cpi class that she would be replacing some guy named Robert on night shift, so yeah they all knew before me so it was nice not having to make the announcement in a funny way. The truth is I've enjoyed the solitude of being on night shift even though yes at times I wanted to murder all my co-workers but it's time to switch gears, I want to try and get my work ethic back and be alive when everyone else is and not sleep all day and feel like total shit all the time. Anyway enough of that shit, I'm on vacation and it's been so nice, I havent gone anywhere, it's been a nice retreat instead and I've made the most of it. I started working out again, I'm getting ready for the fall semester, my supplies have all been ordered and lastly some solid art news, I've finally finished my Michael Jackson painting! I must admit, this summer I didn't get much painting done as planned, unfortuantely I had other fun things going and sometimes when life happens, you don't work at such a fast pace. I've had a nice break from school though and hopefully with this painting I'll resurface, I'm thinking of this painting as a fresh start and hopefully if I can maintain myself more great pieces will follow, I've already began my next painting tonight, an ambitious large great white shark on the biggest canvas I've ever painted on, so I'm hoping! Yesterday was just wonderfull, I had dinner with my entire family and then went for coffee at jbs with my old friend, artist, Vanessa Johns. I've known Vanessa for quite a while now, I met her when I used to work at the IR, from 2001-2003. I havent seen her in six years! It was so nice seeing her, she looks great and I'm so proud of her, we revisited the past and caught up and it just seemed like old times but better! We're both adults now and we were kids when we met. I gave her some art as a gift and I'm hoping I get see her again soon, it was great! Other than this I've been spending quality time with the grandparents and also got to see my dad, mom, brother, nephew and aunt all on my vacation so that's nice. Well as of this writing I can say I don't want to go back to work at all thursday, it's been such a nice vacation and I surely needed it and I plan on taking them more often than just once a year! I'm excited for school to start, I'm thinking of the day I can quit shodair and I'm going to continue pursuing my art. Okay I'll leave you that for now..

Holy Cow

Hello my blog readers, holy cow this has been the longest I've gone without blogging for awhile so I guess I better fill you in. Well it's been a very interesting summer overall, June, I think started everyone in the universe on a couple sour notes but by the end of july things got pretty exciting for me. On July 27th I flew down to phoenix to see and meet Pat Benatar which I must say was above and beyond anything I dreamed of really. I stayed at the budget lodge on west van buren street just a hop, skip and a jump away from the dodge theatre, where the concert was. The first night, it took me a while to get used to the heat which was unbelievable and I sensed as soon as I got settled that it may be a shady part of town so I tried to stay clear of any funny business. Finding something to eat in phoenix was a nightmare because I didn't want to walk to far away from the motel, I hadn't got any sleep on the plane or at home, most likely because I was too excited to sleep. Anyway I settled for a pizza and got a little sleep. The next day I woke up and decided I was determined to find the restaurants and a starbucks, if I would've walked just a little bit more I would've found a plaza next to the sheraton which I found the next day and took in a good latte, then I walked around for a few hours, I was too nervous and excited to eat so I didn't at all that day. Once I got used to the heat it was actually not that bad and kindove nice. I returned to my motel and stayed there until the show, I actually found my motel room the most comforting from the heat and the A.C was top notch, it was an average motel, I've had better and worse but it was clean and thats all that mattered. I showered, shaved and put on my vintage Pat Benatar 1982 tour shirt and I was ready to go, I took a few deep breaths, said a prayer and went to the theatre to pick up my ticket, or so I thought it was a ticket, inside an envelope was a backstage pass and I had to sign for it, I also bought a ticket just in case I couldnt get into the theatre. I returned to my motel room and got the pat benatar watercolor I wanted to give her so bad and I was worried that they wouldnt let me take it in but I called in advance just to see what was allowed and what wasn't. I bubblewrapped the damn thing to get it in my suitcase and I didnt want to come home with it! So I returned to the dodge theatre and eventually lined up when the doors opened, a huge security guy came out and asked me if the painting was a gift for the artist and he said if it wasnt I couldn't bring it in and I said it was, so I was in luck! He took it from me and took it to public relations where I could have someone pick it up, once I got into the theatre I went straight to the merchandise booth and told some big guy who I was and he didnt know anything about me having a pass and he told me I'd have to wait for Rande-the merchandise manager, so I waited and waited and I started to ask myself if this was actually going to happen or not but I just kept breathing and telling myself to be patient. The theatre started to get packed and I got lots of great compliments on my shirt which was great and suddenly the guy at the merchandise booth signaled me to come over there and he called rande up and within five minutes he was there and I introduced myself, he was such a nice guy, he made a phone call to john, pat manager and then he proceeded to escort me backstage, I told him I had a gift for pat and he went public relations and got my painting. We chatted along the way about music etc. He was just a super nice guy and then we entered the theatre and there I was going backstage, wow it was such a trip! Jon came out from the darkness and introduced himself to me and he told me to go with him. I found myself backstage going through a long hallway that had thousands of signatures and graffiti on it, I saw joan jett and alice cooper's scrawled signatures on the wall and john led me and this other guy in to a waiting area and told us pat was getting dressed and he'd be with us in a few minutes, I saw neil giraldo and clem burke walk by and at that moment I realized I was in an area where few people get to see, I felt so high! The guy that was with me was actually there for a blondie meet and greet and we chatted for awhile, he also told me he was once involved in blondie's fan club which I thought was interesting. Suddenly John told me to come with him and I went into this lounge area where the dressing rooms were and holy cow! There was Debbie Harry and Pat chatting away, Neil and Myron, then John introduced me to Neil and Myron as the VIP guy, both were so nice and pretty easy to talk to, I talked to Neil for quite awhile, he was such a nice guy and signed a bunch of autographs for me, Pat was busy talking to debbie and I didnt want to interrupt them and then Pat came up to me, shook my hand and said hi and I told her briefly who I was, she was such a nice lady, very small and very friendly. I tried to talk to debbie too but she seemed a bit preoccupied, I was a bit disappointed she didn't remember me but then I realized she must meet people like me everyday, holy cow did she look good though! She said something to me but I can't remember what it was. John then took the photo of Pat, Neil and I. So then I turned my attention to Pat and she kindly signed some autographs for me and asked me if I was a student after seeing my painting and I told her I was and how big of a fan I was, I gave her the watercolor and a pic of me with all of her cds and she seemed so gratefull and thanked me a couple of times. She even autographed a cd for my aunt, I thanked her and Neil for having me, I was so glad I remembered my thank yous because the last few stars I met I was so starstruck I forgot to say thank you which I always regretted. I said bye to Pat and Neil and went with john back to the waiting area, while I waited I talked to myron, pats drummer and he was just the nicest guy, he told me a bit about himself and I told him what a fan I was and he seemed very flattered, I asked him if he'd mind signing a cd and he graciously said yes and took a cd and went into the back because I didn't have a marker, I stood there and talked to this nice couple who complemented me on my painting,I'm not sure if they were there to meet pat or blondie but they were also very cool, then myron came out and gave me my signed cd which he also got neil and mick to sign along with a blondie cd signed by debbie that neil got for me, I thanked him and even gave him a photo of me with the pat collection and was escorted to my seat, John put me in a chair right next to the lighting director on the side of the friggin stage! It was an experience I'd never forget, watching pat and neil on the same stage was a sensation I think I was so consummed with that more than the show itself, although it was great as always. Pat performed Somebodys baby and I was moved to tears, I think just tears of happiness though. After Pat did a dozen songs, Blondie came on and I decided to risk it and stay on the stage and not one person bothered me, Blondie was great too and had a much better lighting director than pat but pat's all about the pipes! I took several photos, none of which turned out that great but it didn't bother me that much. After the show I was trying to find my way out of the backstage area and I couldnt but I did run into the fan club guy from blondie and he gave me his email address and told me if I ever wanted to do a meet and greet with them to email him, I just might do that. I ran into rande and decided to hang out with him for a bit after the show in the lobby and that was great, he even gave me his card because he wants to use my benatar shirt for a new retro t shirt! Security let me stay because I was with Rande and we continued to talk about music and other stuff. The security guy even asked me if I managed to get that painting to pat and I told him I did because he was the guy who took it at the beginning. I bought a bit more merchandise and said goodbye to rande and told him I'd get ahold of him after the tour, I sure hope he remembers me because I have a major job proposal. I went to the backstage area with all the other fans and I knew pat and neil were gone and on their way to albequerke so their best bet was getting sigs and pics from blondie, I got clems signature on the first blondie record, debbie and chris waived to the fans and got in their bus, whether they came out to sign or not I'll never know, I decided I had enough and went back tot he motel and I just was still so intoxicated with what a great night it was, Im very gratefull. The next morning I woke up, checked out and called a taxi to the airport, he was such a nice guy, wanted to know everything about me and I even scrawled my contact info on a cab card for a possible commissioned portrait. I talked to some guy in the smoking area and got checked in, although I had two delayed flights from denver to helena I made it home exhausted by 1:30 am and slept for ten straight hours. To be continued...

Aretha-The Glass Breaker-2009-Oil

Okay, at last a new painting! This was pretty fun, more of an experiment than anything else. I was inspired to do this after seeing Aretha perform at Obama's inaguration. Lots of oil! It took three months to dry!

Hi Folks!

Hi Folks! It's been awhile since I blogged so I thought I'd better check in. So the last time I blogged was certainly a pretty rough and unbelievable period for us all, it seemed like people were just leaving us left and right, celebrities, Traci and it was and continues to be for many, just an overall dark time. I'm not sure I could say things are 100% better now but I'm seeing things a bit more clearly now. First off I've decided it's time to leave night shift and I'll be going back to evenings soon. I'm just ready for a change and it seems every shift I work anymore I leave feeling angry, I'm constantly being insulted by my co workers and being lectured on how to do my job by people who never even work with kids and haven't put up with half of the shit I've put up with there. It's time to move on! Yes I know there's crap I have to deal with everyday and everywhere but I'd rather deal with a different kind of shit than what I'm dealing with now. I'm not asking for pity or sympathy, I just want out and it's time to seriously go back to work and make a difference and not sit around and analyze life and bullshit my way though work. Anyway, on a positive note, my family is doing fine, I'm painting a great portrait of Michael Jackson and it's almost done and I'm so excited yet very nervous to go and meet Pat Benatar in Phoenix, she is my favorite female vocalist that ever lived and it should be a wonderful time. I had the weekend off and I hate to say this but I was consumed by anger all weekend at just about everything and so I decided to do Yoga for the first time in several months and I feel pretty peacefull as of this writing. I feel most of the tension has been drained from my body at this point. I also had a wonderful visit with my father and he always knows how to cheer me up and help me see things from a different perspective. Okay, it's time to go take on the day, I promise my mood will be much brighter the next time I write. Love to You all! Robert

I don't know what to say

Hi Guys, I really don't know what to say other than this week has been a rough one on just about everybody as far I can see. It began thursday when my mother had corrective surgery on her arm to fix the metal plate in her arm after she broke it last year. I waited in the hospital for about four hours, actually it wasn't so bad even though I had to stay up all day after I got off work. I got in some good quality time with my grandparents during the wait and the surgery was a success. The next day I was sad to hear that Farrah Fawcett passed away after a four year battle with cancer, it was strange because I actually thought about her two days prior and wondered how she was doing. I was never a huge fan or anything but I sympathized with her greatly in her battle with cancer, when cancer hits your family, you can relate to anyones struggle with it, famous or not. After I mowed my moms lawn on thursday not two hours after I heard about Farrah, Michael Jackson passed. It was a crazy day! Although I pretty much wrote michael off in the early 90s after one media drama fest after another, I couldnt help but be sad and of course now that he's dead, everybody is finally paying tribute and focusing on his career accomplishments which were very overshadowed for the last 15 years or so. Although I wrote him off years ago, I always did know what a musical genius he was. Anyway so I was planning on having a restfell weekend and then I got a flat tire and had to get that fixed as soon as I got off and then did some more medical errand stuff for my grandparents. I thought it was all over, I couldnt have been more wrong. I got a tearfull phone call from Amber and I learned yesterday that an old friend of mine from high school Traci Spangler, who I hung out with alot when I was younger was murdered in oakland saturday morning, from what I gather, she and a friend were outside somewhere and were shot at random. Traci's friend survived and Traci died. To be be honest I have alot of mixed feelings right now, I pretty much rode traci off and I hadn't spoke to her since 2006 after some rather bitter feelings. She attempted to get ahold of me several times but I never responded. I never thought in a million years that this would happen and as of now, I feel very much for her sisters, friends and other family. I'm still having feelings that I never thought I'd have. So I'll leave you with this for now, I'm sorry for everyone who's had a shitty week, maybe next week will be a bit better. I have to keep reminding myself, I'm very lucky compared to many right now and I think what I've learned out of all this is to love the people you love more and cherish the time I have with them on this earth and maybe tolerate people a bit more. See you next time.

Hmm!

Hi Guys, well it rained all weekend so art in the garden was cancelled but hopefully I'll be able to participate next month. I've had some issues I've had to accept these last few days, first off i've been sleeping way too much and not getting anything accomplished so I have to put a stop to that and not be on the friggin computer so much and get my ass to bed, working night shift isn't helping that much either these days, when I decided to go to nights a year ago it was mainly to get a break from shodair and get some homework done, I have to say it's been a nice break overall but I'm wondering if it's worth my overall health, I do miss being alive during the day when everyone else is. As far as my art goes, it's something you have to constantly work at and pay your dues the entire way. Unfortunately one of my newest paintings I've been working on was an official flop and I ended up tossing it tonight. I came to the realization that it wasn't working out and ended up tossing it. To tell you the truth though, I'm not that devastated despite all the work I put into it. Maybe this flop will be a great lesson in the future. I think I've finally realized what my instructors have been lecturing me about since 2004, if your subject is weak no matter how pasionate you feel about it personally, it's usually grounds for murder in the finished piece as Kevin Moore my heads and hands instructor once said to me last year. So from now on, I'm going to be much more carefull with the subjects I choose to paint as well as the medium I choose for it, perhaps this will help me, it seems everything I've done in the last year has turned out to be a disappointment, except my B-52's painting which I still have a long way to go on. So next time hopefully i'll do better. My grandmother is cancer free which I'm still so greatfull about but now it seems it's my mom whos having all the medical problems these days, she'll have surgery tomorrow to fix her broken arm. I dont mean to sound so negative but Jesus Christ, it's always one medical thing after another in my family and I'm very frustrated about it GRRRRR. Okay I'm done venting, my next post will be much better. See you next time!

Art in the Garden!!!!!

Hi there, well first of all the garage sale was a success and I managed to go scrounge around the neighborhood only to find and buy more junk but oh well. It was nice being awake at those hours in the hot early sun on my day off because usually I'm asleep. Okay on to the good news, I finally have my first helena art gig in over two years, it's called Art in the Garden and it will be hosted by Linda Parker in East Helena on Saturday June 20th, I'll be premiering a few new pieces as well as some of the classics. I'm also excited to meet a few other new artists including Linda as well as see an old friend of mine that I haven't seen in over ten years, Josh Hedges and I'm very excited about that. My goal aside from having my pieces ready to display is to get a good nights sleep before hand so I don't look and feel like night shift hell when I go to start the show, I also have to work that night so it will be a long night but what the hay, my objective is to have fun!!! Okay I'll give you a report when it's all said and done. Wish me luck!

Anniversaries!

Hi there! So it was a year ago today that I hopped on a plane and went to italy for the whole summer, one of, if not the best time of my life, I learned how to oil paint and best of all made at least 20 new friends, becoming friends with my instructors was a great privelidge. I want to thank the following people for making the trip worthwhile, Jason, Carolyn, Craig, Anna, Shawn, Sean, Jeff, Amy, Sam, Allison, Sola, Babs, April, Theo, The Bowen Kids, Thomas, Jen, Brandon, Shelley, Judy, Eileen, Gabrielle and Deana. Sorry if I forgot any of you. Today is also my sixth year at shodair, It feels like I've been there much longer considering how many people I've met there. Ahh life is good, just painted all night and now I'm going help my grandparents with a garage sale and enjoy my weekend! Okay thats it for now!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

So I really don't have much to report on except it's been a pretty lazy weekend although it's my weekend to work. I've taken just a small break from painting and drawing but will hopefully resume my duties tomorrow. I have a gig coming up at an event called art in the garden, here in Helena on June 20th, where I will share some of my pieces and meet a friend I've been wanting to meet for some time finally in person, Linda Parker, the mother of two of my good friends in High School Jamie and Josh Hedges. The pieces I will be showing are a mixure of old and new but I'm thinking by the end of summer I will be ready to show all my newest pieces and put my oldies in the vaults as far as shows go. I'm currently still balancing three pieces with one charcoal drawing of Marianne Faithfull more or less complete. I thought it may be complete last week but when I presented it to a few people, I didn't get the response I was hoping for, so i decided to shelf it for a week. So I will see see what happens this week. Today was a pretty lazy day, I got home from work and finally finished a movie I tried watching three times and after falling asleep three times trying to watch it, I watched the whole thing today, it was actually a play filmed for t.v called Hedda Gabler with Diana Rigg, I just love that woman to pieces, it was great after all. Afterwards I slept all day and just couldn't get up for my grandma's birthday, I did get her a card though and apologized for missing it all. Happy 69'th Birthday Grandma. See ya all later.

Memory Lane

So last night was much more productive than saturday, saturday I was completely worthless and fell asleep and didn't get much of anything done. Last night however was a different story, I got into the studio around elevenish and worked on my B-52's painting, it's getting there! I have the second layer of paint on and I'm almost ready to go in and make the refinements and take it to the next level. I have a good feeling about this one! So after a long night of painting I decided to look for a photo reference from an earlier painting and I ended up going through all my artwork I've ever done since I started at the academy in 2004. Wow! it was like taking a trip down memory lane and I didn't fully realize exactly how far I've come since then, I'm talking about my earliest works from analysis of form, god some of the pieces were just awful! but I decided to keep many of them and I ended up throwing out quiet a bit, I did keep many unfinished drawings that still have potential to be good drawings, so hopefully they will see the light of day. Overall it was an interesting night. Okay thats all for now.

The creative juice is flowing

So I seemed to have regained my creative juice and discipline and I feel so good about it and the future is sure looking bright. I've been painting and drawing like a maniac for the last few weeks, I'm actually juggling three pieces at the moment and enjoying it. I once preffered the one piece at a time but so far it's going just fine, I paint my b-52's piece in my studio and the other two I just take to work and work there. There's no doubt I'm getting better with age, my knowledge and skill is ever growing and my confidence is also getting to the point of authority, at least for now. I have to admit I've let stress, lazy procrastination and anxiety get in the way of alot of what of could've been great work but I'm trying my best to refrain from that and just have fun. Other than being a great artist again, I've been working and just taking life a bit slower, trying to live in the moment and not three years down the line or behind! The weather in Helena sure has warmed my soul and my grandmother is doing fine. My friends are all popping out of the woods and I have much to be thankfull for. I'm off this weekend but I will be painting and really would like to clean my bathroom! Talk to you soon.

Disappointing News

Well, your getting the news first. I have some rather disappointing news, due to overwhelming financial issues over the study abroad, I've decided to not go italy this summer. Yes, I'm very disappointed. There were a few obstacles that I certainly didn't see coming a few months ago including applying for a personal loan which I was turned down over five times and it was hard to understand because I have perfect credit but I gather it's the economy situation being what it is. Then it looked like I was about to get a loan and I recieved word from the financial aid department that I owed an additional 4,000 for tuition alone and I was planning on using my financial aid from the government to cover that and they told me it was already maxed out. So with these two heavy obstacles, I decided to cancel italy. However as bummed as I'm, I actually feel a weight of stress lifted off me as far as finances go, also I'm greatfull I got to go last summer because most people don't get chances like that ever in their lives. So I'm taking the summer off to paint and draw solo, relax and catch up with my freinds. Hopefully I will be able to shoot for italy next summer, I'd love to go one last time while I'm still at the Academy. See you next time!