Illustration Friday: Tea

Here is my entry for Illustration Friday's topic Tea. This is an illustration I did last year called African Safari in oils. It is an illustration of red rooibos tea from africa. I played off of the safari theme and added animals in the steam from the tea. I created an african motif in the background and textured ground with layering of varnishes. Enjoy!

Illustration Friday: Song

This is my entry for Illustration Friday's topic Song. I decided to break down the theme to the root of a song, a Music Note. I paired the simple concept with an ornate, stylized musical note.

Illustration Friday: Simple

Here is my entry for Illustration Friday's topic Simple. Nothing is more simple to me than nature.

This is a Digital Illustration I created from photographs I took at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Travel Series: Teotihuacan

12/29/05

Teotihuacan

Today I visited the pyramids of Teotihuacan. It was an amazing experience. When I was younger I had dreams of becoming an Archeologist. Discovering ancient artifacts amoung modern civilization is so interesting. I walked up the steep steps of the Sun Pyramid, visited palaces, walked the Avenue of the Dead, and looked at artifacts up close. I took a lot of pictures to help describe the experience which I will post at a later date.

It was a far drive from Mexico city to get to the pyramids. Along the drive we past through the highly populated part of the city. At one point I saw modernized city buildings juxtapozed with ancient ruins. There are many areas in Mexico City like that. As city development is taking place, there are so many ruins buried underneath that become roped off.

Once we got to the pyramids it was great to hear other people speaking english but not very fun around the merchants. So far I have been able to blend in with the Mexican population. But I read American walking around photographing the sites. But I was able to get some very beautiful things. I got a decorated rain stick and decorated bottle for my tequila.

Travel Series: A Different Type of Painting Project

A Different Type of Painting Project

Today I went to the cemetery with my family to visit my Uncle Beto. I think the last time I visited was 10 years ago. It was very interesting to sit back and see my family interact with my Uncle and his neighbors in the cemetery. Over the years they have formed a relationship with the neighbor as well because he died on the same day as my Uncle. My aunt brought a ceramic angel painted gold to place on top of the tomb. I repainted the inscription on the tombstone because it was fading. This is something my Aunt and Grandma do often because the paint fades. My mom and myself felt like this was a lot of work so she suggested getting a plaque made.

As we looked around we noticed a lot of tombstone were bearing the same angel we perched atop my Uncle’s tombstone. We all felt it would be nice to make his tombstone different and stand out because he was a very special person to us all. My aunt suggested placing a baseball figurine near the angel. That’s when I got the idea to make an extra special addition to the tombstone that could not be replicated. I’m going to make a portrait of my Uncle that reflects his personality. I have so many ideas running though my mind, I just need to figure out how to make it weather proof. I am excited to use my talents to create something so special to my heart.

I didn’t expect to get as emotional as I did. Once we were done beautifying his spot, we all said the Our Father and Hail Mary. After we prayed together, my mother prayed from her heart. It was very touching to hear the love she has for her little brother. I was very young when he died but the year before he died, he came to visit Los Angeles. He got to do all of the tourist hot spots; Universal Studios, Hollywood, Disneyland, and his most favorite a Dodger Game. He died at the age of 15, but aspired to be a baseball player with the Dodgers. He was a very valuable player on a couple of teams in Mexico.

What really got me the most was although he was so young and my mom had little interaction with him, it was still her baby brother who had a lot ahead of him. It got me thinking of a few people, my 15 year old sister, my friend who lost her boyfriend, and my friend who recently lost a sister. My sister spent her 15th birthday on an airplane to Mexico the week before. When I would think about how young my Uncle was when his life was over, I always wondered how much did my Uncle affect the people around him. But thinking about my sister now at her age and all things she represents for my family and myself, I could really feel and sympathize with my mom, aunt and grandmother who lost her only son.

My friend recently lost his 18yr old sister just as unexpectedly as the death of my Uncle. I was so shocked and had no idea what to say or how to respond. My first reaction was to let him know that I was there for him if he needed anything because I remembered how my Uncle’s death affected my grandmother and mother. Beyond that I had no clue what to say, how to be there, or do. I read articles on helping loved ones cope with grief and asked my friend who lost her boyfriend for advice. But never once did I really think about asking my mother for advice on how she dealt with the death of her baby brother. Right now I don’t know that I have any words to offer him but now I know I can empathize and be there more than I realized I could a few months back.

RIP Luis Alberto Martinez Ochaeta
RIP Cliff
RIP Brittany Veal

Though each of your earthly lives were short lived, you inspire and hold a special place in the hearts of many. Your spirits are lifted and have not been forgotten by the people awaiting to reunite with you.

Travel Series: Examined Life: Part I

Paz means Peace

An unexamined life is not worth living. -Socrates.

I have been called many things in my life, but recently the adjective that has been thrown around is wanderlust. I’m not quite sure if that is a good thing or bad. For many people I know it seems like I just picked up abruptly and left my normal day to day life for a trip around the world. But that is farthest from the truth. I’ve been planning to do a lot of traveling for a couple of years now and bought my tickets 6 months ago. To truly be at peace, I think it is very important to constantly examine my life and reassess the goals and values I have come to accept. I suppose I can see how it appears as though I am wanderlust. But who says I can’t do my self examination in Mexico, Belize, backpacking in Europe, Nigeria, Lebanon, and Spain? Transplanting myself into another culture has definitely been a catalyst to rethink some of my routine, outlooks, and aspirations.

This trip was something I felt was necessary as I transition to a new phase of my life. The past few months I have made many sacrifices to make this trip happen. As a result I appeared distant to many of my friends and community. The strain of this along with actively assisting my family, working, and finishing school lead me farther and farther away from my peaceful self. I was a machine outputting and inputting with little emotional satisfaction, I felt cold hearted. When I reflected it was a bit alarming because I couldn’t figure out how I got to this point.

Once I sat down and thought about it, I was in a similar state of being when I started college. The four months prior to college, I encountered 2 deaths, near fatal sickness of my grandfather, totaling my first car, and no where to live for college. It felt like everything that could go wrong was. I couldn't see the silver lining in the chaos. While all of this was going on my friends were having lots fun testing their new found independence upon entering college. I could barely stand to eat full meals let alone go out and have fun.

Then I received a postcard in the mail about a trip called Wilderness Connection. The details of the trip sound so great and fun. The trip consisted of backpacking though the Sierras with exercises challenging human interaction and perception of cultures. It instantly appealed to me, so I submitted my interest. When I got the detailed information for the trip, it was way too expensive for me to afford. It made me a little sad that money was going to be an interference in going on the trip. But I am a firm believer that when there is a Will there is a Way. Shortly after I received notification that I would receive a scholarship, drastically cutting the cost. It was a wonderful experience. I was challenged physically and mentally. I was the youngest, most out of shape of the group, first to get a blister, and one of the prissyiest on the trip(Don’t hate me because I smuggled toilet paper on the trip LOL). During the day I was challenged physically, by night I was challenged to examine my life and the lives of others on the trip with me. It was 6 nights and 7 days of no bathroom or shower, traveling miles to our new resting area where we repelled off of a mountain, rock climbed, and basked in the beauty of the nature around us; all while toting 60 pound backpacks effortlessly. Surviving on the bear necessities, relying on the companionship and support of fellow adventurers; helped me see the silver lining in the chaos and gave me strength to challenge my weaknesses when they arise. I have no idea how my sanity would have been without the opportunity I had to examine my life at that point.

So to all the people that have told me lately that I’m wanderlust or lucky to be on a vacation, when there is a will there is a way. I know its not feasible for everyone to take off as much time as I have to do my self discovery but don’t let that stop you from taking the chance or risks it might take. You can always do something for yourself on a smaller scale. I’m happy that I have made the sacrifices to be where I am. I’m doing some serious reflecting and working to make me a stronger person and package when I settle down and stop traveling.

Travel Series: Drive Slow

"Drive Slow Homie, Drive Slow Homie,You Never Know Homie.... You need to pump your breaks and drive slow. Live today because tomorrow man, you never know" -Kanye West

Driving slow is definitely not an active practice in Mexico. It's funny I used to think L.A. had bad driving but the term defensive driving has nothing on Mexico's driving community. Today the cab driver was in the far left lane and already crossed the intersection but managed to still make a right turn, by driving head on, diagonally into on-coming traffic and then veering into the correct lane in the street. Regardless of feeling like I was on Mr Toad's Wild Ride, it was great feeling to sit back and relax and let someone else do the driving.

Many times in my daily compacted routine, I wish I could have someone else take the wheel so I could utilize every and any moment possible to accomplish my daily tasks or assignements. Call me a Workaholic if you like, but I can't help but compact my schedule. If you ask most drivers in Los Angeles, you can get to any part of the city in 2o minutes. In all reality things are a lot farther than a 20 minute drive. Sometimes those 20+ minutes are just way too long dead time. Do you know how many phone calls I can make, meetings I can have, quality time spent with a friend, paintings I can work on, books I can read, photos I can take, blogs I can write, etc in the time it takes me to drive around congested Los Angeles? Well this is a great treat to let someone else do the driving so I can sit back, view and experience the world around me allowing it to truly seep in me and inspire me. Too many times I think I'm so concerned with completing as much work as possible and multitasking every moment of my day that I don't allow myself the time to chill and just "Drive Slow."

Travel Series: Wedding Bells are Ringing...

12/26/05

Wedding Bells are Ringing...

...and I didn’t run away screaming. I love taking pictures. I have taken photography classes and know how to develop and process film. Occasionally a thought crosses my mind to do photography commercially for weddings or events. I love the storytelling quality of photography, but I always had a big fear that I would not capture the perfect moment, destroy the film during processing, erase all the photos on the memory card, or have some other act of nature/God happen to the pictures or my camera for an event that can not be recreated. With my illustrations, I get to tell and create a story with my art as well. But there is a great deal of control I have creating my Illustrations directly from my creativity, opposed to photographing an event happening only for a small window of time.

I had a great creative outlet this week. I did photography and created a DVD of the footage I shot at my Aunts wedding. The pictures are beautiful! I had such a great time using my camera to capture unforgettable moments and tell a visual story to be cherished for many years to come. I have to admit I freaked out so many times when taking the photos and post production. Getting to the right spot at the right time without having random people walking through my shot, was a bit challenging. I had many moments when people were looking through my camera and almost erased all the photos! After having nightmares of the pictures being deleted and finally finding the protect images function on my camera, I printed the photos and presented the pictures my Aunt and her husband.

It was such a humbling experience to see my Aunt and family come to tears when they reveled in the beauty of the pictures. It also made me really proud to have my family and friends impressed by the DVD I created of the pictures and the video footage. Now that my college career as come to a close I was able to utilize the skills I attained to provide memories of the wedding. Wedding Bells are definitely ringing in my future and I won’t turn down the opportunity next time to photograph a Wedding, Quinceneria, or other once in a lifetime non replaceable moment events.

Travel Series: I lost my heads.....

12/15/05

I Lost My Heads....

I was very stressed leading up to my trip. I have lost my head in more ways than one. Being in Mexico City and Belize, will give me a chance to get much needed R,R, & R: Rest, Rejuvenation and Reassessment.

Although I’m happy and blessed to have arrived safely, 3 of the 4 luggages my family brought have not arrived. As luck should have it the only bag that arrived is full of things for my grandmother, none of my families clothes, the wedding things for my Aunt, or my sculpted heads.

If this were a few years ago I would have been very upset of about losing all the brand new clothes bought from the gifts my Mother received on her guest appearance on the Dr Phil Show’s Holiday Giving for Volunteers, but the monetary things can be replaced. What really bothered me, was I lost my art. My sculpted heads that I created recently were all in my luggage. I lost my heads! I have a few of them photographed , which is very helpful.

Once I thought about what a time saving thing photographing my sculptures was in recreating my creations, it made me really think. I have stacks of original paintings sitting on my desk and against my supply drawer. When people ask me to buy my originals, I can’t help but want to hold on to them. I have described to others, parting with them are like giving up my babys. After the time, energy, and frustration I go through to get to the end product, I have breathed a little bit of my life and experience into each piece. But just as I have gone through the creative process once, I can go through it again. Although my sculptures may be gone(for now), the ideas and concepts are mine and the stacks of paintings sitting in my art studio are doing no one any good collecting dust.

Travel Series

I have been away for the past 7 weeks. It was very wonderful and inspirational visiting museums, family and experiencing a different way of life. I have plenty of photos and stories to share about Mexico and Belize. My Internet access was extremely limited. I had my internet cafe visits down to a calculated science. I had emails pre-typed and an agenda to complete. A bit anal retentive, I know. But hey it worked.

One thing I didn't get a chance to do was update my journal regularly. But that didn't stop me from writing them. I will be including those entries in the order I wrote them. Hope you enjoy the stories as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Leimert Park

Don't take advantage of what treasures lie in your backyard. Today I spent a fun evening in Leimert Park. I attended a show called "The Dance: The History of American Minstrelsy" It took a interesting approach of combining entertainment, history, and an introspective look at the question, "Are you dancing for yourself or for someone else?". It will be running until April and would recommend it.

At the shows close, I took a walk around Leimert Park and enjoyed hot chocolate at Sunny Spot and listened to a 6 piece Jazz band. It's amazing with all the live performances, art galleries, soul food restaurants, shops and ambiance; that the streets and venues aren't as populated as the 3rd St Promenade, The Grove, Melrose or any other popular area of Los Angeles.

There is so much history and culture in Leimert Park, we need to restore and rejuvenate it!

American Superstar Magazine: Artist with a Purpose

Check out an article about me in American Superstar Magazine. Please leave me comments with your thoughts.