I am finally feeling a little sense of settling in at home (in Los Angeles) and am looking forward to this year being a lot more focused.
That said,I finished off last year with a bang. A little satiation for my need to travel. For the first time, I brought gear with me to paint in the field. It was a worldwind trip, and as I was traveling with 2 buddies ended up being a lot more of a vacation than it would have been had I been alone, but I still made use of all that crap I carried with me.
Here are the sketches I did. I never had more than an hour or two, usually getting up early and making the guys wait till mid-morning to leave a place. But it was the perfect introduction to what I presume will be a new habbit and i've already been out 'field painting' in my neighborhood since I've been back.
I'm not gonna write too much about this trip. It was incredible intense for me, personally. A lot to think about in a place like that. All I can say is that I didn't want to come back and there's still a part of me there. But, I guess I keep a little piece of me most places I go.
Anyway--I WILL start writing about my experiences as I explore my neighborhood--MacArthur Park. Because it's a friggin cool place and almost like traveling to an exotic country. and I plan to thoroughly paint it up in the time I'm there.
for now...
where all the early speeches were given. a place of incredible irony, but also, i have to admit, inspiration. it may well be the adolescent in me, but...i'm hanging on to it.
first real field attempt. chosen because of the social scene not the subject. kids playing stickball. within minutes i was surrounded by curious kids. eager to try to communicate. giggling at my attempts. they called me timida. it wouldn't be the last time. anyway--i gave in to the reality that a big part of painting in the field for me is simply another way to interact with a place. a reason to sit still for a while.
second field attempt. urban juncture where old men sit and watch. cops on top of that watching me. one senior took a particular interest in watching. the other two sat in place for me until i stopped. i didn't have to ask. the chance that i might recognize and offer something was reason enough--or would they have sat still there the whole time anyway? who knows. didn't really capture the scene, but was worth the expereince. if i'd had more time i would have finessed it.
traveling in the country side. this is where i probably would have spent the whole trip if i was alone. fully set up aisle and splattered it all around. i had exactly 2 hours here, above was the first hour.farmer with oxe tore bloody path in a field i thought was dormant waste. none such in this place. after an hour i realized a limit and moved to the second. believe it or not i literally just roated 180 degrees and this was my new view.
back in the city, our attempts to get out again stiffled by shoddy public transport (again). i couldnt get past the dock--although i didn't mean to spend as much time there as i did. local kid cornered me and was so eager i couldn't walk away. finally a cop came around and...well, that was the end of that.
this was immediately after. i only had a little while and decided to just sit near this carnival and not even attempt to paint. i got this far in a sketch--there were two kids wrestling in the field and older kids playing stick ball--when i was approached by yet another local kid. this conversation lead to late night exploits with the guys deep into the heart of the city. in the end he took home half my suitcase of stuff for his sister. innocent enough kid, but i fear we exposed him to the gluttony of the international tourist.
more super quick sketches in the last hours as we struggled to find internet access to solidify our exit strategy.
up to the last minute...literally got in a taxi for the airport 5 minutes after stopping. i would have loved to paint for 6 more hours...or months.
This is a sketch of a painting I saw, that kindof sums it all up. heh.
i'll be back one day. but what are the chances it will still be like that?
