652 With His Song
8x8 inches : original oil painting on gessobord
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651 Lemon Drops
6x6 inches :: original oil painting on gessobord
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I've had this urge to paint (not eat) candy lately. So I bought some lemon drops and painted them.
650 All I Need Is Less
18x24 inches :: acrylic on stretched canvas
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649 Persimmons
8x8 inches :: oil on gessobord
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I sure love persimmons. My dad taught me to love the soft Hachiya type ... the large, acorn-shaped ones which when ripe, drip with gooey goodness, and can be pierced and slurped out of the skin. My mom taught me to love the hard Fuyu type. Almost firm as an apple that can be peeled and cut with a knife. Delicious.
648 We All Know the Song
6x6 inches :: oil on gessobord
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First they say they want you
See how they really need you
Suddenly you find you're out there walking in a storm
And when they know they have you
Then they really have you
Nothing you can do or say
You've got to leave, just get away
We all know the song ...
--Neil Diamond
(I referenced an image by @jasminaalzihairi for this work)
There's kindness. And then there's SOMETHING ELSE disguised as kindness. I've experienced both. This SOMETHING ELSE is what I've been wanting to write about for a while but it wasn't until recently that the dots of what I wanted to say connected. It happened when I was watching gymnast Aly Raisman on 60 minutes. She's been going to schools talking to students to raise awareness about how predators like Larry Nassar (the gymnast doctor who abused Aly) target and groom their victims. One main strategy is to offer extreme kindness to the target. And once the kindness is thick and the trust is high, the kindness transforms into SOMETHING ELSE.
There's this "be kind" message omnipresent these days. It's on posters. On shirts. It's also in the form of other stuff ... like an unexpected birthday gift ... free tickets to Disneyland! An effusive FB/IG post declaring how you're the best art sissy in the world.
More than once I've been on the receiving end of such gestures. And more than once I've found that those gestures precede the SOMETHING ELSE that eventually surfaces. That SOMETHING ELSE is all about the predator weaponizing kindness to take without consent, to manipulate, to control and then ultimately punish if the victim doesn't fall in line ... all the while donning an exaggerated smile with seemingly innocuous mantras like "Find your tribe, love them hard."
The sexual abuse that Raisman suffered doesn't compare to the kind of bullshit I'm pointing to. Of course not. It's just that.
I think it's dangerous to always take kindness (whether with a trusted physician or the latest art-sister for life) at face value. And sometimes it takes a lot of strength to walk a direction different from the tribe to find a steady, solid path. It's usually on that path that I sometimes encounter what appear to be shimmery gems in the dirt ... which sometimes turn out to be pretty stones, or drops of rain ... and sometimes, actual bits of true kindness ... not clamoring to be seen, but just quietly shining still.
647 That I'd Been Crying
18x24 inches :: acrylic on stretched canvas
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I was all right for awhile
I could smile for awhile
But I saw you last night
You held my hand so tigh
As you stopped to say, "Hello"
You wished me well
You couldn't tell
That I'd been crying over you ...
Explosion of Color & Form
2-dayWorkshop :: March 9-10, 2019
with Dina Wakley
LOCATION
207 N. Broadway Street, Suite L
Santa Ana, CA 92701
[email protected]
Join Dina Wakley for a two-day explosion of color and form. On day 1, we'll focus on creating organic patterns on our substrates. We'll use the Dina Wakley pouring medium and cell creator for some, and rubbing alcohol for others. We'll focus on an organic "let's see what happens" process. On day 2, we will turn our organic messes into figurative forms, focusing on lights and darks, multiple layers, gesture, and narrative.
MATERIALS LIST: Each participant is asked to bring the following to the workshop:
Instructor will provide:
NOTES:
STUDIO POLICIES:
Please read class policies for Studio CRESCENDOh here. By purchasing this class, you are agreeing to abide by the class policies.
MARCH 9-10, 2019
PRICE :: 285
646 Cymbalist
18x24 inches :: original acrylic on canvas
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“Mr. Wulfersberger, how come the band gets to go to Disneyland but the orchestra doesn’t?” Jenny asked.
“Because Disneyland invites marching bands. Orchestras don’t march. You can’t march with the cello,” said Mr. W.
“That’s not fair. Then I’m gonna take up the cymbals. And I’m gonna go to Disneyland,” said Jenny.
“Fine,” he said.
(And that’s how I learned to be a cymbalist in 7th grade at Actis Junior High in Bakersfield)
645 Chef's Catch
10x8 inches :: original oil painting on gessobord
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I referenced an image of chef David Chang for this work.
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