Pittsburgh: CARBS, DANCE and ART.

I really don't have much holding me back from taking trips every couple of months. Last year alone I went to Puerto Rico, New Orleans, San Diego and my usual trips to Brooklyn. So this time around, thanks to one of my boos, I fucking went to Pittsburgh. Mind you, I had no preconceived notions of what to expect. Yeah it's not what I expected.

It's only a 4 hour drive up there and it wasn't bad at all. Bolt and I decided to do this at 11pm Thursday night. She filled me up with iced coffee and a shot of espresso and we took my car up to her motherland. hahaha

We got there at 4:30 am and stayed up talking until about 6:30am. OY! I woke up later that morning in Pittsburgh yo! and It was a GORGEOUS day to start playing in a new city. 

I have the excitement of a 5 year old every time I visit a new city and boy I was excited! I was staying with Bolt's family so they were my tour guides. I went to record stores, boutiques, coffee shops and lots of places to eat. This weekend was CARBFEST 2012 brought to you by this city with some bitch ass food. Seriously, I had 3 food comas and ate the shit out of some sweet food. At one point, I felt I was marinating a carb baby in my stomach. Who's the daddy? I ate around a lot so I don't know. hahaha

     

 

The picture to the left is one of the rooms at Attic Records - so many records! It was amazing and I wish I had a record player (next on my to buy list). I did buy my first record tho - it's a dance record by Nice Rec. I bought it because of the artwork. It only cost me 6 bucks so yeah I got it! The picture on the right was one of the many ridiculous gorgeous homes I saw while I was there. I was told it sold for only 150k! A house like that in Northern Virginia would start at 600k. I need to move to Pittsburgh. I could live like a queen and finally get a dog! :)   I must say Dance music was one the central themes to this trip, I was surrounded by it mostly because I heard it a lot in the car and in conversations. I can't remember what I was listening to it but it was DOPE son. I listen to anything that will make me dance shamelessly in front of strangers without me knowing it.
But it wasn't all go go all the time. I did have some time to vegetate and watch some much needed television. I don't have cable at home for a reason. I wouldn't be this productive. Friday night I watch a Godzilla movie and I was all about it. If it comes on TV ever, I will sit there and watch Godzilla attack!

Saturday was a crap, rainy day so every motion took longer than expected. I was not ready for the weather to be as cold as it was. I came ill prepared only bringing dresses and flats. So they took me shopping to Target to buy some jeans. We ended up spending a good chunk of time shopping. Women!
I took a picture of my outfit because if my sister saw what I was wearing she'd call it ludicrous. I was wearing shorts underneath my dress that were showing, my Beatles shirt under my dress, my Converse sneaks...oh man I was a hot mess! But I got jeans and the weather could suck it. I was warm again.

And the ENTIRE REASON I came up to Pittsburgh finally came around - The Art All Night festival that took place inside a giant warehouse with so much space. I dropped off my piece in the afternoon and came back at night to look for it. The entire event was good and there was so much artwork. Then disappointment set in again. I found my piece sitting on a table. It was small so I knew no one would see it and I couldn't figure out why they didn't hang it up. I was bummed. But the piece wasn't really representative of my current artwork, so next year I'll make a larger piece so no one will miss it. Lesson learned. The event was still pretty cool and I took some pics here and there.

I am realizing the older I get the more art is becoming more than just a hobby or something I dabble in when I have time. It is slowly becoming a way of life for me. I was in awe of all the artists I saw and I never want to stop making art. I am not rolling in the dough to afford to make this a full time gig but I am working on it. Art is what gets my soul moving and gives me fuel to make more. I am a very visual person and this weekend was RIDIK in the visuals. My mind and eyes were smiling the entire time.
On my last day there we went to Pamela's, which is a Pittsburgh MUST. I ate so much yet again but loved it. I need to detox my body from all of it this week. haha We sat outside and next to Pamela's was a Catholic church. Again, the church was beautiful so duh! I took a picture and might have said a Hail Mary underneath my breath since ya know it was God's day and all.

Seriously, Pittsburgh had some beautiful homes and churches and it didn't help my last day there was absolutely awesome. High Five Sun and bright skies! All and all I had the best time and I was so lucky I had a chance to go there. Needless to say, I'll be back.  My Honda Hybrid will take me anywhere. 

And to wrap up the weekend, I got home to find my business cards for Artomatic waiting for me. TA DAH!

I customized them with a drawing I made for my friend Andrew and I'll be placing near my installation at the show. I am smiling from ear to ear. :) Thank you Pittsburgh! You were bootiful! 

Listening to Queen while painting produces something new

I was originally going to take my Brooklyn piece to the Pittsburgh Art All Night festival but decided to put in the Artomatic show instead. So far I have 6 pieces, in different stages of completion, I will use for the Artomatic show. I am very excited for this opportunity to show off my work. I'll be on the top floor with a huge white wall ready to display my recent work.
This is one of the bigger paintings in progress right now.....

I have a little less than 2 weeks to complete this one among serveral others. It's like being back in college during finals. I was always the procrastinator and pulled all nighters to finish my papers and presentations. haha I am all about this pressure right now. I am putting  my imagination into overdrive and just know that it will all get done. 

On this rainy Sunday evening, I am listening to Queen and working on the piece above. I looked over at the pile of leftover acrylic paint I peeled off my palette and got inspired! I could do something different with these leftovers and test out a new direction. Sure, why not? You don't know if it will work until you try it. So here is what I have so far. 

I think it can work into something more abstract and less figurative than what I am use to. I didn't want to throw them away since I was liking all the colors and how they meshed together. I am adding this last minute side project to my TO DO list. oh yay! 

Painting all day and not leaving the house makes me productive and at times go a little stir crazy. Despite all this rain, I'm going to step out to buy me some salad. I just opened my window and the breeze feels so nice. I hope it doesn't rain next weekend. Nah man! I wouldn't be about that yo!

My Red Bubble

I am always interested to see how people will perceive my work. Half the time someone asks me to explain my work, I just give them a puzzled look. All I can think of is that it is a mixture of hours of solitude and my subconscious that seem to have coalesced into the art I produce. I spent so much time alone that I've let my subconscious come out and play and sit awhile. I start to think of snippets of my current life and move backwards to my past. I am still hung up on certain things from my past, I am impatient for my future and I barely pay attention to my present.
That makes me an artist, right? A short attention span, impulsive, reckless, selfish and distant on purpose.
In recent years, I have become more extroverted, with the help of alcohol to be honest and I have become more aware of my vulnerabilities. Those intimate moments I choose not to share but I know they must leave my mind or I would have a mental breakdown every couple of months. Art is my healthy release from those feelings. Ugh. Feelings. Gross.
I am cool with this man. It's all good. I am mellow and I want to do is make MORE! I am more productive alone than when I am in a relationship. Love become the distraction from the construction of art. I am not against love. I just cannot make up my mind whether I want it or not right now. So I rather be in lust with men. Easier to handle and leaves me time to make art. Which leads me to my most recent works of art.

 

The one of the left are my thoughts on body image. I was sitting outside my old job in Brooklyn and I kept staring at the parking meters. It reminded of a woman's body and then I thought..."man, what if I was that skinny?? Maybe I'd get more attention" haha 

No one could be THAT skinny but it got me thinking and in two seconds I pulled out my sketchbook and drew it down. It's the visual of a meter being a woman's body and being accepted as normal. I'm a chubster so I do think about my body image but then I get distracted by something else and I forget about it. moving on....

 The image on the right goes along with how closed off I become in my bubble when I'm drawing. I shut the world down and I concentrate on the image in front of me. It's my time to sit down, put on my headphones and go to town. Party of one. Don't mind if I do enjoy this singular moment. I do not want to share it. It is one of the few times I can concentrate and be productive. BAM! In your face world. That's some art fo ya! SAVOR THE FLAVOR OF Z.  sigh* I need more sleep. 

In my red bubble, only intangible entities exist and at any given time they expel themselves from thought and onto the canvas. It's a pretty dope process. :)

I hit the ON switch and this happened...

 

Moving forward with new works...evolving bit by bit.

Scored free canvases from a co-worker so I'm working on these two at the same time. Sometimes in my process, I get stuck on which direction to take the painting to. Where shall we go? NO IDEA. So it helps me work on more than one piece. Shakes things up a bit!

New exposures and a new painting

The exhibit in New York I was so pumped to enter was a total bust. I went up there excited for the chance of more exposure. I even forgot my piece back in Virginia and experienced a mini breakdown. I lucked out that my friend G-man was coming up to New York a couple of hours after me and was kind enough to bring it up for me. I rode the subway and walked those Manhattan blocks towards a new chance. Shot down I was! I arrived to greet disappointment. There was just a piece of torn paper attached with duck tape to the front of the closed gallery...." We are no longer accepting submissions...sorry :(" 
REALLY?!!! I hauled my cookies up to New York just to get a sad face emoticon. Bullshit! I WAS RED. 
Thankfully, my friend Dubbs calmed me down with some beers and a marathon of Star Wars. Everything was well in the world again. haha Han Solo was so hot back in the day yo! Boo Boo could have had my number any day of that galactic week.  
I digress....at 30 I finally decided to make a genuine effort to put myself out there. I can no longer contain the images in my head and I'm not a hoarder so hello world! here they are - my thoughts and my mind on display for all to see. I make them because it's in me to make them. Does that make sense? Why would you bottle awesome sauce and put it on a shelf for no one to taste? Share awesome with everyone. 
I finished my Brooklyn painting of a man with a beard of PBR beers. It's what I saw when I lived in New York. Beards, Beer, Bicycles and the Subway. I'm hoping it will be well received at the Art All Night festival.  One bad experience won't deter me from trying again. So this time I travel in the opposite direction to Pittsburgh. Life just keeps taking me to some new spots and I'm never one to say "Nah Man! Am I stay at home with my cat." hahaha
And I won't have to travel all the time to get my artwork noticed. Artomatic is having their Artomatic 2012 art exhibit in Crystal city,VA. holla! It's going to be on display from May through June. I am going to participate and see how the general public reacts to my work. SEE. Life can be every exciting. I never want to lead a linear existence. I am the odd duck who wants to zig zag all over this Earth. 
I CHARGE FORTH riding a unicorn and holding a big stick to my next painting. It was inspired by drawings my friend Jenn made just because she felt like making something.  I loved it and she let me keep them. I saw something great in those drawings. She was like...uh...ok? 
I don't understand why people don't always see what I see when looking at an object. My mind whirls with ideas and colors. Why aren't you seeing what I'm seeing? 
BECAUSE YOU'RE WEIRD Z!  
well then. duly noted. 
It doesn't look like much right now, but every creation needs a starting point. 

I hope to finish this in the next week and bust out some more. I would like to have a large selection of paintings to chose from for Artomatic. No one else is going to make them for me. So Carpal Tunnel here I come. We meet again on this here battlefield. EN GARDE!

One lucky girl!