"52 in 52: A New Journey" September NEWS: Gallery Blu Show and 3rd in the Burg Show!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

January:



January 8, 2011


"52 in 52: A New Journey" Blog Show at

The Paper Lion Gallery, 1217 Hummel Avenue, Lemoyne



YWCA of Carlisle, PA - Featured Artist












Saturday, July 31, 2010

Week 30: "Flesh" (Purple)

Week 30 - "Flesh" (Purple)

Over the last week I have had an obsession of flesh. The smell, the taste, the vulnerability entices me and confuses me. People say that we have to build a tough skin to protect ourselves from the harshness of the world and from the bile that others spew at us. My thoughts are drawn to the question of how something so tough can be so fragile, that with the slightest prick can expose the core of our weakness.  The skin is our shield, but it is not made of steel. The sharpest blade can rip through the layers and layers of mass that makes up the physical, but the sharpness of a persons' tongue can leave permanent gashes in our self worth . 

The world loves the mantra "sticks and stones..., but names will never hurt me". To be blunt, that is utter bull shit in my mind.  The arrows of verbal attacks, even with good intention, can pierce.  I maybe of outer flesh, but my heart and core is of utter-flesh.  As an artist I find I have to leave myself vulnerable at times to feel the emotional gunfire of others to use later as inspiration.  I found that when I begin to close myself off, or grow a "thicker skin" the inspiration begins to dry because I feel no pain. 

Instead of leaving you with a my normal conclusion of my thoughts, I have decided to leave you some expressive verse to sum the meaning behind this week's work.

"Bruise" 
By David K.

Visceral knuckles pound the curves
Verbal nails begin to till the soil 
The pulse, the gasp, pumps its weakness through
I place my shield up in battle while you prepare the psychological and spiritual lobotomy

My body stands there ready for combat, but the beating inside screams for what it wants
It craves more self destruction, it starves for more violence.
The pulse, the gasp, pumps it's addiction to feeling through
I love the purple that raises to the internal and external surface
Because where there is a bruise, there is creativity, there is validation, there is emotional vandalism,
there is flesh. 


Saturday, July 24, 2010

Week 29: "Portrait of a Warrior"

Week 29: "Portrait of a Warrior"
So this week is a special week for the Central Pennsylvania  LGBT community and myself, PRIDE FEST.
  
For most of my life I have felt as if I have had to fight for everything I ever wanted or dreamed,   whether it be a better job,  freedom to love who I want or battle my own insecurities to love myself.  Most of the time I feel like I have to fight over the chaos of the world to have my voice heard.  Yet when I finally  get loud enough, is there anyone listening? 

There are those in the world that try to deny me of my right to be free. Free to express my emotions, to kiss another man or to hold his hand in front of the world and to declare him my husband.  I feel that as a society we need to realize there are still people that are longing to be free and not be treated as second class citizens.  Yet for me the true enemy that I have had to battle is myself and my own insecurities.

Like so many others in the LGBT Community I had a self hatred for many years due to my sexuality, because of people in this world who said it was a sin or it was not "normal".  I was in a constant battle within myself for my worth and self-love.   Though being out for many years I still tried to cover up the fact that I hated being  gay.  Then over the last several years I began to bring the secret out of the dark and into the sun.  I began to realize that I was brought into this world for a reason, and that every battle internal or external is what writes the chapters of my life.  I learned to love myself and be proud of who I am, and not let myself being gay define me.  In turn this made me finally love that part about me.  


It was there and then that I adorned myself in my war paint, and let out a mighty cry and stated to myself, "My blood runs many colors. I am a Warrior!
I will not back down until I am 
Free!"

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Week 28: "Graffiti, Life Imitates Art"

Week 28:
"Graffiti, Life Imitates Art"

In my travels, there is one medium that has always caught my eye - graffiti. When I begin to look at the intense accenting, savage beauty, and the raw emotional power behind it, in my mind, it becomes some of the most important visual art.  

I have found that this style of work not only imitates, but is a perfect parallel to life and art.  Usually I find that when spread  wide across a wall, the "artist or artists" are not only creating a statement of territory, but truly expressing their inner psyche.  There is also a beauty to the intense shading verses the extreme highlights.  Graffiti in my mind mirrors that inner dark verses light, yin and yang that our minds go through everyday. In this week's work I wanted to depict a softer side of graffiti that expressed the contemplative side of emotions. 

Yet while working on this week's piece I did find out one thing about myself.   Even when I have many raw emotions flowing, ready to force their way to the surface, I still try to to smooth out emotions in my head so that they are hidden.  

Call it "street art" or "destruction of property", graffiti imitates life which can create beauty or destroy it.  


Saturday, July 10, 2010

Week 27: "Out of Self Focus"

Week 27: "Out of Self Focus"
(Click Picture to Enlarge)
Special Note: This painting is not a self portrait, this work was modeled by this 
week's inspiration.

This week's work was inspired by someone else's story, someone else's life.  Yet listening to him talk about what he has been going through made me realize that I too have gone through it as well.  It's a constant human struggle to define what we really want in our lives and what we really need.  

For me this battle rages on many times on a daily basis.  I have found that when I try to make heads of tales of it in my own life, my vision of myself becomes unfocused. Many times the things that I thought were "what I needed" were actually what I "wanted", and once I had them I realized they were not what I wanted at all.  

I found when my judgment becomes muddy and unable to define clear lines of my needs and desires, I have to take time and be still.  Of course this age old question has been plaguing mankind since the dawn of time.  The only way I find the answer to this question in specific moments or situations in my life, is to sit back and let myself be motionless, and let myself begin to find the edges. I have to give myself time to clear the lines until I can move slowly out of self focus and begin to see the full picture. 

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Week 26: "CELEBRATion!"

Week 26: "CELEBRATion!"

(Click picture for enlarge the photo)
Special Painting Actual Size is: 8.5 inches (h) x 57 inches (l)

In our lives we hit milestones, begin and end journeys, and recognize achievements of others and ourselves.  For many who read this blog, this is the halfway point!  It is amazing that I am celebrating this mark.  Many weeks I struggled for inspiration, but I was still able to move forward.  As I look at this month in my life, I realize that I have many small achievements that may go unnoticed. I can get so wrapped up in what is coming next that I don't take the time to give dues to what has been completed.  

I can also find myself so wrapped up in one project that I forget to pay homage to those whose achievements have given me the ability to do what I do.  To all our Armed Forces Men and Women, thank you for your sacrifice.  I would like to personal thank my father, who was in the Army for over 20 years.  As well as being Fourth of July weekend, it is also Gay Pride Month.  I would like to take this time to celebrate our LGBT pioneers who were the soldiers of the gay rights movement.  

Both groups fought for freedom from oppression, allowing me to be who I am. Sometimes I forget to recognize these brave men and women on a daily basis. Without them I could not be free to even paint this blog.  
 This month I had many small achievements that I need to "celebrate".  The first is the halfway point of one of my most ambitious projects to date.  It has been an amazing journey, and I cant wait to see the second half.  The second is being chosen to be the featured artist for a solo show at a local coffeehouse and gallery for the entire month of July.  Third, for those who know me, I am celebrating two and a half years of sobriety. If I wasn't sober I would never have returned to my art and arrived at this point.  


 I realize we set times and dates to have a celebration of achievements.  Maybe it's once a year, or if we are lucky sometimes twice a year, but it is my belief that we need to celebrate these acts-of bravery, courage, and the journey we are all part of-every day, not just once a year.  I have to remember to celebrate all the small achievements in my life to remind myself that life is amazing, and not just the things that make a big bang.

(Click picture for enlarge the "Close Up" photo)

This week's work is #2 of 4 
Special Size paintings, price is still
$52.00 + Tax.