I've Moved! ..Well...Sorta...

I've been showing at the Art Bank on Mass Ave in Indy, now, since February.  I really really like it there, its just such a cool place.  Up until now, though, I've been in the "Incubator," AKA The Upstairs.  I liked The Upstairs, it was alot of fun.  The people are all cool and I had a blast painting the rooms with my friend Miranda Gabbard. We painted colors in those rooms our parents would have NEVER let us put on walls! (And better yet, we put them on the floor!)

But now....I'M DOWNSTAIRS!!!  YAY!!!! Even better, I'm right by the front door, on the right side, ready to catch your perepheral vision as soon as you walk in.  Score!

 So what you see here is a continuation in painting walls colors that your mother wouldn't approve of, in this case: Black.  It was suggested to me to do so, because I use alot of thick black lines and bright colors in my work and those would only be enhanced by a straight-up black wall.  I like it!  Also, I get the entire wall, plus the little bit of wall on the corner.  The white side is actually the front door of the Bank, so, again, a prime position. 

In addition to the main wall, I also get the little closet (minus the door) on the wall.  A visitor to the Art Bank, last First Friday, called it an alcove, so I'm stealing that name: I get the Alcove on that wall. I painted it black as well, and decided, in a moment of great insight (yeah right) to paint the ceiling black. You know, adhering to all those HGTV shows that say that painting a ceiling expands the room. The ceiling in there was pretty low too, so I figured what the hey. Yeah. All went well until I realized I needed to stand on a ladder one step to reach the ceiling...up I went...sticking my head straight into the CFL bulb dangling from the middle. The bulb exploded, I didn't get electrocuted, and glass rained down every where. Lucky for me, the owner of the Bank, Dan Haynes, is an electrician by day.  He made sure we weren't going to die and then helped me pick glass out of my hair. Thick Hernandez Hair saved the day--no cuts to my scalp!  Of course, the Boyfriend shook his head in exasperation, later, when I told him this story. "Who does that??" "I do!" Yeah.

To round out the usefulness of the Alcove, I got this little gem at Goodwill!  It locks and I even got the keys to go with it!  I spray painted it a more olive green color at first, but then I learned a big lesson in spray paint + humidity = a crackle finish. Not the look I was going for.  Dash to Lowe's (Valspar paint smells just so good) and I come back with some nice glossy paint in a color I thought matched the spray paint... and turned out to be hella-lime. Hey, lime's cool, I like lime, painted the handles bright blue (I love that blue) and added a red polka-dot rug I got at Wal-Mart (on sale! haha) that is actually for Remy to lay on when she visits, since the floor has a nice tile finish, not so nice to fuzzy feet.  That basket is an Asian newspaper-woven basket from Hobby Lobby (again, SALE) to hold my greeting cards (FOR SALE, a pack of 6 for $5) and my business cards and we're good to go.

I like my new wall, it rocks.  I'm really happy with it and the increased traffic it holds. I can hang work on all three walls of the Alcove, plus the wall outside the Alcove, plus the main wall, so it turns out I have a ton more increased space than I had upstairs, and I had an entire wall up there!

So, August 5th is the next First Friday. Come see! Come see! It has even more awesome in real life!

Requiem For A Paintbrush

  Oh Paintbrush, I knew you well.  You were such a loyal, hardworking paintbrush.  You were 3 inches wide (I mistakenly said you were a 2 inch) and were very useful when it came to gesso-ing canvases. In fact, that is how we first met. You were a class-required purchase, and on sale with the employee discount at Hobby Lobby. I was taught how to build and gesso canvases, with you at my side.  You were quick to learn as well, and applied a smooth, even coat to every canvas placed in front of you.

But you quickly picked up more than that. For any large area that needed a good blending, you were there. You were the king of skies, merging the purples to the blues, to the whites.  They always turned out smooth, as if pulled from the sky itself.

You were not daunted by the size of a canvas, in fact, the bigger canvas, the better. Large work spaces were your forte.  You were not cowed by the fine detail from the small, itty bitty liner brushes; they could fill in the flower petals in the fine field you could create.  There had to be you, before there was them.

You wore your dried paint and gesso marks well.  It showed your character, the number of pieces you assisted on.  And you always owned the gesso.  I had to look today, for a brush to take on your duties. This new brush was also on sale, though not on employee discount. Those days are passed.  This brush will be adequate, but not the same. It will not have the handling ease you possessed, or the thickness of bristles.  They just don't make brushes like you anymore.  But it was those very bristles that did you in. I wish I could glue them back!

Good Paintbrushes don't die. They simply loose their bristles.

Latest Works

While I've been so busy, lately, I have managed to churn out a few new pieces. Without further (FURTHER) adieu:

 This lil happy piece is called "You Can't Do That On Television."  It was actually painted last fall, ...but... I wasn't able to finish it until this spring. It needed a healthy coat of spray gloss, that, with the winter being the winter, could quickly become an unhealthy coat of spray gloss--not just for my own oxygen consumption, but because I've found that when you use aerosols under certain temperatures, they tend to make little bubbles as they dry. Not cool for the amount of work I put into it...so I waited. Anyway, it's my crumpled paper technique AND it just sold today! Woot!

 This agitated fellow is "Aviator." Kind of a take on the Red Baron, or of fighter pilots of old. I explored a new (for me) technique here: I made a stencil, painted the background, then the fill in colors for his hat, skin, scarf and goggles, then laid the stencil over to make any black lines with aerosol (actually the black is appliance spray paint, interesting texture/sheen). I'm currently using this same technique on a companion  piece to this one, tentatively called "Autopilot."

 This one is "Faith 7," named for the Mercury capsule of the space program. I saw the real thing hanging at the Johnson Space Center in Houston and took an AWESOME pic of it (it's on my facebook if you really want to see the original). This is my pop art-stylized way of portraying it. I'm digging the style, it may reappear.

This one is called "Re-Entry" and is of Apollo 17, you know, re-entering our atmosphere.  Again, seen at the JSC in Houston, and, again, in a broader pop art manner. And if you look reeeeally closely in the background (though you can see it easily in real life), you can see my fleck-art stars.  White paint. Randomly applied. I likes it.

And now for the second wave of Mee-bas!

The red/green/blue one is "Mee-ba 5.0," the pink/navy/yellow one is "Mee-ba 6.0," and the white/grey/black one below is "Mee-ba 4.0."  The first three Mee-bas were sold, and my mommy suggested I make some more Mee-bas. She even suggested the white/grey/black color combination, but later claimed to like the RGB one better. They vary in size, as Mee-bas do, and are sold seperate and as a set. Mee-bas are actually really fun to paint, and I see a really large one down the pipe somewhere. You know, after I clean all the other stuff off my plate!

That's about it for now, back to work on "Autopilot" and other plate-fillers. I've finished painting my new wall at the Art Bank and get to hang my work there tomorrow. AND I have the sniffles. NOOOO!!! I am NOT catching a summer cold! Just sayin'. I have too much work to do!

Gallery News

I've had quite a bit on my plate lately, both art-wise, and non-art wise, so I apologize for the absence.
I'll just talk about the art-wise here.

We've gotten the upstairs of the Art Bank ship-shape...Just in time for me to move downstairs! Woo! I'll miss the upstairs, I've worked hard, with many of my fellow artists, to make it a neat, nifty place to be, so by all means, still go up there to check it out!

I'll be busting my tushie, getting my section of wall fixed up this 'weekend,' so, hopefully, I'll have plenty of pics to share when it's all over and ready to go. I seriously can't wait for my 'weekend' now!

On the Muncie front, I've got an upcoming show there for July. (I know! I'm posting about it BEFORE it happens! What a shock!)  I'll be joining artists Zack Starkey and Sam Koch at the 111 Arts Gallery in downtown Muncie.  It's actually a tattoo parlor, so that's a pretty interesting change of setting.   Art can be shown in tons of off-the-beaten-path venues; so far I've shown in a library (Greenwood, my first), a pottery place, a high-end consignment shop, a hair salon, and now a tattoo parlor. Those besides the normal galleries or coffee shops you'd expect. I'll show anywhere they'll have me! I still haven't quite decided what pieces of my collection to take up there, but let's just say it won't be my traditional still lifes.  I'm seriously considering busting out the aerosols on plywood, just 'cause.  In any case, you'll have to come to Muncie on July's First Thursday (July 7th) and see! Oooo a surprise!

AND I'm now a member of IDADA , the Indianapolis Downtown Artists and Dealers Association. Yay! I've gone legit! Some of my work is now featured on my IDADA page and its a pretty cool benefit of showing at the Art Bank. Score!

AND I've just been invited (and just accepted the invitation) to join the White Pines Gallery, an online gallery that's based here in Indy. 

Site mistress, Sally Cunningham, visited the Art Bank for June's First Friday. We chatted a bit and she liked my art! I was invited to join, and she even gave me a lil write-up on her site's blog! (Scroll down to the Saturday, June 11, 2011 entry).  It was very much appreciated, and I hope White Pines will be a good online home for some more my art. Another thing I can't wait to set up. Heh, I'll probably do that this 'weekend' too, after I've turned my arms to jello prepping my wall at the Art Bank. When all you can do is rest your fingers at the keyboard, at least you can get some more work done!

AND...well...If there is an AND, I can't think of what that'd be right now. No new pics in this post, but some nifty links to check out.  And, while I'm expanding my online turf, my actual website, joyhernandez.com is still my home turf.  Well, that needs some big time updating, but hey. I'll add that to my list of stuff  I need to get done, you know, like all the goofy garden/yard projects I've been accomplishing. Hey, you never know, if my rock garden thing I'm building turns out like it currently looks in my head, I'll post some nifty pics of that too!

Cheers!

An Art Engagement

You miss quite a bit if you miss First Friday at the Art Bank. Lots of new art, fun artists, and wonderful art appreciators and...
This:

Bryan and Jennifer came to the Art Bank last October, for First Friday. It was their third date. It was also the night that he looked at her and knew he was going to marry her.  So he waited until June. He had his brother help him out, taking photos of Bryan holding up signs, asking Jen to marry him. They put the pictures together into one piece, Bryan painted on it a bit to give it a more artsy look, they added a frame and he rented a wall at the Art Bank, just for the night.

He then asked Jen to come with him on another date nite. They wandered the downstairs part of the gallery and eventually made their way to the upstairs. He had it all planned out: "What do you think of this one, Jen? What do you think of that one? What do you think of THIS ONE?"  And....

I happened to be on call, had my camera ready and positioned it in the far corner of the gallery room, for the best vantage point.  A downstairs artist agreed to give me the head's up when they arrived. Bryan gets down on one knee, and I start rolling. Next thing they know, I'm sticking a microphone in their face to get all the lovely details, while fellow artist Luis Medina is pointing out that Bryan successfully ruined it for all romantically-inclined men in the entire city: The bar has now been raised.

So yeah. First Friday at the Art Bank is a pretty hoppin' place.  Who knows? Next time, you might wander into an art wedding, on a night when you thought you'd just go check out some local art!

Spiffing Up the Backyard

Unveiling my latest creation! Garden decorations! How did I do it, you ask? Here’s the photo play-by-play:

You start with a bit of barn board and some old fencing, thanks to my art friends Preston, who happened to have a barn he tore down, and Vinnie, who happened to want to get an extra piece of fencing out of his yard.

I was limited to about a 5 ft. height, mostly because I drive a Toyota Yaris, and while it’s quite the little hauler, it’s not very long. It performed admirably, pretending to be a baby pickup truck, but 5 ft. was all it could go. No matter, that was all I needed.

I gathered 8 of the boards, laid them in my yard and put two screws into each one to connect them to a bracer board across the back. I put another bracer board across the bottom for stability. It pretty much looks like an old piece of fence, and that’s what I was going for: An old piece of fence that I could paint on. Vinnie’s was already fence-ified, so all it needed was paint.

I start with background color, orange for the barn board and a nice turquoise blue for the fence. I’ve totally fallen for this color of blue—it comes as a spray paint by Valspar at Lowes and I can’t find enough excuses to use it. I had them mix the color into an actual flat latex paint, and there are plenty leftovers for future projects!

I have day lilies (at least I think that’s what they’re called) surrounding my backyard. It’s a pretty dreary backyard, full of mosquitoes in the summer if I don’t fight them off, so this year, I’ve vowed to spiff up the place.  So day lilies went on the turquoise fence.

The BF and I have planted three raised garden beds in the sunny corner of the yard, and I’ve recently expanded to sunflowers on one side of the garage. The garage is white and just kind of there, so I figured it wouldn’t mind. A large sunflower blossom went on the orange barn board fence, for encouragement to my little plants.

I leaned both pieces against my garage, and in the strange empty spot on the day lily side, I’ll lean a (probably painted lime green) lattice to encourage the bird house gourd seeds I’ve planted there.  If all goes right, I’ll have a very productive, colorful backyard!

Thank you Preston Karns and Vinnie Oliveri!

The Artist Within

I really need to start writing about this stuff BEFORE the fact, not after, but March/beginning of April has been...one of those months. Little of it is art related, so I won't go into it here. But anyway.

I was the feature artist at The Artist Within in Muncie! (Yeah...I should have written about this sooner...)I was the feature artist at The Artist Within in Muncie! (Yeah...I should have written about this sooner...)

The Artist Within is a neato shop in downtown Muncie, where people can come and paint their own pottery. Then they fire it in a kiln for you and you get to keep it (for a nominal fee, of course). You can paint your own bowl or platter or lil puppy statue, whichever you please. They have this giant long wall and use it as gallery space for Muncie's First Thursday event! Yay!

So for the month of March, my art and only my art was on that wall. This was my first go-round as a feature artist, so I wanted to make it special. I marathoned 8 new pieces, and before I knew it, "Windmills and Middletown" was up and ready to go!

I'll admit, it was daunting, I was kind of winging it, but I've made some really great friends (including Debra Gindhart Dragoo, who had her Green Glam for sale there as well) that have guided me through the Muncie "art scene."

There was just one hitch: Apparently, there was some kind of event (ironically, also dealing with the Middletown Studies) downtown that night, and that seemed to draw away the usual First Thursday patrons. Soooo.... it was kind of dead. Great. But it's a great venue, and I had a blast, and would gladly do it again and learned a lot from the entire experience, so that made it worth it. Really. In fact, I'm in talks for a potential First Thursday in June, so there. (details will follow as soon as they're laid down).

And now, for your viewing enjoyment: Pics of the First Thursday at The Artist Within!

(From left to right: Debra Gindhart Dragoo taking a picture of "Rocket Corn," Debra again taking a picture (with bisque pottery in the background), and a close-up of my wall, starting with "Getting A Living")

(From left to right: My wall, starting with the latest "Turbine" watercolors, the entire long wall display area, and my sign-in table --apparently Francis Scott Key felt the need to sign in and relay the greeting "F U!" Classy, Mr. Key, classy.)



(From left to right: My pic and an article about my work in the First Thursday preview section of the Muncie Star-Press, Debra Gindhart Dragoo's Green Glam set-up.)

Next time: The latest projects! Because there's always more and there are about 8 half-finished canvases LOOKING AT ME.