Perhaps I should look at my coffee addiction.

I didn't mean to sound so jaded with the contemporary art scene in yesterday's posts. It's more about my own struggle with beauty and painting. There's something reassuring and faithful about painting- comforting, but still sexy after all these years. Paintings are mysterious. Some paintings more than others. Maybe that's what I look for in art- mystery and substance.

I'm still reading through The Beat and the Buzz and I can't decide whether I should be embarrassed by admitting this or not. Like whether it's too close to admitting one reads the National Inquirer. (I don't.) I came across a passage talking about a small consortium of collectors as art hedge fund investors. I think I may have been introduced to someone like this in a studio visit earlier this year. I deleted most if not all of that particular post. Restraint of Wacom pen and tongue.

More importantly, I found 2 boxes of Chemex coffee filters at The Coffee Conservatory in Culver City, the last bastion of independent coffee houses. You people do not know how I have suffered. I was giddy at the prospect of having my coffee this morning and am already excited about brewing coffee tomorrow.

Carla posted some pics of when she lived in a trailer in the 90's. Suddenly, I found the idea of a trailer a very attractive option. I don't know how Matt and I going to divide the house. Sometimes I think it might be nice to offer a 1-person artist residency for a modest fee or convert the office back into an attractive guest bedroom and rent it to out-of-town art peeps. I wouldn't charge anyone for Thursday. That's when the yardmen invade the neighborhood and the garbage trucks come by. Thursday is rather nerve-wracking.

Here's one of the places I lived in the early 90's. This was the loft I lived in right before I was accepted to grad school. I think it was $400 for about 1000 square feet. There wasn't a kitchen but there was this long industrial kitchen sink, the kind you see in restaurants. There was virtually no divison between my art and my life. The bedroom and bathroom were lofted above. After that, it was a a blur. There was a bay of windows up top. It was more like a sunken loft space. I'd freak out if I lived like this today.

Why yes, today IS Studio Coffee Break Day.

I happened upon a Professional Porch Sitters Union website yesterday and Eureka! realized that's what Studio Coffee Break Day was. I like this. I'm now thinking of merging the as of yet to be established Professional Porch Sitters Union 4343 with Studio Coffee Break.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=49926568432#/event.php?eid=49926568432&ref=nf

In studio world, I've got 6 paintings in various stages of completion. I'm digging a little deeper into Romanticism thanks to my love of Ruskin and Turner and am delving into my secret past as a Transcendentalist wannabe. For a brief semester in college, I was lost. Well, actually, more than a semester. I knew I wanted to be an artist, but had no idea what media I wanted to concentrate in. The art dept threw me into Communication Design, because, and I quote, "At least you can make money." I harbor no resentments whatsoever, but my heart wasn't in it. I plodded along. Oh sure, I loved all the tools and even liked coming up with solutions to problems, but something was missing, which I later discovered was a quote I subconsciously live by in the studio: “Design is about solving problems. Art is about creating them.” I create problems. This is what I'm really good at. I excel at this.

So during this time of idealized soul searching, I got hooked on Emerson and Thoreau and eventually found my first painting class, which changed my life. Yeah, I know it sound dramatic, but it's true.

I am posting now becuase I will be too tired later.

I managed to practice yoga this morning for the first time in a loooong time. I am always surprised by how unbendable I become when I stop practicing yoga. I also forget why I stop practicing cause I always feel so good afterward. Always. It would make sense then, to continue my yoga practice uninterrupted.

The studio. Yep. I was there today, but nary a brushstroke did I make. I'm dropping a few smaller paintings off to the gallery tomorrow and decided NOT to rush the other 3 that I think I'm finished with, because I may not be finished with them after all. They need sitting time in the studio. I need to stare. On the way to the gallery, I'm stopping by to do a studio visit with another artist.

I had an impromptu coffee with a consultant friend as I was writing this. She was in the neighborhood. Call me a philistine, but as a producer of art, I am so utterly fascinated by the collector of art side of things- the serious collector side of things, the hardcore, that's-equivalent-to-my-entire-mortgage kind of collector. We discuss this kind of stuff and I secretly think that maybe I should spend more time educating myself as a collector. A few weeks ago when the economy hit the first bottom and WAMU was up for grabs, I thought seriously about cashing it all in on one major painting. I didn't, but that gives you an idea of what kind of collector I'd be. Or not. Maybe it just gives you an idea of how disillusioned I am with traditional investments, such as real estate, 401K's and my FDIC insured savings account. It should come as no surprise that "Masterpiece" was one of my favorite games as a child. Maybe there's an art world version of The Sims version out there. If not, there should be.

I also like the idea of dressing up, coiffing my hair and wearing sexy pumps.

As a reminder, next Tuesday is the studio coffee break at 2 PM PST. Unfortunately, I will not be wearing sexy pumps or coiffed hair in the studio. Maybe one day, but not next Tuesday.

Community Outreach Report.

Yesterday I downloaded Skype and from 2-3pm PST, covertly implemented my Tuesday afternoon coffee break with anyone who wanted to participate.

Steven LaRose, who suggested video conferencing via Skype, was my first caller, albeit earlier in the day when I was still setting up, but I'm still counting it. Another woman I know, who is not an artists and who knew nothing of my project, just happen to call during the posted hours and I was able to suggest some resources for her. I'm counting that too. An artist in LA commented that it was a good idea and wanted to know my address.

So, all in all, I think I'm off to a good start. I'll be posting the event on Facebook, seeing as that seems to be the place to reach the most people instantaneously.

For now, I'm committing to being here on Tuesdays, but I may open it up more for the video conferencing thing now that I have that in place.

Currently, a couple of paintings are drying out in the sunshine and I'm going to begin another. I keep hoping to find out that I received a grant I applied for, but when I wait like this, it usually means I didn't get it. I tend to get grants when I forget that I applied for them, which means that I should probably start applying for some more....

My Attempt at Community Outreach.

I am a painter. I work in a studio by myself. In a perfect world, I would have a fancier, bigger, studio like I did in Chicago. My present studio is my drywalled garage and I have a patio. My studio is rather small considering the kind of painter I am, so I like to think that what doesn't kill me will make me stronger. If I had a larger studio, I'm pretty sure I'd never want to venture out and I suspect I'd rule the world cause my paintings would be so fantastic from all the daylight and unlimited white space surrounding me. I long for the day when I can have a comfy painter's couch and huge windows in my studio again. I see it. I do.

But I digress. My point is that being a painter who enjoys working alone, I have to make an effort to be social and have meaningful dialogues with others. I thought the patio might be a good place to start. And I thought that since I take a coffee break at 2pm every day, I would open up my studio one day a week, for anyone who wants to stop by and join me for coffee between 2 and 3 pm. In reality, I only take about 15 minutes for my coffee break, but I'm thinking an hour might be more reasonable for someone to stop by for coffee.

This is my idea of community outreach: conversation and coffee. It's art project within a studio practice. I'm instigating it tomorrow. For the time being I'm calling it, Tuesdays at 2 on Tuller. A bit droll, but it contains the necessary info. Not sure if the idea will take, but I figure I'd give it a shot. And who knows, perhaps vegan cupcakes will be served in the future.

AND, since I am no Luddite, if the real world coffee thing is slow to take, I will be open for IM chatting during that hour as well. I have to work out the details, but I'm thinking I might have found a way to make Facebook accountable.

(Feel free to forward this artists, and others interested in art in the LA/Culver City area.) Interested parties may email me and I will post a map.

I will report back.

Stuff:

Why these things take me so long, I do not know. I finally finished 2 apps. They're sitting next to me waiting to be mailed. Since I am on a roll, it would behoove me to burn a couple more disks, handcraft another impeccable cover letter and knock out my as-yet-determined quota for keeping things flowing.

But that is not the case. The Culver City Artwalk is today and I feel obligated to leave my compound and look at other people's art for a change. Still, I may shoot for getting one more app out the door on the way to the Artwalk, but probably not because it's time for my afternoon espresso now.