NEW LINO SKETCHES FROM CHIANG MAI, THAILAND - September 2012

Here are scans of the 11 lino sketches I produced while in Chiang Mai this past month. I only wish I had more time to add a few more images to this edition, there is definitely a couple of temples i visited with unique and special things i would have loved to have captured as images for a print. Guess there's always the next time. Now it's time to get started cutting and printing these guys. 

Wat Chedi Luang

Wat ???

Wat Sri Suphan

Wat Phra Singh / Monks

Wat Phra Singh

Wat Sri Suphan / Buddha

Wat Taad Kham / Behind the Vihara

Wat Chiang Mun

Wat Pan Whaen

Wat Prasart / Buddha

Wat Taad Kham / Alter behind main Vihara

CHIANG MAI SKETCHBOOK - September 2012

Here are some of the sketches I put into my travel sketchbook while traveling to Chiang Mai, Thailand during the month of September 2012

Tokyo / Narita Airport

Bangkok Airport

"Arm" Asleep In The Truck / Wat Chedi Luang

Wat Chedi Luang

Wat Doi Suthep

Wat Phra Singh / Feet of Reclining Buddha

Birth Year "Rat" / Monks with new haircuts at Wat Phra Singh

CURRENT ARTWORK CREATED IN CHIANG MAI, THAILAND

I'm currently in Chiang Mai, Thailand as part of my yearly exodus from NYC during my birthday month. This year, I've decided to return to Chiang Mai after having been here in January as part of the inaugural team of Volunteer Positive. My experience was so enlightening at the time and I met some wonderful people while here initially, I decided to come back on my own in order to expand on the previous experience, in order to draw, paint, explore, volunteer with Cultural Canvas/ Art Relief International, and celebrate my own life.

I will not bore you with the details of traveling on a buddy pass internationally, suffice it to say, I appreciate the $ I saved, the generosity of my friend Edie, (and the upgraded travel on the first leg of the trip to Business Class), but I did end up traveling an entire extra day. I left my apartment on Weds, September 5 at 10:30 a.m. and reached my destination at 9 a.m., Saturday the 8th. That includes an 11 hour time difference. Either way you look at it, I was a mess by the time I arrived in Chiang Mai. The initial flights 2 hour delay in NYC creating the avalanche of missed flights that followed, and being on a buddy pass meant I was rescheduled at the airlines convenience, not mine. Please note: I am not complaining about any of this, just relaying information to anyone else who might be interested in traveling internationally on a buddy pass with standby tickets.

Alas, that already seems like months past. I am now quite happily engrossed in my travels in Chiang Mai and want to use this page as a means to show the artwork I have created so far, including a couple of the drawing I did in transit.

I hope you enjoy and come back as I will be adding more images as I finish them, and then eventually as I return to NYC, scan, cut and print my new "Chiang Mai September 2012" Portfolio. I will be selling prints form this Portfolio as well as from my "Chiang Mai - January 2012" Portfolio in order to return to volunteer with Volunteer Positive in February 2013.

LEAVING NARITA FOR BANGKOK

WAT CHIANG MUN/MAN/MON

WAT  SRI SUPHAN

WAT SRI SUPHAN

WAT TAAD KHAM

WAT PAN WHAEN

WAT PRASART

WAT DOI PHRATHAT SUTHEP

"GOLDEN BUDDHA" - PROCESS AND PRINTS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE

"GOLDEN BUDDHA"

 This is my "Golden Buddha" which is a lino-cut produced in the Chine-cole' technique. All Buddha prints available measures approximately 6" X 9" and are printed on Rives BFK 100% rag, archival quality paper, (with the exception of the gold metallic paper). There are some Buddhas on Grey Paper, others on Cream, and still others on White. Each print is being sold for $40, and is being sold in order to raise funds for a return trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand in September where I will be working with the wonderful folk at Cultural Canvas/Art Relief International. The original print of the Buddha was drawn on-site, directly on to the piece of linoleum, and then cut and printed upon my return to NYC. If you would like to see what's available, you can hit me up on Facebook and take a peek or send me a message here on Blogger.

PRINTED "GOLDEN BUDDHA"

INK LINOLEUM

 

 PLACE SWATCH OF PAPER ONTO INKED LINO, CAREFUL TO NOT SMEAR THE INK  ON TO THE SWATCH 

ADD LIGHTLY DILUTED PH NEUTRAL GLUE TO PAPER SWATCH YOU WANT ADHERED TO THE BASE PAPER AND PRINTED UPON

PLACE BASE PAPER OVER GLUED SWATCH AND INKED LINO, CAREFUL NOT TO SMEAR INK (THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PART ;0)

PRINT WITH GOLD PAPER EMBOSSED

PRINTED "GOLDEN BUDDHA"

WAT CHEDI LUANG, CHIANG MAI, THAILAND

This is one if the last, (only 2 sketches in the series left), of the series of linocut sketches I drew while in Chiang Mai, Thailand in January while doing work for the volunteer group VOLUNTEER POSITIVE.

This image was created while sitting in the shade under a tree surrounding the massive Chedi in Wat Chedi Luang.

From: Thailand For Visitors

"In its day, Wat Chedi Luang must have been the most impressive temple in Chiang Mai. Built about 600 years ago, the huge chedi which gave the temple its name (the name of the temple translates to "royal pagoda") must have soared high above the surrounding city. We say "must have" because the chedi was mostly destroyed within a few hundred years of its construction. Some say it was an earthquake in the 17^th century that did the deed; others say it was King Taksin's cannons firing on the city to chase out the Burmese in the 18^thcentury."


"The pagoda has been partially reconstructed, but the spire has not been recreated since nobody can be sure what it looked like."

Friday night is the opening of Jennifer Kosharek's eve-N-odd Gallery's "Coloring Book Show" of which I have submitted a piece for the coloring book as well as created a special handstitched, hand-painted lino-cut, 5 page, accordian fold Berube Bugs piece for the actual show.

Coloring books are available for $10.00 HERE

This is the page I submitted for the coloring book.

A GREY DAY IN SOHO, NYC

Finally finished my Soho painting. Not particularly thrilled with it. Way too many details and lots of stop and go between when I started it and when I finished it. These little paint projects are supposed to be "sketches", the idea being that I take reference shots from my day and paint them as documentation, a visual journal of my life, the people I love, the things I see. Unfortunately with subject matter like buildings in Soho on a gray day, there isn't a lot of emotion attached to the reference. Actually looking forward to moving on to the next, a portrait of my friend Chad Pace. Far more interesting. But I have a crazy work week lined up and I want to avoid the whole stop and go thing this time.

Here's the process for the Soho Painting. Start to finish.

CORNER OF 52nd & 10th, NYC - AKA: THE VORTEX

This is the apartment I live in at the corner of 52nd Street and 10th Avenue in a little place called Manhattan in a little neighborhood called "Hell's Kitchen".

At 17 years this year, It's the only place I've lived longer than the home that I was raised in. With my studio located in the front corner room, (count up 2 windows from the corner of the building). Over the years, it's become the center of my Universe. I've seen a couple roommates come and go, a couple boyfriends come and go, a couple dogs come, (The Mimz is still here.... and well, one ex is still here), but most importantly, I'm still here watching the world from my little corner.

Below are a few of the steps I go through to finish one of these itty-bitty, little 5" X 5" paintings.

"JOSHUA AT THE DOG PARK"

Being the type of person who doesn't make friends, true friends, all that easily or all that often, I've learned over the years that people like Joshua Paprika Fennell are a rare find in my life. The type of person that I know I was meant to meet and meant to know for the rest of my life.

We met a few years ago at the dog park down the street from where I live and as I discovered not too far from where he lives as well. It just so happens that Joshua has a Jack Russell Terrier, the same breed of dog as my, "Mimzy", and he's also an aspiring self-taught Artist with a passion for life that is evident in everything he does. Joshua is what I refer to as my, "Brother from another Mother", or "Sister from another Mister", depending on the mood and his behavior.

"JOSHUA AT THE DOG PARK" - Acrylic 4.5" X 4.5"