I have all kinds of excuses, but the only interesting one is the two-week vacation (honeymoon!) Marc and I took in Ghana from the end of May through the beginning of June. I brought my Nikon D60 and Marc brought his F4 and a whole lot of film. We got some memorable shots and decided it would be worth making a photo book. Here is a link to the final product:

Enough of this unintentional hiatus from blog updates.

As of today, I’m 3 paintings lighter!  I delivered “Little Black Dress,” “Hoodie,” and “SF2008″ this morning to my favorite San Francisco Salon, G-Squared, in the SOMA neighborhood. The owner, Neil, has been keeping my hair *done* since I moved to San Francisco.  His newly remodeled salon is a cool, modern space where minimalist design is the backdrop for the stylists’ warm and inspired approach to working magic on hair.  I couldn’t be happier to have my paintings hanging there.

Next stop? SF Moto. Marc and I went by this afternoon to meet Arlene and see the brand new GoGo Gear. When we arrived, Arlene and Desiree were arranging an impressive display of all the gear. Even better, as the jackets went up, they came down again for customers to try and discover how incredibly flattering they are. In a couple of weeks, my Hologram jacket will arrive. I can’t wait!  And at the risk of getting ahead of myself, we got a glimpse of some of what’s coming for GoGo Gear in 2011:  a ruffled-trench in a sueded coppery fabric–fully armored gorgeousness.

And thanks to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade down Market St., 7th St. was completely closed to traffic for a few blocks today.  Marc seized the no traffic opportunity to get a shot (or two) down the center of 7th St., and I got this shot, which I think sums up our day quite nicely.

The excitement continues in SOMA tomorrow. We’re making our first foray into the darkroom! Our friends at Billibatt Productions took some fantastic photos–on film!–of us at our wedding in February at City Hall. (Yes, we got married!  On the fifth anniversary of our first date! I think this needs its own blog post, though.) Tomorrow, Marc and I will begin to learn how to make black and white prints. I can’t wait!

]]> http://blog.kelly-white.net/2010/03/13/soma-so-much-awesomeness/feed/ 0 http://blog.kelly-white.net/2010/01/23/sfmoma-75th-anniversary-party/ http://blog.kelly-white.net/2010/01/23/sfmoma-75th-anniversary-party/#comments Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:11:15 +0000 admin http://blog.kelly-white.net/?p=1393

Last Friday, I was L’s date to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s 75th Anniversary Party. It was fabulous. There is so much amazing art on display! This exhibit will be up through May 16, 2010.

The part of the evening I enjoyed the most was taking photos of ourselves and other guests interacting with the space and the art. L always has the best ideas–like this photo she took of me in the cut-out, above the party.

And how have I not done a post here for so many weeks?

Christmas Eve seems like it was just last Thursday.  I spent all day at work and then high-tailed it to pick-up Marc’s Christmas present.  I pushed my last-minute shopping luck, and I very nearly didn’t get to pick it up because the store had closed early.  Then it was Christmas!  We ate baked French toast and watched movies, movies, and more movies.  That’s the Merry part.

We even walked to the movies that weekend, a 4-mile urban adventure, and we arrived in time to snag our 3D glasses and be first in line for the gorgeous spectacle that is Avatar.  We took Muni home after the movie with the 96″ canvas that we picked-up from my office.  After 10 months of hanging out in my office, the really big canvas is finally at home now.  I continue to contemplate what to do with it.

But the biggest news of that day (weekend, holiday season, 2009, what have you) is that Marc and I got engaged!  YAY!

The happy is the New Year’s we spent with wonderful friends and the start to this year.

I started one little painting and I’ve been gathering new ideas and inspiration for some others.  And in and around my other work, which has gotten pretty busy lately, I find myself admiring my shiny and sparkly new ring.  So far, 2010 is off to an unexpected and awesome start.

First, Old Stone I and Old Stone II.  They’re 24″ x 12″, acrylic and paper on canvas.  You can see earlier photos and the inspiration behind them here.

Old Stone I

Old Stone II

And Paper Flower is also done. It’s 36″ x 24″, acrylic and newsprint on canvas. I’ve been talking about this one for a couple of weeks, here and here .

Paper Flower

Here is a detail shot, too.

I sent the box out yesterday morning, and I’m still over the moon. (Isn’t that great?)

Aside from obsessing about the packing, the addressing of the package and now the tracking of the package (hello, separation anxiety, been awhile, hasn’t it?), I have noticed I’m just really ridiculously happy about this sale. I had forgotten how much I love sending my paintings out into the world. I like imagining where they will be hung and that they will bring a bit of Ooh là là! to a room. And I like it when I do smart things like keep my merchant bank account open, even though it hasn’t gotten much action lately, so that when something like this comes up, I can process a credit card sale easily.

Big Yay! all around.  Or as my sister exclaimed, “Yay! Art!” I think that sums it up perfectly.

I’m going for the impression that the flower, made of of curled and twisted newsprint, is emerging from the disorganized shreds of paper that surround it.

Once it’s dry and there’s more light, I’ll be able to get some better shots. But this will have to do for now.

I have been thinking about curlicues and curlicues make me think of quilling. I called around and found some quilling paper at the art store, but in the end, I didn’t feel like buying any. I didn’t know how much I would need, whether it would work, and I wanted to work on a bigger scale than 1/8″ wide quilling paper would allow, anyway. As an experiment, I rescued the thicker color circulars from our newspapers and painted one side of them. Once dry, I measured and cut the painted sheets into strips and spent hours curling, gluing and pinching them into different shapes. If I were better at this, I suspect my fingers would be less sticky. But what can I say.

Here is the first dry-run of a design I’m considering. More in the way of paint needs to happen on the canvas, but I’m still thinking about that, too.

Marc delved back into the photos while I was painting yesterday. I’m pleased to announce that the new photos are up. Check it out!

Last Sunday, I ran the Big Sur Half Marathon.  It was fabulous and gorgeous and my time was 10 minutes faster than the half marathon I ran this past February.  My improved time really surprised me.  I can only conclude that eating and drinking my way through Spain for 10 days when I should have been increasing my mileage was even smarter of me than I had suspected.

Last Saturday, before we headed off for Monterey, I touched-up the painting I gave my sister for her birthday in August.  It was damaged in transit, and I still don’t understand how the protective styrofoam corners ended up melting into the paint.  Anyway, I am pleased with the new and improved version.  I hope my sister will be, too.  And that safe little repair project made me really start thinking about the work I ultimately did today.

Here is the photo that inspired my work today.  It’s a piece from the Museo Taller del Moro in Toledo, Spain.

Here is my interpretation, in progress. I’ll post more photos when the paintings are finished.

Today’s painting soundtrack: La Oreja de Van Gogh, Compilation Jazz 2002 Edition Speciale Du Festival.