I'll be showing my last remaining painting from Artomatic 2008 at this show in January. I hope to see you there!
The following illustration was done for Education Week and accompanied an article exploring the cuts school districts may have to make as they compete for funds in the current economic crisis.
rough sketch
final illustration (graphite and colored in Photoshop)
I don't normally do commissions; it's never as pleasurable as doing my own work, but recently I made an exception due to the open collaborative process the commissioner agreed to. They came to me with an idea for a painting based on the Greek myth of Persephone and then let me go to town.
Last Saturday night I went to Transformer Gallery's 5th Annual Silent Auction and had a good time catching up with friends, checking out art and meeting collectors. The night went well for me (there was a little bidding war for my pieces from the Making Face series I did a few years ago - here and here) but it felt different from past years: there seemed to be less people (though it was still crowded), less artwork on the walls and more restrained bidding. From what I heard, Transformer had a good night in the end (though I'll be interested to hear what the final earnings were for the night), but it definitely felt like the down turn in the economy might have been having an effect on the night...But who knows, I'm definitely not an economist!
If you haven’t heard already, my wife and I are expecting our first baby early next year! I’m not sure how the birth of our baby will influence the content of my paintings, but I do know that it will influence where I work. There’s not much room at home, so the baby gets what is now the studio and I get to look for a new one!
This is the third year in a row that I've been asked to participate in this. It's a fun night!
Here's a brief recap of my election day experience:
Yesterday morning my wife and I headed out early to our voting site and we were stopped in our tracks when we saw this:
We got in line and began our two hour wait to place our vote. While in line we chatted with neighbors and marveled at the huge turn out. After about an hour, my wife gave in to the cold and her tired feet and was allowed inside to find a seat to rest (one of the perks of being pregnant!!) while I kept our place in line. Another hour later we were reunited inside and participated in the historic day!
Still excited, she headed off to work and I headed back to the studio to paint.
A couple of hours later, I got a call from my sister (who I had loaned our car to so she could be a legal observer at polling stations in Virginia). Bad news.... An ambulance had hit her. She wasn't hurt and the car wasn't badly damaged, but it definitely put a damper on both of our days as she spent two hours waiting for and then dealing with the police investigator, and I dealt with the insurance side of things.
At about 5pm I ran over to the gym for a quick work out and was surprised to find so many people there all tuned in to CNN.
By 7pm friends started coming over to watch the results. We even made our own electoral map that we colored in as the result for each state was declared.
When Pennsylvania was declared blue and then Ohio, we began celebrating. But for me, the biggest win of the night was Virginia.... Growing up and going to school in the diverse city of Alexandria, Virginia and then going to college in Richmond, VA, I have known for a long time that the state was split, but I have only dared to dream that it could go blue.... The state that is home to the capitol of the Confederacy going blue? A blue Virginia says it all!
And then the 44th President was declared!
As I listened to Obama speak, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were finally stepping out of an 8 year episode of the Twilight Zone... The contrast between then and what will be was and is almost unbelievable!
Immediately after the speech, we jumped in the car thinking that we would go to U Street to join the celebrations there. As soon as we started driving, we were honking the horn and blowing the whistle my wife had brought along and within minutes we were driving alongside others doing the same... The honking in the city and the amount of people on the streets cheering and chanting "Obama" and "Yes we did!" was incredibly moving... The city was alive! It was overwhelming....
When we got to 16th and U we saw that the police had blocked the street so we looked at each other and yelled "The White House!"
Somehow we got there, despite the traffic and lack of parking, and found ourselves among thousands in Lafayette Park and on Pennsylvania Ave.....
We spent roughly 4 hours down there singing, chanting, yelling, celebrating, jumping, giving hi fives, and embracing complete strangers..... The joy was palpable... It was an absolutely amazing and emotional night.
My lovely (and pregnant wife) Exhausted but jubliant after a long day. As a new US citizen, this was her first opportunity to vote in a Presidential Election
"I've never seen anything like this!" someone exclaimed.
"I have!" my wife yelled back, "When Argentina won the World Cup!"
Video of the celebrations in Washington DC at the corner of 16th and K st one block from the White House (the whistler is me!)
Me, the artist, with a whistle and making noise on top of a electrical box at the corner of 16th and K st one block from the White House
The past couple of months have found me working hard on getting new paintings together for my upcoming show at Hillyer Art Space in March. And I have been working hard: sketching, planing, prepping canvases and have a bunch of paintings underway.
On Sunday I decided that I needed a break from my intense routine and started working on some new rough sketches for the next batch of paintings I want to finish for the show. I've been drawing and drawing and drawing (or trying to draw) for the past couple of days, but things aren't coming out the way I would like. So last night I decided I needed to clear my head and go back to the basics and draw from life.
I did a quick self portrait and started to feel good, like I was relearning how to see. It isn't perfect (the eyes are a bit off due to slight shifts in the pose and I didn't pay that much attention to my hair and beard), but I feel like its a good start. I'm hoping to do a few more
of these before I dive back into the routine!
Recently I finished an illustration that will accompany an editorial about changes that could be made to the Spanish alphabet and why the Real Academia Española hasn't made any changes since the 1700's. The illustration will appear in the Dec/Jan issue of American Airlines' magazine Nexos. If you're flying American Airlines this winter look in the back of the seat in front of you and check it out!
rough sketch ---------------------- final drawing
final illustration ( acrylic on illustration board, touched up in Photoshop)
DC seems starstruck as pieces by legendary Graffiti Artist and creator of OBEY (Andre the Giant) and the Obama PROGRESS and HOPE posters, Shepard Fairey, pop up on walls all over town.
Last night I just happened to walk out onto our balcony, look to the right and see this...
Do you know what a pangolin is? Niether did I, but after being asked to do a coloring book page of one for SavePangolins.org I got a quick introduction. They look like a cross between an armadillo and anteater but is niether and is endangered. Find out more about these critters and how you can help to save them here. And to download the coloring book page I created go here.
Over the weekend I participated in the DC art festival Arts on Foot and had the pleasure of meeting a lot of people including talented photograher and fellow OCCOA artist Tara Kocourek and journalist/blogger Christine Cordner.
Arts on Foot... it was two days of heat, humidity and scattered rain, but I survived and had a good time in the end.
Friday started with me and my wife trying to figure out how to put together my new display walls and then was slow and hot for the rest of the day. I met a few people and was able to catch up with artist Todd Gardner (i'll be posing for one of the last 6 paintings he's doing for his portrait series).
Saturday was much better although hotter. I made good sales, met a lot of nice people, and was happy to see artists Scott Brooks and Tim Tate who stopped by to stay hello.
For those interested, I do have a number of original drawings for sale. The drawings were made to flesh out my ideas for the composition and shading of my paintings and are all framed and signed. If you are interested, fell free to contact me through my website and we can schedule a time to meet.
Despite the heat, Arts on Foot was a great success! And I couldn't have done it with out the incredible patience and help of my lovely and talented wife!!!
Recently I finished an illustration that will be accompanying an editorial about a migrant worker working in a busy kitchen that will appear in the Oct/Nov issue of American Airlines' magazine Nexos. So if you're flying American Airlines this fall look in the back of the seat in front of you and check it out!
Rough Sketch -out of the 4 I sent, this was the one chosen. It was my top pick as well!
Revised sketched -then I was notified that the title had changed, and refered to the worker conducting the kitchen, so the knife became a baton and the food began flying around on a musical scale.
Final Illustration (acrylic on canvas, border done in Photoshop) - this is the first time I've produced an illustration with borders like this. Part of my directions from the beginning was to make the borders "organic." I have to say that I'm pretty happy with it.
The following illustration was done for Education Week and accompanied an article exploring pros and cons of the rewards and punishments used in the educational system to teach "lessons."
rough sketch
blue line drawing
final illustration (colored in Photoshop)
Last weekend my wonderful wife stopped by 1333 H St., NE to check out the poster that Catalyst Theater put up outside of their new space, the newly renovated Atlas Theatre (on the same block as the Rock and Roll Hotel and down the street from the Palace of Wonders).
Located @ 8th and F Streets, NW:
Art Market Preview: Sept. 12th 12am - 7pm
Recently I finished up 3 illustrations; to be used on playbills and other promotional material, for Catalyst Theater's 2008-09 season. The three plays are 1984 (adapted from George Orwell's novel) by Chris Gallu, Roundheads and Peakheads by Bertolt Brecht, and Bruise Easy by Dan LeFranc. The dark undertones found in all three plays made it easy to take Catalyst's palette of black, white, and red and apply it to the paintings.
rough sketch for 1984
final illustration for 1984 (acrylic on illustration board & touched up on Photoshop) text:Helen Pafumi
final illustration for Roundheads and Peakheads (acrylic on illustration board & touched up on Photoshop) text: Helen Pafumi
final drawing for Bruise Easy
final illustration for Bruise Easy (acrylic on illustration board & touched up on Photoshop) text: Helen Pafumi
