Wandering Artist's Journal

Yesterday I went over to Galeria de la Raza to see the Enrique Chagoya show one more time (it closed yesterday) and to hear Chagoya talk about his work. "Ytrebil" is 38 works on paper, mostly prints, made over the last 10 years. I've loved his work since I first saw some of it at the De Rosa Preserve about 10 years ago. It's his radical manipulation of myth and symbols that really draws me in. In this rapidly evolving global culture, his visual mashups can be read by almost anyone no matter what language the viewer speaks. Like the best of art, his work is open to multiple interpretations but the gist of the story is apparent on first glance. Prolonged viewing (and thinking) reveals more nuances, subtle jokes, and cross-cultural puns. In yesterday's event, he talked a bit about his artistic vision, his process, and life in these times. He also gave a couple of short history lessons, one of which concerned the rise and fall of libraries as repositories of knowledge...

Last Friday I was the only one sketching at the 4th Street Bridge, on Mission Creek. So it's a good thing I picked a place I really wanted to work. I love the 3rd Street and 4th Street bascule bridges. I've painted them a few times over the years but that area has never been as pleasant as it is now. The weather was lovely and I got a nice spot to sit but once again, 2 hours was way too short. I think I'm going to have to spend a whole day here real soon. Great natural & city views, Philz coffee and the public library (bathrooms) nearby - really, it's an ideal spot. Plus, you get the "Wild Kingdom" action going on in the creek. A Great Blue heron was working the rocks near the bridge when he got a big rat that was almost too much for him. You could hear the rat squealing while the heron repeatedly bludgeoned him on the rocks then held him under water and the gulls inched closer. The heron eventually flew off upstream with gulls in pursuit and rat still w...

Judi & I started out in the Children's Garden at the de Young, painting and sketching. Still foggy, but it was warmer than you might expect in those little protected niches just east of the tower. Ramona, John and Dave joined us a little later (even Dave was sketching!) I practiced some more with ball-point pen and watercolor, with a little more success this time. After a couple of hours, we moved inside. Once the gypsy-jazz-cabaret music started, it really got crowded in the lobby. We briefly saw Xiaojie, but lost her to the exhibits. Sandy, Nancy, Teresa, and Luba arrived and we took turns visiting the artist-in-residence, Alexandra Blum, who was tracing shadow profiles and then using them to make a mixed media project. Eventually we ended up at a big table in the tent out on the west side of the museum. Marianna & Pam joined us there. Sandy showed us some proofs from her new giclee series. She's getting them done at Electric Works, and when she was there recently sh...

A small group of artists met on the east side of Alamo Square Park , protected from the blowing fog coming in from the west and watching it break up as it crested the hill behind us. This position gave us a straight-on view of the famous "Painted Ladies" that appear in tourist photos all over the world. We also saw plenty of the tourists themselves, many of them standing directly in front of us as they snapped the obligatory shots and then moved on. I was experimenting with ball-point pen and watercolor. The result was not so successful as a work of art, but was a useful investigation for me anyway. I was intrigued with the idea of mixing the oil-based ink with the water-based paints. It combined well, layering multiple times with no problems, and I think I'll try it some more, see if I can get something good from it. We walked on over to Big Umbrella Studios on Divisadero, but unfortunately they were NOT open, even though we were there well within their posted business ...

Quesada Gardens in Bayview, San Francisco Thanks to John Wall for telling me about the great San Francisco Landmark Tree Tour. It's run by San Francisco's Environment Department, a city agency, but one that does not rely on tax dollars, according to Alexis van Gelder and Mei Ling Hui, who were running this event. I learned a lot about trees in San Francisco, and saw some parts of San Francisco I'd never visited before. Mei Ling's enthusiastic stories and advocacy really highlighted the living, breathing, beingness of every tree we saw. And the cultural/historical info was fascinating. These trees have been witness to multiple generations of human dramas. It was humbling. The tour started at the corner of Bush and Octavia, under six magnificent old Eucalyptus trees which belonged to Mary Ellen Pleasant, the "mother of the Civil Rights Movement" in California. Her story was unknown to me before today, and I feel much richer for knowing a little a...

"Dry Dock Bike," acrylic on canvas, ©2010, Anna L. Conti Yesterday I stopped by the Studio Gallery to drop off a couple of paintings for the upcoming annual "City Streets" show. Jennifer said submissions for this year's show were different from years past: grittier, darker. My painting of the San Francisco dry docks wasn't the only one featuring Pier 70 and she is planning to install a section devoted to the industrial waterfront. A couple of other artists were dropping off work for the show while I was there and I was particularly impressed with the little 6"x6" panels by Juntae Kim. They're exquisite little night scenes of various urban areas (he's been traveling lately) painted in oil on wooden panels. The show opens this coming Wednesday, with a reception on Sunday: STUDIO Gallery 1815 Polk Street (between Washington and Jackson) San Francisco, CA 94109 City Streets Urban Views of the Bay Area August 18th - September 1...

The day started with a few of us painting in Franklin Square park- I noticed with interest, the different focus for each of us: Ink & watercolor flowers, wide-view watercolors of trees, pen sketches of the other artists, purely imaginary subjects in pencil and iPad explorations (soon abandoned due to glare.) There was an easy camaraderie, with no need for explanations or justifications. The sun briefly graced us with its light, if not much heat. After moving on to the studio potluck at nearby Project Artaud, things really warmed up. About 20 people arrived, bearing food, cameras, musical instruments, and stories - and all were shared. Smaller groups kept breaking away to visit nearby studios and listen to artists talk about their current work. It was an inspirational evening, with plenty of new ideas to think about, and some new connections sparked between artists.