MONDAY UPDATE
So, the last two weeks were a little rough. I have back issues that can be extremely painful and making walking and moving difficult and sometimes impossible. That combined with a few other minor medical issues can really drag me down at times. Being in constant pain really wears on me, but I have learned to work through it, and I am trying to not let it drag me down into the negative cycles it has it the past.
That being said, I want to go into these topics deeper at a later date, but for today, lets get back on track!
I have been pumping out an insane amount of art, and as usual have more ideas, concepts and inspiration than I know what to do with! This week I am getting ready for the Insomnia Gallery - Channel Surfing - TV Tribute Art Show. I had hopes of showing several pieces from shows that have inspired me throughout my life. I started with Breaking Bad, as it was one of the most influential shows of my life, and one that really got me back into watching “TV”. I had about 7-8 concepts started for just the Breaking Bad pieces, but will most likely end up showing the three piece below. They will be framed and available for purchase.
After that, next show will be The Purple Show - Pt 6. I am super stoked for this one, and I am pumping out as much work as I can that will fit this theme. I still have a little time left for this one, and cant wait to see what all I come up with. Below are a few examples of what I have been working on with the Purple Show in mind.
Hopefully over the week, I can finish up my first VLOG so I can really bring yall along into the studio and behind the scenes to gain some insight into my process, inspirations, and where I hope to take this. Thanks so much for checking in! Be sure to make plans to come hang with us at Insomnia Gallery - This Friday evening!
CHANNEL SURFING, PURPLE SHOW AND ORGANIZATION
The next 2 shows I have on the schedule are The Insomnia Gallery’s - Channel Surfing - An Art Tribute to Television on November 8 and my all time favorite, Purple Show: Part 6.
INSOMNIA GALLERY - CHANNEL SURFING
I made a long list of television shows that left an impact on me, ranging from Rocko’s Modern Life and Reboot to Breaking Bad and Eric. It is a huge list right now but I plan on narrowing it down to 6 or so ideas, and I will try to get 3-4 in the show. Stay tuned for more on that as I have much more to do before drop off day!
PURPLE SHOW PART 6
If you have never been to a Purple Show, this will be the 6th installment and the creator of this amazing event, Henry Murillo has got the whole Houston underground behind him. I have participate in all but one or two of the Purple Shows, and they always really show what Houston Culture is all about. From some of the best artists and creatives in Houston, to unique vendors and businesses, as well as some great food, refreshments and music, The Purple Show brings Houston Culture to life.
I am taking the opportunity Henry is giving us, and pumping out as much new work with the shows themes in mind as I can between now and then. I am also working in a new style. I have a lot of ideas for this show, and I am super pumped to see what all I churn out for this one.
Also, to brag on the homie Henry, he was just on The Isiah Factor this past week talking about his project Paint With the City. It is an amazing collaborative project that Henry started years ago, and I was lucky enough to add to. It has tons of amazing details and has had so many amazing people take part in it, be sure to check out Henry’s work, and stay tuned for more about the Purple Show pieces.
ORGANIZATION
The other thing I wanted to touch on is the organizational system I have been developing. It has always been extremely challenging for me to keep everything moving in the same direction. I have tried all sorts of systems, tools and hacks. Like most things, I have found I cant copy and paste these things into my life, I have to do it my way. I tried some of these planner/journal things that have all these templates laid out, monthly, weekly, daily calendars with sections to fill out goals and all sorts of stuff. I tried for a while, but it was overwhelming honestly. I have been using the following system for a few months and it isn’t perfect, but it seems to be helping, and I am still working on it every day.
So, I use a simple calendar, it just has the Month view, and then between months, there are weekly calendars with a little more room for writing on those particular dates. I use this to keep track of upcoming deadlines, shows and events. I make a note on the monthly calendar on the date of said deadline/event, and then on the weekly calendar for the corresponding date, I fill in all the important information. This calendar, and for me, a super simple option has been a game changer as far as keeping me on track and knowing what’s coming up.
Next up is my journal system. I started getting into Field Notes a few months back and I have been obsessed! There are a few reasons for this, first and foremost is the quality of these products and the wide range of offerings. I now use several of their books daily, in all aspects of life.
CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT FIELD NOTES (NOT SPONSORED)
I am currently using the Field Notes - Pitch Black - Notebook as my daily carry journal. I write in it almost daily, and while I am still developing this practice, it too has improved my organization and functionality. I use different color pens for different thoughts or sections of life I am writing about. Along with the larger note book, I carry a smaller - Field Notes - Original Kraft - Memo Book. This one is more for random things I need to jot down that may be forgotten or later added to a list or something in the notebook or calendar.
Along with those, I am currently refining a Project Plan form I made to help keep specific projects on track and organized. This form can use some work, but it still serves a function, and is better than the days of me trying to keep all this in my head or keep track of post it notes or whatever crazy system I was trying to use before.
Thanks so much for checking out what I have going on and I hope someone may get a little insight or help from these blogs. As of now, my plan is to try to post a blog on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with some longer form video content coming to my youtube also very soon!
Thanks again for peepin!
SURREALISIM & BCOM UPDATE
SURREALISIM: This past weekend we made an afternoon/evening of art. About 2 pm we headed downtown to check out the open studios at Sawyer Yards Studios. It was a lot of fun, inspirational and informative as we are looking to get a studio space in one of the established studio/galleries up and running soon. From there we made our way to Hardy & Nance for the 100th Anniversary of Surrealism Exhibition where I was showing my original piece MACADELIC. I want to just briefly touch on this as I am planning a super in depth video and blog post of the full experience from making the art, submitting to the show, attending the show, and my thoughts and feelings about the process.
Julianne, Trae and I were met by my sister, Courtney, her husband and their daughter, as well as my parents. I am just so happy I got to share that with my family. I did not place, or sell my piece, but this was an big success in my book.
As I said, I just wanted to give an update on the show, but look out for more about that whole experince.
BCOM UPDATE: Besides the art show, I spent the rest of the weekend working on the BCOM series. I added 3 new canvases, 2 of which are at least half way done, bringing the total to 11 in this series. I dedicated a sketchbook to this body of work, partially to help with concepts and ideas and to help keep me organized, but also as a way for people to get a more in depth look at the process.
I am also taking a lot of video of the process and behind the scenes, and as of now the plan is to start shopping these around for a solo exhibition in the near future. The 2 newest additions are a scene of our hero aka The Clockmaker and an antagonist in a showdown/dual. The characters and story have come a long way in a little less than 2 weeks, an I am honestly amazed at the speed I have been pumping these pieces out. That being said, the day to day process now is making the characters and the environments a little more cohesive through the series, as well as really developing the story behind the images. So far the pieces have just been off pure inspiration with maybe a little thought of their place in the story, and through that process the story begins to reveal itself.
Now that there is enough to go on, I plan on fleshing out the story on paper and in the BCOM sketchbook, loosely stick with the archetypal hero’s journey.
I am also in the middle of prepping for The Insomnia Gallery - Channel Surfing Show on Friday, November 8th as well as one of my all time favorite events, The Purple Show Part 6, so stay tuned for updates and info on those shows.
BCMOM UPDATE
BCMOM - UPDATE
The evening of October 9th, I spontaneously started painting an image that I had only spent about 5 minutes on in my sketchbook. The past few months I have been obsessed with Sturgill Simpson. I have been a big fan of his for going on a decade now, but a few months back, I came across a new video of one of his live performances.
Back when Covid hit, my wife and I got tickets to see Sturgill and Tyler Childers on their joint tour right after Sturgill put out his Anime on Netflix that was essentially and album with visuals called Sound and Fury (Highly recommend) We were so pumped as it is hard for me to imagine a better line up for a show than 2 of the pioneers of modern day independent/outlaw country.
Unfortunately that tour was cancelled only a few shows in, and only a handful of people got to see and hear those particular arrangements and show.
Back to the YouTube video - This new one was of Sturgill and the boys performing out Outside Lands 2024 in San Francisco. Many of my favorite songs of his were arranged in a new, more energetic way, there were some covers I hadn’t heard, and some songs off the newest album - Passage du Desir, that I hadn’t yet given an earnest listen. I was hooked by Sturgill all over again.
This youtube video became the way I started everyday. My daily routine is the same as far as the big picture:
WAKE UP: 4-5 AM
COFFEE, SMOKE, STUDIO
ART TILL 7-8 AM
MONDAY- FRIDAY: WORK FROM 9AM-3PM
ART TILL BED: USUALLY 10-11 PM
I was just coming off a Kendrick Lamar bender, still riding high from the pop-out show and the defeat of Drake, so this was a big change from the vibes I had become accustom to. I will be getting back to work inspired by Kendrick at some point and I am sure he will hit me with something inspirational soon. After a few days or weeks of starting my days with Johnny Blue Skies as Sturgill is now going by - I began to take a deep dive into the world of Sturgill, his 5 album arch, and his history as a musician.
We then learned that Sturgill was co-headlining Sunday Nights at ACL both weekends, and I knew we had to jump on the opportunity to see him. (NOTE: I will go into detail on this story at a later date, but unfortunately we did not get to see Sturgill Perform live at ACL.
Over the course of weekend one at ACL, we stayed out in the Hill Country at Yurtopian, and it was an amazing get away. We listened to a lot of Sturgill, and on the lead up to ACL we discovered Orville Peck, and over the few weeks leading up to and over ACL weekend we listened to him a lot as well as Chris Stapleton and Leon Bridge’s set from Friday night at ACL.
Upon getting home late Sunday evening, I had a fresh surge of inspiration washing over and through me. I woke up Monday morning to find that Sturgill’s entire set from the night before had been uploaded to youtube, and thus a new morning music routine began. That Monday was October 8, and I was wrapping up a piece for a Hardy & Nance show, and had to take it downtown to drop off that evening. When I got back, we watched Tombstone, more inspiration and a strong whiff of nostalgia. The next morning, my routine was as usual, worked on a few things, but more just shuffled around the studio not getting much done. Later that morning, something made me pull out my sketch book.
My original goal was to refresh a logo from a Country & Western Cover Band my dad was in when I was young - Murphy’s Law. I did a quick sketch, but as often happens, all sorts of ideas, stories and images started to crowd my brain. I quickly sketched out the character, but one of my favorite lyrics from Sturgill was stuck in my head - The Best Clockmaker on Mars. To me, this line means people may not get what he is trying to do or why, they may even think he’s insane, but he is still gonna be the best. More and more images and ideas began to flood in. I added a quick background inspired by the Martian terrain depicted in The Watchmen comics when Dr. Manhattan flees to mars to escape earth.
Next thing I know, I am down a rabbit hole. Somehow I got on pictures from the old west where townspeople would display the dead bodies of “outlaws” as a deterrent for crime. I made a few quick sketches of images I found intriguing, one in particular of Rube Burrow displayed in his coffin standing up with all his outlaw gear. Another one of an outlaw named John Shaw, where his friend had his corpse stood up against a fence with their arms around him, all enjoying one last drink of whiskey. I threw down one more quick sketch of Pistol Pete as a skeleton after reading a short article about his story.
That evening, I got home and just started painting. Actually the first piece in this series was inspired by a vector/graphic image I came across, and again, sill had no idea of a series or connected body of work. I think I made a decent amount of progress on two paintings that night. I woke up the next day and picked up where I left off.
Almost 10 days later, I am 8 pieces in and the ideas and inspiration just keeps coming. Again, I have no play or idea with this series other than to do my best to tell an amazing story through these works. I will continue to do deep dives and updates on this series, as well as everything else I have going on if that is something you are into.
Thanks for reading and peepin!
CSCHOEART
DROP OFF NIGHT
Last night was drop off night for the Hardy & Nance - 100th Anniversary of Surrealism - Art Exhibition. I took a nice relaxing cruise south and enjoyed the sunset coming into the concrete and glass canyons of the city. The weather is becoming bearable, so it was windows down and music blasting the whole way.
This has been an interesting process, returning to art competitions and trying to put my work out there. I have been documenting the process of creating this piece, applying to this exhibition, and after this weekend I will have footage from the show, and my thoughts on how it all went.
This is in an effort to help demystify the process, maybe help other artists take steps to competing and showing their work, and to just document the process for posterity. Here is a quick clip of me dropping my piece at the gallery.
Please come hang out with us this Saturday from 5-9pm at Hardy & Nance Studios - There is a peoples choice award that the crowd gets to vote for and I would greatly appreciate it if you’d consider voting for me and Macadelic!
Stay tuned for more BTS from my studio, inspirations, thoughts and experiences!
Also over on the CALENDAR page, you can stay up to date with my upcoming schedule and shows!!
Thanks so much for your time and support, and I will see ya soon!
CSCHOEART
BCMOM & SURREALISIM THIS WEEK
The Insomnia Gallery - Monster Show #14 came and went this past Friday. Unfortunately, we were unable to attend, but it looked like a great turn out! Thanks again to the Insomnia family for always hosting great events and for supporting the art community!
Over the weekend we were mostly focused on this new series. For now it is being referred to as: BCMOM for Best Clock Maker on Mars. See the gallery below for updated on the newest series, take a peek at the pieces from the Monster Show, and check out the Macadelic piece. This piece is being shown at Hardy and Nance - this Saturday for the 100th Anniversary of Surrealism - Art Show & Exhibition.
I am very excited to be participating in my first Juried Art Exhibition in several years. I am making a video about the whole process of making the art, applying to the exhibition, being accepted and then wrap it up with a recap of the show and how it all went down. Be sure to stay tuned for that, and to stay up to date with everything we got going on!!
MARTIAN WILD WEST HELL FROM THE FUTURE OF 1985
It all begins with an idea.
Recently I kind of spontaneously started a new series of paintings. Heavily inspired by outlaw/independent country music, the political climate we find ourselves in, and many other influences forced these pieces out of my head and onto canvas.
A few quick sketches and a couple google rabbit holes about dead outlaws led to this new body of work.
Along with the fresh subject matter, these pieces are brought to life in mixed media, but a majority of the color you see on these pieces are by an amazing company called Nova Color.
Stay tuned as this series and story develops.
HARDY & NANCE - 100 TH ANNIVERSARY OF SURREALISIM
It all begins with an idea.
FROM HARDY & NANCE:
October 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of the Surrealist Manifesto by André Breton which encapsulated the thought processes of many artists including Salvidor Dali, Rene Magritte, Frida Kahlo and Dorothea Tanning. Thanks to the Menil Collection and historic art shows such as the “The Heroic Century” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, many Houstonians are familiar with the characteristics of Surrealism. The Hardy & Nance Studios is honored to host a celebration of this art style and juried art competition.
THEME: Surrealism; ie. Dreamlike scenes and/or symbolic imagery, unexpected and/or illogical juxtapositions, automation, bizarre assemblages of ordinary objects, and distorted figures and biomorphic shapes.
I am excited to announce my original, 30” x 40” mixed media piece entitled MACADELIC was accepted to the Surrealism show and will be on display Saturday, October 19 from 5-p pm at Hardy & Nance Studios.
SATURDAY - OCTOBER 19, 2024 - 5-9 PM - HARDY & NANCE STUDIOS - 902 HARDY ST, HOUSTON, TX - 77020
Insomnia - Monster Show #14
It all begins with an idea.
This Friday, October 11th The Insomnia Gallery is hosting their 14th monster themed art show and also celebrating 10 years of art shows!
I will have 2 new pieces in this show, and will be hanging out a good chunk of the night!
This is a FREE all ages show, so be sure to come out and see Wendingo & Midnight Snack!
INSOMNIA GALLERY - INSIDE HARDY & NANCE - 902 HARDY ST, HOUSTON, TX 77020