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phaius tankervilleae (36" X 36"), november 2006

mixed media (mostly oils)

this was a commissioned piece, based somewhat on a photo i took at the sf conservatory of a phaius tankervilleae orchid bloom stalk.

what is lost in the photo of the painting is the mosaic-tile orchid pot and the textured, almost 3-dimensional petals of the flower and windows.

the painting is actually 2 separate 36" X 18" panels making this a 3' X 3' piece.

these are my first three autobiographical paintings.
as i moved into painting more and more,
these three paintings came into being.

all three are "mixed media"
(meaning that they have just about everything
from kid's glue/inks to oil paints to styrofoam fill
to decoupage to actual dice to crushed glass
to acrylic paint to even a bit of my own blood --
the latter being the only thing in there quite by accident).

however, as the autobiographical series moves forward
from #1 (canto xiii),
i also move forward into using more and more oil paint --
as can be seen in #2 (OY TIE),
so much so that #3 (what color is fear?)
is predominately oil paint,
although not exclusively.
in all 3, you can see the obvious "not-oil-paint stuff" in there too.

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canto xiii (18" X 14"), june - july 2006

mixed media

autobiography #1

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OY TIE (5" X 7"), august 2006

mixed media

autobiography #2

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what color is fear? (12" X 12"), august 2006

mixed media

autobiography #3

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iwanagara blooms (for steve), (8" X 10"), july 2006

mixed media

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chung (for timmy) (5" X 5"), july 2006

mixed media

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neofinetia falcata (for leslie) (12" X 12"), july 2006

mixed media

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birthday still life (12" X 16"), may 2006

mixed media

this piece was on display at the sf 2006 open studios exhibit (9th and brannan). now? it belongs to one absolutely amazing young woman.

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flattery (24" X 20"), may 2006

based on the photograph to paint (see march 24, 206 entry for the actual photograph), this is my first painting. it is a mish-mash of water color, ink and some kid's 3-D goop. i added the koi because i did not want to overclutter the painting with the reflection of the roof of the sf conservatory (which is quite visible on the surface of the water in the actual photograph).

i really liked painting this and am now embarking on a few more canvas paintings of my images. flattery gets its name from the adage "imitation is the highest form of flattery" as i was inspired to take the original photo because of one that my friend cuddles had taken and sent to me electronically. her photo was so breathtaking that i had to snap a version of my own. one thing led to another and now my first painting.

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sophia (8" X 6"), may 2006

an unintended but beautiful (or so i think) photograph of one of my dearest friend's first child, sophia. again, a technological feature -- in this case a fluke of fortune -- allowed me to get sophia's picture without flash and without much fanfare. i literally hit the 'take the picture' button and sophia happened.

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night buddha (10" X 20"), may 2006

from my trip to the san francisco asian art museum, one of the most amazing buddha images i have ever seen. since no flash is allowed, i had to improvise a way to capture the buddha's image and still do it justice. a technological feature of my camera allowed me to photograph the buddha with a particular "night" function, hence the title. i hope night buddha does the image justice.

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last bloom portrait #2, iwanagara flowers (7" X 7"), may 2006

the last three blooms on one of my orchids (an iwanagara which has yellow, not white/pink flowers). one of my favorite orchids, hands down. this is version two of their portrait.

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last bloom portrait #1, iwanagara flowers (7" X 7"), may 2006

the last three blooms on one of my orchids (an iwanagara which has yellow, not white/pink flowers). one of my favorite orchids, hands down. this is version one of their portrait.

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jordan's 6 bridges (v.3) (20" X 14"), april 2006

what can i say? i love the original image that my friend allowed me to transmogrify, and occasionally i find myself just playing around with the image.

this version, jordan's 6 bridges (v.3) is the result of one such tinkering.

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pensive jade buddha -- miniature (2006)

my neighbor and i went to the sf asian museum on "free day" and they let you photograph inside the museum, except that you can not use a flash. which made this photo all the more difficult as it is a small piece of milky/light brown jade in a small glass-enclosed case. luckily i was able to get this one photo. i found the buddha to be exquisite and pensive and captivating. i am using this image pensive jade buddha -- miniature (along with the spathloglotis photo below) in my adapting of a tibetan mandala. just so you know, we have a great photo of me in manhattan where i am sitting in the same position as the buddha. however, i look neither pensive nor exquisite, i look like a lizard. we'll see how the piece develops...

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ladyslipper -- flower detail (2006)

ok, back to the orchid exposition at the conservatory... i took just one photo of one ladyslipper orchid and this is it. apart from being a great orchid flower per se, what draws me to the flower is the imperfection in the upper right-hand part of the crown. even the flaw is amazing.

1.
2.
3.

4.
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these four photos were taken at the sf conservatory of flowers -- they had an orchid exposition which was good/great. however, the rest of the conservatory was unbelievable. two of these pictures are from the exposition, the other two from the gorgeous conservatory itself.

so, from top to bottom, here are the photos and their general specs:

1. "to paint" (2006): a lily on the pond in one of the rooms of the conservatory. i am painting this -- better to say i am trying to paint this picture, which means i am adapting it in the transfer. i have not touched up this photo at all (or any of these for that matter) and could not get over and still can't quite get over how the purple seems to float off the photo and how unreal the water looks.

2. "when i look up" (2006): literally, the ceiling of the conservatory. an amazing ceiling, an amazing building.

3. "spathloglotis with a ladybug" (2006): one of the most beautiful orchid flowers i have ever seen. i sat in the exhibit part of the conservatory taking photo after photo after photo of this orchid as it blew me away with its symmetry and coloring. this image is being adapted into a piece i am working on, trying to translate a tibetan mandala using more contemporary images. we'll see if it works or not.

4. "color explosion" (2006): i love epidendrums. i really liked the bunching and color mix of these few flower spikes from a few epidendrum.

Blue Glass Brain Madala with Grid (24" X 24"), 2005
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This is one of the twenty or so variations of a mandala that I have done. The core fractal that was used in Blue Glass Brain Mandala with Grid (and its sister images) was a photograph I took of Dolores Park in San Francisco. The grid pattern I overlayed to get a sense of how this mandala might be converted into a mosaic (my next project).

Migraine (12" X 12"), 2004/2005
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Wuhan Bedside 1990 (12" X 18"), 2005
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From a black and white photograph of mine, taken in Wuhan (China) in late November 1990. While hard to see in this small rendition, if you look closely into the steel ball on the bed's headboard, you can see me taking the photo. There is part from a Tom Waits song "Who Are You" that Wuhan Bedside 1990 always makes me think of --> "do you cry?/do you pray?/do you wish them away?/are you still leaving nothing/but bones in the way?" (or something closely akin to that....).

in Vivid Color for Susan (33" X 54" MOL), 2005
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Dylan, Edie, Robert McNamara, a great white shark and an excerpt from the British poet David Jones and another from the Amercan poet Ezra Pound somehow collided into in Vivid Color for Susan. My friend Stace has a lot to do with this image, having treated me to my first Dylan concert for my 32nd birthday (Dylan handed me the playlist when the show was over). As much of an homage as I could muster.

flower trilogy (18" X 21"), 2005

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from a black and white photograph i took, colourized.