The Montrose Art Society - Grand Opening May 15

The Montrose Art Society - Grand Opening May 15

I am proud to announce that I am now a member of The Montrose Art Society, an amazing group of very talented artists.

We open an art space on May 15th at Montrose & Westheimer.

Hope to see you there.

Self Portrait (digital) - click image to enlarge

Self-Portrait (2002) – digital collage.

Curiosity - click to enlarge

Curiosity

Just a sketch.
Pen & Ink on paper.

5 pm. - click to enlarge

This image is based on a series of photos I took from the bridge that crosses Av. Libertador by the Facultad de Derecho (Law University) in Buenos Aires, Argentina about 12 years ago.
Same technique as usual, photography painted with a digital tablet, this one was printed on canvas.

5 pm. is the rush hour. I was standing still on the bridge, watching how thousands of people were running crazy, desperate to get back home. It felt like something was chasing after them. It’s always like that. If you step away from the collective motion of the rest of the world and become just an observer you slowly start getting that “watching a movie” feeling, like when you step down of the bus or the train. You’ll notice how many people are willing to risk their lives (or others) just to catch a green light or to get home 2 minutes earlier. And I’m no different, no better nor worse. I blend in, and start acting like a wild animal, always trying to get somewhere first. There’s too little to gain but too much to lose. Last year I was in a car accident. I messed up my left arm, nothing serious really. It cost me some pain and about $2,000. My arm is now fine, my car is fixed but my brain remains the same. I haven’t learned anything. Human nature I guess, short memory, or like my father likes to call it, “selective memory”, when our mind chooses to remember only the pleasant memories only and hides the nasty ones.

Model Study 1 - click image to enlarge

This is a drawing I made when I was at the National School of Arts in Buenos Aires, Argentina somewhere around 1997.
Charcoal on paper. I don’t know the name of the model. I didn’t knew back then either.
It was photographed before the digital-camera era, so the quality is not that good.
Also, it was on a very large paper size, so it bent a little.

Suffer the Children - click to enlarge

Ever since I became a father I feel different. Things that didn’t use to bother me before now hit me hard.
I am more sensitive to subjects involving children suffering. In movies, music, stories I read in the news, I find myself holding my tears.
When I work, draw or paint, I usually listen to music. It motivates me.
That’s why I created the category “inspired by a song”.
This is an old song from Tears for fears. I saw them a long time ago in River Plate Stadium, back in Argentina.

Suffer The Children

Here’s the song: Suffer the Children

Here’s the lyrics:

It’s a sad affair
When there’s no one there
He calls out in the night
And it’s so unfair
At least it seems that way
When you gave him his life
And all this time he’s been getting you down
You ought to pick him up when there’s no one around
And convince him
Just talk to him
Cos he knows in his heart you won’t be home soon
He’s an only child in an only room
And he’s dependent on you
And it seems so strange
That at the end of the day
Making love can be so good
But the Pain of birth
What is it worth
When it don’t turn out the way it should
And all this time he’s been getting you down
You ought to pick him up when there’s no one around
And convince him
Just talk to him
Cos he knows in his heart you won’t be home soon
He’s an only child in an only room
And he’s dependent on you
Suffer…suffer the children…

The way I see it the song is about child neglect, probably by a single parent.
It’s very sad and it happens a lot.
So I dedicate this post to all single parents, and lonely children.”

Another day, I was reading a book about Van Gogh’s self portraits. This guy came and started flipping through the pages as if  it were “People’s magazine”.
I thought I knew what was coming next…but he really surprised me. He said and I quote “-esto para mi es un tipo con barba…” which means something like “this is just a guy with a beard…”. He was talking about Vincent Van Gogh self portraits. He really cracked me up. That phrase stuck up in my head forever. I still use it in certain situations as a funny remark.
By the way, on Wikipedia’s page on art there’s a Van Gogh self portrait. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art

This is what his drawing looked like

The point of this story is that everyone, artist or not, has an opinion on what is art.
I would like to hear yours:

You are most welcome to vote and comment.

Nico.

Midtown Houston at Night - click to enlarge

Taken a couple of years ago around midnight on Allen Parkway in midtown Houston.
Long exposure.

Regadera (water pot) - click image to enlarge

This is Horacio.
He was one of the security guards when I used to work for ESPN Sur, the South American branch of ESPN about 10 years ago.
The guys used to call him “Regadera” which means “water pot” because he would miss the toilet seat every time.

Regadera II (Water Pot II) - click image to enlarge

Standing in the Shower...Thinking - click image to enlarge

This is a series of self-portraits inspired by the song “Standing in the shower thinking” by Jane’s Addiction, one of my favorite bands from the 90’s.

Standing in the shower…thinking

Play the song: Standing in the shower…thinking

Lyrics:

I was Standing in the shower thinking
About what makes a man
An outlaw or a leader
I’m thinking about power…
The ways a man could use it
Or be destroyed by it
The water hits my neck
And I’m pissing on myself…
Standing
In the shower
Thinking…

Standing in the shower thinking
About a man I know don’t like me
He don’t like the place I’m headed
Same place he’s headed…
I know he’d beat me to it
If he could but he won’t do it
But he would man
If he could…
And the water is piping hot..
The water is piping hot
It beats upon my neck
And I’m pissing on myself…
Standing
In the shower
Thinking…

Standing in the shower thinking
Is my woman afraid of me?
She’s seen how far I’ve twisted
It’s just cause I can trust her
And ever since we met
She understood so she let
Me twist her good…
I twist her good…
And the water is piping hot
The water is piping hot
It beats upon my neck
And I’m pissing on myself…
Standing
In the shower
Thinking…

Jane’s Addiction is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band is composed of Perry Farrell (vocals), Dave Navarro (guitar), Eric Avery (bass) and Stephen Perkins (drums). After breaking up in 1991, Jane’s Addiction briefly toured in 1997, reunited in 2001 and then parted ways in 2004. Jane’s Addiction have since reunited again in 2008, with founding member Eric Avery returning on bass. The band’s varied musical style have influences rooted in punk, gothic rock, and heavy metal.
Jane’s Addiction was one of the first bands to emerge from the early 1990s alternative rock movement to gain mainstream media attention and commercial success in the United States. Their initial farewell tour launched the first Lollapalooza festival, an annual touring alternative rock showcase. As a result, Jane’s Addiction became icons of what Farrell dubbed the “Alternative Nation”

The photo series:

Standing in the Shower...Thinking 2 - click to enlarge

Standing in the Shower...Thinking 3 - click to enlarge

Standing in the Shower...Thinking 4 - click to enlarge

Standing in the Shower...Thinking 5 - click to enlarge