My Little Girls for April are here. They are tribute to Madonna. After all these years, I am still listening to her music, especially the classics from The Immaculate Conception. As for the fond memory I mentioned in last months e-mail, here it is:
One early morning, some almost 20 years ago, while living in SF, I drove out to black sand beach across the bay. It was cold and foggy and no one was out. I climbed down the cliffs with a cd player and headphones on. As I got to the sand, ‘Like a Prayer’ came on and before I new it, I was dancing around the sand and splashing against the waves with all my clothes on. I felt immense joy and freedom! In the end, my cd player was broken and I drove home in wet clothes. I can still remember the feeling every time I listen to the song.
1) “Madonna Rules the World” is a tribute to her comment on American Bandstand about ‘ruling the world.’ I took the image from the last years Vanity Fair cover.
2) “Burning Prayers”- is taken from her Like a Prayer Video and is a commentary on the use of religion and/or prayer for selfish reasons rather than for acts of kindness.
3) “Confessions of a Child Dropped on the Dance Floor” is my version of Madonna and Child and meant to be just silly.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Little Girls for March
I decided to do 3 “Little Girls” for the month of March. They are in honor of my all time favorite TV show and actress, 'I Love Lucy' and Lucille Ball. As I was walking to work one morning and thinking about the finished pieces, I got teary-eyed as I thought about the many mornings I have spent watching the show. I felt a great sense of gratitude for the many years of laughter, smiles, and joy that she has brought into my life. (Maybe that’s why I’m called Ricky). Even to this day, I am still watching the shows and cracking up out loud. While at Berkeley, I even scheduled my classes around the morning shows. I admired her for her courage to be a comedian and not just your glamorous Hollywood starlet.
The Paintings
1) Lucy’s Rosy Red Ball- It is my favorite dress she wore on the show, I think she looked absolutely beautiful in it.
2) Lucy’s Chocolate Covered Ball- This is definitely one of my favorite episodes. Just watching her face/eyes as she shoves the chocolates into her mouth, still makes me laugh out loud.
3) Lucy’s Friendship Ball- I loved that even though they had their quarrels, Ethel and Lucy were always best of friends.
The different colored balls represent the different personas that Lucy played. Any future painting of her will have a different colored ball.
If you are interested in having another Lucy image from you personal favorite episodes, I am more than happy to have it commissioned.
The Paintings
1) Lucy’s Rosy Red Ball- It is my favorite dress she wore on the show, I think she looked absolutely beautiful in it.
2) Lucy’s Chocolate Covered Ball- This is definitely one of my favorite episodes. Just watching her face/eyes as she shoves the chocolates into her mouth, still makes me laugh out loud.
3) Lucy’s Friendship Ball- I loved that even though they had their quarrels, Ethel and Lucy were always best of friends.
The different colored balls represent the different personas that Lucy played. Any future painting of her will have a different colored ball.
If you are interested in having another Lucy image from you personal favorite episodes, I am more than happy to have it commissioned.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
A Rose For Mr. Griffith
The piece below was commissioned by my close friend Ralph Negron for his friends and bosses Rose Apodaca and Andy Griffith.
At first, I had a challenge with finding a photo to work from, but after spending some time on her blog, I came across a photo of them on their wedding day. I was immediately taken by it. Not only did she look beautiful, but the joy on his face as he looks at her inspired me. She mentions in her blog that even though she goes by her name, she would be okay with being called ‘Mrs. Griffith.’ This inspired me to name the piece which is in honor of both of them especially since I don’t paint male images in my work and they appear solely as silhouettes. And so the idea is that he allows her to be the beauty in his life, his joy, his ‘rose.’ And she’s okay with belonging to him, hence the title of the piece- “A Rose for Mr. Griffith.”
At first, I had a challenge with finding a photo to work from, but after spending some time on her blog, I came across a photo of them on their wedding day. I was immediately taken by it. Not only did she look beautiful, but the joy on his face as he looks at her inspired me. She mentions in her blog that even though she goes by her name, she would be okay with being called ‘Mrs. Griffith.’ This inspired me to name the piece which is in honor of both of them especially since I don’t paint male images in my work and they appear solely as silhouettes. And so the idea is that he allows her to be the beauty in his life, his joy, his ‘rose.’ And she’s okay with belonging to him, hence the title of the piece- “A Rose for Mr. Griffith.”
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