Making connections

One of the biggest thrills I get when I open up my studio to visitors is connecting with new people. I’m not talking about just meeting people, I’m talking about making an actual connection that leaves me with a fuzzy and warm feeling. This past Saturday I had the pleasure of connecting with some new fans--and in my view, new friends--that has left me smiling from the inside out. I feel so incredibly grateful when someone shares their personal time with me and chooses to express positive thoughts about my work and makes an effort to learn a little more about me and not just my art. To make some of the encounters more special, I even got hugs from people I had just met! I felt wonderful when this adorable little girl hugged me tight and thanked me. Her mother even said to me, “Thank you for inspiring my little girl!”.  Wow! I have no words and thinking about it gives me chills. Knowing you’ve influenced someone in a positive way like that is priceless and truly memorable.

I also met a lovely couple that had recently moved here from ...continue reading at www.mmelgar.com

Explanation of the title, Blue Bulbous

When finishing a piece I have struggled with two things consistently, the title and whether or not to sign it. I just noticed I used the word “struggled” as in, in I used to. And so it is because I am no longer going back and forth with either of those subjects. If you know me or have read my blog, I tend to obsess over such decisions which sometimes get me further away from resolution instead of helping.

Well thanks to various blogs I've found on both subjects, I will never have doubts again. In regards to titles, I decided to start explaining my titles as part of the creative process. A new piece never starts and ends on the canvas. There is so much more that happens before and sometimes after that is part of what led me to create the piece exactly as it has turned out. Just like every decision that you’ve made in your life has created the moment you’re in right now, the same with everything that led me to sharing a new piece with you.

With Blue Bulbous it started off as a pen and ink sketch that had no title. When I was making it, I did not intend it to be a flower or have petals it just turned into that as I added more and more to the first shape I dotted out. When I’m sketching I’m usually thinking more of the composition and how the different elements interact with each other without a goal to work towards.  It’s like an experiment to see what my technique will create when I start with certain shapes. The element of not knowing what the final result will be is one of my biggest motivators. I just love a surprise!

At the beginning of September when I found out that I was going to participate in a fundraiser, I started looking at my sketches to start on a new piece. A few stood out, some new ones and a couple of old ones. I knew I had to get started soon and instead of obsessing over which one to pick for days on end, I thought I’d ask the opinion of my cousin Maggie. She is not artist but is one of my biggest fans and I always appreciate her honesty in any matter.  So, I directed her to the Sketches page (in the Gallery page) to see if one stood out. After making comments on several and really looking at them, she got to one and said, “Ooh, look at that bulbous looking one”, or something very close to that. I immediately knew which one she was talking about when she said “bulbous”. So I had to use that word in the title. Thank you Maggie!

She said red...I said purple

Progress pics on my latest plastic bottle wall sculpture.

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99% done with Tepoz

Just a quick update to post my latest piece. I'll be starting a new one soon. This one is for my brother Mike. He's going to use it as the cover art for his upcoming CD. I can't wait to see my artwork on something with my brother's music on it. Our art together. I can't believe it's taken this long to happen.

Last I heard he's going to title the CD Tepoztlan. Tepoztlan is a little town in Mexico where he's lived and I've dreamed of living. It's a magical place, nestled in the mountains. You can take a hike up one of the mountains called "El Tepozteco" and at the top there's a pyramid. It's an amazing view from up there.

Finally ... a new painting!

After the move, the unpacking, the re-arranging and everything else that gets so out of whack when trying to settle into a new place....I finally started a new painting! It took much longer than I wanted but I'm on track now. This one is relatively small (3'x3') so it shouldn't take too long to finish. Although this piece is not part of the series I'm working towards showing soon, I still had to squeeze it in as this will serve as as the image for a music CD that my brother will be making soon. I'm very excited about his CD and feel honored to be able to participate visually. Love ya chingos Mike!

More details to come about the CD but for now just wanted to post the recent images.

The first one is the sketch and then my first hour or so of work on canvas. More to come soon!!!!

Something else that has made me very happy!

After many battles with WordPress and trying on about 20 different theme outfits...I'm finally done with my website! For the most part anyway. I still can't figure out how to make more than one slide show appear on the "Work in Progress" page but other than that I'm pretty happy. The best part of course is that I don't have to wait for someone else to make updates and changes. Whew!

www.mmelgar.com

Why I paint, the way I paint

Someone asked not too long ago why I paint "only like this". Also something to the effect of "why do they all look the same"? And my favorite, "Why don't you paint landscapes or things that more people would like?". Questions like this pop-up every once in a while and in the moment I give a short answer to avoid ending up on a favorite TV show of mine, "Snapped". So, I thought I'd get my thoughts together and 'splain myself so that next time this comes up...I'll count to ten...OK 100...and then direct them here. I know people ask these kind of questions just out of curiosity and there's no harm intended. So this is for anyone who's ever wondered the same thing about my art...and perhaps other artists work.

First, a little about the technique itself. It's just how I doodle. Anytime I find myself listening to something, like a lecture in high school, a phone conversation (back when I could stay on the phone for any length of time), some training seminar, etc. I tend to doodle if I can. My painting technique really is just doodling with paint.

Now, about abstract art. Abstract art is what I choose due to its freedom from any expectation and therefore leaving very little room for judgment or comparison to what it "should" look like. It simply ends up looking the way I felt it should look at the time I was creating it. There's no pressure to meet some standard or no stress added because it doesn't look like something else. Also, I find so much beauty in the world we live in and appreciate every little piece of creation I've been exposed to that to try and re-create it somehow seems completely pointless. To me it does. There is simply no way anything I could make, could come close to the beauty in a sunset, or the colors in a ranunculus, the detail in a butterfly wing, etc. I just get no pleasure in trying to imitate nature. I get my inspiration from nature of course, but I do not try to copy or represent it.

And the biggest reason I paint the way I paint...it's whats inside of me, in my soul, my heart, my head, I'm not sure...but inside of me and only me. I think every one of has something unique in them that if you're lucky to figure out what it is and how to express it...then you should let it out. Creating something truly unique and beautiful takes a certain kind of letting go of our ego and who we think we are and just letting ourselves be used as a tool to create something unique. Any great dancer, poet, writer, actor does just that...they are letting something out of them, to show you whats inside. And I'm not saying that because of that my work is necessarily beautiful or great...its simply who I am. And just like anyone else, some people will like me, some will not, some might hate me and others even love me. Same goes for my art.

So it's because of this that I do not paint to please anyone but myself. It's the only way I can stay true to who I am and how I feel. If by doing this some people like or even love my work, then I'll feel honored and lucky to have any kind of effect on anyone. If by being myself in life and in the way I express myself in my paintings, I make someone smile or feel anything positive, then I too will smile and feel positive. I am however my worst critique and judge and strive always to improve and perfect both my work and life. I know we aren't here to be perfect though, but at least learn and find ways to grow.

So with that I hope that you understand me and my work a little more. If you're a fan of my work and keep up with my progress, you'll in a way be joining not only my artistic journey but also my personal one.

Here's the latest progress on my triptych. I've decided to only show one of the panels going forward. I'll show all three panels at my next show. Hope to see you there!