About the
Artist
BORN TO BE
PAINTING
I have always been an artist. Some of my first memories were
of my mother painting in the living room, I guess it kind of
stuck. I started with drawing, moved to sculpture, and then
discovered.....
Bodypainting...
The
best of both worlds.
I was surfing
the web one day and
accidentally found a Bodypainting artist. Looking at this new art form,
I fell in love. The idea of using the human body as a canvas
was intriguing and liberating. I was able to do things that
were not possible with flat canvases. I had always thought
that the human soul could not be painted, but it could be
captured by a good photographer.
With the use of Body Paint and Photography, I’m able to
capture emotions, fantasies and spirit with lighting and brush stokes
….
NEW CHALLENGES
Now
the challenge is to work very
fast. A Bodypainter has problems with the canvas getting
stiff, cold, sleepy, grumpy, and even bored. So a
lot of work has to be put into the care of the model . The
idea is to have the model have the best possible experience.
I have even been known to have a Massage Therapist on retainer for
clients, as after session care.
The
relationship between the Bodypainter and the model is kind of like a
cross between a hairdresser, bartender and therapist - but more
intimate. Most often the conversation shifts to
relationships. I spend most of my time being a sounding board
for my model and providing the occasional male perspective.
Many of my models become good friends after their sessions,
because there is nothing left to hide.
My Past
I
was always a Geek. And not
the kind of geek like these days - where knowing about
computers makes you have some sort of value. But, back in the
day, when being a geek was almost a social death sentence. I
did not develop my social skills till way after high school.
I also never passed an art class in my life.
Gym teachers
and people who
really do not know about art have no business teaching it.
Most of mine could not paint to save their lives, they would have
likely flunked Van Gogh. It didn't help that I was always
working on my own projects rather than the assignments. .... I'm much
better at sticking to specific projects now.
My
Future So bright - I
gotta wear shades!
I now have
portable backdrops that can
be pre-painted to theme. I recntly had a command performance
Art
Show with
a
live paint session and have been booked for another. I am
expanding my body (pardon the pun) of fine art poses available as
collectors' edition prints.
I am open to responding to
private party
and portfolio requests as well. My most successful expansion
is into business expos as a
marketing
tool. I may even run a "how to" seminar in partnership with a
designer Salon.
As far as my private
projects, I haven't
given up on my Tarot
Deck project and am thinking of ways to incorporate it
into other marketing strategies. Its a huge
Bodypainting project that I’m expecting to take a few years
to finish. There is so much to write on this subject that I
have a Tarot Blog.
In the process of that
project and my
commercial (read PAYING) gigs, I'll be putting together a calendar of
original works for the year 2008. I am looking forward to
getting reader/listener
e-mails with ideas for monthly themes. I'll pick
the best twelve and do them. I may even be open to using the
submitting person as the model. Check my blog and tune into
my podcasts for updates.
Podcasting!
Freedom
of speech has a new weapon!
I have now attended my
second Podcaster's expo.
WHAT A BLAST! So much to learn, so much mischief to
make.
Check out some of my escapades - with plenty of help from
"Imp",
"E-monkey" and "Bambi". I'm loving this whole podcasting
thing. Loving my own, looking forward to producing other
folks. Already I have two clients lined up for
production. I have started a Sacramento Podcaster's
group. Anyone interested in joining should e-mail me for an
invite. This has turned into more then a hobby for me.
Take a
moment and listen.
Personal
Goals
1. Be able to QUIT my
day job.
(DONE .... NEXT)
2.
Have a Sacramento Area Art show
(Done
NEXT!!)
3 . Learn to
speak Japanese. (Nehongo Ga skoshi
Hanashimasu ..... I'm still working on this)
I speak a
little, but only enough to be
polite and not be a complete Baka no hakujin. I would like to
visit Japan sometime soon. It would be even better if I were
to have an art show in Japan! I’m sure that
Bodypainting will go over big there.
4. Have Art
shows in
Major Galleries.
Check
my
blog and podcasts about the adventures of a bodypainter.
Hobbies
outside of Bodypainting
Like I
said before, I’m a Geek. That means that most of
the cool things you would imagine a bodypainter doing are all wrong.
What with Painting, Podcasting, and being an "at home" full
time Dad, I have little spare time.
What time
there is I mostly spend
with my recently acquired family. My son is eleven,
also a
Geek (before I got to him even) and I have introduced him to the world
of stop-gap animation - creating it, that is. My princess is
eight and I am her most devoted fan. I get private ballet and
opera recitals on a regular basis.
As for
their mother, My Lady
is - well - exhausting in all the BEST ways. She is also a
supreme business manager, a sometime podcaster herself and quite the IMP.
We tend
to hang out with an
eclectic group of underachieving but brilliant History Geeks.
I
study Historic Japanese culture (circa 1400 to
1600).
My Lady is intrigued by the historic roots of European common law and
has gotten me hooked on the Renaissance Fare.
