Burma in Black and White – Part 1

Sunset in Bagan, Burma.

This has been a busy week full of painting projects, Burma research, summer gardening, and print designs! Today, I’d like to share more images with you from our travels through Upper Burma– truly one of the most unique places I’ve ever been to.

Some photos just work better in black and white. Here is a collection of those images with accompanying descriptions. So much of the designs for the Thailand Burma Flora Fauna project have been influenced by what I saw and felt during my travels in Burma.

I appreciate all of your feedback and your reaching out to me. Thank you all so much for your continued support! 

Burma in B/W

Men driving an old diesel tractor through the center of Nyaung Shwe, on Inle Lake. It is not uncommon to see vehicles from another era still in everyday use in Burma.

Dusk view of Mandalay from Mandalay Hill. You can see the Irrawaddy River shining on the horizon. It’s the main artery that runs through Burma all the way to the Andaman sea.

Beth and I on the canal in Nyaung Shwe, on Inle Lake, Burma.

Street snap of men on motorbikes at sunset, Mandalay.

There is a small mountain town on Mt. Popa, a forested volcano topped with a monastery, that is overrun by tribes of naughty monkeys. Our guide said, “The monkeys here… they can be quite rude.” I concur. Many residents walked with sticks to fend them off.

Street snap of a woman on a bicycle, Mandalay, Burma.

Morning on the Bagan plain– a valley of ancient ruins in Bagan, Burma.

Novice monks in a temple in Bagan, Burma.

Filling up at the gas station on Inle Lake, which was comprised of a young boy on a wooden dock with a bucket of gas and a hose. Why not?

View of Mandalay in the morning from the Smart Hotel.

In a golden temple in Mandalay, a young girl is wearing thanaka, a yellow-white-gold colored cream that many Burmese folks wear on their faces. Thanaka is part sun screen and part cosmetic product. It is made from the ground bark, wood, or roots of various trees.

Some ladies hanging out and chatting at the morning market in a small village on Inle Lake. Note: each of them is wearing thanaka on their cheeks.

Thank you all so much for your continued interest and support of the Thailand Burma Flora Fauna project!

Portland: Drawing, Books, and Printmaking!

Portland – In early June I returned to Portland, Oregon where I’ve been busy balancing various projects, steadily working on print designs, and reading up on Burma.

Earlier this week, I met with some extraordinary local printmakers to discuss printing methods, the finer points of paper varieties, and a production timeline. It’s really exciting that the Thailand Burma Flora Fauna project has entered this stage of production. 

Thank you all for your continued interest and support with this endeavor!

Supermoon rising over Portland, Oregon – June 2014.

Works in Progress

Asian Elephant – After struggling with a design which first featured an extinct variety of rhinoceros and then later the Asian Elephant, I finally abandoned it and went back to the drawing board (quite literally) to rework the picture. Finally, the newer image feels like it’s on the right track! 

Sketchbook drawing of an Asian Elephant carrying a branch – getting closer!

Drawing the muscle movement of elephants + thumbnail compositions in my sketchbook.

Work in Progress (WIP) – an older version of the print featuring an Asian Elephant.

Sun Bear – The design for a print featuring the elusive Sun Bear is nearly complete! For now, here are some detail images.

WIP – The sloping head of the elusive Sun Bear with a Burmese landscape.

Preliminary sketchbook drawing for the Sun Bear print.

WIP – This print features a hilltop monastery based on Mt. Popa, a favorite place we visited in Upper Burma.

Additional Print – I’ve also been making drawings of Bagan, Burma in blue colored pencil. This will potentially be the additional print design that some Kickstarter supporters will receive for increasing their pledge during the funding campaign. (It would be printed in black, as a linocut or letterpress.)

Working on imagery for the additional print for those who increased their pledge.

Garden Drawings –This summer so far, I have been spending my off-time gardening and growing vegetables. It’s been enjoyable to draw from the garden as well.  If you can’t tell, I’m really into sketching with a cheerful blue color these days.

Sketching basil, chard, and carrot tops in my garden. July, 2014.

Reverse Culture Shock + the Big Burma Book Report 

Reading – Part of the way I’ve been processing my reverse culture shock (it’s a thing!) and reflecting on this recent time spent in SE Asia has been by avidly reading about Burma and its history.

Curiously, it seems that the more I seek to understand about Burma, the less that I actually know. While the history of any single subject is bound to be complex, for me the shaping of present day Myanmar, seemingly the result of an endlessly labyrinthine trajectory of events, is particularly captivating.

Books – For those of you who would like to broaden your understanding of Burma, I highly recommend reading the two books, in particular. This spring and summer I read Finding George Orwell in Burma and No Bad News for the King— both fascinating and well written documents.

No Bad News For the King details the affects of Cyclone Nargis, which claimed 138,000 lives.

Upon returning to Portland, I reread Burma Chronicles, by Guy Delisle and Quartered Safe Out Here, a WW2 memoir by a Scottish solider named George MacDonald Fraser. Reading Quartered Safe Out Here was a bit too much like eating lunch at the local V.F.W. with my grandfather in the early 1980’s. I also attempted to read some much hyped fiction, The Piano Tuner, but it just wasn’t for me.  

Currently, I’m reading 30 Heritage Buildings of Yangon. What I love about this book is that it is a positive and crystal-clear presentation of the current state of heritage architecture in Burma’s former capital city of Yagon.

It offers not only a concise history 30 unique buildings, but also details the potential of these structures available for restoration and renovation. Any one of them could join the ranks of the Strand Hotel, a Yangon landmark– that is, if they are not torn down to make way for newer construction. Follow this link to watch a video of The Strand Hotel.

30 Heritage Buildings of Yangon is a great read so far!

Also, I am currently reading two 100+ year old books authored by V.C. Scott O’Conner. Those books are The Silken East (1904) and another called Mandalay, and Other Cities of the Past in Burma (1908).

I was lucky to find an original 1908 copy of Mandalay, and Other Cities of the Past in Burma (1908), which boasts beautiful photos like this one taken by the author.

The lens through which V.C. Scott O’Conner wrote is now outdated, but none-the-less his books are filled with his fascinating photographs and oral histories that he learned while holding government appointments in Burma in the 1890s.

V.C. Scott O’Conner’s The Silken East (1904 – reprinted 1993) with paintings by J.R. Middleton.

On deck, I just found a nice hardcover of From the Land of Green Ghosts by Pascal Khoo Thwe, and am searching for a used copy of No Time for Dreams by San San Tin, which is proving a little more difficult to locate for a good price.

Thank you

Thank you all for your continued support of this project! I’m excited to have entered this next stage of production and will keep you updated on the progress as it unfolds.

What’s a Few Earthquakes and a Coup d’etat?

A tuk tuk near the Grand Palace in Bangkok.

Thank you to everyone who reached out to me this past week after the Thai military ousted the government in a surprise coup d’etat. For now, all television and radio stations are down (excepting military run channels), there is a nighttime curfew from 10pm-5am, and small street scuffles continue in Bangkok. We shall see what unfolds, but whatever happens next, I hope it is what is best for Thailand.

The lush gardens at the Jim Thompson House. He was Thailand’s silk baron who mysteriously disappeared into the Malaysian jungle in 1967.

Family Visit + Chiang Mai

Prints – It’s been a busy few weeks! Recently, I moved to Chiang Mai, the second largest city in Thailand, to hunker down and focus on the final print designs for the Flora Fauna project. The work is going really well, and I am currently figuring my way through a particularly tricky drawing depicting the Asian Elephant. Once it is resolved, I’ll be sure to share that image with you!

Family – My parents came for a visit and we had a great time touring the country together. It was an important trip so that they will have an understanding of where I have been. Someday we’ll laugh about when they forgot their passports in Mae Sot, and we only realized it on a bus stopped at a military checkpoint leaving town. It is possible they did this just for a little excitement.

Flora – During our travels, we got to see an array of fascinating plants and animals. As usual, I took a lot of photographs- some of which have already proven to be important visual aides for the remaining print designs. 

My parents in Yaowarat, Bangkok’s Chinatown.

The countryside outside of Chiang Mai.

What Comes Next 

In one week I’m headed to Bangkok to fly out to Portland, OR. I cannot believe how fast my time here has gone! So far, this has been a fulfilling and fruitful experience, and I am excited about the next stage of the project.

Back in Portland, I’ll be finishing up the final designs, and preparing the images for the next step. I’ve already been in talks with some dynamic, professional printmakers about the best way to see this project to completion.

THANK YOU again for your continued support with my project! Here are a few photographs from recent travels with my family.

Early flora fauna painting in the extensive murals at Wat Phra Kaew, the temple located at the Grand Palace in Bangkok.

Bananas and flowers in Mae Sa National park, outside of Chiang Mai.

Expansive greenhouses at the Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden, outside of Chiang Mai.

Palms and wires at near Wat Phra Singh in Chiang Mai.

Farmland outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The massive Golden Buddha at Wat Traimit.

The Golden Buddha at Wat Traimit (aka The Temple of the Golden Buddha) in Bangkok, is said to be the largest solid gold statue in the world (3.9 meters tall, and weighs 5.5 tons). It boasts a fascinating history, and was believed to have been made during the 13-14 century in Sukhothai, the ancient capital of Siam.

At some point before the Burmese armies invaded and destroyed the Kingdom of Ayutthaya in 1767*, the golden Buddha was covered in a thick layer of plaster and mosaic glass and therefore hidden in plain sight from the invading army. Thought to be a large statue of little value, it was left untouched in the ruins of Ayutthaya and remained lost for nearly 200 years until it was being moved to a new temple in Bangkok in 1954. While it was being moved the deceptively heavy statue broke the ropes that were being used to hoist it, revealing its true nature underneath the plaster.  

*An interesting side note that I learned is that much of northern Thailand, including the city of Chiang Mai, once belonged to Burma. Also, during the invading Burmese army’s retreat in 1767 they marched through the previous incarnation Mae Sot, now located on the Thai-Burma border. The question remains: did they stop at Canadian Dave’s restaurant?

Also, I was told by a Thai friend that ancient Thailand used to boast an abundance of gold, much of which was looted by the invading Burmese Army. The gold cache was then taken back to Burma only to be liberated by the Colonial British while Burma was part of the British Raj or British India.

This photo of the backside of the Golden Buddha illustrates the seams where the nine perfectly interlocking pieces that make the statue fit together.

Flowers in Mae Sa National park, outside of Chiang Mai.

During a brief, final workshop student SKP drew a cute “lady lion”. The assignment was to focus on mammals in movement, and I loved this drawing in particular.

Thailand is known for many things, but not for the removal of defunct wires.

Flowering trees in Mae Sa National Forest.

Student PD working on his piece during a flora fauna workshop at Kick-Start ART.

One of the groups I taught drawing workshops with in Mae Sot is Kick-Start ART. I was  happy to see they are closing in on their recent fundraising endeavors. The people who run Kick-Start ART are incredible, enthusiastic, and motivated group. They did everything they could to make my involvement as a volunteer teacher a positive experience.

Check out their fantastic video to get a glimpse of what they provide and the situation that many of the migrant Burmese students are coming from. The teachers in the video were some of my favorite students, and were such a joy to work with!

A rare glimpse of parents in the wild.

Thank you for your support!

Design No. 4 – The Great Eastern Egret Over Inle Lake

The fourth design for the Thailand Burma Flora Fauna series is complete! Today, I’d like to talk about the process behind the making-of this image, as well as share some photographs from Inle Lake, where the scene is set.

The Great Eastern Egret Over Inle Lake, 2014

The Print – This print design features the Great Eastern Egret flying over Inle Lake (pronounced in-lay), located in Upper Burma. It is the last print to focus on a flying creature as a main character, and I’m already busy at work on the final four designs that star some pretty stellar and unique mammals.

The Characters – Inspired directly by my own experience, this design was cobbled together from my sketches, photographs, and memories of Inle Lake. The elements include a fisherman on his wooden boat, smoke rising from a burning fire high upon the mountain (upper left), fog and mist rolling between the mountains, a flock of egrets in the sky, fisherman and farmers’ houses on stilts among the floating gardens of Inle Lake, and a mountaintop monastery.

Working on a preparatory drawing for an earlier version featuring light, cascading hills.

Why an egret? – While varieties of egrets can be a common sight in the US (often seen along the coastlines of Oregon and California) I was struck by the elegance and majesty of these birds against the idyllic backdrop of Inle Lake. It’s no wonder herons have been a staple character in the canon of Japanese printmaking… The sight made an impression on me, and I felt that it was something that I wanted to remember and honor.

Great Eastern Egret, sunset. Inle Lake, Burma

A fisherman pulls in his net from Inle Lake.

Everywhere we went in Burma was the ever present burning of fields, forests, grasslands, and brush debris. Because of this and the unregulated pollution from vehicles and cities, the air quality across SE Asia is very poor.

Asleep? No, just a bright sun. The two men behind me have a boat filled with mud dredged up from the canal- an essential chore to keep the waterways around the lake flowing.

Egrets and Herons, Storks and Cranes – What’s the difference? – From what I have read, egrets are essentially a type of heron, but are in a different family from cranes and storks. They are smaller, more svelte, and fly with their heads in a “S” shape, rather than straight outwards like a crane. Egrets were once nearly hunted to extinction for their beautiful plumes, but the species has made a comeback.

An egret flying with its long neck and head tucked into an “S” shape.

The famous floating gardens of Inle lake are literally pieces of floating earth and vegetation staked into the shallow lake bed with tall bamboo poles.

Entire villages directly above the water. You can’t get much more “on the lake” than this.

Fisherman at dusk on Inle Lake.

Seagull attack or pleasure ride? Local Burmese folks feeding a frenzied flock of seagulls to pass the time. Look closely and you can see the food being tossed up to the gull.

A photo of Beth as we pass a small village.

An egret looking for dinner at dusk.

Our longboat driver on the day he and I were stuck out on the lake with engine trouble. Sorry, Mother Earth! This is what zero regulations on engine emissions looks like.

Buddhist pagodas on the lake.

Passing local commuters on the lake. (Nice photo, Beth!)

At In Dein monastery, there are many pagodas topped with thousands of wind chimes- the sound of which is quite lovely. I hiked up there alone and found the temple empty except for a few stray dogs and two men restoring crumbling bricks.

Hiroshige – This design was surprisingly challenging. I had hoped for a simple image of an egret set against light, cascading hills. However, it just wasn’t quite striking enough from across the room. So, I made upwards of forty (yes, forty) variations of this design to get it to feel just right, and finally settled on a dusk / dawn image with the hills in silhouette. 

While I was working out the kinks I looked to Hiroshige, an Edo period Japanese printmaker, to help point the way. I have always loved his prints, but after intensely studying his landscapes I have a newfound respect for his work.

During a workshop in Mae Sot, students JK and PD pore over books of master printmakers Hiroshige and Hokusai before drawing sketches for their own designs.

Thank you! – Thank you for reading and for your continued support with this project!

Design No. 3 – Hokusai + Richard Scarry + 1980’s Aquatic Wildlife Poster

The third design for the Thailand Burma Flora Fauna series is complete! My hope was that it could be a combination of Edo Period printmaker Hokusai, the busy children’s books of Richard Scarry, and a 1980’s Aquatic Wildlife Poster. (You remember the kind– filled to the brim with whales, coral and every kind of tropical fish imaginable…)

Thailand Burma Flora Fauna print design No. 3.

The Cast

Birds – The three main characters of this print design are the birds (from left to right): the Green Tailed Sunbird, the Blue Winged Leafbird, and the Sapphire Flycatcher.

Insects – Other creatures include five varieties of moths and butterflies, including the Hummingbird Hawk Moth (located at the top, middle) and the angular-shaped Geometer Moth (located on the far right). Also shown are the Asiatic Honeybee (Apis Cerena), an Asian Ladybird Beetle (SE Asia’s variety of ladybug), a Rhinoceros Beetle (children here like to catch these and keep as pets), plus a small tropical gecko.

Trees – The Bodhi (pictured on the right with its heart shaped leaves and long narrative history) and on the left a variety of flowering Plumeria which I found and photographed in Bagan, Burma.

This is a sketchbook drawing of Plumeria (Frangipani) that I saw in Luang Prabang, Laos.

Plumeria

The variety of flowering tree that I found in Bagan had the same leaf and trunk structure as Plumeria, but the flowers were softer, resembling Hibiscus.

Plumeria is actually native to Central and South America, but it has long since been naturalized to SE Asia. Across Asian folklore Plumeria is often associated with ghosts, vampires, and cemeteries, but in India garlands of its flowers are exchanged during wedding vows, and in Thailand and Burma it is often found at Temples. Also, the Hummingbird Hawk Moth (aka Sphinx Moth) is attracted to the Plumeria’s nighttime fragrance and helps to pollinate it.

Studies for the Design

Once this image started to get visually busy I decided the only way it could work would be to make it as bustling as possible, and by doing so find a balance. Pictured below are some sketchbook drawings working out the composition.

Sketch of the Sapphire Flycatcher, upper left.

Sketchbook page showing the original drawing for the design.

A sketchbook page with thumbnail drawings trying out different compositions for the design.

Incredible specimens at the Museum of World Insects and Natural Wonders in Chiang Mai.

The Museum of World Insects and Natural Wonders

Today I visited the Museum of World Insects and Natural Wonders in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was incredible, and I was fortunate enough to meet one of the founders of the museum, Mrs. Rampa Rattanarithikul.

She is Thailand’s leading expert on insects. Since the 1950’s she and her husband have dedicated their lives to insects, and specifically, the mosquito, in an effort to understand and eradicate malaria. They have researched insects all around the world, and spent years working for the Smithsonian in Washington DC. We had a very pleasant conversation about her life and work and, of course, insects.

Dr. Rampa asked about my work- so I shared about my print project and showed her some of the designs. She then offered that I could come back to do some drawing from life in the museum, which I will happily be doing that later this week. All of the insect photos shown here are from today’s visit.

Beautiful butterfly specimens at the museum in Chiang Mai.

A blue iridescent butterfly at the Museum of World Insects.

Geometer moth (bottom left corner) and two moths with skull patterns on their backs.

Thank you again for all of your support with my project!

Upper Burma – Photography

This week I’d like to share more images from our travels through upper Burma. I’m adding the finishing touches to the third print design for the Thailand Burma Flora Fauna series which I am excited to share with you all next week!

Walking through a gauntlet of golden stalls selling crafts at a large temple in Mandalay.

On Inle lake, a fisherman deftly uses his leg to paddle his wooden boat, freeing up his hands to cast and pull in his fishing nets.

A weaver uses lotus thread, cotton, and silk (thread all handmade in their shop) to operate a foot pedaled wooden loom to make beautiful, intricate longyis (traditional Burmese attire).

A horse cart in dusty Bagan, Burma. (There are no filters on any of my photos– just great lighting and beautiful colors there!)

Sun protection! After seeing hordes of bleary eyed, sun burned and lobster-like tourist staggering about Nyuang Shwe, we wrapped ourselves up while out on Inle Lake.

Down endless green canals, we passed the “floating gardens” of Inle Lake.

The floating gardens of Inle lake are quite literally that- floating garden beds which are staked into the bottom of the lake with tall bamboo poles. (The lake itself is only about 3-4 meters deep in these parts.) This way local farmers are able to grow assorted vegetables (like tomatoes and eggplants) directly on the surface of the water– talk about hydroponics…

At one point, at the insistence of our driver, I climbed out of our longboat and walked on a patch of spongy, plant entangled earth. Beneath each foot I immediately (but slowly) began sink into the lake- what an odd sensation! 

In the photo above you can see one of the thatched bamboo houses, up on stilts, in which the local farmers live and work.

At an old temple in Mandalay, monks hang up their laundry to dry in the morning sun.

A tall mountain top pagoda is covered in woven mats while it is gold leafed and restored.

One of my favorite moments from Upper Burma was an unexpected visit to a mountaintop pagoda along the road to Bagan. This pagoda is currently being restored and re-gold leafed, so it is covered in a bamboo scaffolding, which was then sheathed in woven mats from top to bottom.

We arrived there in the dark of night after all of the stalls had shut down except for two women selling garlands of white flowers. In our bare feet we padded up a long, worn, stone staircase to the summit– up past families noiselessly eating dinner around circular tables. Sleepy cats lazing on wooden window sills. A monk who sat in his abode and stared blankly at us with even keeled indifference.

Atop the hill was an immense silence under a black starry sky. We could see the vast rolling plain from which we came, and Mt. Popa on the horizon– small plumes of smoke rising about the valley. The crescent moon behind foggy distant clouds.

The quiet was punctuated only by the occasional flapping of prayer flags atop the pagoda, and the nearly inaudible murmuring of a woman who was intensely praying and gently rocking back and forth in front of a small statue of the Buddha. It is only a projection, but I got the feeling like she was working her way through a personal crisis, up here alone at night and completely unaware of our presence. It was nice moment, and a good memory– something I’ll never forget. Below is an illustration from my travel sketchbook of the woman praying.

Travel sketchbook – In the quiet of night a woman prays at a mountaintop pagoda.

Men hammering gold leaf in Mandalay.

Making authentic gold leaf by hand takes a tremendous amount of time and human energy! The hammers alone are very heavy, so the men brace themselves against wooden rests behind them and spend their days hunched over flattening out small packets into leaf (while somehow not hammering their feet which barely straddle the wrapped gold).

I did purchase gold leaf from this shop with the possibility of using it to sign the first edition of prints in this series.  Maybe– we’ll see how it looks at that stage. 

Mt. Popa boasts a jutting spire of rock with large monastery atop the mountain. You can also see some of the burning fields / forests that are adding to SE Asia’s current air pollution crisis.

A cat with Beth’s feet at Jumping Cat Monastery, Inle Lake.

In the recent past, Jumping Cat Monastery on Inle Lake was a place where Buddhist monks trained cats to do an assortment of tricks, like jumping through hoops. Unfortunately, tourists began showing up and asking / demanding that the monks make the cats perform for them.

As you might expect, performing for tourists isn’t very monk-like, so they have since discontinued the practice. Nowadays, monk and cat simply live together at the monastery. Clearly you can see in this cat’s eyes that she is not interested in performing for us, but she could if she wanted to.

One of two enormous white lions standing guard at the entrance to the stairway up Mandalay Hill.

Swallows and sunset over Mandalay from Mandalay Hill.

Thank you for reading and for your continued support with my project!

Burma Banteng – Cattle and Aloe in Bagan

The second contender for the Thailand Burma Flora Fauna print series is complete! Today, I’d like to share some thoughts about that image, and also say thank you to everyone who has been reaching out to me after I post these updates. I appreciate all of your support and kind feedback with this project!

Burma Banteng, Cattle and Aloe in Bagan, 2014

This image is a night scene illustrating the Burma Banteng, a species of wild cattle found across Southeast Asia. One of my goals for this project was to allow first hand experience to inform this body of work, which I feel it already has, tenfold.

Included in this image are a number of specific plants and trees, human-made structures, and other visuals I witnessed during my travels. Talk about “refilling the wellspring”, so to speak…

Travel sketchbook page from Bagan, Burma.

Bagan sketchbook detail of a banteng calf and an ancient pagoda.

Working out variations of the composition using thumbnail drawings.

Why choose something as mundane as cattle? 

One – As part of my rubric for the series, I determined that it would be too predictable to only represent animals that were exotic or endangered species. I wanted some animals that were thriving, and at least one type that lived among human beings. Like the elephant, cattle have had a complex role in the development of civilization over several millennia, and I wanted to honor that role.

A thin banteng, Bagan.

Two – Banteng, or tembadau, are one of the animals that really stood out to me while I was in Burma. We saw so many different breeds being herded among the ruins in Bagan. Some were wilder looking varieties– buff colored oxen with wavy viking-like horns. But I found that the Bali cattle (domesticated banteng) were the most visually striking with their humps, floppy ears, and large, peaceful doe eyes. 

Here’s looking at you, cow.

Bagan was easily one of the most incredible places I have ever been, and I was surprised at how arid upper Burma is. Think: dusty red earth, dry stream beds, and a thriving variety of plants and trees acclimated to a desert climate. In the image, I included toddy palms, eucalyptus, and acacia trees, as well as cactus and aloe vera plants among the ruins of the temples.

Also, while we were in Bagan the Orion constellation was prominent in the night time sky, and the crescent moon would lay flat on its back in a way that appeared unusual to me. I wanted to remember these details so I included them in the print design.

A temple in Bagan, early sunset hours.

Bagan – Bagan was the ancient capital city of what would later become Burma. Between the 11th and 13th century thousands of temples, monasteries and stupas were constructed there, of which there are still over 2,200 pagodas left today.

Sunset over Bagan. The Bagan plain spans an area of approximately 40 square miles!

A couple of weeks ago I participated in local Mae Sot NGO Kick-Start Art’s annual auction. It raises funds for the organization by asking local artists to make pieces inspired by an artwork made by one of the school children attending its art programs.

I chose two kids’ pieces that humored me– one depicting a joyful banana and another of a sad mosquito. For which to accompany them (and to keep within the logic of the original artwork) I made images of a morose banana and a happy mosquito. It was a lot of fun, and both sold for a good cause.

One of my works for a charity auction depicting a morose banana. We have fun…

Currently, I’m busy at work on the fourth and fifth Flora Fauna images. The third image design is complete, but I am giving it a few days for touching up before I share it.

Thank you for reading and for your support!

Burma – Part 1

Old diesel trucks, tractors, motorbikes, trishaws, bicycles, and horse and ox driven carts are all modes of transport in Burma. Pictured here is Nyaung Shwe, on Inle Lake, one of my favorite places we visited.

Burma was incredible. For me, being there was a truly profound experience. Each day potentially ranged from easy to difficult traveling. At times it was amazing, mundane, frustrating, beautiful, astonishing, annoying, troubling, and absolutely wonderful. That said, I am unsure of how to even begin to sum up my time there.

What I do know is that this experience has led to a deeper understanding of my students, where they come from, and where Burma is at during this time of transition.

We saw multitudes of fantastic plants, animals, and landscapes– all of which have already greatly enriched the direction of my Flora Fauna print series. Think: groves of tall eucalyptus trees and gigantic aloe vera plants in the arid plains of upper Burma. Cows like skeletons being herded down the highways by barefoot child shepherds. Enormous, striking moths and butterflies (I’m 99% sure we witnessed a Mystical Bhutan Glory on Mt. Popa, but it was there and gone before we could blink an eye.) I had my sketchbook with me and made drawings and notes of everything that I could whenever we had down time. I’ll share some of those drawings soon.

We thought a lot about the question of why we travel– as more often than not traveling can be quite difficult. (An example: (An example: On a ten hour bus ride with no toilet on board and a single “bathroom” stop, the driver and his minions had picked up so many people along the way that even the rows between the seats were sold out and filled with men, women, and children standing or sitting on the bus floor on little plastic stools. Over winding, narrow mountain roads people were vomiting onto the floor which then ran under our feet and smelled awful. But we couldn’t open the windows because when you did the bus filled with choking exhaust fumes, and so on and so forth). After a while you end up asking yourself, why do I do this at all?

Well, my conclusion is (as it always seems to be) that there is an importance of seeing something with your own eyes that can truly broaden your understanding of a place.  Or if nothing else, traveling can help a person to have a new perspective on life– and so it did!

This week, I’d like to share a small selection of what we saw on our trip through Burma.

In Inle Lake (pronounced in-lay), we hired a boatman for a few days to take us to interesting and hidden locations around the lake. This is the blue long boat with which we traveled.

With shaved heads and wearing pink are novice Buddhist nuns in a golden monastery, Mandalay.

A very cool looking tourist on the famous U Bein bridge in Mandalay. U Bein is the longest teakwood bridge in the world and is ubiquitous with images of Burma.

The setting sun over ancient ruins and temples in Bagan, Burma.

Hilltribe women selling vegetables in a market on Inle Lake. Many women here wear brightly colored hand woven scarves on their heads.

A typical scene in Burma: a 1940’s-1960’s diesel truck with an exposed engine being stacked high with goods to be transported (sometimes stacked 2-3 times the height of the actual vehicle). Once it is packed to capacity, the truck then becomes a transport for people who sit on the top or stand hanging off of the back. We saw people traveling great distances this way despite the heat of the day or the dark of night.

At a bronze casting studio, a wax carver takes a moment to light his cheroot cigar. We visited many artisan shops and witnessed some fantastic craft production techniques. After the initial lightweight earthen frame is covered with a completed wax statue of the Buddha, a clay mold is made around the wax. The entire mold is heated by fire and the melted wax is drained out. That clay mold is then is completely buried in the ground with one small entrance hole poking out of the earth. They then pour molten bronze into this hole. Once cooled, the bronze pieces are taken out, assembled, cleaned with a grinder, and polished up for sale. Quite a process!

Mandalay was so vibrant and alive that it made Bangkok seem a little slow paced. People everywhere doing their thing!

This is a long exposure photograph (much brighter than with the naked eye) of Mandalay at night. The streets of Mandalay are largely dark and unlit except by the headlights of motorbikes and cars, as shown here. Blackouts in Burma are still a frequent occurrence.

A shadow on a bicycle in Mandalay, Burma.

Beth peeks out a doorway at the oldest carved teakwood monastery in Mandalay.

A weaver in Inle Lake makes thread from crushed lotus reeds using a hand crank and a bicycle wheel. Pretty ingenious!

Relic restoration in Burma is more like, “Let’s just fix it up with some fresh paint!”

Hand carved teakwood Monastery, Mandalay.

A young boy on a bike.

A fisherman with his longboat and net on Inle Lake, Burma.

 

Burma Bound and the Mystical Bhutan Glory – Process!

The first contender for the Thailand Burma Flora Fauna print series is complete! Today, I’d like to share some of my process with you, give a brief update on student workshops, and let you know about my upcoming travel plans into inner Burma and Laos at the end of this week. Wifi in Burma is rare, so the next update will be in late March upon my return to Mae Sot.

The Mystical Bhutan Glory and Poppy Flower, Digital, 2014

The Mystical Bhutan Glory (what a name!) was a fascinating creature to research. This swallowtail butterfly was recorded in the 1920’s at 9000 ft in the Himalayas. It is rare due to over-collecting and the destruction of its habitat and is now considered to be endangered (though the numbers are unclear). Large for a butterfly, it can measure up to 11cm (4.3in).

As a defense the Bhutan Glory feeds upon the poisonous Indian birthwort plant. It absorbs the poison, which predators can sense and then know to avoid. I thought it was appropriate to pair it with the poppy flower, which has its own complicated history with Thailand and Burma.

I am experimenting with different chops (traditional signature stamps) and am considering including gold leaf from Burma as an addition to the signature (as seen in the image, above).

Composition sketches of the Bhutan glory butterfly with flowers.

Process – My process is about expansion and contraction. That is, first being completely wide open and allowing myself the space to summon and sift ideas. This is followed by a deliberate process of honing in on the strongest ones. Once I have settled on an image I work it (and rework it) until it feel right to my eyes.

Drawing sketches of the Bhutan glory.

Wide open: thumbnail drawings.

In the beginning of a project I fill sketchbooks with loose sketches called thumbnails drawings, named so for their small size. I am a firm believer in drawing thumbnails– if a composition does not work well at an inch by an inch, why would it look good on a large scale?

Thumbnail drawings for the Thailand Burma Flora Fauna print series.

The expansive first stage of my process is non-judgmental and loose.

Redrawing the image digitally.

Once I have chosen the composition I draw the image digitally (directly into photoshop) using a tablet and pen tool for my computer. For me, this is a great way to work as I am able to experiment while using the most of my time and energy. Once I am satisfied with the image, I can redraw and refine it on paper.

The Kick-Start Art Saturday class with younger students from a local migrant school.

Student Workshops – The workshops have been going really well. They’re enjoyable to teach and sometimes challenging when true language barriers surface, but overall, they feel like a productive sharing of knowledge. For me, the teacher training has felt the most fruitful so far, as all of these young artists have the desire to teach and pass on what they learn to their younger peers.

It is so hard to choose images to share as there are so many good ones. Here are a few for now.

Working with younger students at Kick-Start Art is important as most do not have regular access to any art education or drawing classes. Exposure to new modes of thought can be really valuable to the right student.

Student making a batik painting at the Puzzlbox using a copper tool which slowly drips out hot wax onto the stretched cotton canvas.

A younger student and his drawing of flora and fauna.

Student looking at a book of prints by renowned Japanese printmaker Hokusai.

The teacher/staff training with Kick-Start Art was the best! Pictured from left: KK, Jess, PD, JK, and Felix.

Student John Kai and his ink drawing during the red panda design session.

Travel – My lovely traveling companion and I are about to head into inner Burma, and then onto Laos. I can’t wait to see it with my own eyes. In anticipation, I’ve been reading Finding George Orwell in Burma, a book I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in the history of the country.

Reading this beautiful and insightful book just days before my trip into inner Burma feels a bit like reading ghost stories before going to a haunted house.

“Wait, where are you again?” Good question! Here’s a map with a few upcoming travel destinations. Map source: BBC’s Wild Burma.

Among other locations in Burma, we’ll be headed to Mandalay, Bagan, and Inle Lake. Then off to Vientiane and Luang Prabang in Laos. It is my hope and goal to absorb as much as I can visually and to collect images that can be used in this print series as well as in my other work.

My next update will be posted after my return to Mae Sot in late March. Thank you all for your continued support!

*Special thanks to my old friend David who sent me a mellow, uplifting music compilation that carried me through the end of this first drawing. It was much needed and much appreciated!*

Mae Sot: view of a Buddhist Monastery, an old Thai house, a burned out and abandoned movie theater, and ever present telephone wires.

Flora / Fauna – Concepting and Workshops

This past week in Mae Sot has been productive. I’ve given individual artist training, conducted Flora / Fauna drawing workshops, and am currently engaged in the initial concepting stage for the print project!

Student K.K. drawing a wild buffalo (banteng) during a Flora / Fauna workshop.

So far, the most difficult task is in choosing which plants and animals to represent. I’ve designed a rubric to help me whittle down the candidates. My hope is to create a dynamic group of images with a well rounded cast of creatures, and it definitely helps to have some self-imposed guidelines. I’ll keep you posted on the progress and will share some of my initial process drawings once I feel that the concepts are strong enough.

Drawing from a cast concrete sculpture helps students understand how light falls onto the different planes of the human head– in the drawing room at the Puzzlebox Art Studio.

This week I’ll be conducting three Flora / Fauna drawing workshops. Today, I gave one such workshop to a group of young adults who are all themselves art teachers for a local Mae Sot based project called Kick-Start Art. It was the best workshop so far! They were enthusiastic and fun, and all of their work is really strong. I’ll share more of those images next week.

Here are some more day to day shots from my life in Mae Sot. Thank you all for your support!

Student John Khai and his drawing of the Great Indian Hornbill for a Flora / Fauna workshop. This animal is particularly important to John as he is from Chin State in Burma, where the Hornbill is used as a symbol on their flag.

Sunset in Mae Sot, Thailand.

Some small, delicate local flowers.

Midnight self portrait.

Full moon over Mae Sot.

Flora Fauna Design Workshop!

Apprentice with her piece featuring a swallow and a flower native to Burma, the Gangaw.

The first drawing / design workshop related to the Thailand Burma Flora Fauna series went really well! Today, I’d like to share some photos and stories from that workshop, as well as some more visuals from my life here in Mae Sot.

As a reminder, the artwork shown in this post is all student work– the images for the final print series will be designed and drawn by my hand alone.

Student drawing with a brush and sumi ink.

Working on thumbnail sketches (small scale, preparatory drawings).

Sharing sumi ink.

Workshop – With the translation help of my talented artist friend Sein Sein Lin, I was able to conduct my first workshop with the apprentices at the Puzzlebox Art Studio. Sein Sein Lin is a teacher who has an incredible gift for language, a sunny disposition, and a great sense of humor.

Burmese artist Sein Sein Lin gives guidance with a design composition.

As a starting point, I asked the students to base their compositions off of the prints of the Japanese artist Hokusai. As they worked, SSL and I gave them individual guidance as each student is at a different skill level.

Who’s ready for some constructive feedback?

Overall the workshop was positive and fun! It was a challenging exercise for the students– and for myself it was a good re-introduction to teaching. Later in the week we worked on individual training, and enjoyed a day of epic deep cleaning and organizing at the Puzzlebox.

A student with his finished ink drawing from the workshop.

Lost in Translation – Below is a short excerpt from a group discussion from the workshop. This passage illustrates how meaning can get lost in translation (with a bit of cultural comedy).

Me: What are Burma’s most iconic animals?

Student 1: Cat. 

Me: Hmmm, yes, but what I mean is- what are the the most iconic, meaning: famous, popular, or cherished animals? 

Student 1: …

Sein Sein Lin (SSL): She likes cats. 

Me: Ok. What other animals are cherished in Burma? 

Student 2: Water Buffalo.

Me: Yes! Good one. What else?

Student 3: …

SSL: Lions.

Me: There are lions in Burma?

SSL: Yes, lions are very famous animals in Burma– we have them in the zoo.

Me: Oh, haha, yes. I mean: famous animals native to Burma, like the tiger. What about turtles? Turtles are cool. Do you like turtles?

SSL: Oh, yes, we love turtles! 

Me: Nice.

SSL: We love to eat them.

Me: Oh… right.

So, people everywhere like cats, and turtles make for good soup. It’s good to be reminded that different cultures value different things.

Also, interesting, Sein Sein Lin said that Burma had nothing like a National Geographic magazine. So, it wasn’t until foreigners starting visiting Burma and then later publishing their photographs from the mountains and jungles that people really knew what kind of wildlife was inside its borders.

These plants boast leaves as long as my torso.

Thailand – This past week I had a mysterious fever that came and went, and found a dead, venomous snake in our yard.

I’ve begun my drawing and concepting process for the Flora Fauna print series and am truly excited about where it’s headed. I’ll have some images from that process to share with you soon! Thank you all for your continued support!

A beautiful little moth with a false eye marking on its wing to fool predators.

I’ve been steadily collecting beautiful objects and artifacts to paint as still lives in my on-going oil series, Objects and Oddities from the Thai-Burma Border.

A friendly mechanic helped me with some bicycle trouble.

The tops of many walls here are adorned with D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) spikes made of broken glass bottles, cemented into the wall sharp side up. Ouch! No climbing!

The sun sinks behind the mountains in Burma across the border.

Back in the Land of Smiles

Here! – It’s wonderful to be back in sunny Thailand! This past week has been a whirlwind of getting my feet on the ground here in Mae Sot, while my mind and body readjust to the Thai culture, language, time change, and the climate of Southeast Asia.

Spices for sale in the Sunday walking street market, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Early morning view over my neighborhood in Mae Sot, Thailand.

Project – Last week I began working with the apprentices at the Puzzlebox Art Studio, and have conducted the first drawing / design workshop related to the Thailand Burma Flora Fauna series. The workshop was productive and challenging, and a great beginning to the project.

Sneak Peak! Apprentice Saw Sahn Ley inks in his design.

An apprentice painting in her design using sumi ink and brush.

For the first workshop, I had the apprentices use the woodblock prints of renowned Japanese artist Hokusai as a reference for their design compositions.

More Soon! – The next update will include a detailed description and photos of the finished work from that first workshop, but today I wanted to set the scene of what the world looks like where I am currently located.

Mae Sot at night from my guesthouse – 30 second exposure photograph.

A typical view of a street in Mae Sot, decorated with a ceiling of yellow flags celebrating the Chinese New Year.

The evening light illuminates the smog over Chiang Mai. This photo was taken from a small propeller plane. The air quality here can be poor at times. No filter on this photo!

Thai Culture – The very briefest note on Thai culture: Thailand is known as The Land of Smiles. It is a devout and predominantly Buddhist nation (about 95% Buddhist). Depending on your location and the season the climate can be very hot, and either very wet or dry.  The mosquitos here are a plenty, and the food is amazing and spicy.

Double dragons guard the entrance to Wat Phra Singh (Buddhist temple) in Chiang Mai.

Thailand boasts some of the tastiest food on earth. Spicy noodle soup and soda water!

Interesting times: Street scene showing Thai protesters waving flags during a parade before the February 2nd election, and migrant Burmese workers in trucks.

Challenges So Far

1) Language – Burmese batik artist Sein Sein Lin and I have begun work on The Rosetta Stone of Art Vocabulary. We made a list of 250 important art related vocabulary words including techniques, tools, styles, media and art movements. (Think of terms like: drawing, charcoal, palette knife, monochromatic, kiln, etc.)

The objective is to have a complete vocabulary list of terms translated into English, Burmese, and Thai. This will enable artists from each culture to more easily communicate whenever there is a language barrier.

2) Assessment – The Puzzlebox Art Studio is in a place of transition. For varying personal reasons many of the Burmese apprentices have had to leave their positions there. I have made an initial assessment of the studio production line as one way I can be of use to the Puzzlebox is to organize the space and to give suggestions on how to streamline the workflow.

3) Personal Studio – Currently, I’m searching for the right workspace in which to set up my art studio here. I am flush with ideas for the Thailand Burma Flora Fauna project and now just need a space so I can get to work!

Detail of a mural I designed in 2011 that was executed after I last left Mae Sot. It was painted by my former Puzzlebox apprentice Jaw Saye. So enjoyable seeing this for the first time!

Thank you – Thank you all for your continued support! Please feel free to comment and dialog. I will do my best to answer any questions you might have about the Thailand Burma Flora Fauna project as it unfolds.

Thailand Bound!

Thailand – This week I arrive in Thailand! I am thrilled to return Southeast Asia and feel so much gratitude towards everyone who supported my printmaking project. I’m excited to get back to sunny Mae Sot, and to begin collecting and drawing images for this series of prints!

Go time: Passport, pencils, brushes, ink- check!

Research – The Thailand Burma Flora Fauna series has given me a great reason to conduct research on both the plants and animals of Thailand and Burma, and also on the works of master printmakers from the past, like renowned Japanese artists Hokusai and Hiroshige. Below, you can see a Hokusai woodblock print where he paired a swallow with a hibiscus flower.

Hokusai, Hibiscus and Sparrow, Traditional Woodblock Print, 1830

The BBC has recently produced a brilliant documentary series called, Wild Burma: Nature’s Lost Kingdom. You can watch it here.  It’s got incredible footage of many rare plant, animal, and insect species inside Burma. From this documentary, I learned that 95% of all the forests of SE Asia have disappeared, and Burma now boasts 50% of those remaining forests within its borders.

Still from the BBC’s Wild Burma – collecting insects overnight in the treetops.

Japanese artist Hokusai’s sketchbook drawings of local insects.

I’ve also been poring over old books illustrated with great woodblock engravings. Titles like A General History of Quadrupeds (1885) and Mammalia: The Mammals of Lower India and Burma (1888) have been helpful and fun to look through.

Woodcut illustration of a leopard by Thomas Bewick in A General History of Quadrupeds.

Personal Timeline – From my last update, you may remember that my trip was delayed for medical reasons. Long story short: I cut my hand, got an infection and had to have surgery. It healed, and was followed by six additional weeks of physical therapy. I’m happy to say I am now on the mend and nearly back to 100%.

What I missed out on in December was a planned trip to Burma with some loved ones. My good buddy Cristina took this sunrise photo over the ancient ruins in Bagan, a place I dearly hope to visit during a trip to Burma this coming March.

Sunrise over Bagan, Burma. Photo credit: Cristina Niculescu

Thank you all again for your continued support. Next update: Thailand!

My Kickstarter – Thailand Burma Flora Fauna: A Handmade Print Series

I’ve launched my first Kickstarter project! Watch the video to learn more.

As you may know, Kickstarter projects only raise their funding if they meet their minimum pledged goal by the deadline. I have until December 6th (16 days from today) to raise my funding goal of $4,000. Any help spreading the word will directly support handmade art!

For a pledge of only $25 you can choose your favorite print from the Thailand Burma Flora Fauna series, once complete. That’s a great price for handmade art.

This is an example from a previous body of work about California.

Pictured above is an example from my previous series about the flora and fauna of California. It is a print of a hare native to California paired with the California poppy, the Christmas beetle, and the silhouette of Mt. Shasta (all things found in the state California).

The Thailand Burma Flora Fauna series will be similar to this print, but the themes will reflect both the iconic and the little known natural treasures of Thailand and Burma.

Teaching drawing / design at the Puzzlebox Art Studio in Mae Sot, Thailand.

I will be giving intensive drawing / design workshops with the apprentices at the Puzzlebox Art Studio in Mae Sot, Thailand. These workshops will help to determine which plants, animals, landscapes, and monuments will make the best designs for new artwork. This process will also help to create new images and designs to be made into products for the Puzzlebox to use to sustain itself.

When I return to Portland after five months of volunteering, I will choose the eight most dynamic images that I come up with to make into this new series of prints. What is unique about this project is that you can be a part of the process and watch the series unfold through email updates and blog posts, before choosing your favorite print! Sounds fun, right?

Thank you all for your support!

-Mike

Burmese Days – Painting George Orwell

Work in progress of a monkey skull and George Orwell’s passport photo.

I’m currently working on a painting of a monkey skull, a small Buddha statue, and George Orwell’s passport photo from his time in Burma in the 1920’s. After reading Orwell’s Burmese Days (1934) I was moved to honor him in oil and include his portrait in my series of still life paintings: Objects and Oddities from the Thai-Burma Border.

In a lot of ways Burmese Days was a difficult book for me to get through, particularly because the subject matter is dense with racism. But Orwell’s gift for description made it all worth while, including beautifully written passages like, “The egrets that roosted in the palms were streaming homewards over the treetops like white flights of arrows.”

Thumbnail drawings in my sketchbook.

Preliminary thumbnail sketches of the painting.

I’m rereading a book called Culture Shock! Thailand (1982) which is far more interesting after having lived there, as I now actually understand what the authors are talking about. The text is a bit dated and pretty tongue in cheek, but all in all it’s a very informative read.

According to the authors there was a famous ghost named Nang Nak Prah Khanong (aka Lady Nak) who used to haunt the Sukhumvit area in Bangkok. Thankfully she was tricked into entering Wat Mahabutr (a Buddhist Temple) on Soi On Nut and her evil powers were diminished. “Fortunately, no ghost exists without its anti-ghost.” Whew!

“Shhhhhhut your big American mouth. . .” – Culture Shock! Thailand (1982)

Lastly, we’ve been enjoying some cool, rainy days here in Portland, Oregon. My garden is flush with vegetables– especially tomatoes and basil which has led to a great pesto bounty. My sunflowers were recently mysteriously ravaged, and I finally discovered the culprits to be a family of Blue Jays. I’ve since harvested the sunflowers to dry out the seeds, but left a last large stalk and flower for the Blue Jays to finish eating. Who am I bum out a family of birds?

Tomato basil bounty fresh from my garden.

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment!  <<<>>>

August

Cicada, Graphite on Paper, 5 x 8.25″ (12.7 x 30 cm), 2013

Earlier this month I enjoyed a packed trip home to Ithaca, New York where I attended three weddings in a single week, two of which were same-sex marriages– hurrah for New York!

I spent full days drawing on the banks of Cayuga Lake as well as in the gardens and pastures of friends. The east coast summer nights were great– garden salads for dinner, humidity, cicadas, and I even watched the Perseid meteor shower from a dock on the lake.

Back in Portland, Oregon, I am busy working in my studio on several pieces simultaneously, including the sixth still life painting of objects from the Thai-Burma border. The painting features a 1920’s passport photograph of a young George Orwell from his time serving with the British Imperial Police in Burma.

Thanks for reading!  <<<>>>

Drawing dead cicadas from life.

Steve’s Garden, Sumi Ink on Paper, 11 x 14″ (28 x 35.5 cm), 2013

Burma map painting in progress on the easel in my studio.

Work in progress of a stage and a painted backdrop.  Earlier version.

Preliminary pencil drawing for a painting of a young George Orwell and a monkey skull.

Sunset on Cayuga Lake.  Ithaca, New York, August 2013.

Thai Ceramic Baby Tiger – Still Life Painting!

Thai Ceramic Baby Tiger on my easel.

Recently, I’ve been focusing on a series of still lives based on objects and oddities I brought back from the Thai-Burma border. I’m currently beginning work on the sixth painting, and wanted to pause and share some images of the first piece in the series.

It depicts a small ceramic statue of a baby tiger made by a Thai ceramicist that I found in the northern city of Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was painted over a couple of weeks in mostly soft evening light.

Thai Ceramic Baby Tiger, Oil on Paper, 5.5 x 7″ (14 x 17.75 cm), 2013

My priority with this work was practicing a traditional oil glazing technique to create soft shifts in light and tones. What made this particular work especially challenging was depicting a high fire ceramic glaze. (I love painting.)

Thai Ceramic Baby Tiger (Detail), Oil on Paper, 5.5 x 7″ (14 x 17.75 cm), 2013

It is my intention to show these paintings and to use the sale of which to partially supplement my return to Thailand in early 2014 to resume my work with migrant youth from Burma at the Puzzlebox Art Studio.

Guy Delisle’s Jerusalem (2012)

Currently on my nightstand is Guy Delisle’s Jerusalem which I am enjoying quite a bit. I recently finished George Orwell’s Burmese Days and I highly recommend it.

Thanks for reading!  <<<>>>

Connie Converse Portrait – Ceramic Tile

This week I wanted to share about a small ceramic piece I made while living on the Thai-Burma border.

Connie Converse, Glazed Ceramic Tile, 3.5 x 3.5″ (8.9 x 8.9 cm), 2011

It features a portrait of the musician Connie Converse who mysteriously disappeared in 1974. If you love pretty melodies and witty lyrics do yourself a favor . . . you can listen to her beautiful songs and buy her album here.

Sarah Wilmer + Mike Schultz, Connie Converse Album Cover, 2009

My friend David Herman of Squirrel Things Recordings remastered Connie’s music and put out this outstanding album of songs that she recorded in New York City in 1950’s. I was involved with the project when photographer Sarah Wilmer and I had the honor of making the Connie Converse album artwork.

Here I am sculpting in clay in Mae Sot, Thailand, 2011.

When I was living in Thailand I found myself listening to Connie’s music quite a bit. I had made some drawings of her and thought it might be fun to make David and his lady, the painter Sayaka Nagata, a small keepsake of Connie for their shelf.  (Check out Sayaka’s painting of Connie Converse!)

Clay Connie Converse tile in process, 2011.

Connie Converse tile in the window.

I made the tile while working with the Puzzlebox Art Studio located in Mae Sot, Thailand after picking up a bit of relief sculpting from Thai ceramicist Komol Kongcharern.

Here are some images of the process. Thanks for reading and feel free to comment!

Painting underglaze on a similar tile featuring a heart.

Glazed tiles prepped to go into the Kiln.

Thai ceramicist Komol Koncharern with a full kiln pre-firing.

Loading the kiln at the Puzzlebox Art Studio, Mae Sot, Thailand, 2011.

Connie tile and other work in the kiln ready to be burned!

Connie Converse tile post first underglaze firing before the application of clear glaze.

Getting the stink eye from a temple cat in Pai, Thailand, 2011.

The tile in its new home in Brooklyn, NY.

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment!

Nature Drawing – Coastal Redwood

Coastal Redwood Trunk, Mt. Tabor, Graphite on Paper, 5 x 8.25″ (12.7 x 30 cm), 2013

This week: nature drawing, Mt. Tabor, and garden love.

The more beautiful the weather gets the harder it is for me to stay indoors to paint. After another dark wet Portland winter I am happy to take a break and trade out painting for drawing in the sun and the fresh air.

Pictured above is a drawing of a Coastal Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) that I drew in my Moleskine sketchbook up at Portland’s Mt. Tabor park this past Sunday. These are the tallest trees on earth and can reach up to 379 feet (115.5 m)!

Out the window to the east you can see Mt. Tabor beckoning me to abandon my studio.

Facing westward from Mt. Tabor towards my studio. (It’s the house with the garden.)

My garden plot is coming along nicely. So far I have planted Roma tomatoes, aroma basil, grey lavender, chives, snap peas and was gifted some tenacious potatoes which were already growing in the bed. I’ve been enjoying digging in the dirt with my hands and nurturing this small piece of earth. There is something very meditative and calming about working out there, and I’m looking forward to making drawings of these plants as they grow!

Also, I recently ran across this old photograph of myself as a young child in my pop’s garden. At this age I was known for (and actually remember quite clearly) raiding the garden of any and all snap peas.

Aroma basil starts in the garden.

Snap pea thief: my three year old self in the garden squinting in the sun, circa 1980.

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment!  <<<>>>

Sneak Peek! + Summery Spring

Currently I am focusing on a series of still lives featuring my collection of keepsakes from the Thai-Burma border. Pictured below is (a detail of) a painting of a ceramic hare and an antique statuette of a red swallow. I found the ceramic hare at an artist’s shop in the northern city of Chiang Mai, Thailand. (Just a peek until the series is further along!)

Ceramic Hare and Red Swallow (Detail), Oil on Paper, 5.5 x 7″ (14 x 17.75 cm), 2013

Blue and red spectrum on my palette.

This weekend I rode my bike up to Mt. Tabor to draw in my Moleskine sketchbook. Mt.Tabor is a park on an inactive volcano cinder cone within Portland city limits– basically it’s an enormous hill spanning 1.60 sq mi (4.14 km²) which is covered in majestic trees, winding pathways and vistas of the city.

My trusty steed among the great trees of Mt. Tabor, Portland, OR, April, 2013.

Vista of Portland from Mt. Tabor, Graphite on Paper, 5 x 8.25″ (12.7 x 30 cm), 2013

We are experiencing another week of freak summer weather in April– very unusual for Portland, OR. At great odds with my painting time I have been spending as many sunlight hours as possible out of doors walking, biking, seeing friends, and breathing in the Spring air. Pictured below is my adorable artist / seamstress friend Loni. She made everything she’s wearing in that photo! Check out her Etsy shop- LoveToLoveYou.

Loni among the luscious smelling lilacs.

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment!   <<<>>>