On Painting

If you could say it in words,
there would be no reason to paint.
Edward Hopper

I want to paint more. This wanting struggles with the questions I frequently ask myself ... like ... "Who am I to paint so much? Who do I think I am?"

I've been more of a facilitator of art than an an artist, I know. And when I get positive feedback about my facilitation, it feels more natural to accept. But when I get positive feedback about my art, I have a hard time really believing it and accepting it.

Most of the time, the reason I paint is to get my internal angst and tumult out of me. Believe it or not, I have a ton of it. Feelings that are hard to express in words ... not that I don't try to do so ... as my friends will attest. I do talk and let as much out to those closest to me. But even with that, there are feelings that at times ache to be expressed through paint. And when they do, when I allow myself the time and space to do so and I have music that is meant to be listened to as I do this, I feel most alive and the release is quite wonderful. As Denise Sharp puts it in her story, art in many ways is nothing short of vital. Indeed, it is my life line (especially these days) and key to survival.

What I feel can be whispered. It can be shouted. It can be screamed. Then whipered again.

  That's why I paint. And as I go through the self-doubt of whether I deserve to paint more, a small collection of painted works has started to grow.

On Risks

Do you watch the show, Chopped?
I do.
It's like my favorite show right now. I watch it whenver I get the chance, which is pretty frequently because it's on a lot!

Whenever the contestants open the mystery basket and they are confronted with items that people normally do not know how to handle, I'm ever impressed with those who know how to handle them. It's sexy, quite frankly, when a person doesn't squirm or flinch or hesitate with whatever is before them ... from jumbo squid to frog legs, nopales to habaneros ... but rather takes command of the kitchen and the ingredients to make art happen.

One thing that is always on my mind about this show is how the judges value those who take risks. They are constantly saying it, right? "You played it safe by going the safe route and making the predictable bread pudding ... or the pot pie ... or the (fill in the blank)." It's when contestants take the road less traveled and truly invent, truly innovate, and truly take risks to make something unimaginably fantastic rather than imaginabley good.

When contestants go on this untraveled road, I start biting my nails. Will they make it in time? Will the sauce reduce in time? Will the souffle rise in time? Shouldn't they have just played it safe? Is it worth the risks that they are taking? What if their efforts are met with unexpected calamity?

And of course sometimes, the risk-takers do fail. Flat on their faces. Their dishes don't work. The inventive combinations of spices don't come together. The cake doesn't rise. The sauce burns. And unfairly, the ones with less imagination and less courage and frequently less skill ... who play it safe end up stay on for another round as the one who took the risks gets chopped. It's a tragedy.

But then of course there are plenty of times when the risk-takers do become victorious. Eveyrthing comes together beautifully, and the judges' palates are ever impressed with what they experience.

. . . .

So with art ... and with life.

I always wonder ... am I playing it safe? Or am I being bold and taking risks?
These are questiions contantly on my mind. I want to invent. I want to innovate. I want to experience something unimaginable. Even if that means that at times, I fall flat on my face.

I think about Frida Kahlo. She was consumed with taking risks and living out loud, with passion, and without hesitation. To say the least. And arguably, her approach lead to a lot of hurt and pain. Oh, but the brilliance of her work, her art, her life.

Announcing :: Paint, Color & Figure-Doodling with Jennifer Mercede

I'm super excited to announce that Jennifer Mercede will return to Studio CRESCENDOh this summer on July 20-21 to teach a 2-day workshop titled:

Paint, Color & Figure-Doodling

This workshop is a continuation of Jennifer's debut workshop from last year where she taught students in our studio her signature methods of doodling and painting.

This time around, there will be a new component added to the workshop where students will spend 3 hours working with a nude model, including an exploration of blind contour model doodling, followed with painting.


Space is limited.
For those who missed out on Jennifer's workshop last summer, I'm happy that this new opportunity may be here for you at just the right time.

Enrollment is OPEN NOW and you can enroll here.

See you in the studio. :)

To Paint. To Teach.

Thought I'd show you one of the paintings I recently made. Actually, I made it during Christy's workshop, titled Her Heart.

Here's the other one I made, titled Tango.

They both came pretty fast and I'm super happy with them.

I want to thank Christy, Chrissy, Jodi, Jen, and others in the class who were so enthusiastic about these pieces and my painting process and have encouraged me to develop a workshop that teaches my approach to painting these types of works.

I sort of couldn't believe my ears when I received this feedback. So nice to hear.

So I guess with this post, I'm letting the universe know that I'm thinking about it ... trying to see if I can put together a workshop where I actually teach painting (in Studio CRESCENDOh, of course). Never in a million years did I think I'd consider something like that ... but here we are.

Her heart.

My heart.

I'll keep you updated on how that develops. :)

Tango

When I prepare the studio for the next next, I'm always looking down.
Looking down as I sweep up and clean up from the immediate past next.
Oh the things I find when I look down.
Pins, pearls, pencils ... and once even a fallen acrylic nail!

But this time, I found her. So perfect she appeared that I thought she was simply at rest.
But her journey had ended. Beautifully. Calmly. Quietly. With stories that I could only imagine ... stories that only she could confirm.

Perhaps I was thinking of her stories ... of the tangled, complicated tango she danced ... of the beautiful light she adored and was endlessly, breathlessly, and recklessly drawn to.

Channeling her stories is how this painting came to be. Colors that landed effortlessly on the canvas, followed by all the rest that lilted down to find their place ... to honor and document the vailitiy of her stories, her life, her unique dance.

Studio Explorations :: The Color Orange and Other Things

I finished this painting several days ago and am finally finding the chance to share it.

It had actually started out so differently when I started it way back when ... this past summer, actually. It had been laying around ... as I looked at how literal it was and how I wanted to find a way to make it less so.

It was definitely influenced by this book I made, and some other things going on in my head ...

... like the color orange, poker chips, hexagons, love, friendship, timing, the concept of freedom, and other things.

The Genius of Done

So The Mister isn't really in my universe of creativity. He supports it and likes it and cheers it on but he isn't an active creator of art. This last weekend, I decided it would be fun to invite him into the studio for a date night where I could get him to enter my universe a bit more, as I handed him paints and canvases and the license to let go and let the paint do its thing.

When he looked at the blank white canvases, I asked him what he was feeling and he said "I'm afraid that I'll waste the canvases." Not a surprising reaction, right? What is it that makes us feel that we'll waste the canvas, the paper, the wood, the fabric with our expressions of creativity?

Thankfully, he did let go and started having great fun with the process.

And right when I was stepping onto my soapbox about being careful not to fall in love too fast with your painting too early in the process, I could see that he had. This piece below, which he had been working on horizontally ... as soon as he turned it so that it was vertical, he asked me if I saw the elephant. And I said yes. And though it was only his second or third layer of paint on this canvas, he declared it done.

As I looked at it, and as I pondered all that I had learned and become a preacher of ... about how it takes many layers for a painting to be completed, and how you shouldn't fall in love too fast ... I agreed with him that it was done. I did see the elephant. Perfectly perfect. And so cute.

There's a second canvas that he worked on that night. And I worked on two. All three of these need much more work.

Far from done.

Artist's Statement :: Who We Are Together

To prepare for the upcoming art show in Studio Crescendoh, this Saturday night, I prepared my very first Artist's Statement.

I've hung it with my 6 pieces that I'm showing and as reflected in my statement, my hope is that these works are authentic to who and where I am. I love these works.


I didn't intend for all six to have a unifying thread but it ended up that they did. These works, which were all started and completed in 2012, were made with a muse named Jeung. And to explain the muse, I made a collection statement as follows:

I'm proud to be joining the other talented artists who have worked hard all year long with me to experiment with methods while unearthing our authentic voices. Each artist will have their works hung for public viewing this Saturday night.



The FREE and festive event will be from 7:00-10:00 PM at:

Studio CRESCENDOh
207 N. Broadway St., Suite L
Santa Ana, CA 92701

Wine. Cheese. Twinkle lights. Original art. Restaurants open for Downtown Art Walk with all art galleries open. Live music.

Hope you'll come by and say hello.

####

Artist's Statement
by Jenny Doh
October 2012 • Santa Ana, CA

That I have dipped a paintbrush into paint and then swiped it onto canvas, that I have crocheted yarn and stitched it onto the same canvas, that I have pierced through it with a sharp needle, that I have written on it with pen, pencil, and ink, that I have hated it, loved it, almost thrown it away, but instead saved it and nurtured it and reinvented it …

Means ultimately that I have worked really hard to create original art and in the process, express what I hope is an authentic representation of who I am and where I am.

That you are looking at these works, that you might like it, that you may even love it, that you might see something interesting or important through it …

Means that through art, we are intersecting and interacting with one another in one of the most creative ways possible as we journey on this earth to explore not only “who I am,” but the fascinating possibilities of “who we are together.”

Thank you for viewing my art.
www.crescendoh.com

Edit in: Collection Statement
Jeung
정

By Jenny Doh

In Korean culture, the one that I was raised in, the term “I love you” is hardly ever expressed in everyday life. When it is expressed, it is rare and almost seen as being melodramatic … a phrase that belongs more in a movie scene rather than real life.

Jeung is a concept within Korean culture that is very close to love … but not quite. It is about the deep fondness between two people that develops through time, familiarity, esteem, and regard. If it were to be love, it would likely be philos—the strand of love based on the Greek term that is rooted in friendship. But I would argue that jeung also has the ability to become eros-like and agape-like.

I view jeung to be more powerful than love, because it is something that develops not at first sight, but through time, which is the requisite to truly getting to know someone. However, just because you spend time getting to know someone does not mean that you develop jeung. You can know a person for a lifetime and have nothing but disdain for him or her.

For this collection, my muse was jeung. A concept that is kind of like love, but much more than love.

Expressions on Canvas

The question of who I am has been on my mind as I have been working on my canvases for the upcoming October 6th show with my painting colleagues.

Who I am ... at least as represented by these canvases is: minimalist, lover of fibers, Korean, lover of music, explorer of melancholy ...

I've completed 4 canvases and I have a few more in progress that I hope will be finished by the October show.


Aside from exploring and expressing who I am, I've been guided by the concept of jeung which has become my muse ... and am happy to see it expressed in all of these pieces.
I've also been able to explore positive and negative space with these works, which is endlessly fascinating to me.

The process of making this collection has been empowering because I feel that I am authentically represented it. This is who I am ... scars, wounds, and all.
Korean words and fibers are my roots. And as they interface with paints and canvases, I am struck by how emotional it is to examine who I am, where I come from, how I was raised, what I experience, and where I am going.

I look forward to continuing this process of exploring, expressing, and sharing.

If you're able, I hope to see you at Studio CRESCENDOh on Saturday October 6th for art, music, wine, conversation, and friendship.

To art.

You're Invited! Painting Studio Artists' Gallery Showing October 6, 2012

I'm so excited to announce that we, the artists of Studio CRESCENDOh's The Painting Studio will be having our very first gallery showing of our small original works on canvas!

We have been working very hard all year long as we push ourselves to find our unique voice with paint and mixed media and having a lot of fun in the process. I hope you'll join us on Saturday, October 6th to view our works in Studio CRESCENDOh.


This is the first Saturday of the month, where the entire Santa Ana Artist Village comes alive to celebrate art. It is a FREE event and you are invited to attend ... along with any others in your life who love art. We'll have some kickin' refreshments catered by Jason's Restaurant and a very special musical performance by the young and talented Louise Bearzi-Guedes.

See you there! PS: If you'd like to join our Painting Studio group, you are welcome to do so. Our next gathering is Saturday Septembner 16th. Just bring your paints and brushes and join us as we spend all day painting. Details and enrollment can be found here.