Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Exploration

I've been getting behind on this blog again, but fortunately I have not been behind on making art. I started reading some interviews of artists I admire lately and it has really made me re-evaluate the way I've approached making art in my own practice. I often come up with a project for myself and feel confined in its parameters. I think "I started working on this project and I should not move onto any other new projects that I'm thinking of until I finish this one."

The problem with thinking this way is that often, when I've worked on something for a while I loose enthusiasm for it and end up wanting a change because I simply want something new to look at with my eyes. An example would be my matryoshkas. I've worked on them for a while and painted ten paintings of them. While each painting was very different from the one that came before, and they were getting more and more complex each time it still felt repetitive to my brain because the overall concept and style of execution were very similar. But because I did not permit myself to switch into a new concept and body of work I simply slowed down in making any art at all.

While I was working on that series I have had MANY new ideas come up for new projects I'd like to work on, but each time I'd backlog them, thinking they're good, but I must paint everyone I ever wanted to paint as a matryoshka first. But there are SO many amazing, talented, lovely, beautiful and kind people that I want to paint that it seems like getting them all down may take a lifetime and I may never complete the project absolutely.

In the two interviews I read recently, one of Mab Graves and the other of Ray Caesar, both artists mentioned that some projects took them years to complete. I think one of the artists referred to a whole body of work as a project, while another artist referred to single pieces of work as projects. Reading this made me realize that I'm being too rigid and need to loosen up because I'm denying myself the opportunity to expand and play with my art and become more versatile in my repertoire. I also think that finding my own, cohesive voice as an artist will come to me faster if I will allow myself to play with my many works of art.

I think I've developed a self discipline that is so strong that I don't really need to fear the possibility of starting too many things and not finishing any of them, which I think was a major fear I used to have. I have great expectations for my new approach.

I work as a substitute at a high school and often times I've found myself reading for up to six hours of my day because in higher grades there's not such a need for constant interaction with the kids like there is with elementary schools. I've finally came to the realization that I can also be drawing in my sketchbook during that time rather than just reading. Coupled with my new desire to explore multiple projects simultaneously this should be a great breakthrough in the motion of my progress.

Here's something I started yesterday and finished today...


Tuesday, January 23, 2018

My Etsy Shop

Today I'd like to put to record that I finally made my first sale on my Etsy Shop yesterday! About a year ago I was commissioned to paint one of Tucson's talented bassoonists as a matryoshka by her husband for her birthday. Yesterday her husband also bought three of my cards. Thank you!

I strive to succeed as an artist and that is why I utilize several online platforms to make my art available for viewing to as wide an audience as possible. Here's a list of them all:

Facebook Page: Gipsy Pirate Octopi or Margaritabrosovaart
Instagram: @margaritabrosova
Online Portfolio: mbrosova.myportfolio.com
Etsy Shop: margaritabrosovaart.etsy.com

While two stores in Tucson do carry my art cards, Old Paint Records Shop at the Old Town Artisan's and Petroglyphs in the Lost Barrio, I prefer to sell my own product because I do make more money that way. I found out last year that selling my cards to a retailer has almost no profit for me if you take into account the travel time it takes me to go a drop the product off as well as the time it takes to package the cards before bringing them to the stores. But I do it anyways because the goal is to have as many people see my art as possible, so if they see it in the store that's great too.

I think about how I'm going to make it in this art business/career dream I have, and I try to imagine what my end goal is and I must admit, I actually have no idea what will get me there because I don't yet have a very clear vision of what I'd like to do exactly. It's hard to go after something if you don't know what it is. I remember in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies Captain Jack Sparrows has a compass that will only take you where you want to go if you know exactly where that is. I feel like in life having a clear vision or a dream is like that. It's impossible to attain a dream if you do not know exactly what it is.

So I am now very aware of my challenge to really take the time and decide what I want to do. I know I want to illustrate books, but I'm often not sure if I want to illustrate books for other authors, or if I want to attempt writing myself. I also often question weather illustrating books is something that I will be happy doing, because it seems constricting to work on one story for several illustrations, right now I just paint whatever I want, but if my job is to illustrate then I have an assignment I must do which is very different from doing whatever I want.

I do know that selling my own art on Etsy is something that I'd like to be successful at, although I don't think it's my ultimate goal. I think of it as a step in achieving success artistically and also it's a challenge to run as a business and I like challenges.

I will conclude with posting the three cards that were purchased:




Sunday, January 21, 2018

Baron Munchausen and his Stories

I am hopeful that by next Sunday I will finish my last two blank ornaments that are still left over. I'm a bit perplexed as to who I will give them away to. I think I have given all the gifts that I can think of for this year's holidays and can think of no one else to give an ornament to. The one I'm posting today is a gift to one of my favorite people in the world and I'm glad it will be decking her walls along with her other beautiful art collection.

This past week I have also made some significant progress with finally getting some of my greeting cards printed for my Etsy shop and for the two stores in town that carry them. Old Town Records shop at the Old Town Artisans and Petroglyph in the Lost Barrio both have my cards for sale and I'm told that they sell pretty well and that a replenishment of the stock is needed. I'm hoping that someday I'll have that problem on the Etsy shop. So far I've had it for longer than a year and NEVER sold anything. This time I picked some of my most liked art work and got prints of that for greeting cards and I hope that someday soon I'll make my first sale.

This time I'm posting the first of the new series of ornaments that are black with white art painted on top. The image was inspired by one of Baron Munchausen's tall tales where he was out hunting but didn't have any bullets. He decided to use a cherry pit for a bullet and shot a deer in the forehead. The deer ran away and a year later he saw a deer with a tree of cherry blossoms growing between its antlers.


Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Gamaun

Today I'm posting the final of my ornaments from the series I did for Christmas. After this I have just a few more that are painted post holidays and are of a different style. I'm still planning to take up illustrating Gogol's story "The Terrible Revenge" after I finish this project, so I'm really excited that it's finally coming to an end.

For today's slavic mythological creature we have the Gamayun (or Gamaun). She is prominent in Slavic folklore and is said to possess a lovely singing voice and a beautiful complexion. Symbolizing wisdom, harmony, and knowledge, she also knows a thing or two about the secrets of humanity and the creation of the world. Unfortunately, though, she won't let any of the secrets slip.

Not only is Gamayun extremely beautiful and wise, she is also capable of predicting the future and telling fortunes.










Sunday, January 14, 2018

The Firebird

I am happy to say that I finally started painting again today. In my last blog entry I confessed that it was almost two weeks since I've drawn or painted anything. Having put that down in writing made me feel accountable, like I have to make sure and paint before the next time I write. So I did. Today I finished two more ornaments, just one more to go!

Today I'm posting one of the older ones. It is of the firebird. According to Wikipedia the firebird "is a magical glowing bird from a faraway land, which is both a blessing and a bringer of doom to its captor. Some believe it can see the future. It is described as a large bird with majestic plumage that glows brightly emitting red, orange, and yellow light, like a bonfire that is just past the turbulent flame. The feathers do not cease glowing if removed, and one feather can light a large room if not concealed. It is beautiful but dangerous showing no sign of friendliness."



I knew all that myself, but it's easier to copy and paste what's already been written rather than recreate the wheel every time. 








Thursday, January 11, 2018

Chicken Foot House

I'm ashamed to say that I have not painted or drawn anything for about a week now, maybe even two! It's partially because I got really burnt out on panting all those ornaments, it took a lot out of me because I had to come up with so many different ideas AND execute them all in such a short span of time. Another reason is the performance with my band, Gipsy Pirate Octopi. I took a few days to prepare myself mentally and musically for it, but also it really got me off on a track of practicing music everyday. I've actually been learning a lot on the piano and finally figured out how to make any chord I want now, using the piano keys. Something that I didn't really have to know for the accordion, because if I want to press a chord I just have to press the button that's that chord and I don't ever need to know which notes make it so.

Anyways...Today I came across an old post on this blog that spoke of an illustration I did back when I was in Russia, this summer, for one of my favorite fairytales ever, "The Terrible Revenge", by Gogol. The post reminded me of the fact that there's that other project I started working on quite a while ago and that there's no reason not to get back to it even though I'm still in the midst of the matryoshkas. Working on the ornaments in the saturated way that I did made me see how being stuck in one mode really stifles me, and I think it's a good idea to distract myself and my imagination for a short while by investing myself in a different project and then simply coming back to the matryoshkas refreshed and hopefully inspired with some new perspective.

For now, I'm posting another of the ornaments. This one is of the famous house on chicken feet that the equally famous baba-yaga lives in. There is more than one Baba Yaga and more than one house on chicken feet in the Russian fairy world. On Wikipedia I read that the reason the chicken foot house came about is that back in the day houses in Russia were often stood up on stilts or stumps because of the watery and boggy nature of the land, so that the house won't rot. I also have a memory of either being told or reading somewhere (although I don't remember where or by who) that the house is representative of coffins where people were buried in ancient Russia, also on stilts, because in pagan times it was considered bad to bury the dead in watery graves. So since the terrain was so watery, they buried the dead on stilts.

In the fairy tales Baba Yaga is often described as sitting in her house with her nose grown into the ceiling. This is a connotation of being in a tight space where you're on your back and your nose touching the ceiling is like a coffin...She and her house are representative of the other world, the dead world. It is also often said that the house is without windows or doors. Also coffin-like...

In this image in particular her house is also surrounded by the bones and sculls of people she'd eaten. A scene from one of my favorite childhood fairytales, Vasilisa the Beautiful.













Monday, January 8, 2018

Matryoshkas, Babies and Music

Yesterday was filled with blissful laziness after we accomplished our performance at the Dusty Monk on Saturday. Our playing and my singing seemed much improved since our first performance. I was pleased with our efforts and progress. I think the public enjoyed it as well. It definitely took a lot out of me. I was especially stressed out and trying to focus really hard on playing the accordion and singing at the same time in a very loud environment, where I could hardly hear the notes that I was making. But I got through it and decided that we've gotten good enough to play in spaces that are quite enough to hear us well.

Today I'm still posting yet another of my ornaments from Christmas, the flow is never ending. The matryoshka is up this time, a symbol of maternity and very fitting for the moment as I entertain the possibility of playing music as my baby arrives into the world outside of my womb. I've been imagining myself strapping the baby to my back, the accordion to my front and playing a gig. Katy Carr told me she was imagining something similar (with the base I assume), but it never happened. I think I'll just keep imagining it anyways, even if it's not going to happened. Maybe I'll paint it.






Saturday, January 6, 2018

Russian Christmas

Today Tony and I are performing at the Dusty Monk in order to celebrate Russian Christmas here, in HOT Tucson, Arizona. I called my grandmother, who is in COLD St. Petersburg, Russia, to wish her a Merry Christmas and talk to her a little, since that is all we can do with an ocean between us. I realized a few days ago that when I left Russia this summer I bought my tickets in a great rush because I missed my husband so much after being away for almost two months that I didn't even realize that in only one more month it was going to be her birthday.

Knowing that I missed her birthday by a month in a situation that was not in all actuality a matter of emergency made me feel like I missed out on an opportunity in life to celebrate with her for the first time in 20 years. There were many things I did this summer with her that were magical and helped me reconnect with my country and my grandmother, but I still feel like I should not have rushed. She is 84 years old now and ever opportunity I get to see her may be my last. With the coming of my baby son I have been thinking a lot of a wish I have.

I want to be able to take him to Russia so she can meet him. My grandma may live to be a 100 years old or more for all I know, but I wouldn't like to find myself wishing I didn't miss out on an opportunity to connect with her if it does turn out to be too late. So as soon as it is feasible, I plan on taking the trip. For now, I'd like to post two of the many wonderful photos I took on this trip. I love these especially because of the festive table and scarves. This was taking in the last few weeks before my departure. We were splurging on the best caviar in town that we could possibly afford. After eating twice, though, we had enough.

This is probably what we would be doing today if I was in Russia with my grandmother, celebrating Christmas.



These photos remind me of on of my favorite Russian artists, Kustodiev. Below is one of his beautiful paintings. I'm working my way up to a series of paintings I'd like to do inspired by his themes and some of the photos I've taken in Russia with my grandmother at the table in the past as well as some of my beautiful Tucson lady friends. Something that's been in the works on my mind for a while now.


Thursday, January 4, 2018

Спасибо Чибурашка (Thank You, Cheburashka)

As promised, I am posting one of my hand painted ornaments that I completed this gifting season. I was planning on only painting 5 by Christmas day because there were five different family members/couples that would all get one ornament that day. When I was working on this particular one, though, my husband came home and fell in love with it. It's a scene from the cartoon Cheburashka, where Crocodile Gena sings a song called the Blue Train. 

My husband and I started learning/playing that song about a month or two ago and whenever he would watch the video of it on YouTube he would repeat the words "Спасибо Чибурашка" because the recording begins with Crocodile Gena thanking Cheburashka for joining him during his song (I think, I don't remember for sure). Tony always says that's his first complete sentence in Russian. 

I decided to work really hard on making a sixth ornament so that I could give this one to Tony. Each ornament took me an entire day to complete so it was very difficult to manage this during the busy season of buying gifts, baking cup cakes and going to Tony's multiple musical gigs. But I am very happy that I managed it. And I'm posting it today in honor of our upcoming performance at the Dusty Monk where we will be performing this very song in two days.






Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Thoughts

As I follow other artists on Instagram whose art I find similar in style to mine own it's inspiring to see them succeed and talk of their achievements in the new years posts where they thank the last year for all the good fortunes it brought to their lives and careers. Today I read the post of an artists who goes by @melissa.castrillon on instagram and she mentioned how this year she got married and her first three books got published.

So I looked back on my year. I got married to a man I love a lot who is very supportive of my artistic endeavors and all my interests in life. I am also now with child and expecting to have a baby boy in May of 2018. I have painted many paintings this year and sold quite a few. Tony and I had our first gig as our brand new band The Gypsy Pirate Octopi and soon will have another performance on January 6th, 2018.

Below is my favorite picture from our wedding. I love it because it reminds me of a Soviet Era film I love a lot called Табр Уходит в Небо (Gypsies are Found in Heaven is a loose translation of the title). The film itself has a very tragic ending, but it's full of free spirit and passion and I feel like this photo has some of that in it, also it has a Soviet sort of aesthetic to it. Zoey, Tony's daughter, found some toy handcuffs at our host's house and cuffed us after the ceremony, hence the photo.