The Artistic Process

About three months ago I had a freelance job for a lady who lives in New York. She is a costume designer and was working on costumes for Disney Land in Tokyo, Japan. She provided me with very detailed, photoshop generated mock ups of the costumes she designed and I was to paint them on paper. She later explained to me that I was simply filling in a small portion of her artistic process. First she would design the costumes and plan their colors. Then I would use her computer mock ups and swatches to create the colors on paper. It turns out that the costume makers would use my drawings for color matching rather than the computer generated mock ups because the computer screen shines light through the image and it makes it very hard to interpret the colors in the real world. So my work basically made her imagination's ideal easier to interpret for the costume makers. Then the costumes were going to be made using white material. Then adjustments and remakes would be made. And then, finally, the actual materials would be used to make the actual costumes.

Sometimes one of my paintings for her would take about 20 or more hours to finish. It wasn't because I was slow, but because it was painstakingly time consuming to mix the right shades of colors, check with her via text and photos weather or not the colors were correct and often times repainting the same vestige 4 or more times until I would get the color right. She had something like 60 of those kinds of images, if I remember correctly. I did not get to paint all of them, but I painted quite a few, I think about 16 and it was very time consuming. The incredible thing was that I was not even providing her with a finished product of her brain child. I was only one cog in a big wheel of an artistic process that led to the eventual completion of the project. After working for her and getting insight into her very intricate and time consuming process I came to a realization that there really was no cutting corners when you wanted to get a thing done right.

I've always been under the impression that I should learn to make my paintings quicker. I like to have intricate details, but I should somehow accelerate the making of the details by figuring out some way where they're suggested rather than carefully depicted. Now I know that if I like to have intricate details I should come to terms that those details will take some time to create and it's okay that it will take many hours, because that's how long a thing takes to make if I want it done the way I envision it in my brain. I think my latest piece really shows growth in my willingness to do what I endeavor to accomplish. I've certainly done other paintings in my life that took as long and were quite intricate, but I think this has a larger diversity in depth and pattern and I hope that my next pieces continue to improve.

This current work has taken me at least 30 hours to paint if not longer. A very basic run down of my process is that I choose images to reference when I decide to paint something. Then I combine various elements and use those images when necessary to look at. I use many rulers, compasses and right angles. I switch from tiny to larger brushes and back to tiny ones depending on the size of the surface area I am painting. Sometimes I look at a book of my favorite artist to help me with technique or to simply inspire myself when I'm making decisions on what direction to go to accomplish the best result.

Life in St. Petersburg

Here's some stuff about what it's like to live here. If you want to buy anything, you have many choice of how you'll experience shopping. St. Petersburg is abundant in its variety of retail practices. While there are supermarkets like those we're used to in major cities in the US, there are also small shopping centers that follow the soviet era procedures. While all the sails people are in one space, you have to come up to every sales person individually to buy stuff. You can't just put it into your cart and pay at the end after you've accumulated everything.

This type of shopping center is kind of like a farmer's market, only the goods are not necessarily from a farm. Here you see a fish stand inside of such a shopping center. The only thing that has changed is that before, in the Soviet era, this place had only one cashier. So, every singly sales stand had a sales person give you the goods and a sales ticket and you would go to a cashier in the center of the sales area and pay them after you show them all your tickets. I'm not sure how they controlled theft in that situation.

Of course other types of selling practices exist, this is just one of the kind that stands out to me as something I don't see often in the US.

If you're looking for scarves in St. Petersburg chances are, as a tourist you may end up in this store on Nevsky Prospect. Here they sell the world renown Pavlovposadski scarfs with beautiful folk prints made in the town Pavlov Posad. As you can see this store is decked out in a huge number of different prints, so if you go in there you better know what colors look good with you so the sales ladies can help you pick, or you'll spend a lifetime looking through all of them. You can also find them in any of the souvenir shops along Nevsky, but they will not have this many and you may not find the right one for you.This store has four walls covered in scarves.

As you walk along the streets you will find amazingly intricate facades such as this one. I really try to resist taking too many pictures because I'd like to experience the world through my own eyes as much as possible but this decorative architecture was just too much for me to pass up.

I've been taking ballet classes and below you will see what some of my walk back home looks like. I am particularly fond of the night lights in this city.

Housing in St. Petersburg

During communism these high-rise apartment buildings were built in St. Petersburg, and other places in Russia. This type of architecture is still being built to suit the needs of the dwindling Russian population. Many families originally owned apartments in the pre-soviet block houses, which were built much better, but as communal housing was on the rise and private ownership was minimal in that era, people were exchanging their smaller apartments for bigger apartments and families moved from the sturdy and the now prestigious neighborhoods to these modern multi-storied suburbias. Here's an impressive view of the concrete jungle from my friend's 9th story apartment near the Primorskaya metro station.

Nostalgia and Saint Petersburg

I haven't posted in a while. This post will be for those who may have some nostalgia for St. Petersburg or who might be curious of what parts other than downtown look like.

I was thinking of my mom who often asks me to send her photos of the most mundane things in her home city. It is the mundane things that remind her of her daily life during her childhood and youth prior to immigration.

New Matryoshka in a New Place

I finally came to some sense of stability and harmony, to a degree, in my temporary home with babushka. Starting my next matryoshka means a lot of hours of concentration, because I chose a very difficult building for the background. It's difficult because it has so many windows and non structural designs that it takes a lot of patience to draw.

Babushka really likes to keep things neat. She'll have to outgrow that, there's no way I can set up and clean up every time I take a break.

The most difficult and time consuming part is looking at the photo and using two point perspective and long rulers to draw the building. It's like a tall hill I must walk over, once that's done it's like a fun jog downhill with painting.

Initial sketch is very light, because I don't want it show through the paint.

Reflections on the Culture of May 9th Celebrations

Dear readers, now that the proper period of respectful reverence has cushioned the epic Day of Victory in Russia, constructive criticism may shower its sacred memory.

As years dragged on since my involuntary emigration in 1996 at the impressionable age of 10, I tenaciously clung onto ideals most vivid in my memory. Tears poured from my eyes upon hearing songs of the WWII genre, and I don't mean just tango music of the 30s and 40s. I mean there's a real genre of music in Russia that is solely about war, and is rather beautiful; everyone can sing along or at at least hum to its melodies. My empathy for the unknown soldiers who died in wars unknown to me (all those fought after WWII, of which there are many) ran deep and hurt my soul. It was a strange feeling. The emotion was exclusive to my country of origin, it never occurred to me that maybe the empathy should run as deep for other nations and their losses.

The feeling was so innate and I never questioned it, until this May 9th. For the first time in my adult life I witnessed what the actual day looked liked. I saw the televised procession of militant humans and machines. I saw the powerful congregations of civilians walking in memory of their lost ancestors, four generations passed. I thought of the implications of these elements.

The present Russian government capitalizes on the sense of camaraderie of its civilians in this colossal and very righteous event that transgressed 70 plus years ago. The Soviet people beat the Nazis and saved the world. The Russian government can now use this event as the means to justify investing in its military power. On May 9th they can show off all the young recruits marching through the streets of major cities, who can only hope to live up to the deity-status of those who died in WWII. All the civilians can bestow complacent pride upon the rivers of future casualties. People's desire to congregate for a cause is quenched in a union of a politically supported, and militantly accommodated Immortal Regiment to commemorate the much appreciated casualties of WWII. Nationalism is fortified yearly, on May 9th.

I question the sincerity of my government sponsored empathy for the soldiers of my mother nation and their sacrifices for the safety of their families. I no longer cry when I listen to one of my favorite genres of Russian music. I enjoy it with a sober apprehension of its power to affect my mentality.

I can't help but feel a sense of shame for my cavalier commentary, I know May 9th is truly sacred to my people. Nevertheless I feel it is necessary.

Some televised snippets of televised programming:

May 9th and the Immortal Regiment

Today was Victory Day in Russia. Many celebrate this day full heartedly. Investment in festivities on a national and personal level can probably be considered greater than any other holiday in Russia throughout the year. WWII has touched this country in a very tremendous and lasting way. To give an insight I'll briefly tell my family's experience. My mom is Russian and from St. Petersburg. My father is Armenian and from a Georgian village and his family was not at all involved in the war. So this is relevant for only one side of my family.

My great Grandfather died fighting in the war. My great grandmother was left in charge of two children, one 4 years old and one 6 years old at the start of the war. She lived with them in St. Petersburg, and managed to not only survive herself through the blockade, but also save both of her children from starvation. My own grandmother and her younger brother witnessed death, sickness and the depraved desperation of humanity from famine and cold at an early age. They lived to be functioning adults, raised their own families. My mother, growing up, spent a lot of time with her grandmother, who told her many stories of her experience in the war. My own grandmother has told me many stories about her experience in the war also. And thus we have four generations, two of which were actually physically present in WWII and two who are the direct descendants of these survivors and have first hand accounts of what happened.

While I only have one side of my family that has sustained death, loss, and survival, others have much larger families and people on both sides, their father's and their mother's, with deep roots in this gigantic monster of a war. Today I saw small children, who would be the 5th generation removed, interviewed by news crews in the streets of our city, telling them very clearly and with understanding who their predecessors were in the war and what they did and how they died. These children felt pride in their ancestor's contributions and sacrifices to the nation for the well being of its people. When I have my own children I will also be telling them these stories.

Until this year I was convinced that all people felt this pride who were from Russia. I found out recently, only yesterday in fact, that some people whose families were not directly involved, do not actually care. I was surprised to find this out because I am part of that culture of immense pride in the contributions, sacrifices and the ability to survive through the adversity of WWII. But having lived in America for as long as I have (since 1996) I do have a new perspective, coming back and really seeing this celebration first hand after so many years. Hearing other people's opinions and knowing something about human psychology from sheer life experience has opened up a new dialogue in my mind about why the Russian people in such large numbers feel such immense pride in this particular event and how it effects them on a personal and national levels.

I'd like to write more on this subject, but being as this day is so sacred to so many people, I'd like to leave that discussion for another day and close this with some videos from today's March of the Immortal Regiment. An even where all people who have family members that have been effected by WWII bring photos of their ancestors, if they have them, and come to the main streets to march in their memory. I went with my great grandmother's photo, her name is Taisiya Ivanovna Susoeva, 1906-1983.

Here are some videos from the time before the actual march started. I started taking a few videos when people were just arriving and joining the formation for the actual event. By the time I found my place in the crowd there were so many people and we were so tightly packed that there was no sense in trying to take any videos because all I could see was the people directly around me and nothing much else.