Visual Diary III

I know it's been about a year since my last Visual Diary entry but I have not forgotten the importance of this series. My biggest road block that I must overcome as an artist is continuous production and completion of artworks. It's something I'm constantly aware of and working on. Series like this one really help me with concepts, composition, and execution. For the full on going Visual Diary series go to artbyaustin.carbonmade.com

360˚ / The Wall

Over the past two years my sister, Katie Joy, and I have been transforming her bedroom into a large scale mural. The Wall was born organically without any longterm thought other than creative expression. It has evolved from a bedroom to a mural to an interactive performance piece and now a community project. We've always allowed other people/artists to freely express themselves on The Wall without any direction. Ultimately The Wall depicts all that life encompasses through freedom of expression using any medium preferred by the present artist. Considering its location, life goes on and Katie moved out of her apartment. Meaning we had to cover The Wall with white paint. Death and destruction are aspects of life that The Wall never ignored. Throughout its deconstruction we were able to experience a beautiful stage of its lifespan. And though it now resides under layers of white paint with a new resident in its space, The Wall lives on. It's energy has not been forgotten by all who took part. We are now carrying out the ideals of The Wall through a community project called 360˚. This project involves other artists and all forms of expression as The Wall did. We'll be exhibiting The Wall and 360˚ throughout festivals and galleries nationwide. For continuing updates on The Wall and 360˚ go to http://degreesof360.blogspot.com and for previous posts on this blog, search "The Wall Update".

Evolution of a Painting II

This piece has come so far since I first started it about 3-4 years ago. Though I haven't worked on it daily, it's transformed in so many ways visually. However, for me, conceptually it's carried the same theme throughout its lifespan. This piece has promoted exploration/discovery within myself. Working on this painting has become a therapy session. I suppose all works of art could be considered therapeutic but this one particularly holds so much weight to me. In a way, this painting has become more about its process and less about its outcome. I never feel finished with my paintings and after all the years, I still feel this painting is incomplete. I'm almost there but here's its progress thus far. If you want to see it's origin, look back at Evolution of a Painting I