New Blog update what going on with me and art talk. Happy Fouth to everyone in the US!

I have been enjoying my time off from school, but been bored as heck! The last day of classes was on June20Th and I will be off until July13Th when my first class will start on that day. Everything in School is going smoothly and I am happy with my standing in school with my GPA of 3.8. I know this will be a long road and the cost of the school is high like any four-year school, but I know I will stick to it and complete my education for this degree and work in that field. It is hard going to school without any support from family or friends. The loan for school is high and it is a risk but I feel it is worth it. I do want that degree and work in animation field. This is my second time in college for a different degree. The first time was for programing and now its for art and animtation. Which I really enjoy making art and I am sure I will for animation also.

I have been reading this great book by Joseph Sheppard entitled, “How to paint Like the old masters.” The artists that they study in this book are Durer, Titian, Veronese, Caravaggio, Hals, Rembrandt and Vermeer. The artist back Then didn’t just go down to acmoore or Michael’s and pick up a tube of paint. They had to mix it from dry pigment with linseed oil, Turpentine. They used a glass bowel and a Muller to mix and crush the pigments to make the paint. Also Build and prepared their supports (Canvas or wood that they paint on.) They mixed and cooked their own mediums (an additive to help the paint dry faster or help the paint set on the canvas.) Some of the things that they mediums that they used are “Black oil” which is made from Nut oil, and white lead that had to be cooked. That is the part that I don’t like and won’t try cooking chemicals because some of them are poisons. They used a lot of bees max and Mastic that comes from a tree. I have been really enjoying this book and it’s feasting to read what they did to paint. I could keep on talking about this topic but I won’t. If you want to read more you will have to get the book and read what they did and how they did it. It is worth buying and reading. That is if you paint or just want to know how they accomplish what they did in their paintings.

 

I feel That I have to say some thing about the News that we all have been hearing about over this past week or so and that is about the death of Michael Jackson. It is a shame that people that are well known have to turn to drugs and abuse them like he did. I know he just wanted to sleep but the drugs that he used are so powerful that I am sure he could have used some of the normal sleeping aids. When I saw him and met him in Philadelphia back in 1971-1972 we were just a kid I think he was about 12-13 years old and I was about 11 or 12. My family was staying at the Marriott in Philadelphia and the Jackson Five was staying there and doing an interview for some TV or radio show. At that time, The Jackson five was a very popular band with the kids and I was one of the kids going around the hotel trying to get their autograph. Well, they were going out and saw them in the hall way. I got their autograph and tried to take their photo. Back then the flash was a flash cube and they seem never seem to work when you want them to or when you don’t want them to they go off! Well Michael Came over and I try to take his photo by himself and it still didn’t work. He took the camera to get it to work and started to move the cube and before I could say, do not do that it went off in his face, which happened to me many times when you turn the cube.


I later on I saw them again and took a photo with the older brothers by the pool and got another autograph. IT was funny because I was in the middle of two very tall black men and I mean they look like giant trees. Back then I was only about 4'7 at that time and the older brother were like 6'2 or so. The joke was that it was like an oreo cookie with the white stuff in the middle! But they were all nice and I had the chance to talk to them. Later on that year I had a chance to meet and talk to Johnny Cash and June Carter, at a different hotel in RI. I wish I still had that pictures now and the autographs. It is a shame what Michael did to himself and I think it was because of his father Joe Jackson and how he made fun of his looks. He had a hard life and started preforming at the age of three. Well that is the update and I hope everyone is having a great summer!