25 years ago today

.



Challenger
70" x 60"
oil on canvas
jordan kantor, 2007


i was 5 years old and in kindergarten. we watched take off on the little television. then the explosion. our teacher turned of the television and didn't know how to answer our questions if everyone was okay, was the teacher hurt, will the astronauts be okay? she said "when you get home, ask your parents what just happened and they will explain all the streaks of white in the sky."

when i saw this painting in person at jordan's show a few years back it stole my breath. jordan was a teacher of mine. this is the image, exactly, as it is caught in my memory.

small collection of small paintings

10" x 10"
oil on canvas

ed ruscha, you give me hope.

untitled as of yet...

this monster is about 5 feet tall and actually backs you up when you want to look at it... very much like a snarling dog, like a pissed off mama. i am happy and full of fire.

the rampage continues.


untitled
58" x 50"
oil on canvas
angela simione, 2010


p.s. Richard Longo's influence shining through! :D

the first painting of the new year...

The Good Daughter
30" x 22"
gouache on paper
angela simione, 2010

possibly... maybe...

i'll stare at them a bit longer... a couple more days. and i might realize i'm getting ahead of myself but today, out in the cold and with the pain in my stomach, it feels complete.

somehow... a bit more somber than the others.

maybe it's the light. i'll have to snap a better picture once the sun comes back.



Lineage 5
46" x 39 3/4"
oil on canvas
angela simione, 2009

a little gathering...

i was talking with one of my friends the other day about the importance of curation, that it is an art unto itself... and one that is so much harder than you'd think. it took me a solid 8 hours to hang a show once. no kidding. finding the right pieces, the right arrangement... it takes a lot of work and a ton of sensitivity. each piece in a show has a conversation with the other work. especially the piece it is hanging right next to. and so the premise of the show, the statement, whatever it is you want the show to DO or communicate, weighs in heavily on how the work is hung. i'm a bit rusty at it, for sure. so this is just a little attempt to start thinking along those lines again- a little gathering of pieces from the last 3 years, all of which are still in my possession, all of whom i love. pretend it's a real exhibition and let me know what you think.



don't you ever tell...



untitled (protect)
24" x 17.5"
oil on canvas
angela simione, 2008


untitled
15" x 11"
mixed media on paper
angela simione, 2009


objects
20" x 24"
glitter on wood
angela simione, 2008


Charlotte ("the faces do not count.")
36" x 12"
crochet
angela simione, 2007


Portrait of the Artist as a Child
20" x 16"
oil on canvas
angela simione, 2007


gift
11" x 14"
watercolor on paper
angela simione, 2008


warning
14" x 11" (framed)
embroidery
angela simione, 2009




(this last piece should definitely be photographed on a white ground... and without the glare, but you get the point.)

happy...

the day started the most wonderful way it possibly could-

i made coffee, lugged the canvas outside, and sat and stared at the thing for the first hour of my morning. i tried to find something to scrutinize but i just couldn't. and then that big, warm wave came. the one that whispers, "you're done. it's finished. now smile." haha! :)



Lineage (4)
44" x 38"
oil on canvas
angela simione, 2009

the work...

i'm trying my hardest to be a freight train... the way i was in school... always with my head and hands stuck in the paint... always thinking about what painting IS, what it DOES, what it MEANS, and what it's capable of...

this work has me all twisted up- a sign i'm on fertile ground. i've got 3 more canvasses going (if you count the problem child of the bunch) and i'm anxious to start a fourth. i don't want to get away from this image any time soon. i need to follow this one. it's a good teacher. it's generous and demanding. and the 10 hour painting day has helped me relearn a great many things. there's no substitute for crawling in the dirt, getting stuck in the mud, and learning how to deal with mistakes and presumptions and falsehoods. i'm in a place where there is no excuse for laziness or complacency- everything counts. everything. and i really feel like i'm getting back to the place i was upon graduation- a place where i know how to live with the work... a place where i'm alright... a place where wrestling and yelling is expected and acceptable and prized even... a place where intention is important and necessary... a place where intention is king. it's a land whose terrain i know i'm able to climb and all the scrapes and bruises are just part of the exploration.

the maids have become as important to me as the Anonymous Girl series. they are just as beloved. they are just as eager to get out in to the world. and it's to their credit that they aren't for everyone. i know there is a sinister quality in these canvasses and that's exactly what makes them intriguing, smart, heartfelt, and important. i know they're a bit odd-ball, a bit macabre, a bit uncomfortable... i know that, in some ways, they're challenging... but that's what makes them interesting. that's what gives them a real, hard, true voice.

they stand.

after a long day of painting...

i'm finally feeling like it's appropriate to give the title "done". after much ado, struggle, and the annoying back and forth dance that is process, i give you Lineage 3-


Lineage 3
44" x 38"
oil on canvas
angela simione, 2009

done! finally!

Lineage 2 (Hush)
48" x 36"
oil on canvas
angela simione, 2009

in progress...

yesterday...


today...



and the day's still young.

---

i haven't eaten a thing yet. inside and out, it's been oil as sustenance: coffee, paint, coffee, paint. i'm finally heating up some soup to steady my hands and comfort my stomach. this close to the finish line but still so far from satisfaction. i lose myself in the paint. my eyes hunt the details, the shadows, the folds of the dress for any small mishap or overlooked moment that needs to be defined, lulled out of it's dark corner, caressed in to being, begged at and fought for and loved beyond compare.

this is one of three canvasses i took outside to work on in clear light. neighbors, construction workers, unknown men came by and looked, watched. they loved the fact there are no faces. they stared and smiled and said "good job, kiddo!" i'll eat my soup and head back. days like this are days you don't quit. eating is secondary. cleaning is irrelevant. sleep seems stupid and erroneous. days like this you don't let up- you pull the sails taught.

the dance continues...

i've been up since 5:30, working since 6:15, and am already knee deep in process. yesterday's idea to let The Jog wait until evening proved to be a bad one. oops. :( so today i'm back on board with my waking rituals and routines. they help too much to let myself slide too far away. and in spite of making a fair amount of progress on 2 canvasses yesterday, i feel bad for not getting exercise. i did take inga on an evening walk but it's not nearly the same thing. not nearly. focusing on keeping my legs moving and my breathing controlled offers a breed of clarity that i've really been benefiting from in the studio. finishing the 1.7 miles in the morning kicks my day off with a sense of strength and accomplishment which quickly translates in to some pretty effective painting once i get back home. i must continue and let the process be what it is and not let things like my NOW, NOW, NOW enthusiasm for progress get in the way of, well, progress. :)

last night i did a bit of grant and residency research. i'm trying to force myself back in to a "homework" state of mind. the dreaded artist statement re-write is upon me. i need to do 2. one for my practice in general, and one specifically tailored to the maids. i suppose it'd be okay to put the latter off a bit longer- i should probably finish up the 4 canvasses i've got going before i get all analytical and stuff about it. besides, with each new work, the ideas i'm working with become simultaneously more clear and more complex. i need to follow the process and explore the image and see what it's really capable of before i start making concrete statements about how the paintings are meant to function. the brainiac stuff can wait. for now, the work is personal and i want to enjoy that end of things for awhile longer. it makes for better painting, more sensitive and sincere painting.

the day awaits.

good morning, tuesday!

the light is coming in the living room windows all yellow and feathery like. a gorgeous morning already. none of my beloved, low-lying fog today which means we'll have to get out to the vineyard for The Jog pretty soon. it's already shaping up to be a hot one here in wine-land.

i checked my favorite maid portrait and she's still sorta sticky from all the painting this weekend. as eager as i am to see her finished, i've got to be patient with her. i layed down a ton of black and the black is deep and perfect and not to be disturbed. it's safer (and smarter) to wait until it's completely dry. i've ruined enough paintings will my impatient enthusiasm to know better than to rush the work. and this close to the end- not a painting i want to risk ruining. i will have to find something else to satisfy myself with today in my little crazy studio. i'm so glad i stocked up on canvas and paint at the beginning of the month. i'm set for awhile. i've still got two huge and beautiful blank canvasses waiting to get their first mark and two more that need to be sanded down and attempt to save. R.I.P Grey Girls. :( i had them looking just like an old photograph and then somehow managed to slather so much paint across them that now they look like monsters. seriously, monsters. my sweetie cracked up when i said that to him last week because the description is spot on. monsters. seriously. and i haven't sanded it down yet because i'm kind of using it as a reminder of what not to do with the other canvasses. believe me, it's totally gross. one of the worst. ha! but those are the paintings that you learn the most from so it's alright. stumble, stumble, stumble, eureka! so it goes.

it's nearing 7am. i'm on my third cup of coffee and finally feeling awake enough to begin my day. i have no clue yet what i will use this beautiful yellow morning for but i promise to honor it somehow. the world is awake and the neighbors have returned from their long weekend in the desert. there could be wine this afternoon. i will earn my glass.

done!

Sunday 3 (Sheep in Fog)
30" x 40"
oil on canvas
angela simione, 2009

a bit of this, a bit of that...

so for about that last 4 months or so i've been asked, with ever-increasing regularity, if i've got a Facebook account. apparently, MySpace has fallen somewhat out of favor for the adult crowd and Facebook is the preferred way to stay connected to all your college buddies. so, yesterday evening i set up an account and am already completely obsessed by it- my new shiny toy to break. just the way it goes for me. i've already checked it today and am now holding it up as a golden carrot to bribe myself in to getting some work done. aside from the many canvasses in my studio, there's also a sink full of dirty dishes that need to be done and a pile of laundry in the bathroom. we'll see.

later today i'm going to my first ever wine-tasting. i'm so excited! and i don't really even like wine all that much. i've recently acquired a taste for the whites (chardonnay is at the top of my tastiness list) but still no luck with reds. they taste like rancid butter to me. or dirt. plain ol' dirt in a fancy glass. but i hope to get overcome this and develop some adult taste-buds in the near future. again, we'll see.

but for all of you in the san francisco bay area region of the world, tonight is the opening reception for marci washington's solo show at Rena Bransten, Dark Mirror.



i won't be able to make it out to see it until the weekend but if you've got nothing planned, i highly recommend it. marci is not only a super great painter but a huge sweetheart and the gallery she shows with is one of my all-time favorites. the evening will not disappoint.

lineage...

got up at 5:20 this morning and was in the studio working by 6:30. the day is off to a wonderful, happy, exciting start and here's why:


lineage
44" x 38"
oil on canvas
angela simione, 2009

she's done! YAY! she's so damn pretty! excuse me while i toot my own tarnished horn but, i love this painting! love, love, LOVE! i'm going to spend the rest of the morning sipping coffee and staring at this canvas.

when i started it - always thinking of anonymity and loss, ya know - i thought about my own history... the history of all the women in my family, really... and realized that "cleaning women" are pretty much invisible. they have no voice, no real power... at least not when they're on the job. i've worked as a maid before. very few of the people whose homes i cleaned even looked at me, let alone spoke to me. you are required to be silent, a ghost moving unseen and unheard through the house... and don't make the client uncomfortable by highlighting your humanity at all...

this painting is made to honor such a lineage- a long, undocumented, "uncomfortable" history that isn't spoken of, the women who handle the messes, who have a relationship with dirt... it isn't polite to speak of such things.

listening...

it's nice to be left all alone with my paintings. i feel like i can finally hear them: they are all whispering, black and white and sometimes yellow, asking for contrast, asking for blur... asking for anything they want and in this quiet, empty house i can finally make out the sounds.

slowly, slowly...

the final stages of a painting are the hardest...
put down a single mark, back up 15 feet and look at it; really try to see what that one mark is doing, what the painting needs or doesn't. this is when things like nuance, subtlety become the most important factor in the application of paint. i'm already on my second pot of coffee. i'll be doing this back and forth dance all day.