Seattle

Last weekend we went to Seattle to visit some old friends and take a break from our oh so strenuous life in this metropolis we call Portland. I think the highlight was our trip to the Frye museum, which also happens to be free. They have an excellent exhibit right now called "The Old Weird America" which showcases modern work commenting on American folk art, by using imagery and motifs from our Americana past. Here are some pictures of the show. It's definitely worth going to if you find yourself in Seattle or if it travels to a town near you.





The other highlight was probably seeing our friend do stand-up comedy at a lesbian bar under the title "Toots Blogwilde" followed by two bands: Butts and Spurm. The rest of our trip was spent eating delicious homemade food with our hosts Adam, Miles, Evelyn, and Alexis. That's Adam at the top. Thanks for the scavenged mushrooms Adam!

Wipe your filthy mouth!

... But not with these. These are worth $300 a piece. Just a chronicle from a breakfast outing to one of my favorite close by breakfast stops, Helsers. Some great $4.95 specials between 7-9 am. I think I like going out to breakfast with people more than any meal. Same goes for seeing movies. I think it gives me a sense of productivity without doing much, and I still have the whole day ahead of me.

"Portraits are not always supposed to look like you."

This is what I would like to tell people when I draw them. Given art history and certain iconographic art pieces people have certain expectations when it comes to portraiture and are often unhappy with the result. This stems from insecurity but also the belief that portraits are accurate portrayals of reality, like an artistic mirror of sorts. One of the reasons I enjoy portraiture is because you can do the exact opposite of that. The actual likeness of the person can be a jumping off point to ground the picture in some sense of reality, but after that anything goes. I particularly think it's important to draw the people around you, people who are close to you, or people who don't get any artistic attention on a daily basis. These are the people who matter most, possibly because it hasn't occurred to them that they matter at all. Without them there is no context for anything else.

Here is a semi-blind contour of my room mate Lily that I scribbled out one day in the kitchen. Disclaimer: she does not actually look like this in real life. Lily pens a delightful blog of her own where she muses about philosophy, films, fashion, and occasionally ... gay cowboys. Check it out here - The Petite Sophist.