TO MICHIGAN!

ONE MARTYRS STORY

DONE

I finished the paintings at 6am the morning of the 16th of August.  Back when I started in April, my goal was to finish by the 15th of August so the paintings would have enough time to dry before I had to take them off the stretcher bars and roll them up.  It took working 15 to 20 hours a day to reach the goal.  I am tired now and feel like I have aged 15 years.  But I am so happy with the paintings.  I haven't updated the blog on the progress too much on account that I was either asleep or painting over the last 4 months.  But I did take pics and I will start adding posts of the progress pics I took.  This next group of pictures were taken by my friend Cassidy Stanton.  See her facebook page here.  Thanks Cass!

A DOCUMENTARY

Follow this link to see the Young Saints and Old Martyrs Documentary.

I must be the most un-important person that ever had a documentary made about them.  Hawk Zatar from Spiral of Life Studios came in to the studio a couple times a week to film the process and progress of the paintings.  He started filming from the day I hung the canvas' on the wall up until about the half way point.  It was nice having a weekly visitor at the studio.  After a few 16 hour days of painting by myself, the company was appriciated.  It kept me sane I think. 

It was interesting wathching a documentary about a painting I was still working on, and am still working on!  It made the concept fresh in my mind again and has been a great motivator to push to fininish the painting.  I have eight days to finish....

DILEMMA

I have one month left to finish this painting.  I am working on it on average ten to 12 hours a day and getting home at about 3 am.  I am wearing myself out.  Right now I am facing a dilemma.  I have been thinking about this painting for so long.  I feel like it is an important painting in my young career.  And I am rushing to complete it for this competition that started out as an excuse to paint it.  I don’t feel like the quality is suffering yet, but my health and well being is.  My mind has lost track of everything and anything except this painting.  I bought tickets to see one of my favorite bands, The Avett Brothers, and I completely spaced going.  The only reason I am able to spend time on this blog now, is because I am on an airplane flying in from L.A.  I came out here for the launch of issue number 9 of BlueCanvas magazine which I am featured in, and almost spaced it too!

So the dilemma is: do I sacrifice my well being and possibly the quality of the work, or do I sacrifice the possibility of winning a whole load of cash?  I keep asking myself these things, but I know what the answer is.  I am going to push through and finish it.  After all, sleep and health are over-rated anyway.  And if I finish it by mid August, or slow down and finish it when I finish it, it will still equal the same amount of hours, just spread out over a longer period of time.  I can rest when I am done.      

MARTYRS

Here is where I am with the Old Martyrs now.  I am going back over to the other wall to work on the Young Saints now.  I will go over the whole paainting again to tie up loose ends and to build up the paint.  After I finish that, I will come back to this one and do the same.  So... I am at the half way point right now, and am either two weeks behind, or one week ahead of scedule.  It's a paradox I know, but it makes sence to me and I don't think I will explain myself.

PAINT MAKES FLESH

It is so fascinating to me that from the four colors I put on my pallete, comes all the colors I use in the painting!