travel-artist

New Blog

2009-08-04T16:43:00.002+08:00

I've moved my Travel-Artist blog over to Wordpress, for better integration with my website. Come visit my new studio in Lijiang - a beautiful town near the Southern Silk Road in southwest China:
Travel Artist Blog

Crap Job Market = Creative Opportunity

2009-06-25T16:36:00.004+08:00

Drifting Creatives is the blog of a pair of new graduates from a university in Texas. This week they're spending time on the beach in Panama - and getting some work done while they're at it.

From their about page: "We are creative problem solvers, aka designers. One problem we are trying to solve is joblessness. What are we doing about it? We are taking our design skillz to the road. Too many small towns don't have access to smart design. We know we aren't a huge design firm, but we think we can help out."

Instead of worrying about jobs, they're getting out there, finding work along the way, and looking for solutions. Making connections online and in their industry. Going on the road leads to new perspectives.

Awhile back, England was going through a recession in 1981. In response to criticism & rising unemployment, Tory MP Sir Norman Tebbit said, "I grew up in the 1930s with an unemployed father. He didn't riot. He got on his bike and looked for work, and he went on looking until he found it."

Here's another bloke who got on his bike and looked for work during a difficult English economy. In the early '90s, Roy McClean [a.k.a. The Man, or my better half] rode a rickety Dutch bike from Delft to Rotterdam after his university graduation. The short-term jobs he picked up along the way offered eclectic experiences: as a soap-factory worker, he was filmed for a documentary; he was a model of Dutch efficiency while planting tulip bulbs; and working as a shop-fitter was a first-hand lesson in the socialist-capitalist divide. This trip was a cultural immersion that gave him flexibility and a wider horizon.

Uncertain times offer unparalleled opportunities for growth - kudos to Drifting Creatives who are finding success in unexpected places, and making great design along the way.

Sand in my Laptop

2009-06-16T12:45:00.005+08:00

My coconut-wood hut on Koh Mak island, Thailand

Some photos from a quiet island.

Deserted beaches during the slow season are a great way to experience the pace of island life. Koh Mak's flat horizon bristles with palm and rubber trees, and down its sealed roads drive its quirky inhabitants. Some live there all year; most split their lives between Koh Mak and elsewhere. Almost none were born there.

The center of the island is covered in rubber plantations, owned by the "big three" families who were given the island by the King a century ago to keep it from the colonial claws of the French. At night you can sometimes see the latex tappers, who wear mosquito coils on their hats and lights on their foreheads.

Work-station window from my hut. I'm still shaking sand from my laptop

I worked in three-hour blocks, and every day was different. Some days I transcribed notes from interviews in Laos and Vietnam; on others I sketched from memory and photo references, or finished the last reference books from White Lotus.

The open design let in plenty of breezes - and sand too

Off-season beaches get half the sun and are half the price of the tourist peak from November-March. My $5 bungalow was shaken by plenty of storms during the first week. Rain dripped through the thatched roof. Sand flew through slats of coconut wood into my mosquito net. But I just pulled my blanket tighter and slept through it.

Rainy days are the best kind of weather to get the work done. And that’s why I was there in the first place: for a real working holiday.

Pretty as a picture

2009-05-30T12:39:00.006+08:00

Sala @ White Lotus Press, May 2009

I painted the picture above with some brand new art materials - new to me, anyway.

Thai tea is traditionally flavored with tamarind, which gives it an orange color (cheaper versions use a lot of food coloring, but this tea's good quality). A German papermaker I met in Luang Prabang uses it in some of his paper designs, so I'm trying it for my current illustrations. It gives a warm tinge to the image. The blackish ink comes from bamboo charcoal created for Dong Ho woodblock prints in Vietnam. I enhanced the sala's white stucco with a handmade acrylic paste made with ground shellfish from Hai Phong, Vietnam (also used in Dong Ho prints). They give a lustrous iridescent finish.

I gave this image to the director of White Lotus as thanks for his hospitality - he hosted me in his library, office and garden-side diningroom for the past week. From the writings of 15th century Chinese sailors to 21st century French ethnologists, I read of new perspectives and people. An invaluable help to this paper-book project.

The next stage of this paper trail will be 11 days of seclusion on the off-season beaches of Ko Mak, eastern Thailand. There I plan to do two dozen illustrations for the book, and catch up on my notes from recent weeks.

For artists - and creatives - who could use a re-think of their relationship with money, check out Chris Guillebeau's new Art & Money Guide. His co-writer, Zoe, lives in Chiang Mai and is doing some great literary work there, too. When I get back to the online world, I'll join her team of Location Independent Creatives. We are just beginning to explore the possibilities and freedom offered by the internet. Through sites like Exile Lifestyle and Free Pursuits, people are becoming more aware that there's more than one way to live a life and combine it with their career(s).

This awareness couldn't come at a better time than now.

Location Independence Maps

2009-05-25T16:23:00.007+08:00

This blog and the community I've met through Twitter are a great resource for a mobile, modern life.

Last week I was working from The Artists Place in Thonburi, the oldest part of Bangkok. Here's a map; the new skytrain stop of Wongwian Yai is just down the street, but prices are the same:

...and this week I'm working from White Lotus Press, staying in the guesthouse and sharing meals with the eccentric, charming publisher. It takes a rare person to discover and publish all these old works on Asia - we've had some delightfully long-winded conversations.

If you're ever in Pattaya, Thailand, feel free to stop by; they're happy to have visitors. It's definitely off the beaten track:

Next week I'll hit the beaches of Eastern Thailand with ink and brushes in hand, ready to finish the illustrations for my new book, The Paper Apprentice.

Split Existence

2009-05-13T18:47:00.004+08:00

Hitting the streets with the Man in Seoul, 2004

This year, the Man and I will spend a total of 6 months apart. With visa restrictions & our work/travel schedules, we've only managed to plan a single meetup - next month. When strangers hear this, they do a double-take. They make noises that indicate I'm jeopardizing our relationship with my work, "tsk" and say they could never manage it, hinting that we won't, either [it's usually a man with a "real job" that travels for work, right?].

But those who know us well just sigh & say "Oh they're at it again." This photo album shows a few of the places we've been together - often while one of us visited the other when we lived in different countries.

It's not that we want to be apart all this time, it's just that we've realized what most nomads do after awhile - that you can't "have it all", all the time, in the same place at the same time. That our lives are works-in-progress, together & separately. That our careers require different locations for training and development, and also that we have different levels of tolerance for humidity, hassle, & searing SE Asian chillies.

This isn't a "Long-Distance Relationship"; it's a relationship built while living together, and enhanced & maintained with care over a distance. We met in Korea 6 years ago, and had already planned to move to Cambodia (me) and to China (the Man). Within weeks, we changed our minds and decided to stay in one place long enough - postpone our dreams - to see how it would work with the other person. Over years of online & domestic communication, in the livingrooms, bedrooms & internet cafes of several countries, we've created our own system of what works for us.

For an hour or two every day, we chat online, and use a webcam when we can stick one on top of a dusty computer. We probably look into one another's eyes more now than when we're living together; it's easier to focus on the other person, free from daily distractions. When I can't access a computer, I call him instead: from a night-time boat on the Mekong, from temples and airports and jungles and buses. In tears and with borderline heatstroke and occasionally with elation.

When your partner respects your dreams enough to miss holding you for a few nights, then you know you're spending your time with the right one. Many male writers say with a hint of condescension, "I couldn't have done this without my wife's assistance". My version goes something like this: "The Man knows I would've done this anyway, with or without his approval. Thanks for giving it before I thought to ask."

Choices

2009-05-08T12:56:00.006+08:00

Every few months I'm told by someone who barely knows me, "Oh, you can be an artist because you're married. You don't have to worry about money."

It's always a woman who says this to me (though it's likely that plenty of men have thought it, too). She's always over 40, and had children at a young age, with a man she's been happy to leave. Often her teenage daughter's wrestling with career options, and mother wants to be sure that daughter doesn't make the same kind of choices that Mom did. A "respectable, lucrative" career is high on Mom's list for Daughter, and that of Artist is best left to mad geniuses or dilettantes. It's not a real career where a woman can survive, let alone thrive, on her own.

Well what comes to mind when I hear this?

Designer squat toilets at Talat Sao (Morning market) Luang Namtha, Laos

She doesn't know that my partner & I keep our bank accounts separate, which keeps finances simple; she doesn't know that I buy my own international health insurance and pay for my own plane tickets. I've learned how to budget during the past 15 years, living on wages that ranged from paltry to middle-class, in all sorts of economies. I don't need a man to support me, and never have.

It all comes down to choices. Here are some I've made to keep my flexibility high & my financial liabilities low.

Even better, take a look at this famous illustrator, a pioneering Female Nomad. She's still on the move at age 72, after over 20 years on the road. She's living proof that just because people say "You can't do that," they can be wrong. It takes careful planning, budgeting, and research, but we can turn life's obstacles into undreamt-of possibilities. And while it's great to have a man along for the ride, they aren't necessary for the journey in the first place. Sheesh.

Happy Mother's day this weekend. You couldn't ask for a more inspiring Mom than mine: she's been a Catholic nun and a high-school teacher & the driver of a flashy red Corvette, a salon member in France and a student at Oxford. And people wonder where I get it all from. (Dad's history's just as checkered, too.)

Strange Kindnesses

2009-04-29T01:42:00.001+08:00

Donations mean good luck at Wat Lampang Luang

A few kind words mean more than gold, especially when one's hung over.

After a full rainy day of research at the Princess's library on the edge of Bangkok, I stumbled blindly down the street to Mak Yah . Muslim restaurants are the perfect spot to recover from a hangover: there's no alcohol to tempt you into another one.

The owner asked me how the meal was. I grinned in response, and he launched into his whirlwind of a life story in five minutes: how he was born in the troubled province of Pattani, lived in Germany & Sweden & Japan, where he met his Thai-American wife (the daughter of a Thai woman & an American serviceman on his R&R from the 2nd Indochina War), how with his southern good looks (european/malay/thai/arab), locals in Bangkok mistook him for a farang, so taxi-drivers charged him triple the Thai rate.

Before I left, he insisted I meet his wife, who had cooked the simple and spicy seafood meal. She gave me their restaurant card and mobile phone numbers "if you ever need advice or help in Bangkok, please call." I've spent months in the city, met hundreds of people there in different situations from classrooms to girlie bars, but have never had such a spontaneous encounter quite like this one.

Kindness is at its most striking when least expected.

YOUR World

2009-04-18T13:31:00.004+08:00

Making bamboo paper in a H'mong village, Luang Namtha, Laos

If I'd given up the first or second time a Lao translator/tourist official said to me: "No one makes paper here now/this time of year/in this region," I wouldn't have found out that, actually, some people are making paper here, even at the very end of the dry season. And had I listened to them, I wouldn't have had this rare chance to try my hand at it - much to the consternation of village kids. You see, I had a lot of experience to catch up on - they'd started learning at 8 years old.

It's not that I have a problem with authorities - I just choose to make my own way through the world, rather than pay their edicts too much attention.

I was reminded of this when I read Chris's great essay, "Welcome to the Real World". For those of us who are more interested in creating the status quo than in maintaining it, that phrase is a rigid roadblock. I've never seen "the real world" as particularly relevant to mine.

One of the few times I had the phrase directed at me was nearly a decade ago, after graduation from a public Midwestern university with a BFA in Painting. Not exactly a recipe for success in my chosen, insanely-competitive field.

"How's the real world treatin' ya?" asked an associate professor, six months after my graduation. She was a paper/print artist, visiting my counter at Wet Paint for some Twinrocker paper. Pale-haired, Nordic-skinned, she looked starved for sun; winter had begun to weigh heavily on all of us.

"It's OK," I said, shaking off the blues with memories. "I went to Liverpool after graduation to volunteer at a teen art program, and ended up working with the Biennial fringe festival. No idea what I'll do next, maybe learn sculpture in Italy next year."

She had nothing else to say.

There's not a "real world", there's just YOUR world. Enough existentialism. Next step: On to World Domination.

Edges

2009-04-12T15:27:00.005+08:00

By Kate Kretz. See more of her work here

Lately I've spent most of my time talking to papermakers in small villages, and travelling between big towns. Living life offline in Laos. I spend time online to keep up with R, with my publisher, and with colleagues at ThingsAsian. With the occasional foray into Facebook & Twitter.

The "Artworld" concerns that saturate my google Reader are irrelevant to what I see around me here, to my paper research, and in some ways to my personal work, which falls into a no-man's-land between "fine art", illustration, photography, and travel-writing. I'm not pursuing a conventional art career, and many of the directives for that field aren't relevant to what I do. But neither am I "just" a travel-writer.

I subscribe to around 60 blogs, most of them art-focused. This is how I stay free of the obligation to live & mingle with arty folk in London, Berlin, or Brooklyn. But in recent weeks I'll open my Reader and just click "mark all as read", after scrolling through a few of my favorites. I can't read through hundreds of blog posts after spending days reading several languages at libraries, landing on-the-spot sweaty interviews, or jostled by knees and cargo on long busrides.

This offline life is more present than wired life.

To write my Paper Apprentice book, I must be all here, in these places where the paper is made. Take in the scents of musty indigo-dyed shirts and fresh fish sauce. Notice things like the pigs loaded beneath fellow passenger's feet. I can't afford to be distracted by pixels and artworld egos. And - especially - distracted by my own.

Collection obsession

2009-03-31T13:05:00.005+08:00

Kitikong in his Chiang Mai gallery

The other day, Seth Godin was talking about how artists can make a living, and some of the inherent difficulties. As he sees it, artists have a limited market for their work with any individual collector: "So, what's the problem? Share of wall. Unlike records or shoes, it's hard to buy a lot of art. Pretty soon, you've got no place left to put it, do you?"

But while Seth knows lots about business and viral marketing, he doesn't know much about the business of art, which works quite differently from your typical model. Collectors are an eclectic bunch. Some focus on the work of a particular artist; others pick and choose from an era or style. They buy for many reasons: some find just the right piece for their mantel; others swoon at a piece and have to have it at any price; some are seduced by a low price tag and a promising CV; and others simply buy for the bottom line investment (though these speculators have temporarily paused, leaving mainly what gallerists like to call "Serious Collectors", flattering their sophistication). More often than not, collectors want a piece of the artist's life, manifested in his/her work. And some can never have enough.

Kitikong, pictured above, is a smart, soft-spoken artist based in Chiang Mai. He prints his own work, and helps other artists print theirs. But he doesn't print the work of just any artist (ordinary artists are welcome to play around in his studio for 500-1000 baht/day if you know what you're doing), no, he's looking to work with high-profile or bankable artists who will add to the stacks of incredible work already jamming his flat-files.

You see, this printer is also a true collector. His name-dropping skills are on par with the hippest gallery-goers in London. He's plugged-in to the gallery scene throughout Asia, L.A., New York and Australia. He knows those whom he wants to work with, and has positioned himself to make this happen. (This artist recently made a series of prints at Kitikong's Chiang Mai-based studio/gallery, C.A.P.)

C.A.P. assistants - they live upstairs, life and work inseparable

Through an ingenious funding scheme, he has created a win-win situation for fellow collectors and artists, and also for himself and his assistants. Kitikong is a great example of how an obsession - because for the best, collecting art is a true obsession - can be turned into more than just decorating our living-room walls.

Looking forward to the unknown

2009-03-23T12:50:00.003+08:00

No idea what's next: zipping through Laos jungle canopy a few days ago

A friend recently wrote: "I don't see much [reflection about HK] on your blog," and I responded "Typically there I try to look forward rather than back," and leave nostalgia to wine with a friend or two.

This trip so far has been a series of surprising discoveries; I never know what's around the corner, and hints crop up in unexpected places. Everyone I meet becomes a possible target: "Does anyone make paper around here?" I ask, and once local contacts get digging, they usually turn up results.

Last night I arrived in Luang Prabang, and am looking at options in this cultural hub; the region's also been a historic center for papermaking.

PS: Some hilarious tips on how to pack like an artist. You can tell that Anna has a second career as a web designer: the layout's meticulous.

2009-03-18T10:16:00.004+08:00

Join my quest to become a paper apprentice in Southeast Asia, and follow me on Twitter. The twitter feed will have near-daily updates of my travels, and more detail than my weekly blog postings.

Today I'm headed to the relative wilderness of Laos. Lots of surprises in store over there - Laos has captivated westerners for centuries.

Pigeon-holes

2009-03-14T18:49:00.005+08:00

Pots of paper pulp at a Thai village workshop

Do you define yourself with your job? By your relationships? When people ask you what you "do" for a living, what's the first word on your lips?

By western definitions, "Art" has been a pretty broad term for over a century, and "artist", for even longer - say, since the Renaissance. Growing up in an academically-minded Europhile family, renaissance images decorated our walls, punctuated our conversations, and lined our shelves.

It wasn't simply about the pretty pictures. What appealed to me most about these antique Italians was their pursuit of projects in multiple disciplines: architectural proposals and sonnets were not distractions from their visual work, but a complement to them. Their drawings, paintings and frescoes were informed by their other projects.

Recently I came across an ancient description of my "job title" from an old reference to my blog 5 years ago (that's an ice age in blog-years): "Artist, Photographer, Travel-Writer, English teacher...." I cringed; it looked like a litany of collegiate confusion, ten years too late.

"Artist" is a generous umbrella. It allows a range of expressions, from Dao Anh Khanh's performances to paintings of beer bottles. Somehow, though, Writing and Photography are considered such distinct disciplines that only a Writer can write, and only a Photographer can take professional-quality pictures.

More than once on this trip, fellow travellers have expressed bemusement that I've been given this project. After all, it's common knowledge that artists are barely literate and can barely balance their bank-books, let alone write "a real book". (They usually don't know that during university I sold 2,000 kinds of paper from around the world, primarily Thailand; that I've had extensive experience in making western papers; and that my artwork is currently paper-based.)

But fear of failing can't stop those of us who are used to facing it every day over morning coffee. With a smile.

My new website

2009-03-07T19:54:00.003+08:00

EBriel.com

Thanks to the very talented Nguyet Vuong for putting this together.

Northern Papers

2009-03-07T18:52:00.004+08:00

What do elephants....

rivers...

coconuts....

and ducks have in common?

They're all a part of the papermaking industry in northern Thailand!

Here I'm learning to make paper with the Green family, near Lampang.

It's been a whirlwind of 3 weeks of south-to-north travel; research in dusty libraries; making paper in under hot tin roofs; and deciphering Thai handwriting to sort out what fibers make up the papers between my fingers.

Another week or so, then I'll head over to northern Laos from Chiang Rai. Will try to keep up weekly updates with pictures, but the very best material will go into the paper-book.

Home away from home

2009-03-01T19:37:00.007+08:00

It's always good for a chronic travel artist to have one or two familiar spots as touchstones during an extended trip. Here's a selection of photos from my favorite pied-a-terre in Bangkok, The Artists Place.

View from my room last week, on the "Penthouse" a.k.a. rooftop. Hot summer winds whistled through three walls, it was the breeziest room I've had there yet

Rooftop garden with edible plants like kaffir lime leaves, basil, and sage

The Artists Place is in Thonburi, the oldest part of Bangkok. Life's a slower pace here; more khlongs (canals) and wooden houses have survived modernization

Many small sois (lanes) in the neighborhood are family-run shoe factories. Day and night, you'll see parents and grandparents cutting rubber soles and glueing shoes while kids scamper on polished tile floors and concrete streets

Local broom-seller on his bicycle

Every corner at the Artists Place holds an eccentric surprise

Including entertaining hand-written signs like this one

Unexpected sculptures

...and more sculptures - these linga double as door handles

The entrance has plenty of sunshine and mosquitos

and a ceiling that's grown organically into a spectacular fire hazard

Charlee, the owner, is usually around to welcome visitors. His english is charming and flawless, and the house is full of paintings by Charlee and other artists (including one by me)

The Artists Place isn't for everyone - the shared toilets with their 3-inch cockroaches are an affront to most notions of hygeine. But if you don't mind some creepy company during your showers, it could make for a memorable stay in Bangkok.

Paper-making in Ghana, or Free Flophouse in Paris

2009-02-22T13:54:00.003+08:00

Floating steel fish, Hong Kong

Half the fun of travel isn't the sights, but the experiences you run into - sometimes literally - that aren't available anywhere else.

Here's one I found during my papermaking research - it's a unique cultural center next to the sea in Ghana.

This quote from the site sums up an eccentric spot: "We have potters, batik artists, welders, fantasy coffin makers, art galleries, drummers and many free spirits all contributing to the unique character of the place."

Found via this video

And if you're ever in Paris you should really spend a night at the famous Shakespeare & Co, while you can. This idealistic little spot won't be around forever: spend a week - or a month - in Paris and sleep for free. Work a single hour each day in the bookstore below, and read a book a day.

One "tenant" even wrote a book about the experience.

"my roots are shallow and travelling is part of my life"

2009-02-15T09:33:00.004+08:00

Quote from the writer Anthony Sattin here.

Photo from the Mekong Delta for a photo-essay, I've Got my Eyes on You

Preparing for this 4-month trip and book project has been all-consuming in recent months, particularly since I moved to Sydney. I've been researching western and Asian paper-making techniques, paper-mills and -villages around the world, and am looking forward to getting my hands dirty soon.

In the meantime, I've written a book proposal, outline & itinerary, though I was never asked for one. Like a business plan, a book proposal is crucial to direct and contextualize writing and experiences. This has been a dream project - the publisher, (words-)editor and (image-editing) designer haven't made any specific requests. They've been flexible and have shown remarkable confidence in me.

PS: "If I knew what was going to happen, I wouldn't need to write it. The middle way, where you have a focus and a trajectory, is the happy way and the best editors understand this." Anthony Sattin.

Altered states

2009-02-10T07:59:00.007+08:00

Part painting, part photograph: it's a hand-tinted print

When I decided to hand-tint blueprints for the Hong Kong book, I knew that there would be some puzzled reactions: is it a painting or a photo, or something in between? For centuries, hand-tinting has been a common way to enhance black-and-white photographs, woodblock prints, and etchings.

After weeks of experimentation, I found that blueprinting for less time (underexposing them in the sun) gave me more freedom when tinting. Instead of simply coloring the prints, I enhanced them, expanded their borders, and blurred distracting details. Beginning with blue adds a brilliance of color straight away, whereas black or sepia subdue it.

When I paint the photo-sensitive chemicals before exposure, I selectively apply them with a brush. Once it's hand-tinted afterwards, it's actually a twice-painted print.

For another perspective, Jeane Vogel talks about hand-altered photographs and their ambiguous position between painting and photography here.

One question I'm often asked is: "Are these your photos?" Of course! I would never work directly with another artist's images.

Art Residency alert: if you're interested in a relaxing, green space for art-making, then Compeung Village of Creativity could be for you. Their focus is on nature, community, and interactive installation art.

Some great photos of the center by Phan Hai Bang, an artist I met in Vietnam last summer.

What's next?

2009-02-07T12:13:00.010+08:00

Blank slate: village house in Po Toi, part of my contribution to a forthcoming book

This is the question that the artist & art critic Carol Diehl asks here in her Art Vent blog.

I particularly like this paragraph:

"I believe that in the future (which, the way things are going, could be next week) we’re going to be less fascinated with human dysfunction (a la Dumas and Sherman) and seek more art that inspires us, has substance, puts us in awe of human capability."

Hear hear! Then she says:

"I hope that we’ll also figure out another way of experiencing art that doesn’t involve rectangular rooms, white walls, and track lighting."

Over the past few years I've struggled with the same concept. There's something so stiff about stuff that's made to hang on the wall. Simplistic. In Vietnam I discussed possibilities of collaboration with a sound artist.

"I want art to engage and involve, be more than this static thing that we look at while standing on our feet (although I dislike so-called “interactive art" even more), but has to do with its context and, like music, is woven into the fabric of our lives."

...or perhaps the lives of others very different from ours. Here's a fantastic example of a project in Kenya by JR. Not only do these images portray the inhabitants of the village, but the weatherproof material they're printed on serves another purpose: it protects their homes from torrential summer rains.

she finishes with: "I believe the era of the individual genius is waning, and instead collaborative ventures (between individuals as well as disciplines) will come to the forefront."

A unique kind of collaboration I discovered today:this Facebook portrait project by the painter Matt Held. via His paintings wouldn't exist without the initiative of Facebook; it's more egalitarian than traditional portrait painting, where the artist is using the model as a muse, or has been commissioned to paint by a patron.

For some virtual travelling inspiration, have a look at these artists. They gave free holidays to fellow residents of Jakarta, thanks to some creative Photoshopping.

Pycho Art

2009-02-05T08:05:00.000+08:00

Council tower blocks, Aberdeen, HK

It's mid-winter in the northern hemisphere, and -7C in Minneapolis, where my family lives. Short days and long cold nights enhance introspection. Family and friends trudge through snow and skid over icy freeways on their way to work.

Every year, the cabin fever reaches its peak in early February, when after months of confinement we ache to feel the fresh breezes and sun of spring.

Northern spirits are restless and low this time of year, regardless of the world economy. Perhaps that's why there have been so many recent articles written for artists that all have versions of "Keep your head up!"

They boil down to a simple idea: it's all about your attitude - how American is that?

Perspectives on rejection

The encaustic artist Joanne Mattera gives a very New York-ish point of view on how the right perspective can find opportunities in rejection.

Optimistic attitude

Then an interview with the positively practical artist Anne Marchand. A key is her "sense of gratitude and wonder" that get her through the "inevitable droughts of being a creative person".

Art of selling art

and last but never least, Hazel has some insightful words on why the selling of art online is never to be confused with selling widgets on eBay.

Opportunity

For travel artists, here's an Art Residency Alert for you in Beijing, have a look at BDA Space. There are 20 studios available for artists in the capital of Asia's art world.
via re-title

blue frustrations

2009-01-30T10:51:00.007+08:00

My roofless dream cottage next to the sea in Peng Chau, for a forthcoming book

When most people move to the bottom half of the world, their litany of concerns goes something like this: how will we get the furniture there, what car shall we buy, what x-rays/shots will I need, where will the kids go to school, etc. Mine center on how to work in a new environment.

How strong is the sunlight? (Sydney has strong UV and lots of sunshine - one reason I was interested in moving here)

What's there to shoot or sketch?

How important are the arts in its residents' priorities?

But a crucial question for many alt-process artists like me is: where's a printshop to make negatives? (see picture below - none of this happens without large-scale negatives)

Hand-tinted blueprint demo from the book

It's a rare print shop that's willing to risk its overheated machines and run my plastic transparencies through them. So far I've spoken with a dozen places in my neighborhood and in central Sydney, but haven't found anywhere that can make a successful print; the rare printers willing to try just shake their heads as my acetates jam their machines.

So with some deadlines looming this week, I've crossed my fingers and printed dozens of images from paper negatives, as architects used to do with their drawings. I've printed these images over and over, for different exposure times, at different chemical concentrations, onto various surfaces. Tracked blue footprints down our newly-carpeted hallway. Spattered the bathroom with cyan rinsewater. I'd hoped that with some tweaking I could get something beautifully blue.

Nope. Not a single image was serviceable, let alone satisfying. The paper simply blocked too much sun, so the prints had very little contrast. Instead, I've had to focus on other endeavors before I leave for Asia.

Still these attempts have gotten me out of my new neighborhood comfort zone: I've shot a new series and will print it - somehow - when I'm back later this year.

There's always a reason for whatever we're doing, sometimes we've just got to make it up as we go along.

You can take the girl out of Hong Kong....

2009-01-27T10:32:00.003+08:00

but you can't take the HK out of the girl.

In a few short weeks I'll be back in SE Asia, on a mission to make some papers with masters in Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. And stumbling through plenty of mulberry trees while figuring out how to beat the pith (inner bark) into the perfect papery pulp.

Hopefully I'll make a stop in HK on the way back, to take care of some loose ends, and stuff myself w/yum cha.

Until then the only substitute for Cantonese skyscrapers is our set of G.O.D. sheets.

...and here's the real thing

Travel Artist Profile: Mary-Anne Bartlett

2009-01-23T09:21:00.005+08:00

Artist on safari

As the founder of Art Safari, Mary-Anne Bartlett seamlessly combines artwork with travel, for destinations from Antarctica to Zambia. A woman of many talents, she has also co-written a guidebook on Malawi.

Here she's written an excellent article packed with advice on how to travel. She categorizes sketching travellers into three types: the 'painting traveller', the 'artist on holiday' and the 'travel artist'.

Which one are you?

Flickr Photos & Videos tagged "Obama"

2009-01-20T11:47:00.005+08:00

from my Flickr friends around the world

Indonesian Obama by Keith Kelly

A pair of videos & photo from the Inauguration concert in Washington DC, January 18th, by Sixinterr

Obama's car

Snipers setting up for the Inauguration concert

Officials get to climb fences

Election night celebrations, Chicago - by Dave2Quam

Obama in Cambodia - by Jinja

Election day antics at FCC Phnom Penh, by Keith

Dungeons & Dragons for Obama in Washington, DC - by Nguyet

Waiting.....

2009-01-19T05:08:00.004+08:00

Workspace: 50s telephone table, laptop, and G.O.D. pillow

Travelling artists can take some tools with them, but others are just too big to bring on the road. I sent my cumbersome studio materials - large rolls of paper and transparencies, plexiglass, etc - in our big shipment from HK. The thing is, they're taking weeks to clear Sydney's notorious customs officials.

This is my current "studio space", with no art supplies - all the work I'm doing these days is on the computer, when I'm not shooting pictures or researching papermaking at Sydney's university libraries. A minimalist space, with few distractions.

I can't wait to start printing & photographing again, my hands blue with the dirty work of blueprinting. There are some tight deadlines coming up...

Words & Pictures

2009-01-14T08:11:00.000+08:00

The art market is directly linked to the rest of our markets worldwide.

Charcoal drawing from installation by Dan Perjovschi via "We Make $ not Art.

Options...by Hugh

Travel Artist: Fritz Lang

2009-01-10T07:07:00.005+08:00

Many years before Fritz Lang made the iconic film Metropolis, from 1911-13 "he travelled the world, visiting North Africa, Turkey, Asia Minor, and Bali. At the time he worked as a travel artist, painting postcards, travel scenes, and advertisements," according to this site.

These travels gave Lang first-hand experiences of life on the other side of the world. He would have tasted spices & exotic intoxicants of all sorts - including women, of course - and this influenced his later work. These new forms of urban architecture gave him a new perspective on western European cities.

Keep an eye out for the nearly full-length version coming out later this year.

Road Trip part 2: from Melbourne to Sydney

2009-01-06T20:03:00.012+08:00

Continued from here

As I looked over the route that morning, I pointed at a little spot where the highway dipped towards the sea. "Hmm...Lakes Entrance, wonder what that could be? Let's go!" You can tell Australia's still a young country in its official language - names in English have far to go before capturing the spirit of a place in an original way.

Posing like I'm hosting a Lakes Entrance boat party

Posing like he owns the entire fleet

Still, some place-names go beyond originality - as one resident said of Eden, Australia: "This is one spot that lives up to its name."

When we arrived at the hastily-booked Crown & Anchor
after a long day's drive, the porch was inviting to tired eyes

then we walked down the hallway, and opened the door to our room....

to discover a huge bathtub in the middle of it!

this retro radio and radiator worked, thanks to modern wiring

and plugged into old fixtures with new electrics

this kind of craftsmanship seems fussy to some, but makes for a good shot

With the room came a bottle of champagne, so we wasted no time

it was much tastier than the Tasmanian stuff we'd tried on New Years Eve

An appetizing view over breakfast

But there was one thing R. had been looking for the whole trip and hadn't yet found....

R. pointing at the quarry. True to what we'd been told, they love golf courses: we saw at least fifty on this one

The next night we stayed at a hazelnut farm nearby. Here's a flowering hazelnut branch

R wouldn't look out of place in the Boundary Waters, a favorite holiday spot for many people in Minnesota, where my family lives

On our way back to Sydney, we stopped by this beach along the Sapphire Coast.

This week's been our first footsteps in this huge country we've begun to call home. Where are your favorite spots in Australia?

Road Trip part 1: from Sydney to Melbourne

2009-01-04T11:03:00.007+08:00

We've just come back from a weeklong roadtrip along a small slice of Australia's southern coast. On the way to Melbourne, we stopped off at Canberra so R. could train with some of his Hong Kong sifu's other students, and stayed at Danilo's lovely house nearby.

The next day we drove to the seaside town of Aspendale, near Melbourne. When we saw this beachfront cottage, we had to take it.

R checks out a takeaway menu, casting a long afternoon shadow

This country-style kitchen is big enough for ten

Steps outside the kitchen

Enjoying a glass of wine from a vineyard we'd visited along the way

R. took this photo from our covered balcony: sunset over the sea, leading from Australia to Tasmania then south to Antarctica

The next day, R. had work to do, and the broadband wasn't strong enough for me to finish mine

so I took a stroll on the beach outside our door

and was surprised by colorful boat sheds

that broke up the blue, grey & brown of sea, sand and sky

We spent part of New Year's Eve in Melbourne, but I forgot to take pictures as we wandered around the Yarra river and through the side streets surrounding Victoria University.

The year ended with a glass of Tasmanian champagne, and '09 began with a coastal drive to Eden...

Happy Holidays from our sunny Southern Hemisphere

2008-12-26T20:20:00.003+08:00

Pictures from our sunny Boxing Day wanderings through the Royal Botanic Gardens. Unlike HK which has thrown off one colonial yoke for $another$, Sydney hasn't felt the need to erase "Royal" from various gov't offices to become more modern (i.e. globalized).

R. hanging out under sandstone

waiting for the tram with our herbs for the balcony garden

Title of an exhibition in the Botanic Garden greenhouse

R. with the bridge overhead

One of the hundreds of bats in the trees above our heads

Ins & Outs of Hong Kong

2008-12-16T07:43:00.003+08:00

Hakka boat amongst the trawlers, Aberdeen Harbor

I've just been interviewed over at Expat Interviews
, have a look at my parting (photo) shots of HK, and browse through other interviews from around the world. Whether you're wondering about visas or living costs, Expat Interviews are a great first-hand source of information when looking to move to another country.

100% Vietnamese Elegance

2008-12-13T09:30:00.007+08:00

St. Joseph's cathedral in Hanoi is a popular meeting-place for locals and tourists alike. There's a sea of stationary motorbikes parked in front every evening, and as boutiques shut their doors, restaurants come to life.

If you stand in front of the cathedral and look up, you'll see a splash of bright yellow across the street.

The Hanoi House is upstairs, a resting place for travellers on their way to Sapa

The brilliant color makes it hard to miss. Inside, you'll find one-of-a-kind treasures: here's a lamp made of hand-dipped incense sticks.

This birdhouse has a couple of porcelain residents

Everything here is designed by the incredibly talented Tiep. He has fans around the world, from Spain to Australia. Here he is reading my book, giving me some space to explore his with my camera.

Tiep made these tiles - he has a kiln at the edge of town. Note the color variation from different composition of earths.

"When we were kids, we would perch on the mezzanine, twirl lotus buds into spirals, then drop them spinning down to the floor below. I designed these when thinking of those games; kids don't do that anymore, they have TV and internet now."

Hallway to the cafe

Table made of traditional chopping boards, transformed into fish

Whether sculpture or room divider or knick-knack holder, this bamboo structure's beautiful

This could be a shelf or an altar or a faux fireplace, all made of tiles

Some of Tiep's work from a boutique hotel in Sapa:

Decorative drum made of coins

Head vase

"These lights were inspired by the way women used to wear their hair in my grandmother's generation: they'd wrap it in fabric then twirl it around their heads."

Tiep molded these animals, then made these coffee tables that showcase local crops.

Birdcages made of local H'mong fabric from the surrounding hills

Tiep also runs a tranquil cafe overlooking Truc Bach Lake. Highly recommend it - stop by 17A Truc Bach Lake to sample some Vietnamese delicacies and sit at tables made of motorbike chains, lit by cocoon-like lamps made of unspun silk.

Weekend in Hanoi

2008-12-10T21:19:00.004+08:00

Just returned from a long weekend in Hanoi. Stayed at The Artists Hotel, next to the Cinematheque.

Memories of Hanoi's Long Bien Bridge on fabric

Silhouette of tire pump from the far end of the bridge

As you can see, I finished off several pieces - here's a taste just for you. They're stretched on steel and Vietnamese bamboo: with metal structures above, humanity at the center, and the earth supporting it all, I thought of the living bridge that spans this busy city. It has a huge personality: what history it's witnessed, from its inception by Eiffel over a century ago, to the present.

Also managed to revisit some friends, then dropped the artwork off for Maison des Arts just before leaving.

Photos of objets d'art from a unique Hanoian designer coming up next...

Park Island, Part 2: Ma Wan Village

2008-12-01T11:18:00.002+08:00

Continued from yesterday's post

Up and over a hill was another grave, this one dotted with fresh oranges and, curiously, lots of timber

I glanced up, and saw a pair of arched windows, unusual in HK, particularly in an island village, where homes are built to a spartan standard

and the entrance hinted at grand views from decades before

I crossed the threshold with some trepidation

Climbed the stairs, marveling at the fine rich wood

Thought, "I wouldn't mind having a window like this one, wherever we end up"

Further down the path was a house near the sea, the beginning of the oldest part of Ma Wan village. An ancient man wandered out of the house next door to this one, raised a fist and croaked orders in my general direction; he was more than a little senile

Did anyone still live in the fishing shacks? I wondered

Yep, somebody definitely lived in this one - they'd left their shoes neatly outside. And their door-guardians were still in good shape, too.

Someone had left their living-room door open. Note the ultra-modern Tsing Ma bridge overhead.

Typically, when the government decides to clear out a village to make way for redevelopment, villagers are compensated for losing their homes, or are given a flat elsewhere in HK. But more often than not it's only the elderly who remain, and they can't recreate their vital community in anonymous tower blocks. Canny villagers will often invest the $$, or rent out their new flats and live on the proceeds, while squatting in or near their old homes. These squats are equipped with all mod-cons like air-conditioning and satellite TV.

Kids-sized village transport, parked on the balcony

Here someone had parked their tiny village vehicle outside their house

These stacked sieves, commonly used around HK by the Hakka people, are great for drying seafood

I think these rows of planks were used as supports for drying fish; there were dozens of them right next to the water

Painting from a Tin Hau temple - portrays a scene from a few meters away

Salt-filled mats next to the pier, for preserving shrimp or fish

No cars or motorbikes: gives you an idea of the pace of village life

...but roller-skating is encouraged

In the small village square, freshly-caught fish dry in late afternoon sun

Next to the fish, a traditional rice grinder - perhaps for communal use?

From an abandoned home nearby, old-school facilities

This was once a kitchen; now the jungle's reclaiming the house

Metal doors gape, high above a forgotten warehouse

A group of high-school students were collaborating on a conceptual art project, using the houses for creative outlets & experiments

A student explained this poem she'd written on this door: "It's about the feelings I get in this old place, the wind and the sea, and I imagine what it would be like if I grew up here"

The few villagers in neighboring houses appeared mystified by all this youthful activity with paint pens and colored tape. They raised their eyebrows, but didn't comment.

Once this was....a series of sinks?

Some abandoned homes had mesh to prevent curious animals - like us - from getting inside

A miniature shopping cart parked outside someone's side door

A gorgeous mural, much better than those cheap-looking atrocities in nearby Ma Wan Park

Old kayaks stored in a crumbling wall

A fistful of kayaks

Veranda with a view - for the entire village

A local lady finishes her day's work

As the sun set, I made my way back through the park to modern Park Island, with its concrete highrises.

Eventually ended up spearing my Park'n'Shop sushi with bamboo chopsticks, amazed at the clear evening view, next to dozens of families & teens who were spending their Saturday night in a very village-like past-time: fishing from the pier.

Park Island, part 1: Ma Wan Highrise Park

2008-11-30T20:50:00.019+08:00

Yesterday I ran into Darren on Lamma Island's Main St. He's an old HK hand, so I asked him for a good island to explore that sunny afternoon.

"Do you think Park Island's any good? No one seems to know much about it," I said. "When I talked to a ferry employee there, he said 'Oh, it's very modern.'"

In HK parlance, that's meant as a compliment, but I wasn't sure how photogenic it would be for my island-shooting assignment.

"Nope, I've never been there," Darren said, "but a friend said there's an interesting village, somewhere outside of the park and the highrises surrounding it. No idea how to get there, though."

So I decided to catch the ferry & explore for a day.

First impressions, arrival at Park Island: overpriced concrete decor

2nd impression, kitsch topiary next to water so polluted that all the real dolphins have asphyxiated

Park Island is a popular spot for wedding & graduation shots. Here, a bride crosses the underpass to Ma Wan Park, followed by her photographer

An indication of Ma Wan park's aesthetic: cute and colorful plastic

Plastic seagulls under the overpass

Kitschy park toilet signs

Another couple poses in front of a 3D mural. The murals are an ingenious idea: painted on two sides of the concrete, they appear to ripple as one walks by them. Unfortunately, they're poorly-painted, so this dilutes the effect.

(you get a glimpse of HK kids' daily lives in this picture: frowning helper, docile sister)
What's this kid up to?

These steam vents keep you cool in the summertime

And they're lots of fun to run through

A hint of what was to come: this vendor sold locally-dried seafood under the Tsing Ma bridge

Behind the too-cute park with its plastic signs and concrete walls, I saw this graceful old village house

Then a mysterious path

and this No Trespassing sign. But I quietly ignored it and continued on

Soon I passed this traditional grave and knew I was headed somewhere interesting

To be continued very soon....

Obstacles: creative conquering, not creative excuses

2008-11-21T18:17:00.016+08:00

Today I commented on Anna's post on obstacles to art-making, on a day packed with personal speed-bumps. Somehow they made me even more determined to work through them by writing: to my publisher, to several arts people, travel agents, my partner, to bloggers I've never met before.

Night-time photos from a Star Ferry cruise we took this week, saying goodbye to Hong Kong

I can't tell you how many times I've heard "I don't have time" from people - this is why they can't make art outside of Sundays.

You've got to conjure up the time, it doesn't suddenly appear.

[here are some good tips for making the most of small blocks of studio time]

Work fewer hours at your day job,

stay up later, wake up earlier,

don't have kids for awhile, if ever;

choose an admiring partner - or none at all - don't accept anything less.

R, looking like he's walked straight out of a film noir set

work a flexible job; make yourself irresistible to potential employers for freelance/flex-time work.

All of these are choices many contemporary artists make to keep going full-tilt towards their work.

Space?

It's unfortunate that for much of the past half-century, professional artists have been expected to rent studios separate from their living spaces, in some of the most expensive cities in the world. (this I am hopeful is changing in the 21st century).

Small spaces tend to generate small work, yes, but when starting out, paying for those spaces can become a distraction from the making of it.

Make it wherever you can: in the living room or underneath a tree, in a museum or in a classroom.

While I'm in the process of moving our lives to Sydney, I'm temporarily using the concrete slab in front of our flat for exposing my blueprint photos. Next spring, I'll be making art in various spots in SE Asia. None of these spots are "studios" per se, but they're ideal for a nomadic artist, and combine living/working spaces.

You need understanding roommates when making a mess in the bathroom - even if it's "art"

it helps if your roommate's a male

Artists who are dedicated don't just say "I can't", they say "How can I do this somehow - or at least something like it?"

silk dress printed with rooftop water tower - view from the Long Bien bridge, Hanoi

Postscript:

Damien Hirst was the art director behind this video. You can see his influences in splashing paint & cow's blood. Sienna Miller's an overblown histrionic, but watching her crawl through high street stores filled with artfully-lit handbags reminds me of my first year here in HK, walking through slick & superfluous IFC to the ferry piers on the way home.

The Hours - See The Light

2008-11-13T22:05:00.002+08:00

I've just set up a new project-specific blog for the book, called Book of Blueprints. Why? To give you a glimpse into the stories behind some of my favorite illustrations.

Naturally, the first entry's about the Star Ferry on its cover. Stop by when you've got the chance. You've never seen Hong Kong quite as blue and brilliant as it is in these pictures.

Yes We Did

2008-11-07T10:56:00.003+08:00

Celebration sticker. Get a free one here

Way back in the day when I tried my hand at being a New York-based artist, I'd walk over the Williamsburg bridge and was often riveted by stickers & stencils of a somber-looking face. It was Andre the Obey Giant, but to me it was my green man, a presence that humanized this city where I felt so small.

ArtInfo gives us a glimpse of Shepard Fairey, the man behind the iconic red, white & blue Obama images. "Why would Barack Obama invite a graffiti artist with a long rap sheet to launch a guerrilla marketing campaign on his behalf?"

Read more in this article by ArtInfo

"Obama - OK!"

2008-11-05T19:07:00.008+08:00

This said to me today first thing with a thumbs-up and a high-five, from Ah-Moy: the wildest cleaning lady at Colour My World. She'll put a grin on your face every day, and was especially happy that Obama won.

Hong Kongers celebrate Obama's victory (photo by Vincent Yu, AP)

"Hong Kong People" (as the local English-language newspaper refers to HK residents) have the bottom line on the mind more than most, but they DO know how to party! And there were parties aplenty last night, celebrating the USA's change in leadership.

But where was I? Hanging out at the atmospheric Philia Lounge for e.v.e.n.t's monthly Speak Up! showcase, to talk about my new book of blueprints and meet other artists/creatives in HK.

"After the festivities, it's time to get back to work" - a sentiment oft-quoted in newspapers about the president-elect's priorities.

And it's time for me to get back to work, too: press releases to be written, appointments to keep, framing to finalize, an international art festival to attend, final large images to print in coming weeks, travel arrangements to and from 6 countries...and a continental move before the end of the year.

More info on the book coming SOON - I mean in the next few days soon!

Urban or urbane? It's all about a good time

2008-10-31T00:04:00.011+08:00

One of the many stencils I cut for the event

Recently I was invited by Bloomberg HK to facilitate a large-scale "urban art" mural (better known as "graffiti art" in less polite circles).

Some of the participants were spray-can experts already, and had lots of experience with marking walls

We plastered pictures and newspapers and sprayed stencils all over two planks of cardboard. Mixed up wheatpaste glue (made of water, flower & sugar) to stick up drawings and posters.

Some were hesitant, but had a good time after the first try

Thanks to lots of help with supplies from Colour My World and especially my assistant Tiffany, we had dozens of corporate painters stop by and try their hand at stencils, wheatpastes, and spraypainting.

Some didn't want to stop - this one kept going till sunset

The spray paint was especially popular; lots of kids couldn't get enough. The paint was water-based, so fumes weren't too strong, but Tiffany & I had breathed in lots of colors by the end of the day.

...and they're off - again!

2008-10-20T16:22:00.003+08:00

Sydney Harbor

Well we're doing it again, moving halfway around the world. But this time we'll be heading south, where seasons and water-drains and fauna are all reversed beyond recognition. Who knows what'll happen to us down there?

In the meantime I'm offline for 10 days. I'm meeting my Dad in Rome then catching a train to Sicily to photograph some dramatic volcanic landscapes, smack in the middle of the Mediterranean.

yesterday

2008-10-14T12:51:00.007+08:00

After a year of blog-linking & occasional email exchanges, I finally met my island neighbor Dr. Marcus Scheutz at his spacious seaview office in Cyberport. Hong Kong U has just launched a satellite campus there, and I stopped by to check it out and discuss design ideas.

Afterwards it was a scenic bus ride through Pokfulam and Central to my printer's in Sheung Wan. I had to make negatives for artists proofs, in order to submit them to the Ministry of Information & Culture in Hanoi (more on that soon).

Then off to Pacific Coffee off Hollywood Rd to meet up with my publisher who's always launching into new ideas, every time we meet. He had a new project for me, and also a large (A2-size) negative from one of my photos. It was a beautifully-printed transparency, thick enough to withstand even my rough handling under glass.

Then visited the essential oil shop in Sheung Wan where I get my cyan chemicals, to order a kilo of Ferric Ammonium Citrate

A few shops away I had a lush little salad of smoked salmon, avocado & mango with freshly squeezed orange juice at a little cafe on Jervois St.

I was drawn in by the interior paint job; after the faux-finishing work I've done it's always good to see how others handle a wall. More often than not in small restaurants, they tend to disappoint. These painters had kept their glazes dark, which made the texture pop out dramatically.

As the sun set I stopped by City Super in IFC for my favorite guilty secret: blueberry smoothie with a vodka kick. I headed upstairs to an underexplored spot with a million-dollar view, little blue bottle in hand.

Sculpture/skylight by a Korean artist on the terrace

The tables on IFC's terrace look like they belong to the poseur posh clubs next door, but if you look carefully, each table has a small label that says: "For the use of the general public."

lights beneath the sculptures

So I sat back for awhile before my ferry ride home. A private happy hour. I let slide to the floor my bag of half-defrosted frozen vegetables and "export shop" clothing finds for Roy & me, and sipped a frothy berry concoction as lights changed color beneath the trees.

Artists on the loose

2008-10-06T12:46:00.006+08:00

Test with new materials: blueprint of Chinese-language newspapers on watercolor paper. Vendors do a double-take each time I buy a paper. "You can read Chinese?!" they ask.

Last weekend I stopped by the exciting, if laboriously-named, Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre. A brand-new artspace for artists and related organizations, it's located in Shek Kip Mei, Kowloon.

This is a pretty common tactic in cities around the world, where artists are employed as gentrifiers for a neighborhood by "bringing culture" to a place they might otherwise not frequent. (as though the place has no existing culture of its own) If this occurs naturally in the free-market system thanks to cheap rents on quasi-legal industrial spaces, artists have to leave the neighborhood once rents rise above their income levels, but in subsidized programs like this one, rents are affordable....until the HK government decides to take the building back. (It appears they plan to take back the historic artists spaces at Cattle Depot Artist Village, as they're no longer taking new tenants and many studios are now vacant.)

Artists of note at the new space were Ruby Woo's display of glass pastries and popsicles (unfortunately her site isn't working at the moment), John McArthur and his Spitting Gecko Studio, and Victor Tai Sheung Shing with his warm teak sculptures.

Traipsing through 9 levels of art gives you an array of examples as to how local artists display their work and make a living (a.k.a. market their work - but of course artists aren't supposed to talk about marketing too much, it reeks of selling out).

The successful late-summer sale by Damien Hirst of his work at Sotheby's has since sparked lots of talk about how artists are pursuing other options for marketing their work, outside the gallery system.

Some choose to make large quantities of stuff, and sell it on eBay. Others have gallery representation in a couple of cities, and sell independently elsewhere. Still others forego the gallery route completely, and build up contacts through their blogs and newsletters.

Hugh MacLeod draws on the backs of business cards, when he's not devising Web 2.0 marketing strategies for companies like Dell and Stormhoek wineries. Now he's making gigantic paintings that teem with energy, just like New York City - or maybe his brain. Read his thoughts on gallery-less marketing here.

Hazel Dooney is an Australian artist who has successfully used her website and blog to promote her work. Her thoughts on a brave new art world, leaving galleries in the dust.

And a long post on artists, galleries & the internet at MyArtSpace.com, if you've got the time for it.

Recently someone said to me, "Oh here in Hong Kong, as a westerner it's so easy to be a big fish in a small pond. In London or Sydney you'd be competing with everyone there."

What she didn't get was that I don't see this life I'm leading as a competition with anyone; other artists are my peers. And that, after having lived in a half-dozen countries, my viewpoint is not limited to the local by any means, unless I choose to focus on it. A professional artist in Kansas City or Kuwait is as worthy of my consideration as are the top sellers in New York or Beijing. I subscribe to three dozen art blogs, published in Europe, America, Asia & Australia. We inform one another and are part of the same worldwide market, regardless of geography.

Borders of states are now porous, thanks to the internet. You can attend a virtual opening in Berlin while living in Brooklyn, and chat with a curator in Chengdu. None of us are stuck simply where we are. How cool is that?!

Returning home to HK

2008-09-20T15:59:00.012+08:00

Ah, autumn in Hong Kong. Temperature and humidity drop to lovable levels - it makes the city a fabulous walking destination, aside from the increased pollution from our factories over the border. (chokes)

Lots of projects coming up this fall. Aside from work on a couple of personal blueprint series, I've been commissioned to write a number of articles on my Vietnamese travels for ThingsAsian.com, have finalizing touches to do for the HK book, and will participate in a new book of digital (not blueprint) photos on Hong Kong. Payment for the last project is a new Canon 40D camera to replace the 30D which died when I slipped into a Sapan stream last month - whew!

View of the cloud-covered Mount Fansipan from my window, Sapa

It's really good to have a Canon sidekick again...life was really lonely with only my brain to snap images, rather than a trusty lens.

Here are a last couple of late-summer pix from Sapa. I'm determined to spend more time there in the future, just have to dream up the right project first.

My H'mong neighbors at a local internet cafe, Sapa

More travels coming up next month, this time headed to the west for the first time in years. More info soon!

Vietnam week 6: the accidental trekker

2008-09-08T08:36:00.035+08:00

Chi & her sister

Sapa has a particular kind of magic. You can see a slice of it in this photo. Its mountains are living sculptures of rice terraces with rocky peaks. Clouds drift through villages and over roads, faster than fog, and just as quickly are gone.

These idyllic-looking landscapes are most inviting in Sapa's short summer, so I couldn't pass up the chance for a respite from the heat & hustling of Hanoi.

Chi's sister hanging out high & dry

Of course, this is Vietnam, and Sapa has its own brand of hustling. The lovely lady pictured above accompanied her sister (my guide) and me to their village, then pulled out a bag of assorted handmade trinkets, and said with a smile: "Buy from me?"

But how did I end up on this hillside with these H'mong ladies, sweating over slippery rocks and grassy slopes?

May

It was all thanks to May (pronounced "Mai", like "Chiang Mai") and her American husband Martin. I met Martin my first morning in Sapa while I sipped a ca phe da to wake up after the overnight train from Hanoi. He and May showed me around and cooked fantastic meals of H'mong rice, tofu, and vegetables.

"You want to stay overnight in my friend's village?" Martin asked one day. I hesitated, having planned to hire a motorbike driver and stop briefly in several villages instead: minimal sweating and more village variety. I looked down at my silk shirt and slippery sandals and asked, "Is it ok to wear this? I can't trek in these shoes though!" Martin waved off my ridiculous question and went off to find his friend.

Chi & her rice fields.

The next morning, I met my guide-to-be at the market. "Hi, my name Chi!" she said with a gigantic smile. She didn't look a day over twelve. "No, I'm eighteen and have a baby girl, you will meet her soon. Ready to go?" she asked.

I nodded, looking vainly for a motorbike. "Okay, let's walk," she said, and pointed her deadly-looking umbrella to our left. No point arguing with this H'mong Mary Poppins. Ever the clueless tourist, I followed on foot, wishing I'd picked up a pair of boots from the trekking shops in town.

Chi's husband & his brother, herding a buffalo home

"How far to the village?" I panted after awhile, as the paved path turned to slick rocks and a daunting incline of mud splattered with buffalo patties. "Maybe six kilometers more," Chi said over her shoulder. "You want my umbrella?"

So that's what these umbrellas were for: an ideal walking stick to guard against sun, rain, and treacherous trails up mountainsides.

Chi & her daughter Bam

It turns out their village was so small and remote, no motorbikes could reach the place. A cluster of homes - each one nearly self-sufficient with a small garden, buffalo, pigs, geese and dogs - made up their small community.

Neighbors in their indigo-dyed best

Chi had me hang out with the neighbors for awhile - she still had cooking responsibilities to her husband's family. The neighbors loved their rice wine, and were in their cups before sunset. Though I prefer to point my camera at unexpected objects rather than predictable portrait shots, they asked me to take photos and give them printed copies before I left.

Smoke from the bamboo fire filled the chimney-less house, and it was a relief to head back to Chi's less-smoky place for an early night.

Bam with the baby on her back

The next morning, Chi's daughter Bam marched around the house, wearing her "baby": a towel wrapped snugly in a harness just like the one she's carried in by her mom. Here she's sitting on a traditional rice grinder. In Hong Kong, they're sold as decorations. In Chi's village, it's a part of everyday life.

Ladies next door. Note the indigo-stained hands of the woman at center.

Chi's youngest sister-in-law

Chi said, "You know why she's not smiling? It's because the Vietnamese think a woman is most beautiful when she looks serious."

Bam & her aunt

Bam is named after a lovely local flower. Here she's chewing on some sugarcane.

Chi weaving hemp at her mother's house

Homestays are a lucrative business in parts of Vietnam, particularly in the northern hilltribe and Mekong delta regions. They're touted as an "authentic" way for travellers to experience daily lives vastly different from their own.

But how authentic are they really? Certain flashpacker homestays I saw on travels through villages close to Sapa town were simply guesthouses in villages, with meals cooked by a local family. Guests stay in sanitized homes with running water and concrete floors. But the village where I stayed, with its absence of toilets and bathing facilities, its dirt floors and chickens underfoot, was no more a genuine experience of Sapan hilltribe life than those village guesthouses.

Had I been invited to the village for a festival or by someone with whom I'd had some sort of prior relationship, it would've been a different premise for my presence there. As it was, I was a wealthy voyeur paying the equivalent of more than a month's local wages to spend the night with a family I'd never previously met.

I remembered my Cambodian student's embarrassment when, one day we walked with our cameras, he pointed out the illegal shack his family lived in next to the river. The Macedonian classmate in Bangkok who had no embassy to call on for help when he needed it most. The retired sailor in Cuba with whom I'd shared a cigarette: he'd had a wonderful one-night stand in Boston fifty years before, yet he would never be allowed to leave his country again.

We have escape routes and assumptions we never realize until meeting others who are denied them, but a homestay is a pay-per-view version of real human encounters.

Vietnam Week 5: Hanoi

2008-08-31T23:22:00.004+08:00

Preparations

The highlight of my time in Hanoi actually took place outside of town: a birthday party for Anh Khanh. He owns a piece of land 50km outside the city, and a few dozen friends planned to celebrate the night drinking rice wine, barbequing, and dancing to a DJ after Khanh's performance. I'd met him a few days before, so he'd invited me along.

Khanh performing on one of his gigantic sculptures

This artist has been commonly described as "an ex-cop" or "the craziest artist in Hanoi", though neither label sums up his vision or his unique blend of improv performance; intuitive singing and dancing; painting; and sculpture. Khanh has been instrumental in pushing the boundaries of art in the conservative Vietnamese capital.

Hand shadows

Art in the old Capital

2008-08-17T23:59:00.005+08:00

Hien is a self-taught artist; his family couldn't afford university tuition. He's working in the open-air studio behind his family home.

Hue is a hot & sleepy town in central Vietnam. It's got a reputation as a center of ancient culture, and seems pleasantly stuck in time, somewhere between now and a past that never quite was.

I loved the place, though haven't sweated that much since living in Siem Reap during the hottest time of year.

Hue's artists were easy to meet, once I'd run across the amazing Mr. Vu (sorry, no picture of the guy), who was well-connected to the younger generation of practicing artists.

Many of them had been trained in very traditional work - i.e. lacquer or silk painting - because that's all the schooling available there. But after graduation they branch out into more contemporary forms of art.

I'm looking forward to putting up some of their work on ThingsAsian's new Vietnamese art website!

Improv photo techniques revealed - I bought this one from an idealistic sage of an artist: Phan Chi

Vietnam Week 3: Central Vietnam

2008-08-10T20:59:00.006+08:00

Roy with his dream Jeep, My Son sanctuary

Roy & I spent time together this week in Hoi An, Hue, My Son, and had an incredible feast of bun bo hue one afternoon in Danang.

River near Hoi An

Vietnam week 2: Down in the Mekong Delta

2008-08-03T22:31:00.001+08:00

Rowboats slip silently between gigantic ferns in the Delta

memorable experiences this week:

* Editing a monk's english writings on Buddhist statues in his pagoda, Sam Mountain. He spoke with a pronounced French accent, though claimed not to understand French.

* The barefoot dentist at a Pharmacy who left his patient under the lamp to sell me a bottle of water.

* Hundreds of swiftlets' nests swarming with wings under the eaves of a waterstained colonial building-turned-karaoke bar/massage/sauna in Ha Tien

* Laughing in Vietnamese lessons on the beach in Mui Nai

* Being invited to teach an english class to ten-year-olds, Dragon Island, Mekong Delta

* Getting a friendly dose of hustling in Khmer once a local kid found out I spoke a little (Thach Dong Cave Pagoda), while in Kampuchea Krom

* Drinking "weasel coffee" on the To Chau River. Somehow smooth and bitter at the same time.

Vietnam, week 1: Saigon & surrounds

2008-07-26T20:31:00.004+08:00

From my trip yesterday to the Coconut Monk's faded fantasy island in the Mekong Delta

I'm in an internet cafe with sky-high ceilings and encaustic-tiled floors. The air's as languid as this DSL connection. Saigon has been a swirl of traffic and pho and salon-style paintings presented with gracious reserve. Also encounters with a few forthcoming gallerists who have progressive attitudes about how to promote their artists.

Tomorrow I'll head down to the Delta, and will be "off the map" for a few days. Next week I'll be back in Saigon to follow-up on art-y contacts and pick up my better half for our journey to central Vietnam.

2008-07-17T14:07:00.003+08:00

Hong Ha, wearing her ao dai at the Taj Mahal. Check out her informative, adventurous blog!

Tomorrow I leave for an extended working holiday in Vietnam. The goal? To take the pulse of contemporary Vietnamese art, and document who's doing what, where, how & why. This trip is sponsored by ThingsAsian Press. What will we make from it? Perhaps a guide to contemporary Vietnamese art; on- or offline exhibitions; articles or photo-essays - some or all of the above.

Blogging may be sporadic during this trip. I'm trying to figure out how to best integrate communication with my Facebook friends; my Alivenotdead, LinkedIn, Artreview and Behance accounts; and of course this blog! As a friend wrote today: "welcome to the world of web 2.0"

The Lams of Ludlow Street

2008-07-11T12:54:00.004+08:00

is a powerful series of photos by Thomas Holton that documents a first-generation Chinese family in New York City. It's a glimpse into the tiny tenement apartments that have housed NY's immigrants for decades. I used to live just over the Williamsburg bridge and would wander over it into the Lam's neighborhood, peeking into shop windows, wondering at what flickered behind rusty iron gates, and buying fish balls to cook for a bemused boyfriend back home.

These ageing buildings in Chinatown are more fragile than their tenacious inhabitants: the Lams are currently living in a temporary Red Cross-sponsored space after an electrical fire in their building, according to a letter from Holton. He is selling a number of prints from the series to benefit the family, at US$175 each. One source mentions that the offer is only good until July 4th, but perhaps you might persuade the photographer to extend his generosity a bit longer ;)

facing it

2008-06-23T21:57:00.007+08:00

I've decided it's time to join the hundreds of thousands of HK residents on Facebook. It's a terribly addictive hybrid of sound-bite blog/Twitter-like updates/ridiculous pokes and virtual hugs and karma, typically sent by people who would never dream of doing anything of the sort in person.

Feel free to look me up - I'm the only blue-faced Elizabeth Briel on the list. (Of course I don't look this cute in real life...that's what art's about!)

Unimpressive first impressions

2008-06-16T21:43:00.017+08:00

[N.B.: all photos taken last summer at Bethanie, Hong Kong]

Have you ever wanted to make a good impression and managed to do exactly the opposite? Ever taken too long straightening your tie, then missed the train?

One morning last week I was agonizing over what to wear to a lunchtime meeting with my publisher and a gallery director. Girlie critical voices yammered away as I scanned my closet: "No, that one shows too much skin!" "Too conservative - you're being interviewed as an artist, not a 'suit'." "Too artistic - you'll look like a flake who can't follow through with the show!"

This was my first time to formally meet the director, and I wanted the focus to be on my work rather than on my funky clothes. Finally I decided on a short silk dress over my favorite pair of trousers, and wore sandals for the rain.

After catching the ferry, there was still time to stop by my favorite art store in Wanchai for some more printmaking paper.

Eight blocks from the meeting, my taxi & I got stuck behind an ambulance - in horrific HK jammed-up traffic. After too many minutes of tooth-grindingly slow progress and now officially late, I got out to walk the rest of the way. Suddenly I felt a cool breeze - down the top of my dress.

A single fragile stitch had given way and now all & sundry could see much more than just the top of my lace undershirt - in the unlikely case they bothered to look in that direction (HK is the most anonymous city I've ever lived in). A moment or two of panic ensued, then I bent down to retrieve every lazy seamstress's solution: one of the safety pins that "hemmed" my trousers.

Of course this meant that one of my trouser-legs flapped lower than the other, soaked in seconds by the rainy pavement. However, given a choice between rescuing my upper or lower half, I figured that when one meets others over lunch, more glances are directed at one's top above the table than at one's trousers underneath it.

I glanced at the cryptic directions that my publisher Albert had SMS'd earlier in the week: "...on Hollywood Road near Aberdeen Street," I mumbled, but there was no sign of the place on Hollywood Road. Finally I gave up and stepped under an awning, sweating in the streaming rain, to call Albert.

"Nope, you're too far down Hollywood Road. Go back up the hill to Aberdeen St, take a left, go down some stairs...."

By now it was getting embarrassingly late, and knowing this made me sweat even more into the 97% humidity. After hiking up & down Aberdeen St and asking a shopkeeper or two, I called again, soaked in rain and frustration. This time, I made it!

So things worked out, after all. Their persistent politeness soothed the steaming wreck I'd become in the past half-hour; we had a chance to view my work & talk about the Hong Kong book - and we're ready to roll towards a book launch & show later this year. More information to come as the time gets closer...

Fruits of Summer

2008-06-06T20:03:00.005+08:00

I picked these tomatoes today and washed them in the rain. The tomato plants on our balcony have thrived in the hot morning sun, and have finally turned sun and soil into some seriously red fruit.

These are days of reading up and reaching out for some extended travel coming up soon. I'm looking forward to finishing up teaching for the summer at the end of June, and completing the HK book sometime in mid-July. Then I'll be free until early September! The tomatoes and the husband should both be fine -

What a difference a brush makes

2008-06-02T00:23:00.002+08:00

star ferry cropped, originally uploaded by e.briel.

For most artists, a favorite brush is much more than a tool of their trade: it's an essential ally when painting any picture.

After struggling to tint a complex photo this week (of a watery scene of stilt-houses in Tai O, HK) with a tired old brush, I finally got around to buying a new one. It was time to retire this rusty tool that had painted each of the Calendar Girls, and many other pieces too.

Just ten minutes after I started the painting session with my new brush, the artwork was finished. This new friend was fantastic: it bounced back from pressure and kept its fine tip no matter how much I loaded it with paint. It did whatever I asked, with no dragging of shaggy bristles, no complaints from a flaky handle. What a change from the splayed brush I've been using for a year now!

Guess it's true that in art as in life, it's all a lot more fun with the right partner....

New workspace, new vision?

2008-05-23T10:37:00.021+08:00

My new home-based studio has a view of high hills across the valley, with the incongruous Lamma Winds spinning above it all. We're soothed by sounds of the surf most mornings and can see the rocky shore from our 30-foot balcony. Now, our back bedroom is my darkroom. A plastic bin in our bathtub is my place to rinse prints. I expose images in the open areas around our village house, and paint them on our dining-room table.

I've decided to be more flexible with life for awhile, and am debating whether to get a studio again later this year - it depends on many things including the scale of the work I produce, if I can find a space with rooftop access, and what kind of presence I decide to have on Hong Kong Island. But first we've got to be sure we'll be staying in Hong Kong! (more on that if anything comes of job applications from both of us)

Most people's ideas of Hong Kong resemble the dense urban warrens of Kowloon, but there are plenty of green corners to the region....ours just gets a little dusty now and then with coal soot from the nearby power station!

View from my home studio by daylight

...and at night

Hong Kong's light pollution looks like an inferno in this long exposure, though in reality the nighttime view is of twinkling lights and of occasional flickering TV screens. Houses spill over the valley, hidden by trees and shadow.

These days I'm illustrating a book on HK with hand-tinted cyanotypes for ThingsAsian Press - you can see one on the studio table above. I'll have some more interesting projects with them to write about later this summer.

Also I've finally gotten around to placing a visible site feed on the blog. Just sign up here to subscribe, or in the permanent sidebar link (to the right).

It's an easy way to stay up-to-date with me, my work, and this ever-changing madness that is life in Hong Kong!

Last Lamma Show

2008-05-09T22:09:00.006+08:00

From the last show at The Cyan Studio's Lamma location:

Admiring Barney's photos of HK

Alan and Cecilia brought over some chocolate from HK.....

...and Andre too!

Checking out Barney's work

My Cyan corner

Andrew Lee looking at one of my hand-tinted blueprints - he's a talented artist I met on a Sketchcrawl....be sure to glance through his online portfolio

Damon provided fantastic musical accompaniment

Darren discusses his work with Peter and a friend. Darren's day job as a designer for the SCMP provides a good context for his photos.

Julian with Grahame's portfolio

From the cyan stairway installation: blueprints of laundry hanging from HK balconies, printed onto silk & linen clothing

Four cyans in the stairwell, clipped onto a laundry line

Visitors all the way from HK Island

The kids corner

Marianne

Youngest signer of the studio's guestbook

Umi and her uncle

Under a red lantern in the studio darkroom

Open Studio tomorrow, April 27th

2008-04-26T07:21:00.002+08:00

Stop by and Visit the last show at The Cyan Studio's Lamma location! The exhibition will take place in the studio and on the stairwells and rooftop of a village house near the sea.

We'll feature Hong Kong's urban architecture reflected in diverse ways, through the work of three Lamma Island-based photographers: Elizabeth Briel, Barnaby Bruce, and Darren Hayward, from 2-6pm on this Sunday, April 27th. From slick Central highrises and the ruins of Kowloon's Wedding Card Street to voyeuristic balcony scenes printed on silk, the show will feature a new take on the "everyday scenes" familiar to many Hong Kong residents. See them before they go the way of Queen's Pier!

Map and directions available at the studio's website: http://www.thecyanstudio.com

[Attached Photo by Darren Hayward]

Photos on Leaves

2008-04-21T10:30:00.001+08:00

by Binh Danh

He uses a similar process to a cyanotype, in that it's a "contact negative" process: the negative is the same size as the resulting photo.

He later preserves these unique photos in resin, after photosynthesis has done its work.

The first time I saw his work I was reminded of many reportage exhibitions I'd seen in Cambodia. Some of his images are from the Khmer Rouge period and its aftermath.

Old Cyanotypes

2008-04-15T14:58:00.005+08:00

Found this guy on ebay France

From Spencer family archives. The highlights are an overexposed blue. It's possible the paper was exposed to light before the negative was placed on it - not uncommon with pre-coated papers.

Found this pair of old portraits - I'd love to pick up some old cyan portraits like these someday. I always wonder what their stories are. Who were they? Where were they from? What was going on in their minds as they posed for the many long minutes these photos required?

Framed!

2008-04-07T23:56:00.002+08:00

It's great when a collector sends the artist a photo of an artwork after it's been sold, framed and finished and living in their home. This one is now somewhere in the Tin Hau neighborhood of Hong Kong.

Padded Cheongsam, Waterbased mixed media on silk paper, 2007

Blue Collar

2008-04-01T11:18:00.001+08:00

Loved this Blueprint Tie I found recently. Wonder if I could get away with wearing one?

Check me out!

2008-03-24T13:32:00.003+08:00

Stop by the Cattle Depot Artists Village this Sunday, March 30th from noon-6pm, and have a look at the fresh-from-the-rooftop photos-on-fabric I've been working on.

It's way out in Kowloon, but the meticulously heritaged architecture alone makes it worth a visit.

And all the art too, of course.

Open Studio Sun. March 16th

2008-03-14T14:57:00.003+08:00

The Cyan Studio is pleased to welcome spring incarnate: we will feature Paul Lau's Butterfly photos this month. True to their temperament and as ephemeral as ever, this is a chance to see the kaleidoscopic butterflies up close for a single afternoon, before they flit away to Paul's tranquil village house in Lo So Shing.

Open Studio hours for March are exclusively this Sunday, March 16th from 2-6pm. Signed copies of Paul Lau's latest book, Butterflies & Moths of Hong Kong, will also be available.

Painting Negatives

2008-03-10T23:28:00.002+08:00

Photo courtesy of ArtSingapore.org

Recently I discovered Eric Chan
while browsing Amelia Johnson's site.

His "negative paintings" could be subject to many interpretations. An inversion of icons? The world's gravity shifting from West to East? He's skilled, and his images are loaded with ambigity.

Hey, the ArtWalk's this Wednesday, hope to see a few familiar faces there this year!

Workaholics

2008-03-03T23:08:00.003+08:00

Blueprint of Antacids on bamboo velvet, Mar 08
Approx image size 5 x 7

Over the past week I've been struggling with a knockout bout of laryngitis and mild 'flu, after wrenching my back setting up a show at the studio last Sunday.

In Hong Kong, you don't call in sick, you go in sick...and infect everyone else. That's considered "professional".

Misguided? Maybe, but that's what we sign up for, when signing a contract in this town.

2008-02-24T11:16:00.004+08:00

Bob Davis has been in Hong Kong for over 30 years. He showed photos of 70s Hong Kong at The Cyan Studio last Sunday.

It was an enthusiastic, subdued crowd. The black mats and subject matter got people contemplative. Some seemed nostalgic, others played Where's Waldo-like games of one-upmanship, and those of us newer to the territory were mostly mystified by a younger face of a place we love but that we'll never see.

2008-02-18T12:52:00.004+08:00

Thai Bananas (detail)

Happy (Lunar) New Year!

Just spent a week in Bangkok, made lots of cyan prints on the rooftop of The Artists' Place, and went to a pair of pleasant openings at La Lanta and Kathmandu galleries. Kathmandu is located in a traditional Thai home in the middle of the city, and for their opening they had a fantastic communal spread of Persian/Muslim/Thai food from local restaurants across the street. We all dug in, and sat around a huge table that groaned under the weight of good food and heavy elbows tired after a long day in Thai heat.

Highly recommend both places for any interested travellers to Bangkok.

Chinoiserie

2008-02-11T17:33:00.000+08:00

Dragon-nose 2007, Tin Hau festival, Hong Kong

From Robert Genn's latest letter:

Canvas tiger

China is collecting and buying art big time, and its emergence as a
major art player is going to affect us all.

Experts say staggering prices for Chinese art at recent
auctions reflect a huge appetite for both the spectacular
investment returns and a fascination with all things Chinese.
Recently "Execution," a painting by Yue Minjun, 45, based on
the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, fetched 2.9 million pounds
at a record-setting Sotheby's sale in London. Eighty percent of
the auction attendees were Asian.

The Sotheby's event came just days after another sale of
contemporary art in Hong Kong where records were broken for
dozens of young Chinese painters--many of their works fetching
prices above a million dollars. At the risk of stereotyping,
here are some of the reasons for this kind of action:

Chinese art schools offer superior training.
Chinese art workers have excellent work habits.
China has a newly revived idealism and sense of history.
China has a new interest in modern appearances.
China has a tradition of speculation and gambling.
China's new wealth is chasing new Chinese art.
World wealth is shifting from West to East.

Mei Jianping, a former New York University professor and
creator of the Mei/Moses Price Tracking Index, says Chinese art
is a good bet because the country's newly rich want to snap up
pieces as investments and status symbols. "It'll be one of the
best performing asset classes," says Mei. "The Chinese art
market has outperformed the Chinese equity market over the past
10 years."

If this sounds to you like any other art bubble, with a sniff
of manipulation, greed and self-fulfilling prophesy, you'd be
right. Nevertheless, it's a competitive world and Creative
Darwinism is somewhat in control. For the idealists and
dreamers among us, as well as those asleep at the easel, the
lesson may be difficult: the production of art follows the
production of wealth.

Best regards,

Robert

Making a Red/Violet Cyan Mural

2008-02-04T22:35:00.001+08:00

Placing objects on the fabric

...and the finished piece, hanging to dry in the sun (though not generally advisable to dry in direct sunlight)

On the red fabric, the cyan chemical turns a rich violet. I've found the red should be a bright shade; anything darker than the red shown won't give enough contrast.

These photos come from the versatile photographer Jonathan Bailey's website. He offers workshops in many photographic media.

Art in Hospital

2008-01-27T23:37:00.000+08:00

Cyanotype from an Art in Hospital exhibition

Recently I discovered the Art in Hospital program, founded by the HK-based artist Evelyna Liang Yee-Woo, better known to her students as "Er-hu".

The image above is from a workshop conducted by several artists/photographers last year (I haven't been involved with them in any way - yet).

It's a fantastic purpose for visual expression: while the body is healed by medicine, AIH heals the spirit with art.

Fotanian: Open Studios

2008-01-21T21:29:00.001+08:00

Saturday saw R. and me rushing after work to one of the remotest parts of HK for the Fotan Open Studios.

We only had an hour but were impressed with the range of work, and the well-choreographed event. The Fotan artists studios hold their open studios twice a year. Next time we'll be sure to spend the entire day!

Photo of work by the artist Carol, Lee Mei Kuen

I was particularly intrigued with the work of Carol Lee Mei-Kuen. As we walked into a studio, I did a double-take: most of the work displayed looked just like cyanotypes, but they were golden ochre and sienna rather than blue. "How do you make these pictures?" I asked her, drawn in by the silhouette of a lace tablecloth. They had to have been done with some UV/photo process.

"This is newsprint - I put the object on top and leave it in the sun for awhile," she said.

"How long?" I asked. "For an hour or two? And do you need to leave your windows open for the sun to affect it?" I'd never heard of ageing newsprint this way. Newsprint is a cheap yellowish drawing paper, often used by students for disposable drawings.

"No, much longer," she smiled. "I leave it in the sun under the window for many weeks, even a month or two."

I shook my head in amazement, silently promising to be patient the next time my printing plans were frustrated on a rainy day.

Wet Paint

2008-01-14T10:44:00.000+08:00

I used to work in this little indie art store's paper department, during my last year at university; their encyclopedic selection has grown to 3000 different kinds of paper from all over the world. A couple of my former colleagues still work there.

There are a half-dozen tertiary institutions nearby, and the neighborhood has a definitive emphasis on the local rather than chain stores: when I was last there, the only "fast food" chain on the entire length of Grand Ave (a mile or two), was a Subway sandwich shop.

Open Studio this Sunday, January 13th

2008-01-07T23:48:00.000+08:00

The second Sunday of this New Year's almost here, and The Cyan Studio is pleased to feature a selection of freshly-painted work from a group of talented artists based on Lamma Island. These beautiful pieces were all created during a series of gatherings at the seaside home of local artist Annie Knibb.

The paintings have subtle washes of color that transform white canvas into ephemeral landscapes of sea & sky, with visions of storms and stretches of marble; they're incredible and impossible spaces with a variety of depth and lighting effects.

Artists include:

Annie Knibb
Rodney Jones
Laurence James Lucas
Jill Eason
Lisa Warden
Andrew Fleming
Kelly Morgan

Lamma's worth a day out for its waterfront restaurants, its charming lowrise villages, hiking trails for all from the fit to the faint-hearted, and most of all, for the art from a creative community!

Open Studio hours: 2-6pm, Sunday Jan 13th, and by appointment only. Please visit http://www.thecyanstudio.com for map and directions.

HK Trams

2007-12-31T08:43:00.000+08:00

from a current project.

The diversity of effects possible with a single negative keeps me interested, though they'd drive a designer crazy. All these images were printed with an A4-size color negative, inverted in photoshop.

Tram printed onto velvet

Printed on a scrap of Belgian linen
Some distortion due to the pliable fabric

Tram on silk organza
The fabric shrank dramatically after being printed, so I was able to scan the entire image.

Print on Somerset
More like my usual printing technique, on pure white cotton paper.

Tram on Arches cream
An experimental print onto off-white paper; I enjoy the richness, but for a series it's not ideal, as highlights are lost.

Happy new year to everyone, near & far.

Cyanotypes from carved glass

2007-12-22T19:45:00.000+08:00

River delta cyanotype, Andrew Brott

This New Orleans-based artist makes cyanotypes out of his sculpted glass panels. See more of his tremendous work and methods at his website.

Cyan Silhouettes

2007-12-15T21:13:00.000+08:00

Life-size silhouettes printed onto cloth by students at a Jonathan Bailey workshop. The lightish lines running through the figures come from wrinkles in the fabric during exposure.

December Open Studio

2007-12-07T21:21:00.000+08:00

December's moving in, Christmas is coming fast, and it's time again for the Second Sunday party at The Cyan Studio. This month we're pleased to feature affordable art prints & photos from a diverse selection of artists from Lamma's creative community - just in time to send home a personalized gift from HK in your Christmas packages.

Stop by this Sunday afternoon from 2-6pm for spicy mulled wine and savory art. Meet the artists in the informal setting of this community gallery, and browse through their art that offers new views of Hong Kong and beyond. 10% of purchases will go to help a Cambodian friend who lives near Angkor Wat get closer to his dream of going to university. Navuth Ou is a fantastically friendly driver in Siem Reap, and is always happy to show visitors his favorite spots in town. Just email me for his contact information.

Artists include Roz Keep, Paul Lau, Grahame Collins, and more.

Photos to come soon....

New Partner

2007-12-04T20:39:00.000+08:00

After several agonizing trips to the Wanchai Computer Centre, I've finally picked up a decent laptop. Though I could've afforded something at twice the price, I've got an inherent distrust of things that depreciate as fast as electronics, and I was able to bargain the store manager down 10% off the posted price for a cash purchase.

As soon as I saw this machine, it was love at first sight. Actually, it was just the screen - the rest of her isn't much to look at. The rich colors completely sucked me in. The clarity of images and text is amazing. Her sound? Crummy. Memory? Just enough. But that's all I was looking for: nothing too perfect or precious, just something good enough for the next few years that she'll be around. And the spill-resistant keyboard and solid body should hold up for awhile to my absentminded abuse.

Any advice on how to deal with inevitable Vista problems? That was of course the only OS option they offered....

Textile gallery [includes new photos]

2007-11-25T18:53:00.000+08:00

Whether painted or printed, these luxurious fabrics are transformed by the blueprint process.

An Asian portfolio of printed silk

Washed scarf printed with bamboo leaves, 3 yards long

Bamboo leaves on handwoven raw silk, 2 yards

Frangipani on raw silk, various lengths

Photos on fabric

Photo on linen blazer

Photo-printed scarf

Hong Kong prints

Chopsticks & rice on linen/silk trousers

Pair of Chinese bracelets on silk/linen skirt

Double Happiness symbol on silk/wool skirt

HK botanicals on transparent silk blouse

Fabric prints

Red lace and leaves on Thai paper

Lace and leaves on handmade mulberry paper

Painted dresses

Shadowpuppet on sheer organza

Waves on washed silk

Personal projects

Apsara Hands
Bougainvillea and painted negatives on handwoven raw silk

Losing his Marbles
Painted negative & marbles on green cotton skirt

Basket Case
Painted negative & handwoven Hakka drying rack on linen blazer

Free Art!

2007-11-17T22:45:00.000+08:00

Who says artists have to stay in their ivory towers, away from involvement in local politics? Not gallery-owner and activist John Batten.

Skyscrapers tower above the corrugated plastic roof of a market stall in Central

This Monday, November 19th, from 3-4pm, on the corner of Gage & Graham St., at the heart of the threatened historic Central Market in HK, I'll hand out pieces of orange and gold joss paper. I chose this colorful surface for its design and also for its meaning. Joss paper is traditionally used for burning at funerals, and this Street Market Celebration has a funereal aspect to it, if one looks at the HK Government's recent record on historic conservation - or lack of it. These markets may not last much longer.

Each piece of joss paper will be printed with a cyanotype of the market, from a recent photo I took down a Central market lane.

It's a signed and numbered limited edition of 108 prints, and every single print in the series is different. Some are fuzzier than others, some are darker, some have brushmarks, others have watermarks, etc.

Each print's variety is a unique combination of the elements of sun, water, rain, shadows, and iron, with a dash of my early-morning fatigue before work.

Several of the 108 pieces will be auctioned for charity, and one will become part of the collection at the HK Heritage Museum.

Feel free to stop by at that time if you're around; naturally, the prints will only be available for free during that single hour!

2007-11-12T11:06:00.000+08:00

Photos from the show yesterday:

One of the photographic subjects

Andy Maluche, Philippines-based photographer

Vernon Ram, Lamma luminary

With Lamma-Gung, the featured artist

Nick the Bookman

Baby beaters

2007-11-05T10:49:00.001+08:00

During the past month or so, I've begun to make paper in the studio, staying up late and filling the studio shower with paper pulp. I've been grinding up cotton t-shirts and recycling paper for experiments - most now turned into cards and bookmarks - with the goal of making a quality surface for my cyanotypes.

Since I couldn't find the gorgeous Lanaquarelle paper in HK that I'd used for the Bokor series, I decided it was time to make my own.

While struggling with long cotton fibers that jammed up my blender blades and caused the overloaded contraption to smoke, I'd dream of one of these:

A Critter beater, handmade by the artist Mark Lander

This guy has singlehandedly revolutionized papermaking for independent artists. Why? Until he started building his Critters, a small-scale studio artist like me couldn't dream of grinding materials into high-quality paper. Most industrial Hollander beaters start at around US $6000-$7500 including shipping, while his models are about $2000.

Here he and the Critter are at work with papermakers in Victoria.

Guess what I'll be getting myself for Christmas this year?

Blueprints on Fabric

2007-10-26T09:45:00.000+08:00

Bottles printed onto linen, 2007

What a fantastic idea: selling pre-treated fabric for blueprints. So many options, so little sunshine. They've got lots of variety: silks, cotton, and more, all at great prices.

Check out an interview with the owner here.

2007-10-18T13:51:00.000+08:00

e with red dress side, originally uploaded by e.briel.

Last year painted a pair of silk hangings - a commission for a Thai restaurant in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I did several versions of Rama, painted with cyanotype liquid onto handwoven silk organza.

They resemble shadow-puppets, a traditional artform prthroughout SE Asia.

Ever the perfectionist, I was unsatisfied with the first Rama so then had it made into a dress instead.

Art is Dangerous

2007-10-08T20:40:00.000+08:00

FIDO - Hangeul, originally uploaded by e.briel.

Thursday morning I sat in the studio, snipping cotton fabric into squares for paper-making. My hands moved quickly, impatient with the work and ready to move on to making paper pulp. Those sharp Chinese scissors had other ideas, though.

Sudden resistance to a snip. No pain, only amazement at a hole cleanly cut through the skin. All of it - there was my knuckle under a hole in rubbery-looking flesh! Stood up shakily and grabbed the ultra-strong Elastoplasts I'd bought for smarting blisters that morning, quickly squished the skin together, slapped on the plasters, and headed to Lamma's clinic down the street. It was time for stitches. Three of them. Again.

The last "art-making stitches" I received were while cutting stencils at Glass Art in Minneapolis.

And a few months before the glass incident, I'd tried to get the top off a Liquin bottle - with an Xacto knife. You can guess what happened.

Art-making as a dangerous activity? I'm feeling mildly ridiculous, is more like it, with a finger sewed-up in black like a Frankenstein creation. And now even impatient to make paper once the stitches are out!

September's Sketchcrawl

2007-10-01T18:55:00.000+08:00

with members of Hong Kong's CG Forum last week. Many of them are professional illustrators; all of them are much more adept at computer-aided drawing than I am. Check out Andrew Lee's portfolio.

Some photos:

Harry, one of the organizers

And a couple of my sketches:

Another sketcher

I didn't use pencil that day, so it took awhile to warm up

Wistful for wax

2007-09-24T09:41:00.001+08:00

Process: Painting in Encaustic, originally uploaded by e.briel.

Photo from 2000, painting in encaustic.

During my last year at university, I received a grant to study encaustic painting, an ancient Greco-Roman technique of painting in wax. I continued working in the medium for a few years, then turned to cyanotypes as they were more portable for my travelling lifestyle than cumbersome kilos of wax painted onto wood panels. But since settling in here, I've considered starting working in encaustic again.

Last week, before I accepted a position as Visual Arts Facilitator at Colour My World, I worked out a studio schedule that would still allow me to produce work regularly. But most of my studio time will be during evening hours, well after prime cyanotype time. I've considered spending evenings painting cyanotype "negatives" for a new series, but will only be able to print two days a week, so have been searching for another medium to use at night. Encaustic fits the bill perfectly, but will have to wait till I get my supplies shipped from Mom's basement in Minneapolis.

Today I found Deanna's blog. She's an encaustic painter in Texas, and kudos to her for painting with hot wax in that weather.

Other changes due to a restructuring of my life & time: this blog will now be updated once a week, instead of Monday-Friday(ish). Priority at this point - aside from my work at the center - has to be on making work and figuring out where to hang it (aside from the plaster walls of my studio).

2007-09-21T18:00:00.000+08:00

Hurrah for lace and spandex. Here's a painting by the Malaysian artist Kustarto BUDI, from his "Power of (G-string)" series. He's a finalist for the Sovereign Asian Art Prize this year.

The Hong Kong-based artist Simon Birch is also a finalist.

Deadlines: can't live with them, can't live without 'em

2007-09-20T18:01:00.000+08:00

I've just accepted an exciting "day-job" that will force me to better manage my studio time. So I got to thinking about deadlines.

Wiki says a deadline is "a boundary where a person may cross only at the risk of death"

And as always, some upbeat advice from Robert Genn this week:

"I've noticed that advertising people, commercial artists and other folks who are used to dealing with deadlines, tend to do well when they parachute into fine art. It seems they start giving deadlines to themselves.

Maybe everything worthwhile has to be done to a deadline. Maybe nothing gets done without them. At least in the studio they tend to be passive, or at least pleasant.

Maybe we just fool ourselves.

Life itself is an hourglass swiftly emptying. Time is precious
and has to be managed. In the case of life, the deadline is not
always firmed up. Maybe that's why we need them now.

PS: 'A goal without a deadline is a wish.' (Cindy Rold)"

Just when we get broadband, the plastic melts

2007-09-19T19:04:00.000+08:00

Our computer won't turn on these days and Roy's doing CPR with the hard drive, so hopefully my thousands of photos haven't been lost ("we can back them up when we get Nero with a genuine Windows" I'd said - oops!)

We've just installed a "legit" Windows to replace the illegal version that came with the thing, so that could've been it, or perhaps it was a delayed reaction by the CPU to the jarring sustained by being pulled in a trolley across a small Lamma valley, when we moved last month.

Either way, the blog was interrupted, but life continues.

Have a look at Marcela's Illustrated Dictionary. An Argentine artist/language teacher in HK, with fiery hair and a fast brush.

2007-09-17T10:51:00.000+08:00

Yesterday Noah & Trinh Potkin had a multi-purpose party: housewarming, "going-away" (Trinh will leave at the end of the month to have her baby in Vietnam), and a "happy birthday Elizabeth" party, too.

A mantis decided to join us, just in time for chocolate cake:

Anh and mantis

Neighbors love their dried fish

Housewarming gift from Jimmy

2007-09-14T17:45:00.000+08:00

Leena's paintings will be at the studio till Spinoza/Edward's show of "Wild Teenage Beatnik Dancers" on October 14th.

They'll be available for private viewing, and prints should be available in coming months.

Leena in heels

Lisa wants this one

Jo and friends

2007-09-13T17:49:00.000+08:00

Candid photos

Leena with artist - and Chinese/English translator - Annie Knibb

Looking lovely

Guests and Goodbyes

2007-09-12T17:43:00.000+08:00

also from Leena's opening.

Bob Davis, photographer

Steve says goodbye

Erik (from the Main Street shop) signs the guestbook, with his wine in a provocative place

2007-09-11T17:41:00.000+08:00

Leena's work has real presence to it - hard to describe, but easy to see.

Here are some photos of guests with her "sunglasses" painting.

Noah

Steve's in love

Andre - visitor from South Africa

Photos from Marilena's [Leena's] opening

2007-09-10T17:34:00.000+08:00

Leena the Artist and her husband Nick the Bookman

Lots of wine

Trinh and the Latin ladies