Jenny Morgan's One of the Many at Like the Spice Gallery

I got out from my painting cave to peek the outside world for a bit. I haven't been outside for over a week, mostly working on my painting and fighting my allergy. The weather was quite nice, not too sunny and not too gloomy, just right for my Goldilocks mood. We went to Brooklyn for the second time to attend Brooklyn-based artist's, Jenny Morgan, opening. We needed to eat first, and I always prefer going to a place that serves food that I don't cook at home because it's more exciting that way. We went to a nearby udon shop before the opening, but discovered when we got there that they didn't open until 6, so, we decided to eat at Don Pancho again :)

Feeling happy and well-fed, we walked to Like the Spice gallery. The current exhibition at Like the Spice Gallery, entitled One of the Many, features twelve recent oil paintings on canvas from the artist using herself and other people that she knew personally as the subject.  She employs photorealistic painting techniques, then scrapes away and sands away the surfaces of certain body parts or even whole surfaces.  In her recent interview she mentioned that she developed the scraping process by happenstance and wound up liking what it looked like. You could also see some patterns on top of the figures. Like her scraping technique, the decision to incorporate those patterns is also something unconscious. I had the pleasure to chat with Jenny Morgan for a little bit about her work. It was also really nice to see Marisa Sage, the passionate and friendly gallerist, again that night.
The exhibition runs until June 19th, 2011

Like the Spice Gallery
224 Roebling Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Phone: (718) 388-5388
Email: info@likethespice.com
Hours: Mon by appointment only
            Wed - Sun 12 - 7 PM

Some photos from the event:
(all photos by David F. Luecke, © Alamanda Art. Original works © their respective creators. All rights reserved.)

 With Jenny Morgan

Chatting with the lovely Marisa Sage

 The Piano Song

oil on canvas

 Coven

 Ruth, the proud Mom of the artist

 Release

oil on canvas

 Finding Anna

oil on canvas

 Jenny Morgan chatting with some fans

 I ran into the talented Martin Wittfooth

These photos below are some of the artworks on the gallery's basement

 Eric LoPresti

 Jason Yarmosky

Reuben Negron

Splash of Creativity in the Studio

I was planning to attend an opening in the city, but decided to stay home to work today. When my art is calling for me, I'm just not in the mood to be out there. Doodling something, refining my transferred drawing on canvas, or touching up my paintings while listening to some Balinese ambient music sound perfect than going out today.

This week, I was busy finishing up this small oil painting on paper for "Sanrio for Smiles" exhibition during MiJapan 2011 festival in Italy. It's an exhibition benefiting the people in Japan and will be held at Chiostri dell'Umanitaria in Milan.

Paper is my second favorite surface after linen. I don't really have any particular reasons than it just feels different but feels right in my heart...hehe.

Play with Me. oil on paper. 2011

Silly doodle ^^

Besides being productive in the studio, DH and I also had a bit of fun date. DH's school has this hotel management program where they train and grade the students by building a real restaurant setting on campus. They charge a very affordable price for a three course meal plus dessert. Let's just say it's below $10 per person. It's nice that I don't need to cook for a day and we get a chance to have a fancy date without the fancy price:)

Yummy Surf and Turf

Fun Sketches, Drawing, and Some Tastiness

I did some sketches in the middle of my painting progress. I like to step away from the painting for a bit, so I would get excited again once I work on the painting again. Then I got a new inspiration for my next painting, which I just had to draw before it vanished from my brain:) Sometimes I would draw straight on canvas, and other times I would draw it on paper and transfer it. It all depends on how it feels right for my feeling to capture that moment.

Slow progress

Will transfer this soon

  

DH took me to the city last Saturday. We haven't taken advantage of our membership at the Met museum for a while. Whenever we were in the city, it was always in the area that was too far from the Met museum. We spent our time around European paintings and Robert Lehman Art Collection. There was a really interesting exhibition "Room with a View: The Open Window in the 19th Century", which featured thirty oils and thirty works on paper. We weren't allowed to snap pictures at special exhibition, so if you'd like to know more you can see more here and some of the artwork here

Seeing all of those paintings made me really happy;  I felt energized and motivated. Often times I wish I was exposed to all of those beautiful paintings when I was a kid:)

(all photos by David F. Luecke, © Alamanda Art. Original works © their respective creators. All rights reserved.)

 

Jean Baptiste Greuze's painting of Charles Claude de Flahaut de La Billarderie

Jacques-Louis David's painting of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier and his wife Marie-Anne-Pierrette Paulze

Francois Hubert Drouais: Portrait of a Young Woman as a Vestal Virgin

Michiel Sweerts: Man Holding a Jug

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres: Princesse de Broglie

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

 I just can't stop staring at Ingres' painting...I was in awe! This painting looks as if it was just painted recently. It looks vibrant and striking.

Camille Corot: Diana and Actaeon

Johannes Vermeer: A Maid Asleep

ooooh Vermeer *dreamy expression*. Such a beauty

 Hans Memling: Annunciation

Antonio Canova: Cupid and Psyche

Raimundo de Madrazo y Garetta: Masquerades

Pierre-Auguste Renoir: Two Young Girls at the Piano

Sir Joshua Reynolds: Lady Smith and Her Children

Arthur Devis: Mr and Mrs. Richard Bull

And of course our short visit to the city would be incomplete without some tastiness. We stopped by at this place called Little Brown Chocolate Bakery & Coffee Shop. I didn't know about their other baked goods and coffee, but their brownies and toffee bar were quite tasty for my little snacks:) DH took me to Ottomanelli for steak burger for our dinner. Reasonable price and quite filling. I rarely cook meat at home, so we tend to pick food that I don't cook at home when we eat out.

Our last stop before heading home was La Tropezienne bakery. This bakery had no sign at all outside their shop, so we found it like five minutes before they were closed. Oh my, loads of tastiness - little frosted cakes, eclairs, cream cheese pastries, little fruit pies....oh yummy yum. Can you tell how much I love my sweet treats? I was so tempted to adopt all of those yumminess.

I seriously dream of having an art museum and patisserie/bakery as my neighbors. I can make my own coffee or tea, so I don't mind if they're farther, but patisserie and art museum? come here, let me hug you.