Flora and Fauna a LBSM (Long Beach State of Mind) - oil on canvas - 18x24

In this painting, I'm continuing work reflecting on the residue of man in his environment, and how our experiences and contributions to the system we are in becomes the nature we are in.

It's all womb.

The Uncarved Block - Wine Tasting and Art - featuring BEEDA WEEDA - aprox. 10 minutes

This month's video is another crew piece that takes us back to Oakland where we run around with BEEDA WEEDA and his peoples. They took us on an Oakland wine tour and then back to the studio where they shared some insight to making an east bay underground track from scratch.

The first thing I'd emphasis about Beeda Weeda and his crew is their love to teach and share the culture, community and experience they're a part of... It's a beautiful thing.

https://mobile.twitter.com/realbeedaweeda

Klr

Human form pondering human form. If the form were to have a thought bubble it might sometimes look like this video.

In many ways I'd describe my work as Urban Oriental. A couple Oriental concepts that I apply to my work are the uncarved block or unbleached silk, and the idea of man as a part of nature rather than above or dominant to it.

With the uncarved block and unbleached silk its sort of about under polishing, and then allowing the natural infinite essence to come out from the rustic nature of a medium.

The idea of man as a part of nature is represented in oriental art by way of having large landscape pieces, and in those landscapes there might be a small human form. The form is generally not dominant, and generally takes up only a small percentage of of the canvas. In contrast to western art where the human forms tends to doninate most every canvas they are in.

The Urban influance hits the canvas in the application and observation of residue. Living in an impoverished urban area my environment is rich with what is left behind.

RESIDUE: something that remains after a part is removed, disposed of, or used; remainder or remnant... a small amount of something that remains after the main part has been gone or taken.

Be it parentless children, old graffiti, abandoned homes or the homeless the hood contains a wealth of dispossessed residue. I'd love to paint some water lilies like monet but that ain't my hood. I dont even know where I could find water lilies. An artist needs to reflect his environment and times, or else that artist is just a type of illustrator. I live in a concrete jungle that i fight to save.

Children become the residue of the familial construct once abandonment happens. With that said we should all value our residue... all of it... from the hills to the margins. Humanity is messured by the way it takes care of its poor, its margins, and its residue.

My style and subject matter works to flesh these things out... I attempt to use residue and scars, as a medium, to hopefully send out a beacon to the world that attempts to put its self above the residue, rather than in it. WE ARE ALL RESIDUE

Ashes to ashes...

klr