My painting “I Heart New York” will be at the Eleanor Ettinger Gallery on W57th in the New York Gallery Building starting next week.

I finished this painting last week.  I still have a couple of things I need to do- like sign my name better.  I don’t know about Baltimore Beauty, people.  I think it might be a fail?  I’m  not sure. I recently repainted one of the eyes, and I think I made it a lot worse.

Thanks to Emily Slaughter for being such an amazing sitter and having such hair!  I’m thinking of cropping. I’d be interested in people’s opinions about the crop v. no crop issue.

All right. So every year for the past four years I have tried to do a holiday card and failed because I procrastinated. This year I’m getting started early, I’ve decided.  Here’s what I’ve got so far.  I think it’s pretty hilarious because the poses are really reflective of who we are as people: I’m an extrovert and silly, and Toby is introverted and thoughtful. I guess opposites attract.

I’m taking my students to New York next month and I’m at a loss as to what to show them. I think the MOMA is too expensive for them, and MICA is not subsidizing, so I’m taking them to the Met instead (and telling them they can pay a dollar for entrance; sorry, Metmuseum).  In planning the trip, I realized that I only really visit the same three galleries every time I’m there (the Velazquez room, the Sargent room, the Rembrandt room). I am such a fuddy-duddy! If anyone has any thoughts about not-to-be-missed paintings, preferably after the 1900s, that are at the Met, please email me (hyeseungs@gmail.com) or comment here (trying to be better about my comments:)).  I’m super jazzed about the new Islamic art galleries.  The New York Times was really prostituting itself over them this morning in the paper.

I sat in front of my computer yesterday just counting down the hours before I had to go and teach.  I am sort of in-between things in the studio at the moment, and I have models coming next week, but things are a bit slow and lethargic here right now. The good thing is that I did figure out what I’m going to do for my holiday cards (every year I try to do a holiday card….I’ve never actually succeeded in doing it though; I am determined to change that this year).

Class last night was really fun. Here are some of my students. They are real clowns.

One thing that is difficult if you go to Mica is that you never really get to see teachers actually do their own work. That was so different from Water Street, where you could go and see Jacob work whenever he was painting in the next room or right next to you.  I decided to do a quick figure sketch in class so that people could see how I work. Here’s what I did:

It wasn’t the most beautiful angle, but I guess that’s probably why I was able to squeeze in where I did (the room configuration is not that fortunate for us).  Lots of the students came by to take a look and asked me whether I had ever painted non-representationally before.  I actually painted abstractly before I went to Water Street and enjoyed it a great deal.  One of my students asked if I ever got tired of painting realistically.  I was really surprised to be asked that, because I never tire of it. It’s like asking if I ever get tired of reading books, or listening to music or eating (well, may be not eating).  I understood from the student’s perspective though: she was looking at the arts landscape and seeing that realism is just one little slice of it all– and what a boring slice it is!  May be more later about why I don’t find it boring. For now, it’s time to do some painting.

Here’s another painting I’m working on :

I am going to wait a couple of days for it to dry, and then I’ll put some retouch varnish on it and see where I need to clean it up.

It’s been a long time since I posted anything here. I’m going to start a concerted effort to (a) post everyday and (b) go through my comments.  Right now, I have 29,597 comments to go through, and I’m thinking probably 98% of those are Viagra spam.  I am also working on updating my website, but really I feel the most important thing to do right now is just to be painting since last year I didn’t too much of that .

I’ve been really productive the last three weeks or so since moving my studio into the house, which is still being renovated, but seems to be moving along semi-steadily.  This is one of the paintings I’m doing. I have to get Toby to sit for me, but most of it is done (just got to do that damn shoe).

I got these tulips from Whole Paycheck and they’ve lasted a whole week!

Courtney Jordan, Kristin Kunc and I are organizing an arts and entertainment show called Paint Works to take place over two weekends in September at the Gowanus Ballroom in Brooklyn.  The event showcases contemporary painting and includes spectacular works by young artists such as Alyssa Monks, Caitlin Hurd, and Oh Joon Kwon.  Paint Works is scheduled for the weekends of September 16th-18th and September 23rd-25th and the opening receptions, which take place on Friday and Saturday nights of both weekends, will include performance and installation art as well as pyrotechnics by the renown fire artist Flambeaux.

Work above by Jennifer Presant.

More information to come… As usual, please don’t comment on the blog, but rather email me at hyeseungs@gmail.com if you have any questions/comments. Thanks!

I’m pleased to announce that the Los Angeles Review of Books has run a detail of my painting, “Girl in a Cafe,” in conjunction with a review of Judy Blundell’s latest novel “Strings Attached.”  Check it out!  CLICK HERE