boooooooooooom

booooooom is one of my favorite blogs to follow. ever.

several recent reasons why:


“Wore It Deep” by The Tree Ring (a beautiful song with a beautiful heavenly music video to accompany it)

“Howl” by James Delay (a very rad beat that i woke up to this morning and watched the video to)

Drawings by Luca Mantovanelli (crazy epic drawings of male orgasm faces combined with colorful birds)

“Love Lost” by Temper Trap (a great song with a somewhat unexpectedly hilarious music video)

“Appointment in Samarra” by Paul Thomas Saunders (a heart felt acoustic song that'll suit you well if you're alone)

Works by artist Shannon Rankin. Maps, pins, glue. (inspirational and incredible wall art made out of maps)

oh man.... there are so many more. just check out the blog for yourself. it's way better than mine. maybe some day i'll be able to be a part of their blog or create an epic blog myself of equal value. thanks for all the inspiration, art, photos, music, and design booooooom <3 you're one of my reasons for living.

poem time

today, i'm posting poems that i previously wrote on other days.

the first following poem is dedicated to my dream boy. i haven't met him yet, but when i do, i'll let you know. the rest of the poems are random. welcome to my life, my head, and my dreams.

you....

you mellow me out

you make me feel

you make me want to turn to steel

you sing me songs

you write me notes

you feed me cheese that's made from goats

you hold my hand

you kiss my cheek

you stroke my hair

and massage my feet

you make my life

you melt my brain

you love my soul

and stand out in the rain

you go with me

wherever i go

and help me dear

because you just know

you're in it with me

thin or thick

living this life

making time tick

you cry with me

you smile at my face

you manage to make something out of this place

and every time that you are near

i feel there is nothing i need to fear

how is it...

how is it

that all i need

is a cup of tea

and a bowl of weed

a spoon full of honey

a tiny flame

a pinch of cinnamon

and we're in the game

sometimes coffee

sometimes a jog

sometimes a beach walk

or a seat on a log

a notepad

a pen

my thoughts

and the sky

the ocean

the birds

i think i know why

the sand

and the sun

my heart and my soul

with all of these things

fall in the black hole

oh love...

oh love

don't be afraid

be happy

be kind

be well

oh love

don't forget

who you are

who you want to be

who you were

be love

for love is all there is

and love is all there will ever be

i guess i'm floating

(I found this photo on Cozmo Fox Owlsop's facebook page. And love it.)

The title of this blog post was inspired by a rad website that was posted by a previous drawing teacher from SJSU on facebook titled "I guess I'm floating." The point of her post was essentially to watch this killer skateboard video with a new Panda Bear song linked to it. This song pretty much made my day the other day. Plus there is a super amazing playlist on the right side of that page, so check it out if you're lacking musical inspiration and need some new tunes in your life... I've been listening to it now for 2 days. Sweet amazingness. 

(This is what you can expect to see me looking like on a typical day in San Francisco in my bedroom.)

My art was featured in grae's magazine this week by surprise. I don't know the girl who started it/runs it, but she somehow found me and said she's been following my art on the web. What a lovely feeling <3 I'm proud to be a featured artist on their site, and encourage everyone to check it out.


Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains), by Arcade Fire, saved me from thinking that I'm the only person on this planet who feels this way lately, and pulled chords on my heart like no other song usually does. I listened to this song on repeat for about 48 hours straight and I'm still obsessed. I can't get over it. At least read the lyrics if you don't care for the band:


They heard me singing and they told me to stop,
Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock,
These days, my life, I feel it has no purpose,
But late at night the feelings swim to the surface.
Cause on the surface the city lights shine,
They're calling at me, "come and find your kind."

Sometimes I wonder if the world's so small,
That we can never get away from the sprawl,
Living in the sprawl,
Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains,
And there's no end in sight,
I need the darkness someone please cut the lights.

We rode our bikes to the nearest park,
Sat under the swings, we kissed in the dark,
We shield our eyes from the police lights,
We run away, but we don't know why,
And like a mirror these city lights shine,
They're screaming at us, "we don't need your kind."

Sometimes I wonder if the world's so small,
That we can never get away from the sprawl,
Living in the sprawl,
Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains,
And there's no end in sight,
I need the darkness someone please cut the lights.

They heard me singing and they told me to stop,
Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock.

Sometimes I wonder if the world's so small,
Can we ever get away from the sprawl?
Living in the sprawl,
Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains,
And there's no end in sight,
I need the darkness someone please cut the lights.


This song, Helicopter, by Deerhunter, is also insanely beautiful and magical. 

And in case you were wondering what I've been doing lately, other than indulging in amazing music, staring at inspiring SF sunsets, snuggling warm-hearted friends, thinking too hard, sleeping so much, and dreaming my life away... I've recently been asked to create some designs for the new line of No Enemy clothing -- for men's, women's, and kid's sweatshirts, as well as women's t-shirts. The line will be all California inspired, as No Enemy is an all organic, made, produced, dyed, and manufactured in California company. I'll be sure to post links as soon as the designs are finished and the clothes are available for sale on the No Enemy website :) I'm very, very stoked to be a part of No Enemy, and very excited to be sharing my designs with the masses <3


I'm also currently finishing up designs for two separate wine labels, and look forward to sharing those as well, later this year. 


What else?


I posed naked for the semi-famous SF photographer Merkley??? (Google him if you're curious or scared about what I just said, and let me tell you, from the bottom of my heart, not to worry, because it was a very cool experience and a classic artistic endeavor to be involved in.) The tasteful, collaberative and creative final picture will be available for sale as poster size prints, as well as in the upcoming book of his newest series involving 111 girls and dreams on 11.11.11 @ 111 Minna Gallery in SF. 


During November/December 2010, I was working as a Design Associate for a modern print design firm in SF -- Minted.com, and as soon as that ended, I was hired to take a bunch of photos for a new restaurant's website -- Pasion, in SF. For about a week, I was waiting tables there, but thank goodness, that didn't last long, and I'm back in the freelancing creative art/design game. Each and every day of my life I'm finding how much I truly appreciate my personal life style, values, and passions. My individuality is very important to me... possibly even more important than I realize.  


Conclusion to all of this:  I'm basically making it a point to get involved in any and all creative projects that I'm personally asked to be a part of. Why not?! My friends and supporters mean the world to me. The people who appreciate my talents and inspiration are who keep me going. Any projects that I believe in, I will stand up for. 


With that said, unfortunately, I did not make this piece myself, but I stumbled upon it online while googling photos of bears and found this, and LOVE IT: check out this rad street art of a bear and some wolves.


Oh yeah, and finally, one more music video of a band/musician that I was fortunate to see and meet during the summer of 2010: "Still Sound" by Toro y Moi.


Annnndd one more epic quote to finish off this much overdue blog post, thanks to Kelly Hackett:

"Let us toast to animal pleasures, to escapism, to rain on the roof and instant coffee, to unemployment insurance and library cards, to absinthe and good-hearted landlords, to music and warm bodies and contraceptives... and to the ‘good life,’ whatever it is and wherever it happens to be." 
-- Hunter S. Thompson

there is never one answer

"sometimes we are filled inside with everything that is on the outside of us," i said yesterday.


"our surroundings [environmentally, atmospherically, internationally, universally, spacially, emotionally...] and the people amongst us influence who we are and what fills us as individuals - consciously and subconsciously."


i am constantly putting new and unique puzzles together with pieces and images that would not have necessarily fit or met if i hadn't have introduced them by cutting them out of separate sources [magazines, books, cards, flyers, catalogues, internet print outs... all regarding different subject matters... which can all in some shape or form, be put into one piece of art with paints of different kinds and become a whole, unified, single, solid composition with a varied complex un-entirely agreed upon explanation of sorts. everyone will come up with their own meanings, comprehensions, and verified conclusions for each work of art themselves. 


there is never one answer. 


this is the beauty of art and the beauty of being human.


maybe beauty is the wrong word. but it's something.


we teach monkeys and gorillas how to write. we practice how to understand and study things. do other animals? why is education so focused on narrowed, pre-selected, and often uncreative information and curriculum? no other animal uses written language or numbers to live their life by. [or do they?] the human race seems focused on the wrong things. our feelings, instincts, and natural tendencies are often forced to be repressed. we pretend to "set things in stone" by writing, signing papers, electronically transferring information, numbers, words, laws, rules, regulations, etc. animal "laws" (if you can even call them that) do not have a written, signed constitution. not to say that it's a free for all either - but to some extent - animals just know because of their instincts, and if they don't, they can die, and nature handles it. of course, with human intervention - because we're some kind of crazy breeding, over-populating, possessive, intrusive, invading, convinced, congregational species - we're chemically, and dominatingly taking over and controlling the earth and it's inhabitants. not just the animals -- although they're highly affected -- but also the plants, soul, natural, resources, water, rocks, mountains, oceans, sand, everything. we're an invasive species in so many set up ways. 


i'm a contributor.


why a human? why not another animal? or a bug? or a plant? why a female? why am i a human female?


i'll let you know when i figure it out.

i tell my troubles to the ocean

i tell my troubles to the ocean
i point my chin up to the sky
i tell my problems to the ocean
the ocean never asks me why


i cleanse my soul
i salt my heart
dip my feet into the sand
i try to forget all frustrations
and just enjoy my time on land


i cry to release my sorrows
all my fears and all regret
i tell the ocean everything
for the ocean does not fret


i sail the surface
i flow with the tide
i try to relax and just appreciate the ride
why even try to hide?
when i can just learn to take pride
and allow all of my feelings that are deep inside
to be tried
why not let them be my guide?
and remain in stride
to confide
i just sighed, but i never lied
sometimes i think i just died


i tell my troubles to the ocean

Recognize

"Think more about the Earth every day. Look up, beyond our own creations.
Recognize the beauty that's always around us.
Recognize the beauty of uniqueness.
Recognize that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and that we all have
that ability to behold it no matter our circumstance.

Recognize truth and honor it.

Recognize life and the responsibility that we have to preserve it."

Or, just
"RECOGNIZE."

- Ian Folke Svenonius

Holy-Daze

I'm far behind on blogging. I got a seasonal full-time job as a design associate for minted.com (check it out). I'll be employed there until approx. Dec. 31st, 2010. Until then, there will definitely be a lack of blogging on my part :( 


Regardless, I finished up my holiday gifts & crafts series for my website! (Click on the gifts & crafts text in the previous sentence to view more than just what you see below.)

I started making my first drift wood animal series during last year's holiday season (2009), while I was living in San Gregorio, CA (a tiny, tiny town in the coastal boonies just off of HWY 1, in between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay, CA). Living in the "country" for the first time in my life, I was constantly seeing more birds, rodents, and other various animals than ever before. Being pretty strapped for cash, I wasn't really able to go shopping for gifts, or even really buy art supplies to make people things with. 


I resorted to the beach, just a mile away from my house, and collected cool pieces of drift wood to paint on, instead of canvases.


Being an artist, and having way too many broke friends who still want to invest monies in my artwork, I figured making small pieces of art, that cost me virtually no money to make, would be the perfect plan. 


On a crazy drive, on a quiet, cutty, deserted, old stage coach road (Stage Rd), late one night, a barn owl was stopped in the middle of the road by this house that always had a huge rusted metal sculpture of a skeleton holding a massive machine gun in front of it. I always got weird vibes driving by that house, and this particular night, I got the chills. We had to stop the car, in the middle of the road, as the barn owl wasn't even looking at us. After about a minute with it's head turned away from us, it slowly turned it's head to stare us down. We shared a heavy gaze for what seemed like a long time, but was probably only a few second, until it flew a few feet away from the road, letting us pass. 


I went home later, and started looking up barn owl photos online. I had to draw a barn owl. The first owl drawing I did was later pasted on the first piece of painted drift wood that I had done.


The drift wood animal series began.


I started drawing other animals on paper, then taking pictures of them, putting them on my computer, changing the sizes of them, printing them out, making multiple copies, then watercoloring/ink-washing them, and pasting them onto other painted pieces of drift wood. I'd coat the pieces in lacquer, put hanging devices on them, and started adding them to my website and facebook for sale. I sold them all by the end of December.


This year, I did a few new animals. One is an image of a blue whale, with thoughts in mind of the blue whale and it's unborn baby that got washed up on Bean Hollow State Beach a few months ago. I posted them online less than two days ago and have already sold several :) They make great holiday presents, wall hangings, x-mas tree ornaments and toppers, etc.... 


I'll probably be giving some out as gifts <3


In the mean time, John Lennon was shot 30 years ago today. On that note, imagine...

Cosmic Force

i often wonder what i'm doing here

where i am

where i've been

where i'm going

a questionable life this can be at times

especially when you're just being moved by the world

moved by the planets

moved by the stars

by the sky and the moon...

haven't you realized that you have no control over your own life?

Some Poems Written in November 2010

art heart

and sometimes my heart bleeds out of my hands

onto paper

onto canvas

onto wood

blood in different colors

and textures and styles

bright yellows blues and greens

i feel weird

i feel weird

i feel fine

i feel like i've lost my mind

i lose myself in moments and time

i lose myself in songs and rhyme

i forget what i'm doing

i forget who i am

i forget where i'm going

i forgot my plan

am i losing my edge

am i losing my scene

i think i forget what it is to be mean

how do i be who i want to be

how do i figure out exactly how to see

forward motion is what i want

forward motion is what i need

and whatever will be will really be

my mind and heart are what i need to feed

To be a bird...

I've been wanting to write a poem on a painting of a bird that I finished for my show @ 111 Minna Gallery  in September. I finally wrote the poem. And I just finished writing it on the painting. I'll have to take a picture tomorrow because it's too dark outside now to get a good shot. For now, here's the poem:


To be a bird...


to be a bird
to learn to fly
to know the way
to try to spy
with wings for arms
and claws for feet
a voice to call
a beak to eat
rest on trees
sing to bees
build a nest
if you please
born a shell 
live to tell
just be well
life is swell
to be a bird
to be a bird
to be a bird...


Since I'm in this poetic mood, I decided to write another poem, and put it on the background of a new painting I'll be working on. I literally just finished this one:


Lets travel the world...


lets travel the world
lets sail the seas
lets fly in the air
and blow in the breeze
lets climb all the hills
and search all the rocks
hide in the trees
take off our socks
lets go to the beach
and lay in the sand
get clean in the ocean
with shells in your hand
lets stumble on words
lets cry when we laugh
if we can't do it all...
at least we'll do half.

Mixed Media Graphic Design Series

View all of my new mixed media graphic design series pieces here.

I finally finished 5 of my favorite mixed media graphic design series pieces tonight. I think I already mentioned them before in a previous post, but be sure to check out all of the finished series at the link above. I think they're pretty rad. Pretty deep. And pretty involved.

This series is more meaningful to me than any series I've ever really done before. It all pretty much started with my Mixed Media Masterpiece titled, "What's Going On Inside [Under the Surface]" and the mother of a boy that I was dating last year, (and earlier this year) -- who kindly bought me a stack of brand new canvases one day. I don't regularly use canvases because they're somewhat expensive, I'm somewhat cheap, and I'd often prefer to experiment painting on other unique surfaces, like wood, metal, glass, etc... 


I decided that the new stack of canvases needed to be used to create a series of pieces that all go together -- which I don't always think about doing. "Mixed Media Masterpieces," I decided I'd call them. Mixed Media, as in the use of many different mediums, but also as in mixing mediums involving the actual media:  internet, television, radio, social media, advertising, magazines, commercials, billboards, newspapers, etc...

I cut a bunch of pictures out of popular magazines from all different genres -- National Geographic, Wired, Scientific American, popular women's magazines, men's magazines, nature magazines, educational magazines, history magazines, art magazines, sex magazines... whatever I could get my hands on for free from friends and dumpsters... 


I also cut a bunch of famous black and white photos out of an old school famous photography book that I got at a garage sale in Santa Cruz a long time ago, and then combined all of these images with some cut up photographs, both digital and manual, that I've taken myself over the years. After painting the canvas with some brightly, cool, colored acrylic paints, I decided I wanted a big portrait to be placed on top. Not necessarily a portrait of any particular person -- but rather a generic silhouette, of a unisex-looking individual (that turned out to appear somewhat alien-like), filled in with a bunch of my favorite cut-out images from popular culture that bombard us today, in 2010, on a frequent and intrusive basis. 


Since I contributed photos that I've taken, and imagery that I can relate to, or like, or feel strongly about, the portrait turned into a rather personal piece, interpreting what is going on inside of me... as if I even really know anyways?


But it's what's going on inside of you too. Because you're part of the population. Part of the generation. Part of the inspiration.

What gets internalized is essentially from the external world... right? I think so. Especially today. TV, billboards, commercials, advertisements, magazines, newspapers, radio, internet, signs, photographs, movies, cities, even buildings -- they all just throw images, products, places, things, ideas, words, and concepts in our faces -- whether we like it or not. 


What are we supposed to do with all of this stuff? 


It's virtually impossible to ignore. 


Yes, you can try to block all of this stuff out, and pretend it doesn't effect you. You can act as though you don't care. You can say that this is just the way it is. The truth is that even just looking at these images does something to us. We have no choice but to glance when we're on public transportation, driving somewhere, listening to music, working online, receiving e-mails and even regular mail, cell phones, in the store, waiting in line, staring at our computer screens... everything...


"Buy this product because it will do this for you, [maybe]" "Don't do this because it's bad for you and others," "Wear this because it's hot right now," "Do this because you're probably fat," "Eat this because it's cheap and tastes good," "Go here because you need a vacation," "Read this because you have to," "Listen to this because it's popular," "Get this because you need it," "Take these because they'll make you feel better," "Put this on because it'll make you look better," "Buy this because everyone else is," etc...

Gosh. Leave me alone.


Where did the trees go? The flowers? The plants? The animals? The sky?


Nature is being taken over by civilization, population, commercialization, participation, evaporation...

Granted, advertising is just the way it is now a days. It's everywhere. Even where we least expect it, or thought it would never go. There's so much money in it. Even with blogs -- everyone who has a blog [including myself] is able to put ads on their blogs, and make money off the clicks they receive on those ads. 


(Be sure to click the ads on my blog by the way, so that I can make some much needed money.) [See, even I'm going to advertise to you now.] 


I agree that spreading the word is essential, and businesses make money by having other businesses advertise with them, and vice versa. Networking. Social networking. It's all a vicious, seemingly unavoidable cycle. Deal with it, or go somewhere far, far away from human civilization, electricity and modern life. 


Okay.

So, here I am, and here you are, being bombarded by images, concepts, products, words, ideas, influences, etc... that all effect us in some shape or form. We internalize them all, even if we forget about them. They all get stuck in our memories... somewhere. Brands, logos, designs, products, photos, images, people, characters, titles, and what not -- they all just want to be imprinted on your brain, shoved into your head, so that you'll remember them, trust them, buy them, and blend in with everyone and everything else, so everyone can have money, make money, spend money, and be money. 


MONEY.

The big eyeball on the "What's Going On Inside [Under the Surface]" piece is actually a photo of my eyeball, that I took myself, put into Adobe Lightroom/ Photoshop and converted to black & white -- bumping up the contrast, and limiting the detail -- printed onto acetate -- originally for my mixed media screen print series "Nature + Media" and "Nature + Culture" -- which I made for a final serigraphy class project in my last semester of college at San Jose State University. 


I cut the eyeball out of the original screen print design, and slapped it over some white paper, onto the mixed media canvas piece -- "What's Going On Inside [Under the Surface]" -- making it even more personalized. The eye is obviously somewhat larger than the scale of the rest of the collage -- to mainly accentuate the idea that our eyes are wide open all the time, taking all of this outside, external, influential material and then interpreting it, consciously and unconsciously, inside of ourselves. 


This is what's going on inside of me every single day. These are the products I consume, even if I don't really consume them in physical reality. These are the products that we're seeing advertised today. These are the magazines that are out now and the images that so many people look at. These are the shows that people are watching. These are the discoveries being made, the technologies being advanced, the foods being eaten, the political figures in charge, the animals in existence, the drugs being taken, the machines being used...

We live in a time where we, as humans, individually, but especially in masses, can control more that ever before: our laws, our employment, our bodies, our health, our knowledge, our relationships, our consumption, our travels, our networks, our abilities... We can buy drugs to control how we look, feel, think, and act. We can go places that used to take forever to get to, if get to at all. We can buy and eat foods that would normally be difficult to grow, kill or produce ourselves. We can talk to our friends and family members on our cell phones, on our computers, on video chats, on televisions, anywhere in the world. We can look up information in the click of a button. We can go to school online. We can essentially teleport, telecommute, televise, telephone, tele-everything. Tele, tele. 


We're in the digital ages. 


We're in the technological times. 


We're in the future that we dreamed, imagined, and now, created for ourselves.


This is the world we live in today. 


This is reality.

Hence, these ideas that I'm always trying to express, interpret, and understand, all flow back to one of my older mixed media pieces, "Everything Interconnects..."


Everything really does interconnect:  Nature. Media. Culture. Politics. Animals. Plants. Music. Rocks. Crystals. Products. Pollution. People. Places. Feelings. Dreams. Spirituality. Outer space. It all interconnects. We all share wavelengths. We all blend into one another. Maybe we think we're separate, but we're all made of the same essential things. The same atoms. Molecules. Chemicals. Dust. Matter. 


What is matter?

I try to express these thoughts, ideas, and realities in all of my artwork. Sometimes it comes out looking and translating better than others. Sometimes it makes more sense. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it's beautiful. Sometimes it's ugly. 


Regardless, these ideas, these concepts, these feelings, these understandings, these realizations, these interpretations -- they all strongly influence me, and they all influence my art work. 


My mind is boggled every single day about all of this. 


"What's Going On Inside [Under the Surface]," just seems to put it all together much better than most of my other recent works, I believe. 


Believe.

When I was finished with the mixed media masterpiece, I took digital photographs, close up, of the collage details -- creating new and unique compositions, focusing on smaller concepts, rather than the entire piece at large -- which can be easily overwhelming, distracting, and therefore not wholly paid attention to, or focused on. 


I wanted to accentuate the very strong subject matter going on within the overall mixed media piece. There's a lot going on within that head, within that collaged silhouette portrait. I really wanted to narrow some of it down. Highlight the essential details. 


Details.

Since I basically went to college to study graphic design, and digital arts -- I combined my fine art abilities with my digital photograph skills, and my computer-generated graphic design details, highlighting some of the most influential imagery within the piece, "What's Going On Inside [Under the Surface]" for my graphic design portfolio, (that needed some personalized dk love). 


Most of my graphic design portfolio is just filled with works that I've done for other people's businesses, companies, non-profits, projects, events, etc... I figured it was time I placed my own, personal touch on my graphic design portfolio. I wanted to create some designs that weren't necessarily about anything in particular, but about everything altogether. Does that even make sense?


Sense...


If I were a musician, I'd want one of the compositions from this series to be my album cover. 


Maybe I'll make an album just so I can have my own album cover design. 


Are you in a band? Want me to design your album cover? 


Well, you should. I have some killer ideas. 


Promise.

Are you even still reading?

Probably not.

Thanks if you even made it this far. I hope that this ridiculously lengthy explanation provides some sort of specific insight towards my recent, and always artwork. In case anyone ever needs me to repeat this information, or if anyone else ever needs it when I'm no longer alive, they can now find it on the internet. Next to some advertisements.


It's not just about the art itself. It's about the meaning. Love Dorey Kronick.