Archive for the ‘Events’ Category
Painting Workshop – Thailand
In case you weren’t aware – I will be teaching a painting workshop on the island of Koh Phangan, Thailand from July 8 – 14. We’ll be working with various acrylic glazing techniques, light and shadow, and drawing out an internal visual language. We will also have daily yoga and meditation – led by Violet Divine (my wife!) and Rafael Aisner.
More info can be found here:
MAPS Conference/Art Show in Oakland This Weekend
I’ll be in Oakland this weekend at the MAPS 25th Anniversary Event at the Oakland Marriott. MAPS is a pioneer in the field of psychedelic research. Most notably they are spearheading research into PTSD and MDMA, psilocybin and LSD and their treatment of anxiety and depression, and much much more. This weekend there are presentations, workshops, an art exhibit (of which I’m a part along side such luminaries as Martina Hoffmann, the late Robert Venosa, Alex Grey, and many many more), an all night party and much more. I’ll be displaying half a dozen original paintings and also live painting both Friday and Saturday nights.
For more info and tickets: http://www.maps.org/conference/25/
Join me for a Painting Workshop in LA – Dec. 2011
I’m excited to have the opportunity to be teaching a workshop with my friend and fellow artist Amanda Sage from Dec. 14 – 18 at Temple of Visions Gallery, Los Angeles. We will be exploring light and shadow, painting techniques, and various methods of drawing forth each artists unique visual language. The workshop is $525 for five days of instruction, presentations, and one-on-one learning. The classes will be taught using acrylics.
For more information and to sign up:
http://tenthousandvisions.com/workshop
I hope you can make it! It’s sure to be a wonderful experience for all!
Exhibition at Temple of Visions Gallery, Los Angeles
For more information, visit the Temple of Visions Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=304597666221807
From the Facebook Invite
TEMPLE OF VISIONS GALLERY
719 S. Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90014Please join us on November 5, 2011 for this exciting opening exhibition, featuring the art of visionary Michael Divine. The entire gallery space will be devoted to a vast array of works, from masterpieces to many lesser-known and previously un-exhibited pieces.
The main gallery will feature work such as The Glass Onion, Illumination, and Limits, framed by master of the craft Matt Elson. The back gallery spaces will be loaded with never before seen pieces, including studies, sketches, and experimental artworks. The pieces in this show have been produced over the course of the past 15 years.
This wide spectrum of work illuminates the artistic process and grants viewers a look inside the mind of this prolific artist. Works illustrating the varying processes involved in making an art piece, from the deep inner urge to create to the careful plotting ideas and concepts, are presented. We are thrilled to share this opportunity for a deep personal look into this exemplary artist.
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View Michael’s work here: http://www.tenthousandvisions.com/
——————————————————MUSIC
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BRIAN SEED (Moontribe)
GABRIELLE (Terrakroma)
MICHAEL BE——————————————————
+ WINE + FOOD + DRINK +
——————————————————$5 @ the door (Support the arts and music!)
New “Live Paintings” Gallery
There was a time, a number of years ago, that the thought of getting up on a stage or, in any case, standing at an easel and painting while any number of people watched was a positively frightening and somewhat bizarre idea for me. Painting, for me, can be an intimate and very personal process; I couldn’t imagine having any number of eyes in me while in the midst of that creative flow.
Then of course there are a few other considerations as well. Much of my work is extremely detailed and I couldn’t imagine that it’d be much fun to watch me paint with my insanely tiny brushes. And then what if I messed up? Then what? And, of course, there’s the fact that I really enjoy parties and dancing and such and, after all, I spend a lot of my time at home listening to music and painting – why would I want to go somewhere that I could hang out with friends and dance and have a good time but instead turn my back on everything and do what I’m doing for hours on end at home and by myself anyways?
Thankfully, I’ve been able to answer these questions. For one, in regards to the careful and rather slow detail orientation of much of my wok, I’ve concentrated on spontaneity and movement while live painting – broad movements and brushstrokes, seeking an efficient immediacy instead of concentrating on refined details. In this way, the live pieces I’ve created have an entirely different sort of life and movement that my other work doesn’t have at all. As for the concern of “messing up”… well, so what. No one knows what “messing up” is and, in the end, it’s all just part of the process. If I go into it with a focused mind and heart then there is no “messing up”. And, finally, my desire to hang out and enjoy myself vs. painting at an event: I pick and choose my live painting experiences wisely, I hope. I don’t paint at very many events even now because quite often I really would rather be enjoying the company of friends, dancing, having a drink, enjoying wherever I am. However, there are times when I am really excited to paint – the crowd, the music, the entire thing is a great joyous occasion and I get to ride that flow.
Then of course one one of my most favorite things of all is the personal interactions with people who get to see a piece take shape, fill out, and hit it’s mark all within the span of a few hours, or a day, or two. It’s a fun process, this live painting dance, and I’ve really enjoyed meeting a lot of inspiring people through these occasions. It’s given me a chance to understand what I do through the eyes of others or be inspired by random exchanges that certainly don’t happen at home in my own studio.
Please enjoy this gallery of a selection of live paintings done over the past year or two:
Burning Man 2011
Burning Man: always a lot of work, a lot of fun, and a lot of love. I had a wonderful time with some wonderful friends. Lovely sunrises and much beauty abounding… I had a lightbox of The Glass Onion in a small temple out on the playa. The lightbox and altar will soon have a new home at Temple of Visions, downtown LA. I also was stoked to be a part of the Fractal Nation Village with my art displayed amongst a talented roster of individuals including Robert Venosa, Luke Brown, Amanda Sage, Carey Thompson and others. Fun and inspiring times! Now, however, I look forward to getting back to painting…
Main Stage Banners at High Sierra
This past summer, on the 4th of July weekend, I was again at High Sierra Music Festival up in Quincy, CA. It’s a beautiful area of California that reminds me a lot of Northern Vermont – rolling hills, farmlands, vast skies. It’s just that the trees are twice as tall and the environs just a bit more permissible. In any case, I returned there again this year and brought with me some big banners for the main stage. The banners were each one half of the painting Birth of a Star (Link) and were printed on speaker mesh so that they wouldn’t impede on the sound and so the wind could adequately blow through them. I was really stoked to be able to add to this really awesome festival. It’s been going on for 21 years and has such a friendly open vibe and is a ton of fun.
Some of the musical highlights included:
- The Warren Haynes Band: I saw him play years ago with Gov’t Mule. I was never much into the heavy southern rock thing of Gov’t Mule but this band: it’s smoking. With it’s nod towards funk and soul and Warren’s ripping guitar work, it was pretty quite stellar. Really: it cut right through me and was a phenomenal show.
- Los Amigos Invisibles: Last I saw these guys was somewhere in Massachusetts about 10 years ago. I first became aware of them via their Arepa 3000 album which was produced by David Byrne (an estimable and respectable figure). They’re non-stop funky wildness and were a perfect late afternoon fun time.
- Scott Law and Materialized: I think I’ve heard of these guys. In any case: psychedelic electric funky jazz rock funk stuff. Good times!
- Chris Robinson Band: I saw the Black Crowes for the first time the year before at High Sierra and they put on an incredibly soulful and heartfelt show. Chris’ band follows in that with a bit more improvisation and a lot of love. It was raw, solid, and honest.
There was a whole lot of other music in there too, some of which was truly awesome. I love music and I love to dance and find that, in those rhythms and patterns, the high and lows, I can lose myself in it and find so much inspiration that is later expressed through my artwork. In any case, I’m grateful for a chance to play up in the mountains with such stellar company.
I also want to extend my thanks and gratitude to Lisa Brown, ambiance crew coordinator, and Adam Roberts of Summit Art Licensing for helping to make this all happen. Really: truly grateful for your patience and willingness to move forwards and make it happen.
Stage backdrop, Karl Denson, Tahoe
Stage backdrop for Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe @ Montbleu Showroom, Tahoe on Tuesday, August 9, 2011, post-Phish.
I was up in Tahoe for Phish and some of the afterparties at Montbleu Showroom where Karl Denson, Lotus, and others were performing. It was a super fun time. I also had a small gallery set up outside of the theater in the Montbleu casino that was run by Creative Minds and Visions, a clothing company that I am working with. We are working on a variety of styles including full print sublimation tees. They’ll be available in a wider variety and wider distribution very very soon.
The Glass Onion Burning Man Project
Greetings! We are creating a small temple to be placed out on the deep playa at Burning Man this year. The temple will feature a lightbox of the painting The Glass Onion. There will be a small altar, seating, and a simple yet ornate structure. All of this costs money however and we are seeking donations of any size to help create this and bring it to the playa. The estimated budget for the project is $1100 which includes the cost of the lightbox, wood and other materials, transport, etc.
We are looking for donations to help bring this project to the playa. To donate, please use the button below:
Moontribe
The recent full moon found me out in the desert with a family of friends I’ve been dancing with for the past 10 years. Years ago, in my early 20′s, I was out in California for the second time ever. I met a girl on the Venice Beach who suggested I come check out a weekly event at a club in Santa Monica: $2 Tuesdays (it’s still 2 bucks but held elsewhere). So I went and, from there, found myself on my way out to the desert for a Full Moon Gathering. Years later, through ups and downs, travels and life, people and places and things, I still find myself having as much fun as ever (if not more because I’m older, wiser, smarter, lighter….) under the same moon at the same time of the year with many of the same friends dancing to the crazy funky tribal techno everything all at once. Through it all this tight knit family has become such a lovely mirror of friends who dance and live and cry and love with one another. There are potlucks and baby showers and weddings and wakes and dinner parties and dance parties and cake parties. Honesty and heartache and laughter and ecstatic oneness. The earth keeps revolving around the sun and the moon keeps revolving around the earth and we keep showing up to do that sacred funky holy crazy lovely wild dance thing that we do, celebrating life.
That said and as an introduction to Moontribe for those of you who might not have heard of it, this past full moon found us once again… out in it. Surrounded by sloping mountains capped with snow, a winding river, a vastness, an epic sunrise. For this community of friends, loved ones, and people I’ve not met yet, I designed a dj booth/altar and built it with the help of some smart and gung-ho friends. Here are some pictures…
(By the way: this was Moontribe’s 18-year anniversary. That’s 18 year of not for profit non-promoted electronic music gatherings in Southern California. “not for profit” means that no one gets paid and we are all in it for the love. The DJs, the artists, the organizers… It really is all about the love.)
Live in Love.
