SAN FRANCISCO BAY BLUES

Here is a little late-night "ditty" for ya off my Sony Ericsson phone... after an all-night jam session with my buddy Wayne Jiang following his exhibition at the Sanchez Art Center in Pacifica California. It was a fun night. Enjoy!



Video: ©Copyright Trey Gallaher

PLEIN-AIR DRAWINGS

One of the things I love doing on weekends and vacations is grabbing my pastels or paints and heading out on a hike. Two of my favorite things together, nature and drawing. It's a radically different experience working in the "field" than in the warm studio under the lights. Sometimes you just gotta get out and breath it! Being out in the "elements" while working can be both a nightmare and a complete full-fillment of the senses. Frustrating at times when the wind blows your pastels all over the muddy ground or that feeling of moisture creeping through your jeans when you've realized you've sat in "something"... or coming home two hours later to a burnt forehead and dehydration. Lesson here is, like a boyscout, be prepared with more than just your art supplies.

But it can also be those beautiful mornings on the California coast, soaking in all those beautiful colors that are absolutely glowing! Capturing just a taste of the beauty that nature has to offer ranks up there with some of the finest of human experiences. Your senses are your guide, you are listening as you draw to the birds chirping, the couples walking by, or the gentle breeze through the trees. The smell of dew or moist salty ocean air can wake you right up quicker than the first sip of morning coffee! It's all working together, your eyes, your ears, your nose, your mind and your putting it down in real-time.

The time honored tradition of plein-air painting, refers to a manner or style of painting developed chiefly in France in the mid-19th century, characterized by the representation of the luminous effects of natural light and atmosphere. Strictly speaking plein-air paintings are executed out of doors and represent a direct response to the scene or subject in front of the artist. The impressionists like Monet and Cezzane were masters of observation from nature. I enjoy painting outdoors and in one complete sitting from beginning to end (usually about two hours). While the work is slightly less labored and looser, it usually captures a fresh and vibrant appeal unique from my other studio-based work.

Here is a little of how it works...

STEP 1: Getting set-up and looking at the world in front of you. Soak in nature's work first! Whoaaa watch the dog shit right there to your left... (What the hell people, pick up after your damn dogs!)
















STEP 2: Begin to lay in the drawing. Basic forms, lights and darks... oh and watch that perspective people! Where is that horizon line? Remember, there is only one.
















STEP 3: Start working in the colors, lights and shadows and all degrees of tonality in-between. This part takes the longest but truthfully is the most fun part. It's like mediation, you are concentrating and relaxing at the same time in response to the environment around you. You are living in it, co-existing with it. You are one with nature, the sights, the sounds, the vibrating colors... the hours pass...
















Get out there and try it people! You don't have to go very far to find that beauty. It's a great way to enjoy the weekend and learn a little something too. Don't be too hard on yourselves, it's about the feeling and experience and the results will get better with time. You'll take in nature in a whole new way, with an awareness of more than you might get from a casual hike or walk. Stop, listen, look, enjoy and even take home a souvenir from your experience. I promise you, you will remember your adventure more clearly.

Here are a few other excursions out.

The Redwoods Park in the East Bay.




















Cannery Row, Monterey.
















For more of my Plein-Air Drawings check out my website
click on Drawings --> HERE

Imagery: ©Copyright Trey Gallaher

RIGHT THROUGH THE HEART

Photo: ©Copyright Trey Gallaher

SEVEN DEADLY SINS

Recently completed this promotional poster for a school wide animation competition we are hosting for our animation students. A great topic that I was glad to get the chance to illustrate! Juicy subjects like this are an illustrator's dream!

Images: ©Copyright Trey Gallaher

HUMMINGBIRD

So if you follow this blog you might remember several months back my family and I laid to rest our eldest and most kindered spirit my grandmother Alice Gallaher. Her sweet face and impression has continued to linger gently reminding me that the time we have in this life is precious, to relish it and not take it or time for granted. Do what you have to today, be smart, but don't waste time in doing what is right.

I wanted to do a painting for my family to commemorate her long life in full rich color. I had done a drawing of her in black and white ten years earlier while she was still alive, but this one had to be in juicy, brilliant and celebratory color. A while back I had started painting in oils for my personal paintings and gallery work and have found them to be quite a learning experience, testing my last bit of patience while pushing my knowledge of the medium and painting that much further with stunningly rich results and depth. As an illustrator I have primarily worked in acrylics and water-based mediums for their versatility, interchangeability, cleanliness and faster drying nature that allows one to do amazing things with these modern mediums and with a faster turn around time (the name of the game if you are in business).

I have never been one to celebrate medium over the importance of content, but there is nothing like facing tradition straight in the eye and realizing that as much as you may have learned in your time and place, there is so much more to learn and appreciate that came before you, from great masters that have accomplished things long ago and with far less technology at their disposal. I realize the journey has only begun... yet again. Painting has taught me this about life too and so has my grandmother. Life is a journey, with many wonderful things to learn and learn again. All you have to do is open yourself up to it, take a deep breath, and soar.

"Remember to remember me, standing still in your past, floating there like a hummingbird" - Jeffrey Scot Tweedy, Wilco


Images: ©Copyright Trey Gallaher

SKATE THIS ART

Well it was a packed house on Market Street last Friday night! The Market Street Gallery to be exact and everyone was in attendance to see a cool assortment of skate deck art that ranged from the out of this world to... "Is that Gene Simmons's tongue on that board?".


The Chronicle was there, the MOMA was there, and most of all the love was there for the Roaddawgz Homeless Youth Drop-In Center!

The silent auction started around 6:45pm and all eyes were on the look out for the favorites. The work was exceptional. This being my first skateboard show, I was thoroughly impressed with the diverse directions people took with their boards.



There was everything from acrylic paint, to wood carving, to even some interesting grip tape cut outs on the top!







There was the phallic to the sculptural to the scenic, and that is what truly made it interesting, variety!





This was definitely a great, fun, rewarding show that I look forward to next year already. The exhibit runs through May 31 so swing by and check out the show while it's up. You wont be dissapointed.










SKATE THIS ART HERE --> HERE

Images: ©Copyright Trey Gallaher

SKATING AWAY

A little history lesson here... I was a big skater as a kid back in the day. It was sometime around 1982 that I got my first skateboard. What a piece of crap it was... A "Kamakazi" was what it was called... The choice in those days of the Toys R' Us mass-produced variety was that.. or a Ventura skateboard (Michael J. Fox had one in Back to the Future Part I)... and well, in my book who could deny the Japanese style Rising Sun design that was on the bottom of the deck complete with copers, ribs and a skid plate...

A few years later (and a whole lot more practice) I would ride a Santa Cruz Bullet... my first serious skate... a classic ramp style board complete with OJ2's and German Speed bearings... I skated the shit out of that board... I would eventually skate a Lance Mountain and many other thrasher decks through a skate shop in Fair Oaks California called the WHEEL ZONE... My brother (a better skater) was sponsored by Blockhead and was a fearless street-style skater. We were both complete with long bangs and ridges cut into our hair, and the Circle Jerks played on our blasters. We stood in awe of the likes of a young Tony Hawk, Mark Gonzales(Gonzo), Rob Roskopp, Christian Hosoi, and Lance Mountain among many others. Check this out.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZIIhgLhB0k. Here is another one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p8fXhWBMlU&feature=related. The tricks were sad by today's standards. I gotta give props to the kids who have continued to push the tricks into gawd-knows what sickening combinations I've seen on You Tube!

Cut to twenty-seven years later and I was presented with the challenge to paint my own deck design on two different boards as an art-fundraiser for the Roaddawgz Homeless Youth Drop-In Center here in San Francisco. The reception is THIS Friday night May 8th at 1554 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94102. The show opens Monday the 4th and runs thru the 31st.

Check out http://www.skatethisart.com/ for more details, and be sure to come by Friday night 6-9pm and check out all the fresh decks that are on display and up for auction. In the meantime enjoy these process picks of my own. Started with a sketch and worked up my finished decks in acrylics. I designed them go together as a theme but they could be displayed separately too. They are called "Heaven and Earth (Ascending and Descending)"


The finished pieces (not shown here) are both on display and up for sale at the show, so swing by and check them out. Hope to see you there on Friday! Skate or Die!














SKATE THIS ART website --> HERE

Images: ©Copyright Trey Gallaher

SURREAL DIGI-BAND

It is very surreal to see your own look-alike avatar on-screen playing an instrument in a band that doesn't really exist. Gotta love it! Had fun with some of my kid-friends creating our own band and jammin' for hours!!!

We look like a cross between a retro Nirvana grunge band and a fifties Jersey-du-opp-band! Weird but fun...!!! Wiiiiiiiiii... Look Mom boxing gloves for hands!

PORTRAIT DEMOS

At school I am often doing demos showing technique, medium, drawings etc. I often grab models or students to get a drawing down before I start throwing the paint around. Here are few to give you an idea...
"Eva" (above)
acrylic and pencil
-in-class exercise.
"Julie" (right)
watercolor pencil
-one of my most favorite sketching mediums, great for on the fly or when you can't stay long enough to paint it out... just add water later!!




"Andrew"
acrylic and gesso over ink and pencil
-messy is best, let it ride, go with it!!







"Elizabeth"
gouache over gesso and pencil
-it's all about the light.








"Diane"
acrylics
-quick drawing directly with the paint.








Images: ©Copyright Trey Gallaher

DOS SOMBREROS

Couple of juicy charcoal life-drawings. Christopher our model wore this SWEET Mexican sombrero at life-drawing a couple of weeks back. So I decked him out drunkard style! These were twenty minute drawings done on 18x24in. Canson paper using the heaviest, darkest Char-Kole (the brand)I could find. Great fun!




Images: ©Copyright Trey Gallaher