Find me on Instagram

Hello blog followers,


I've actually been uploading my latest artwork to Instagram. Find me with my username rolfebautista. It's easier for me to share work and easier way to view my new creations.


In other news the daily drawings can not be considered as journal entries since they're less than daily frequency. The journal entries will also focus around certain themes in sets of hundreds. Stay tuned for more news!


Thanks for the support,
Rolfe

Dreams of today

I believe this is the first time sharing a dream of mine. The one I had last night was full of fascinating imagery. Our fair city was a gigantic metropolis. It was a mechanized marvel, a living organism of steel and concrete. What struck me the most was the immensity of this world which I had conjured up. Everything seemed like a vital organ in a giant creature. Off in the distance I would see cables falling from their position which seemed as if they traveled to earth in slow motion even though they were simply falling a great distance at the regular speed. It is like watching a sheath of ice breaking off a glacier and falling into the ocean. Time seems to slow down but nothing could be farther from the truth. I am quite inspired by this dream. I would definitely say that it is a dystopian view of what is today but where could such imagery come from. Certainly not this sunny paradise I call home...

Return of the Wayward Son

I have been a self imposed exile from art for over a year now. This silliness must end and it shall soon. First of I should explain the reason for my exile. Long ago when I was a bright eyed young lad in art school I was deluded by the fact that my art would someday save the world. That as an artist I was serving a higher purpose by creating "art". Megalomania of this level is something of a pandemic that spreads to every student of art. As the years went by  my marble statue of idealistic theorems was worn down to an unrecognizable lump of rock.

When I graduated I found myself lost in the world. Everything that I created seemed to be devoid of passion, meaning, and value. I continued on with my gallery and studio work because I thought that by doing so I would someday find my way in the world as an artist.

I never did find my way. The work stagnated in my eyes despite the reassurances of others. I have always garnered many compliments on my work but now these praises seemed as hollow as my former beliefs in art. When the gallery closed down I stopped making art for a long time and I did not feel the need to create. Even the daily drawings ceased for a brief period of time. I was a shadow of who I once was, an insect shell left behind after molting.

All of this was because I realized that the art world was simply a machine where in order for artists to survive they must create these commodity items bought by a very small audience of people. I felt obliged to create things that would sell. Is this so different from someone performing on command to please a passer by? This all seemed like the opposite of what I once strove for. So I walked away and the world did not miss my work, only more assurance that my art was not something that would of any importance.

Tonight has sparked change in me. I took part in the gallery walk, something I had not participated in for many months. There are no alternative galleries left in old town. What people were viewing was the same thing from gallery to gallery. Bland and generic art. The kind made devoid of passion.

This made me think that I do have something to say that is certainly different from the local vernacular. I also have something to contribute to the greater discussions in art. It seems that each artist must participate in the discussion for it is their duty to do so. A duty to further the progress of art. As an artist I know that my art can't save the world but it can add to it. Perhaps it will inspire someone to change in some way. These days being free of a gallery and the need to sell art to support myself I am able to create work the way I want to and talk of things important to myself. I am not bound to fulfill any destiny of greatness. In obscurity there is freedom. I am returning to the art world, even if it does not welcome me with open arms.

Dance as Meditation on a Fine Saturday Afternoon

Today I unknowingly participated in a form of dance that most would not consider to be ritualistic. The effects though were as if I had come out of a state of meditation for hours. This dance was the Lindy Hop and as the day withered away so did my ability to dance. But the dance is only the method in which I was able to achieve my state of clarity.

I became extremely fatigued mentally during the final minutes of the dance despite my body being full of energy. The dance occurred below ground in the basement of a hundred year old building with no natural light penetrating the interior. As I emerged it seems that there was a certain clarity in the air. A clarity that if one were walking in a fog which suddenly is lifted with the dawning of the sun. It is a strange feeling but only strange in a sense that it was as if I were walking through a foggy field for months then being confronted with the sun in my very next step. The weather was very pleasant which added to the beauty of the world surrounding me. I was in awe of everything around me that I pass everyday.

One thing I pondered in my clear state of mind was the fact that I have been running from my calling for over a year. That calling which is creating art is the one thing that gave me purpose in life and a place in the world. It is how I was able to understand everything around me and share my voice with others. Suddenly I ran away from it. Trying to convince myself that I was not an artist and in this last year it has  had a profound effect on myself and the people around me.

When a piece of a person is missing one tries to compensate in ways that are unnatural and detrimental ones well being. To the ones closest to me I felt that they blamed themselves for my disposition. To them I became a different person but in such a gradual sense that the new me seemed like the real me. The mirror showed me a foreign entity trying to be something it was not. But this entry is not a pity party about my misdeeds during my fall from grace. Rather it is a proclamation that I have been running from what I should truly be doing in life and filling in the void with things that are toxic to my being.

On my journey home I came across two men whom I have known in the past but had not seen for almost ten years. Both of them queried about my artwork and my gallery. Both of which were at my past currently. The art is the one thing people remember about me and yet it is the one thing I had let go. One thing I had let slip away gradually.

Today I decide to stop running away. My feet are firmly planted in the ground and I am determined to go back to creating art. I will journey to find that piece of me once more. I do have many art supplies and adhesives to mend myself together once more. To my beloved and my family I sincerely apologize for stranger I have been this past year. To all the people there who have appreciated my work I will focus anew on art and my life. To those who have patiently made it this far on my blog I commend you for you patience and focus.

One more thing is that I believe the creation of art for me is both a necessity and a duty. By running from both I have harmed both body and soul. Today I will begin my journey to the new person that I was meant to be with a daily drawing.

hmm...

A good concept requires masterful execution in order for a work to surpass the state of mediocrity.

Creation of Art

I used to think that I created art so that I would have something important to share with people. That what I created would somehow change the world by changing the perception of people. Now I realize that this is naive idealism. These days the creation of art has simply been a way in which I exorcise my thoughts so that I may examine them. Art is  a learning tool where I can better understand the world around me. That is simply why I create art. It is my perception that I seek to enhance. To be honest my art is self serving, nothing more.

An Observer

I have always been a good observer of situations and never a good participant. Maybe this is why I have chosen art as my profession. Ever since I could remember it seems there seems to be a pane of glass between me and the rest of the world. I could see all of the splendor in front of me and yet I cannot step out and be a part of it.
Perhaps expressing myself through art is a way for me to live out what I have observed. It is a way for me to explore these situations from behind the pane of glass. Right now I am not sure if I should try and break down that barrier or to simply keep painting on...

Please Vote for my art and help me get to New York

Vote for me Rolfe Bautista and help me get into the finals at new york. I really need the people to see the work in person so that they can truly experience my art :)

Just click on this link and vote before the 10th of March.
http://www.artforprogress.org/clash2010/contest_PARTICIPANTSPAGE.php

Akira Kurosawas Dreams

I love this movie and this is my favorite segment for some very ovious reasons. It is so beautiful and if you can figure out the person who plays Van Gogh I will give -you a free daily drawing ;-)

Wunderbar

All I have to say that it is great to be back making art!!! Thank you all for supporting the artwork. I have big things coming up. It is also time that I started giving back to the community...

Free Verse

A new technique in street art has just presented itself to me. I read about something called free verse on Wooster Collective. Free Verse is when participants take lines of poetry and tag that and take a picture that shows how the verse harmonizes with the enviornment in which it is in. It is a very creative idea that lends itself well to poets and photographers alike.

Drawing from Nature

I have thought about the metaphors that i use to represent ideas and emotions that can't be explained with simple woreds. What I have come to realize is that most of the time i draw my metaphors from the natural world rather than the world created by the hand of man. This is interesting to me because all of my life I have livedin urban areas completely surrounded by everything man made. I would be unable to survive without the comforts that the modern world provides. It would seem natural if I drew comparisons from objects that I see Daily like the warm glow of a street light or the luminesence of the television. Instead I use flowers and animals and phenomina in nature to help express myself. This shows that I am connected with nature no matter how far away i am from it. Wether I distance myself from the natural world by choice or not I still feel a certain connection to my roots. Despite my lack of contact with nature i feel a stronger connection with it than concrete and steel. This connection with nature while living in a city leaves me in an odd middle ground with one foot on either side. Perhaps what this means is that there is harmony to be found between the natural world and the man made one. Or that the man made world must find harmony with the natural one. Maybe I am the flower that grows from the crack in the concrete.

This American Rolfe

I love to watch documentaries because they open your eyes to things that you have never seen before. Tonight I just watched This American Life and i found it inspiring. The documentary is full of insight into everyday people. It has inspired me to go out there and make an effort to find out more about people. There were things discussed that have inspired many new artworks from me. The segment about the pig farming has stired up a cauldron of ideas. I shall sit back and reflect and soon i shall have new artwork that has come from this.

Art for the People

Many people have asked me why my work is priced so low. They have told me that they would be willing to pay much more for a piece of work. Well I believe that everyone should be able to afford a piece of art. Art should not be a luxury available only to the wealthy. It is important that anyone can have access to the work that truly means something to them. I have priced my paintings to cover the time and materials i have spent on them as well as to pay for the studio in which I work in. Everything that I make goes into creating more art. It is a wonderful never ending cycle. In the end I would give my artwork for free if money were not a constraint that binds me. Untill then I pledge to make my work available to as many people as possible.

Bean Cycle Show update

I visited the Beancycle the other day to check up on some of my work. I was pleasantly suprised to see that quite a few paintings had bids on them already. There were still lots of paintings without bids and all the bid prices were close to the starting bid. There is still lots of time to place a bid for some arwork.

Thank You Thank You Thank You

a very big thank you goes out to everyone who stopped by the studio tonight. thanks for buying some prints and some buttons. i really hope that you enjoyed the work i put out this month. it was great to hear all the comments and critisms. i enjoyed the people who grilled me on my work. i truly like answering all your questions in my work. its great to see that someone cares about your work so much to inquire with such thoughtful questions. it was a great night and i hope to see you all again. please send me some more questions and contact me. i will be happy to respond to you and create an art dialogue :D

On the Internets

Today is a day of celebration. i have finally got my hands on this internets nonsense. this is the start of my art blog for all you folks to enjoy. i just created my online store so be sure to check that out. i shall be adding much more artwork and i shall be creating many cool buttons to put up. Oh yes and if you are actually reading this then send me an email and as a reward i will send you a hand drawn sticker or button completely on the house!!!
I bid you good night sirs and ladies.