Here is my studio. I share it with David, who is a great and dear friend and amazing painter. We have a million lively conversations and he keeps me up-to-date on all things current. It probably looks a little depressing, but really it is a very clean and quiet spot that we bring a lot of noise to it on a daily basis. It is about 400 square feet, with a private entrance. The warehouse that it is in is huge, with about three full floors of artists. I'll try to get some photos of the entrance, which is at the end of a charming alley paved in broken glass, and a revolving display of tags (never park acar there or you may end up with some new paint). If you could jump right over the building you would come very close to the water. I love it. It is like another world. I think the neighborhood is South Park Slope(but it is way South)., but it depends on who you talk to. From the subway I walk through a very colorful and musical neighborhood (with lots of familia and currently my favorite dog at the car rim store who could eat me, but just looks at me every time I strut on by. We have a great relationship!), under a bridge, around some very permanent construction and right by a homeless guy, who I swear never really moves from under his blankets...The outside photos are through the window, where I can view the statue of liberty on a clear day. She so beautiful and green. For me it is magical because for such a huge landmark and symbol she is about the size of my pinky. The photos are terrible, but trust me, she is there, winking at me and David every day.

So here is a new drawing I have been working on. Yes, it is flowers. Since I have been seeing a lot of them lately, all over the place (especially when it is cold and stark you can't help to notice these bright gems everywhere). I wanted to start something fresh and new to me, get myself removed from being so personal about my work. I am not ashamed to say I wanted to do something completely mindess. Just keep my hands busy. But as things go, I started getting attached to these dying flowers...breathing my own life into them. I guess I couldn't leave the flowers be so beautiful, so I am sort of making them eat each other up and get mad and sad at each other. As I was working on some images, I started realizing that as they decayed, each flower in a bunch sort of gets its own personality. Some sad, some understanding and some just look like monsters. It is kind of like as they are dying and wilting, the real personality of the flower bubbles to the surface as it is gasping for one last breath. This is one drawing, photographed several times, but I am working on more. The images may not be the most decipherable, but maybe you get the idea. I tried to take some pictures, but ran out of batteries, took them upside down and I got my hand in the way a little. More to come I think...

Just read an interview with Steve McQueen, who won the Turner prize in 1999. He was asked what love feels like...he answered "for ever." Somehow that is just beautiful to me. I hate it in a good way (like you might secretly hate a fuzzy puppy for stealing all of the attention, even though you just want to hold it and play with it like all of the other people in the room) because it is so simple and just so so right. Maybe that is a working title to these three pieces (see the next two entries). He also says that his best kiss of his life was yesterday...that is churning in my head as well. Churning like thunder...(sorry to be melodramatic, but I couldn't resist). I have been trying hard to be tough for a long time, but I am such a sap and a sucker sometimes and I just can't resist that either. The other working titles have been some lyrics from some songs I have been listening too lately. I won't really repeat them here since they probably sound like shit compared to the bare, poetic, beautiful words I already mentioned here. But I have to remind myself now to lay off the hip-hop a bit and to start listening to some Christmround...
as music here and there. Also "pulling my face off" is another title I have been churning a

yeah! This is part of a triptych. Gross and fleshy and squishy...not sure if it is too much, but it is how I am feeling lately...