Lately I’ve been playing with icons and famous cartoons for an upcoming show. I usually do my own thing, but have noticed that “Fine Art” in Asia is usually a combination of traditional/ancient art skills with modern pop culture. Paintings of Hello Kitty, KFC, Doraemon, Astro Boy etc. are huge sellers (tens of thousands of dollars for a little hello kitty painting.) Recently I’ve seen Angry Birds and other iPhone apps making an appearance in fine art. Technically all this stuff is copyrighted; so it should be illegal. If I want to use them in a graphic design and sell them …

Finished this is less than a week for Taiwan’s Centennial International Painting competition. Luckily they extended the deadline and I was able to shoot off the entry today before packing (for an extended holiday in the states). Originally this painting had Jesus holding the Taiwan baby, being growled at by the local gods (whose turf Jesus – the white colonizing masculine authority – had breached). It works pretty well this way too. In October they’ll pick a winner (grand prize is $1000usd or an ipad!) This is kind of a boring painting for me – what do you think?

I began sketching portraits in high school, and my first dozen or so oil paintings were portraits. Although I prefer to incorporate portraits into more complicated surrealist pieces, every once and I while I just do something “normal”. Here are a few of my best; some of these are close-ups of surrealist works.    

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Art competitions are a great way to get more exposure for your art, and maybe pick up some great prizes. I’ve been telling myself for some time that I need to enter more art competitions but I don’t – mostly because I like to paint what I want without worrying about “winning” the crowd or judges. However I just saw this post for an international art competition for Taiwan’s 100th Anniversary: Get your brushes ready – Radio Taiwan International invites foreign nationals to celebrate the Republic of China’s birthday through paintings! 100 artists’ submissions will be selected by professional judges …

Just in case you’re looking for any recent activity… my exhibitions in both Tainan and Taichung have just finished. I sold quite a few pieces so they were pretty successful. Now I’m working on my book (Jesus Potter Harry Christ) and studying my PHD at National Taiwan University. Fun stuff. Tomorrow I’m going to a Fat Boy Slim Party. Here’s a pic of me working on my computer:

A nice little exhibition held in October of 2009. 102 Gallery is a trendy spot in Tainan county.

Today I forced myself to carry out my ‘paint in public’ plan. Theoretically, it’s a great idea: I go somewhere famous and local and paint in public… people crowd around and I give them all my business card. It’s a way for me to get free and easy exposure. However, when I actually arrived at the Confucius Temple in Tainan today, having skipped breakfast, carrying too much junk (easel, paints, canvas, etc), drawing a lot of attention to myself wasn’t appealing. And let’s face it – as a foreigner in Taiwan, I already draw attention to myself. Setting up my …