Barack Obama Art

Here are links I received through "Google Alerts". It allows me to know when my work appears and/or is linked in a website.

Sarah Baker: Week Fifty Two
Hope and Barack Obama

Lyn Bishop : Sharing Secrets / On art, culture and collaboration
A sampling of Election Year Art

The End of the Dinosaurs

Today, six hours of (almost) uninterrupted work, starting at 7:30am. Worked mostly in the garage, listening to KPBS. Finally found something with the colors. Worked on two portraits, one of Harper, one of Milo. Projected some images on the paintings in the corridor, it's dark enough when I close the doors.

The phone rang at noon, it was my mom. She is coming from France for the opening of "Contemporaries II" at Noel-Baza Fine Art. She is pretty excited about it. I am happy she will be here.

When I left the house I found a package on the porch. A treasure box arrived from France. A late Christmas present. Books and chocolate. What could be better than that?

We went to the library, checked out a pile of books, mostly comics - Batman and Spider-man.

Read stories to the kids. They are fascinated about how the dinosaurs disappeared from Earth. The huge meteorite. "How big was it?". The diameter is estimated between 4 and 6 miles. "Could it happen today?".

We started to make together valentine's cards for their classes. Being with them, watching them drawing, cutting, gluing... The dinosaurs are forgotten for now. I am thinking about my images. Always.

Making things fly

Here and Now

A coffee on the deck in the chilly morning, looking at the canyon.

I listen to the radio while I am working. A lot. Too much? They talk about the world, the wars, the soldiers who come back, the fallout, the crisis, the foreclosures, the banks (where is the money?), the border.

A few days ago, at night, we heard the coyotes in the canyon again.

The kids are difficult sometimes. Don't feel like to do anything about it. But I have to. Exhausting.

Thinking about what I will fix for dinner. Have to do the laundry. Have to help the kids to do their homework. Is there any paper to sign for school? Checking the calendar.

I have the strong feeling that I have all the time in the world.

Joy and nostalgia of being reconnected with old friends, from the time I was in high school in Senegal. I am receiving pictures. We were so young. I am always surprised when someone tells me something he/she remembers vividly. My memories are not so good.

I am working on new paintings. I struggle, looking for I don't know what exactly. Or looking for nothing. These days I spend hours layering colors and layering more. Exploring. Taking pictures, taking a lot of pictures, as usual. I am stressed by the upcoming show at Noel-Baza Fine Art. I should not.

I asked Kevin to come to the house to see the paintings before to see Tom and Larry, the owners of the gallery. There were paintings everywhere. He helped me to make some choices for the show. I guess I talked too much.

Tom and Larry came to my house to make the selection for "Contemporaries II". Finally, they said I could take any of the paintings for the show. They said they like the work a lot. Then they proposed to me to come to the gallery and to try combinations of paintings on the wall. Interesting. I had only a couple of hours. I had to go get the kids at school. And I had to stop at the house first on my way back to unload the car and to put the seats back. I was a few minutes late at school.

Lots of fields trips with the kids' classes these days. Yesterday we went to the Fleet Science Center, to see "Amazing Journeys", a movie about migrations. Grey whales and Monarchs, zebras and geese... We, humans, are stealing their space more and more. But they do it anyway. Unbelievable force of the DNA. Being at the IMAX is like diving into the screen. I was gone for a while.

The kids were talking though.

I lost my sunglasses.

Thinking about my family, I do not miss France much. Why?

I finished the proposal for the solo show at the San Diego Art Institute. Will they accept that I want to paint on the wall? I figure they need to see an image. May be they will accept the project. They did not ask for anything.

I also want to write a proposal for the show at Art Produce. I Cannot believe I will have a solo show there.

A long walk on Pacific Beach, looking at the people jogging on the beach. I love the silhouettes against the sun on the white sand. Took some pictures. Tried my new camera. Thought about Kyle. Wanted to see him. Thought about the new paintings I am working on. Is my work interesting in any way?

I read that a big trend in art these days is small and recycled (I don't like trends but it was an interesting article about what is going on in New York) . Well, I do large and not recycled at all! Should think more about that. Maybe.

Could not go to Becky Cohen's talk at Noel-Baza last Sunday. Kyle was attending a conference. Did not want to take the kids to the gallery. I took them to the tide pools in Point Loma instead. Jean and Julia came along and it was nice to spend some time with them. It was quiet, except that Milo was not listening to me.

Shimmering ocean. Looking carefully for animals trapped in the tide pools.
Hermit crabs everywhere.

Kyle reads books for us in the evening while I paint in the garage or in the kitchen. Listening to his voice. Drinking some wine.

I live here and I am American now. I Don't feel like it. I don't feel like being from anywhere. French when I was in France, Senegalese when I was living in Senegal. And now I don't know. Just being me. Hopefully.

Red lights notes

Martin Luther King weekend in Anza Borrego Desert State Park

The nice thing with the Anza Borrego Desert State Park is that it takes less than two hours to get there from San Diego. It is the largest state park in California and it is possible to camp anywhere. There are countless dirt roads to access very nice places. This time we went to Little Blair Valley.

We took the water we needed for almost three days and we headed there for a long and quiet week-end. At night, no light in sight, no one but us. The moon was coming late so it was pitch black most of the evening... The coyotes were not far and the sky was full of stars. The first night we wanted to see them from inside the tent so we did not put the "roof" on top of the tent. It was beautiful to watch while we were laying down but in the middle of the night the cold air woke us up. It was not far from freezing.

We hiked from the campsite, exploring the area with the kids. It is a harsh environment we love to visit in the winter.

I've got the "desert virus" when I went to the Saharan Desert with my family for the first time, I was 11 years old.

January 20, 2009: Obama is President of the United States

I listened to the inauguration in Washington on the radio today. Sober and somber tone of Obama's speech. The task ahead is indeed daunting. I am not waiting for a miracle and I do not have many expectations. We'll see.
But I am happy, and I am happy for my kids that they live in the United States now, in an era where the president of this country is an African-American. This symbol reassures me that, in the midst of chaos, we have - somehow - the ability to progress !

"Go get them all!"

"Go get them all!"




detail of the inside


detail of the front

"Go get them all!" is the name of the custom bag made for me by Rebelle! I love it! Made of plenty of different fabrics printed with super heroes and also hand painted, the bag is really funny and so unique! There is a special pocket for an Ipod, a collectible toy is hanging on the front, and the band is made with a bright yellow karate belt.
I asked Rebelle to give me some business cards and I already gave them all to people asking me where I bought my bag!

Rebelle Boutique sur Etsy

I am getting better at chess

I like to play with Alexander London every Monday at my kids' school. And I like to be with the kids, they are so into it, it is funny to watch!
Now it takes approximately one hour before I hear: "Check Mat"!

Monday, as I could not find any move to improve the situation of my pieces on the board, Alexander London told me: "You know Michele, sometimes there are no good solutions for complicated problems."

Carpe Diem

The canyon in the morning


The canyon in the evening







These days it feels like spring in San Diego, (no fires so far fortunately, but maybe a serious shortage of water for the region soon). The house's doors are open, I paint on the deck. The Bees are everywhere on the blossoming succulents, the small white flowers look like snow. The birds talk like crazy all over the canyon. Still no sight of the coyotes, I am hopeful they will reappear someday.
I love the house. We do not own it and I don't care. It is an amazing place.
I enjoy the peace, I enjoy each day. I have the chance to do what I love to do: working on my images.
I know it could stop anytime* (I do not think about it often but that's the way it is), so yes, each day is a gift, no question about it.
And I take advantage of it.

*See the beautiful movie "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" by Julian Schnabel