SF Open Studios & my 20th Anniversary Studio Celebration.

Many things in life are magical, mysterious, and unexpected. So embracing this truth has become a necessary part of my life and certainly instrumental in art making itself. When I realized my art studio has been up and running in the same location since 1994, I was mind-boggled. Twenty years? I've changed. My art has changed. San Francisco has changed. And I'm still here. In fact, my presence here is largely due to generous support from art patrons, friends, family and the community where my studio is located. Without these great people I'd be embracing an entirely different uncertainty! 

My art studio is celebrating this momentous milestone all weekend (both Saturday & Sunday) from 11am to 6-ish. Come visit and see what's up!

4754 California Street @ 10th avenue

(415)751-4232

Two prints from a series of silkscreen prints using favorite drawings from my 2014 sketchbook! 

...exploring possibilty.

In an effort to make its way out of the sketchbook and on to a bigger format this composition is at first underway as a drawing on panel. At 36"x "48" it seems to hold up. I'll try it as a larger charcoal drawing and then a big painting. Somewhere within the three methods exists the answer I'm looking for in which to proceed with the others. All answers are found in the labor. The unknown. How else will I know unless I just go? Ultimately it's not as much what creation comes from the hard work. It's what the hard work creates in the worker yes?

...on sketching.

I never sketch enough.

...easel to easel.

Working on one creation at a time only happens in the moment. Except for quick sketches, figure drawing sessions and the rare plein air painting, I've always bounced from easel to easel to drawing-board to sketchbook and back again. All projects are happening simultaneously. It's a dance that keeps the ideas vibrating. Orbiting. Flowing. Fresh. The possibilty of new perspectives. Seeing the overlooked. The time away from each artwork is vital. But so is maintaining an intimate relationship with each piece. Balance. Individuation. It's the way I've evolved in my studio. It's how I think. And pivotal in my orbiting is the sketchbook. A delicious meander into streams of consciousness. Starting with a cup of tea.

...coastal rocks continued.

Coastal rocks are the foundation of many of my sketches this year. Below are four. On my road trip to Los Angeles (for a college reunion) I found many places to linger and observe. The shoreline around Santa Barbara is where I found some familiar captivating scenes. These quick drawings act as reminders of what I felt at the time. Such as the feeling of peace while in the presence of such strength and majesty.  I'm editing out most everything, except what I find most compelling. The rocks, sea, clouds and bands of hillsides. Nothing man made, except, I am tempted to include the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train that sprints through parallel and close to the beach. It makes an undeniable impact. Like a rogue wave it comes fast then it's gone. So perhaps I'd better go back to Santa Barbara for another look.

...shrubbery.

Anonymous shrubs in conversations unheard....

...doing lines.

Walking into the stream of consciousness accompanied by pen and sketchbook.

...a surge of transitory bliss.

...the magic cave.

Sketch Exhibit Encore: Saturday March 19th.

I've decided to encore my First Annual Sketch Exhibit. It's this Saturday March 19th from 11am to 5pm. Can there be too much of a good thing? Not when people get together to talk about art and share in the positive and uplifting discourse that creativity inspires. That's how it was last Saturday: a tremendous gathering of the big hearted and open-minded. So, why not leave the artwork up for one more week?

Come one, come all...

Jay Mercado Studio -- Saturday, March 19, 11a - 5p -- 4754 California Street @ 10th Ave.

Some Not-So Recent Sketches

I think a sketch doesn't have to beautiful. It just has to be drawn. The process is the beautiful part. It's grounding and centering and observing. How many things in life truly rivet our attention? Sketching keeps me in that moment. And those moments become fresh again when I look through old sketchbooks.

Vintage Sketch