I like to play the blame game
the blame game
the blame game

I like to play the blame game
a most dangerous game it is

Bang!
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It's always nice to end things with a nice bang ain't it?

This is the first piece I completed for my UCLA application "portfolio". It's uh...not very impressive. I have no idea what caliber of work they expect from their applicants, and I haven't yet seen the work of their current students so I'm kind of flailing around in the dark here...hopefully this is good enough.

I was originally going to call this piece "Standoff". But then I thought that it would be unecessary as it was already quite obvious what the pose and the hand gestures were suggesting...so I decided to change the title. However, if it is hard to tell that the hand gestures are meant to look like guns, please tell me so I know, so I can fix it before I send it in. Thanks.

Anyhow, this is a simple piece of social commentary. Quite straighforward.

Its about the dangers of fervently imposing beliefs on others as well as the dangers of blind accusation. It also represents how the states of mind generated by such narrow-mindedness lead to stalemates which hinder progress...if not...lead to regression.

Just for clarification purposes, this isn't really mean to suggest anything about doctors...or England...or English doctors for that matter ...just thought I'd mention, as perhaps the red crosses and white coats might suggest something as such...the red cross, in the context of this piece, is meant more as a historical reference to the symbol used during the Christian Crusades...with that in mind, you can probably figure out it's relevance to the messages of this piece, when you think about what the crusades were all about...what their goals were, how the crusaders sought to acheive those goals...etc etc etc. The symbol is also meant to introduce the idea of crusades in general...how our personal beliefs/"crusades" affect our actions and views of both others, and ourselves.

The red stripe over the eyes is an idea you might recognize from my previous piece, "The Lion and the Unicorn". It's kind of like...you know how "seeing through rose colored glasses" means having an overly optimistic view of life and whatnot? Yeah, well...it's kind of a similar idea...except the red is supposed to look more like warpaint...it's meant to represent the state of being blinded by anger and rage, acting through passion and impulse...

Ok well. I'm not going to elaborate much more. I don't know how you guys like it when I explain what my pieces are "supposed to mean"...as there really is no such thing. I am always interested to hear your personal interpretations. I know some people believe having the piece explained takes away from the viewing experience and like to figure these kinds of things out on their own...so sorry if you're one of those.

Anyways. I'm working on the other pieces as well. Hopefully I'll complete them all over the course of the next few weeks. And I'll post them up and you can help me decide which ones I should put into my portfolio. I mean, you don't have to...but, I trust your opinions and would very appreciate any feedback you could give me.

I'm not very good at painting. Of course, I like painting...I like it very much...but...I am pretty much clueless when it comes to the technicalities of it.

Mmm...the colors didn't translate to well...they're a bit muted in this format. The red is slightly more vivid in the actual painting...ok...no more short sentences.

Ok...call me a dork, but I was watching Charlie Chaplin's "The Pilgrim" today....for like...the billionth time this week...yes, I've been painting and watching random movies (The Sound of Music, Amadeus, A Beautiful Mind, You've Got Mail, Hero, Pay Day, Gold Rush) this whole week, it's been very fun...I mean come on, movies AND art? Mmmmmmmmmm...lovey love. Anyhow, I must say I very much enjoy the part where he spits out crackers on the train. I watched it over and over again...it never ceases to amuse me. I am enjoying a private chuckle right now just thinking about it. Ok. Most likely, no one knows what I'm taking about...and I probably seem really stupid...but that's ok. I'm...eccentric.

"Gold Rush" with narration is pretty lame by the way...apparantly I have both the silent version and the one with sound...and the latter is not as fun.

I'm so random. Yes I am.