Jeff checks out some art shows.

Jeff Soto- Day 5 of 7

Have people lost interest in reading this thing yet? Well today I have some art stuff planned. Tonight I’ll be going to the opening of “Tall Stories”, a show with a bunch of the artists I went to school with or have had as instructors. I’ll have some pictures and maybe get some comments from the artists.

Today I woke up really late and got over to the studio. IÂ’m having some problems with the illustration for IÂ’m working on. It has to do with them wanting me to use copyrighted images in the piece which I donÂ’t think is right- morally or in the eyes of the law. So the illustration is on hold till Monday for now. Kinda cool, it frees up this weekend at least.

My dad working on the mold for a fiberglass fish blank. HeÂ’s coating the inside with a mixture of bondo and resin.

Two of the Soto parentÂ’s pets. Maizey yawning and Toby gettin' rowdy.

Got a Star Wars book I bought from eBay. Arrived in pretty bad condition. See for yourself-

The show tonight starts at 6 so we left around 5:30. Hit a little traffic but not too bad. People coming out from L.A. hit it really bad. We got there around 6:15 and were some of the only people there for awhile. Talked to the grandparents for awhile which was really nice. The show looked really good, you could see how all the work was different but related somehow. HereÂ’s some pictures:

Jason Holley. He was a teacher of mine. HeÂ’s one of those amazingly creative people who think about things a bit differently. He changed the way I look at art and has been an influence on the way I work. He is famous for his illustration work and rightly so, the stuff is pretty rad. But I think his personal work is much deeper, itÂ’s on a whole different level. ItÂ’s very precious. IÂ’m drawn to the organic shapes and imagery. This is my favorite stuff from the show. Some of you might remember a Jason Holley piece from my Day 1 post. Here's some of his work:

The Clayton Brothers. Rob the elder brother and Christian is the taller one. I had both of them as teachers, in particular I kept taking classes with Rob. I owe a lot to these guys, Rob was the one who urged me to go talk to Marsea at New Image Art (which was a springboard into other galleries for me). Christian helped me get into this calendar of illustrators which led directly to my first illustration job. They helped me out on the illustration front and the gallery front, so they are homies por vida. Check out their work, there’s so much going on, so much to look at and discover. I still find it amazing that they work together. The center piece is their “Tim House” which must be seen in person to get the full effect.

Alex Gross. Another teacher I had and another inspiration. His work is beautiful, colorful and impressive. He usually works in a large scale which is amazing when you see his tiny workspace. When I had him as a teacher he helped me push my work and explore different aspects of it like my color pallette and composition. I learned quite a bit about the illustration biz too, he would bring in pieces he was working on, show us contracts and invoices, tell us about negotiating and stuff. I still call him for advice from time to time. Alex has a dry sense of humor, sometimes I really canÂ’t tell if heÂ’s joking or serious, this just adds to his persona. He has a cat named Carlos that he got when he graduated Art Center in 1990.

Martha Rich. She was a student when I was at Art center but graduated a while before me. Her work always makes me crack a smile, she says sheÂ’s inspired by undergarments, lobsters and Loretta Lynn. These were some great works on paper.

P-Jay Fidler. I didnÂ’t really know P-Jay when we were in school but have since been fortunate to talk with him from time to time. HeÂ’s a very interesting guy, very humble and down to earth. IÂ’ve been a fan of his work for a long time. I think someone mentioned his art in one of the Fecal forums recently as an artist that doesnÂ’t get enough credit.

Souther Salazar. I’ve known Souther for a couple years. We went to school together but I graduated maybe a year before him. His work is fun and playful, you can tell he enjoys creating his worlds and the stories that go along with them. I’m really into his work and I enjoy talking to him, he’s very ‘real’ if that makes any sense. We’re trading art soon, and I’ll have my own Souther masterpiece.

Erik Sandberg. We graduated together but I never really talked to him too much while we were in school- kind of a shame. HeÂ’s a really nice guy, and heÂ’s starting to get a name in the world of illustration. His black eye piece was really cool, the colors vivid and the large scale very nice. My pictures of his work did not turn out so you'll have to visit Wignall to see em'.

Julie Murphy. A printmaker specializing in etchings. I met Julie because she was always T.A.ing in the printmaking shop at Art Center. Her work is really sweet, no cool. She does these rad layered etchings where sheÂ’s overlapping different colors. Her wall looked really nice.

Here's some pictures of people.

Adam from Riverside.

Jon and Lani took baby Ian to his first art show.

Forgot these people's names... but they were really nice!

Ralph and Beth. Dude, rub my nutz.

Dang, can't remember these people's names either. They seemed nice too. Go to New York man!

Souther and Saelee, a very cute couple.

Almost forgot to show ya my wall.

Goofing around after the show at the Taco Bell drive thru.

It's almost 2am. There's much more to write but I'm exhausted. Tune in tomorrow same bat channel and all that. Jeffrey Philip Soto sayin' good night America!

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