Upcoming 2019 Showings

Hello all,

I have a few showings coming up in 2019 if you are interested:

March 14- Scream for Queer Art Marketplace 6p-10p Scream Salon, Capitol Hill, Seattle I will have some small things to sell :)

March 15- ArtHub UHeights University District, Seattle

April 19- ArtHub UHeights University District, Seattle

May 10- ArtUp Flying Bike Coop Brewery, Greenwood, Seattle

May 17- 2 month Group Show Cafe Racer, University District, Seattle

June 13th- “Animalia” Aria Salon, Capitol Hill, Seattle (This is a two month show of my large scale charcoal animal drawings)

July 12th- ArtUp Grinning Yogi Greenwood, Seattle (In addition to my photography, I will also be showcasing for the one night my archangel “Kristopher”)

August 9th- ArtUp The Olive & Grape, Greenwood, Seattle

Been drawing

Hello to the ghosts that read this. I am writing this as I wait for my external hard drive to stop reformatting.

2019 is off to a good start. I have 5+ shows lined up in different neighborhoods.

I have been drawing a lot lately. I think it’s a way to combat the hibernation of winter, and because my photography isn’t as bountiful as I would prefer, but I gotta keep the creativity healthy. All these fresh concepts and nobody to shoot. But I digress… I have been really enjoying drawing again, I feel really connected to what I am working on, and I just love getting “lost” in the work.

I am working on a series called “Predators & Prey” where I am doing large scale drawings of animals. It started with an owl, then a coyote came, and then lionesses. I thought to myself, what do they have in common? They are predators. So I am going to work on a “prey” side to the project as well.

The latest drawings I have done are of models and celebrities that I admire or find visually grasping. I really want to improve myself, and I feel like I am advancing. The jump from “Simu” to “Manny” was a real game changer. I tried different techniques and they really seem to pay off. The latest work is my “Alpha kai Omega” drawings (attached). I wanted to draw this model that I admire named Dimitri something. I found some shots that were really challenging in light and form, and I went with it. I wanted to do a drawing that was representational and subtle to the “beginning and the end”. My work often has meaning and messages in them, but they are often overlooked for the “eye candy”. So I guess it’s a little nod just to me.

I’d like to get my drawings uploaded to my site. I don’t know how I would go about photographing them. They are gigantic, so I need space, and some drawings (like the graphites) are shiny, so lighting can be real tricky.

“Alpha kai Omega” Graphite 16x24 (each) 2019

“Manny” Graphite 14x20 2019

Seattle: Aftah Dahk

Working at the Chihuly Garden and Glass was beneficial in the sense that it exposed me to some really fascinating and truly remarkable creative folks. What I miss the most is the laughs and the enriching brainstorms we would have with one another in the galleries about projects we were developing or dreaming about.

It really helped me push myself to expand on my creativity and experiment with different subject matters. One such case is I was leaving work one night and was walking under the giant red statue in Seattle Center when I looked over to my left at the “76” gas station. It was lit amongst the blackness, and deserted. I was really captivated with it’s quiet & eerie sense of existence. I saw it as a beautiful thing that is overlooked, taken for granted, and haunting. It was there that I came up with the idea of photographing Seattle after nightfall. Catching buildings or signs that are a part of the city, but not necessarily always celebrated. Some of it is unique (Elephant Car Wash, City Market, the Marquee lit Rite-Aid), and some of it is a static staple to a city (gas stations, McDonald’s, etc.).

The project is called “Seattle: Aftah Dahk” and must have the New England accent attributed to it :) A way to fold the country in half and have both ends together. A representation of where I am, and where I was.

I spent two nights during Labor Day weekend 2018 skulking around Seattle, being a night-stalker with my camera and tripod. Talking to people that were curious about my project, but mostly trying my best to be amongst the shadows. Photographing places that are a part of my life; places that are in my neighborhood that I see daily. This is in a sense an indirect self-portrait.

Marquee lit Rite Aid on Broadway

The ‘76” on Denny and Broad. The muse for this project.

Seattle Emerging Arts Fair 2018

I was incredibly fortunate to have been accepted to participate in the new Seattle Emerging Arts Fair that was held on July 28th.  There, I displayed two photos out of my monolithic Combat Sports project, and the reception was really great.

This was my first actual gallery showing.  The other shows I have been a part of was the Georgetown Carnival in early June, the Pride group show at ARIA June and July, and the July Street Beans Belltown showing of my sunflowers.  This is all new to me, so I am still adjusting to the fact that I am putting myself out there.  For so many years I hoarded my work and told myself that I was kidding myself and that I wouldn't be able to find a market for my work.  Still looking, but a least there is some traction! 

What people had to say throughout the evening was that my work was very beautiful, it reminded them of Caravaggio's work (which was a blast to hear), and that people kept mistaking my photographs for paintings because my lighting was so rich.  All great things to hear.  I love standing in ear shot, and just listen to what people say about my work when they don't realize I am present.  That is an aspect I love about being an artist; being able to be invisible until I choose to be identified.

Next stop: Street Beans coffeeshop in U-District in September.  I found an amazing frame on the street that is huge, and I am really looking forward to filling it! 

My first show!

It's kind of fun writing a blog that nobody reads, it's like entertaining yourself.

Well, I had a successful first showing of my work.  The show is currently still running, but the reception was on June 14th.  It's a group show at the Aria Salon on Capitol Hill.  I had a lot of fun.  My friends showed up so I was able to spend time with them, and really appreciated their support.

It's really weird to have strangers looking at your work.  Especially when they don't know I am watching them and intently listening for any praise/shade.  One woman commented that my butterfly drawing was "beautiful" and I thanked her.  She was excited to meet me.  It is nerve wracking to observe people taking in your art. I liked watching the faces.

I was more nervous about my drawings.  I didn't think I would ever have an opportunity to display those drawings due to their blatant nudity.  It's nice to live in a community that doesn't care about that.

A have a few more shows coming up, so stay tuned!   2018 is the year of presentation! 

Upcoming shows!

Hello there!

How exciting that my website is still up!  And I finally got those business cards I mentioned.  I am happy with the way they came out, although I think some people think I am a Taekwondo instructor (attached below).

I told myself that 2018 would be the year that I finally get stuff moving, and it is!!  I am showing at a few places already this year.  June and July 2018  I will be participating in a group art show for Art Walk Pride.  The show will be at ARIA salon on Capitol Hill.

In July I am also showing at Street Beans in Belltown (near Seattle Center).  These will be some of my photography of sunflowers I did.  I am showing at their other location in U-District in September (although I don't know what yet).  I am showing at my job for the month of November (It's a private firm so this one will have to be an invite/escort viewing), and I also submitted to be part of a group show in July (waiting for the Jury's decision).  Things are finally coming up Millhouse! 

2018

     I told myself (or made a New Years resolution) that 2018 would be the year that I market myself.  It's already the end of February, and I hadn't done anything but think of it.  That counts right?  Then I get a message from "Boston Voyager" asking me if they can show a photo of Hans off my Instagram.  Yeah of course!  Then they asked me to do a Artist spotlight interview.  Yeah really of course!  But I don't have a website... so here we are.  

     I want to be able to get business cards so I can pass them out, especially If I see someone I would like to photograph, and be able to reference something, so I don't come off as a crazy creep.  Really this is something I should have done like 15+ years ago.  2018 is all about my art!  Maybe I will even make some :P

The image that got this whole trip rolling. Hans