and so it begins....
Yessica Torres
my manifesto is less of a declaration of my personal views and more of a record of my process as an artist. i decided to start with one of my favorite pieces, gunmonkey in red. i love this piece for many reasons, the most important being the sale. the sale of this specific gunmonkey gave me the confidence to pursue art full time. no looking back, no more fall back plan, no backup (pun). the wood "panels" are doors from an antique armoire i salvaged, complete with the original brass hardware. i sanded and prepped the recessed portions, then painted on a bright red enamel. the gunmonkey himself was painted with standard black acrylic. i finished him off with a protective layer of a matte lacquer. the piece was quite large, 5' tall and roughly 4' wide, depending on how close the doors were set together. the lacquer was still wet when i put my feelers out for a potential buyer. i sent out a few texts and included a picture of my latest work ... he was sold in minutes. the buyer was a collector aquaintence of a friend and with one, very brief conversation, he agreed to my asking price and i set a delivery date. unknowingly, this collector set in motion my full time career. before this piece i was just a gunmonkey who liked to paint. after the sale, i was professional painter who just liked to play with guns.
...visit my fb page for progress pics of gunmonkey in red