Look at this bird I drew...

The world is moving so fast right now... I just want it to stop so that I can have a HUGE amount of time to get stuff done. After all, I think most of us here can vouch that money and time are the two things artists need the most. I have had several important conversations with various professors this week. After speaking with Deborah, we came to the conclusion that my previous paintings often revealed themselves as scenes, rather than playing upon my true interests in science and artifact. Deborah had a fantastic suggestion that played upon my desire to achieve absolute realism in my work. She told me to paint animals or specimens as if they are sitting directly above my birch wood surface... painting them so well that to the audience, they would see this images as actual objects that are present in real space and time. Additionally, Deborah suggested I go back to the drawing board and do some drawings and studies of actual specimens, as they appear in museum collections, and try to imagine them in real space.
      I am comfortable in saying that this week, my mind has really been turning toward a new direction in my work - one which allows me to go further away from work that has already been done by artists I admire, and instead brings about a new realm that is me. The piece below is a drawing I completed over the weekend using the suggestions put forth by Deborah (and various others) in mind. Speaking with Mia tonight has also allowed me to realize that stepping into another zone does not mean giving up on what I am already excited about. Rather, I need to find a way in which I can cross what I am already doing painting-wise with what I am hoping to do going forward. As of right now, my I can imaging having several specimen drawings, similar to the one below, which have slight surreal alterations to them. To the viewer, their rendering would make them appear as real objects, but their configuration as specimens would conceptually allow these works to appear as REAL recordings of REAL species from a REAL world. Furthermore, these "specimens" would be repeated in my more fantasy-like works and thus cause the viewer to really think about reality.