2010

2010 is looking so far pretty good far as art goes. I think this will be an exciting time right now to be an artist and in Portland no less! I have been laying low fat as art goes in Portland until a few months ago. I wanted to study the art scene a little bit before I jump in. I find that Portland locals are nice but they fear the change that outsiders can bring to their city and the art scene here is clear proof of this.

In Phoenix for a time it was hard for local artist to get into the Galleries of Scottsdale or even Phoenix. Local art didn't sale and if you wanted to show you had to make a name for your self some where else before you could show. Then local artist bought old houses in the Willow and Roosevelt Districts and made new rules for the game. Local only. That was good and all but what the snob galleries in Scottsdale did was make local Phoenix artist want to be better then what they were. They made them step outside the box and create their own space and step a way from this bushi bull shit art that only a corporate whore would ever want to buy for his office on the 32 floor of his empire of greed.

So back to Portland...I think the Portland art scene is facing a rut. One the Economy is horrible just just here in Portland but across the US but it's hit the city pretty hard. Two I think we have a divide in the city between Pearl District's art scene and every where else in the city. I think the Pearl district might be new foam of hell.

Truth is the Pearl needs to be what it is and so do all the other districts. I Love Bell Mont, Sellwood, Hawthorn, Alberta, Mississippi and Multnomah Village. All very different from one another. And there are more art districts that I have not even named. I think we need to embrace the differences and stop trying to make this city one giant clone Pearl.

So as an artist we need to embrace that things change and we should accept that as new and different people come things changed. Lets embrace cultures and use the things that make us different are the adjectives but the now is the same...human. We are all just humans.

So you want change then be the change you want to see. And I want to see more diversity in this city and in doing so I'm going to attempt to diversified my style of painting and embrace new ways and explore and experiment and just grow like a tree.

Yesterday I was a 4 and today I am a 5...

Yesterday I participated in a focus group about adds and commercials for Apollo College. We had a homework assignment to write out a typical weeks day for us and to bring in a picture of something or someone you are most proud of. Everyone brought in pictures of their kids, lovers and family. I brought in a fl yer for my first ever solo art show, that is today.

I got sort of a hint from our speaker and everyone that family is everything. I not too close to my family and they and most of my good friends are far away. I haven't been in a relationship in over a year. And to make matters even better I was told that day by the man that I would have stayed in Phoenix if i knew he loved me, that he loved me and that he is moving in with his boyfriend.

It was kind of a many punches below the belt kind of day. But what I realised after a nice chat with a friend is...

That my lovers come and go. Kids at some point let their parents down and love is not guarantee till to death do you part but what I create with my bare hands will out last any relationship I ever have. My past lovers can take their love away, break my heart and disappoint me but no man and no person on earth can take what i create. Art will out last us all.


(PS this is a disclaimer that though many people have awesome families and lovers I have either but what I have I created from my hands I will never worry about that leaving me or hurting me.)

Aloft Hotel Show Case

I am now showing at the lovely Aloft Hotel in Portland, Oregon. This is my first solo show ever! I am very excited and I hope everyone can join me for my Artist Reception that Aloft is throwing for me. It's Wednesday January 20th, 2010 from 6:30PM to 8PM at Aloft Hotel Lobby/Wxyz bar at the hotel. There will be refreshment and wine served. The Aloft Hotel is near the PDX Airport and across from the Cascades Max Station.

Thank you for every one's support to help me make this dream a reality.

Frankie Olivo

The Virgin Mary Series (For this blog entry read from the bottom on up)

The Virgin of Fixation 2009:

The Virgin has been in the spot light for years. A woman we know little about other the her name was Mary and 14 she was married to Joesph and was knocked up with God's seed. And gave birth to a baby boy she named Jesus. We can't but help but to be fixated on her. She was a mother symbol for so many people in the world and myself included.

The Virgin of Hope 2009:

Even though her son was now dead she had the courage to go on. She had to hope that her son knew what he was doing and that there would be some hope in his actions. After the Crucifixion of my dream I found the courage to hope for the future. There just has to be hope or there is nothing left worth living for.

The Virgin of Broken Dreams 2008

I'm Sure the Virgin Mary had dreams her self of what she wanted in life and her son and I imagine the Crucifixion of her son was not one of them. And like her I had a dream and someone I thought loved Crucified that dream.

The Virgin of Deception 2007:

This was the first Virgin I did in this series. My Virgins are not a attract on the Catholic Church or on the Virgin her self. Its more about seeing her as a real human being rather like a religious figured. How much do we really know about her other then she was knocked up at 14 by god? This Virgin of Deception is about how we might see people or situation but can you rise above to see past the Deception. I'm sure Joseph had to really think about if his new wife was a tramp or blessed by God. For me I think of her as a young girl who had no choice in her marriage to Joseph and or choose this so called "Miracle Birth".

The Impact

I come from a family of 9 kids and I growing up there was only 3 of the 9 kids in the house. 6 of the kids came from Dad's other marriage and they were not around much. Growing up I was closer to my sister Roxanne more then my Brother Armando. My father ran out my Brother Armando when both my sister and I were young. For it was for a wile just Roxanne and me. We went to hell and back. We would hold each other and cry in the closet as my parent would argue and throw things around the house at each other. My sister was 17 when she got pregnant and she had a little girl named Anisa. My sister and I remained close still and I even helped her with Anisa. My sister meet a man named Mike and they got married and had a baby girl named Alexis. After our Mom died and many years later she left her husband and slowly became a person I would not know any more. She became a liar and thief and went to jail. Almost lost everything. She ended up having two little boys with a man who was a coke addict and thief that broke into my apartment and our Father's house. It's been over a year since I have spoken to my sister. To me the sister I grew up with and was close too is long dead and what is left is a spineless evil person that left an awful Impact on her family. Most whom today no longer talk to her.

Things That Bind Us Together/On My Own Again

On My Own Again: After a hurtful break up I moved back into the house I grew up in to find myself again. I felt lost and I felt that I had drifted away to the people that really matter in my life. Wile I was home I patched up things with my Dad and my Brother and moved into a place where I was "On my Own Again."

The Things That Bind Us Together: After painting "On My Own Again" I painted this piece. I realized that some times there is a great force that just brings us together and binds people to one another. The lines are much like muscle tissue. Everything is just held in place where they need to be.

Mazo

Some times our feelings for one another get crossed and woven into one another making a separation difficult. Because a part of you in twine into them and them to you. To get back you and only you can be a maze of guts and emotions and the separation is never a clean break. In the end you can get your self free of this maze but you have to leave a part of you with them and you will take away a part of them with you when you are free.