The Story:  I am ready to come home.  I needed to go to South Korea because it helped me get to Chile.  I needed to come to Chile because I needed to understand where my parents came from and wanted to meet and get to know the family here.  I needed to learn Spanish, and a little salsa, so I wouldn't be such a sore excuse for a latino.  I've been gone for the better part of 8 years. 

In August, 2017, after an upcoming exhbition here in Temuco, I head back to the States, right away to be immersed to in the MFA program at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC.  I can't wait.

The problem:  I desperately need help with the transition!  I will be arriving in the United States exactly as classes begin.  The plane ticket home, the first month's rent and deposit, supplies and lab fees, tuition, student loan payments, a matress to sleep on, money for food... These things will cost well beyond what I am asking, but every bit counts.  

Sponsorship:  Rather than a simple donation, I am proposing a sponsorship.   The more you can help me, the more art I can give you!  The best way I can get art to each donor is through printmaking.  From September 2017 to August 2018, I'll be doing a linoleum print every month.  Larger donations will also receive a painting.  Here's the scale I have in mind:

$10-$90:  one linoleum print of the month for every $10 donated
$100:  12 prints
$200:  12 prints and a small portrait or abstract painting
$300:  12 prints and a medium portrait, abstract, or writing field painting
$500:  12 prints and a large abstract or writing field painting
$1000:  12 framed prints, a large abstract or writing field painting

A quick description of the works:

Abstract paintings: These are actually some of my favorites to work on.  There's no concept or symbolism, just paint and color.  It's about getting something down, often literally a scribble, bringing out what interests me and taking out the parts that aren't working or interesting.

Portraits:  Typically the focus again is on paint and color.  I like leaving portions raw so that the image doesn't take precendence over the paint.

Writing field pieces:  Layer upon layer of written word.  The words can be letters to people, poetry, or attempts to manifest some internal change I want at the time.  The blue one, for example, is the one where I convinced myself I was ready to make the move back to art.  I wrote "I am an artist" hundreds of times, along with other sentences some repeated and some not.  One of the sentences after I had written myself into a humorous state was "I can meet Iggy Pop through my painting."  I almost did with my portrait project below.

The Iggy Pop painting, other than looking a bit like a bizarre Jesus painting, was over 100 hours of writing the complete lyrics to his 23 albums in as many layers (and more if you count the portrait phases).  The idea was to present Mr. Pop with all of his life's work present in an image, in the accumulated texture of paint and lyrics.

Which is to say, if you want a painting from me, I'd be happy to talk about meaning.  No one style of working negates the other, and I continue looking for ways to combine them.

The prints:  You can google linocuts if you're not sure what one is.  I'm working on a couple of practice prints here in Chile and will post as soon as I can. 

Photos below.  Thank you so much for even reading this!  And for those who are able to donate, you will have my eternal gratitude.  The return to the United States, to Winthrop, and to the beautiful supportive community of Rock Hill, is a huge moment for me, and I am so thankful that you could be a part of it.

Always,

Oscar