You can find me in the tub, with the bubbles... hehehe

Few hours later, looking for a solution...
I want to paint today, but it is TOO hot outside.
I came up with the solution for the indoor-painting problem i've been pondering-



I set up my easle in the bathtub!!
Its perfect! I moved out of my last apartment with out ever having touched the guest bath-tub.
This time I'll put it to good use. Its got its on water source, impermeable suface, drain,m its bleach-able, can clean it in a jiffy for any hows guests, and can just leave everything in there and hang a shower curtain when clients visit!

awesome :)



PS- Boo on Miramonte apartments For attempting to charge me $1,000.00 to replace the entire carpet of my last place due to a tiny paint spill.
Yay on me for keeping my quote for a $50.00 patch :)

Heat Stroke

This "Morning" I woke up and saw that it was about 11:00, and decided it was a good sleeping in day.

I got out of bed off to a good start, got two panels built for a black abstract tryptich that ive been working on...
It was hot outside. Like sweating through your shirt in minutes, dont touch anything metal, sweltering hot. I took a break to rebuild the resolve to get this done, today, and then went back, determined...

Disaster struck when I broke the drill bit off in the third panel.
The ends wouldnt square up right- probably result of a dull jig-saw blade instead of a proper miter. (Shortcuts :( and I was already frustrated with it, but wanted to get it done.

I decided to hammer the nail in anyway, hoping it would push the drill bit fragment the rest of the way through. The nail deflected came out the side of the frame, bent, and then got hammered sideways into the soft wood panel.

Frustrated, I "Accidentally" "dropped" the hammer through it.
I immediately regretted it, and realizing that this it is not at ALL like me to have such "accidental" "accidents", I deduced that I am probably suffering from some combination of
a) dehydration
b) not having eaten anything yet today
c) 207 degree temperatures on a concrete balcony.
d) heatstroke

and it is whittling away at my patience since 1 pm.

So I decided it was time to take an Onimusha break.

Balance...

Not finished but it will have to do for now...

My best go at traditional western style, one that has been growing on me since I began to
get to know some of its greater proponents. I tried to stick to the principals...
Still, I cant seem to keep my own style out of it.

The classic roses, a coverup for some youthful sillyness... :)
I tried a coupel of different versions: brass knuckles, pistol,
plain flowers, music... I hope she goes for this sparrow draft :)

It has been a good night.

I remember a while back, stressing over finishing a project for christmas
I stepped out on invites to the Hendrix house to unwind for a sec with the Primos...

Spent some time, but sadly needed to get home to finish producing my holiday gift certificates...
Then occured to me, hey, i can do it here.
Despite my best judgement and repeated attepts to gain "discipline" as a personal habit...
I borrow Banding's laptop and go to work, amids numerous distractions, on a project I had been
struggling for weeks to "find the time for."
And to my great surprise, got the project done.

I remember reflecting that night:

This is the way art should be done.


Not stressing over deadlines, bed-times, client constrains, or tommorrow mornings.
Couple beers,
couple drinks, little music (Selector Brez on the digi)
Good company, laughs and goofs, just enough seriousness to get the project done.
I was totally new to the idea- art for fun? Without a client or a boss or a customer... ?
Less business, less design, more fun, more art.
This is the way that ART is done.




This is another one of those nights.
With a noon appointment for tommorrow, for a piece I have just a sillhouette and 6-day old consult
rough idea, for; I find myself sitting with my sweetheart, downloading pics, catching up on memories.

Work coming in and out of focus to Yuko's mirthful soundtrack of self-sung songs,
giggling as she blogs and posts our pics.

Amids distractions numerous and pleasant,
Sketches and ideas freely flow, random bursts of home improvement, compulsive organizing,
("nesting??") scrapbooking
the "found art"-
the scattered loose leaf and sketches, to be found everywhere, evidence and aftermath of a recent
brainstorm, it develops.

Frequent stops to add to the growing list of "Important Things To Do Right Now"
As my memory pulls more of them from the cloud that has become my subconscious
in the blast of the life-altering news this new year.
Business Plan...
Spring collection...
Fashion design
Gallery Run...
New years update...
The new year's entire list of priorities shifted back several steps (And several weeks) by
this newest, greatest one, and the subsequent dependant necessities.

It has been a dreamy, dreamy few weeks.
at times fitful, at times frantic, sometimes calm, sometimes fantastic... but altogether dreamy.

At last to bed, tired, and satisfied, projects complete...
A few drafts on the board... a few more drafts than planned...
lol



I've always found the hand is quick and sure, almost to the point of seeming carelessness
the mind deliberate and painstaking, methodical and curious.
Exploring every graphic possibility... finding that cure.

I hope she goes for the sparrow draft.

Sweet Dreams.
-T.S.

Mil Palavras

Saturday
01.04.09
3:58 AM

Mil Palavras....
As veces uma foto diga mil palavras...
Mas as vezes palavras simplesmente o diga melhor.

Apois da queda da maquina de ontem devida ao calor, estou dedicado a escrever no meu blog hoje de jeito qualquer- se eu tiver foto ou nao.

E foi so agora, que acabei de recebir o inspiracao verdadero pra fazer lo sem nem esforcar.

Acabei de sair do google talk com uma amiga muito boa velha...

++++++++++++++++++

4:12 AM me: ta por favor faz um favor pra mim??
mariah: claro
me: mande um abrasso pra galera pra mim??

4:13 AM A taaanto tempo que tou fora de contato...
mariah: pode deixar
as meninas vão gostar de saber
q eu tive noticias suas
me: nao quero que pensem que esqueci de voceis
mariah: ihihihihi
me: nem que nao penso em voceis
MUITO
4:14 AM mariah: ahhhhhhhhhh
o/
a gente não esqueceu de você tambem não
nem tem como né
4:15 AM vc deixou um pedacinho de vc em todo mundo
só faltou eu

+++++++++++++++++++++

Isso eh o maior elogio que o artista pode receber.

Eu sempre considero muito os meus clientes, talvez mais do que devo,
os opinioes, os sentimentos associados com os projeitos que compartilhamos.
Com eles especialmente os maiores, os "custom"- esses sao pessoas quais, por
qualquer motivo, seja simplesmente visual, esperitual, pessoal, o ou que tiver
concientamente decidam a marcar sua pele com esse arte,
e escolham a me buscar pra exercitar-lo.

Alem do orgulho obvio que eu fui o escolhido pra fazer o trabalho;
E o fascinacao com os varios desenhos, composicoes, assuntos, temas, que tenho oportunidade
explorar e aprender atravez da arte;
Eu sempre creei que a tatuagem cria um laco entre
artista e publico que eh especial entre todas as artes.
Se deixa, e quando cultiva pode ficar muito forte.

Quando eu ouca as pessoas devolvendo o sentimento...
E quando fazemos mesmo quanto mais.


Por tudo que fiz hoje (e foi muito, viu?) Isso foi a alta luz do meu dia.
Pois eh isso, alem de tudo, que serve a dar sentido a tudo que eu fiz.

Se pudesse ouvir, a voz, pesado com carinho, triste com saudades...

E sim querida- nao vai faltar so voce por muito tempo nao viu?
Logo virei.

-T.S.


PS- Obrigado por ler! (Se lesse ate aqui... ririri)
Eu sei que tenho muitas artigos em ingles, mas logo terei muitos mais em Portugues.
E si as varias "mil palavras" cansam e so quiserem ver as fotos do meu trabalho, porfavor visite a minha galeria no:
www.tariqsabur.com

Abrassos aos todos.

Time to go greet the day...

Time to greet the day...
Hear that?
Blessed silence, birdsong. Heartbeat, breaths.
The rythmic hum of a world caught napping.
Thats initiative.

Feel that?
A knot in your stomach, a twisted feeling, coiled, ready to spring.
An empty grumble, struggling for place in your priorities.
That's drive.

See that?
Blue-grey dawn,
Laser thin crack of light
sillhouttes rooftops, splits the sky from the horizon,
harbinger of a new dawn
That's ambition.

Time to go greet the day.

Eyes open, fists closed
A smile over a grimace,
a twinkle in a tired eye...

Time to go greet the day."
-Tariq Sabur
July 2007


6:23 am.
Checked the phone to find a 5:36 text message from New York, wishing me sweetness. No fair, its 3 hours later there.

Today is moving day. Subconsciously eager to beat the heat, I awoke of my own accord.

It has been a productive week.
Last three tattoos were probably the best of my career- n keeping with my agreement with myself to strive that each new tattoo will be the successive best of my career. But true portfolio makers, all. Two coi, one true T.S. Style- straight off of my business card; one uniquely stylized into delicate linear abstraction. One self-designed japanese-style Phoenix extending from above the knee to below the ribs possibly my new size record.

Yesterday's piece was a return to the normal, but great in that it was a difficult piece, cleanly executed "like a decal," in the words of a client- the greatest satisfaction of all :)

23 letters Across a tortously- although very nicely contoured collarbone.
"From Chaos, Peace Shall Arise."

Fitting :)
Today, I am thankful for a free day- so far at least.. but its early.

Apartment hunt is finally at an end!
Set me behind nearly an weeks worth of painting... hot, long days, frantically coming the city for a decent floorplan, a decent neighborhood... for a decent price.
Finally settled on Scottsdale. Though it is far out of my home zone, and not as central as I would like, it is next to the arts and entertainment district of downtown Scotts. All the nightclubs, all the galleries. Lots of potential. The new area will bring new exposure, new clients, new horizons.

Now ready to move to my new space, I am feeling anxious and inspired, many ideas bouncing around my little head. Much appreciated... I really have no idea how I am going to make rent.

Still deciding if I should work or move-- If I had a boss, I would have to take pre-arranged, scheduled time off to do it. This week I need to produce. Still Though I miss the canvas, and am eager to lay some of these ideas to it, moving requires the freedom of today, the van I have access to, the cool of the morning. Painting I can do in the new space, and better, in the calm. Besides, it can fit between any two other activities. Like between sex and breakfast.
In a calm, serene home.

I think I will go bless the house.

Wish you all a happy and productive day!
-T.S.

celebrating unemployment

Waking up at the crack of dawn, getting up, getting out, getting to work.
Still only putting on shoes till 3pm.
Going to bed late.
Working out, talking on the phone... 3 hour text message conversations with really just anyone.
Random thoughts.
Visiting old freinds, shooting the shit, listening to the gears of the world turn.
Finally getting time to work on that "fashion line" or my uh... "music career"Hehe ;)Life is good, life is good.

When your an artist your rarely "really" working...
But you never really stop.
Which is harder work? Putting in 9-7 in an air conditioned office... Or putting 100 miles on your car on a record hot Phoenix day, in a city only 60 something miles across... just gathering resources.
And then getting back to the studio, and "really" getting to work.
Is it so much harder to punch a clock, work over time on a daily basis, knowing your base and overtime is coming at the end of the week?
As an artist... you dont get paid for every hour you work.

Late nights drawing, painting, planning, formulating... hustling.
Early mornings, trying to beat the heat, with a two-page list in your pocket, trying not to forget anything and still remember to eat at some point in the day.
Getting happy everytime the phone rings- not because it is some girl you met, but because it might be a lead.
Happier when you dont recognize the number.
Doing the budget. (One of my own favorite parts... lol)
Love-making-turned-impromptu-sketching sessions... haunt your love life...
Poems/plans/dreams/ramblings take over your converstaions...
Empassioned arguments, raving debates with the concerned and aloof; loved ones and strangers, over achievement, purpose, cause, effect, become song/poem/artists statement...

You canabalize yourself. To produce "yourself"
You sell yourself.

I Got canned from the shop I was working at because of "creative differences." As in, I wouldnt let the other apprentice tattoo me.Probably not the best environment for me.
I dont, and havent, made snap decisions about tattoos- not mine or anyone elses.A good lesson on sticking to your guns :)
It costs ya, but it feels good.

I remembering times when I would stress about just such a situation...
I have not, not had a job since I was 12 years old.
Right now I am nestling secure in the fact that right now, I am really...just...
Not.


At times like these I think about my first time going to Brazil. $300.00 cash, a pair of suitcases, and a plane ticket home for 12 months later.
I think about my mentor, going from Salvador to Germany with $30.00 US a tattoo machine, a little practice, and a winning smile.
Heck, at least I spoke the language at an operating, if basic level...

I also think about bankruptcy...
It would be so easy to sleep and to eat, and even to play, if I was not still paying inflated dividends on money I havent spent in 6 years.
All of my earlier ... Business investments, personal investments;
Equipment, supplies, education, books....

But then I think about morals...
I owe this pennance to those that put me where I am.
I owe it to myself.
This is the life I chose, the life I invested myself in.
It may be too early to pay it all back... But it is way too early- and too late to call it quits;)
Besides... I am just beginning to reap the rewards.
(? ? ? lol ;)


And I think about where I am now.
This is what it has cost me to place myself in the secure place that I am now...
I have been "secure" before... Secure in the sense our society has conditioned us to think...
A girlfreind, a dope apartment, a salary, insurance, benefits, bonuses...
But the thing that always bugged me about that is, how secure is it realy??
This world is rife with chaos... Flood, famine, fire... Plague and pestilence.
We are at war right now! What makes us so untouchable?
There could be war, a strike, an emergency... The economy could crash.
The sobering thing is... we are. It wont. And if it did, We would probably be fine. Knock on wood.)
But still, you could wake up one morning and realize your sick of it.
You could hate it.

Now, a little bit of cash in you pocket, a pair of good eyes, two good hands, and a damn good head.
A "mina de ouro na mao" as they say in Brazil.
Its a different kind of security.
Waking up each morning, knowing your going to work your ass off, but knowing your going to love it. Not knowing if your going to make it...
but still, knowing your going to love it.

That is security.
I think I like it.

Abundance!
-T.S.

Domingo de Preguisa, Domingo de Anxiosidade

Sentado por aqui...
Preguiça maior do que a vontade de fazer nada...

Esboçando, tentando me convençer a pintar...
Sonhei estranho ontem a noite...
Ainda mais estranho que consegui lembrar todos tres.

Nao quero entrar nas detalhes de todas...
Mas acho que a fio comúm entre os tres são sentimentos de duvida e incapacidade...
Talvez tratando da ansiocidade de estagiar...
De fazer papel subordinado de novo.
Nao eh coisa de orgulho nem ego...
So que nao sei se quero ser mandado por mais alguem estes dias.
Nao eh que tenho problemas com autoridade- so que ja tinha bastante.
Sabemos como eh...
Ordenar, gerenciar, mandar tudo?
Mas isso eh a vida neh?
Levamos ou que tenemos ate nao da mais...
Ai da um break e comecar de novo.
Por todos se nao foram MUITOS sortuosos.

Sei que eh pelo bom....
Mas e dificil!
Poucas pessoas me ensinaram poucou de nada nesse ramo.
Auto ensinado, tinho um mentor MUITO bom que me deu dicas e a a forca e confianca pra seguir em frente!
Da um certo orgulho no nosso trabalho, sabe?
Ainda por cima, sou elogiado por quasi TODOS que veem meu portfolio...
Eu, como artista, com olho super afinado e olhar critico, sei exatamante o que preciso melhorar...
O dono desse estudio me falou que preciso trabalhar.
Sempre apreciando criticismo construtivo, isso significa pra mim, que ele reconhessa coisas que eu posso melhorar.
Eu vejo oportunidade ai.

Isso eh minha "mantra" que repito pra mim.
.. Anxioso!!
Abrassos aos todos...
Me deem sorte!!!