Martial Artist as Athlete

As I move through my day-to-day life, I am forced to reflect on my life in martial arts and training and how it all fits in to a bigger picture. Martial arts is more than just something a person practices and forgets, but it is a way of viewing the world and living life in each moment. It is a philosophy that you adopt. It does not mean you have to wear it on your shirt every moment of every day, but the general discipline pervades your life and influences your decisions and how you approach things. 

As an athlete, coach, trainer, and teacher, it is not hard to adopt a martial arts philosophy to help guide me through my day. The life of martial arts is a way of training, of perseverance, of understanding, and growing as a person. I believe that is what makes a martial artist different from a generic sport fighter. Sport fighters are great athletes, but not everyone of the sport fighters adopt the philosophy that is consistent with the way of the warrior. you need the right teacher or coach to help you understand that you are doing. It is also true that a general athlete can adopt the mindset of a martial artist if the coach has walked the path and practiced that philosophy.

Sports and the warrior mindset really do go hand-in-hand. The two are completely compatible for those that are willing to receive the information and the training in that manner. The training of warriors goes back centuries, and the traditions even in western civilization mirror that of athletes today. We have no further to look than the ancient Greek Olympics. The original games often mirrored activities of soldiers and traditions were based on martial activities. So, if the activities mirrored the soldiers, why not the philosophies? Today's military train the soldiers at athletes so they are ready for combat.

So, ,the way of the warrior, and athlete, go together. But it is up to each person to figure out the philosophy that they follow and how they proceed to live their life with it.

One of my goals as a personal trainer is to help al martial artists obtain the athlete's mindset with their training. It is an art that requires a lot of practice and discipline, but it is also a physical activity the demands the best of each person's body to practice it at the highest level that is possible for each person. Whether or not you are in a combat sport is irrelevant. It still demands we all carry ourselves as athletes when we step on the floor. That is for the benefit of ourselves and our training partners. 

Martial Arts and Fitness: A Need for Diversification of Training

 

At the time I created this draft, I think I had some different ideas in my head. That is all well and good. Its a natural evolution of things to progress forward somehow, and if content changes, that is ok. If anyone knows me at all, I am expanding out from martial arts into more fitness related areas, so a diversification of ideas and content is a natural thing to talk about at this point. One of the ways I am trying to achieve this is to reach more people so I can help them with my knowledge. It is a process. Knowledge does not equal influence. Those are two different concepts entirely. A diversification of what you do and share will allow one to find greater influence with more people if those people can be reached.

To that end, I have tried to use Instagram, or rather have tried to understand Instagram, to that end. That is an interesting experience all its own. What I see happening there is not so much about knowledge is more about creating click-bait and trying to get people to grab on to a catchy post and see if you can convince them to follow you. Maybe I have it all wrong. Maybe I understand it perfectly. I am not sure either way. 

What I do know is that I have nearly a quarter century of teaching experience alone, not even counting all the experience I have in sports, fitness, and martial arts. I believe I have a wealth of knowledge that can be shared, but it only matters if I can reach people and share it with them. So, to that end, I focus my efforts. I don't think I am so concerned about huge numbers of people as I am concerned with providing a great experience based on my knowledge and willingness to help others improve themselves. 

To that end, I think the diversification of training, be it in martial arts, fitness, sports, or whatever else I have to offer, is my greatest tool. I can provide an experience that would prove interesting for others to follow, if they are so interested in that. 

I think diversification is a hidden tool that we have at our disposal that can really attract people and hold their interest. It is also an essential way of training for anyone in martial arts. It keeps us interested. It provides a variety of skills and experiences that make us more well rounded. it is my hope that I can reach people to share this knowledge and way of training with them to enrich their lives. 

As always, I thank you for reading and hope we can connect at some time to share ideas.

Keep Training!

Jesse

Kenpo Karate and the Use of Duals

 

    Duals are a very common concept in Kenpo Karate. They are a tactical method of delivery used to make you more effective in combat and training. However, there are some essential questions that should be explored with respect to duals. It is not enough to just use them, but one should strive to understand them and how they can be employed in training and in practice. 

    You don't have to look any further than the kata Short Form 2 in Kenpo Karate. One of the main themes in that kata is the use of duals. There is only one way to get better at the use of doing two things at once, and that is to practice, analyze, and employ the concept in different ways. 

    There are a number of techniques that look at this. Conquering Shield, Unfurling Crane, Courting the Tiger, and Desperate Falcons to just name a few. I am going to look through these techniques to just bring some ideas to light in order to inspire other types of thinking an analysis. 

    For Conquering Shield, you have have a blocking strike combined with a front kick. One cancels the height zone while the other cancels the width zone. So, the first move, a dual, allows for the practitioner to not only deliver pain in multiple places while possibly crippling the opponent if it is done well enough, but it cancels the retaliatory options my targeting joints and points of articulation that allow for movement. All done in one move with two different parts of the body. Economy of motion in its full glory. 

    Unfurling Crane, while offers a series of movements that exemplify duals. It moves from simultaneous defensive maneuvers to simultaneous offense/defense on the second move. It shows how to check, cover, and strike with all of its dual moves, doing them in different combinations, at the same time, and sometimes slightly offset to create a compounding effect with the delivery. 

    Courting the Tiger shows how duals can be used when attacked by two people at the same time. The first moves shows how, depending on the context and relative relationship to the opponents' bodies, can drastically change. It also emphasizes the need for efficiency when dealing with two people and duals is a perfect example of that concept. Wasted motion means more injuries and pain to yourself if you do not move with precision and purpose on the multiple strikes. 

    Desperate Falcons shows how the pull and push motions (which are opposites) using duals both set up your opponent and can throw them off balance in preparation for the dual strikes of a left back-knuckle and a right vertical punch. The pull motion brings about a mandatory step by the opponent, forcing them to lean into the duals strikes the reverse the lines of the pulls to become a punch and a strike. 

    These are just some of the ways duals are taught in Kenpo through the great variety of techniques that we have. They are everywhere, waiting to be recognized and broken down so they can be resynthesized into each practitioners own style of movement. They are efficient and effective when properly employed. 

A New Direction

Moving to a Martial Arts Themed Blog

 

    It has been awhile since I have written anything in here. I remember reading something by Lee Wedlake (a kenpo black belt and author of several books). He mentioned that many martial artists and black belts have more than just a martial arts talent and focus. This is the same with me. I focused on several subjects in the earlier version of this blog. I have decided, after some time off, to rename the blog and put my focus into writing about martial arts and martial arts related themes only going forward. I have, for the moment, elected to keep my past articles here because They are also part of me and my quest to be a complete and well-rounded person. I believe every warrior needs to try to be well-rounded and complete so they can teach what they have learned and help their students apply it to life lessons.

    Moving forward, I will write articles about Kenpo Karate, martial arts, musings on martial arts and warriors, aspects of living the way of a warrior in today's world of the 21st century, and the martial themed subjects just expand from there. I have a lot of thoughts on my training over the years, and I hope that my point of view can be of some use to people who choose to read what I am putting out there.

So, those who come to read what I have written, thank you for your continued attention. I look forward to sharing my knowledge and life lessons with you as I embark on this blog journey in The Way of a Warrior. All of us are warriors fighting the good fight every day in trying to get things done and making a difference in the world. I hope your journey is fruitful and productive and I look forward sharing mine with you.

Panama

Offering Photography Services at Brown Artworks

What It Means to Offer a Service as an Artist

You know, one of the things I am discovering about art is it is a lot about shaping your perspective. I know when I was in college, some of my fellow students might have said that making art for anyone other than yourself would have been going against what is true to an artist. However, I would argue otherwise.

I picked up photography some time ago, and I discovered that both my wife and myself have an inclination to use the camera as a medium. It also happens, in this day and age, that there is a need for people to be able to take good photos and record people's lives. Is that not what we do as artists? Don't we record life around us? That is what I am doing now, helping people record their lives by using my artistic vision and experience to help each person record and preserve a memory. Photography is a real medium in the art world, and I think the intent of the photographer richly determines what area of art he/she gets placed in.

I am still an artist, but I am also now an artist that offers a service to people to help them enrich their lives. Let's face the facts as well, if you don't make money as an artist, you are not going to continue doing it for nearly as long as if you were making money. Art is meant to be shared by the world, not locked in a closet. We have a duty to share our vision and skills with the world. It is the same in any art. If you have an artistic skill, share it with the world.

That is how I view my move to also take photographs of people who want their memories recorded. It may be uncomfortable to deal with people for some artists, but without the people, we have no audience.

We recently did a family photo shoot for a friend of mine and his family. I was so pleased at the joy and positive reaction that the photos we provided them garnered such a positive response. It is something that makes you feel you make a huge difference as an artist. For that, I am very grateful. It is what we all strive to do, is to make a difference with our work.

As you can see above, I have posted a list of options and prices of photo services that we do. I will also say that each idea above is carefully considered to be an artful process where we collaborate with each person and client to make the co-creators in an artistic representation of their lives. When it is done, we will all have made a work of art celebrating the life of each person that we work with. I am excited to do this and look forward to working with more and more people on this artistic journey!

A New Series: Martial Arts and Motion

What is in a photo?

It is no secret that I have been contemplating and working on this martial arts series for awhile. Many people know that I have been grinding this idea through my creative thought processes for awhile. You usually ask yourself when you look at the photo, or any other work of art, "Where is the artist going with this?" Another questions that usually gets asked is, "What does this piece mean to me?" Every person has to determine what the image he or she is looking at means and how it relates to his or her own experience. A work of art is encompassed by everything in it, not just part of it.

I work hard at trying to figure out what something means to me, and then I analyze whether or not it is something I want to share with the world at large. In this current series I am working on in collaboration with my wife, Gina, we are trying to capture martial arts, and the story of its motion. Specifically, this story is told from the point of view of us as photographers, and from the point of view of the art of Kenpo Karate. Every art has a story. Every move has an origination point. If anyone is familiar with Kenpo, it is a set of concepts and principles that guide the practitioner in the use and practice of the art.

However, each martial artist has a story. Every training session has rhythm and pulse all its own. Everyone's mindset and point of view is unique. Just the same, lighting, setting, interpretation of the motion within a photo...those all help dictate the story of what is going on in the photo.

Gina and I love the ocean and spend a lot of time there. It influences what we do and how we see things. I believe that the ocean brings a large measure of peace to people when it is represented in art. This day in particular was an ideal day for photos and martial arts at the beach. It was the perfect temperature. The light was amazing. The waves and the wide open space was without compare. It made for perfect photos and a perfect setting for martial arts.

What I like about the photo above is Gina captured the moment near the point of origination for the kick. I like the horizontal composition because it speaks to horizontal motion, and it mirrors the beautiful horizon in the background.

One of my favorite aspects of art is the exploration of light and dark. Of course, the setting sun is perfect for setting up a dramatic environment for any scene, but something about training in martial arts as the sun sets over the horizon...it speaks volumes to one's mind and spirit. Further more, training at the edge of the Pacific Ocean, it further touches the soul. Gina did an amazing job of capturing the this kick in mid-motion and lining up the shadows of the landscape, as well as my silhouette, and getting the two to blend for a wonderful composition.

I truly love the photo sessions with my wife in martial arts because she is able to capture things in a way that I would not necessarily see if I was behind the camera, as opposed to being in front of the camera. It was an ethereal experience out on the beach that day. The sun was slowly falling toward the horizon, and there was this beautiful mist that shrouded the surrounding rocks as we shot photos and trained and explored the surrounding area. 

This series is ongoing at the moment. We have not finished it to the point that we can present it in a complete and unified story or experience yet. We are working with other martial artists and many of the photos are still in development. However, the entire set will be presented in a unified manner in a gallery experience. We will be sure to post the announcement so anyone who wants to come view and share in it will be able to do so. Thanks for coming by and reading!

The location is Fort Bragg, CA. It was in the month of July for both of those photos. I will present the detailed information formally when they all go up for display!

An Odyssey Back in Time

Exploring the Past and Places of Solitude

This past weekend, June 10, 2017, I undertook a photographic odyssey to explore some places I was very familiar with, yet had not truly explored. Looking places and things through the lens of a camera, with the idea that you are looking for a story to tell, it changes how you think about, and view, a place you might be familiar with. A location can overflow with history, and it may not even be obvious to the casual viewer, because it is hiding in plain sight.

I took my long time friend, Brian, with me to explore these places as I was seeking to photograph places that seemed abandoned and sitting in solitude. Brian and I go way back, and he grew up in the same areas that  I did, so he was more or less familiar with the places I was going to explore. He also gave me an extra set of eyes, and a different perspective to consider as I was working through these locations. It was an excellent day to go out and do photography. The sun was up high in the sky and it was not too hot, yet the light was amazing for shooting the type of photos I wanted. I wanted a light that flooded that landscape and kept it well lit. It was just after lunch when we started, which was perfect timing for the lighting I was looking for.

Our first stop was Vina. What makes Vina interesting in general is this monastery that has its own winery and does wine tasting. I have gone to mass there several times as well. There is a solitude about the monastery, however I was looking for something a little more than just solitude. I needed to feel a sense of history and abandonment within the setting. Not far from the monastery entrance is the town park that has rapidly fell into a state of decline over the last 10 years or so. It does not take much time for something to fall into disrepair. It was falling into disrepair 10 years ago, but it seems the last 10 years has definitely left its mark on the city park. What accented it so well to further expand the feeling of history being so present there was this cement block stamped with the year 1915 on it. The uses of these blocks, sitting at the far end of a dilapidated basketball court, completely escapes me. However, they stood there lined up in neat rows, like they were keeping a ground-level vigil on the progress over the overgrowth that was expanding every-which-way around the court, through the picnic benches, and through the fence that was defining the edge of the park and separating it from the railroad tracks.

There is a building beyond the cement blocks, and flanked by two beautiful trees, that seemed to be feeling the effects of time and neglect. It housed some kind of use inside of it, but it can only be left to the imagination. Its disrepair seemingly trying to call out to someone to pay attention and save the building from falling apart.

I think what kind of gives this place, as well as the other places that I photographed, meaning to me is that these are places that I have spent years around and seen them when they were in use and functioning in good order. The benched behind the above building is a place where I sat and drank a soda after visiting the monastery some years ago. While it had a solitary feeling back then, there was not this sense of desolation and abandonment that there is now. One just has to look at the basketball hoop and understand that nobody in the area really cares about fixing anything there because the park and court have fallen so much out of use it is nothing but a crumbling piece of community history now.

Overgrown picnic benches in the town of Vina, CA.

Crumbling basketball hoop.

I think one of the things that puts the final touch on this community for me, even through clearly there are people that live in Vina because it has a store and a post office, is that I do not see people walking around. I see some cars that are new parked around and once in awhile I see a person walk out of the local store, but so much of the town looks like it has been left up to the power of time and history to overtake it and redefine it as some part of the past that barely stands up for the little use it does have.

However, Vina was only the start to the odyssey that day. We still had many more miles and at least 2 more places to go to photograph before we finished what we had started. 

Highway 32 between Chico and Hamilton City

Between Chico and Hamilton City, there is an abandoned almost processing facility that used to load Almonds onto trucks that would transport the agricultural commodity from one place to another. Agriculture is big in rural northern California. When I was a child we would drive by this facility on the way to Chico and I would see the trucks lined up to be filled with the products. Again, I had a personal history of seeing this place when it was a vital and functioning point of operation. Now, it was overgrown with dried weeds and was locked behind a chain link fence and off limits to the world.

The colors and overgrown dried plants gave it an extremely abandoned feeling. It seemed like it should have had some type of vehicle driving through and paying it attention. The fencing around the facility seemed to give it more of a feeling of desolation, as if it were being punished for failing in its task to operate and stay open all those years ago.

Clearly time had started to catch up with the facility and that is part of what gives places like this that abandoned feeling. However, the elements of overgrowth and dilapidation paled in comparison to our next stop, which was in Hamilton City itself.

Hamilton City and Holly Sugar

It is hard to quantify how much time had overtaken some of the sites in Hamilton City. Holly Sugar is probably the biggest and most obvious point of dilapidation, but by no means is it the only one in this small town. This is a town where I grew up for 17 years. It has more people than when I was there years ago, but it seems more abandoned than when I lived there, even though there are more people and newer housing developments on the outside part of town.

Holly Sugar was the point around which the town developed for years. My father had worked there for a long time, as well as many of my friends' fathers. I used to go visit my father when I was in high school and he would be at the weigh stations for the big trucks that would come through and get weighed before heading out with a load of sugar beets. There was a strong personal connection there for me. We would often drive into town during the processing season, and we could smell the sugar beets being processed. It was part of the character of the town, even if the smell was not great, it was a lot of community and economics associated with that plant.

So, when Brian and I drove up and got out of the car, we found this factory that looked like it could have been the setting for some type of scary movie. It seemed like everyone just ran out of there so fast that they did not even take the Christmas decorations down. It was as if there had been some cataclysmic event that drove everyone out and nobody even tried to look back.

Even though I grew up around the town, I do not remember the story about the factory closing, only that it did. The fact that there were disintegrating Christmas decorations hanging everywhere around a deteriorating fence that surrounded the abandoned place just added to the mystery of the site. To top it all off, as we were shooting photos, there was a loose door just swinging in the wind, creaking eerily and just giving the whole place a rather odd atmosphere that I would expect to find in a horror movie or something. Had it been night, I think we would have not stayed, but it was the middle of the day, so it took the edge off the creaking door.

I plan to have this up in our online gallery here, the entire series on display, and to have an in person opening at a new gallery at the Chico Mall in August. The dates are not yet established, but I will post them once I know. I will talk about the journey to these places and trying to capture the story of what they were and what they are now. There will be a sale of the prints soon, both online and at the gallery. Please check out the entire show. It will be a wonderful series to share locations of desertion and solitude. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more in this series.

The Art of Loneliness and Deserted Places

Inspiration

I think one of the things that makes art so wonderful is that each person is able to explore ideas, concepts, and issues that connect with each artist. Through these connections we can explore our interpretations of what life looks like when addressing issues that are near and dear to us. For me personally, I have been struggling to keep a lot of ideas at bay while I have been addressing other issues that have been keeping me busy. Recently, I came across a source of inspiration to explore the idea of lonely and deserted places. Part of this is due to the fact that I grew up in places that had many places that are deserted and lonely. In rural northern California, there is no shortage of places to explore if you know where to look. However, even in urban areas there are places that emanate loneliness through the abandoned and neglected state of affairs that many buildings and city blocks are left in from better times.

I think what fascinates me with abandoned and desolate places is a sense of history that can be found with each one. There is a history waiting to be discovered with each place. A story can be told and retold and reinterpreted in many ways and so many times. Perhaps a places is waiting to be revitalized, or maybe a beauty is just laying undiscovered and needing to be appreciated.

Black and White and Color

Loneliness and desolation have a visual language all their own. Black and white is very effective in translating the ideas of loneliness when applied correctly to other elements of composition and design. Color can be helpful, but the right colors must be used. If the wrong colors are used there is a risk of conveying another type of emotional content that does not fit the theme of a deserted and lonely location. There is a unique type of pathos that speaks to the human mind and soul when visually discussing loneliness.

Currently, I am trying to think of places that will fit this ideal so I can convey this story of desolation and isolation in a way that reflects my vision. This weekend, I have a trip planned up further north to where I am from in rural northern California. I will share my results on here when I get some progress, but suffice it to say that there are a lot of deserted places around where I grew up. Small town America is growing smaller, if you will. The big cities are growing bigger. For my purposes and vision of photographing rural California, I can't help but think of try to use black and white for this photo journey. I think some black and white with highly controlled accented tints in painting and drawing could work as well, but that is a separate issue for other media.

The Psychology of Solitude

Growing up in a small town, I came to appreciate the solitude that could be found in unpopulated spaces and in wide, open spaces. It really does us benefit to withdraw into ourselves and find that space of solitude. That is what I am looking for when I search out these photos. I want to find a place that convey peacefulness even in its abandonment. There is a monastery close to my home town, and there is this small park with a solitary basketball court and picnic benches skirting a railroad track that looks to be completely out of use. There is a post office across the street that looks like it is barely open anymore. There is also a small town where I grew up and while the number of people in the town looks like it has grown since I was there in my youth, there is this increased feeling of abandonment because of the sugar factory that went out of business years ago, and all that is left of this thriving factory that gave people their livelihood is a shadow of its former self, standing silent vigil over this town struggling to grow despite the loss there.

There is a wistfulness in visiting these places for me. One has a bit sadness, while the other has strength-boosting peacefulness. There is a story in every place, around every corner, and within every structure, whether it is inhabited or abandoned. I think the mistake that many people make is that abandoned is always sad, but there can be so much beauty and calm in these places. That is what I am looking for as I begin this odyssey in search of a story about solitude in deserted places.

Teaching Art Classes in Chico, CA

This past weekend we held our first class at Katie's Quilts and Artisans Gallery at in the Chico Mall. It was a great success! We enjoyed being able to share our wealth of knowledge with people! It was great to share our love of art and the skills and techniques, as well as our philosophies, with everyone! It was also great fun to be able to teach the class with my mother, Esther, who was the one that first taught me. So, that experience is in itself priceless. Also, it allows the students to have the benefits of two teachers instead of just one, which is always helpful because it gives everyone a more personal experience.

For Brown Artworks, this is a new endeavor for us, but a completely enjoyable and worthwhile one, for sure. The class that we are teaching this month is beginning drawing. Next month will be beginning watercolor/watermedia and, also, beginning portraiture. This month, the class runs a total of 4 days. Next month, both classes will be 2 days each. 

One of the challenges in creating classes is trying to figure out how to get as much information to everyone in a short amount of time. The responses have been gratifying since everyone seems to be enjoying the experience.

As a teacher, as well as an artist, I approach the classes from multiple standpoints. It is always a balancing act of trying to find that point where you give enough information, but not too much, and each student has enough practice time in the class to be able to gain some experience in carrying out the tasks and receiving feedback in the process.

If you want to know more about the classes, or sign up, visit:

Katie's Quilts & Artisans Gallery

1950 E 20th St. Suite A100
Chico Ca 95928
530-828-9569

The gallery entrance is next to the main mall entrance, near Dick's Sporting Goods. The gallery also carries our art work too, so you can see what is new and exciting with the work that we are doing. If you would like a link, go here: http://www.katiesquiltschico.com/services.html - it will take you to the website where you can read about what this gallery is doing.

Before finishing, I just want to say this last piece. While making art is wonderful and we love making it, teaching it is a chance for us to give back to our community and help create greater appreciation and understanding for what the arts mean to us, to the community, and as an overall experience. Giving back is a totally different experience and we strive to try to create an experience where each person comes to enjoy art and hopefully enjoy what art can do for everyone. If you get a chance, come by and check out what we are doing!

Have a wonderful day!
Jesse

Brown Artworks (our family art company) has recently partnered with Katie's Quilts and Artisans Gallery to show our art and start teaching art classes through the gallery. We are very excited and we have a large variety of classes coming up in the next few months. The first class up is a beginning drawing class and there will be a meet and greet this coming Saturday, March 4th, at the gallery to talk about this class, our other classes, our work, and any other questions that may come up! My mother and I will be teaching the first class and it looks to be very exciting! I hope everyone that is able will come out and see what we have to offer! This is a wonderful gallery located at the Chico Mall. It has an outside entrance close to Dick's Sporting Goods, on the right side of the mall entrance as you walk in. A link to the page about the classes is here: http://www.katiesquiltschico.com/services.html - This gallery also has a large number of our works of art. So if you are a fan of our art, come by and take a look as well! We look forward to talking with all of you who are able to come!

The Simplicity of Light and Shadow

"Oakland Estuary 22"

DSLR Nikon 5200, February, 2017

Edited with Adobe Lightroom

By Jesse Brown

A long time ago when I was in college studying art history and the Baroque period of art, I fell in love with the idea of teneberism and the way the artists of that era used light and shadow to add emotion to their work. High degrees of contrast often evoke strong feelings of emotion and drama, which brings people closer to a work of art and creates a stronger connection much of the time. This can be achieved in many ways and styles. Depending on the subject and composition, the effect can be very powerful. The above photo I chose to use for this particular entry fits well for me because I like how dark the water appears in contrast to the bright figures. The morning sun creates great lighting that is easy to work with and has a great feel to it for photography. I read an article once that you have to wake up early to catch the morning light and get the best shots of the day. I think that is true because of what I say in the title. Light and shadow are very special in the morning and bring a feeling that draws viewers in. Once you understand how light and dark work together with your subject matter and composition, finding successful photos will be so much easier. Also, if you are taking photos on a special occasion, find that early morning spot for your photos with a nice background, and you will not be disappointed. within an hour or so after the sun rises is still good enough in many cases to get that good lighting. I really enjoy this in summer. 

The photo above has a few things that are working for it. The lighting, as I described before. The long format emphasizes the long lines of the composition. The various layers of the landscape that mirror the format of the long photo also work to create a repetition of flow within the photo. Of course, my favorite part of this photo is the deep blue of the water creating the contrast with the rowers. Teneberism was a term used more for painting, but the concept has served me well in making much of my art. Take a read through art history and look for it, particularly for some of the paintings by Carvaggio. I think you will see some good ideas for making your own art and shooting your own photos.

Photography from Alameda, CA

Color Photograph, DSLR Nikon 5200, edited with Adobe Lightroom,

February 11, 2017

"At Sunrise"

one of the things that I have tried to deal with and explore is this balance between working insane amounts of hours and still finding ways to express myself in art. Photography has been a big help. I have to say, the speed with which I can turn out 30+ edited photos is extremely appealing compared to the painstaking pace of creating drawings and paintings. However, these processes of painting, drawing, and photography are so far apart that it is not really a fair comparison. However, given that I can satisfy some of my creativity by exploring this relatively new process of photography, it is extremely gratifying that I can at least get something done that satisfies some of my artistic vision.

I set out this morning at 7:30 am to capture some of the sights with the morning sunrise. Morning light is the best and provides for some of the most dramatic compositions. It also gave me a chance to explore what my camera is able to do. I really enjoyed the opportunity to do this. By 8:45 am I was back at my home and starting to edit some of my best photos from the morning. After a break for a meeting and some more editing, I was done with my editing for the day by 11:30 am. I had 33 new pieces I was relatively happy with and I felt I accomplished a lot.

This simple process of going out and exploring my artistic vision and experimenting with my artistic materials was a simple pleasure that I have been wanting to incorporate into my routine for awhile. Also, with some new art classes that I will be teaching on the horizon, I really wanted to get more active in the artistic side of the business instead of the business side of the business! It was a successful day, in my opinion.

I am trying to stay close to home and explore more of what is around me to express much of my artistic vision. Afterall, artists represent their environment and what is around them. It is the best place to start for me. I am proud to say this day's output is all local ideas and imagery, edited to what I wanted to express in each image. I am trying to build upon several ongoing series that I have already begun. Be sure to look for the next show in our online gallery. It will be going up soon. I will have some of my new series represented there. Thanks for stopping by and reading about the latest adventure in my artistic journey!

~Jesse Brown

A New Series of Photographs Focusing on Martial Arts

As many of my friends and those who follow me know, I am a practitioner, fan, and follower of martial arts. I am working on a new series in photography that will portray the martial arts in a very artistic manner. The first three of this series are posted on Brown Artworks' Facebook page. I am truly excited about this for a few reasons. The first reason is that it is a completely new series that I have yet to explore in photography. Anytime I am able to start a visual exploration of a topic it becomes an artistic adventure, which is so fun for me. Art is about discovery and expression and I enjoy that part of it more than anything else. The article I wrote that accompanies the first three images can be found here: http://thewayofthewarrioralamedakenpokarate.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-building-of-foundations-in-kenpo.html  - so take a read when you can. Another reason I am really excited to work on this series is I get to collaborate with my wife, Gina, and my friend, Brandon Hubbard, of Brandon Hubbard Kenpo Karate. Brandon is a very talented martial artist and a friend of mine who also teaches and trains in the same art as me. I am excited to see the results of our work as it unfolds this year. Gina is very talented behind the camera and she will be shooting the photos when I am in front of the camera. That brings me to the third reason I am excited about the project. I will get to be the subject of some of the work. Even though I am in front of the camera instead of behind it, I find it is easy to work with Gina in combining our ideas and points of view to make some great results.

Art, like martial arts, is a journey. The journey excites me and makes me want to work more at what I do. I find that it is important to have enthusiasm for what you do, because without that, where do you find your motivation to push forward in the endeavor? Surrounding yourself with good ideas, good people, and lots of adventure in an experience makes for a great time and great memories to share with others. In this case, the memories can be shared with the art that is created.

The other hope is that the series will connect with people. I want that to happen and to have other people take something away from the experience that I had in creating the new work. Work like this is kind of specific in that the subject gravitates towards those who are interested in the martial arts or that type of experience and/or culture. However, I hope that the work will be unique enough and artistic enough that it will appeal to those who may not have prior experience in the martial arts, but they may gain an interest from the story that it tells.

Art tells a story. Now, that story may look a little different for each person taking in the work, but there is always a story. There is a story behind that golden belt in the picture above. What does it represent? Why is it hanging there? Why only a belt? What importance does the color have? Why is it tied instead of just being loose? There is a story. I like to leave part of the story for interpretation by each viewer. In addition to the story, I want something to be aesthetically pleasing that you can hang in a livingroom or a bedroom also. It will be my goal, our goal, to create a story that shares something with the viewer.

Please stay tuned and look for the series to continue. Once again, thanks for taking the time to read. I always appreciate the participation.

-Jesse

Jewelry by Gisella Williams and Ada Lee

Nov. 11 Jewelry Sale from 10-4

2241 St. George Ln. #1, Chico, CA

Earrings by Gisella Williams

Necklaces by Ada Lee

Earrings by Gisella Williams

Jewelry making is one of those tasks that takes great attention to detail and personal commitment in creating interesting and pleasing designs. We are fortunate to have a wonderful artist in our family that can do that. Gisella Williams will be at the shop on Friday, November 11 from 10-4 to make her jewelry and sell work! I encourage anyone who is interested in buying a gift for someone for the holidays, or maybe they want to dress up some with a new pair of earrings or a necklace, to come by and see what we have. The jewelry is handmade and personally designed by our artists! The prices are affordable to being with, but there is a 10% discount on Friday also! Come take advantage of it and take in the art show that is up! There is lots more to buy as well if you are interested in other things like cards, paintings, purses, and more and they are all handmade! 

Brown Artworks November 11 Sale

Greetings family, friends, and fans of art. I want to just take a moment to talk about the first of our Friday sales during this holiday season that is coming up. This week, November 11, 2016 features 10% off already low prices on our jewelry that is handmade by us. We are excited to share this with you and share our work with you!

It has been a dream of ours to bring art, affordable art, to everyone. This is one of the opening steps in that process. We believe in making art for everyone. We want you to be able to feel like when you enter our shop that you are entering more than just a studio or a store, but a family space and you are our guest. So, please, make yourself feel at home with us!

We will be open Friday, from 10-4 and we look forward to sharing that time with you! Please see the attached map here to help guide you to our wonderful location! Have a wonderful day and come see us Friday!

~Jesse Brown~

Portraits of the Sea: A Preview

Portraits of the Sea: A Preview

I am so excited to be writing this new blog entry today. We have some very exciting news! We are holding our inaugural opening as a business and our first featured event is called "Portraits of the Sea." We will be posting the online gallery, Gallery of the East Bay, on November 5, the same day as our opening in Chico, California. Our family is so exciting to be able to bring our art to share with family, friends, and community in an effort to bring art to as many people as possible. An underlying theme of what we do is make "art for everyone." I have believed, and our family believes, that art is an experience that should be shared each day in a variety of ways, and we want to bring this passion and enthusiasm to our viewers, customers, fans, and whoever else wants to engage in some sort of artistic experience, whether it is viewing art, buying art, discussing art, and any other activity with art.

We are a family of artists that has shared our art with each other our entire lives, so we are looking forward to bring that to our communities, which is Chico and the general Bay Area. We are split between both communities and call both communities home.

We have a variety of experiences happening on November 5th to celebrate this first show. First, it will be a display of our online show. Each month or two, we will rotate our show and our theme and feature new work and an opening. November 5th is the first one. People in Chico will be able to experience the work first hand, of course, since it will be featured there. However, since it will also be featured online, it can be experienced by people anywhere in California, the US, or around the world. We are excited about this and look forward to expanding our audience for art. Of course we encourage people to interact and engage with us (the artists), in person in Chico this November 5th, and online via the comments section.

In addition to that, we will have multiple raffles going on November 5th for those that show up in person. It will be exciting and a chance to win some free art creations from us! Details of the raffle and the prizes will be available at the site, 2241 Saint George Lane #1, in Chico, CA. The gallery and shop will be open from 12-6 pm that day.

In an effort to expand the art experience for everyone and make it family oriented, we will have art activities set up for kids to participate in! We want to make art a fun experience across the board for everyone, so we will have things for the kids to do when you show up!

Of course, if you see something you really like, all the art will be up for sale, but more than just what is featured in the show. Art from all members of the family will be there. All of us will be on hand to talk about art, the show, and what is coming up in the near future.

This show has been a dream come true for us. We have been working towards this and waiting for this to happen for some time now. The piece featured above is by Esther Brown and she will have a variety of pieces featured that relate to her experience with the sea. You can see and explore her unique vision of life and the ocean and how they relate to each other for her. This will be featured both online here and at the site in Chico. 

If you have any questions, please contact us. You can contact us through the comments here, on our Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/Brown-Artworks-392872914096718/ - and our website - http://www.brownartworks.com/ - and our gmail - brownartworks@gmail.com. Below is a flyer for the event itself, in case you have not seen it yet. We are really excited to host this event and share our art experiences with you! Thanks for reading and come visit us on November 5th!

-Jesse Brown, Artist and Partner of Brown Artworks

Remembering 9/11 Fifteen Years Later

    Normally I would not write about an event like this unless it was connected to some type of art event. However, given that it is 15 years later, it seems like something should be written to help remember that time in our country. My perspective is one of a person who was all the way on the west coast of the US in California. Despite that particular fact, that day and time period in general remains firmly etched in my memory. This was event that touched us all, regardless of where we lived in the US.

    I am sitting here watching the series of productions recounting that day on the history channel, and the memories come rushing back as if it was just yesterday I watched the TV and what was being recounted about what was unfolding on the east coast of the US. Ironically, someone called and woke me up and told me about what was happening. I was still asleep because it was between 6-7 in the morning in California. I turn on the TV and I could not believe what I was seeing on the screen. It was unreal. After watching for a few minutes, the news reports another plan hit the WTC. The surreal image of the plane hitting the WTC was beyond any concept of reality that I had believed possible.

    At some point I remember hearing reports about planes hitting the Pentagon and another one crashing into a field. My thought, after putting all of the news together, was that the US was under attack. In spite of all this news, I still had to report to work, which was at a middle school where I was an instructional assistant while I was finishing my master's thesis. Obviously, all the teachers at the school felt the weight of what they had all seen that morning. Conversation about the event dominated the lunchroom. People had varying degrees of responses. I remember on teacher was a veteran and he mentioned that he was listening to the pledge of allegiance he started to tear up, saying it had new meaning for him in light of what had just happened. The teacher I worked with, he wanted to be sure to keep the TV off in order to shield the kids from the traumatic news. In the art class, the teacher had the students draw out what they were thinking and feeling. Needless to say, I saw a lot of images that were moving. One image that has stuck with me is a drawing that showed a plane flying into the two towers. Even 3,000 miles away, the  news of what was happening in NYC was traumatic for all age groups. It was clear that there was no escaping the emotional repercussions of this event.

    After the initial shock of the morning, most of my memories of the event and how people reacted to it blended together . All of the following hours, days, and weeks move together as if they are being pushed by a swirling wind from that time period.  Sobering would be a word that could capture an undefined period of time after 9/11. You could not turn anywhere or talk to anyone without the subject coming up daily...and that would be for months afterwards. It was an event that helped redefine our nation. The news, TV, classmates, coworkers, people at church, and everywhere else that you turned you could find the topic as a point of discussion.

    Even today, 15 years later, it still dominates our dialogues one day each year. For me, at the time, I compared it to what I had read about with Pearl Harbor. It is as if we had made Pearl Harbor a national holiday, but instead it seems like, today, that 9/11 has nearly become a national holiday. It has not been named one as yet, but the recognition is there just like it is on Memorial Day and Veterans' Day. My mother would tell me she could always remember where she was the day Kennedy was shot. There are just moments in history that stand out for each person on a personal level. It is as if there is a marker that is dropped on you to help place in time at that moment because it is so important. I have two times like that. I remember where I was when I heard that President Reagan had been shot. Even more vividly, I remember where I was for most of that day when I heard about what happened on 9/11. These moments in time are rather inescapable from our memories. Sometimes what does escape our memories is the aftermath on a day-to-day level.

    I commuted for 2 years to work from 2002-2004. I drove 2 hours per day and I used to listen to NPR and hear about the war in Iraq every day. I listened to endless analysis of military strategies, political bickering, partisanship, and the list could go on about what I heard in the aftermath of 9/11.  Our country was fundamentally changed forever. It still is today. Terrorism changed everything for the US. While the effect of what happened on 9/11 may be somewhat muted, the memory is still there. Students still ask me about that day. Conversations come up and memories are reviewed. I think what is lost on many of us is the resulting politics that have come from that event. What I believe we should do is remember, but also think of how it is important for us as individuals and as a country so we do not forget and we appreciate what the day means for us.

    For me, the memory of that day is strong and the fact that it is 9/11 today brings back many memories of how that day went on. It is a time to remember those who have lost and appreciate what we have and to show compassion for those are still directly affected by it. It is a day that does not escape my memory just because the sheer magnitude of all that went on that day cannot be forgotten.

    

12th Annual Huk Planas Seminar in Paradise, CA

Master Planas at the 12th Annual Seminar in Paradise, CA

I have had the chance to attend quite a few seminars with Master Planas, and it never disappoints. Now, I may not have attended as many as a lot of people, but I have been to enough of them to have a pretty good feel of how they flow and understand what they are like. Every seminar is a unique in its presentation. It is not that each one is entirely different, but each seminar is a moment in time with someone I believe that is incredibly detailed and knowledgeable about the art of Kenpo and has very specific standards and expectations of what it should look like, as well as how it should be trained. 

I cannot speak about other seminars with other people because I have been  following Master Planas's line of teaching pretty exclusively. However, what I can say is that he has a very technical and practical way of looking at the art and he asks us to have the same high expectations that he has. Given that, I kind of view a seminar with Master Planas like a training session with a mast coach. I am looking at the Olympics as I write this out, and the parallels seem very appropriate between the world of sport and martial arts. I played sports in college, and most of my counterparts that have played sports and do Kenpo would probably would agree with this analogy.

In sports, one strives for excellence and studies the absolute best and most efficient way to move and perform in order to excel at whatever sport he or she practices. It is the same with Kenpo Karate. The only things is, when Master Planas frames the concept of whatever it is we are doing, it is critical that we understand that the real test won't be in the dojo, but in off chance we have a moment in the world outside the dojo where it becomes necessary to exercise what we have worked so hard to train. Until then we simply strive for excellence and perfection. Excellence is a high standard, while perfection is an ideal that we have to keep in mind as we strive for excellence.

Scott Halsey and David Garcia training at the seminar in Paradise

One of the things I really love about seminars is that Master Planas has stories to help teach his concepts. He talked about this student he had in a seminar where he could do a front flip (or maybe a back flip, I can't quite remember which at the moment). He essentially told us that Kenpo is not hard. It is a set of rules and principles that are to be followed, but beyond that, it is pretty simple, especially when compared to the young man doing flips in class. There are no flips expected in Kenpo. Flips are hard he acknowledged. He said Kenpo is a series of basics put together in a certain way following rules and principles to make sense. (In case Master Planas is reading this, I had to summarize his message from the seminar, that is not verbatim, but I believe it is accurate with the spirit of what he was explaining to us).

Video from the seminar

I believe when he tries to explain things simply he is really trying to get us to understand how efficient and beautiful Kenpo is in its practicality and efficiency in its job of defending us. However, Kenpo can look more than simple to the casual observer because it is sophisticated in its movements. I mean, after all, if we are to continue the analogy with sports and the Olympics, how difficult is it really for a person to run a straight line? Yet, running the 100 meter dash is incredibly intimidating to most people because of the level of intensity and sophistication employed when athletes at the Olympics compete. Most movements, however, are pretty straight-forward. Most of us understand how to move naturally, it just takes some time and thinking about what we are doing. 

Bruce Epperson and a brown belt practicing a technique

Kenpo is so many things in so many ways, depending on the point of view of each person and practitioner. This is what my instructor, Chuck Epperson, explains to me. Each person is going to have their own interpretation of the movements and what works for him or her. Also, the experience and journey of Kenpo is going to look different for each person as well. However, what I find so comforting and refreshing at these seminars is the camaraderie and feeling of family that you experience when we all get together to share and learn about Kenpo. A seminar is a celebration of Kenpo for us, I think. For me, also, I always extremely appreciate being able to hear and learn from Master Planas. He explains things in ways that are very understandable, but it also helps if you have been to a seminar before. What I notice about our seminars here in northern California is that we have a lot of regulars...and I think just about all of us were regulars at this last seminar. When this happens, it becomes a little easier to expand on some of the information that we built upon previously. It makes for a lot of layers of learning that are built upon through the year as we go from seminar to seminar. 

For me, there is a level of excellence and expectation that we have and try to hold ourselves to. It is not easy, but it is comforting to know that it is there as a standard for us to strive for. We all feel it and try to strive for it. We may interpret it differently, but it is there and it reminds me a great deal of when I was competing in college in track and field. Only what makes this so much more special for me, is that Kenpo is a an art form as much as it is a sport. There are so many aspects to embrace that every time I step on the mat or into the dojo, it is an adventure that embraces the very best of what it means to train toward an ideal of something. These diverse aspects of training and practicing martial arts embraces artistic expression, academic thinking, athletic performance, camaraderie and brotherhood, and the sense of family. It is diverse and beautiful, and the seminars are a great celebration and reminder of what we have when we come together to learn and train.

Chuck Epperson and his brother Bruce Epperson at the seminar in Paradise, CA 2016

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