C Tann-Starr

Club Chaos Eye Candy: Briarwood, Queens County, New York Tour of Homes

It's a gorgeous day to play and I've been having mad fun running the streets with my Nikon and Droid collecting eye candy during my turtle run. Sometimes I hang out with my elderly neighbors at Hoover Park when I do my warm ups. We shared ruby red grapefruits (3 for $2 at the neighborhood fruit stand) and bottled water. I love living in this neighborhood. The Zagat rated restaurants are simply amazing, the houses gorgeous and list of things to do with the wee people pretty extensive.

Wanna see some of what I saw today? Welcome to my neighborhood... ;-)

Yes, I did run up the hill past the court house into Kew Gardens and will show you that bit of real estate jogging fun later. I have to get back to my park post. People are still waiting for that one (LOL). If you're going to be a tease you have to deliver at some point. Yeah, still sitting on the political post - not finished with the interviews (LOL). ;-)

Chasing Planes, Balconies and Nigerian Bakeries...

Yesterday I was chilling with my feet propped against the railing of a Brooklyn balcony enjoying the view while visiting with the mom of a gal pal. Sometimes I hang out with family and friends to relax and periodically bounce ideas off of them when scouting for locations. I grew up in Brooklyn and know it very well but my impressions are not the same as the people who live there daily. It's not just enough to film around a landmark, you also have to capture the neat neighborhood spots that the residence love to get other people to sit up and take notice. Outsiders don't know about the skate park, batting cage, firing range or best spot to get your fried grasshoppers (LOL). ;-)

We have a lot of Gateway Recreation locations you can have mad fun at. People frequently forget you can visit several beaches without leaving New York City. I have some really cool digital film I shot off the shores and need to go edit my clips into a 15 minute short so I may be missing for the rest of the day. I also have to compose new music for it. I am working on a brief animation. :-)

I also need to high-jack a couple of NY balconies to film from later this week (starting with this one - LOL). I require snackage while backpacking between guest homes so I kinda need to find a really cool Nigerian bakery because one of my hosts is from Nigeria...

My fave Jamaican bakery is no more so I am in boo hoo mode having a pity party on my futon about that fact (but eventually plan to get over it when my girlfriend ups the new address to where I am supposed to be going next for my curry goat and tasty pastries. I am chubby for a reason people - LOL).

As of this moment I am having lunch on my own but shall be meeting up with the girls for dinner at one of my fave outside offices. I need more beach reference material. My film requires that I paint a couple of land and sea scapes so we don't have to squabble and haggle regarding the artwork hanging on the characters walls. The music is coming along well. I should be heading down I-95 soon to record some vocals and throw the Minion Blur a turning 5 party. It's not an accident that I selected one of his favorite Far Rockaway spots to film at. My shorties like planes, trains and automobiles... not to mention any beach with a pretty girl on it. ;-)

The only down side is the fact that we discovered you have to time the departures and arrivals of planes going into and out from JFK and LGA if you plan on filming at The Other End (LOL). Yesterday I had a plane pass overhead every 9 minutes like clockwork. That is going to make my life very interesting because the schedules and traffic patterns change daily so an all day shoot may be required just to cover three scenes that are less than ten minutes combined (LOL). ;-)

Been living out of my backpack for the last five days on an excellent adventure...

I'm sorting through some interesting photographs I took with my gal pal Emelia who is also a photographer. We've been chatting about possibly filming a few scenes in Brooklyn, NY and Mexico so I've been casing New York City for some Zagat rated Mexican dining with my girlfriends who are helping me scout film locations. Since it is my birthday month my gal pals have been treating me to some really neat foody paradise treats for April while we run around collecting eye candy.

South Mexican Flan with Strawberries is a must have desert and I enjoyed my visit to this wonderful little hole in the wall in Park Slope, Brooklyn to get some. I also sampled something new that I think you may want to try. They do fried grasshoppers and guacamole there and since Emelia dared me to have some of course I had to rise to the challenge, then blog about it (LOL). Never thought I'd eat bugs for brunch but I have to say it was pretty darn good. Kudos and congrats to Emmy for teaching me something new this week (LOL). ;-)

They have a patio in the back beneath a tent that is really cool but currently being renovated so you can not eat outside until the construction is completed. We plan to go back to eat under the tent because we're hoping to film there this summer.

The front dining area is very intimate but well worth the wait if a table is unavailable when you visit. It would very very tricky to film in such a small space but not impossible. It's on our short list of possible locations. We all gotta eat somewhere, eh? ;-)

Chiles & Chocolate (Mexican Restaurant)

54 7th Ave(between St Johns Pl & Lincoln Pl)

Brooklyn, NY 11217

Neighborhood: Park Slope

(718) 230-7700

Alicia Anderson is waiting for me to send the final photo selections over for the cover of her new book. She's my gal pal from the sixth grade and sings with me on the single "Amazing Grace - Believe." Click the link on her name to check it out.

We're doing another set besides the "Believe" project and Alicia's album will be based upon her book with additional material from Cher Johnson (lyrics). I'm high-jacking Jessica Rebecca Klein for tickling the ivory. Chicka is a classical pianist so of course I have to compose something interesting for her to do. ;-)

Alicia and her buddy Karen Jackson will be singing with my band uberMental for the project. I'm looking forward to recording in SC and GA with them. While I float off to do my Tann Starr - Wordy C - uberMental musical thang and finish drawing portraits so I don't get my "artistic butt kicked" (among other things - LOL) you guys can help us pick out the art cover for her new book.

Alicia has to upload the final selection to the publisher before the end of the week so here's a little eye candy from my jogging and blogging exploits in photography to choose from. Feel free to add your opinions to the comments section (or current e-mail pile from Hell that I am still sorting through - LOL).

I will write something serious, useful and real estate related tomorrow. Promise... My brokerage firm has closed. I need to go find a new real estate home. This should be very interesting (LOL). Do I pick a firm that blogs, or do I pick a firm who has no idea what and who I am?

My girlfriends want to unleash me upon some poor, unsuspecting old school establishment that doesn't use social media so we can laugh about me being a Google Whore while I rock their world. However, I keep thinking it would be nice to go work for some Tweetpeeps I know but they don't see any personal entertainment coming out of that because they already follow most of my friends and their blogs in Facebook, Twitter and ActiveRain.

Being easily amused, I kinda like the idea of joining a really small brokerage firm after saying goodbye to a large franchise and get their hints completely. It was nice while it lasted but now I have to go outside of my comfort zone and do a new thing...

How new is new? Stay tuned to find out (LOL). No contact about buying and selling until you see an address materialize on my blog, people. I have to sign a new contract before I go back to work. I also have a lot of real estate signs that need to be destroyed (I'm thinking about taking them to the outdoor range for target practice with some of my friends - LOL).

What? You didn't think I would simply toss them in the dumpster did you? (OMG - you are soooooooo not right. I would never do that because I paid a lot of money for this stuff. I need to have a fond memory of putting them to rest and if I poke holes in them while I poke fun at how the recession is screwing with my industry I'll sleep better about making the necessary changes. I'm quirky that way. Seriously - LOL)

Is blogging live from the range going to be that real estate post I talked about? Hmm... decisions, decisions... (LOL) but I digress... ;-)

Don't forget to DM me about the eye candy for the book. I have to e-mail Alicia the pictures so feel free to help me narrow down THE ONE to choose. I might even give away a prize for you guys being such a good sport about reading all my random musings (LOL). ;-)

Tann Starr - Unisphere, Flushing Meadow Park, February 21, 2011

Tann Starr - Red Buggy, Central Park East, February 20, 2011

Tann Starr - Grand Central Terminal, February 19, 2011

Tann Starr - Night Run, Central Park West, February 23, 2011

Tann Starr - Trump International Hotel, February 23, 2011

Tann Starr - The Tunnel, Central Park West, February 23, 2011

Tann Starr - Pier 17, South Street Seaport, January 30, 2011

If my kids were here Alicia's cover would have been done.

Noah and Stephen usually select my blog photographs. ;-)

Tann Starr Sketchbook Chronicles: Angelina Jolie 16x20 preliminary graphite #1

I promised you guys another peek into my process of developing an Agelina Jolie portrait, so here's page 12 from my sketchbook (which is not complete and in progress).

I've been studying Angelina's eyes all afternoon (when not watching her on Netflix, macking the cell phone and ordering Chinese from New Shanghi in Kew Gardens - LOL).

I spend a lot of time studying my subject because the more I learn and memorize of her features the easier it gets to draw them on demand or at a whim. When I finally figure out how to capture that "something intangible" in Angelina's expression, doing so will make her more easily recognizable in my illustrations. It's the eyes and lips I have to master before I start the painting. Learning how to visually portray her lips as soft, pouty and kissable is mandatory if I plan to pull this off with maximum effect.

Artists routinely calculate where they want viewers to concentrate their attention on, so we pick the things we like the most and play it up to the hilt. In my case, it's mastery of the eyes and lips that creates an intangible effect in an expression when one looks at one of my portraits. Think "Mona Lisa Smile" when you think of the word "intangible" and a light bulb will go off if you've ever seen the painting. I'm looking to have my version of that effect when I create the final mix media portrait of Angelina Jolie. I'm trying to discover how to create her brand of Mona Lisa smile.

I evened out the eyes a bit more on the second graphite study photograph so that it doesn't distract you as much while we concentrate on comparing the evolution of Angelina's lips. Far left the ink drawing of her lips are not as soft as the mid inked set, which is not as soft as the far right pencil (graphite) set. The more I experiment when I draw while learning AJ's features, the softer and more inviting they become. Artist trying to master their craft always go for the empathy link, trying to portray a feeling that will be shared by the viewer and elicit a response to what has been created. This process takes a lot of time and effort and will teach you unexpected things about yourself while you discover new things about your subject because how you feel about what you are creating sometimes can be visually transferred into your work.

From yesterday's Agelina drawing adventure you guys discovered I like creating pen and inks (among other things - LOL). You also discovered that I don't erase, just start over learning from my mistakes. Today we're going to chat about sketching with pencils (graphite) while comparing my techniques and latest mistakes. You don't have to be anal retentive and obsessive regarding your artistic creations like I habitually am but if you're going to get really good at your craft then stick to the rule of no erasing.

Not being able to erase makes you a more attentive artist, one that deliberates and calculates every single artistic stroke. If you are new at this, start small (with a fruit bowl or flowers) and slowly work you way up to observing and drawing more complicated subjects. I happen to love creating abstract paintings with my kids. Sometimes when people see me do that they think I can't draw (LOL). My gallery shows in SoHo are usually mad fun because more often than not people assume it's five different artists exhibiting on the wall when it's really just me doing exactly what I want when ever I want to (LOL).

I can do work similar to a number of the old masters because painting the masters was a required part of my vocational instruction under Mr. Murray Sherman. He gave great homework. I was practically living in Museums. He would buy art posters, tape them to the backboard and tell us to draw. I started buying art books, propping them on the basement table and not be seen by my family all weekend. My dad used to come home from work and discover me passed out on the floor sleeping with the paintbrush still in my hand. He would wake me up and tell me to go to bed to which my response was, "No. I'm painting," and I'd pick up where I left off as if drool wasn't crusted on my mouth (LOL).

That is how obsessive I am about creating works of art.

While in high school I won a couple of competitions and got scholarships to Saturday classes at Cooper Union and The Arts Students League. Lee's Art Shop is my fave spot to get supplies from in Manhattan. It's on 220 West 57th Street across from The Art's Students League and the Hard Rock Cafe (where I spent a good portion of my youth when not at the movies or in the martial arts gym running amok - LOL). ;-)

This is mad fun for me and sometimes I get paid to play in my paint (LOL). You know how joggers get those hormones that make them really happy when they run? I get happy like that when I create.

If you think fruit is boring and want to try drawing a face, you can start drawing a face any way you want. I usually start with the eyes, lightly sketch in the entire face, then rotate through developing one feature at a time (in this case AJ's right eye in the first graphite photograph). Notice how the left side (right eye) pops more than the rest of the drawing? It's because during the process I pick apart little points of detail to deepen the lines slowly to express what I think I'm seeing. I will be drawing a second face on the practice page (so as not to waste canvas paper) because I always notice something new and will have an update for you guys tomorrow showing this sketch further developed. ;-)

Drawing equals creating something from nothing. Creating something from nothing requires that you place particular emphasis on the planes and angles of your subject when you draw. What ever you see, you see it because light is bouncing off the surface to reflect planes and angles back at you. You must start by teaching yourself to look for reflected light patterns because it helps to give depth and meaning to the criss crossing of your lines which represent those planes and angles you're trying to break down into simple forms. If you don't pick and choose your ridges carefully you'll lose the ability to make a specific feature stand out as more dramatic than another. That's why I recommend starting with fruits and flowers. Starting with simple, familiar shapes helps to teach you to see...