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RE-INTRODUCING MYSELF, MARGHERITA NOT MARGARITA AND SPRINGSTEEN

Francis Ochoa

HEY EVERYBODY!

It’s been a while since I last wrote a post. A lot has happened and I think I’m going to start writing on here again because I think it’s important to journal life as it happens. (I know I already do this through my art and poems but here it will be more transparent and less shrouded in metaphors n shit).

Anyway, as I finish this Americano that I got dressed and drove 10 minutes for, I think it would be a good idea to re-introduce myself because since my last post, we’ve reached over 7000+ followers and that’s a huge milestone for me. Many of you might not know who I am and what I’m about, even if you see me on social media a lot. My name is Francis and I’m 24 years old. I grew up in Upland, California and its surrounding areas before moving to Dallas, Texas for a few years. As you may already know, I’m an artist and I love art! Although I appreciate all types of art, I’m mostly drawn to art that comes from the renaissance, baroque and rococo eras which I think gets reflected in my work sometimes. Sometimes I also do photography. I will probably make a photography gallery section on my site when I get the time.

I guess one of the main reasons why I wanted to re-introduce myself again was because I’ve had this feeling that I come off as unapproachable on social media sometimes and I get that. This is an effort to be more open to you guys who support me and what I do. With the idiosyncratic way that people mostly use social media, it can become a little intimidating to approach people online especially when I’ve seen some people actively avoid any type of interaction (which I get because sometimes people cross personal lines) but I haven’t had that problem so it’s all good in da hood. We’re all friends here. i just don’t want to come off as cold anymore.

LIFE UPDATES:
- Finishing up this semester (not my worst, but definitely one of the more time demanding semesters I’ve had - I HAVE 3 HISTORY CLASSES / given that two are art history classes, it’s not much of a problem but the ancient history class that I have is kickin my butt).
- Recently learned a new technique in painting which I will go into more depth below.
- Been listening to lots of Springsteen lately. Any Springsteen fans here?
- Big props to Margherita Pizza and Buffalo wings. Some of my current obsessions.

I recently got a Margherita pizza and have been obsessing over it ever since, I think about it in my sleep. So I decided to look into it more and in my research, I understand that a “Margherita” pizza, not to be confused with “Margarita” the drink, is a type of Neapolitan pizza. The definition of what a Neapolitan pizza isn’t clear to me but from what I understand it is a type of pizza made with a specific type of tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. I also read that because of the way it's made, it’s usually smaller (about 8”) so it’s more of a personal pizza. Very interesting to me, I will do more pizza research and return with a higher understanding of pizza facts.

Onto my next topic, I feel like a FOOL for painting wrong this whole time. For the last year or so, I have been layering and blending my oils incorrectly. I once believed that I had to blend as I went along, this results in muddied color, bland highlights and overall a not so good painting. But I recently found out how to use a “blending brush”, I know that’s not what it’s called but for this blog, that is what we’ll call it. So instead of using one brush to paint and blend everything simultaneously, I have been putting down different values and instead of using the same brush, I use another DRY brush to blend each color into another which works A LOT better. I also began painting a little big bigger in terms of portraits and I’d say it’s working out for me so far. So here’s a portrait I’m currently doing. See below:

D44JSd5U0AAoFRD.jpg

LETS TALK MUSIC!

What does Maroon 5 mean to u?

For me, it’s hard to say. I’ve been more or less a casual fan. I first heard their songs when I was a lot younger, I’m assuming it’s from their Songs About Jane album but I don’t remember much about it. But I definitely remember hearing “This Love” somewhere as a child. But anyway, if you’re looking for some tbt type of music today, I suggest listening to their song “Girls Like You”. Back to my initial question, I don’t know what exactly they mean to me but it reminds me of the whole era of teenage relationships - nothing in particular, but just the idea of being younger and feeling lost in the chaos of it all. I guess if I were to put it into one word, it would be the word “uncertainty”. Shout out to Maroon 5. They’re doing their thing.

I want to talk about the song “I’m on Fire” by Bruce Springsteen. More specifically, the music video. in the music video, Bruce plays the part of a car mechanic (in his typical working-class guy fashion) and a woman comes into the shop asking to get her car done. Bruce accepts. We see him lying in bed looking at the ceiling, deep in thought. By the end of the video, he goes to return the car in the middle of the night, he thinks about knocking on the lady’s door presumably to ask her out but then thinks better of it and then drives off in the night. Lots of vibes here. Very heavy video and it’s a little bit sad to me but I get it and I respect it. You don’t see that often these days. The song also has a very interesting production — interesting palm mutes to go with the melody of the song. I’m not so sure what the instrument that plays alongside it, but it seems like an organ of some type. It’s a good song and I recommend it if you’re into 80s vibe.