Time lapse and floral gardens

Ok.  So first,  If you follow me here,  Please forgive the apparently huge gap since I last posted.  I’ve had two sites going on simultaneously and FINALLY got around to merging them.    All of my news and random stories will be back here again.   I’ll also likely be posting a few 2015 recaps in the next couple weeks as unfortunately the last year or so of my life was erased when I tried to merge them – I guess that’s what you get when you try to do technical stuff that you don’t know how to do….

So back to today:  As you may know from my other site (which no longer exists),  I’ve recently been working on building up my portfolio for licensing work.    Among some of the projects I’ve been working on, are a series of courses through the Lilla Rogers Studio School.  One of the things I love  most about these classes is the different perspectives it gives me on my work.   It’s probably due to spending all my time alone with my pets and paintbrush friends  in a studio,  but the marketing, customer/client side of things has always eluded me.    It’s been fun to think about my work from that perspective and to experiment with different techniques and applications.   I’ll be posting a few past assignments over the next few weeks,  along with some of the commissions and show pieces  that I need to get back up somewhere.    For now,  this is my floral fabric collection for the home decor market.   I’ve always been in love with chairs (my house is full of refinished, reupholstered thrift store chairs),  but I think designing my own fabric for them is my new favorite thing.

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

 

Suspiciously peachy

As I was piling work by the front door this morning – going through my last second checklists and final chance editing before everything got loaded up in the car on route to my next show,  I realized a bit of color trending on my part.     Until that very moment, I had been in complete denial of my recent peachy pink, creamsicle orange… ( is it tangerine? ) color palette addiction.    I hate to be so predictable.

For anyone else who might have a similar obsession, all the pieces will be on display at Leanna NYC  through the first of October.   A few are available to purchase here.   

More revealing evidence:

Living room installation in orange

“Strange Places” limited edition on 2″ thick wood panel with resin. w/ dirty orange water.

Back view of wood frames. Surprisingly un-orange.

“Beast” limited edition on 2″ wood panel with red frame.

“Beast” side view

“Strange Places”. side view

“Strange Places” detail

“Who to Take When You Save the World”. limited edition on 2″ thick wood panel with red frame

Oh. and I also made a tiny village with the remnants from the wood frames. I painted the houses orangish – lest one square inch of my house remain otherwise.

Art is good. So are sports.

It took a few attempts with the printers to get the colors in this one just right (  green and gold are pretty essential to the theme after all),  But I finally have a limited run of “Rose City Til I Die” prints released for sale.

The reproductions are  6″x12″.  mounted on a 1″ wood panel and covered in a thick layer of plastic resin – which protects the piece and gives it a high gloss, glass like appearance.    All the hardware is attached so it’s completely ready to hang – no framing necessary.   Signed and numbered by me.   This is a VERY limited run piece.  I’m only making 15 total, and have already had quite a few requests – so these probably won’t last long.   Available HERE

I’ll be donating 50% of the proceeds from this edition to the Bald Faced Truth Foundation, a local organization aimed at inspiring joy and growth in area youth through the support of the arts,  athletics, and other co-curricular activities.      I’ve personally spent quite a bit of time working with kids in schools and shelters – hoping to share my love of art and sports with them.  I’m very passionate about the value that cultivating these interests can have on people’s lives.

Prints are available for purchase HERE

You can read more about The Bald Faced Truth Foundation HERE

Rose City Til I Die. Portland Timber’s Art show.

The Portland Timbers, in conjunction with Alberta Main Street and Art on Alberta, will unveil their new 2013 primary and secondary jerseys on Last Thursday, February 28, 2013. The unveiling will feature an art exhibition, with Timbers inspired art at Alberta Street galleries.    I’m super excited about this show, and for the opportunity to paint something in a slightly different vein than my usual work.  The army of fans who support the Portland Timbers, in my humble opinion, represent some of the greatest qualities found in this city… well except pity anyway.  There ain’t none of that.

The event will take place in 7 galleries along Alberta Street.  My own painting will be on display at Talisman gallery at 1476 NE Alberta.  If you are interested in pre-sale of the painting please contact me.

more information about the event can be found here:  http://albertamainst.org/whats-happening/green-gold-tribute-portland-timbers/

“Rose City TIl I Die” Acrylic and mixed media in resin on wood. 25″x13″ with frame.
$575

Painting view with frame

painting detail

Painting detail

$30 DIY rolling door

I am very very excited about my latest studio project.  I’ve been trying to figure out a cheap and easy way to put a divider up between my studio and the rest of the building:  One, because sometimes I like to do weird little dances while I paint, and two: because my dog doesn’t recognize the invisible borders of other people’s personal space.  Also, he likes to eat trash.  And I don’t suppose the other artists in the building especially want to come in to find their garbage partially eaten and otherwise strewn about their studios.  

I originally came across this basic idea somewhere online.  I did a cheapened version of it, and altered a few things to include stuff I already had around. It only took about 2 hours, and thanks in part to the nearby rebuilding center, I was able to do the whole thing for just around $30.  

I’m super excited with how it turned out… and now I am going to go paint and dance around the studio with my dog.

 

M is for magnet

So….  I kind of think alphabet paraphernalia is going a little crazy lately.   Maybe it’s a collective mourning of those little stacking blocks and alphabet books we all had as kids –  the nostalgia being regurgitated en masse in  oh so many clever ways.   Oh well.  I can’t help being drawn to the idea.  Maybe it’s the simplicity?  Or my affinity for art that’s meant to be touched (especially by sticky little kid fingers )   Plus, I wanted to make some things that I could stick on the newly magnetized painted walls in my studio.    

So, new in the etsy shop:   Chunky wooden alphabet magnets.    Mounted on lightweight wood blocks and covered in plastic resin . . . so the jelly from those sticky kid fingers will clean off easily.

available here

“The Internal Kind”

By popular demand, here’s yet another anecdote revealing more quirks of my sleeping habits / creative hang ups.

It should be explained first of all that I suffered from horrific nightmares growing up.   They weren’t standard nightmares about monsters or ghosts, which I was rarely affected by . Rather I was horribly terrified of the contents of my room, specifically every single doll and toy in it.   It wasn’t that I was afraid of them in a ‘Chucky” – cursed knife wielding sort of way, or that I dreaded they would chase down my family to a blood spattered conclusion.  In fact, nothing much gory happened at all.  Mostly the dolls just subtly changed positions all night long, reappearing in in gradually different positions, or getting slowly closer and closer to me every time I opened my eyes.   Sometimes their faces would almost unperceptively change shape and their features and limbs would grow slowly, gradually contorting into sinister expressions and disfigurements.  This unnerving, endless escalation to nothing petrified me.    I would wake up screaming and  jump out of bed, only to find that the dolls kept moving and changing and coming closer.  This would happen all night long, day after day, so that for a year and a half I never really knew if I was sleeping or awake.   It got so bad that my parents took all the toys out of my room and made me see a therapist.

I don’t remember liking her, and with her typical and complete lack of understanding, she once told me to draw the things that scared me, and then tear them up and throw them away.   This was by far the stupidest idea my 5 year old self had ever heard.  Though the dreams terrified me, I did basically understand that they were only dreams.  Drawing something on the other hand made it come to life, which was the last thing I wanted to do.  I ended up lying and telling everyone I did it, and then pretended the dreams stopped.  Eventually they really did.   BUT, I still will never sleep without at least one of my ears covered with a blanket.  And I will never ever draw something that I think is scary.

So:  A new painting.  “The Internal Kind”  On display through the month of June for the “Landscape show” at people’s gallery in Portland OR.

Opens Tonight June 16th: 5 -9pm

Peoples Art of Portland Gallery

700 SW Fifth (3rd floor) People’s is Suite 4005

Settlement Galleries

Pioneer Square Mall, downtown Portland

open Thurs-Sun 12-6pm

Carnivores and predators

The secret thoughts of Wolves and saviors from sinking ships,sea monsters, and swarms of evil birds.

Two of my most recent commissions:

New studio Construction part I

Finally, after months of searching, I’ve finally found the perfect art studio. Still need to do all the drywall, change out some of the light fixtures and build a booth for the resin, but the wall framing stage is pretty much complete – thanks to the two guys in the photo. I mostly stood around taking pictures and eating reeces pieces….

more updates coming soon.

Squirrel Taxonomy

 

I know it’s advised in the driver’s manual to NOT swerve or slam on the brakes to avoid hitting wildlife, but … and I should probably give this warning to anyone who might ever find themselves riding in my car, I will most definitely without a doubt swerve and slam on the brakes to avoid hitting an animal – specifically squirrels.   I will  careen into curbs, medians, or oncoming cars, and I will foolishly risk totaling my car, maiming myself, and potentially injuring any passengers or innocent bystanders who happen to be in the area.  My carelessness could cause a 10 car pile up, with vehicles exploding and human bodies and carnage being strewn across the road – and I would still, priorities in tact, first attend to the squirrel.  I know this is entirely illogical and also probably a crime, but it is the most likely outcome to the “squirrel jumping in front of my car” scenario.

In fact, if I even saw a squirrel get hit by a car, I’d needlessly swerve off the road to help it.  As I did the other day.  Contrary to what it appears, I’m actually very pragmatic about the biological fact of death, and I’m not especially emotional about it.  Nor am I very squeamish about normally squeamish death type things – like blood, disease, coffins,exposed internal organs or maggot infested rotting carcasses for example.  Those are natural, necessary parts to a beautiful cycle of life.  However, hurt, panic stricken small furry things desperately struggling to pull their hurt bodies off the road are another thing entirely, That makes me burst into tears immediately.    Therefore, swerving off the road for hurt animals is not a rare occurrence for me.   I happened to have many necessary supplies on hand, and luckily, the squirrel did not seem to be hurt too badly.  I considered that being manhandled and stuck in a box was probably just as traumatic as what he had already been through, but  I wrapped him up in a towel, put him in a box, and drove him to the audubon society for further manhandling anyway.

Because the rest of this story was so uplifting, we’ll end on a low note.  The squirrel ended up being an eastern fox squirrel, which is considered an invasive species.  Therefore, after all that, he had to be euthanized anyway.

Unlike most people I spoke with, and to my utmost gratitude, the guy at the audubon society didn’t seem at all surprised / confused / or in any way put off by the fact that I was so concerned with a squirrel.  I sometimes donate a percentage of painting sales to organizations I like (because I rarely have money to do it otherwise.)  So a percentage of this new one will be donated to them.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/87247230/stampede-original-woodland-elk-painting

"Stampede" mixed media and acrylic on wood with resin