last night the hubs and i went out for one of our last outings with our friend stef. after the ending of a very long relationship and some bad luck, she’s decided to move back to her home town in idaho. why someone would want to go from portland to idaho is beyond me, but she’s really dead set on it so i wish her all the luck in the world!

after getting together we hummed and hawed about where we wanted to go and finally set on going to the goodfoot lounge since we could just walk there from where we were at. i haven’t been there since i had my art show there a couple months ago (which i feel bad about). they have a brand new show up featuring a couple local artists and i was probably being really rude because i was spending more time looking at the artwork than listening to our friend. whoops.

one of the two artists they were showing was matt schlosky’s work. i’ve seen this kids stuff around quite a bit and have always been iffy on my feelings about it. i was feeling the same way last night too… i mean there was some great stuff, but then there was some not so great stuff. he had a few large scale pieces of artwork that were cool except for the fact that they were drawn/painted on old ikea cardboard. seriously? i mean, yeah – they were cool designs, but… they were on… cardboard. i’m all for using recycled materials but i thought that was a little ridiculous. do i sound like an asshole for saying that? probably… but it doesn’t matter what i think. there were actually a couple of them marked sold, so more power to him!

anyway – his other stuff was really awesome. so awesome in fact that i purchased my very FIRST piece of art. holy crap! not that i don’t own art but for as long as i’ve been painting, showing, perusing, curating and promoting art i have never actually laid down money for a piece. weird, i know – but this was the first time i felt compelled to purchase something. actually, what i did was i harassed adam for an hour straight until he caved and said we could buy it. that makes him sound like a controlling, jerky husband (which he is not), but he just wasn’t sure since we’re trying to save our pennies for traveling at the end of this year and it seems like the more we try to save, the more we end up spending.

bird vs. worm

this is the piece i bought. this is a bad picture of it that i stole from goodfoot’s website, but i promise i’ll take a snap of it when i pick it up at the end of the month. i was actually eyeballing a tiny tiny painting (because i’m obsessed with all things tiny), but this one was 4 times the size and only a few bucks more. i’ll also mention that this piece was severely under-priced. most of his pieces were. sometimes i just don’t understand how other artists set their prices.. it just doesn’t make sense to me!

i’m fairly happy with my purchase and have decided now that buying art is like getting tattoos… or eating chips… or saying four letter words or something. you can’t stop at just one. i’ll have to put any more art purchasing off until we go/get back from our adventures at the end of this year, but i’ve definitely got the itch now.

goodness gracious, am i tired. last night’s art show was a success and we sold lots of tiny art and i got to see some good people and catch up. in the next week or so i’ll be selling all my left-over paintings on etsy and after that i am taking a much needed and much deserved (at least in my opinion) break from painting. hurrah!

here are some pictures that were snapped during the show, which also include photos of the other two galleries the tiny show was connected to. amy ruppel was having an absolutely fabulous show right next door (and i also stole some photos from her).

my work

angel’s paintings. this kid always sells so much work.

richard, who was taking over the front gallery, had this outside. spooky.

ashley, one of the artists i had showing, standing in front of her shrinky dinks.

another one of richard’s pieces

the tiny show! it was busy all night!

amy’s work. her set up looked spectacular!

me, richard, and anna todaro (who runs studio coeur)

amy was being stealthy and snapped this pic of my new tattoo while i was fixing a painting w/ anna

that’s all for now! the show was great and i’m beat. have a happy 4th everyone!!

whoa, i have done a horrible job keeping on top of this.

i’ve been pretty stressed out lately. so stressed with putting the show together, painting, working, being sick and feeling overwhelmed. it’s always so easy to tell when i’m completely frazzled because i bake and cook. and i’ve been doing a lot of baking and cooking for the last couple weeks. i also rewarded myself with a new tattoo, which i got yesterday (and was a heck of a lot more painful than i was expecting).

anyway – things are starting to wind down now… both shows are this week and then i’m taking off to go camping/party/spend time with friends for the 4th. i am soo looking forward to getting out of town! until then, i still have a tiny bit of stuff to get finished for the show and tomorrow, my hubby and i go down to hang all the paintings from all the artists.

i didn’t get as many paintings done that i’d hoped. i only have 14 total. i have just a couple left to frame then i’m done for a while. i love painting, but after this month i may not pick up another paintbrush for who knows how long. i’m burnt out. bleh.

oh, and this is probably one of the most fragmented blogs i’ve written. sorry about that. i’m going to blame that on the summer cold. i hate summer colds! so does nathan explosion!

i may not have mentioned this before, but i am a big foodie. sure, i’m not a great cook per se, but i am a fabulous baker! i love food. i love to eat. i would be a lot skinnier if i didn’t. i’ve thought off and on about starting a blog JUST for food, but then realized i was far too lazy.

anyway – the hubs and i bought too many strawberries and i’ve been trying to find ways to use them up before they go bad. i think i have a good 2 or 3 days left and i see many desserts in the not so distant future.

comb-over. 3 x 4. oil on bristol

you won’t be seeing anymore pigeon paintings from me (at least for a while). this little birdie is sweet and cute and one of the pieces that i’ll have in the tiny show! actually, it is probably my favorite piece out of this series. adam also titled this one for me. i think he did an excellent job.

i can’t explain how excited i am for next month’s show! i don’t know if i mentioned it before, but the artists that are contributing work are all pretty amazing. each has a completely different style, but it’s all fantastic work! i just discovered too that the very talented and super sweet artist amy ruppel will be showing in an adjacent space. i got to meet her not too long ago and she is super nice.

anyway – about this show… there is going to be TONS of artwork. albeit, it will all be tiny artwork (5×5 in. or smaller), but tons and tons. this is what happens when I get to decide and curate shows. everything gets miniaturized. i love me some tiny.. well, everything.

i’ve been pumping out some fun paintings too and at this point, i’ll have about 15-20 paintings alone! the other artists showing are nate luna, ashley armbruster, randy laybourne and angel roman.

seriously, this show is going to be awesome! we’re gonna have some good music going, awesome friends, spectacular art and overall, a great vibe.

so you might have been wondering where i’ve been…

i’ve been lacking on the posts lately. mostly because i’ve been super busy, super stressed and frazzled beyond belief. oh, but the stress never ends. now that i’m done with a couple shows, i’m focusing on a new and final exhibition for this year. after that i’ll be taking a break from painting for a few weeks to de-stress. if i don’t, my head may explode.

this last show is also one that i am guest curating and i’ve asked some very talented friends and artists to participate. there’s going to be TONS of miniature art and i’ll have at least 10 new paintings on my own! i think it’s going to be really awesome. 5 totally awesome artists, 65+ pieces of original artwork, most $50 and under. i really wanted to do something where people could buy some cool art (even the broke people).

this exhibit will be opening for the first thursday art walk next month and i will keep you all posted as it gets closer!

well, i thought i would go ahead and post the rest of the pieces that were part of the stache bash on first thursday @ moshi moshi. some were already posted and i’m not re-posting them in this blog (but you can see them if you read back a little bit).

anyway – enjoy!

the burt reynolds (aka tom selleck). 3 x 4. oil on bristol (SOLD)

the lover (aka the frenchman). 3 x 4. oil on bristol (SOLD)

the kung fu master. 3 x 4. oil on bristol. (SOLD)

you’re doing it wrong. 7 x 9.5. oil on bristol

you’re still doing it wrong. 7 x 10. oil on bristol (SOLD)

waiting for puberty. 7 x 10. oil on bristol

hi all,

just a quick post. i’ve been super busy this week, had two shows, two nights in a row and severely need a break so i’m going to keep this short and sweet. i have a solo show TONIGHT at united state gallery and boutique in sacramento. if you live down there, check it out!

that is all.

she went that way. 6 x 9. oil on bristol

well, i’m finally/almost done organizing for the show thursday. if you live in portland, please stop by! all the important stuff can be found HERE!

my show is on thursday and i’m still getting ready. been pre-occupied with dog and hubby and being lazy i guess. i have a total of 12 small paintings. it’s a pretty small space they’ll be in and the paintings will only be hanging on one wall.

i’ve been painting on bristol for a while and mounting it on pvc. i have a TON of pvc for some reason and i’m all about using pre-existing materials than going out and buying new materials. recycling is awesome and i highly encourage it. it has been the bain of my existance though trying to figure out how to set the pvc up for hanging because it’s so thin and and slick. i’ve tried all kinds of things, and sometimes it has worked and other times it has not. one thing was always an issue though… it never looked nice. finally i had a martha stewart moment and thought, BUTTONS! it worked! and looked cute! yes! i even, in a moment of total dorkness, color coordinated the buttons to the paintings. lame – yes, but i don’t care.

on a completely different subject, i had to post this picture of my puppy, aesop. he doesn’t look so much like a puppy anymore , but he’s still pretty cute.

it was beautiful yesterday and adam and i were hanging out in our backyard when i snapped this photo. for some reason, it looks completely photoshopped to me, but i swear it’s not! does it look like that to anyone else?

i still have a lot left to do before my show next week at moshi moshi. i wanted to share the LAST painting i am getting done for the show though.

i think my paintings look quite different pre-paint. my thing is to have very clean and crisp linework and images and people often comment on it when they see my art. i think they would be surprised to see that for the majority of the process, they’re actually quite shaky and messy.

i’ll post the finished version of this on here when i’m done with it. just for now i thought it would be fun to throw a sketch up here. i don’t do it often (but would if you asked me to!)

omg.. i have heard a little bit about this musical for a while and i MUST see this. i seriously have a soft spot for broadway musicals. that’s what happens when you grow up watching every musical imaginable (courtesy of mom).

seriously, i get that strange tingly feeling in my body when i see musicals. i thought i had a religious experience when i was 16 and saw rent. i almost cried when i saw les mis and their beautiful rotating stage. and though i only caught the tail-end of the 80’s (i’m really a 90’s kid), i absolutely must see this musical!

if any of you live in new york… go see this for me and tell me all about it’s awesomeness!

ok, i admit that title is probably too deep. what i’m really talking about are our computers. we had to take our beautiful imac in because it’s been on the fritz. it’s been a little frustrating considering it’s practically brand new, but it looked like the hard drive was failing so it has to get taken apart and fixed. .

in the meantime, i went out and bought myself a brand new hp mini laptop and i love love love it. mostly because it’s soooo tiny and cute, but also because it’s MINE. i’ve been using adam’s macbook since we’ve been together since my old pc went to computer hell. i think i’m also really excited because this is the first time in a long time that i’ve spent this much money on just myself and for once it’s really nice to splurge on ME. the last major purchase i bought was the birthday present/tattoo for my hubby which so far has been close to $800.

speaking of tattoos, i’m getting ready to get a big piece done on my back. soooo excited! i’ll be trading this painting for it:

this is one of the bigger paintings i’ve done and it’s kind of been hanging around for a while. it’s one of those ones where everyone says, “oh, i totally want that!”, but can’t afford it. luckily the girl who does my tattoos is totally into trading, which is great for me because otherwise i wouldn’t be able to afford all my tattoos.

anyway – i think i’ll be getting it done within the next month so i’ll put up pics then!

i’ve been feeling extra inspired lately. probably because i’ve been looking at a lot of great art and in turn, pushing myself to try a little harder with my paintings. the last couple paintings i’ve drawn out, there is a lot more going on. there’s a bit of a story, more action and expression in them. my older stuff was like that and over the last couple years or so i’ve simplified things down into single characters with simple backgrounds and not much going on in them. i don’t know what it is. laziness? trying to save time? i don’t really have a good explanation for it, but i’m starting to tire of it.

i found this photo on john k.’s blog, who i mentioned in my last post. he breaks down this rice krispies commercial where there’s this old school animation of snap, crackle and pop. i saw this image of the girl dumping a whole spoonful of sugar into her cereal and and it made me laugh. i had a conversation with my hubby not too long ago about that. when i was a kid, i’d put heaps of sugar into my rice krispies (because we all know they don’t actually taste like anything) and it would all seep down into the bottom of the bowl and turn into this weird syrupy, sandy, liquidy concoction. my favorite part of eating rice krispies was, after all the cereal was gone and all was left was milk (i never ate the milk), scraping my spoon through the bottom, scooping up the sugar goop and eating it. that was the best part. for some reason i thought i was the only kid who did that until adam and i were talking about it. apparently it was his favorite thing to do too. who knew?

anyway – back to the original topic. i’m super stoked about these new drawings. i’ll post them up here when they’re done, which should be soon.