Pieces of what I used to be.

WHOA HOLIDAYS! It's been a whole 19 days since I blogged last! Sorry, folks. I've been all around town, ya know? I went to visit my brother in Brooklyn for some pre-holiday holiday celebrations. It was really fun, and included fabulous food, lots of walking, staying in a lovely brownstone, seeing the Jim Henson exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image, sketch night at the Society of Illustrators, bumping into more friends than I planned on seeing, and buying some new yarn at Stitch Therapy, which was a block from where I was staying. I haven't knit in about four years, so it was really exciting to get started again! Below, the matching cowl and ear warmer I made from what I bought (they're really warm!!):

I caught up with an old RIT Illustration friend at the Society of Illustrators for sketch night! A new years resolution of mine is MORE DRAWING FROM LIFE! The models, as always, were fabulous!

More life drawing! Earlier this month, I experienced the Highland Park Lamberton Conservatory for the first time, and fell in love! It's like having a lush, tropical oasis in the middle of my mundane Western NY home! Membership for an entire year is only $10, so I jumped at the chance! Today was my third time there, but my first time sitting and drawing. Below, an hour long drawing:

Yay! It's here! The poster I've been working on all week! Smaller than actual size!

And... My art hung up in Kara's house! NICE!

Rye whiskey

I've been wanting to do a good dog drawing since I first saw Iron and Wine's beautiful cover art for The Shepherd's Dog, done by none other than Sam Beam of Iron and Wine. Beautiful.

I was also inspired by a really sweet dog on the train to Boston last week. This is my sketch of a whippet, I'm loving this dog's face structure, and coat. Beautiful!

Some new window paintings that are available for you holiday art shoppers at Wine Sense!!! Very exciting!

I went on an adventure the other day in search of architecture to photograph for an art-trade project. My travels took me out to Highland Park, to the "castle". It was really fun to run around here and have the place all to myself :)

From there, I went down to Mt. Hope cemetery. Do you know the difference between a graveyard and a cemetery? A cemetery has a fence around it, a graveyard does not.

I used to hike around cemeteries and graveyards quite frequently, and I do miss it. It's utterly peaceful, and many times, quite beautiful.

Mount Hope is well-known for its topography, featuring many eskers, which make hiking around really fun.

I was struck by the beauty of the old graves, yet again, for the art and typography from those who came before me.

It's sad to see that not every grave can be taken care of, despite the many workers at the cemetery. This one is a reminder of returning to the earth. One day, we, too, will be forgotten.

show poster sketch

Sketch for Bug Jar show on January 7.

Let's get out of here, past the atmosphere.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I enjoyed mine, traveling to Massachusetts to see family and going into Boston for Black Friday! You can only imagine my EXTREME EXCITEMENT when I got off of the train to see a BIKE SHARE! Roni and I were able to bike around Boston all day for only $5! The system is incredibly well-organized, and the bikes were extremely user friendly. The gears could be easily used by anyone, they had a nice step through frame for ladies and gents alike, easily adjusted seatposts with numbers to remember, very low gears, a nice comfortable cruiser setup, and big old tires complete with fenders to take any pothole you might encounter without damage! If the bikes were in need of repair, there was a button that you pressed when you returned the bike. Having read of bike shares in other countries, I am so proud that now I have used one! Another part that was a favorite of mine is the front rack with bungee cord, so you could carry groceries, your purse, jacket, etc!

Below, some sketches from the Massachusetts trip, on the left, Elmo the bloodhound, on the right, train times.

A very fun beginning to a VERY exciting project!

An old sketch of Roni from Java's.

This weekend I went to the Chili Cookoff at the Genesee Center for the Arts. Apart from being delicious, I got to peek in, yet again, on their beautiful letterpress printing equipment. This winter I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to take one of their letterpress courses! It would be so much fun to expand my art in this way! Note: I DID NOT CREATE THE IMAGE YOU SEE BELOW.

I'm on cow #4 for a client! The cow is very popular :)

Finally, from the sketchbook. I've been trying to sketch more.. I always have that angel/devil/whatever on my shoulder pushing me to sketch more. I love the sketchbooks that take mixed media like a champ!

I just went down by the water.

I'm trying to create an entire new body of work for a future show, and the beginning part is definitely 1. really fun 2. really scary 3. really crazy. So many ideas are going around in my head, here's a few ink sketches to warm up with. The fabulous Adele:

A cute little bird:

I got some inspiration this weekend as well going to the art opening of RIT Illustration alum/gradstudent Ben Rubin. It's always REALLY fun to catch up with fellow RIT Illustrators along their paths down the road of life. It featured Ben's prolific, gestural, musical sketchbooks, his father's shiny colorful paintings, his sister's crafts and dark, colorful paintings, and his step sister's gorgeous wood block prints. What a talented family! From Ben's blog:

We had our SECOND ANNUAL ROCHESTER TWEED RIDE this past Sunday! How fun :) It's wonderful to see it grow as an event! We had music from the Windsor Folk Family, pictured below:

Below, me and some (not all) of my fellow organizers. Everyone worked so hard to put it on!!!!

Oh yeah, isn't it supposed to be about people on bikes? Official photos coming soon! Below, in Mount Hope Cemetery:

Some work for a client, my old friends cow and sheep. Yay Julia Child!

Something apropos, I don't know.

First and foremost, our little Tweed Ride is almost here! Today I had the honor of picking up our fabulous buttons! You can look THIS COOL too, but only if you come! Check out the Facebook event HERE.

Some progress on a second painting for Java's. She'll be looking at the other guy :)

I've had a lot of requests for MORE TRAINS! Here's one that I got to work on while being interviewed for a documentary on artists who use materials from abandoned spaces. It was a really fun experience!

I saw the amazing Andrew Bird this past week for the first time live, and he absolutely knocked my socks off! If you haven't before, check him out.

Take out your measuring cups and we'll play a new game.

I've been very, very excited about the Martin Scorsese's documentary that is coming out on George Harrison. It's no secret that he's one of my absolute favorites, and below, a sketch I've been working on of him.

I love looking at old art too, here's a George Harrison portrait from March 2010.

Today marked a big day in the art career of a Rochestarian, having a painting of mine hung at Java's on Gibbs. What an honor, I've spent years in that cafe staring off at the other art, and now I am among them! A big thanks to Gerry Szymanski for taking pictures of Mike putting up the painting!!!

A window in a window in a window in a window in a window in a window...........

Halloweenie

Hello! Posting from the new studio (finally!). It took me a long time to move in, so thanks to everyone for their patience. I took a hiatus from art for the beginning of September after having a crazy busy August. The Babes and Bikes art opening went very well, thanks to all who attended! The work is still up at Orange Glory Cafe. Below, a photo from the Babes and Bikes opening.

I also still have work up at Wine Sense, so please go check it out there too! Wine + art = happiness.

I'm very excited to be taking part in an awesome group show for 1975 Gallery which is Halloween themed, called "By the Pale Moonlight". I've been looking to my favorite "horror" artist, Edward Gorey, for some sweet linework and inspiration. Recently, I went to our wonderful Dryden Theatre and saw "The Abominable Dr. Phibes". What a beautifully weird horror movie! Made in the 60's, set in the 20's, with many weird ways of killing people, and a phenomenally twisted plot. Vincent Price's character is phenomenal. Below, a piece inspired from the movie.

Vincent Price himself is pretty fun to draw! I watched House on Haunted Hill yesterday and loved the beginning where his floating head tells you what's going on in the beginning.

Finally, something that encompasses everything I've just been over, PLUS Jim Henson's 75th birthday the other day! Love the "Vincent twice, Vincent twice" and the pseudo-Edward-Gorey animation to open it up!

for ev er

August is almost coming to an end, and I have to say, it's been a great but BUSY month! I'm looking forward to fall, the smells, the sounds, and a lot of great concerts coming up! Coming up this Saturday is the Spokes and Ink bike party, where you could buy posters done by yours truly! Be the first on your block to collect all three!!! A word about the Genesee Arts Center, they're awesome if you haven't checked them out. I'm hoping my winter will slow down enough for me to take a letterpress class there.



I have six new paintings on display at Lento! The paintings are no longer for sale, they are a permanent collection there, which means they will be there FOREVER!

Say it with me now;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Q7b-vHY3Q&feature=related
Jenna has been finished! I'm very pleased with the results:



Last but not least, working up an image for the autumn Rochester Tweed Run!