My friend Caitlin got a bike! The other night, we had our semi-regular drawing night at her house, and we were doing life drawing, but I really wanted to draw the bike first (note: unfinished sketch. this will become part of my bike portrait series.) Once I got the bike out of the way, I drew my friend Matt Roberts. A portrait commission of my dad's parents. I'll be seeing my Grandmother at the reunion pretty soon!!!! Why you shouldn't have your studio in your room: at 4am, you will be half asleep walking around, and knock over your in-progress VERY FRAGILE PIECE. Time to reconstruct, thank goodness the deadline isn't for awhile!
If you answered #800, Jojo Thrasher from Roc City Roc Stars, YOU'RE CORRECT! Maybe it's just because I've been working so intimately with her boobies. Anywho, I had some major revelations on the piece this week. I was attempting to mount her bust to a window, but it just wasn't working out. I looked across my studio, and saw this mirror from a project that was abandoned months ago. It's working! I attached it, brought some branches in, and I feel really awesome about how the piece is coming out. It's still unfinished, there will be 2-3 more spiders crawling on her bust, and some bats in the background, but I think it's going to come out AWESOME. Hot glue was definitely my best friend in this :)
In other news, I crashed my bike twice earlier this week on a really nice day when I rode out to the pier, Charlotte Beach, and onwards. My bike is still being repaired, but when it gets repaired I also have some new toe clips going on along with a new back rack and panniers, basically, once I get back in the saddle, I'll be even cooler, if you can imagine that. I miss my bike though! In the meantime, I have a heart shaped scab that will make a pretty neat scar once it heals up.
Finally, my friend Kira had a sweet gallery opening this week at Lovin' Cup, and her work will be up there for some time, so if you missed the opening, go check it out! (I may be plugging this show because there is a portrait of me in it).
My friend Joey Mac has a beautiful collection of bicycles, and was kind enough to let me draw one of them to add to my new blog header! I guess I just got tired of drawing my own bike, I wanted something different... thanks Joey! The live painting with Walri show was such a blast! Thank you to everyone who came out, danced, made sculpey creations, and helped raise money for ArtPeace!! This is me with my live painting, congrats to the fellow who bought it. Photo by Gerry Szymanski. A recent, pretty funky sketch of Jakob Dylan reminded me of why I love drawing them; their BEAUTIFUL EYES. The painting of Bob Dylan was done in 2007, and when I was working on it I fell in love with the way the inner corners (tear ducts) of his eyes are shaped. Something maybe only an artist would notice... and definitely something I would awkwardly say to them, "by the way... I was drawing you... and you have the most perfectly shaped tear ducts"
I finished my self portrait/celebration of spring! Better photos on the way, I promise. Progress on my roller derby bust. I'm going to need to find a glue gun to get these skulls attached. I'm doing a sweet project with my friends from the band Walri which involves live painting during one of their shows, Friday, November 11 at Scotland Yard! Feeling the need to do something large, impressive, and fast, I bought some paint markers. This was my first attempt with them, and I'm pretty happy with how they're working out for me! Below a day my desk looked pretty lovely, and not as crazy as usual. Oh hey, it's a drawing I did specially to have on display at the Walri show, since I don't plan on painting them on the spot. What I will paint remains a surprise, so I guess you'll just have to come out and see!
Twenty years ago, the world lost Jim Henson. I don't know what I would do or who I would be if I didn't grow up loving his creations. Here are ten memories from my formative years and beyond:
1. Learning how to spell "Elmo" and writing it on a paper plate. 2. My beloved Kermit doll that I played with throughout my childhood, squeezing his mouth together and apart to make him "speak". I did this so many times the fabric at the corners of his mouth wore out, I have since acquired another one. 3. All of the classic songs I first heard as parodies on Sesame Street... from The Beatles' "Letter B" to Madonna's "Cereal Girl" 4. The Tale of the Bunny Picnic. I think my brother and I watched it so many times that the VHS broke. "Well, I think we'll just call you Skee-bop-de-diddly dog bop" "That's MISTER Skee-bop-de-diddly-dog-bop to youuuuu!" 5. My brother being yelled at during dinner for the bad manners he had picked up from watching Cookie Monster eat. 6. Seeing the Muppet Christmas Carol when it first came out in the theaters, and again on the big screen a few years ago at the Dryden. 7. Watching my brother perform "Rainbow Connection" at the church talent show. 8. In first grade, my classmate telling saying, "Did you know that Mary Martin died? The lady who played Peter Pan," and my retort being "Yeah, did you know that Jim Henson died?" 9. Searching through the (paper) television guides when they stopped airing Muppet Babies on our non-cable channels as a child, in hopes that I would find it. 10. An ex-boyfriend comparing me to Miss Piggy when I got pissed off at him. (this pissed me off too)
I'm still alive! Since hell week ended, I've been busy with some personal work, and some great great GREAT opportunities have surfaced in the meantime. That's a bust! Years ago, in undergrad, I did a project on one of many organizations that take plaster casts of women, and have artists decorate the busts, which are then auctioned off to with proceeds going towards breast cancer. The Roc City Roller Derby is participating, and I was EXTREMELY honored that I was asked to decorate one of the busts. I gessoed it today, and I'm going to meet up with my derby girl this week to discuss what's going on with these boobies :) I've wanted to do a self portrait for awhile, and I was really interested in these old windows I found on the curb. I'm trying to incorporate foreground and background in a new way with these, and this was my first go. It's not entirely finished yet. I've also become OBSESSED with the new Black Keys album, Brothers, that came out this week. I may just have to draw that duo.... Dan Auerbach is super fun to draw, and Patrick Carneys glasses are pretty sweet too. I've watched the video for "Tighten Up" more times than I'd like to admit.
