I’m so proud to announce that my 2-person show with the amazingly talented Shannon Bonatakis is coming up quickly at Gallery 1988 East! More details and sneak peeks to come, but here’s the official flyer below.. Can’t wait!
This weekend was a fun-filled crazy one, as my siblings, family friends, and I threw my Mom a huge surprise 60th birthday party! We spent over a month planning, crafting, and setting up a pop-up party for our favorite lady. So much work, but so very worth it!
I made these tiny portraits of my Mom from the 1970′s, her/my dad today, and their dog, Jack, that were made in to small magnets for the guests to bring home with them. I have to say, they turned out pretty cute.. And I think they were a big hit! :)
I did another quick illustration for the NY Times Op-Ed section. The piece was written by an airline stewardess who opposes T.S.A.’s decision to allow passengers to carry small knives.. I had fun coming up with ideas for this one!
It’s been an insane few months, between trying to crank out paintings for my upcoming show at Gallery 1988 and the few freelance gigs I can squeeze in.. Let’s just say my house is a disaster, sometimes Iwear sweatpants until 2pm, and I haven’t had a haircut since, well, I can’t remember.. But my hair’s so long, I could probably go topless outside and not be arrested.
Anyway, this week I was able to do a quick illustration for the NY Times Sunday Review section, b/c I needed a break from painting & I loved the article entitled, “Is There Life After Work?“ Special thanks to the wonderful Aviva Michaelov, who art directed!
Recently I’ve had to turn down quite a few awesome theme shows, in order to focus on my 2-person show in May. But I just couldn’t pass up the upcoming all-girl show, a collaboration between HelloGiggles (founded by Zooey Deschanel, Sophia Rossi, & Molly McAleer) & Gallery 1988 entitled Young Adult. The show is geared towards a younger female crowd, with all pieces based on various book series, including The Baby-Sitters Club, Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High, and Goosebumps.
I spent my pre-teen summers reading literally all of these series, as far into them as my middle-school years would deem socially acceptable. For my piece, I ultimately decided on Sweet Valley High, because at age 11, I had an older cousin who gave me over 30 of her old SVH books. Even though my mom told me they were too old for me, I read them anyways.. thinking I was reading a taboo, adult series of some kind. Anyway, I loved them, and would constantly flip back to the covers as I read, checking out the hair styles and clothes they were wearing.
I wanted to do a piece that reinterpreted that famous, circular illustrated cover that usually portrayed Jessica & Elizabeth Wakefield in various dramatic poses. It’s painted on a circular wood panel, with Flashe paint, and is sealed under a layer of resin. The show opens in LA on February 2nd.
Jessica and Elizabeth
initial color sketch:
progress:
invite for show:
I was honored to contribute an original piece for the Special Edition Hitman Trilogy art book, out this month with the Hitman HD Collection release. Each artist was asked to reinterpret a specific scene from one of the first 3 games, mine being Agent 47′s failed clones. I thought it might be fun to have the original 47 play his less-than-smart clones at poker, since he would probably end up winning every single hand. Prints of the piece are available here for a limited time.
I’m more than thrilled to be a part of Press Paws, a charity art show taking place on February 9th, at Gallery Nucleus. All proceeds from the silent auction will be donated to the ALL volunteer animal rescue, Whats Up Dog LA. Each artist was asked to pick their favorite animal from a video game & create a piece based on it.. I chose a Spiny from Super Mario Bros, who I always found to be both cute, and sort of annoying. :)
More info on the great event, and a chance to donate HERE.
Spiny Pet
13in x 8in
Flashe paint on wood, sealed in resin
Things have been a little slow here on the blog, but then again, very busy in my studio! I have two, sorta-secret projects in the works (more on that a little later), and I’m trying to take a few fun freelance jobs along the way. This week I did a little piece for the Bloomberg View, on the historical vs. modern interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. Read it HERE.
In fun news, my husband and I bought the tiniest pickup truck of all time. It’s ridiculous. Anyway, I’ll have a bit more info after the holidays about the cool things happening in 2013. Until then, have a very warm, safe, & Merry Christmas!
Now available for sale HERE
I’m really excited to be participating in Gallery 1988′s tribute to Judd Apatow (who will also be hosting), which opens December 4th. I decided to go with one of my all-time favorite shows, Freaks and Geeks. I remember watching it when it first came out and I was in high school (I’m old), but have since rewatched the entire series while working in my studio probably a dozen times. If you’ve never seen it, do yourself a favor and watch it on Netflix immediately.. It’s brilliant.
My miniature piece, Careful Not to Pull Their Bra Straps, is inspired by the episode, We’ve Got Spirit, and portrays McKinley High’s finest cheer team & mascot.
Flashe paint on wood, sealed in resin
detail:
I got a bit of a late start on my costume this year, but luckily my friend Marc & I had already decided on Evil Dead 2 last Halloween while creating our They Live costumes. I’ve been wanting to try and recreate a version of these hats from a painting I did a while back, so it was a great excuse to give it a shot! I went as the cabin, Marc went as Necronomicon, and we bloodied up my husband to play Ash.
If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you may have already seen some of these, but I decided to add a few work in progress shots. Hope you have a Happy Halloween!
Marc created the foam-core structure (complete with a light & switch), while I built up the structure of a vintage hat and painted the cabin. Add a hot glue gun, tiny trees, a matchbox car, tease up the hair, and Presto!
Marc built his book with a skull mask as a base.. Yep, it actually opens & closes!
Marc did Wes’ blood, while I used that cheap haircolor/spray you can get at a Halloween shop (it actually worked, surprisingly!) to spray his hair dark (he’s normally a redhead)
As a side note, the next day I woke up and found this next to my bed. :)
I remember making these in Girl Scouts way back when, so illustrating these step-by-step instructions for Martha Stewart was a lot of fun. Although I would suggest adding clothes to yours, because they sort of have a voodoo doll thing going on without them.
I did a fun little piece for the Times Op-Ed last week about being gay in the deep South. Special thanks to art director, Matt Dorfman!
