sorry about the late post.. I’ve been so busy working on my upcoming exhibit that I haven’t had time to put together a detailed account of my recent trip to australia. to sum it up, i had a wonderful time. its a very beautiful, mysterious country full of all kinds of unique widlife and culture. the conferences where put on incredibly well and a great honor and adventure to take part in. i’m now truely in love with australia and i’m already thinking / dreaming about going back soon. the two weeks flew by heartbreakingly fast. austarlia is defintley a country u want to spend more time in to really absorb. these are a bit on the random side but here are some photos from the trip and the conferences.

semi-permanent @ sydney:

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in just a few hours i will be flying overseas to australiaaaaaaah!! the last few days have been very very busy running errands, getting a passport (yikes) and packing. i plan on working during the two weeks i am there, so i packaged up my art supplies too.

i couldn’t sleep last night, so i made some studies. i like this technique using gouache and drafting pens. i think ill start doing most of my studies using this method. the gouache dries so nicely, you can draw and layer right over the pigment with graphite. i like to use simple red and blue .03 drafting pens with primary color gouache for the studies. its neat to discover all the hues that come from just few manipulated primary colors. yellow, red, blue, black.

semi-permanent is a design event/ conference that takes place in australia. click the banner to find out more about it.

wow. i’m really honored + grateful to be invited to take part in the conferences. it hasn’t really sunk in that i’ll actually be in australia in a couple weeks.. i have my plane tickets and keep looking at them but i hasn’t set in yet. i’ve got lots to finish before i go & hopefully i will have plenty of new work to share with my presentation. until then, look forward to meeting you australia!

for the next few months i will be confined to my studio. a few things will come up here and there and ill be sure to post about them. but for now its just me all alone working. heres a little sneak peak at one of my current pieces. i’ll rant about the work as soon as they’re 100% finished.. for today i’ll take you on a little tour of my studio ^_^

*p.s. - a favor for anyone reading this. music, audio books, and podcasts (digital media) are my only company these days. i like anything mind stimulating/ imaginative. if anyone has a suggestion or favorite material please share. sometimes its such a chore searching but its always rewarding to find something good!! i like just about anything fiction or non fiction, philosophy, sci-fi, on. thank you!

 

cindy has supported my work since i was practically right out of high school. she is a patron to local artists, owner of the funk house, and a founder/brainchild of many art organizations. unfortunately, she has been diagnosed with cancer and is dealing with extremely high medical bills.
there will be an auction benefit held for her @ Double Down Saloon in downtown las vegas on the 28th of february.

i will contribute three prints from my personal reserved collection. incl. two kokiri teatime’s.
kokiri tea time is the very first print i’ve ever released and it is a sold out edition. hopefully these will do.. since regrettably, i do not have original pieces i’m able to put towards this benefit.

p.s. we are still considering if they should be auctioned at the actual event or with an online auction thing. hopefully we’ll figure it out soon. i’ll post the info when / if we do.

coordinator of the event is -
Mark T. Zeilman
(Artist Owner / Curator of MTZC the edge of sin city)
http://www.mtzc.com/cindy.htm

there’s been a preparatory vibe in my work space for the last month. i’ve gathered the materials and begun a new body of work for upcoming solo exhibit at think-space gallery. it’s soooo nice to play with colors.. i just cant explain how much i love it.

i want to share some insight into the materials i’m using these days. 
milk paint is good stuff. check out their site for more info. i recommend experimentation. i think this pigment can work for any variety of mediums and styles. the only con is that some of the hues are stinky (not in a chemical way, but still STINKY) after an hour or so it goes away. i use water first, then after the smell fades i add the other mediums. i think i’m going to try rose water very soon, haha. 
also, for panels or any wood stuff (in the U.S.) i recommend columbia forest products. check out this link and perhaps.. ponder. any suggestions for ecologically friendly products would be appreciated. my goal is to completely refine my studio and supplies. it may take a while but so far it’s been surprisingly easy. little by little i am getting there. 

also, i plan to use some of the antique frames i’ve been collecting over the last few years. i snuck a few into the thumbnails below, most are going to need MAJOR cleaning up so i didn’t show them all in this post. it may be more fun to see before and afters ^_^ 

san francisco..

below are a few pics from my san fransisco journey last weekend. i drove out with a couple friends to attend the 1988 gallery opening and to explore a bit of the city. i found out that stella is having a solo show at 1988sf in march and would like to make it out there again if possible.. we’ll see ;-p i enjoyed golden gate park (below) it’s an interesting, adventurous place. it’s full of old trees, massive vines, and twisty muddy trails. my favorite time to go is late in the afternoon when the light is soft and the place seems to have a mysterious aire.

Gallery 1988 opening

here is shawn barber with his cool cats.

hotel tomo in ‘japan town

los angeles…this weekend i had the chance to attend audrey kawasaki’s opening at copro nason gallery. her works were as always, dreamily seductive & beautiful. my photos are not the best representation since they were taken with a phone in crowded conditions. check out her live-journal blog to see all her work. sigh..i missed the “sideshow” exhibit at merry karnowsky gallery the same night (feb 9th). hopefully i will be able to see photos of the work online.

“A Cabinet of Natural Curiosities“

group show opens Friday February 8th 6-9pm, runs through March 1st@ roq la rue gallery

i contributed two 8x 10 small pieces for the exhibit

 

“blue bouquet”

i realized this is my very first boy painting. his clothing was especially fun to paint. the photo doesn’t show it but he has a little reflective gold in his eyes and coat pattern.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“heart locket”

warm and fuzzyish ^_-

 

here are my first paintings of the year. they will be on exhibit at Gallery 1988 Sf feb 1st.

i feel very energetic today so i’m going to rant alittle about the new paintings. the idea/inspiration for first piece below with the train came from a strange dream. i don’t remember what the dream was about, only little fragments of imagery remain and they made their way into the embellishment. when i finish a painting, i’m never completely certain what it means or why i did it. but after time it somehow comes around to me and makes sense conceptually. mm. i wonder if other artists have a similar experience. ?

overall, i had alot of fun with these new pieces and went though lots of “pinkish” paint. hope you enjoy ^_^ !

“the serendipitous wreck” - 17 x 20

“going forth with apples” - 15 x 11

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“leave the hair and go free” - 14 x 11

 

above is a postcard/ invite provided by gallery 1988 sf. 

gallery 1988 currently operates a space in los angeles & quite recently opened a new space in san francisco. artists : camilla d’errico, caia koopman, lily piri, krista huot, and myself will be participating in next month’s group exhibition.  i will have 3 new paintings in this exhibit, along with a few illustrative works. the paintings are near completion and i’ll be posting images in the next update!  take care:)