What Goes On

June 19, 2015 in Home Art Studio Project, Weekend

This is the first of a new weekly series on the blog. Here, you'll find a summary of what I've been doing, reading, listening to, maybe even a recipe and other odds and ends. Sort of a wrap up of the week. We'll see how this goes!

Here's what I've been...

Working On

I was thrilled to get back to the Home Art Studio Project this week. As I am scheming on new work, setting up some commissions and between events, it felt like the perfect time to get back to it. Clearing the cobwebs and organizing my supplies was blissful. I really love this view from the space that looks out at this weathered wall.

This week I am working on some art projects while also trying to get the studio going and the tidying done. I'm behind on the garden, behind on setting up the workspace and behind on purging the office of meaningless things. I hope to tackle this stuff and feel like I made some progress.

I'm trudging along on the 100 Day Project. I'm looking forward to today's art, which is my recommitment at working on this project daily until it is done. I have sold a lot of the art from days 1-20 of my 100 Day Project and thanks to all who purchased one!

Buying

I just found a new art supplier, Trekell & Company. Their panels, brushes and more are made in the USA, something always good in my book. I haven't placed my order yet, but I am looking forward to trying out their products.

I just bought this gorgeous galaxy painting from Elissa Sue for my dad for Father's Day. I know he'll love this celestial painting since he loves astronomy and dreams.

I just ordered a jar of Todos Organic's botanically infused coconut oil. The vanilla and whole rose one just arrived today and I just love it.

Cooking

This week, we made tacos with butter lettuce as the shell. This recipe inspired us, but we didn't follow it. Instead, we used shredded chicken, mushrooms, raw carrots, salsa and guacamole. They were actually really good!

Watching

If you want to see a different form of art, watch the Chef's Table, an original Netflix foodie series. Chef stories told in the most compelling and cinematic way.

The The Daily Show and The Nightly Show reactions to the shooting tragedy in South Carolina.

Finally saw Surfwise, a documentary of an eclectic surfing family. I can't believe this movie is from 2007. I guess I have been wanting to see it for years now. It's a really good look at living differently, a subject I am always interested in.

Reading

How to help the bee population according to Sunset Magazine.

Listening To

I heard Mike Maxwell interview Porous Walker. Porous is super funny and I love his insights on having young people around along with his humorous approach to art.

The Snooze Bar for Casper

June 17, 2015 in Events

I love the dreamy and interesting places my art takes me. I had such a great time working with the crew from Casper for The Snooze Bar event in San Francisco last week. There, they set me up at a table with a lit candle and lamp to paint guests' dreams.

Everything about The Snooze Bar was so well done. I walked right up to this sweet blue sign and I knew I was where I needed to be.

Right when you step inside, you feel like you've been transported to a cozy, chill place. When I arrived, The Magnetic Fields were playing. Already a good sign. The Casper staff was incredibly nice and welcoming. They played movies on a mattress mounted to the wall. The furniture was beautiful and everything had a relaxing feel.

View image | gettyimages.com

And then things got going around 7 and livened up for the party. Guests stopped at the front desk to receive a set of slippers and then onto fancy drinks, gourmet waffles, mattress testing and fun.

The Casper bed is so comfortable! I need to get one. The huge bonus for me is that they are made in the USA. How cool is that?

Every detail was considered. This display was upstairs near one of the tented beds. A stack of records, journals to takeaway, the ladder and mood lighting. I was so impressed with the look and feel of the event.

The owner of Mesh Print Studio in Brooklyn, David, made me this super special pillowcase. He was onsite at the Casper event screen printing pillowcases on demand for guests. Here, he combined the eye print with the psychedelic design and I just love how it came out! He also made me a white on white version.

View image | gettyimages.com

I felt like Lucy from Peanuts with her advice booth. I loved how open people were about their dreams. Dreams tap into weird spaces in our brain, sometimes bringing up things that can make us uncomfortable. Some people remember all their dreams. Some claim to never dream (what they really mean is never remember). I prompted guests to tell me about their most recent dreams, a recurring or memorable dream. Here I am with my first dream guest. She had a dream that her teeth were falling out, but they were large, crumbling elephant tusks. I drew a portrait of her with tusks flying all around.

Drawing a dream of a flexi straw fight in a mirrored English Tudor.

Drawing and painting on napkins presented a whole different challenge. While I have drawn on napkins in the past, I've never done so with the intention of giving it to a stranger as a gift. It ended up being really fun with not a single napkin tear.

I interpreted Akansha's dreams of various friends dropping out of school or quitting their jobs. One of the examples she gave me was a friend dropping out of med school to work at Trader Joe's. Amongst a loaf of bread and kale is a stethoscope. You can read her experience about The Snooze Bar on Akansha Agrawal's blog.

Brandy has a great blog and apparently super fun and stylish life! She told me about an early dream she had of riding her bike past lavender. It was fantastic talking to her and I hope to meet this local again in the future!

Andrew's dream involved being in a station wagon that was crashing into everything! It was so cool to hear these vivid dreams.

This guest dreamed of a rainforest. I decided to draw a simple scene with a boat in the middle. He asked me to add a sun above.

It's always a pleasure to see this beautiful face! Rebecca Saylor of Oodlebadoodle. Now that I think of it, they should have used some of her gorgeous handmade pillows for the party! She has this dream where she flies off a couple of steps.

One of the spookiest dreams I heard! This guest had just watched two recent episodes of Game of Thrones. The dream involved skinless, people and a horse head. Creepy!

This designer had this dream of every single person he has ever met riding escalators in a shopping mall. I have had similar dreams.

This cute couple wanted a dreamy scene, rather than an actual dream: a Paris picnic.

This guest waited patiently for his turn. With his dreams, he can fly whenever he wants. He will often be ahead of his friends, flying in the air. I asked him if he knew what lucid dreaming was. He hadn't heard of it before.

This is the lovely owner of Par Avion Tea. She had a dream involving one of her collaborations with a large company. Alexandra has a sweet spirit about her and I hope to try one of her teas soon!

Someone had fun! Her recurring dream is of a tsunami at sunset. She says she's always calm when it's happening.

What a blast it was working with everyone! I had the best time listening, asking questions and drawing. Working with strangers is such an amazing experience. In this context, I got to know them quite quickly. So many amazing people in one place. I would love to do it again!

Art, Should and Whatever

June 11, 2015 in Ramblings

I do a lot of different things: original paintings, portraits, design work, live painting, a daily project, prints and more. My subject matter ranges from humorous to beautiful places to plants and people. The sizes I have worked in for the last 6 months have ranged from 3 inches to 6 feet.

I often think I should be more focused with my art, that I should be working at X size or with X subject matter or making my website look more like X. Or maybe I should...Agh! SHOULD! I hate that word.

I want to be really expansive with my work and let it go wherever it goes. Last year I started doing paper installations, which were incredibly enjoyable to make. Right now I am sketching people's dreams at The Snooze Bar (see tomorrow's blog post). I love how very different these things are, yet their commonality is that I get to make them happen.

After art school, I got tired of the formalism and seriousness of the art world. Artist statements can sometimes be the most dreadful thing to read and egos of some artists are unbearable. Recently, I've grown tired of the maker/handmade/product world. It leaves me looking for meaning. Now, I am not sure where this puts me, maybe somewhere in between. This summer, I'll be making a lot of new work for a few fall shows and I'll be starting my children's book. It can be easy to get caught in familiar formulas and I want my art to challenge and push me. I want to do things beyond a painting hanging on a wall in a gallery. Even though I'm not sure yet what that would be. All I know is I feel like I have a really good *flow going right now.

Here are some things that have been helping me get here:

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

I've been training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for the last 5 weeks. I have been going 4-5 days a week. It has been amazing both mentally and physically. When I first walked in the door, I felt kind of nervous. The athletic activities I tend to do are swimming, hiking, yoga, running, all things you can do solo. With BJJ you work really closely with just one other person. It's intense, rewarding, frustrating and fun. When starting something new, there is a lot of mystery in figuring it out. When I enrolled in sailing lessons last year, I felt the same way. It's so refreshing to get out of your routine and do something you aren't good at. And when someone has you smashed down on a mat, you feel like you can handle anything that comes your way.

The Poundcast

I love this podcast I discovered recently. DJ Douggpound has reminded me I need more humor, spontaneity and integrity in all parts of my life. Listening to these guys talk about tiny houses, Pere Ubu, banning toilet paper, likes and dislikes ("big ups" and "shots fired") or whatever is on their minds has made me remember I have been ignoring some of the things I love most: being silly, discovering new music, saying whatever you want, taking care of the environment and other randomness in life. If you don't like a little bit of raunchy humor, then this one may not be for you.

Kyle Pellet's Instagram feed

I love Kyle's art. It's the best. Of course the simple shapes, vintage technicolor and brilliant titles of his paintings are why you would follow him on Instagram, but the little extra is seeing his strange and mundane suburban scenes of San Jose. Kyle, thank you for bringing us back to reality.

Bahama Kangaroo

I worked with this pair of artists on a mural a few months ago and I just love what they do. T his video, reminds me of what artists used to be like in San Francisco. Not so perfect and curated, but brilliant art all the same.

Riding my bike and listening to music

We don't need a calendar to tell us when it's summer in California (it was 95 degrees when I started writing this the other day). Lately, I've been having the best time riding my bike and listening to Glass Candy and other old favorites (is this also reverting?). There's a lot of good thinking time while you are on a bike. Plus, you learn a lot about physics and when you have headphones on you feel like you're in a movie.

Life is what you make it

My mom often said this phrase when I was growing up (apparently Eleanor Roosevelt said it first, according to Google). She also said "C'est la vie" ("That's life" in French), which I find too accepting of the way things are. Life is what you make it. I think it's true. Sure, we can be dealt some pretty bad cards, but there are choices and risks we can take to make it more exciting or improve things. My horoscope above feels like it fits right in with this. I think it could also be "Luck is what you make it."

Disappointments can be a good thing

Pay attention to the disappointments in your life. They might be trying to tell you something. I received a library science degree after my art degree. During a bad economy. The library I worked (hard) at for 5 years interviewed me for a librarian position and didn't end up hiring me. Neither did the two other libraries I interviewed with. So, I went back to art. I'm happy about that. Recently, after a couple disappointments I found myself in the midst of really cool projects.

Focusing and daydreaming

It is hard to focus with the internet around. I have been more careful with what I look at and absorb from the internet because as someone who is interested in a lot of things, it is easy to take in too much or get annoyed. Not having internet access for 6 days while on a trip a couple months ago was pure bliss. I now catch myself and step away from the stupid phone or computer. I don't wake up and look at my phone. I make coffee.

Tidying

A few months ago, while working on my Home Art Studio Project, I mentioned the book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I had to stop the clean up and studio project because of other projects, but I am getting back to it. We all just have too much stuff.

Reverting

This past week, I have been thinking about the younger me. When I was a teenager, I hated things that were popular or mainstream. With the internet, it always feels like a popularity contest and I always avoided that. I dropped out of high school, never went to school dances, dyed my hair, ignored most people and hung out with the weirdos (which back then, we were actually weird). What did I love? As a teen, I loved The Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, politics, things not made in sweatshops, recycling, riding my bike, hiking and liking being different from everyone else. While we should always be evolving, I think your younger you shouldn't always be ignored. Does watching Jon Stewart daily count as being political??

Spontaneity, Fun and Humor

I've followed my intuition, tried something new and cracked up at stupid things.

So yeah, whatever!

* Flow is a good book I read many years ago. Check it out!

100 Day Project: Days 11-20

June 09, 2015 in 100 Day Project

I have been having fun with the 100 Day Project. Actually, it has caused some anxiety since I haven't been making work daily as planned. Some of these Oblique Strategies cards have really stumped me! I have been finishing up some bigger projects and events lately so this project has not been as "daily" as I would have liked. Still, I've now completed 21 total and I'm happy to share with you 11-20 in this post. Even though I still have 79 to go, I am intrigued to see where this project will go. What has been really exciting is to follow others participating who are ahead of me. Many of these artists' projects have taken such exciting turns! I have a good feeling about the future of this project and I want to dedicate myself to doing it daily from now on. Search the hashtag #100dayproject on Instagram to see what everyone else is doing.

Last week, I announced in my newsletter that I will be selling the first 20 today, June 9th, at noon. They will be $20 each and sold on a first come first serve basis on my website. If you have connected with any of these paintings, now is your chance to get your hands on one!

Day 11 Repetition is a form of change

This one feels pretty self-explanatory. I wanted to give the dominoes a nice vintage feel with that yellowed look. I love this phrase. It's like when you practice something you get better at it until it becomes an actual thing.

Day 12 Simple subtraction

This was a pretty easy one to come up with. Every morning I make coffee in a French press. It's a ritual to start my day right. I was really happy with the galaxy-like quality of my camp coffee mug. I really enjoyed letting go of perfect perspective and working with that deep blue.

Day 13 Decorate, decorate

Originally, I wanted to paint something really elaborate and decorative, but instead decided to paint my living room. It looks more vibrant in this painting than in person.

Day 14 Slow preparation...fast execution

Since I often paint portrait, I figure that is my slow preparation and here is my fast execution. This was the fastest drawing or painting I have made yet for this project. It wasn't nearly as satisfying as a lot of these have been, but sometimes you just have to knock 'em out and move on.

Day 15 Is it finished?

This is pretty funny to me. On Day 13, I painted this scene and my furniture designer friend wondered why I didn't include his coffee table in the painting. I think it looks much better with it and the terrarium.

Day 16 Be extravagant

My trip to Spain last fall felt extravagant so I painted the little casita we stayed at in the town of Frigiliana. The place was pure magic, built into the rock mountainside. I am hoping to do more 3D art with the 100 Day Project.

Day 17 What to maintain?

My bathroom routine is pretty simple so I wanted to convey that in this image of my maintenance. I don't curl or flat iron my hair (I've tried and I get bored) or spend countless hours in the bathroom. I like how this image could be for a beauty routine while camping or at home.

Day 18 Always first steps

This one came to me quickly. I pictured a nearly all black image with feet at the start of the stairs. So I painted it. Had to throw some Converse high tops on those feet.

Day 19 Turn it upside down

I was painting this image with the blue as the sky at the Maker's Market over the weekend. A customer came by and said, "Whoa! You are painting that upside down?" When I turned it around I saw what he meant with the yellow as the sky and blue as water. So, it changed.

Day 20 When is it for?

Now or never. That's when it's for. I have been meaning to make this as a book painting for my Fake Book series on wood. I decided to just go ahead and to this on paper. More of these are coming this summer.

100 Day Project: The First 10 Days

May 13, 2015

When I got started with the 100 Day Project, I thought I could just whip out a lot of these sketches in a half hour or so. I also wanted to go beyond sketching and really branch out with other projects. You can read a little more about how I felt getting started in this earlier post about this 100 Day Project.

Some things I have found so far.

I am frustrated that others are on day 34 as I write this. I am behind. I hate being behind. I also hate giving up. Yesterday, I decided that I will keep going, get the full 100 done and note care if I am behind everyone.
I have high standards. I don't want to share things that are just okay or not great. Part of this project is to do the opposite of that.
Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt came up with some pretty tough prompts with these cards. Some feel very intellectual and you (I) tend to overthink things.
A friend and I were talking about going through an awkward growth spurt with our art. I have been consistently getting design and custom work, I'm growing wholesale accounts and sold half of the original paintings in my Berkeley art show. All great things, but I often wonder what I should be focusing on. Something felt strange. I realized I just need to go with the flow and things will fall into place. I have been coming to terms with that this week and finally feel really great about where things are going.

Below, you will find out more about the thinking behind the first 10 days of painting.

Day 1 Disconnect from desire

I loved how this one turned out. It was not literal, yet somehow fitting. It felt symbolic to what this project might bring.

Day 2 Make a blank valuable by putting it in an exquisite frame

I found this one pretty funny. An homage to the 80's, to nostalgia and fairly literal.

Day 3 Tidy up

Earlier this year, I read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, so I was pretty inspired by this one. I have been getting rid of a ton of belongings, so I thought of someone living in their penthouse, tossing out everything they own to live in a spacious and uncomplicated place. Things get so clear when you simplify.

Day 4 Disciplined self-indulgence

This painting came from knowing I was going on a cruise. I have been dreaming of sleeping on the sea. The trip felt like an indulgence after all the hard work I have been doing.

Day 5 Breathe more deeply

I have to admit, I had this idea in Spain. At least to have a girl sitting on the beach. I never carried it out there, but it came to me in Miami. I used my hands to tear out the girl and umbrella. I rolled a piece of paper for the umbrella pole.

Day 6 Take away the elements in order of apparent non importance

When we arrived in Roatán Honduras, this was the view. Humid drips of water everywhere. My thought was that water is the most important thing.

Day 7 Make an exhaustive list of everything you could do and do the last thing

While on the ship, I made this list and did the last one. I ran on the jogging track at the top of the ship. Running out in the open ocean is a pretty great thing.

Day 8 Humanize something free of error

Remember typing words into your calculator? This is why I love this project. Using your head in different ways.

Day 9 Only a part, not the whole

I had this idea while on the ship: part of the moon, part of the boat. I had trouble getting started on it. This one really bogged me down and I stopped working on the 100 Day Project. I finally finished it and didn't post it for a few days because I thought it wasn't good enough. This is where I decided I need to just do it, good or bad.

Day 10 Trust in the you of now

Such a perfect card for me to get on this day. This one's self explanatory, don't you think?

Stay tuned for the next 10...