New Work! + Jen Sbragia

Stop the presses! Hold the phone!

I've made a few new little paintings (or drawings, or whatever you want to call them). These were all made with graphite pencil and acrylic paint as the eraser/ghost maker. I am thinking of these grisailles as my ghosts and would like to make a series of them, houses and people... for my solo show coming up at Betty's in May? Maybe title it "Haunted"? Or something.

Anyway. The work:


Ghost (1), mixed media on paper, 11" x 14", 2010.



Ghost (2), mixed media on wood, about 3" x 4", 2010.

These are obviously not the best photos—I took them while sitting in the parking lot of Big Orbit Gallery, where I was bringing them to submit to this year's members show. Always last minute, I am. But I got stuff done, and it felt great to be making art again.

Then there is the third "ghost". It's bordering on cheesy, I guess, sitting there at the dining room table making drawings of dead (and beloved and missed) rock stars. This one is Elliott Smith. I can't believe it's been almost seven years since his death! I always thought he had the best face and hair, I've been wanting to paint him for a long time. This was a fun little project to work on, and I'm happy with how it turned out. I think I will hang him in my bedroom.




Close up


Framed, with Nico the cat nosing around

***

Finally, since we're almost out of January and the thrill of the new year has all but passed, here is the lovely card that yet another inspiring, talented friend who is also an amazing musician and artist, Jen Sbragia, made! I'm almost certain it is stenciled and it is just so simple and cool. (My other friend that fits that bill is Tae Won Yu, who in addition to being an amazing artist and designer, was also in the band Kicking Giant in the heyday of 90s indie rock.) Jen, if you didn't know, was pretty famous back then, too, as one half of aptly-named The Softies and now of the All-Girl Summer Fun Band.




Funny, I seem to remember a fun photo of Elliott and The Softies that maybe Tae even took himself? But I can't find it anywhere. Too bad—that really would have tied this whole post together, yeah?

Anyway, I am so lucky to have cool friends like these who still send me cool stuff after all these years. Thank you for the encouragement and support and inspiration!!!

Sarah F. Burns says, Collect Art!

Sarah F. Burns is an artist I found on Etsy a while back and whose blog I follow (though apparently not closely enough, since I missed, like months of great content!). She is not only a talented painter but also a good writer. As I was playing catch-up today, I found her blog post about collecting art that I thought was spot on; couldn't have said it better myself, by a long shot. So, if you are a collector or have always wanted to start your own art collection, definitely read what Sarah has to say on the subject!

Visit Sarah's Etsy shop.

Visit her website.


Dottie Damsel, charcoal on paper, 18" x 20", 2008


One Rock and Two Shells, oil, 9" x 12", 2009

Such lovely and thoughtful work!

Holy Cow! Look What I Wore Today!

Ha ha, not Look what I wore today, because I don't have a picture to share, but Look! Look at this most awesome group on Flickr called What I Wore Today.

Totally brilliant stuff. I may have to actually contribute—hey, it'd be a good excuse to draw self-portraits again.

Art Moving Sale!

Life has been a little crazy lately.

I haven't been making much art these days, but instead mentally preparing for a move, among other things. Soon, I must start packing and cleaning and just generally putting my life in major upheaval.

But, hopefully it will be worth it in the end. We're moving back to the country, to a house that has a couple acres, and perhaps most importantly (and certainly most relevant to this blog) a huge garage inside which we'll be building an art studio for me! I am very excited about this. Just imagine, making art above ground again! In light! Wonderful.

The move probably won't actually take place for another little while, but I do hope we'll be in our new digs by Thanksgiving. In the meantime, I want to clear out as much inventory from my studio as I can. Hey, the less I have to transport, the better it is for me!

So, if you have been considering acquiring some of my work but haven't yet, this is a great opportunity. Have a look at my website and see if there is something that floats your boat. If so, let me know and we can go from there. Generally, my smaller works on paper range from $100-$500 (framed, less unframed if you prefer) and $300-$2000 for my paintings on canvas. I have more work available that I hope to get up on the site... you can also look at my Flickr art set.

If you have any questions or would like to make me an offer (I am open to reasonable haggling), you can email me at amy.greenan at gmail dot com. Happy collecting! (Oh, and I would happy to make layaway arrangements, too!)

Here are just a few selections of what I have to offer currently:


Heart & Lungs, Knees & Toes, 2008, mixed media on paper, 10.5" x 16.5". $300 (framed).


Gertrude and Francis, 2007, oil on canvas, 60" x 48". $2000.


Untitled, 2004, acrylic on paper, 8.5" x 11". $150 (unframed).


Two Questions, 2007, oil and colored pencil on canvas, 12" x 18". $400.

Hopping Right On This One: Olivia Jeffries

Love at first sight! OK, I feel a little lame since this artist I just discovered had an item included on the Front Page treasury on Etsy this morning, but no matter. I went from shop to website to blog and just was like, "Wow! Wow! Wow!" Something just totally sent me to the moon about Olivia Jeffries' work. Maybe it's that she recycles old papers and materials to draw and paint on, or her delicate, informed way of rendering forms... I am totally in love.

You can visit her shop, read her blog, and peruse her website.

Here are a few of my favorites that she has available for sale:


"Trace Parts 1-4", framed screenprints on old love letters(!), $250


Sketch for "Showed You Your Air", large gocco print, $20 (a steal!)


Daily Sketch for September 30th, $55

***

In other news, I had my very first interview yesterday on my lunch break! No, it wasn't a job interview, silly -- it was for a local paper, a Pennysaver-type thing, which will include an article about my show at the Castellani Museum in February! I was quite nervous about doing it, but the writer was very easy to talk to, and I ended up having a lot of fun. I'll post a link to the online version once it appears.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Amy Earles

Oops, I guess I said "yesterday" the day before, which makes me a day late. Sorry about that!;)

Today's featured artist is Amy Earles, about whom I know very little but who makes beautiful images. Unfortunately, her website is under construction at the moment, and her Etsy shop isn't very revealing about her person, but I guess when the work is this good who cares? (Well, I do... but it doesn't make me hold anything against her or anything, of course! I just like to know some personal info about artists, and/or the stories behind their work) Anyway. I discovered a little painting that was featured in one of those major design blogs one day, which led me to her shop, and my subsequent purchase of said painting, of a little witch girl and two tiny ghosts...

Anyway, she has an interesting variety of things available: original paintings, prints, postcards, and paper dolls. Here are a few of my favorites.


"Persuasion", paper doll with painted background, $280


"Benevolence", print of an original painting, $17


"Red Cape", original gouache painting, $50

This leads to me to think, Hm, perhaps I should try and do an interview here and there with an artist? Stay tuned.

***

In the meantime, I may leave you with an image of one of my own little works. This one is actually from a year or two ago, but having revisited it recently, I have fallen for it all over again. It's a drawing made in white pencil and acrylic paint on black paper, with a splatter of light blue paint here and there. The image was inspired by a photo I had taken of a former classmate when one day I was especially struck by her outfit and hair. Her name is Veronique, and the title in my fractured French way is to mean either Veronique dreams, or the dream of Veronique, or simply a dream Veronique. I always wanted to call her "Vero" but she wouldn't have it. So now I do. I think she will go into my February show.


"Vero Reve", 13" x 6.5" (2006)

As always, you may click on each photo for a closer, larger view.