2014 Calendar!

My 2014 Calendar is here! I'm really, really excited about this years. I know I say that every year, but really! I think this one is my favorite thus far.  Getting a little fancy with the spiral-binding this year too! I created twelve brand-spanking new illustrations for this (and all these new prints are in the shop also.) You click the images below to view at a larger size. Which month is your favorite? I like January, April, May, and October best, I think...

You can find them here in the shop.

2013 Calendar Time!

It's Calendar time! Three new calendars this year, one with all cats, one with all dogs, and one of my "regular" calendars that I make every year. Two sizes too. My main one is the usual 8"x10" and the Cat and Dog ones are smaller at 5"x8.5".  Super-psyched on these! Also, I feel like I have been working on these forevvvverrrrr, which I kinda have, because, um, 36 new illustrations! I'm really happy to be able to finally release them into the wild!  Calendars can be found in the shop here and allllll the new prints can be found here.

Kitties!:

And the pups!

My Lately

Kitty in the window

Sorry it's been a bit quiet around here lately; I've had my head down in my work lately, trying to get all my holiday stuff together (I know! Holiday!) Working on my calendars (yes, calendarS, meaning there will be multiple ones this year!) and contemplating holiday cards and whatnot. My goal is to have the calendars done before I head to Renegade Chicago (Sept. 8 + 9th). I think I can do it! Speaking of Renegade Chicago, I'm driving solo there this year, which is a little intimidating. I mean, the part where I have to entertain and navigate myself in a car for 14-ish hours is the intimidating part. There will be lots and lots of podcasts...

Pups!

Kitties!

Pretty patterns on my cup

It said Spectacular! It disappeared so quickly!

"Friends Forever" Series-Massive shop update

Hello! Hope everyone's weekend was fun and fantastical! I kept it on the slow side with movies and yummy food (and True Blood finale!) Nik and I have started watching Lost in the last month or so, and are towards the end of season 2. So many unexpected twists! (Yeah, I'm slow sometimes on watching things that most people have been crazy over for years) Gearing up for my Portland vacation next weekend.

AND! I finally got everything photographed and listed this weekend for my latest series and for a massive shop update to my Etsy shop.

These are original paintings from a very special project of mine, entitled "Friends Forever." I created this series after feeling those frustrated and sad feelings from trying to keep in touch with good friends that I have made over the years. You finish school, you move to a new city or country even, and time and life makes it harder to keep in touch. I wanted to create a series that celebrates old friends, from grade school through college and through the last 8 years of my life after college. Hooray friends!

Watercolor and acrylic on gesso on a cradled pine board.
Size: 6 8/10" x 4 8/10" x 1 6/10"

"You're the One"
"Those Were the Days"

"Who Likes to Tea Party?!"

"Secret Handshakes"

"Class Reunion"

"Hello Over There!"

"Gossip Time"

"I Got Your Back"

"Ghost Stories"

"Friendship Bracelet No.1"

"Friendship Bracelet No.2"

"Owl Tell You"


Aaaand, I used all of these paintings to create my 2010 wall calendar:







Phew, mega-long post. Thanks for looking and reading if you got this far! <3

Tease!

Wanna see a tease from my calendar I'm working on? I'm SUPER-excited about it! I will be releasing it in a week or two, along with all of the original paintings from it. I've been totally into this project and I think I quite like working on bigger series on a specific theme. Here's the month of April:



I hope everyone has a spectacular weekend! I plan on enjoying the sunshine and the last bits of summer that are left. Hello beach!

May and June

download here to print out (they are 10.8"x16"):
May-Color
June-Color

++++++++++++++++++++++


In other news, I've been doing some Kindergarten arts+crafts lately. I'll post results soon.

A whole lot to say/see

The month of april! It's the best really; Aries unite! It's funny making these calendars and marking the holidays and whatnot; It makes me feel prepared or ahead of the game or something. For instance, Easter is in March this year and not April! Now I'm an athiest and don't put much behind holidays other than a)spending time with the family b)good food is made and eaten and c)days off from work! As a child and teenager, Easter and Good Friday were always on the top of my holiday list, since that means that I usually got my birthday off from school during the spring break. Anyways, April looks lonely this year, with only my birthday marked (ha!). I guess that means that you need to pay extra-special attention to it. Hugs and pokes are welcome. See?? I'm getting way ahead of myself, imagining that it is the lovely month of April and not still cold, freezing, dark January.

Speaking of dark, I (nik) just changed the light bulbs in my studio to those energy-saving DAYLIGHT bulbs. They rule! It's a white room now! I'm already energized from it. Maybe the Goldfrapp on repeat is helping with that energizing also. But seriously, it's amazing!

Anyways, here is the month of April for Download (plus all the other months, in case you're lazy. you bum). Again, they are meant to be printed, in color, on 11x17 paper. :

January
February-01-Rose
February-02-Gasmask
March
April



------------------------------------------

Here is a glimpse at a new series of mine, watercolor and ink painted on raw wood. I wish I had access to a woodshop, to cut my own wood up, but alas, this is NYC. This series is a cousin to my watercolor on fabric series that I started a long time ago and kinda abandoned, but am picking back up again. I don't have any scans of that up, because they are huuuuuuge (and taking up way too much space), but maybe i'll take a photo someday.

This was fun to do, because I don't get to paint as much as I'd like to anymore (not enough hours in the day? I'm full of excuses.) Plus, anyone can tell, from looking at my work, that I like to play with rough texture and raw wood was an awesome new bleeding experience (i wish it bled more). More to come, you know, when I get to it.







-----------------------------

I'm a chatty cathy tonight, aren't I? Other things that I'm working on/formulating in my head are:
1)sculpey beads/bracelets/necklaces
2)bleach + black dye + fabric + sewing machine=a whole new world (skirts and my bag)
3)that green scarf
4)screenprinting class in LIC so I can get to the bottom of why I can't expose a screen properly.
5)thinking about other crafty ideas for Renegade in the summer.
6)I do have an Etsy shop, with nothing up in it yet of course, but I have to sort out my inventory. I'm anal about the order I do things. Sorry.
7)Kimya Dawson and Karl Blau are playing at Europa tomorrow night!
8)Getting to the fabric store for my painting series
9)making a scary/cute monster cover for my ipod. Priorities people, priorities.
10)Dr. Sketchy's anti-art school rules so so so much. Here are examples of how awesome it is (plus an appearance by me in a few). This coming week is the Addams Family and I canNOT wait! Check out their blog for more fun pictures and info to see schedule.

Okay, that was 10, i'm done now. Ciao!

Weekend foods.

nik was sick, so i made super-awesome-make-him-better Miso Soup. It's got shiitake mushrooms, green onions, tofu, fresh ginger and garlic, carrots, and hijiki in a mushroom/miso broth. mmm.
I made a super-smoothie with blueberries, mango, spinach, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and some soy milk and water. Who knew that you can't taste spinach at all in a smoothie?

Sunday brunch in my awesome new cast-iron pan: Scrambled tofu with green onions and avocado and some sweet potatoes mixed with red potatoes, seasoned with olive oil, sea salt, thyme, and ground pepper.


The month of April will be up tomorrow, along with a brand new painting I've been working on.

February-March

Here are the months of February and March from the calendar I'm making. There are two versions of February because I didn't like the top one at first, so I redid it, but ended up liking both once I colored them up. Pick 'n choose I guess.

download here to print out (they are 10.8"x16"):
January
February-01-Rose
February-02-Gasmask
March

Hooray for almost friday. This has been a most excellent week.

Catch-up Yumzz

I'm working on the Calendar; Waiting until I have a few months together to post them in a few days.

got a gym membership today. Punk Rope class?!?!?!!! yes!

---------------------

I made a fancy-pants New Year's Day Dinner. Curried Coconut Beggars' Purses, from The Candle Cafe Cookbook. Yum!! And Asparagus is the best thing ever. I'd highly recommend this, even though phyllo dough is a beotch.
Fakin' Bakin and Cheezy-sauce omelete, from The Vegan Ronin:

i sauteed garlic, a bit of ginger, red onion, some green and yellow zucchini, fakin' bakin. I then made a nutritional yeasty-like sauce with some nooch, EB, and a bit of soymilk to mix in with it.

I tried to flip it after the first side was done, but that didn't work at all. Tasted fine anyways, but just a little flimsier on the one side that wasn't browned. I think she mashed her tofu a great deal more than I did and that's why hers looks so creamy. I was surprised at the fluffiness of this though. sooo filling. 1 block of tofu made two omelets.