Creative Field Trips

Last week, I took a creative day and went on a field trip of sorts, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  It's my favorite museum in NYC, and I always feel super-inspired after a visit there!  I also wanted to check out the Alexander McQueen exhibit, "Savage Beauty," and holy wow, was that awesome! Like seriously, I'm not too huge into fashion or runway shows and whatnot, but this was really great. It was pretty crowded, so I wasn't really able to sketch inside the McQueen exhibit, and photos weren't allowed, so I just soaked it in.  I tried looking up photos of it online afterwards, but they don't really do it justice at all.  It was great seeing some Philip Treacy hats in person too.

Wandering around the MET after the McQueen exhibit, I'm always drawn to the African art section and the Renaissance paintings.  They're my faves (and it's usually empty, so I can stare as long as I want!) Everyone is usually crowded around the Monet's and Picasso's, but I tend to favor the much older stuff. 

I'm contemplating the illustrations for my calendar for next year and just needed a creative day to just let my mind wander and for new ideas to form.  Everyone needs a time-out from the day-to-day sometimes! Definitely did wonders, and I think I need to make a regular habit of this.  Where do you go for some creative time?

Here are some sketches and photos:

Sketchbook Doodles-Mischief!

I miss figure drawing. I need to make a date with Dr. Sketchy very soon (ooo, a contortionist is the next model!)

Lots of new stuff to show you soon. And I made cookies last night and they deserve a post allllll to themselves.

Sketchbook Doodles: Sing it Sister!

So we get a few days of "nice" weather,(sun and everything!) and I start craving spring. Now my head is full of shedding the winter coat, cherry blossoms, bright green buds, fun new things at the farmer's market, warm sunshine in the park, and it being light out when I get out of work. I know, I know, delusions!

I've been a busy bee, sketching away for an upcoming show next month at Fuego 718, in Williamsburg. More details on that later. Hooray!

Sketchbook Doodles-I Wear My Sunglasses at Night

Well, I totally would if I didn't have regular glasses. Or if they were prescription sunglasses (I'm blind as a bat!)

Happy friday everyone! Helllooooo long weekend! I have big plans of things I want to accomplish this weekend, and fingers crossed that I don't pull the lazy or procrastinate card. Peace!

Sunday

I've been in a bit of a funk lately; Hoping it will pass soon and that everything will be okay.

Last night, Nik and I used up a gift certificate he had, at Asia De Cuba. So fun! Even though there were only 3 things on the menu that were vegan (2 appetizers and 1 side...), it was DAMN amazing. I was counting on this one entree being vegan, when I looked at the menu beforehand, but turns out they put egg in it somehow and they wouldn't make it without. This place is a sharing-type restaurant, so everything is super-pricey and HUUUUUGE portions (yaaay gift certificates). The appetizer salad I had might be the most amazing salad I have ever eaten though. It had cashews, hearts of palm, chicory, apples, mangos, and BANANAS with some sort of yummy lime dressing. Yes, bananas + cashews + lime dressing in my salad is beyond taste explosions.

We were going to see "The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons" afterwards, but we were stuck in a tunnel on the 6 train for 45 minutes instead and missed the movie.

To the Sky

Here's a few doodles from my sketchbook lately, digitally colored up.

There were in Love...



Ghastly Ghouls:


I should have a shop update later this week with holiday-ish things, if all things go well! Also, another VeganMoFo post later tonight...

Where do all the hours in the day go?!?

Sometimes things don't work out the way you want

I wanted to share a recent failure I have had in translating my sketch into a finished painting. I know, I know, who wants to see failures? I can't decide whether it's hopeless and I should just give up on it, or if I should try and take it a little further. I was thinking about adding a digital layer (new tablet; I wanna play with it!) over it, adding more detail and interest. Right now it's pretty boring, if I must say, and I dig the original sketch waaay better. Ya live, ya learn.

bunnies and carrots and kitties and flowers

Jump, Jump, Jump!

Remember Jump Rope for Heart? I just remember being in the elementary school gym for HOURS, or what seemed like forever, jumping around with my little jump rope. I'm pretty sure that I really didn't know what I was jumping for either. I wonder if schools still do that?

Yeti Momma

A friend of mine just had a baby and I just saw the first pictures today...beyond cuteness!! I was thinking about her today on my lunch break; wondering how life with a new little person must be. It's super-hot outside today, but I was chilled to the bone from the work AC so it didn't bother me so much. They opened up the grassy area in Madison Square Park, so I basked in the sun and doodled baby yetis.

I went to hear Naomi Klein speak last night at Barnes and Noble. I haven't read her new book, "The Shock Doctrine," yet, but she certainly convinced me. She didn't go to into the book itself, but talked about current events that relate to her thesis for this book. She talked about this fear of oil that this country is facing and how the pundits are basically reiterating big oil's agenda instead of pushing for exploration of new resources to ween ourselves off our addiction to oil. We were on the right path a few months ago, when other resources were brought to the table, but it has quickly changed by a fire-spreading lies that we need to drill in Alaska, for instance, which in fact would be an ecological disaster. She talked about how society is being fed lies which turn into fear and force through political agenda which otherwise would NOT go through. Anyways, I was really excited to hear her and it was a very motivational talk and made me want to learn more about certain instances she mentioned. And if any of you haven't read "No Logo" yet, do so now!

Yeti Rain-Dance!

Ooga-booga!

These doodles lately are small studies for larger paintings in the future, so you shall see them again shortly. Why are pointy teeth so cute? Also, why can't I just do one thing at a time? So many questions, so little time.

Monday Funday

It's a dreary day out today, which I somehow don't mind. It's a good day to get a lot of work done.

Ohh! I made my 100th sale this weekend on Etsy! This is exciting to me, since it was a goal of mine to make a 100 sales in a year, and I'm way early! By like 5 months! Woohoo! I have a slew of things cooking, but they're all still in various stages of completion. I will hopefully have a nice shop update by next monday.

Some more sneaky pictures of a series to come...

And yes, that carrot has tassles.

I've been listening to Liz Phair and The Breeders all day long

I made seitan piccata (from Veganomicon) for 4th of July dinner for Nik and I. Steamed asparagus and carrots as a side. The sauce was soooo yummy and my seitan came out perfect (I used the Seitan Cutlet recipe, also from Vcon, but then baked it afterwards to make it firmer). I used the leftover sauce (a white wine sauce with green olives, capers, and pimientos and some herbs) for a salad dressing tonight!



This weekend I also made some blueberry muffins, using the blueberries that I received in my CSA this week. This is the recipe I used


Painted a bit tonight. Started working on a BIIIG painting (well big for me; about 20"x24") of a lovely moth-girl. Also did some more sketches for my new series, but I can't show those yet!

Oh today, how I love you so

I have a crazy new series I'm in the process of sketching out right now and I thought I'd offer a few sneak peeks. I'm going to try a different process this time and fully ink out my sketches and possibly digitally color them up, before I make a bigger and brighter painting out of them. I usually just do a small not-so-detailed sketch and then transform it. I'm excited to have the whole long holiday weekend to go sit in coffee shops and work on these. Speaking of coffee shops, last night I went to this new place that replaced my all-time favorite. It made me pretty sad over how much they had changed the place (and most definitely NOT for the better.) It is now this sterile and uncomfortable room with a bare garden area, whereas it used to be one of the comfiest places with it's clutter and randomness and lush garden. So, so sad. I love my neighborhood dearly, but seriously, why do all my favorite places have to bite the dust? Anyways, they make some good iced tea at least (tropicalia!), and once I put my headphones on and concentrate on my work, I usually drown my environment out anyways.

So yeah, those sneak-peeks:




I get out of work early today, at 2pm! I'm gonna go see one of my FAVORITE artist's exhibit afterwards. Philip Pearlstein has a "then and now" exhibit of his work from the 1960's spanning all the way up to the present. I'm so excited! His paintings are quite awe-inspiring in print, not to mention in person. Here is an example, now picture it HUGE. Also, the detail is 10,000,000x insane in real life.

Helloooo

Busy, busy bee: is me!

I don't know where the month of June went, whatsoever, but here we are in July. Holiday weekend coming up and I'm excited to get out early on thursday and have friday completely free. What should I do?!

I finally gave in last night and bought a gocco machine. I have coveted one from afar for a long time now, but they announced they are officially discontinuing the machine this month, so I had to jump or lose my chance foreverrrr. It should be coming from Japan in a few days! Soo excited! If only I get it before the holiday weekend so I can PLAY! Must start sketching some ideas.

Speaking of sketches, here are some doodles:

Tuesday, Wednesday, break my heart

I'm back from a well-rested and happy weekend with my family. I got to see a lot of my extended family as well, with a big mega-bbq picnic on sunday. I had to leave early to go to the airport at 6, but should have stayed. I didn't even board my plane until 10:30pm! Super-delayed, I didn't get home to my apartment until almost 1am. I was mostly grumbly yesterday and if I did say or anything, it was probably in the form of "!#$!!#@%!." Ha. Much better (and rested) today. I'm going to work late tonight and then make a strawberry pie (!!!) when I get home.

Here are some doodles from this past weekend:

big tall man with big tall shoes


sitting on the dock of the lake


blooming flowers on my parent's deck

100 posts!

Hello! This is my 100th blog post and I have felt like it had to be an extraordinary post, thus is why I haven't posted in a couple days. Silly, I know, but I felt like i had to "celebrate" it or something. I was always one of those little girls that tried real hard to keep a diary, but always forgot about it after five entries. So for me to reach 100 entries as a grown-up michelle, is quite exciting.

Also, my craft fair was on saturday and I now have absolute free time to do anything I want! Such relief! I slept in real, real late today, made a yummy brunch, and then sauntered around Renegade Craft Fair (I can't get away from crafts, right???). I spent the rest of the night updating my Etsy shop with new and exciting things (and still more to come in the next few days!).

here are the fun new recipe boxes added to my shop:








and the new planters! The first picture cracks me right up. so, so sad!










Some doodles I did during downtime at the craft fair:



I love senor cinnabun. He WILL eat your pants!

I picked up my first CSA of the season this past saturday and it was pretty exciting. So much lettuce and strawberries! I received: 2 heads of green and red lettuce, one bag of mixed greens, one bag of arugula, 2 leeks, 5 garlic scapes (!!) 18 Asparagus, 2 stalks of Rhubarb, and 2 QUARTS of strawberries!! There will be many variations of salads this week. The strawberries were most definitely the best part; I made an amazing and simple strawberry sauce to go over this morning's pancakes. Nik and I both devoured them. CHOMP. Now I must decide what to do with the rest of them or, you know, just eat them all raw. Pretty easy to do...





oof, sleep-time. i seriously just spent 4 hours editing pictures and updating my shop and making this blog entry. I can't believe it's monday already!