Shayla Maddox

Time to move.

2009-12-16T13:03:00.000-08:00

From now on, I'll be blogging at:
www.shaylamaddox.blogspot.com.

This move was over 3 years of procrastination in the making. I should have been posting on a site address that used my actual name a long, long time ago. It's more professional that way. It's time.

My apologies for the hassle this causes to everyone who knows this site, links out to it, etc, but I had to do it eventually, and better sooner than later.

Here's a preview of my newest painting, which I will post on the new blog within the next couple of days. See you all there. :o)

Sunset Rhapsody . 12x16 inches . 2009

2009-12-07T22:07:00.000-08:00

1. natural light (tree shadows included)
2. artificial light
3. artificial light + blacklight = magic
4. uv/blacklight only
5. no light! no light i say! it glows in the dark!

And it's color changing! :oO

Okay, so that's not exactly new for me, but it's still awesome, and this one changes into a rainbow of colors. Sweet. I love my glow pigments.

Actually, I really wanted this piece to highlight all my Light Reactive techniques, so that each image would look very different from the next. I think it worked out pretty well. :oD The only difficulty I had was taking pictures of it in natural light. There are so many trees around where I live and the early December sun is at such an angle that it was virtually impossible to find a spot in my house that didn't have shadows from the trees. Personally, I thought that looked kind of rad, but I didn't want anyone to think that the huge dark patches were part of the painting itself. Fortunately, I managed to get one shot where the shadows were minimal.

Sunlight is cool. It's alive. ;o)

Sunset Rhapsody is available in my Etsy shop.

New ACEOs

2009-11-16T16:13:00.000-08:00

One of 'em changes colors! :oO

(click em to see all 5 images of each)

... and you lose some.

2009-10-27T12:43:00.000-07:00

There's nothing I can say to sugar coat this blog entry.

I've written about Gen Kai Japanese Restaurant before:

Japanese Artistry
Adventures in Sushi
Nami

It's been my favorite restaurant for about, oh, 15 years. The sushi there is impeccable. I enjoy its authenticity. There are so many Americanized sushi places out there nowadays, and so far I've found nothing that compares.

Anyway.

There was a fire this past weekend, and it destroyed much of the interior of the restaurant. The structure is still standing, and they hope to rebuild eventually. My heart just broke when I found out. We've developed personal relationships with many members of the staff, and I can't imagine how awful they must be feeling. It's just soul crushing to think about. If Jun-san and Irene-san happen to be reading this, know that we are thinking about you.

As for me, though I have suffered a personal loss in this experience, it's hard for me to feel as though my situation compares. It's sad all around. Either way, restaurants can be rebuilt, paintings can be remade. No lives were lost. In the end, it's all just stuff. As we used to say in the old Immersion days, it's about The Journey.

Even if it's painful to look at. :o(

Moonlight Mood . 8x10 . 2009

2009-10-09T17:15:00.000-07:00

1. natural lighting

2. artificial/interior lighting
3. combined uv and artificial lighting
4. uv lighting only
5. no light (glow in the dark)

Ingredients: acrylic, beach sand, crushed glass, phosphorescent pigments, varnish, water & light on canvas.

Moonlight Mood is a Glenn Miller song. :o)

I don't know what it is about this painting that reminds me of a 1940's nightclub, but I seriously feel like mixing up a highball and swingin' the night away to a large orchestra. Hence, its title.

I should also note the the texture on this piece is so thick and texturey, it sticks up nearly half in inch away from the canvas. In some ways, it's more like sculpture. Or, as Colin put it, "an acrylic meteor."

:o)

Moonlight Mood is available in my Etsy shop.

When something is truly awesome, I really should blog about it.

2009-10-08T13:39:00.000-07:00

THIS IS SO AWESOME! AGH!

(now would be a good time to mention that I've never even heard Beyonce's original version, and I have even less intention of doing so now.)

But! In case you're more of an Earth Wind and Fire type of person, here ya go!

More Pomplamoose to listen to online.

Love it. LOVE IT. Go buy Pomplamoose's music. Now. Support art. Support AWESOME art.

Resonance . 24x30 inches . 2009

2009-10-01T15:09:00.001-07:00

1. natural lighting

2. artificial/interior lighting
3. combined uv and artificial lighting
4. uv lighting only
5. no light (glow in the dark)

Ingredients: acrylic, beach sand, crushed glass, phosphorescent pigments, varnish, water & light on canvas.

"Water need not think to offer itself as a home for clear moonlight." --Sogi

I think I must find water to be spiritual, because I have an ongoing obsession with it. Water is essential for all forms of life. It gives life and takes life. A raindrop is so small and soft, yet a tsunami washes villages away.

The idea of living in the middle of the country somewhere far away from any large bodies of water seems nightmarish to me. Dry and nightmarish. What do you breathe out there? Dust? Dirt?

Truthfully, I'm also afraid of the ocean. I adore the ocean when I'm standing on a beach, or when I'm close to shore surrounded by turtles and yellow fishies. But deep water? Open ocean? Now that's a nightmare.

Cymatics! I don't have a fancy lead-in for that, it's just awesome and should be announced. Basically, cymatics is the study of wave phenomena, specifically sound wave vibrations. Look at this flower shape created through sound vibrations on water:

And if you're still with me and interested to see more, check out all these amazing variations in patterns this person created with a synthesizer and water:

A friend of mine was over last week and noted "all the moons" I was painting around my studio. This was true, but I really never think of myself as painting the moon, except maybe in a philosophical sense. I think of it more as exploring the light from the moon, or the mood of the moon. I'm not even sure it's necessarily inspired by the moon when I paint it. Maybe it's just a star. Or a planet. Or a circle. Maybe it's just light. Someone once encouraged me to "paint the moon" in a realistic way, with all the visible craters and regions on the moon we see every night, adding that "that would be REALLY interesting" if I did so.

I have a feeling I'll never be doing that. ;o)

Resonance is available in my Etsy shop.

Eternal Sunrise . 48x60 inches . 2009

2009-09-22T14:57:00.000-07:00

1. natural lighting
2. artificial/interior lighting
3. combined uv and artificial lighting
4. uv lighting only
5. no light (glow in the dark)

Ingredients: acrylic, beach sand, crushed glass, phosphorescent pigments, varnish, water & light on canvas.

Ahhhh. Hello super ridiculously large painting. Nice to meet you.

Well, goodbye, rather, because I just shipped this piece off to Chicagoland today. Actually, it's kind of sad, I'd really grown used to the bright orange sunrise everyday. It was causing me to paint a wave of tealish blueish greenish paintings. Now my studio is totally unbalanced. And naked. Good thing I have a blank canvas the exact same size just waiting to be painted something colorful. Or maybe it will be dark and gray. Who knows.

This is the painting I was counting dots on. I counted every single dot. I won't be doing this again. I learned quickly that I can't listen to music and count simultaneously. And really, I prefer listening to music than counting 4,647 dots.

That's right. You heard me. This painting has 4,647 dots.

I wanted this piece to be extremely glowy. In the event that its owner doesn't get a blacklight to go with it (get one, Stephanie, get one) it should still light up the room after dark. (Get one, Stephanie, get one.)

Hope you like it. ;o)

Too hot

2009-08-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

Um. 109? In Orange County?

I've been clear on my feelings about the desert. For someone who hates dryness, August through November is a vile, vile time in Southern California.

So, instead of acknowledging the heat, I'm going to get even more psyched for sweet breezy humidity in January. (Hawaii!!)

But, actually, that picture is of the plumeria on my patio. :o)

Photo Outings

2009-08-20T16:09:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you mix a modern Canon DSLR with a vintage Argus?

We took a field trip to the park to play with our very different cameras and had a successfully artsy time. The vintage one belonged to my grandparents, before my mom saved it (plus a few others) from the Good Will pile. Phew.

Let the fun begin. :o)

More photos here.

New ACEOs

2009-08-15T11:07:00.000-07:00

Available in my Etsy shop! (Click on them to see the other lighting conditions.)

I'm currently working on 9 different paintings right now. So, where there has been an absence of painting related blog posts lately, there will soon be a flood of them. I cannot *wait* to start taking pictures of them with our new camera. The detail and difference when getting shots of these ACEOs was obvious immediately.

woo

We Need To Pray Just To Make It Today

2009-07-31T17:03:00.001-07:00

More fun with our new camera!

Oh fine, now he's all shy. When he was smaller and lived on my arugula plant, he was all rebellious and angry and charging me. No, really, he would run up the tallest stem at me, flashing gang signs, makin' all kinds of threats. Jerk. I made Colin take him somewhere far, far away.

But now he's back, and he brought a friend, and the friend lives in our cypress tree, and this guy lives in our plumeria tree and now he runs in the opposite direction because clearly he's a little camera shy in his adult years. Who's chasin' who now, buddy?? Yeah. That's right.

So we have a truce. He doesn't charge me, and in return, I let him stay there and eat bugs. (Which works out nicely, because the truth is, he really scares the crap out of me.)

We got a fancy new camera.

2009-07-29T16:23:00.000-07:00

So... I've been taking pictures of things. Mostly things on our patio.

But how's this for texture?

:o)

The Interim

2009-07-26T01:02:00.000-07:00

Just swinging by to post something anything while I'm wrapping up some actual work to show you.

Get this: I've painted 3,970 dots in the last 2 weeks. Yes, that's accurate, and yes, I counted. More later.

A glimpse of something else:

Oh, also, check out this awesome feature Connie at Dirty Footprints Studio did of me! :oD

Ethereal

New ACEOs

2009-07-11T17:28:00.000-07:00

I was struck with an idea on how to make ACEOs more like my original paintings (without taking a ridiculous amount of time) and it worked!! :o) I'm happy.

So... these now have beach sand, which is cool. Also, I used heavier phosphorescent pigments, so they will glow brighter than you can believe. Glass too, so they sparkle!

I have 4 more that I'm still working on.

I also have 5 tealish aqua turquoise paintings that are in process. Yes, 5. I'm not quite sure how that happened, I don't normally spread out a color obsession over so many separate pieces at one time. I think it's because I'm almost done with an Orange custom painting that's 4 feet tall and 5 feet wide, and I needed to color an equal amount of "space" with an opposing paint color.

I think I'm about to start a big, bright, purple painting. Wouldn't that be rad?

O Firefly, O Firefly

2009-06-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

My whole life I've wanted to see fireflies. I resent all you people out there that live in firefly country. California does not have them. :o( Junebugs yes, but no fireflies. It must be magical. Of course it is. Just look at these pictures:

(click on each image to see it larger and to view the flickr page of the lucky lucky photographer who was there to capture the moment.)

Sooooo jealous. They make me so happy. I used to have this dream of "decorating" with fireflies at my wedding, maybe carrying them around in lanterns, or releasing bazillions of them at a romantic moment. Then I realized I don't live near fireflies, and then I got married in a place without them too. [Okay, well, being on a beach in Hawaii definitely makes up for the lack of fireflies.]

So... one of you out there should seriously consider doing that.

And, hopefully, eventually, one day Colin and I will start traveling to All-Over-The-World and I can finally see them for myself.

Pretty little magic bugs. I love you.

In process

2009-06-26T17:25:00.000-07:00

Just a few quick pictures taken with my best friend iPhone of some of the pieces I'm working on and finishing up right now.

I really only like showing "parts" of each painting until it's officially done. I think it's more fun that way. It's like clues, or previews. (Aside from those of you that come over and see them unfinished and naked and timidly question whether or not I'm going to "keep working on this one.")

:oP

Top 3 Reasons I Resent Having To Leave My House

2009-06-23T17:03:00.000-07:00

1.
2.
3.
Occasionally we find ourselves lolling about on a Sunday afternoon not really wanting to do anything other than enjoy ourselves and laze about on the carpet.

And why wouldn't we? I love my patio. So much do I love my patio.

Sidenote: Everything that yawns is cute. Everything. Look how cute he is:

Solstice already?!

2009-06-21T13:26:00.000-07:00

Sheesh. I'm so not ready for the sun to start disappearing faster everyday. I resent the darkness of winter. (Okay okay, we would all be dressed like that in December anyway. It's not like I live in Canada.)

June is usually a very creative month for me, and not that this one isn't, but I think I'm noticing a slightly more defined "pattern" in my Junes than I have before. In the constant mental battle of cool colors vs. warm colors, I seem to bleed aqua and teal and turquoise this month every year. I hadn't thought of it before, but this is easily the 4th June in a row in which my biggest artsy obsession has been making a painting as Teal as I can make it. I'm not sure what it is about this time of year that causes it. Maybe it's just a regular cycle of color exploration that happens to fall in June, rather than the environment of June causing it.

If I haven't said so before, I blame my mother for this. When I was little, I used to regard her love of teal as "quirky" at best, and mostly an unfortunate influence of too many butterflies and too much 1980s.

NOW LOOK AT ME.

Crazy crazy shadowy crazy

2009-06-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

That picture was actually taken indoors, but the sun was hitting it in such a way that it made these awesome shadows across the whole painting. This was only made possible by the sun FINALLYYYYY emerging after weeks of June gloom that was starting to exhaust me and break my soul. Phew.

Someday is one more in my series of Rainbow explorations. :o)

Old, but new.

2009-06-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

I made these paintings for a small business location last year, but said business is no longer in, um, business, so now I'm listing them in my Etsy shop! :o)

(Those images were all taken in the evening, with a blacklight on.)

To be fair*

2009-06-08T17:38:00.001-07:00

The paintings currently in progress on my workbench are, in fact, moon colored.

("Moon" being relative to whatever color I'm choosing it to be at any given time, of course.)

Well, when you put it that way...

2009-06-07T16:44:00.001-07:00

I guess I do paint in warm colors.

The two on the right are spoken for, and will one day live in Virginia and Illinois, respectively. But in the meantime, I'm glad they helped illustrate a point. (To me.)

Staycation Weekend

2009-05-20T16:19:00.001-07:00

We had an amazing anniversary weekend. :o) Very refreshing. We read a lot, drank Sangrias, went to Roy's, and had fun together.

Colin even took me on a romantic journey through all the local sights that played a role in our early relationship. :o) Like this neat spot overlooking Dana Point Harbor. If you stand in the middle of of the compass star, it makes your voice sound really weird. :o) Yay acoustics.

(if you look closely, you can see my reflection in one of Colin's eyes, and his hand and camera in the other!)

We had just come from Rancho Santa Margarita, maybe 15 miles inland, where I swear it was 100 degrees, but Dana Point was cool and breezy. This is why the ocean is always better than the desert. Always.

Hamming it up at Fashion Island after an incredible Hawaiian Fusion dinner at Roy's:

heh :o)

Special Day :o)

2009-05-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

Today is our Anniversary. :o) It marks 4 years of marriage, and 8 years of being happily together. As Colin has been mentioning all week, this officially means we've been married more than we were not married! Yay! :oD

People kept telling us that our crazy "in love" feeling would go away after a couple years of knowing each other. We're still waiting for that to happen, and at this point, I have serious doubts that it will. Serious, serious doubts.

Take a memory trip with us:

If we haven't mentioned lately, extra special thanks to Best Man Joe for introducing us 8 years ago. We really appreciate it. ;o)

A couple more pictures here!

Sometimes I Forget What I Look Like

2009-05-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

...and other times I wish I didn't remember.

[I once contemplated having dread-locks, but I was afraid my stylist would disown me. So instead, I dyed my hair punk-rock burgundy. My stylist almost disowned me. Well, he canceled all his appointments the day I finally grew tired of it.]

My personality tests always come up "extrovert," but you wouldn't know it from how often I go through cycles of wanting to hole up and hide. Lately I've both been wishing I was less involved in certain things, and more involved in others. The problem is figuring out what those things are.

[I was in a movie on the big screen once that went to all the festivals.]

The last 5 years have been so full of art and paint that I've lost myself within it. Not that there's anything wrong with that, in fact it's really helped me find myself. I just occasionally forget if there's anything else to me. I worry that because all I do is paint, all I am is a painter. But that can't be true, can it?

[♫ For a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself...♫♫]

[This is my Johnny Depp face. I'm not going to explain that further.]

There's a really beautiful light that pours into our home during the daytime because of this white, gossamer-like curtain that hangs in the window...

This is totally related to the fact that I turn 30 in January. Totally. I think the 29th year is supposed to be filled with self-reflection. I'm not at all depressed about reaching another decade, I'm just introspective about it.

[I can recognize physicist Dr. Michio Kaku's voice while flipping channels on the radio.]

So here's to more learning about who I am.

There will definitely be more art soon. Oh yes. I may not have been blogging about it much lately, but I've definitely been working on some stuff. I have ideas for new work that I think is so much more complex than I've done before that I'm scared to start working on it. It might eat my mind.

[if LOST doesn't first.]

Pretties

2009-04-15T16:27:00.000-07:00

I really love my bathroom. It was the first thing I decorated after moving in.

So much light!

(p.s. you can find those lovely Kauai prints in Colin's Etsy shop.)

Yay. :o)

Science Geekdom

2009-04-11T11:10:00.000-07:00

A collector and friend of mine, Madeleine, whom I've mentioned before, sent me word of her incredibly exciting news this week. She just had her first paper published in the April issue of Nature Biotechnology!! Woooo!! Congrats, Madeleine!!

And, just for icing on an already delicious cake, they used the artwork she submitted as the cover too! Check it out:

Isn't that awesome? :oD Hooray for science geeks pursuing science!! You make the world go round!! Well, okay, you help explain how and why it does, but that's incredibly important!!

:oD

Adventures in Sushi

2009-04-08T11:49:00.001-07:00

So we went to Gen Kai again last weekend. :o) It started out simple enough.

But when you order Omakase, you never know what will happen. This would be mackerel sashimi:

Honestly, it was some of the best sashimi I've ever had. And what a [mildly alarming] presentation!

Here's Colin eating the fish head, after it was sent to the kitchen to be deep fried.
(P.S. I ate a fish eyeball. Yep.)

Sashimi Roll:

Then... Jun-san brought out the squid. The whole squid. A whole squid, I tell you:

I hadn't eaten a whole squid before. It was... squid-like. I also hadn't tried salmon roe either! (the orange stuff.) It's like inflated, balloon-like caviar.

And that's my story.

:o)

New ACEOs

2009-04-06T15:06:00.000-07:00

I know, they look familiar.

I did my initial sketches for Nami in ACEO size, because... why not? Then I'd have more ACEOs.

I actually have another (similar) one that isn't finished yet. Same concept, but orange and pink. :o)

Both are in my shop.

New Color Studies

2009-04-04T16:53:00.001-07:00

Now available in my Etsy shop.

this place is ducky

2009-03-31T16:47:00.000-07:00

Please. Indulge me:

Yep, so that's pretty much what I've been doing since they hatched last weekend. This is just the duck family near our condo, there are numerous duck families all over the complex. It's insanity here. In a cute way. Cute insanity.

Egret Interlude:

On our eco-system exploration walk on Sunday, (meaning, we walked around the complex) we also discovered a gigantic orange koi and a good sized turtle. This place constantly amazes me. My landlord told me, "Just wait for summer!" but if it actually gets better than this, I'll be knocked over with majestic hysteria.

Love it here.

This won't be the last time I gush about this.

You are warned.

OC Arts & Culture Interview

2009-03-30T14:19:00.000-07:00

Check out this interview I did for the awesome OC Arts & Culture website!

So cool.

:oD

Nami - 36x60 inches - 2009

2009-03-20T16:24:00.001-07:00

1. natural lighting
2. combined uv and artificial lighting
3. no light (glow in the dark)

Ingredients: acrylic, beach sand, crushed sea shells, crushed glass, phosphorescent pigments, varnish, water & light on canvas.

Nami is the word for Wave in Japanese. :o) The "sky" is made with thick layers of sand and shells. Already today, I've had 3 people ask me if that's the sun or the moon.

I'm leaving that one up to you.

A story: One day I had a vision to do a wave painting, although I wasn't exactly sure what that would look like, since I hadn't really done waves before. Squiggly lines, yes, but no waves. I sketched a few things out and quickly had a concept for something that I was really excited about. The sketch was put in a drawer for later, until my birthday rolled around, when the fam and I were eating at THE BEST sushi place in Orange County (that's right) and I had another idea.

Yada yada yada, I suddenly had a project to do a painting for Gen Kai (Dana Point), my favorite restaurant ever, which I've been going to for basically half my life. Of course, my immediate thought after I got home and the shock and excitement wore off a bit was: My wave painting!! How perfect.

Ta daaaa:

Nami now hangs on the wall in the lobby, the first thing you see when you walk through the door. There's bright filtered sunlight in the room all day, and then dim, romantic lights in the evening. Perfect to show off the light reactive fun. I equipped them with a blacklight flashlight to show anyone that's interested how brightly it glows.

I have to say, in my totally biased opinion, that it looks AWESOME there, and I'm absolutely giddy about this whole thing. Sushi and Art! Together!!!

If you'd like to see Nami in person (!!) stop by Gen Kai.

34143 Pacific Coast Hwy
Dana Point, CA 92629

(949) 240-2004‎

Their weekday lunch specials are incredible, and the sushi bar is second to none. The chefs are amazing, the fish is the freshest, and the whole place just rocks. I'm truly honored, and completely thrilled. I have a feeling we'll be spending more time in Dana Point in the future.

Yay!

Painting Preview

2009-03-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

Pardon the seemingly poor quality of that picture, it was actually taken in the low light of the evening. Yes, that's how much it's glowing when it's still light out.

!!

Crunch time this week. The painting will be finished on Friday, when I'm hanging it at that cool place I'm not going to name yet. Well, I'm hoping, I'm not exactly sure it will fit in either of our cars. (It's 36x60 inches.) I'll take all the pictures on Thursday, and post them on Friday.

I'm really, really excited about this piece.

I have some matching ACEOs that I used to sketch out ideas in the early stages of making this. I'll be listing those in my shop soon too.

Ebb and Flow

2009-03-11T15:56:00.000-07:00

Meaning my motivation, and inspiration, I think.

Actually, what I'm really excited about right now is that unfinished painting right there. It's going to eventually be hanging somewhere really cool, which I will refrain from telling you about until it's officially hanging there. But, trust me. It's cool.

I've been experimenting in dialogue lately. I've been practicing the art of talking about my art. It's difficult for me to explain my motivations and inspirations, especially when you see someone's eyes glaze over at the words "zen," "science," or "spirituality." More than that, I'm not sure that's even what I mean to say.

What I mean to say is that I love to color. I like to sit on the ground with my colors and make a picture look pretty (or cool or weird or dark or whatever it is that I'm interested in making.) I like to play with the texture and the shadows and the light, and see how it looks. I like to mix colors together, and mix stuff into the colors (like sand) and see how it changes the overall piece. To me, all my paintings are part of a neverending coloring book that I'm always adding new pages to. I don't have a coloring book that contains the images I want to color, so I have to make them myself. What comes out is a reflection of "zen," and "science," and "spirituality," but that's just because that's what my brain is filled with, after 29 years of interest in those things.

The point is to color.

The point is to wake up in my jammies and sit on the floor with my dog and dream of pretty pictures and make them a reality while the birds sing outside and the sun pours through the windows inside.

I'm not sure how I would phrase that to someone in the art business that expects me to sound intelligent. Maybe I don't have to, maybe it's not expected of me at all. Maybe people who love art understand "coloring on the ground like a 5 year old" more than any snooty, self-important, self-analytical, "intelligent" artist statement nonsense that I could ever come up with anyway.

Maybe I just hate talking about myself. I much prefer to express my life with actions and art. Actions are real. Talking is noise.

New paintings + Art Walk

2009-03-05T13:27:00.001-08:00

Starlit Hour and Dusk. Be the first to see them up close tonight at the William Meire Gallery during the monthly First Thursdays Art Walk in Laguna Beach.

The William Meire Gallery is located at:
1590 South Coast Hwy, Unit #1
Laguna Beach, CA 92651

It's on the corner of PCH and Bluebird. I'll be there from 6-9pm. Stop by, drink some wine, look at some art!

Musings

2009-02-25T15:25:00.000-08:00

I think I've been too introspective to say much lately. I'm taking everything in.

This is my view a few days per week now.

At home, I'm working on paintings at lightning speed, in hopes of switching out a few of my bluish paintings on the gallery wall with some new (warmer) art. The goal is next week. I'll keep you posted, but you can also see them by stopping by the gallery during March's First Thursdays Art Walk.

It's been educational at the gallery. I like watching people react to my art, and what questions they ask regarding it. Some people don't seem to "get" it (or at least don't react to it), while others find it downright fascinating. They like the sand, and how it "sparkles." They say it "looks like stained glass."

People like red in Laguna Beach. They say it when they walk through the door.

One of the best parts has been having to answer questions about my philosophy and themes. I often avoid answering that question internally (it seems too complicated), but now I'm required to say something, so I'd best know what I'm talking about. "Why do you paint circles?" is a complicated thought, and one that I don't exactly know how to unpack. I've always painted circles, from the first painting I've painted circles. Hmm. I mean, I have some ideas, I know it's related to spirituality, to science, to the cosmos, to Zen, to completeness. The trick is being able to squish that down into an intelligent sounding sentence.

I'm learning to paint faster without skimping on quality. Mostly this means making a decision about what to do next and then completing that step confidently. What I am skipping is the hemming and hawing, the unnecessary steps and layers that add nothing to the painting except time. I'm learning to know what I want ahead of time, and how to achieve it.

I'd thought I was probably going to move away from sunburst designs this year, and now I find myself obsessively painting them again. I guess they were not perfected enough, maybe they never will be, maybe I'll paint new and interesting sunbursts for eternity. I'm excited about them, truly. I feel like I've opened up a new window in color exploration, and a sunburst holds the color just the way I want.

Warming Up

2009-02-11T16:23:00.000-08:00

I have so much going on right now. So much.

All good. Just much.

I was "painting like a millionaire" today and completely ran out of beach sand. I also may or may not have gotten sand and/or paint in my eye. Hopefully I'll live.

Something I've learned already is that I need to be bolder in painting warm-colored paintings. I think I get trapped in my happy aqua-teal-turquoise-cool-aqua paintings too easily. Not that aqua-teal-turquoise-cool-aqua paintings are a bad thing, I just like to challenge myself, and red paintings (for instance) are a challenge. The funny thing is, and I've said this before, I always end up thinking my warm colored paintings are some of my best work. I think the challenge of it brings out new energy and focus.

However, the most exciting painting I'm currently working on is teal and white, and I'm totally okay with that.

But the REALLY exciting part of my Wednesday happens at 9pm. Really REALLY exciting:

Art Walk tomorrow!

2009-02-04T14:52:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, short notice again. But I have a good excuse: I didn't find out until yesterday! It's been sort of a whirlwind week. I have some interesting things happening, of which I will get into more when I have more information.

:o)

Anyway, for the time being, I wanted to invite you to stop by the First Thursdays Art Walk in Laguna Beach tomorrow, February 5th from 7-9pm. I will be showing some of my art at the William Meire Gallery, located at:

1590 South Coast Hwy, Unit #1
Laguna Beach, CA 92651

It's right on the corner of Bluebird Canyon and South Coast Highway. Oh look, a map:

View Larger Map

There are, of course, many galleries to visit up and down PCH, so you can get your fill of local art! Also, my friend Andy is playing at Skylab Modern Art at 6:30 and 8pm, literally 0.1 miles north of the William Meire Gallery. I hear they serve martinis there. Woo!

See you there.

New Art! (Finally) :o)

2009-01-28T10:09:00.000-08:00

Raindrop and Somewhere.

I hadn't technically meant for these to go so well together (raindrops and rainbows) but I often realize (after the fact) that everything I'm painting at any given time is connected to each other.

At the moment I'm writing this, Raindrop is sitting flat on top of my workbench, and from this angle, it really looks like water rippling out away from a water drop. It's a shame paintings-lying-flat hasn't caught on in a decorative sense yet, but it will certainly look like you captured a water droplet against your wall. :o)

Somewhere was an exploration in technique for me. Whereas many pieces are heavy on jagged, sandy, waxy texture, this one is smooth and flat. It's still very thick, caused by never-ending layers of paint and varnish and glazing, but it's flat. This gives it a cool cloudy, semi-translucent effect, which really brings out the bright primary colors I wanted to showcase. It's very bright, in fact, the UV light just highlights colors already there, kind of like you turned a light on behind it or something. It really seems to glow in broad daylight too.

I'm really, REALLY happy to be getting back into the swing of things, art-wise. :o) I have two more waiting in the wings to be finished: my fuchsia sunburst that I was so excited about in December, and another one that you'll really enjoy if you're a science geek (like me.)

heh

shaka

2009-01-20T15:52:00.001-08:00

:o)

Happy Inauguration Day.

Our New Place

2009-01-16T15:45:00.000-08:00

Here's an idea of what we've accomplished in our moving blur over the last month. It finally, truly, actually feels like home.

Iron hanging thing that we inherited from a friend:

Kitchen with sage walls. SAGE, I tell you!

Fire:

Egret!

He's my favorite, I am thrilled whenever he visits. He either likes to swoop by my sliding glass doors, or stand on a rock looking majestic. No disrespect to the ducks though. They're just funny. They battle and have duck wars. Also, there are apparently koi in the creek. I didn't think there would be, but I saw one with my own eyes. A lone, beautiful, orange and white koi fishy. There must be more, I doubt he's swimming all by himself. We plan to search for more this weekend.

Oh, and here's the view from the top of the stairs. I'm not making this up:

When we first saw the listing for this place, I thought, "Wow, that's a lot of pictures of the outside they're showing," and now here I am, standing outside on my patio every day, taking pictures of the egret.

This place is awesome. It's entirely idyllic and serene, and it's difficult sometimes to want to do anything other than pretend you're living in a retreat somewhere. It's also very inspiring, and now that I've gotten back to working on my art (!!), it's been highly motivating.

Speaking of which, I will actually have new art listed in my Etsy shop next week! :oD

Japanese Artistry

2009-01-15T15:50:00.000-08:00

For my birthday each year, we always go to Gen Kai in Dana Point, where we've been going regularly (or in my mom's case, weekly) for... yeesh... 14 years now? Yikes.

Anyway, we go there because it's THE BEST, and because once you have a relationship with your sushi chefs, you are guaranteed the best meal possible.

We always get Omakase anyway, but at one point I told sushi master Jun to make something that HE thinks is really incredible, that HE would want to eat.

This was the result. I felt especially honored when he expressed that it was made extra special and with extra detail on account of me being an artist. Wow.

It was some sort of mind-blowing black cod, onion, and lotus root extravaganza, and it was almost too perfect to eat. In fact, it was so good that I felt compelled to end my meal on it. I wanted to savor the after-flavor with my sake. Yum. (I do not think it's odd to gush over good sushi.)

Jun-san:

Domo arigato gozaimasu.

Show Tonight!

2009-01-08T09:32:00.000-08:00

That's a wordle made for me by a collector and friend. Hee, fun. :o)

Here's the official info sheet for tonight's A Season of Light show, from the people in charge. Meet the artists! (Click on it to make it bigger.)

NOTE: The address on this flyer is NOT the address of the event, which is listed in my previous blog post. The address for the Buena Park City Chambers, where the event is being held, is:

6650 Beach Blvd.
Buena Park, CA 90620

The reception tonight runs from 6-8pm. Buena Park is nicely situated between Los Angeles and everyone I know in South Orange County.

Hope to see you tonight!

Season of Light Group Show, January 8th from 6-8pm

2009-01-03T12:41:00.000-08:00

My apologies for the short notice on this, I have been completely immersed in moving and unpacking for weeks.

I will be at the Buena Park City Chambers on Thursday, January 8th from 6-8pm, along with a blacklight and 5 of my larger paintings. (Specifically, the ones shown above.) (Sidenote, Broken Sunrise is no longer available and if you want to see it in person, this is your last chance! I'm sending it to the East Coast next month.) If you are local, and would like to see my art in person, please stop by and say hi!

Here is the official press release for the event:

A Season of Light

Shines through Buena Park City Hall

WHAT: A Season of Light Group Exhibition

WHEN: Opening Reception ~ Thursday, January 8th, 2009 from 6pm-8pm

Exhibition runs December 17th through January 30th, 2009

WHERE: Buena Park City Hall ~ Council Chambers

6650 Beach Blvd.
Buena Park, CA 90620

About the Exhibition

The City of Buena Park’s Cultural and Fine Arts Division proudly presents A Season of Light group exhibition. Seven artists from Orange and Los Angeles counties were selected by the Buena Park Fine Arts Commission and invited to exhibit work representing the theme of light and shadows. This year’s exhibiting artists include Arondi, Jeni Bate, Phil Kim, Shayla Maddox, Lori Pond, Wanda Reynolds, and John Urquiza. From painting to photography, this exhibition explores each artist’s representation of reflection and illumination.

About the Reception

The opening reception for A Season of Light will be on Thursday, January 8th from 6pm-8pm. The reception will be at the Buena Park City Hall Council Chambers located at 6650 Beach Blvd. in Buena Park. Light refreshments will be served. Council Chambers is open for public viewing Mondays-Thursdays, 7:30am-5:30pm, and Fridays, 7:30am-4:30pm. Alternate Fridays and weekends are closed. Please call ahead before visiting; viewing availability is subject to change. This exhibition will run from December 16th through January 30th.

About the Exhibiting Artist Program

The goal of the City of Buena Park’s Exhibiting Artist Program is to nurture working relationships and partnerships between artists, presenters, arts organizations, and the greater Buena Park community.

More ACEOs

2008-12-13T12:58:00.001-08:00

I started these a long time ago, and just found them in one of my art drawers this past week. It seemed better to finish them and send them out into the universe than to move them to our new place. :oD

Currently, our new place is empty except for large finished paintings, and a cypress Christmas tree in a container. (Living trees!)

This will change today, after we begin filling it with boxes. I'm already dreaming of having a nice log burning and crackling in the wood stove next week, just in time for holiday cheering. Yay.

Soul Colors

2008-12-05T18:20:00.001-08:00

If you asked me what color I saw my soul living in, I would tell you it was a heavenly teal-aqua-turquoise-teal-watery-milky-aqua-teal color. I imagine myself just floating endlessly through that color. ahhhhh

Except... well, I don't know. This year I've noticed a distinct color that keeps popping up as I paint. I don't intend to paint with this color, I just find myself doing it, again and again and again. It's odd because, I really never liked this color growing up. At all.

PINK. I can't stop. I have no idea what's wrong with me.

Another artist, Emily Balivet, pointed out to me that "Pink= emotion, creativity, marriage, friendship, beauty, compassion, relationships" and is "kinder, gentler then red/ Heart chakra."

Kinda neat, huh? I'm not sure if that's what's going on inside my head when I'm painting pink, but it sure sounds pretty, and I'm going to go with that. Maybe I'm just exploring my emotional side. :oD

It feels like this is what's going on in my head:

A fuzzy, swirly, electric pink blur that somehow reminds me of my childhood. (wooo 80s!)

baby herbs

2008-12-01T18:13:00.001-08:00

We needed to do some re-potting this weekend in order to give our beloved plumeria and orange trees a chance to cope with the trauma of fresh soil and bigger containers before the big move in a couple of weeks, so I took the opportunity to plant a few herbs as well.

For the first time in my life, I will have an actual kitchen window to set herbs on. Well, I mean, I've had windows in the kitchen before, but I'm talking about the kind of window that has a shelf sticking out towards the outside, a garden window of sorts. ::squeal::

I love herbs, and I love growing herbs. I first started when I was about 16 or 17, when I became obsessed with making my own herbal products, which I was pretty good at I'll have you know. But, anyway, I planted some herbs, and it was wonderful. Apparently the seaside clay soil in my mom's backyard was perfect for lavender and rosemary, because those things took off like a crazed herbal science project and became glorious smelling plant monsters in no time. There was no way I could possibly use so much, and we certainly didn't trim it back enough to keep it from being humongous. Then, when the bees and spiders and faeries took up residence in the 2 gigantic bushes, I was too afraid to cut anything from it, so we just sort of gave it to them.

The previous containers of herbs on my soon-to-be-ex patio are all dead now (my patio gets an awe inspiring amount of direct sunlight in the summer) and I didn't bother to plant new ones, because nothing small can survive there.

But now, it's a brave new world of herb growing. I'm so excited. I've never grown chives before, but I think we eat them even more than basil (gasp) so I'm super eager to see what happens.

yay!

I also just started a fuchsia painting, because even with all the boxes I'm tripping over, I couldn't help but do some art. FUCHSIA. I don't know if it will stay that way, but that's what color it is now.

Promises...

2008-11-26T15:10:00.000-08:00

hee

:o)

Movin' on up!

2008-11-24T21:39:00.000-08:00

Yeah, so, this is the view from my new future patio:

I know, right?

It gets better though, because there are ducks and egrets and crawdads that live in that creek.

!!!

In less than a month, we move. In the meantime, we're frantically packing and arranging and organizing. We are very, very happy to be moving.

Solace . 24x36 inches . 2008

2008-11-21T14:43:00.000-08:00

Hi. :o)

1. natural lighting
2. artificial lighting
3. combined uv and artificial lighting
4. uv lighting only
5. no light

Ingredients: acrylic, beach sand, crushed glass, phosphorescent pigments, varnish, water & light on canvas.

When I started working on this painting, I instinctively knew that somehow it was the beginning of a new phase in my work. Not necessarily in style or focus, but I've been particularly interested in what I can accomplish with texture and super thick paint. It takes an incredibly long time to build up, but I'm pleased with how it looks. The first image was taken in that awesome light I was blathering about in a previous blog post, where the sun shines through the windows, casting great shadows across the painting. It looks even more striking on a piece like this that has great texture, and really brings out the depth of the acrylic.

Obviously I'm going to have to increase my supply-buying in order to continue painting this way.

The color of this painting represents the light as it is before dawn, when it's still dark out, but the sun is clearly approaching. It's a very glowing light, very mysterious, and shifts between blue and purple as though it's liquid or fog, even though it's actually crystal clear. It's really a very beautiful, magical light, one that I rarely see because it's not in my nature to be up at that time, unless I've stayed up from the night before.

That's actually when I really experienced this light recently, in a way that inspired me to paint it. It was in June, and we had just returned home from an incredibly emotional and sad experience. It was when Meat died. I took notice of the light, in the same way that I took notice of the rain hitting the windshield on the night my grandfather died. I always notice the environment very distinctly in situations like that. It's almost slowed down, with the volume turned up.

Anyway, on that morning, the light was beautiful. It wasn't enough to call the color of the sky Lavender, although I've been referring to this piece as my "lavender moon" painting. It wasn't even the sky itself that I was looking at. The light was everywhere. It was in the trees, on the wall, and throughout the apartment. I sat and watched it for awhile to really absorb the color I was seeing, and to lock it in my memory as vividly as everything else I was feeling in that moment.

I adore the color of light.

This week has been rad.

2008-11-07T10:25:00.000-08:00

So apparently I was on the Etsy Front Page 3 separate times yesterday. Wow.

Hey, look, there's Chelsea! It's cool when you're on the front page. You get like 17 million views. :o)

Also, I wanted to show you this Color Study I just finished, but I ended up selling it before I blogged about it. I love it when that happens. (yay) Check out that texture. As I say in the listing, this was really more a texture/phosphorescent study, but either way it was totally done in my very favorite colors.

A couple of days ago there was this really really awesome light coming through the windows and I ran around frantically taking pictures of every painting in the house before it went away. It made huge shadows across the texture, showing each piece in a new light. (Um, so to speak.) I'll post more of them soon so you can see what I mean.

It also made my hair look dark and my lips look pink. It was an awesome, awesome light.

Yep. Quite a week. :o)

New Etsy Paintings

2008-11-02T15:08:00.000-08:00

Busy, busy. It's not really November, is it? :o(

I've been finishing up some work. I had 2 commissions to finish for delivery next week, although I haven't taken pictures yet. You'll just have to imagine. Think circles.

These 2 are going to my Etsy shop:

Moonfire and Joyous.

Joyous was one of those that I started a million years ago, stopped for some reason, and then picked up and finished again. I guess I was waiting for the right color, which obviously was yellow. Happy happy yellow.

They are both very sandy.

My newest show piece is nearly almost practically finished, and I have a few more small pieces to list in my shop next week, depending on how elated or depressed I am after Tuesday.

:oD

2 New COLOR STUDIES

2008-10-22T19:19:00.000-07:00

Yeesh, I've been workin' lately. I need to start clearing out my studio to make room for bigger (meaning, huge) commission and show pieces that I'm starting. I haven't done two 4ft x 5ft pieces at the same time in my little apartment, since.... well, since last year, for my last show. Somehow it's baffling that I was able to do that at all, especially since I have more room now! Ah well. That's the fun of it. Although, I may have to delay any other commissions that size until after the show, unless we move into a bigger place. Woo studio fun! I still have to fit smaller, but still large show pieces in there too. Hmm.

Oh, the "problems" I have. Totally awesome.

More new ACEOs

2008-10-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

I tried posting these two earlier, but the internet was malfunctioning on me:

Anyway, they've sold already (!!) but I wanted to show them to you. :o)

I think I'll be finishing up 2 Color Studies this evening or so.

Today was a good day.

I did it. I went. I've been to Yogurtland.

2008-10-18T12:27:00.000-07:00

Yogurtland:

Somewhere, in the distance, I can hear Kevin squealing.

I'm not really a frozen yogurt person, or an ice cream person for that matter. I'm not saying I dislike sweet frozen dairy, exactly. I just don't really get the obsession some people have. It's dairy. That's frozen. And sweet. I don't know. People really go nuts over this sh-stuff though, and I've heard many stories of lines out the door. Even today, we had to hover forever behind a group of people who needed to get a little bit of every single flavor available to them, all in one cup. All in one huge, massive, multi-colored frozen yogurt extravaganza.

I got Taro and Green Tea, because why wouldn't I, and a bunch of mixed fruit. I was really more impressed with the fruit selection than anything else. They had fresh berries! Rad. Kiwi and mangoes and strawberries and blueberries and blackberries and ahhhhh! Fruit.

I'll save the fruity pebbles and lucky charms for you crazy fruitnuts out there who put cereal on your desserts. (I can judge you, because I haven't tried it.)

Except for the buffet style toppings bar, which brings out my germaphobia and generally freaks me out (I hate buffets) it was pretty good experience. I even promised Colin I would take him.

So there.

It's very important to love your job.

2008-10-15T14:11:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I get bored with painting.

Not like, permanently. Just sometimes, for a day or so. I mean, I guess it's not realistic to get in good painting time every single day of the week, or else I'd end up doing *nothing* else. Especially when I already do paint almost every single day of the week. For like 6-10 hours a day. Whew.

Being an artist is weird.

Being a politician is more weird. I'm glad I'm not a politician.

The funny thing is, whenever I decide to accept my non-interest in painting, and declare an "evening off," I get about 3 hours into it before I become bored and start thinking of something entertaining to do, something fun. Inevitably, I arrive at the novel idea of: "I know! I'll paint something!!!"

lol

Ginormous Crystals

2008-10-12T14:35:00.000-07:00

Also:

Giant Crystal Cave on the National Geographic Channel tonight. (9pm Eastern / 6pm Pacific) (and also again at 9pm Pacific.)

"A team of scientists explore a Mexican cave filled with giant crystals; some of the largest ever discovered. With temperatures near 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and over 80 per cent humidity, the cave is one of the deadliest environments on earth."

Wooo science.

Agh - My brain is spinning

2008-10-12T02:16:00.000-07:00

NOT. ACTUALLY. MOVING.

agh:

Self Animating Images

Okay, I knew this was going to happen.

2008-10-09T15:27:00.000-07:00

I just didn't expect it so soon.

Honestly, I just wanted to perfect some things from my last batch and play around more. Also, it gives me something to do while my other 11 paintings dry and I'm watching politics or science shows. :o)

I'm sure I'll finish them up and list them on Etsy soon enough. I found out it's a wonderful way to use my sketches. Well, granted, I just discovered this when I did that last one on the bottom there. But still. Color Studies can get too complicated sometimes, and really, I like to use Color Studies in a longer, more drawn out way, to experiment freely with lots of different ideas before calling them finished. This is like a rough draft to a Color Study.

hee.

ACEOs!! ACEOs!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-10-05T13:54:00.001-07:00

I did it. I've lost my mind.

(all shown in artificial and uv light combined.)

Really, I didn't ever think that I would enter the ACEO world. Generally I prefer to paint bigger. BIGGER! But, well, I don't know. Colin has these cute little pre-cut miniature watercolor papers lying around that he sometimes paints on. One day, I couldn't help but snag a few, just to see what it would be like. Did I mention they're miniature? 2.5 x 3.5 inches. That's like the size of a playing card. ACEOs are pretty big on Etsy, and I guess in the larger (ha) art world in general. It's like a tiny representation of your art. And, I guess, the fact that they're so little is pretty novel in itself. I mean, I had to fit an entire painting on an itty bitty little piece of paper. Incredible.

Anyway, so I actually ended up selling 3 of the 4 I listed in the time it took me to list them on Etsy before getting over here to make a blog post about it. So, there's one left! That red and yellow one that's at the bottom of the list there.

It will come in a plastic sleeve, and be mailed with a postcard of Interrupt's. Yay.

More in the future? I'm sure.

I'm such a dork.

2008-10-04T19:00:00.000-07:00

Have I ever mentioned that I like disaster movies? Not like I think they're some high form of cinematic art or anything. Quite the opposite. I find them entertaining for their very ridiculousness. What can I say? They're awesome. Things shaking, comets slamming into planets, tidal waves. Awesome.

Hey, some people like zombie movies.

Like, just now, I noticed something called "10.5 Apocalypse" was on the Sci-Fi channel, and I had to turn it on. The title alone was enough. See, now, some disaster movies will be dramatized stories about things that *could* happen (even if it's unlikely) such as an asteroid hitting the earth. That could happen.

A 10.5 earthquake? That isn't scientifically possible. Read your pamphlet on how the Richter Scale works. Well, assuming we're not talking about the earth cracking in half or something. I knew immediately that this was going to be particularly entertaining. Granted, I just turned it on, I'm not even positive what's happening. They already mentioned something about the Gulf of Mexico flooding the Mississippi and separating the United States into 2 parts. YES.

Oh, wouldn't you know it. That poor nurse covered by falling debris and slot machines and pool tables in a Las Vegas casino just found out yesterday that she was pregnant. Darn. What timing.

Ahhhh, sweeeeet. George Washington's face just shattered and fell to the ground at Mt. Rushmore. AWESOME.

It's kind of freaking me out that every person who has an important medical, science, or government related job in this movie looks to be my age or younger. Seriously? Are they qualified to be doing this?

Look, I could have told you that rappelling down a broken elevator shaft during the apocalypse was a bad idea. Duh.

....And they just advertised "NYC: Tornado Terror" on later tonight. Heh.

I will not be watching that.

Broken Sunrise . 24x36 inches . 2008

2008-10-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

1. natural lighting
2. artificial lighting
3. combined uv and artificial lighting
4. uv lighting only
5. no light

Ingredients: acrylic, beach sand, glass, phosphorescent pigments, varnish, water & light on canvas.

This painting has a deceptively large amount of lines and dots, something that I realized after I'd been painting them for what felt like years. After finishing Enlightenment, (actually it was started before I even finished Enlightenment) I was compelled to do something really orange and warm colored. It's like each new painting is a response to the previous one. The orange of this piece really contrasts with the teal of my last one. That's what was exciting to me while painting it. Orange!

I say "my last one" as though Enlightenment is the last piece I finished, which is not remotely true, since I've completed bazillions of smaller pieces since then. My art brain works on a strange, fractal-like, ripple system, in which different things influence different paintings, and although my larger pieces are an on-going conversation with each other, my smaller ones are like the fragmented echoes of the conversation I'm having with my larger ones.

Hmm. I'm not sure how to reword that. Art Brain. Ripples. Echoes. There you have it.

::distraction:: Look at the painting from the side! Woo!

Broken Sunrise is now available in my Etsy shop.

BEST. COSTUME. EVER.

2008-09-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

This is about as simple and distinct as you can get:

(yoda!)

Check out Creatures By Chelsea on Etsy to see all the different kinds. Each pair is unique, and she makes child sizes too!

My favorite part is that you can wear your regular clothes and it still looks like a costume! Can you imagine dressing up more and wearing these to a party?

I adore mine. I will definitely be wearing them this October. :o)

love

2008-09-22T13:46:00.000-07:00

I have a crush on this person's food:

And I'm not even a sweets person!

Flagrante Delicia

Distant and Moonglow

2008-09-20T17:31:00.000-07:00

Yay! Aqua. :o) Distant and Moonglow are now available on Etsy. They are each 8x10 inches and $150.

I secretly adore Moonglow. I can't get too attached though (because I can't keep everything) so that's why it's "secret" adoration. Don't tell. Also, "Moonglow" is a Benny Goodman song. hee. It's just so teal and aqua. ::sigh:: I want to dive straight into the center of the painting. I'm quite confident that it would splash and make a "sploosh" sound.

Divine Revolution Magazine

2008-09-18T15:25:00.001-07:00

Neato:

I was selected to be the cover art for the September/October issue of Divine Revolution Magazine. From what I can tell, they discuss art, poetry and other writings, eco-mindedness, spirituality, and raw/vegan/healthy eating.

There's also a music video, called Living Darfur, directly to the right of my Sand Flower painting, that I highly recommend. It's set in Darfur, and (aside from the music) shows the daily life and culture of those living there. Rad. I love relevant things.

It's a cool site. Go visit! :o)

Well, here's the Living Darfur video, by Mattafix:

Burning, Hidden, and Blush.

2008-09-16T14:57:00.000-07:00

Some new ones:

Burning, Hidden, and Blush. These 3 pieces are now available in my Etsy shop.

I'm planning to send these to a gallery soon, but for now I am offering them on Etsy. :o) They will be available until I take them down. I won't give notice, so I apologize in advance if I take them down suddenly. (If you really want something, let me know ASAP.)

Each one is 8x10 inches, and $150. I have 2 more to list later on, same size. Think aqua.

I really like Hidden, because it became the "color study" for this new huge lavender one I've been working on.

The huge one is a little bit different than my other stuff. For one thing, it's thicker. :o)

Takin' A Break

2008-09-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

Well, really I just had too many fun activities planned for the weekend to do much work. Like, for instance, BASEBALL!!! Let's go Angels, let's go.

Tailgate:

Foul Pole:

Preparedness:

$9 dollar beer:

The Game:

The Fans:

The Win!

Guys? Let's actually go to more games next season, okay? :o)

Political Haha

2008-09-14T12:55:00.001-07:00

Now, I stopped really watching SNL years ago, and I was never that much of a fan at any point in my life, with a few brief exceptions, but I have to admit that this opening skit from last night is maybe one of the funniest things I have ever seen EVER.

Ahhhh, brief moments of joy in an otherwise stressful campaign season. Get 'em while you can!

Unwelcome Change

2008-09-12T15:12:00.001-07:00

Maybe because it seems like Summer never really got started, but I'm not particularly ready to give it up for Autumn. I swear, one day the sun was straight over my balcony, providing perfect light for painting, and then POOF the next day it's at an angle behind the trees and rapidly moving towards the horizon by like 4 pm. Dag nabbit. I am smack dab right in the middle of a large painting too. ::sigh::

Well, anyway. I think it's September that I don't like, what with all the mourning over summer being gone, but I've always said that October brings many good things to me. So... Yay October. When it gets here.

In the meantime, I've been contemplating how to get myself on a more "normal" schedule. Actually, I'm not sure that such a thing exists for artists. Maybe I mean more "structure" rather than schedule. I get confused on how much time to spend on any one thing. I really really really really really want to finish my art book, but I keep getting distracted by painting instead. Painting and watching election coverage.

Election coverage ended up turning into Colin and I watching Season One of The Mole (COOP!) on YouTube. We already knew who the mole was, so it's kind of fun to watch the mole being all moley during the course of the game. I think Coop gives it away though. He obviously knows said mole better than the other players. I like how they insult each other by shouting "MOLE!" That wouldn't really work in real life.

"Buck Melanoma. Moley Russell's wart. Not her wart. Not her wart! I'm... I'm the wart. She's my tumor. My... my growth. My... uh, my pimple. I'm Uncle Wart. Just old Buck "Wart" Russell. That's what they call me. Or Melanoma Head. They'll call me that."

[hahahhhahahhhaha] (That was for Colin.)

Oh, and the big fancy November show I'm planning is going to be in February now. Just FYI. :o)

"Well, more time to paint, right?" --says basically every single person I know.

Indeed. The universe answers my lack of sun problem. Hurrah!

Hungover

2008-09-04T15:57:00.000-07:00

... and I am definitely not speaking of alcohol.

I've been in a fog lately. Sometimes I get tired of painting. Not painting for painting's sake, just tired of doing the same thing, and looking at the same paintings. I've just been drowning in paint. (ew.) I've been trying to finish up the tiny ones to send to New York, which means that a lot of room is being taken up in my studio, preventing me from working on the large pieces that are holding my attention. But, I'm finished now. Just gotta get 'em ready for shipping.

I've also been in a political haze for weeks. (Make that: months.) That's not a bad thing, I'm glad to be interested, and glad to be informed. Political apathy irritates the bazooka joe out of me. I only say this because this is the first (okay, second) presidential election year in which I haven't been apathetic. But, I am WAY MORE interested now. It's just.... blah. War, economy, insurance, security......... all so very NOT creative and artsy things.

Sometimes I have to just not paint in order to paint. That doesn't need to make sense to you. I'm just blathering.

This is kind of fun:

If you read this in the next 2 days, you can see the actual treasury on Etsy here. It's this amazing concept organized by Vicki Diane of VickiDianeDesigns. Sometimes you forget that the artists on Etsy are real people with real faces! This is a great way to show the artists behind the art. I especially like that one guy up there. Top row in the middle. I have a big crush on him. Is it wrong to have a crush on another artist? It's just that he's so cute. I can't help it. And lookie, with our pictures right next to each other, I can pretend that we're *together.* :oD ::squealing and swooning::

;o)

Sacred Beach

2008-08-27T16:26:00.000-07:00

Taken at Polihale Beach on the Island of Kauai. This is where the Hawaiians believe the spirits depart the islands for heaven. I agree that it must be true. It was certainly the most beautiful beach I've ever seen in my life, and I'm pretty sure it might be the most incredible beach on the planet.

Each print is available in Interrupt's shop on Etsy. They make a gorgeous set.

Pieces of new ones

2008-08-21T00:30:00.000-07:00

That last image is just a tiny portion of a new painting I'm nearly finished with. This is under UV light. In daylight that's actually bright yellow & orange.

:o)

"Do you actually use all this stuff?"

2008-08-20T19:18:00.000-07:00

I'm not really sure what the girl behind the counter of Michaels meant by that.

I have bought an incredible amount of supplies recently. For some reason, I was really trying to use up everything I had before purchasing more. And! Because my grandmother sends me a new 40%-off-one-item coupon every other week in the mail, (hee) I decided to buy up a bunch of stuff. I have a show coming up and some large paintings to paint. I looked like the Liquitex poster child. (This was not paid for by Liquitex, Inc.) (heh)

(Actually, I use many other non-Liquitex products.. I just bought a whole bunch of it that one day.)

(dangit.)

(can you hear me when I talk in parentheses?)

I imagine other full-time artists can relate, but I cannot believe how much money I spend on supplies. When I start to hyperventilate at the cost while walking back to the car, Colin has to remind me that this is my job [and passion], and how I make money to begin with. Sometimes it seems as though I buy very little else. I only recently bought 3 new shirts, because all the rest of mine have paint splatter on them.

[I just recently realized that when we live in Hawaii, I will get to use real Hawaiian beach sand in my paintings!! :::squeal::: The real trick will be how I'll be able to peel myself off the beach long enough to actually paint. Hopefully Pele won't have a problem with me stealing her sand. I only take small bits. And I make pretty pictures with it. Hmm. Maybe I'll leave the black sand alone. Just in case.]

Sorry. Sidetracked.

Ooh! Caught on camera! A specimen from the elusive Designus Graphicus species:

Orange and Teal

2008-08-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

Check out these two gorgeous treasuries on Etsy that I found myself in today! The color schemes of both are really incredible. Thanks to you both for including me, these are excellent!

(by debralinker)

(by farmgirldesigns)

:o) Purdy.

Not Exactly Tropical

2008-08-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

But not exactly not...

These pink clouds were floating by directly overhead. Wispy and pink, they were.

...and despite not taking very good care of my 2nd plumeria tree on the balcony, it's proving its worth anyway. I love plumeria. They're really just the best flower in the whole world.

It was weird out today, cloudy and humid. I loved it. I guess I would prefer it to be sunny and humid, but that never really happens in Southern California.

I've been very peaceful lately, an interesting contrast to how much work we have before us, how much planning we are doing, and how out-of-our-element we've been feeling. I don't know why, exactly, but maybe it's because all of this work is going to benefit our long term goals in a really powerful way. I feel things starting to click. The work and opportunities that are ahead of us seem to be a direct response to our goals, which we've been speaking out loud as much as possible.

I'm such a romantic. It's hard for me not to take things like pink clouds, blooming plumeria, and warm humidity as some sort of encouragement that we're on the right path, a path that will eventually lead us to achieving our life-long quest to move away from this awful place and forge a new life somewhere else, in a place that feels like home.

Oh, cool, the sun just came out.

How I Feel About The Management At The Apartment Complex I Live At

2008-08-11T17:37:00.000-07:00

By the way, did I ever mention that I painted the plastic sheeting that covers my kitchen lights? Well, I did. I did, and it's pretty.

It was really one of the best decisions I've ever made. And yes, it glows in the dark.

So there.

Lightning!!

2008-08-09T11:08:00.000-07:00

In slow motion!!

Wow..... wow.

Namesakes and leather

2008-08-07T18:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, backstory: So I bought this awesome wallet for Colin at Christmas from my friend Arlene at Sewlutions by AMO, and it was so awesome! Soft and sturdy and wonderful. Handmade leather stuff!! (Sorry, Vegans.)

She and I got to talkin' and yada yada yada, she liked my name(s) so much, she wanted to use them on products, and of course I thought that was completely rad. :oD

Today she emailed me to let me know that she'd created another totally awesome handmade leather product (sorry again vegans) that used my name! (!!!)

Introducing, The Maddox:

It comes in a couple different colors, and she might add more colors too. So cool. Ahh... all those times I made Colin carry my IDs and stuff because my outfit didn't have pockets and I refused to carry a purse.... I think I'm gonna have to get one of these. I mean, it's called THE MADDOX!

Oh, and there's a Shayla in the works at some point too. Huzzah!

www.sewlutionsbyamo.etsy.com

Whoosh

2008-08-06T17:04:00.000-07:00

The sound that my new schedule makes. I now have to move at hyper-speed in order to get everything done before *the big show* in November.

Lookie, a new color study:

Available in my Etsy shop.

It's one of two that I worked on along with a new Orange painting that I'm finishing up. I don't know that I'll be doing more (color studies) than that, because of my previously mentioned Whoosh Schedule. I have to streamline my whole process here. There's a lavender moon painting floating around my head that needs to come out and get on canvas soon.

Very soon.

[whoosh]

A Bigger Boat

2008-08-03T17:44:00.000-07:00

(Selling the Invisible and Selling Art Without Galleries)

The top one is actually a blank leather journal, yet to contain anything. Colin and I have stacks of these blank journals between us. We love the concept of blank books, we just never fill them with anything. Too much pressure. But, I like this one, it says CARPE DIEM on the front. It makes me *want* to write something in it. But I don't know what.

I've never been the type of person to keep a journal, and I don't really see the value in recording the various boring details of my life. I'm also rarely inspired to write down a stream of thoughts or emotions. Like I said, I'm not really a journal person. I'm a blank book person.

Meanwhile, I'm about to immerse myself in a new project again. It's exciting every time I do it. I like having a deadline. This project is a bit bigger than previous ones, though. Bigger event, bigger results. Bigger is fun.

Even the paintings get bigger when I'm preparing for a show. I must designate most of my floor space to white canvas again. Sorry, Joey. We'll play fetch at Christmastime.

I have so much to do that I even started working on a schedule of sorts, to make sure I have enough hours each day to get a lot of work done. It's time to crawl back into that obsessive, constant, productive period of nothing-but-painting. My spare time will be spent in business meetings and organizational tasks.

If only I had something to write all this down in!!!

bah.

I am a Sand Artist

2008-07-31T13:52:00.000-07:00

(actually, Colin created that turtle for me.) :o)

So last week I submitted my work to someone in NY who was writing an article about Sand Artists. I even told her in my email that I didn't think I was exactly what she meant, but that I did use sand in my art, so I was submitting just in case.

Turns out, she liked my art and immediately sent me more information, and 8 interview questions about why I do what I do. This was very interesting for me. I hadn't thought of myself as a sand artist exactly, even though I use sand in almost all of my paintings. Answering these questions helped me recognize that I use sand very purposefully, and even emotionally in my art. Here's one of my answers:

"Part of the thrill I get in each painting is allowing the chaos factor of working with water, paint, and sand to alter how the paintings look. Sand is very absorbent. The paint sinks into the sand as the sea does into the shore. I try not to stop this process too much, because I enjoy allowing the sand to affect the paint the way it naturally wants to. I want the texture and feel of the painting to fully represent all the unique aspects of real sand."

:o)

Oh, and I just found out (like 10 minutes ago) that I have a really really really super amazing crazy exciting wonderful SPECTACULAR event happening in the future (November, actually) that I can't WAIT to tell you more about. It's really that terrific, and really does require all those adjectives. I'm talking, next-level. Really. I'm going to keep saying "really." It's that good.

From Orange to Blue

2008-07-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

...shown with the lights off...

Pale Orange & Yellow (color study) now available.

Glossy

2008-07-30T00:13:00.001-07:00

And also glassy, but I took these pictures before that happened.

I will list this in my Etsy shop tomorrow, Wednesday.

Phi Interruption

2008-07-28T11:25:00.001-07:00

Remember when I said that Nova Palette was my new favorite piece from Interrupt?

Well... I think I'd like to revise my previous statement. Cause this one is pretty freakin' rad. It's called Phi Palette.

Up for me this week: Working on a book, (heh, that sounds cool every time I say it) working on an interview about Sand Artists that I get to participate in, learning more about international shipping, getting Luminary and Wisdom ready to meet their new family, and initial planning of 6 small paintings to send to 2 different gallery locations in New York!

[and I haven't even had coffee yet!]

Gravity . 11x14 inches . 2008

2008-07-22T16:28:00.000-07:00

It's drawing you in...

1. natural light
2. artificial light
3. artificial and UV light combined
4. UV light only
5. no light (it glows in the dark!)

Ingredients: acrylic, beach sand, phosphorescent pigments, varnish, water & light on canvas.

Woo!

The full listing of Gravity with all 5 images is in my Etsy shop.

Enlightenment . 24x30 inches . 2008

2008-07-18T19:27:00.000-07:00

1. natural lighting
2. artificial lighting
3. artificial and UV lighting combined
4. UV lighting only
5. no light (glow in the dark)
(sidenote: the glow is so bright that it lights up our entire living room.) :o)

Ingredients: acrylic, beach sand, finely ground glass, phosphorescent pigments, varnish, water & light on canvas.

It's taken a long time to get here, and I can't honestly say that I'm satisfied to call it done. On the other hand, I think it takes a maturity (that I don't really have) to know when to let it go. This in itself intrigues me, and I've decided that I'm willing to try. Anything more would be too much.

The good news is, I have the freedom to explore this concept again in the future, if it seems important to me to do so at the time. What I would be painting would be "Enlightenment," not a particular color or shape. I have no idea what enlightenment will look like to me in a few years.

This is what it looks like to me right now.

It's based off of a Zen Teaching that I read years ago in a book on Japanese Gardens. It struck me at the time, and made sense to me in a way that I can only describe as profound.

Enlightenment is like
The reflection of the moon
on water
The moon does not get wet
The water is not separated.

It's difficult for me to say much more than that.

One of the happy accidents that I love most about this painting is the subtle "aged" look that occurred naturally and that I enhanced because it was the right thing to do. I had initially wanted a smooth, glassy, water-like feel to the piece, but as time progressed, so did my intentions for the finished painting. I wanted to add "time" to it, painted time, painted to show the slow, constantly winding path we all take throughout our lives, inching ever closer to enlightenment.

The most interesting lesson I learned from this painting is that I don't think I'll ever be finished with it. :o)

Either way, here's the official listing in my Etsy shop.

I'm super excited about this particular "version" though. Perhaps I say that about most of my paintings, because the entire reason I make them is because *I* enjoy it. If I wasn't personally excited about it, you probably wouldn't ever see it, because I wouldn't really want to show you. The truth is, I'm painting for me.

P.S. So, I've been thinking of doing another walk-through installation piece..................

Color Backlash

2008-07-16T12:55:00.001-07:00

As always happens when I finish a painting, somehow, mysteriously, my next painting ends up being a direct contrast of colors to my previous painting. It's like my brain needs to balance. The last painting I finished is a very soothing, cool, teal&blue&white extravaganza. (Which I'm not *entirely* finished with because I can't seem to stop fine-tuning it, even though I officially debuted it to my friends at a party last weekend.) (Although I promise to finish it today and try to get final pictures up tomorrow.) (But if I keep talking in parenthesis, then it doesn't really commit me to anything.) (ha.)

ANYWAY.

What I'm saying is: Orange. And Yellow. Obviously. It had to be that way. Orange&yellow&purple, actually.

Bright, neon looking purple, just like these orchids, which somehow my best girl just psychically knew I was planning to use anyway when she randomly gifted me with this incredible plant yesterday. [How did she know???? I only began the orange yesterday morning.]

I love starting new paintings. :o)

I love summer, but...

2008-07-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

...It would really be better if palm trees looked like this:

I'm just sayin'.

(I took these in Newport Beach, CA.)

But, you're an artist!!

2008-07-09T22:21:00.000-07:00

Interesting responses I have heard from others in the last week:

Ugh, shouldn't have worn flip-flops. I feel under-dressed. "But, you're an artist!!"

Too much caffeine. Need wine. Can't have wine, it's 2 in the afternoon. "But, you're an artist!!"

Actually, I have a lot of work to do tomorrow. "But, you're an artist!!"

All in one week.

This led me to consider all the possibilities. I wonder what other "quirks" I can start blaming on being an artist. I say, everything.

Voyage . 12x16 inches . 2008

2008-07-07T18:55:00.001-07:00

(shown in artificial lighting and in total darkness.)

Ingredients: acrylic, candle wax, beach sand, crushed sea shells, glass, phosphorescent pigments, varnish, water & light on canvas.

This piece was so waxy that the paint and varnish refused to stick. It took many, many, many, many, many different attempts to make it work. After that, I had fun melting it again. Woo!

Pronounce it however you prefer, but in my mind, this is said more like the French way. Voy-ahhhhhj. Yep.

The full listing of Voyage is now on Etsy.

10 years of Love

2008-07-05T16:43:00.000-07:00

I am so honored to have received this book. Acres of Love is celebrating their 10th anniversary, and commemorated the occasion with this amazing book about what they do every day in South Africa. Thanks so much to everyone at Acres!

Please take a moment to enjoy this with me. :o)

"South Africa has been referred to as the "rainbow nation," a title reflecting the country's highly diverse population and culture. The hand-woven, beaded spine of this brochure was created by a South African Zulu artisan to represent that diversity and the bright spirit of its people."

This is pretty intense:

Some of the gorgeous and amazing pages in the book:

INCREDIBLE: Read about the miracle story of Kitty, "...the only person in the world known to have survived both cancer and HIV." (click the image to enlarge text.)

I'm not just saying this, I really do believe that the kids at Acres of Love are the most beautiful I've ever seen. :o)

Aww. Cutie.

As you're probably already aware, I'm in complete love with this organization. I feel so fortunate to have been told about them, and donating 10% of my art sales to them is one of the happiest things I do in my life. I'm just thrilled to be a part of something so incredibly profound.

I strongly encourage you to check out their website at Acres of Love to learn more about them. They create miracles every day.

:o)

Almost

2008-07-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

This painting was made with a lot of quiet contemplation. A LOT.

I labored over every step. I think I've been painting this since October. No, September. That was when I did my first study on it. Wow.

Sometimes it takes awhile.

Beauteous

2008-07-02T14:43:00.000-07:00

Another awesome art piece from Interrupt. :o) This is called Nova Palette, and is available as an 8x10 print in his Etsy shop.

It might be my new favorite. :oD

Lazy Days

2008-06-30T18:07:00.000-07:00

I wish I could say I've been enjoying a long list of exciting summer activities, but that's not really the case. I am, however, nearly out of my supply of small canvases just in time for the semi-annual Aaron Bros. 1 cent canvas sale!! Timed perfectly.

I actually just started a brand new 24x36 (woo!) so perhaps I can get through my supply of large canvases before their next sale in January. This might require an incredible amount of coffee.

New addiction: Hawaii Webcams.

I consider this "work-related" because it truly, legitimately inspires me. Inspires/distracts. One of those.

Heh.

Far Away . 18x24 inches . 2008

2008-06-24T22:07:00.000-07:00

1. natural light
2. artificial light
3. artificial and UV light combined
4. UV light only
5. no light (total darkness)

Ingredients: acrylic, beach sand, varnish, phosphorescent pigments, glass, water & light.

The title is from the song I walked down the aisle to at my wedding, Over the Hills and Far Away. This piece was painted purely because I was inspired to do so. It is not for sale. I painted it for Colin and I. :o) It took me awhile, I suppose because I was attaching a lot of romance and emotion to it, which is fine. I love taking time to do art for art's sake.

It's funny, the light itself on our wedding day ended up being a character in the ceremony. The drive from downtown Kailua-Kona to Waialea Bay was about 45 minutes, and we were racing a storm the entire way. Everyone was sure the wedding, at sunset, would be cloudy and rainy.

Somehow though, a mysterious force seemed to halt the approaching clouds, despite their darkness and massiveness. They slowed to a stop right before the beach we married on, and held off until we were gone. The few clouds that broke through made for an incredible sunset, and caused the light on the beach to glow a gorgeous lavender and orange. For the last half of the ceremony, the sunrays burst through the clouds and touched the ocean below.

You read into that whatever you want. I know we do.

(This piece is not for sale, although the matching Color Study is still available in my Etsy shop.)

Because I know you like winning money.

2008-06-23T10:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, well *I* like winning money, I'm assuming you do too.

So remember last year when Colin and I won a couple grand on Blingo?

Well, I didn't actually tell you the whole story. The truth is, after we won that time, I actually won $1000 two more times. Separately. From different people. Yes, you math whizzes, that's 4 thousand dollars. FROM BLINGO.

I kid you not.

Anyway, since I haven't mentioned it in awhile, I thought I should encourage everyone to sign up if you haven't already. Even though I haven't won a thousand bucks lately, I have won a whole bunch of $5 Amazon gift certificates, which add up after awhile and make things like this $74 Zojirushi Hot Pot more like $40. Score!

All you have to do to win? Put search words in a search engine. Sounds too good to be true, but I swear to you, IT'S TRUE! It's too simple not to do and I speak from experience:

Totally worth it.

Maybe I Could Fly

2008-06-20T16:55:00.000-07:00

[and forget the sadness of this last week...]

High Flight, by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth

of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of—wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,

I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air....

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue

I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace

Where never lark nor even eagle flew—

And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

The painting is Maybe I Could Fly, (14x11 inches) shown here in natural light, and glowing in the dark. Currently available in my Etsy shop.