Las Animas at 12x12 Show

Finally done! I almost didn't get three pieces done in time, but I worked my butt off and got the final one done in a matter of days haha (my poor sleep schedule is still off from it)... They can be seen at Betz Gallery's upcoming Annual 12x12 Show beginning November 12. Tons of artists and works of art, all 12"x12". Always a great show!

Las Animas I of III:

"Vaadin"

Las Animas II of III:

"Holo"

Las Animas III of III:

"Solveig"

White Linen Night

Definitely been keeping busy so it's been hard to post. I've got a new job, no longer slinging lattes as I had been before... I'm finally getting to do some design work! Pretty much monthly ads and marketing/promotional print work :D And a little freelance logo design hee hee. So, that's kind of where I've been these last few months... Back in August I sold BOTH paintings I submitted for Betz Gallery's exhibition in the White Linen Night in the Heights! That was pretty exciting.
Mx
Mixed Media
August 2011

Diamond Eyes

Mixed Media

August 2011

You can see more of my work in Betz Gallery in November's 12 by 12 show. More details & pics to come!

Keep Calm, Carry On

"Keep Calm, Carry On"

Mixed Media. 2010

For this, I created an ink and watercolor drawing, then went in and added more digitally. I really like how it turned out. Funny thing is, I hated the original drawing and almost threw it out. Instead, I left her sitting in my sketchbook for a good year or more, all the while adding a little more to her from time to time. One day I decided to break out the watercolors, and the rest is history. It kind of reminds me of Danny Roberts' work?

I am reeeally happy with how it turned out. It's a little different, but I'm having lots of fun working with color and playing with different media. Tons of fun... One of my fave details is in the shot above- The Russian graffiti in the background (check out the paint drips!) and Zac Posen's braided spike headband.

And just another closeup, so you can really see the colors and textures. I love the lace collar! Very pleased with it. Reminds me of Prada's A/W08 collection.

"One Day..." Illustration

"One Day This Will All be an Irrelevant, Bad Dream"

Mixed Media

2010

Lara Jade Photography Illustration

I've been a little behind posting on all my different sites, so some of you may have seen this on flickr, or maybe not. I've been a looong time fan of photographer/model Lara Jade (photo of Jade taken by Jingna Zhang), and am continually drawing inspiration from her.

This piece is my own interpretation of a photo created for an avant garde editorial for Masquerade Magazine.

While this has been met with different reactions, I have to say, it is by far one of my favorite pieces to create. What I loved about the original photo was Jade's ability to capture such energy and raw emotion in a photograph. Plus, the incredible styling.

Headpiece by the fabulous Luke Abby, Rings inspired by Gisele Ganne.


I feel this piece gave me an opportunity to create something different. I was able to experiment with tons of different media and alter my style to create an edgier/editorial illustration.

**For more of Lara Jade's work, you can check out her official site or follow her here on blogger or on flickr.

(bulletproof) illustration

So... the last couple of months I have had no drive whatsoever to finish anything. I get half way through a painting then get super bored with it and let it sit on my easel for a couple months until I feel like messing with it again... sad sad... However, I have been doing a lot of sketching in my War-and-Peace-length leather bound sketchbook... lots of writing/sketching combos. Some just doodles, some complete illustrations. It's so completely freeing, because there are no expectations before me, I can take it anywhere, and it's a small surface, so it doesn't take as long to finish things. Plus, because it's a sketchbook, it gives me freedom to do whatever I feel like, regardless of how it turns out. It's really, really nice. So for the next couple of days/weeks, I'm going to be sharing some illustrations from my book.

(bulletproof)

Had some fun with a Kelly Smith inspired drawing. Pencil and acrylic.

Again, I apologize for the crappy resolution. I have postponed posting these because I have been waiting for a scanner to miraculously appear in my presence, but that has STILL not happened, so, camera photos instead... one day... one day...

(letdown)

Hello my pretties... it's been a while... still nothing new to share with you (no time!) Still busy preparing for the Houston Art Walk, trying to get things finished and made, blah blah... A nice person on flickr reminded me of this piece I did a few years ago and I thought, just for kicks, I'd share it with you.

I love Radiohead, and some awesome artist did the above portrait of the band as an illustration for Rolling Stone. Loved it so much, I had to keep it but didn't know what to do with it, so I incorporated it into my own little sketchbook art. Acrylic, ink, decoupage, notes from a friend, stickers, etc... Until next time...

Bleep blorp computing error! x_x

Yup, that's the way computers speak to one another... my brain (and my eyeballs) are fried. I've been working on the same stupid painting for about 5hours now... I'm sooo tired of it! haha :P I just need to take a break, go to sleep...

Just wanted to share the progress with you guys. I'm reeeeally excited because I've been having some problems with getting her colors/shading right, and for whatever reason I broke out my prismacolors and went to town... Very happy with the results! Any way, I'm gonna take a break now...

I will leave you with a shot of my messy work area. It's like a squirrel den. Or rat's nest... It can be clean and organized... but not when I'm working. Evvverything gets dragged out and tossed within a 12" radius of me for easy access haha. Those freaking lights too... It is burning up in here with them being on all day! My head hurts... zzzzzzzz

Rant and Rave

Another old pic, since I have nothing new to post lol...

Sooo angry!! My stupid Photoshop isn't working, and my iTunes is goooone!! My music!!! noooo!! Completely unnecessary for any of you to know, or care about, but I am angry! And in need of an outlet for my anger... sigh...

Going Old School

I am currently working on a painting, several pieces of jewelry, and a quilt. Lots of projects in the works, but none to show off. Soo, I thought I'd share something from the archives that I don't think very many people have seen. It's just something out of an old 2006-08 sketchbook, but I still like it, so I thought I'd share it with you.


She's never really had a title, other than "Untitled" or something like "Golden Moth," because uh, duh, they're gold colored mothy kind of wings.

The colors don't photograph very well, since I used a sort of metallic red/peach ink and gold paint. But, you get the idea. This next pic is a detail shot- I thought it was really cool how it unintentionally had some art nouveau things going on with the back of her hair (see below):


And finally, details from the wing, which I still really like. You can click on the photo to get a good close up and check out all those details.


Any way, patience my pretties, I will have something else to look at soon enough, maybe art, maybe not. I've got a few new sketches, but just haven't had the chance to photograph them. Any way...

"Amaranth" & Updates

"Amaranth"

January 2010

So, I finally got her done... Not really sure what I think, but either way, it's done, and I'll move on! I got all my submissions dropped off today for the upcoming juried show at 500x Gallery. Super excited to find out if I'll be getting in!! I will know sometime between now and Tuesday... I will let you know! I submitted this one, "Paper Whites," "Fight or Flight," and "`a outrance" (the chick in my blog title picture). Any way, lots of obstacles and money put into this, so I'm hoping it works out haha. C'est la vie... ;)

Colbert Concepts...

After posting yesterday I decided to start some sketches to figure out what I might do for the ColbertNation contest. It was just a small little pencil sketch and then today I got bored and messed with it in Photoshop. It's not anything like what I'll be submitting, but I figured I'd post it any way.

Detail from the original:

Color Edit:

Collage

Got my collage thrown together about an hour or two before class haha. I ended up taping everything up to a crappy crooked foam board lol. I think it turned out alright, considering everything. I really like the colors, but unfortunately, they kind of photographed yellow. Oh well. Here it is...  (click on the pics to view closer)

The assignment was to make a collage about "me" which I thought was super boring so instead I opted to take artistic licence and make it about what inspires me as an artist. touche! So I did little drawings based on my favorite muses, people who inspire me with their own artistic visions (photographers, musicians, artists, designers), and a few people who have shaped my thinking along the way.

Above I have Colin Meloy (The Decemberists), muses Meghan Collison, Coco Rocha, and Sasha Pivovarova, as well as a drawing inspired by the photography of Lara Jade, and last, a drawing based off an old photo of my grandmother.


















And pictured above is Dr. Stephen T. Colbert, DFA and conservative pundit (HAAA) who continues to impart gifts of irony and satire to closet comedians such as myself- as well as the lovely Lily Donaldson as seen in one of my favorite photos. Plus, she kind of looks like Rachel Deschanel in my drawing, which is cool with me too (another muse).

It's quite hard to photograph, so unfortunately you are getting the crappy version of it : (
It's actually kind of like a widescreen/panoramic view. The idea was kind of like people on a stage. Some are in the background, and others, like ol' rabbit ears, actually are hanging off the edge of the stage. And then there's kind of a support collumn running through the center and far left of the stage. I hope to get some scans eventually. Until then...

Quandary

For various reasons, I haven't posted pics of the completed the red dress painting. One of the reasons being that I'm fical. The painting is finished, and hanging in a gallery, but part of me has always had a strong desire to take it down and redo parts of it (that's typical me haha). Originally, I wanted to go with a sophisticated, yet avant-garde sort of look, leaving the background unfinished, with the newsprint.


(this is basically what it would have looked like WITH the unfinished backround, I've just added a lot more detail and refining to the subject)


And, (b/c I don't have any GOOD pictures) here's how it looks with the finished background. I think either way it looks okay, but either way gives it a completely different feel, so I'm not sure what I'm wanting.





Thoughts, anyone? Please post and let me know what you've got to say ^__^ because I don't know haha. I'm always way too anal and overthink things, so sometimes I need an outside source or point of view to help me figure out what I may not be seeing. Any way, love to hear from you guys.

Progress Shot

I said I'd post some progress shots of what I'm working on. Not too much, but hey, I always like seeing what other people are working on, so I'll post pics for those who share an interest in seeing the creative process.
Click images to view up close.

The surface is covered with a really heavy gesso, covered with letters and printed pages.
I've also added some embossing paint (to create embellishments), medical gauze and tape, and even iodine.
The pic below sucks but you get the idea--

Since the edges are about 3" wide, I'm using them as an extension of the canvas. Heck, the entire canvas, literally, is an extension of what I'm expressing. One day I was feeling kind of bummed while working on it, so I started writing a little thought on the back of it. I've continued adding to it since. Just whenever I have a thought, I'll jot it down on the back. I could care less if anyone sees it or even reads it. I just think it adds that much more gravity to it. If someone one day, a hundred years from now, reads it, they'll study it and write about it in some analytical art blurb. I'll be like VanGogh, and they'll talk about how crazy that girl was. haha. Maybe not. But, that's how I feel sometimes. I can dream, can't I? :D

Fight or Flight

Fight or Flight. 2009

Finally this one is done! I'm really happy to be finished with it. As with anything, it turned out different than I was shooting for, but I'm hoping it's just me being anal and you guys will see what I was wanting to convey, haha.

This series was designed to be put together side by side (to tell a whole story) or to stand alone to make their own statements.

Part II: "Flight"

Each part holds both a literal and symbolic meaning. In reality "fight or flight" is a survival mechanism, and marks the moment between living or dying, or what 'stance' one will take with a life changing decision. Likewise, in a human sense, we can either fight to hold back a force, or we can act out agressively ("fight"). Or we can run and never look back ("flight")- we can be escapists.

In many cultures, the crow takes on a negative conotation and can thus be forboding or can be seen as a "survivor," scavenging on what he finds. Carrying a razor blade, he, in a sense, holds or presents the choice of life or death; of escapism and/or destruction.

Part I: "Fight"

The woman, facing towards the wind, is left to choose between "fight"-- (the force of "fighting" against the wind) or "flight"-- (being blown away).

I want this piece to show contrasting/contradicting feelings. One person can look at this and see the hope, the positive choices. Someone else could look at it and see defeat, self injury, etc. As with most of my paintings, I don't want to convey just the happy or sad-- I want the viewer to feel the tension. I want them to feel like they're standing on the edge of their choice and deciding what course they will take. Likewise, this piece bears its own personal meanings for myself, in it's literal and representational devices.

Better Pics of the Colab Project

Special thanks to Donna over at True Until Death for posting these images! I was invited by her artists group to be a part of their collaberation project (check out 1001 journals for info). Here are some of my collaberations with people!
PLEASE click on the images for a closer look!

Lady Ada. 2009. Alex Teale & Andy Kubecka.

Lady Ada/ Part II. Alex Teale

BUNNIES! Alex Teale & Donna Kubecka

Inspired by Elise over at Argyle Whale! LOVE her! x0

It's 5am & work called in sick!

The power went out at work, so I don't have to go in for a while now!!! Any way, here's something I started on a while back. These are test shots (I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with her) but now that I see these I think I'm going to stick with the 3-d effect instead of glueing her down. What do you think?

Pink Dress, Yellow Clutch

Just finished this today. It started out as a quick sketch, but it was kind of fun, so I thought I'd experiment with some bright colors. I might cut the figure out and put her on a different background (I have no idea, maybe I won't)-- any way, that's what I did today. More stuff on the way!

Welcom back ME!

Ha ha. So I've been away for a while...

I've been busy with school and work. I've done a lot of sketching in the mean time, just haven't had the time to post anything. Luckily I've had the last two days in a row off and have been strangely inspired to get some stuff done. So, here she is-- (pardon the crappy photo quality)

The final piece actually consists of two canvases, so this is the first half. I'm not really going to do anything else to her, but I will do a little more with the background once the second half is ready to go (that way they tie in with eachother) Any way, I'm excited to get started on part II!

AND I've almost finished another little something I've been working on (yay!) so I'll be posting that one in days to come!