Merry Christmas Ya'll!

I've never really been the type to use my artistic skill set to create Christmas presents. It's a lot of work and quite frankly, I'm never up for the task. I'd rather go buy something. *gasp* haha 

However, I managed to put together the best drawing imaginable of my parents, for my parents, for Christmas. This is the first year I've given my art as a present... and it's safe to say it won't be the last!

This was a portrait I had started.... well, quite a while ago. I showed it to my mama over summer and even worked on it in front of her a few times. She got a little chuckle out of it. The best gifts are the ones that you can leave in plain sight. I know my parents weren't expecting it for Christmas, and yet, when my mom opened it up it still surprised her. THAT'S THE BEST. Dad loved it. He knows he's been one of my favorite people to draw for quite some time now, so I figured it was high time I work on my mom's portrait.

If you know anything about my parents, you know what characters they are. They are such a cute couple, and what makes them SO great together is their ability to grow hair. Yea, that's right... HAIR. My dad's face is covered in it and my mom's hair is all over the place. They're the best parents I could ask for. They both possess a quirky quality I adore. So, this is their caricature. For me, they are best expressed as cartoons. You can't help but love cartoons! And trust me, people absolutely love these two yahoo's.

Certain features are exaggerated as with most caricatures. The things I exaggerated are things that stick in my mind when I think about them....  

My dad: in his weathered work jeans, rockin his monster work boots with the re-enforced toes, his lion belt buckle, his pocket T-shirts and his beard... the beard to end all beards.

My mom: sportin her capri's with her jesus sandals, her flannel shirts, the heart locket my brother gave her that she accidentally flushed down the toilet a few years ago, she was so devastated :( and of course that untamable mane of hers... it's epic.

These are my parents. They are the best people you will ever meet and are likely never to forget. They'd bend over backwards for you and ask for nothing in return. They are incredibly giving, undeniably kind and so unbelievably funny I can't even begin to tell you. They're true role models, positive influences on young minds, great parents, awesome grandparents and amazing friends.

I love you mom and dad. You're the absolute best!

Merry Christmas!

Someone Likes It Abstract.

Any excuse to do something I normally wouldn't do is PERFECT. We all know I enjoy my abstracted figured representations, but I'm not a TRUE abstract painter. I like my semi-identifiable subject matter. So, my figures don't have "hands..." pfft. Who needs them? Besides... well, everyone. Eh. You get my point.

So when my darling boyfriend moved into his new casa, he started scoping out artwork for it. He gave me some visual insight into the kind of aesthetic he was into... the man stayed up until 3am watching an abstract painter on YouTube. The fact that he stayed up late watching ART being created made my heart meeeelt <3 I swoon... So, after googling and looking at the price tags on some similar items, I set out to do what I normally do - paint them for him myself.

"Why buy it, when you can make it yourself?" That has been my un-intentional life motto since I was 8. My brain is on constant project overload... I thank 4-H for that and my parents for being true "Do It Yourselfers." It's in my blood ya'll.

I started out with 5 pieces of 1/4" thick 12" x 24" Birchwood panels. I love painting on wood surfaces, so I picked a few up "on the cheap" (catch phrase credit to Mrs. Krueger) at Michael's. I then drew up a design, had it approved by my sweetie, and went to work.

One thing (among many many other things I assure you) I love about this man, is our common love of color. It made choosing a color scheme unbelievably EASY. He helped me paint the background with 2 different cans of spray paint. I opted for a flat black and a glossy chocolate brown. I thought a mix of gloss and flat would make for a nice array of textures... texture might not be the right word for that, but I'm not sure how else to describe what my mind was putting together. Either way, the mix of the two was pretty much covered entirely by color.... oy.

Afterwards... this is where the painting went solo. I spent a good 4 hours working on them one night, and this is where I got:

Pardon the blurrrrrr....

Let me tell you... I wasn't a fan. My fancy line work and oh so cool abstracted shapes and line pattern I was going for, fell short of my expectations. I wasn' digging them AT ALL. So the next morning, I did some Google research. Which instantly ticked me off. I found the sweetest images with drizzled paint in bright bold colors... gah! So not only did I have to be at work for another 7 hours and 59 minutes, but all I wanted to do was go home and fix the icky above ^^ *sob* 

Ok. It wasn't THAT bad, but it just wasn't the look I was hoping for. I liked parts of it, but the rest needed some work. The main problem was my color palette was off. It was too dingy. I was focusing on making them match a few pieces he already had a little TOO much. So I do what I always do and I fixed it. Lookie loo!

Needless to say, It looked a whole lot better after I corrected the color palette. Brighter is always better. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the finished color parts BEFORE I added paint splatters... I added a bunch of reds, yellows and some hidden stripe details in gold. Aww shucks. 

The paint splatters were the quickest and the most fun step of all. Except.... I got black and white paint ALL over my back deck, which I immediately had to hose off before it dried. I didn't get all of it off and the tree next to the deck is still COVERED in paint splatters.... oops. I was in too big of a rush to prep my paint area. I'm just thankful I didn't do it IN the house. Afterwards, I added a few more gold and copper details after it dried and voila! 

DONE DITTY.

Can you see the reds and yellows I spoke of? OOOOH!! Pretty :)

There you have it - 5 pieces of finished artwork for a new house for a woooonderful man. Me love you long time! He even helped me hang them. Had he not, there would be holes EVERYWHERE. My math skills were not being very kind to me that night. To quote the man, "Good thing you don't have a job that requires you to be good at math..." Gee, thanks babe. haha.

....and yes, I'm so glad you asked. That IS Grand Theft Auto 5 on the TV... ha.

Cheerio!

Charcoal Elegance

This art piece is technically NOT a doodle... this is a miniature study of a 7ft colored pencil drawing I was working on my senior year in college. That's right, I said a 7 FOOT TALL COLORED PENCIL DRAWING.

When I was getting ready to graduate, I was taking an Advanced Drawing class and my professor wanted me to take my work to a different... height? haha I had FINALLY fallen into a subject matter I could focus on without getting bored. Before that, I went through an abstracted object phase, an african phase, an animal phase, an oriental phase, a flower phase, and a "I don't want to do this anymore" phase. All of which lasted a semester. Picking a subject matter and sticking to it was difficult. I mean, you're trying to build a body of work around something you're interested in long enough to spend months working on. It's quite difficult. Then, one day over Summer break, it hit me: CLOTHING. I've been obsessed with clothes since... forever? So naturally I started doodling outfits, and for once I managed to use an ENTIRE SKETCHBOOK. That is something I've always felt extremely guilty about not doing. Pfft... and I called myself an "artist". I've never been able to sketch on the daily. If I sit down to work on something, I want it to be on a more permanent platform, i.e. canvas, wood, really expensive paper and I wanted it ready to showcase. You know, SELL-ABLE. I'm just not a big doodler. With THIS idea? I literally couldn't stop the ideas from flowing, and the only place to get them out quick enough was my sketchbook. Huzzah! I pulled inspiration from magazines, runway fashion shows, movies and peeps on da streets. GENIUS.

So after all of the aforementioned happened, I started drawing things on a larger scale as encouraged by my professor, and I absolutely loved it. It's fun to work big. I managed to do three 7ft drawings that combined charcoal and colored pencil. I was only able to finish 2 of them, the last one (the one the sketch below goes to) is still in progress. It has the most detail/color on it and is about 3/4 of the way finished. I just don't have a surface big enough to work on it anymore... plus it wasn't top a priority. I'll get back to it in due time. Hopefully. I mean, who has wall space large enough to display a 7ft drawing? Pfft.

Either way, I had come across these BEAUTIFUL dresses somewhere several years ago. Loved them the minute I saw them. My colored drawing is done in these soft pinks, bright magentas, and some deep eggplant purples. Very pretty. One of these days I'll photograph it and post it up... hopefully sooner rather than... never? Yeep.

So here it is. One of my favorite sketches. EVER. It's a tad dirty, as most charcoal drawings are... doy.

Enjoi.

Cheerio!

My Doodle Days: Fare Thee Well Summer

Nothing says Summer quite like red and white stripes, at least in my mind. For those of you who know me personally, you know I'm a big BIG fan of dresses and skirts. Not just in the summer, but year round. I have no qualms about wearing a short skirt in winter time. Obviously I wear them with tall boots, I retire my sandals in the winter... for the most part. I'm one of those people that as long as my hands and feet are toasty warm, the rest of me stays.... well, fairly warm. The sacrifices women make for fashion... aye yai yai.

Anywho! This little doodle reminds me of a hot July day by the lake with family, soaking up the sun, drinking a nice cold glass of iced tea, eating some watermelon and savoring every ounce of those small breezes. I don't think I've ever hung out by a lake doing all of the above in my short 26 years... but there's still time to do it AND make a dress like this.

This is my adieu to Summer (albeit a tad late) and my open arm welcome to Fall. I'm ready for sweater weather people! Not to mention piles of blankets, hot cocoa, pine cones dipped in cinnamon scent, and snuggling on the couch. Mmm.

Enjoi!

Cheerio!

I'm A Big Fat Baby... Feed Me Candy.

FACT: When Kailee gets frustrated, I talk with my hands, I cry, I pace, I fixate on the dumbest... shit. Shit. It's what it is. Plain and simple. Painting projects can cause me to have mini meltdowns, especially when I'm up against a deadline. Case and point... I wrote this post about 3 years ago. I remember the situation, I remember the art show I was working on, and I remember my breaking point. Sometimes, when talking isn't enough - I write. Clearly venting in this manner helped appease my disgruntled little mind, because I never posted it. The beauty of THAT is, I didn't need to. Writing it out was enough. So, why am I posting it now? Because. Whether you're a painter, a sewer, a model car enthusiast, an avid musician, an OCD coffee cup collector, or paper clip organizer - we ALL get frustrated. We ALL percolate with emotions, and at some point or another - we ALL boil over. I just found this vent of mine to be particularly amusing, because - I got over it. It seems so silly 3 years down the road. Now, it's just a distant memory in a not so far off point in my life that I overcame. With grace? Not likely. Diginity? Sure, a teeny bit. With awesomeness? Youuuuuu bet!

P.S. That art show KICKED SERIOUS DONKEY. I was so proud of myself for accomplishing such a monumental feat, and my entire family was there to support me to boot. You rock family. 

In the end, the tears, the stress, and the sleepless nights all paid off. Go ahead, read it. I dare ya. I double dog dare ya!

Sometimes, I go through what I like to call a "mid-art crisis." It's not pretty, especially if your my mama and its a midnight venting sesh over a cup of her famous stovetop coffee. Someway, somehow - mama talks and some excellent Joe just melt your troubles away...

Take for instance, this moment, right here - I have three paintings in my living room that I'm working on simultaneously and they are frustrating me to no end. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING is working out the way it should. Its causing me great distress.  So much so that I'm to the point where I'm literally afraid to start another painting. I'm trying to whip out some fabulous new paintings for this oh so stellar show next month and I am fa-reaking out. I've had months to get ready but I feel strapped for time, energy, and my patience is zero. Not to mention the fact that I work at the pace of a teeny tiny creepy slime slugging gastropod (snail) is very impeding.

Which leads to that next awful thought... maybe they just aren't that good. Self-doubt is the worst kind of mental attack. Every artist doubts themselves and the technical skill of their work. We truly are our own worst critic. We concern ourselves way too much with what we think of our work rather than if others like it. It sounds ridiculous, I know, but even in a market where we are suppose to create something that appeals to a broad audience, we honestly think our opinion has the most validity. If we think it sucks, then you think it sucks and you telling us otherwise is just a covert way of dancing around the universal truth that is staring us both in the eye: "canvas suckery and a total waste of paint."

In cases like this, I find the most appropriate remedy is to simply step off. Put down the paint filled paint brush, loosen my grip and step away from the canvas before frustration gets the best of me and I lash out at the last 20 hours worth of work. Sometimes ignoring something really does make the problem go away, at least in an artist's world. I need to leave things be and let them breathe. However, knowing this and doing this are not always easy... I find skipping town for no good reason to be beneficial... so, spontaneous Holiday anyone?

Too funny right? I certainly thought so. I was on a total pity party. Boo hoo! Plus, I really needed a vacation. I suppose my great words of advice are...

"Suck it up buttercup, life goes on"

....and ON it did. To bigger, better, and even more amazing opportunities, and it will continue to do so. Life is an ever evolving door. I'm sure I'll have many many more of these ^^ moments (some more recent than I care to admit... wah wah wah). Ehh.... So, the next time you find yourself stressed out, frustrated, angry, crying, and grinding your teeth over God knows what.... just keep in mind - you'll get through it, you'll get over it, and you'll come out shining brighter.... and definitely hungrier.  I sure could go for a Reese's right about now. Om nom nom!

Cheerio!

Bib-Bib, Baby.

We all know that those damn jumpsuits have been making a comeback in fashion. Why? Who knows really. Personally, I'd love to be able to wear one. I love oddball fashion trends. However, I'm extremely long bodied and jump suits are not friendly to people with my body type... clothing makers do not accommodate for length where its needed. If you're tall, you KNOW what I'm talking about...... but I'll spell it out gracefully for ya'll who don't understand. It's called a "perma-wedgie" and its very uncomfortable. hahaha! Yikes. 

Jumpsuits, footie pajamas, those cute little romper outfits? Yeah, can't wear a single one. Zip. Zilch. NADA. Booooooo! Exception (there's aaaalways an exception): bib-overalls with adjustable straps! Yahtzee! 

I don't wear them anymore. One, because I'm not 10 years old anymore. Two, reason one should really be enough. Sure, I entertain the idea of rocking a pair now and then, but only when I want to paint. It just fits in with that whole "I'm an artist and this is my paint splattered wardrobe" kind of thing, ya know? Win.

All that being said, look at this cute little bib outfit I doodled with pens and hi-lighters! Enjoi!

Cheerio!

Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown.

Goodwill. To earth, to men, and a delightful store that acts as a half-way house for other people's crap possessions. Until one day, a $6 purchase will literally CHANGE. YOUR. LIFE.

Happened to me.

I was perusing the local goodwill store on my lunch hour and there it was. The missing link. The “man” that would complete me… or, at least my living room. 

He stood all but one foot three, snarling like a beast, and missing chunks of….thigh? arm? neck? I’m not sure his body type works in terms of appendages…

Ain’t he a beaut?

Suuuuuure, he’s a little worse for the wear but I figured with a little TLC he’d be right as rain. He just needed a magic hand and a little TKC…that’s “Tender Kailee Care” for you people with no imagination for acronyms.

Now, I didn't take many photos of my creative process on this one.... at least I don't think? I mean, I have absolutely no idea where they're at. Well, I have a vague idea... I just don't feel like snoopin around. Aye! I'll just list the steps of what I did exactly. In small, short, descriptive sentences....

Step 1: Fix Leroy's missing chunks. Hello plaster putty!

Step2: Give Leroy a TAN. A uhhh… really deep tan. I painted him solid black.

Step 3: Give Leroy a belly tattoo. One that says “I’m sensitive, but also (and most importantly) a TOTAL. BADASS.”

Step 4: Give Leroy’s backside a little definition. Clearly his original paint job didn't leave much to the imagination. They spray painted color in small sections... talk about laaaaaazy!

Step 5: Give Leroy an everlasting preservative! Nothing beats smellin and lookin FRESH. For… ever.

and... VOILA! Visual badass-ness for your eyeholes!

Step 6: Put a hat on it! .... except, I am still working on this step. Ya'll have any idea how difficult it is to find a doll size bowler hat for less than $50? That's right, I didn't stutter. I said, FIFTY DOLLARS! Outrageous.

From humble beginnings, through trying times, to glorious endings. Thanks for sneakily slithering into my life Leroy. You bad, bad, Leroy Brown.

Cheerio!

P.S. I found Leroy in the Spring of 2011. Yea. Leroy Brown has been a work in process for 2 freakin YEARS, and in that time - Kailee found herself a real man. Other than myself, he's the only one to really take a shine to Leroy like I did. So Leroy is going to live at his NEW house! Happy house warming my love! MUAH!

My Doodle Days: AMELIA!!!

I remember on the senior trip to New York City, waiting just outside the Empire State Building, there was (what I believe to be) a CRAZY man walking up and down the sidewalk shouting "JULIO! JULIO!" (those J's are pronounced as an H... for all my non-spanish speaking hombres) Imagine eighty plus 17 & 18 year olds... we thought it was HILARIOUS. Pretty sure we all yelled it out at random for the rest of that trip. On occasion now and then, I still find myself muttering it to myself and chuckling about it. Oh adolescent humor... some things never lose their candor.

So, when I titled this post - that's precisely what I thought about when I wrote AMELIA!!! As in Amelia Earhart. At the time this doodle was created, I had a strong fascination with aviator hats, those goggles, bomber jackets and flight pants. Basically, old school pilots. I did a little research at the time, and it was all the rage in the fashion world too. So I whipped up a quick little doodle on some note paper.

It's nothing grand by any means, just a fun little fashion doodle. Completely devoid of a body... and blurry. Oops. Just keeping things interesting ya'll!

Cheerio!

My Doodle Days: Billowy Corset Top and Bottoms!

Doodle Fridays... what can I say? I dropped the ball. When you go from being a receptionist to being an extremely busy credit specialist, you don't have time to create cool doodles... the doodles I create nowadays are mostly circles and hearts while I make countless phone calls and leave countless voice messages... yeesh. So, I am officially changing the name - since I can't post consistently on Fridays anymore. Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for....

"MY DOODLE DAYS"

YAY! This way, I'm not committed to a specific day. I'm giving myself DAYS, all days, any days, every days! I realize that last sentence was grammatically incorrect, but we'll all get over that eventually.

SO! I wanted to go back to a few of my older doodles. One's I had intended on sharing, but just kind of... dropped the ball on doing. What can I say? I'm a rebel baby.

Anywho, ya'll know I just looooove me some clothes. The fashion world is so weird and fascinating... its weirdinating? Huh. Well, whatever, point is - I could watch Project Runway all day. In fact, I do believe I've done that once or twice... or a lot. I can't really be sure. I've always liked dabbling in the clothing design arena, mostly because I tend to make a lot of my own clothes. I have a somewhat love/hate relationship with sewing. I'm a little impatient... so my finished edges are a little less than... finished. Meh. I'm getting better.


In college, the fashion side of things played a key role in my solo exhibition. Some think it was the main idea, but it wasn't... and that's a whole other beast I'm gradually working on explaining to ya'll in detail. I finally got around to showing you the images, so maybe next time I'll post my thesis.... keyword being maybe.


I like to draw my inspiration from runway fashion designs. A lot of the time I like to duplicate things in a more stylized manner... and that's exactly what you get here with this over-sized floating sweater corset underwear set....thing.

Not Odd At All:

This my friends, is what ink pens and highlighters look like at desperate times. Perfect! I cannot remember WHERE I found my inspiration photos, but what I do remember was that I was looking for "red and white stripes". I like patterns. That was the pattern of the week I guess. The fashions from this particular designer just looked so... comfy! Weird sure, but definitely comfortable. They were all wearing a sort of light oatmeal color with red stripes paired with grayish brown corset over tops, with just underwear and some boots? Told you fashion was weird. 

Cheerio!

That's Life.

Fresh off my latest commission, tons of scrap MDF in the garage, and a few empty spaces on my walls... GUESS WHAT I DID?! That's right. I found a use for the leftovers and decided to spruce up a few walls in my little humble abode.

I've always preferred working on tall narrow "canvases." Its something about the way my mind works and how I build symmetry in a painting. I've never been good at filling a square, being one is a totally different story but that's another topic entirely... haha just keeding! Rectangles on the other hand... OH! That shape makes my imagination go crazy with ideas! I can work out the logistics of a painting better in that shape better than I can a square. So I'll always choose rectangles over squares, every time.

That being said, it really has absolutely nothing to do with this post whatsoever, except for the fact that these two "little" projects were painted on leftover rectangle scraps from my BOLD project. Score! So, with a few simple things in mind I set out on my next quick (and I mean SUPER QUICK) little project between projects. 

These are a few things I had on my mind....

Fonts.... I'm obsessed with fonts, and I absolutely love handwriting. When I was little, and even on occasion now that I'm an adult, I'd practice my signature for HOURS. I've always thought my mother's penmanship was gorgeous and noticed some similarities between hers and mine. Especially our signatures. I've always loved the quick scribble of my father's notes he'd leave around the house and the way he initialed all of his belongings. I loved the youthful simplicity of almost all of my elementary teacher's handwriting on the white board, and I couldn't stand the way that left handed kid in my history class wrote his name. Gah!

Languages.... I am obsessed with languages! I love how there are universal truths that connect people to each other, and how one of the main obstacles we have to overcome is the language barrier. I speak English, I speak numbers, I speak very broken Spanish, I speak a few words of Hungarian, and I even speak a bit of pig latin on occasion, iggy pay atinlay isay unfay, okay? 

Quotes... I am obsessed with quotes! I simply adore how combining a few simple words can be inspirational, comforting, motivating, heartwarming, hilarious, and just make you realize that you're not the only one to feel or think a certain way. Our emotional journeys connect us to people, and sometimes it just takes a stranger or a friend to mesh the right words together to describe exactly how you feel in one particular moment. Beautiful.

Love and Life.... I am living and breathing both! For the first time, in what seems like forever, I am truly happy to the core. I've always been a happy-go-lucky lady for sure, and I have my gloomy days as everyone does, but "that's life" or as the French say....

I hung this one on my living room wall.

You probably already figured out where I'm going with this next one... We've all had our ups and downs on the quest for love, I know I've had my fair share... and it sucked. Like, really sucked. You think you'll never know the kind of love that's shared outside of your family and those few close friends. Then all of a sudden, out of the blue.... you do. It's often hard to articulate exactly how your heart feels when you find that kind of love, and while the simplest way doesn't always seem like it can truly encapsulate exactly how you're feeling, it can. They are 3 of the simplest, sincerest, purest, unapologetic and most heart tingling 3 words to ever be connected in a sentence..... 

"I Love You" 

Above pictures of me and my boyfriend. This is hanging in my bedroom.

....and love you I do my dear :-) It's true in plain English, and it's true in fancy French.

So, here's to life. Your life. My life. Our lives. Together and (when they have to be) apart. Here's to all of our happy moments, our exciting moments, our sad moments, our boring moments and to ALL our future moments, between now and forever. I love you.

Cheerio!

BOLD.

I don't know 'bout ya'll, but these last few months have been craaaaaazy busy! Summer is just a flyin by! I've been going and doing all kinds of fun new things with my amazingly sweet, kindhearted, hilarious and very near and dear to my heart boyfriend. We've been having the greatest of adventures! Among those adventures, I've managed to take on a rather fulfilling commission piece....

I tend to over do certain things. My ideas get the better of me in almost every situation. Some of the time, they don't turn out quite like I had imagined. Other times.... the exact opposite is true and they turn out UH-MAZING!

Case and point. My friend Kelsie: eyelash professional, nail arteest, and hair fixer upper - asked me to do "A" painting for her salon. I say "A" painting, because she clearly meant she wanted me to do just ONE. So of course I decided to do 4. She gave me free reign to do what I wanted, so what did you expect me to do? One just wasn't enough!

Here are some snap shots of my prep steps... 

SO.... I decided they needed to be done on wood cut outs of the word "BOLD." Her salon is called "Bold and Beautiful," and that is exactly what I had intended to do with these soon to be masterpieces! ...make them bold AND beauuuuuutiful!

First off, painting a canvas would have been too easy. So of course, I had to buy an 8ft sheet of 3/4" MDF to cut the letters out on. I don't own a truck, so I had to borrow my parents getaway beast and my dad's table saw. Not to mention get help to cut it as I am not strong enough to maneuver that thing on the table saw solo. Got it up there by myself though... I did, I did. Thanks Uncle Bruce for re-teaching me the safety tips of table saw etiquette. Cutting my hands off is definitely on the top of my "no-no" list.

In order to cut the centers out, I had to drill holes first. Right as I was about to get started on all of them... my drill lost its juice on the 2nd "B" hole... haha The battery on that drill really sucks. I had to wait a whole 24 hours for the stupid thing to charge! 

BONUS NOTE: Uncle Bruce also GAVE me a scroll saw! My first ever! After wanting to buy one for so many years... free. Totally free. I was in awe. I've used it for a bunch of little things... and for fixing a pair of sandals. Scroll saws do wonder with leather... fact.

After I got them all painstakingly cut out as you can see, next came the task of painting them! My boyfriend has been such a wonderful advocate for my love of color. So, when I asked him if I should do them black and white (her salon is red, black and white themed) or if I should do them with bright crazy colors, he said, "COLOR! Make dem b****** pop!" So that is exactly what I did. He tooootally gets it <3 

I found some images that fit in nicely with the letters, planned them out and got to painting. I did a combination of acrylic paint and colored pencil. The pencil gives them a nice little edge. MDF is a dream to paint on, not to mention color on. I plan on doing a lot more with that later...

I really hope you enjoy the finished product Miss Kelsie! They were such a blast to work on and it's been so much fun consulting with you on them throughout my creative process. 

So... who's next?!

Cheerio!

Doodle Friday: Back To The... Past?

When I was younger, I never planned on being as involved with art as I am. To be honest, going to school and being an "artist" was never my "dream". While art was always sneakily hiding under my skin, watching and waiting to break out like mad crazy teen acne, my dream was to be a Marine Biologist.... tra-uly. I wanted to train dolphins and whales to do the flippy flip for tourists! But for a girl who doesn't like to play in the dirt and has an irrational fear of sticking her hand in a fish tank, that dream was a bust. A TO-TAL BUST. Then my plans changed, I wanted to be a hairdresser. Ha! Who was I kidding? My hair was awful in those days and I really had no clue as to how to fix it - so that too was a bust. Then it was on to being a professional chef. I soon discovered that I really didn't like to cook unless it was absolutely necessary and what I really liked about cooking was collecting recipe books... so, bust. Again. Then, I was going to be an Architect. Now we were getting somewhere. Architecture is NEAT! Buildings and structures and whacked out living places are my bread 'n butta! I still love the idea of being an architect. However, the amount of schooling that profession required not to mention my general laziness with academics was just ridiculous, and the math? Yea. I couldn't stand my algebra teacher in high school. BOO. So, I dropped Trig to be the Art Teaching Assistant... pretty much the whole afternoon of my entire Senior year.


Thus, my last "dream" nugget blossomed: Art Teacher! Sounds tangible, viable and like a downright hammer-nail-head thing. Right? Not. The longer I T.A.'d the more I discovered just how impatient I am, and just how annoying high school kids are... well, the ones who don't take their high school art classes "serious" enough for my taste. I don't mind teaching or helping people out with their creative side, but the patience required to teach "string art" year in and year out? Yea, I wasn't sure that was a ditch I wanted to be stuck in... So! College came, and I took art. Art history, art theory, and studio classes galore! Four brilliant years later here I am - totally awesome with a crafty degree under my belt and taking all of life's punches head on... well sort of. I'm an awesome ducker. Pretty impressive for a jolly green giant. I also took boxing... so that helped. 


So, what is the point of all this is? Nothing really. Its mostly just a lot of back story that is meant to lend a hand in showing you where I started with my art. I don't, by any means, think I am the world's greatest most awesome-est artist, even though my mommy says I am :-) What I do have is a deep love and appreciation for art. I may not have an art "career" but art definitely defines what I am. It is in every part of my being just as much as the air I breathe. Its my oxygen and livelihood. Without it I'd be.... a bump. A worthless bump. With no flava. No pizzazz. I like pizzazz. Hopefully you do too. So I leave you with a Doodle, from the 5 year old me... I love humble beginnings, in everything. ENJOI!

Cheerio!

The Irreversible Stepford-Society Conundrum

I cannot believe it has taken me THIS long to get around to posting about this project. This majorly huge/monumental/aesthetically defining project moment in my life. This show changed my art forever, and finally gave me the "style" I was waiting to discover when I walked thru the doors to my first art class my freshman year in college...

The artwork below was all a part of my Senior Exhibit my last year in college. My show was titled:

"The Irreversible Stepford-Society Conundrum"

I thought my title was a cleverly put together statement that touched on so many different facets of mass medias definition of beauty standards. i won't go into great detail about my artist statement... mainly because I can't find it and also because I haven't talked about it enough to remember my argument. So I'm just going to show you the art instead! I will say that it's mainly all about judging someone based solely on their appearance/clothing... but I figured that was implied. What kind of judgments would you make about someone if you couldn't see their face? The face can tell you a lot about a person... 

**Click on the images to see them bigger yo!

"VICTORIA"

 

"KATHERINE"

This show was probably the most labor intensive project I have ever taken on, and rightly so. Not only did I make/paint/draw all of the artwork, but I designed, built and painted the stands and all of the picture frames you see. I had a very specific aesthetic in mind for my show, and I didn't want my final grade or my graduation hanging on whether or not the frames were cheap and tacky. So I opted to go BIG.

"LAUREN"

 

"AUDREY"

 

Apparently to some my show had a very futuristic feel... The Jetsons was a common comparison, which I think had something to do with the framing. I happily acknowledged the comparison though, because I simply adore The Jetsons! The lithographs are framed as well, but they have glass... which DOES NOT photograph well. So, many apologies for the poor photo quality on my litho's.

"NAHNI"

 

"PIPPA"

 

Each sculpture was constructed in a four-part process. A process which I won't go into great detail with. I will say that each has an aluminum wire skeleton which I then "sewed" on a gutter guard mesh with a very thin gauge galvanized steel wire. Their "skin" was created using a sturdy paper mache-like process and then each was painted and sealed. Each one probably took a solid 30 to 40 hours to construct.  I'm still trying to figure out a way to make a much more durable sculpture that looks cleaner without putting "skin" on them. I loved the raw look they had, but I couldn't leave these ladies "naked" ha!

"JANE"

 

"SAM"

 

All of the paintings and lithographs (the black and whites) were done before any of the sculptures were made. I used them as my blue prints and because they only showed one side of the figure, it left a lot to interpretation when creating their rear-ends. For instance, the figure named "Audrey" has a lot of button detail on the back and an A-symmetrical slit in the skirt. In retrospect I think I did their drawings first as an unintentional homage to the art of tailoring. Fashion sketch to fashion sew.

Honestly though, paying tribute to my love for sewing and clothing did play a big part in my creative process. Fashion design has always been one of my favorite art forms. The sketches, the colors and the way the designers depict certain materials is fantastic. I wanted to do large scale fashion "sketches" of my own but done in an unusual way... which I believe I captured.


Here's an early stages shot of one of the sculptures... my fingers were MUSH by the time I was done. That metal is shizzy-sharp yo.

Cheerio!