Progress on the storage box

I'm still working on the box to store art supplies in, it's taking a lot of layers of paint, but is starting to come together. Couple more bits of paint (white and color), and then a couple of layers of polyurethane so it is sealed and relatively defended from dings.

And then! Assembly. With little wheels. And a lid. And more pictures.

Framing for fun

One of my current projects is a frame. I got a calendar this year that needs one. Here is the rough sketch. It will probably not look so much like this when it is done, but this is the concept I'm starting from.

Have not yet decided whether to make it brightly colored or monochrome.

Juxtapoz saves the day!

I was poking around the bookstore this morning, looking for something to improve my mood and restore my faith in the goodness of humanity. And, there it was! A Kehinde Wiley painting on the cover of Juxtapoz.

I believe I've spouted about both Juxtapoz magazine (my favorite art mag), and Kehinde Wiley (a kickass painter who combines concept and technique to come up with some incredible portraits). But, if you somehow missed that, here is another round.

It is not my way to say "Go buy this thing," but in this case, I'd say this issue of Juxtapoz would be a good investment. Juxtapoz has connected me with some artists I'm really drawn to, who have become part of my set of influences. Mark Ryden, Stanislav Szukalski, Kris Kuksi, Brandon Bird (I think? Can't prove it), and many others.

In any case, even if you don't care for Kehinde Wiley or Juxtapoz, I guaranteed you know someone who does. Buy the issue, and keep it on your coffee table, on your bookshelf, or in your guest bathroom. You will soon learn who among your friends has great taste in contemporary art.

underway

(Click for large) I don't really like posting pictures of stuff that's not done, but this is taking me so long that I find I'm probably going too long between updates. I do have a couple of designs I've been working on, that I will get pics up about this week, but this is what's mostly filling my time and drawing table. It is a wooden storage box for art supplies. I am planning to put little wheels on it, and a lid, so it can also be used as a footstool, and be shoved out of the way when it is in the way. I like furniture that is both interesting to look at and can have some function beyond taking up space.

This isn't really 'art' per se, just a project I'm working on. Home improvement, I guess? Tired of keeping my art supplies in cardboard boxes in the corner of the living room.

Additionally, this is part of my effort to get more done, and less thought-about. I keep reminding myself that if I hate it, I can paint over it, or sand it off, or just throw it away. So I might as well finish it. In case I like it. I get very annoyed with myself for wanting to do something, and then planning it to death, trying to figure out how to make it perfect.

I might not know art...

let the colors swirl around you...
Originally uploaded by cynicole_b

But I know what I like. I like this picture.

Yo Dawg...

Almost every time I run errands, I pass a framing shop. They have a rotating stock of framed art in the windows, and this one caught my eye more than anything else they've had there in the last 18 months or so. I peeped it every time I walked by for more than a month before I realized, hey, I could just BUY that. And look at it at home... it is like magic. This is a print -- I believe it is etched.

It's about 18"x16" or so.