New Work & LIVESTRONG Community Impact Program

Here is a painting I completed recently. It was difficult to photograph, as it is quite possibly my shiniest painting to date. 

Skip
oil on canvas
30" x 40"

In other news,  in my secret life as an art therapy intern, I have been working at Advocate Lutheran General Children's Hospital in Park Ridge, IL. This hospital is currently in the running to receive a LIVESTRONG Community Impact Project Grant to fund an artist-in-residence program for the adult and child oncology programs.

In order to receive the grant, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital must receive community support in the form of online votes. If you can, please take a moment to read about the The Oncology Program at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital/Lutheran General Children’s Hospital and cast your vote!

Vote Vote Vote!*

*(My enthusiasm is misleading: You only get one vote, not three).

As an art therapy intern working in the pediatric unit of this hospital, I have seen first-hand how art can serve as a way to help people take charge of their illness and treatment, and can provide an outlet for patients to work through difficulties, tell stories, and express hopes and fears during their journey with illness and  recovery.  My work as an intern at Advocate Lutheran General Children's Hospital ends in May of this year, and I believe patients at this hospital would benefit tremendously from this LIVESTRONG grant by receiving continued access to art during their hospitalization and treatment.

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Finally, to conclude this post, a painting/collage of Zooey Deschanel that I created out of whatever the opposite of adoration is. Subsequently my roommate, not picking up on the disapproving tone, hung it in our living room, out of sincere adoration. Enjoy!

Quirky vacuous female > Vacuous female
oil and fabric on canvas
24" x 36"

New Art!

Here are two paintings I completed recently:

Pull

oil on canvas

30" x40"

Untitled
oil on canvas
24" x 36"


As a reminder, I have another new painting on display at Sullivan Galleries, which you can see at one of two "Art of Connection" show openings this Thursday or Friday.  The show will be up through mid-February, 2012.

Art of Connection Opening 

Thursday, December 8th, 7-9pm and
Friday, December 9th, 5:30-7pm

Sullivan Galleries
33 South State Street, 7th Floor
Chicago, IL

Hope to see you there!

Student Artwork & Show Opening

Early in 2010, I was contacted by Lance Taylor, a teacher from a high school located in an outer suburb of Perth, Western Australia. He had seen my artwork in Empty magazine and asked if I would be willing to be interviewed as a contemporary working artist by his senior art class as part of their research. Of course, I was excited to help.

As a result of the project, some of the students chose to create artwork inspired by my Clutter series, in which they portrayed themselves in their own environment, surrounded by their personal possessions. Below is one of those pieces, created by then-senior, Fraser Nightingale:

Artwork by Fraser Nightingale
Charcoal and color washes on paper

It is clear that a great deal of work was put into this beautifully-rendered art piece, and I thank Fraser for agreeing to let me post it.  I especially love the shoe, helmet, and the striped bedsheets. And I'm always a sucker for electronics cords.

I am honored to have been interviewed by the class and ecstatic to have been inspiration for the students' art practice!

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In other news, one of my new paintings will be in an art exhibition, "Art of Connection".  All are welcome to attend the opening on Friday, December 9th, from 4:30-7pm.

 The exhibition features the work of  students graduating from the Masters of Art in Art Therapy program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), and/or the people they work with at their internship sites. 

Friday, December 9th
4:30- 7:00pm 

Sullivan Galleries
33 South State Street, 7th Floor
Chicago, IL 60603 

As additional incentive, there will be several other SAIC student shows going on simultaneously in the same (very large) gallery space, and also delicious, delicious food.  I would love to see you there!
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In MORE other news, I have several new paintings that I've completed, and several other paintings in progress.  High-quality images of some of my new work will be posted just after Thanksgiving. For  now, however, I will provide an extremely low-quality preview taken from my seat on the floor, with the needle-sized camera on my computer:

 One of my recently-completed paintings and part of my bookshelf.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, or a happy Thursday if you don't live in America!

Opening Photos

Show Opening- September 2nd, Gallery 2622

 

 

Thank you to everyone who attended. I couldn't have asked for a more exciting night. It was a great turnout and a lot of fun!

The show is up for the remainder of September at:

Gallery 2622
2622, Wauwatosa Avenue
Wauwatosa, WI 53210
(414)257-2622

En lieu of regular gallery hours, call the owner, John Korom at the number above to let him know when you would like to come view the work. And if you happen to be walking by, take a look at the work through the huge gallery windows.

Solo Show Opening- Also, Hamburg!

I'm excited to announce the opening of my first solo art show at Gallery 2622. The show will feature never-before shown work, including all of my latest paintings and sketches and some work that has not yet been shown online. I will be there for the entire opening and would love if you could drop in to see my work and say hello.

Opening Information

Date: Friday, September 2nd

Time: 6:00pm- 9:00pm

Address:

Gallery 2622

2622 N. Wauwatosa Avenue
Wauwatosa, WI

53213

There will be refreshments and plenty of awesome art to look at! Everyone is welcome so please inform art-lovers and bring your friends. I hope to see you there!

If you are unable to stop in for the opening, the show will be up for the entirety of September. If you'd like see the show after the opening reception, just call gallery at 414.257.2622 to let the owner, John Korom, know you're dropping by.

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Additionally, for those of you who read this blog and also live in Germany (hundreds of you, no doubt), the album cover I submitted to the AMOS Showtime project will be shown alongside hundreds of others at the museum Beatlemania, located in Hamburg, from September 16th through December 31st. Address and contact information for the museum is located on Beatlemania's very German website, which I won't pretend to be able to read, despite my German genes and love for sauerkraut.

If you are unable to attend the show in Hamburg, all available album artwork (with Amos' album inside, of course) are available for your viewing pleasure and potential purchase at the AMOS Showtime Gallery web page. My particular piece is located here. My piece's price will also be reduced from 450 Euros to 279 Euros as soon as the website is updated within the next week or two (hooray!)

I hope to see you at my solo show, and if you somehow attend my German show, shoot me an email and let me know how it went!

New Work

Here are a few pieces I've finished recently. In addition to my usual graphite/painting technique I've been working with oil on canvas for the first time in years and it has been pretty exciting.



Tracks
oil on canvas
24" x 36"

Detail



Holly Jolly
Oil and graphite on paper
29" x 42.5"




Wonder Woman, ________, Puppylove, Cindy, & Bigfeet
Oil and graphite on children's bedsheets
23" x 30"



You'll notice I left a blank on the title of the last painting, and that is because I forgot the name of one of the Barbies between the time I started the painting and now. I have emailed the 5-year-old who owns the Barbies for consultation, and hope to get the name of the second Barbie from the left within the next few days. I also am proud to say that, while the aforementioned 5-year-old came up with most of the Barbies' names, I named Cindy myself. Also, Cindy is a princess.

I have a few other paintings in the works so you can look forward to more updates soon. In the mean time I recommend you go play outside, because summer is awesome.

Poets & Artists Magazine

The new issue of Poets & Artists is available to view and buy online, and I am lucky enough to be featured on pages 16-19. The article includes some images of my work, as well as an interview. Most importantly, it features 100 pages of phenomenal figurative artists and artwork and poetry from talented writers.


Oooooo, Ahhhhh!

You can view the current issue in hi-res here.
You can also read about the magazine or buy a PDF or hard copy of the 100-page issue at www.poetsandartists.com.

Special thanks to editor Didi Menendez for contacting me to be included in the issue.

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As many of you know, I was recently named a finalist for the position of the 2011 Pfister Hotel Artist-in-Residence. Unfortunately for myself, I was not chosen this year. The honor went to Shelby Keefe. However, I want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement during the voting and selection process. I also want to thank the Pfister and InterContinental hotel for supporting the arts and for including me in the Finalists art show back in January-February. I will be sure to apply in the future. I WILL have private studio space one day, world!