Studio Tuesday!

You may have noticed (or maybe not) that I haven’t been blogging much in the last 4 months. We were having our house renovated, and it was, overall, a great experience, but left little time for blogging. Anyway, I now have a real studio, with electricity and everything!! Here are a couple photos from downstairs – you may notice how white it still is. I was having trouble breaking it in, but finally did it today – there are now paint drips on the walls and floor!

While we were out of the house, friends of mine graciously lent me their basement to use as a temporary studio space. This is the painting that I gave to them in gratitude for their generosity!

Here are a few paintings that left my studio space last year, without me talking about them. I made the first one for my friend Harold at Gorilla House. When I arrived that night to give it to him, a woman who was visiting GH fell in love with the painting, so I sold it to her and made Harold the new one you see below the first!

Here are a couple of paintings that are hanging around the studio – they are looking for new homes, but I have yet to make listings for them. If you are interested in any, just let me know.

Flashback Friday: 1988

Yes, it’s been awhile since my Flashback Friday posts! When I stopped doing them, several people asked me why I wasn’t doing them anymore- I was really surprised how many people enjoyed them, since I didn’t hear from them at the time. So, here you go, another flashback, to 1988.

Here I am with my first boyfriend, at National Music Camp (where I was taking lots of drawing courses), in Interlochen, MI. I remember being really shy at the time. One of my fondest memories of him is the time he sat and watched me draw for an hour.

There’s not much to say about the ’88 fashion in this shot: I took off my enormous glasses for the photo, obviously big hair, Ked-style shoes, and pastel Swatch watch.

From the cassette vault: “Never Let Me Down Again” by Depeche Mode, from the album Music for the Masses. This was the song of the summer for me. I even made a drawing (a really, really, REALLY bad drawing) out of it.

Self-Portrait Thursday

Still going strong with the 365 Project, but I am falling behind with sharing it on the blog! I am still enjoying the project, but finding it difficult to break free of the head+shoulders shots. Here’s the latest installment.

It’s Strange but I like it!

I’m so glad to be back in the swing of things – I’m painting more regularly and really enjoying it! I am finding today’s composition to be a little bit odd, but sometimes odd is good. So I am embracing it and as usual, enjoying creating color explosions!

Today’s painting is up for auction on my Facebook page, so please head over there to bid! The auction ends tonight at 9 pm MST.

Feature Friday: Eden Thompson

I’m not sure how many works of art one needs to buy to be considered a collector, but I have a feeling that I am an official collector of Eden Thompson’s art!

I first met Eden about almost 5 years ago, and fell in love with his work right away. Eden paints and uses collage and layering techniques to achieve his unique look. Plus, he isn’t afraid of colour, which I obviously adore.

These are some of Eden’s pieces that I own (no, not all..!!), in chronological order.

One of the things I love about Eden (apart from being an all-around awesome guy) is how he is constantly trying new things – new techniques, new images, new styles. He is a total inspiration. He recently started making paper portraits, so I asked him to make one of me.

I love it! (isn’t it great??) Looks like I will be getting the rest of the family done, too!

Check out Eden’s work!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JetBlackDragonfly
Website: http://www.nucleus.com/~sophiaarts/
Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/jetblackdragonfly

My own advice.

I’m really nervous to start painting this morning. I haven’t picked up a brush in over two weeks. I’ve had this feeling before – scared that I won’t know how to do it anymore, scared I won’t like what happens, scared I’ll suck at it.

I’m going to give myself my own advice: just start. Let it happen, let it flow, it’s all meant to be!

And dance first.

Inspire at Triple Flip

I’m so excited to show you my art on a bodysuit, made by Triple Flip!! Triple Flip is a Canadian clothing company, with roots right here in Calgary! The clothes are bright and bold, and they have a special focus on fit, which is really important for the preteen years; anyone with preteen girls knows how hard it can be to find clothes that fit properly, are age-appropriate, AND look good.

Over a year ago, the company asked me if they could use this painting to create a bodysuit:

Here it is… how cool is this?! I love it!

Photo from Triple Flip.

Photo from Triple Flip.