Metridium Tea

 

 

I've been busily plugging away at a new body of work that I'm very excited about. It's a bit of a sea-meets-land series of paintings, but with a heavy slant towards the sea. Composed of surreal still lifes and encounters between lesser-appreciated marine organisms and more familiar terrestrial residents, it combines many of my favorite things (nudibranchs! seascapes! polychaetes! strange patterned wallpaper! flowers! barnacles! Jello! etc.). I'm taking it slow with this series to make sure everything looks right and flows together. At the moment, I don't have plans to list the pieces for sale online and I'm hoping to eventually find a gallery somewhere in which I can show the work in its entirety in-person (something I haven't done for a few years now and have been longing to do!). But I thought I'd post a few snippets and behind-the-scenes views in the meantime.

This particular piece is one of the smaller paintings in the group, of which there will be a handful amongst much larger pieces. A while back, I bought a couple of these old Audubon nature paper books from an antique store ($1 each! How could I resist?) and was inspired by the colors and contained chaos of this little aged photograph of a coral and sponge encrusted reef. It translated into a 4x6" painting of sponges, plumose anemones (Metridium sp), and a dainty little teacup.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone!

Polychaetes and Paintings

Hello, hello! Oh my, as usual, there is lots to catch up on around here. For brevity sake, let's go over it in list-form:

 
1) I graduated with my Bachelor of Science degree (Marine Ecology emphasis) last month! It's amazing how fast the time has gone, how much I have learned in that short time frame, and how much more well-rounded I feel. Being in the lab (and field) and working with marine critters inspires me to paint more while at the same time, sitting down with a sketchbook, pencils, and paints inspires me to get to know/understand/analyze those critters even more. As both an artist and a scientist, I truly feel like I've finally found myself, and it feels pretty awesome.

 
2) I'm currently still doing the occasional marine invertebrate sorting for WA Dept. of Ecology, but more importantly, I'm now a polychaete taxonomy apprentice with one of only 2 regional experts on the creatures. Polychaetes are marine worms--and there's a *lot* of different species out there with few people that can identify them down to the genus or species level (to do so often requires microscopic analysis of teeny hair-like features, jaws, and sometimes full-blown dissections). So, I'm slowly learning from a polychaete taxonomist how to properly ID them in hopes that soon I too will be a fully-fledged polychaete specialist. It requires excruciating patience, attention to detail, and a ridiculous amount of crazy love of these worms (which describes me quite well, actually). I'm going to try to refrain from writing too many polychaete obsession posts, but you can bet that there will be some here and there! They are amazing, and often misunderstood, animals.

 
3) Painting! With a more reliable schedule again, I've been doing more painting and it feels *wonderful*. I've started on a new, large body of work (with some of the largest paintings I've done to date). Above you can see one of three large cradled panels I'm putting together from scratch--after 3 days, I only have 1 fully completed (I now remember why I rarely build these things myself and usually have the pros build them for me). Once I get more pieces completed, I'll introduce this series a bit more to you.

 
4) In-between working on the large paintings, I painted some mini ones! Above is a sneak peek of all of them together--once I get them framed, I'll be listing them in the in the shop (and will post here before I do). Each one is its own tiny surreal scene. Most originated as random sketches in my sketchbook, so it felt appropriate to bring them to life in this small, delicate way. I've been massively inspired from both still lifes and landscapes lately, and I think that's coming through in my work in a bizarre little mishmash.

 
5) Lastly, I posted on my Facebook page (do sign up to get the latest news) earlier in the month about a new batch of note cards in the shop. Each pack of 3 has one of each of the three slug paintings I made some time back. And to make them extra slimy-special, I varnished the slugs on each card by hand! When you tilt them in the light, they really do have a "wet" look to them.
 
Whew! Are ya still with me? I think I'll end this book-of-a-blog-post here. Thanks for your support, everyone! I'll be back soon with more.

Shop Update!

It's true! The hooded nudibranch isn't lying: there will be a shop update on Monday, April 1st (around noon West Coast time or 3pm East Coast time). Finally! And no, I promise it isn't an April Fool's prank.

This update will be a mash of small paintings, the 4 original painting bracelets I teased you with earlier, and a special hand-colored original linoleum block print of deep sea tube worms in a limited edition of only 20. I'm particularly happy with the block print--it was my first "true" lino carved block print and I can't wait to do more.

My time in school is officially winding down and I only have one more quarter left. These past couple of quarters have been an absolute whirlwind and I know this upcoming one will be as well--but there's light at the end of the tunnel! Whew.

See you Monday!

Very Tiny Fishes

 

 

If you've stumbled across my Facebook page in the past couple of weeks, then you've already seen these, but I want to make sure and elaborate about them here on the blog as well. I painted some very small fishes (the size of a quarter) and after long hours with a needle and thread, fashioned them into bracelets with quite the bohemian edge! I'm mad about them and can't wait to put them up for sale so they can happily adorn bare wrists everywhere.

I've made rings and necklaces using my art, but never bracelets. And never bracelets showcasing one-of-a-kind original paintings. They were incredibly time consuming (and at times, frustrating) to make, but I think it was worth it in the end. I've even gone to the trouble of making fold-over envelope packing to house them in.

There are a few "larger" pieces I need to finish up (the minis always distract me!) and then I think I'll have a large enough pile of goods to upload into the shop, at long last.

The Incoming Tide

 

Goodness, this summer has completely flown by. I was hoping to get so much more down, but lots of projects (some related, some not) have dropped into my lap. But I'm really excited about them! One is an album cover design for a local Seattle rock band named Service Animal. This will be their first EP and all (band mates and myself included) are stoked to get the album released to the public. It's been a while since I've tackled a design project--and never have I done an album--but this has been an utter joy to work on. The release date will be later in the year, and I'll link to it for you to check out (their music is really good!).

Second up, I was notified last month that I was accepted into a very well-known marine research program with a scholarship up at the UW's Friday Harbor Laboratories in the San Juan Islands. It's one quarter long and I'll be living in the blissful idyllic environs of Friday Harbor on San Juan Island  for 2.5 months until December. Part of my time will be spent conducting intertidal marine research and part will be spent in a class/lab setting with courses on fish (which will be a nice change in between my studies on marine invertebrates) and also ocean physics. Needless to say, I am very, very excited. And nervous. But mostly excited. I'm frantically packing things away and getting ready to move there in less than two weeks.

What this also means is that I'll need to put the shop on "vacation mode" while I'm away, as I won't have easy post office access. The shop will close Sept. 23rd won't reopen until mid-December, so if there's something in there that you've had an eye on for Christmas, now's the time to get it!

Up above are some more spreads of paintings and souvenirs from my art journal. Included are: a favorite quote by Rachel Carson from her book "Edge of the Sea" (which I read and loved); a painted crab wallpaper design; lichen I collected while snowshoeing earlier in the year; a ticket stub for Moonrise Kingdom (saw it twice in July and was completely smitten); a polaroid I took on top of my unfinished 2nd quilt; and a painting of a cedar waxwing I came across while on a walk over the summer (first time seeing one in the wild!).

While these next couple of months will likely see more marine science material on the blog while I'm away doing research,  I hope you'll stick around! Learning about and researching our salty sea friends is my biggest artistic inspiration.

Cheers!

Salty Sea Air

More new painting sneak peeks! I've been working on quite a few small pieces lately--I think because I have so very many ideas busting through the pages of my sketchbook right now, painting small is a guaranteed way of making sure my favorite ideas see the light.

This one is just about completed and will be in the shop on Tuesday, July 24th...

A deep sea arctic octopus (total painting size is 4x4"). I'm pleased with the outcome! And goodness the gold leaf really does set this guy off. It's a small painting, but packs quite a punch.

Here's a peek at a 5x7" gull painting that's really coming along. When finished, he'll be surrounded by gigantic looming flowers.

And, while not a painting, here's a sneak peek snapshot from my workbench at the Dept. of Ecology (this is a small vial of molluscs I sorted out from one sediment sample--some of those clams and snails are roughly the size of a pinhead!). I help out with the sorting/identifying of benthic invertebrates found in the marine sediment samples that our team collects from Puget Sound. The resulting data helps us to see how healthy the ecology of the Sound is.

Last month and also in April I went out with the Ecology marine sediment monitoring team to collect sediment samples (in the picture above, I'm the one in the yellow). It's so much fun to be out on the boat. Plus, seeing what critters come up in the mud from 100 feet or more below is always exciting...

The sediment is sieved for invertebrates and then bottled up to be taken back to the lab for sorting.

Lots of marine worms!

It's very interesting work. And gives invaluable data for local marine restoration efforts (some of which appear to be paying off--a few locations that were once heavily contaminated with low biological diversity are now beginning to flourish again).

Have a fabulous weekend, guys!

Surfacing

I'm back! Finally!

Scout's honor, I really did not mean to take such a long blogland siesta. Truly. Life sorta fell in my lap and had me in its clutches these past months. Mostly, I've just been so crazily busy with my science classes that any blog/art updates were out of the question. Also, somewhere along the way a computer died--I may have wept.

It took a while to get back into the school routine (it's been years since I've taken any college courses) and a lot of dedication and late nights studying to get myself caught up in math, chemistry, and biology coursework. I'm happy to announce, however, that I was officially accepted into the University of Washington Environmental Science program! I'm excited. And seriously looking forward to taking entire classes devoted to marine invertebrate study. Yes, please.Other than my long days in school, long weekends volunteering at the wildlife shelter, and nights having chemistry nightmares (this happened far too often), I've also had snippets of time to draw and paint. My work table is covered in finished and unfinished pieces alike. And I now have a decent enough pile of goodies to entail a shop update! Mark your calendars: I know that after such a long hiatus it's pretty short notice, but I do hope you'll check in to see and perhaps purchase a little piece of art. This particular melange of work is all ocean-themed (surprise, surprise), though there really isn't any overarching theme other than the ocean in this particular update.There will be a couple brooches...

...a series of fish head drawings....

...a new mini painting series of sea stars...
...and also a limited edition handmade accordion book.I'm particularly excited about the book, as it's a first for me to offer something like that in the shop. It turned out so good. As both book and art piece, it looks and feels like a collectible. And with only 8 copies (7 available for sale), I guess it really is one.

I have a few other paintings that need to be unveiled as well, but because they aren't ocean related, I'll wait until after this update to show and list them. One in particular is another "Hall of Mystics" piece. Yay!

I guess that's all for now! Thanks guys for hanging in there, being patient with my crummy unpredictable blogging, and for just being all around good eggs. :) I couldn't do this without your support and for that I am so very thankful.

Mysteries In The Deep

"Constellation Oarfish"

acrylic and gold composite leaf on hardboard

12x14" framed

{ Sold }

I finally wrapped up work on a new painting (part of my ongoing "Hall of Mystics" series) and got it all framed/photographed/listed for sale today. Whew! This one almost didn't get finished. About halfway through I got so frustrated that I shunted it to the side. I just wasn't really feeling the color scheme. Fast-forward to last week when I finished the oarfish himself and now, I'm so glad that I didn't scrap it. I'm happy as a clam with the colors, too! Weird how that happens. Sometimes it's just hard to fully visualize a piece until the very last stage.

Oarfish are really really bizarre. So much so, that I'll link you to a brief description of them over on Wikipedia. It's amazing that there are still tons of creatures in the sea that we literally know nothing about (case in point--encounters with oarfish swimming in their environment are practically non-existent...and yet, they live in every ocean in the world).

"Wandering Jellyfish"

acrylic on cold press watercolor paper

3.5x4.75" on 4.5x5.75" paper

{ sold }

And I also whipped up a small and deceptively sweet little jellyfish painting on watercolor paper that is now for sale in the shop. I love drawing jellyfish. Possibly my favorite creature to draw? Maybe?

Okay, gang! I have another painting to unveil and some sketchbook peeks to show you in the next day or two. Hope you are all doing well!

Nature Portals

Well, Spring has sprung in these parts but I'm heading back into Winter tomorrow. I'll be flying out to Chicago for the weekend to show my support for a very dear little brother of mine, who just graduated from navy boot camp. So, away with the skirts and up with the thermals and wool socks!

My shop will remain open, but any purchases between now and the 21st will be shipped upon my return.

There are two places that I'm really really hoping to see in Chicago, and they are (of course) the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium. I can't wait! Last month, I tripped around the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, WA and spent a probably unhealthy amount of time staring at fish and anemones. I don't think I ever even made it to the elephants.

Oh, and the meerkats too, of course. Good thing there was a thick wall of glass between us or else he would have mysteriously made his way home with me. This sly fellow is up to something, me thinks...

Though it's been slow going, I'm currently working out the details on a few paintings. I've also been spending a lot of time sketching and doodling away in my current sketchbook.

...My favorite Cousteau quote.
When I return, I'll be putting a handful of paintings in the shop from my most recent show at Bluebottle Gallery. And...perhaps a giveaway of one of the paintings? We shall see! Have a very delightful week, everyone! I'll see you soon!

The Ocean's Guest List

I thought I'd redo the blog banner for a nice change to go with the new year. And, I just put a small handful of drawings up for grabs in the shop!

"Guest 1" {sold}

"Intruder 1" {sold}

"Guest 2"

"Intruder 2" {sold}

There's a little armada of half-finished paintings piling up on my desk and while I've been working out the details, this series of drawings emerged. They're each 5x7" and are done in graphite on paper with hand-painted details. I've noticed that when I'm at a loss for something to draw, I tend to do lots of coral and starfish scribbles. They're just really fun to do.

I also have a lot of new prints to unleash onto the world. There were quite a few paintings completed/sold last year that I wanted to make prints of but never had the time. Better late than never, I suppose! I think as I filter in some new prints into the shop, I'll start to phase out some of the older ones. Freshen things up a little.

Anyway, I hope all's well!