pasticcio quartz

history of a life
published digital collage

i recently had one of my digital works (above) published in an artzine called pasticcio quartz. its a high-quality book with a great group of collage artists, both digital and cut and paste. "history of a life" appears in issue #3.

music i listen to while i work

forest goddess
new digital work

i'm obsessed with acoustic guitar. there is something so sexy about the slide of the hand on the strings...
on wednesday nights i often go listen to acoustic sets by local LA artists at king's road cafe. its so old school its new school.
i recently discovered playlist.com, where you can create your own playlist of music you love, and embed it into your website, or just listen to it in the background of your life. on the right, you can find mine...what i'm listening to in the studio these days.

hallelujah

i have been obsessed with jeff buckley's version of hallelujah lately. i downloaded it onto my computer a few days ago, and i'm playing it over and over again in the studio while i'm painting. in a moment of synchronicity, the rock and roll hall of fame was on vh1 last night, and if you didn't see it, you at least may have heard the fallout of madonna's speech and her plastic surgery in entertainment news today. i was really so sad that she has made the choice not to age naturally. she looks a bit deformed to me. i had a really hard time with it. anyway, i digress...
the class act of the evening was actually leonard cohen, who wrote hallelujah. what an amazing man. he is legendary in the music industry, and finally received his due honor by his induction into the hall of fame. after his poetic acceptance speech, damien rice performed hallelujah. i was once again moved by the song, and during it, i had a vision for this self portrait, which i drew tonight...

sketchbook page...self portrait

a new painting

portrait of ines
oil on canvas

i completed this painting today and i am submitting it to the national portrait gallery. it is shipping out to london on friday.

what a journey! two sittings during which i took several reference photos, and an impossible to count number of hours working on it in the studio. i just find ines dali to be so inspiring. she is also in the color and black and white photos i featured recently.

every year the national portrait gallery accepts submissions for the BP portrait award. 60 paintings are selected for exhibition and viewed by close to 200,000 visitors, including the royal family and other dignitaries, like madonna. how wonderful would it be to be chosen.

i am simultaneously working on a commissioned portrait of a beautiful little boy, (i will post it when its finished), and on a new series of paintings that i am preparing for a show. i am so grateful to be creating art!

magic

the past week was a convergence of fear and creativity, a confluence of thought and action. i invited ines dali to sit for a painting, and thought i would grab a few snapshots of her for reference. my car was broken into the night before, and the camera i anticipated using was stolen: an intervention of the universe that collided me with a new camera the morning of our meeting. i turned my living room into a studio, did hair and makeup on ines (yes... myself), and shot through 3 batteries.
magic and more magic.

going green?

by far, one of the greatest ideas i have seen for encouraging us all to go a little greener is change: a starter kit. partners melanie monroe and del harley, both accomplished musicians, met years ago in nashville. they now live on opposite coasts, but have remained friends. they believe that change CAN happen one person at a time, and their kit gives you a place to start. their recycled box contains a booklet, an arbor day plantable seedling, gratitude cards, sudoku booklet, recycled pencil, a funky tote bag for groceries with ghandi's quote "you must be the change you wish to see in the world," fair trade hot chocolate, a charity envelope, and a handmade journal made from shavings of a lotka bush, requiring no trees to be cut down.