Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Buy my art.. cheap!

I have these 3 pieces up for sale on ebay at the moment, bidding starting at $3-4.
These are drawings I truly love, and they represent different moments of happiness and utter strangeness in my life.

Click the images to see the auction. Thanks guys!

No Escape



Frankentext


Lollapop v2.0


Happy bidding! Thanks in advance.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Finished Detour illustration.



Here's my finish for my inside feature in the next issue of DETOUR coming out in February.
I'm really pleased with how this came out, and I think I'm addicted to halftones.

Things are very good in my life right now. I'm pumping out artwork like a mad woman, making money (finally *cry*), earning respect from important people and creating stronger friendships. I've rearranged my room yet again (my neurotic behavior at work), and I'm liking the world right now. I DO need to lose a few pounds though. When you go from no food to FREE HOLIDAY FOOD ALL THE TIME, you can sometimes lose control.

Oh, and I'm kind of falling in love with somebody. Which is always nice.
heeeee. <3


OK BYE.

Friday, December 26, 2008

For my aunt.


Piece commissioned by my sister for my favorite Auntie Sue for Christmas, which I started/finished on Christmas day. I am AWESOME at deadlines.
Anywhoozle, my aunt has researched our family's history back hundreds of years, so I wanted to put a more recent kind of spin on our family coat of arms. Or at least I think it's our family coat of arms.

Hope everyone had an excellent Christmas! So far today I laid around sick, watched about 8 hours of a House marathon, and ate a hundred brownies. Yay!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Lollapop.



Screwing around in photoshop.
I've been in a very good mood!! <3

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Portland adventures.

I went to Maine this past weekend to visit the very lovely Jared, and we had a very lovely time. We went sledding in a blizzard, made delicious food, went out for more delicious food, watched some badass movies, and generally had the most wonderful time I've had in a long time. I got to meet quite a few of his close friends, and they were all awesome. And I got to see the lights I've been dying to see in Portland for at least a couple of years now - they were lovely. <3

All in all, Jared is one of the best people I've ever met. He's been kind, and supportive, and he loves my art, and he went out of his way to really make me feel special this weekend. And his mum's Indonesian meatball soup is to die for. *drool* So I can't wait to see him again, and I feel like things truly are looking up for me lately with his help. <3

Pictures!

Monday, December 22, 2008

Still in Maine.

We got some MAD snow yesterday, and it's trying to destroy the whole town and my precious Californian skin.

I have met so many wonderful people since I've been staying at Jared's, and I can honestly say I haven't enjoyed myself so much in quite a while. It's going well with the good streak I've been having, with the Pop Euphoria show, and Detour, and my family getting closer, and my view of myself as a person and an artist becoming more positive by the day.

Things are looking up for this little girl. Better update later. And lots of pictures!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Zach Johnsen

What else can I say besides HOLY SHIT?

LOTS MORE OF HIS WORK HERE.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Finished Detour linework.


I'm so good at super complex backgrounds.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Detour Illustration sketch



Here's a sketch I started for one of the pages of DETOUR 12 coming out in February, which will be featuring my work on the cover. The book is an anthology of comics created by the Undercover Fish team, with AMAZING artists that I'm amazed by, so it's worth picking up. DO IT OR I'LL MAKE YOU.

Either way, I had tried to start comics, but I'm having a lot of trouble writing something funny and then illustrating it with characters. I only recently started drawing the same characters from different angles, so comics are something I'm not quite at yet. But I will be! One day!

Other than that, just waiting for final reviews to happen on Friday. I have to write a 2-page analysis on a poem by then and finish creating the rest of my labels. Otherwise, as of yesterday, all work = done, printed, cropped, finished. I stayed in my studio for a lot of late nights, only to come home to do more work, just so I'd be able to relax starting this week. I refuse to be running around like a chicken with my head cut off. After all, after reviews, it doesn't mean I don't have more work to get done, so I may as well not build myself up for this big vacation when I'll be working through it. The work doesn't bother me - with every piece I do, I improve, and that's what's most important to me.

Got a cute haircut too! It was my biggest Christmas present, and now my hair is short and cute and a pretty chocolatey brown color. I LOVE IT. I'm never dying my hair blue again. Or red, for that matter *shakes fist*.

But life is good. I'm grinning ear to ear these days. Money's incredibly tight this year for my family (as I'm assuming it is for every other family - ugh), so it's handmade gifts for everybody this year. ;D Yeah, I'm cheap. So sue me.

AND AND AND I might be considered for a job as one of my FAVORITE artist's assistant after I graduate, which would make me a very happy Bamcat, and it would mean that I could stay in Boston instead of moving away. So yay! Wish me luck!

Monday, December 15, 2008

We are

We are a happy Bamcat, these days.

Let's get finals over with!!

Friday, December 12, 2008

So.

Went to Portland last night for Jared's birthday. Surprised the SHIT out of him, at 11 'o' clock at night. I gave him the presents I bought/made for him, and it was great. I woke up at 7 in the morning in a different state and got ready to take the bus back home. It was a very different place to be, and I was really excited to be there. I'm still really happy about the whole situtation. Props to Eric for helping it happen! *<3!* style="font-weight: bold;">due 1/1
-Comic strip/illustration
-bio
Black and White book due 12/16
-submissions/cover illustration?
T-shirt contest due ?
-waiting until next semester, too much pressure put on by the illustration department with no training, and especially no benefits.
Degree Project due 1/26
-10 page research paper on my topic
-two complete pieces to show by next semester, possibly done in the style of my Detour cover
Gallery show due 4/09
-Due for the spring, work on 12 pieces regarding wierd relationships between hot chicks and monsters/robots/aliens


Despite all the sadness in my life lately, I'm done pretty well.


ALSO: My business cards came out wrong. ARJIHGOSHGFL.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Stuff I've been working on.

So these are a few of my final pieces I've been working on. I'm happy to FINALLY be done with some of these. So enjoy.

Dracula cover-A modern take on an old classic - this will be featured in Andy Fish's graphic novel about Dracula, so that's very exciting!

Johnny Cupcakes ad
-We were to do a mockup for a potential Johnny Cupcakes ad. I wanted to do something cheesey and sparkly and pink and really digitally nauseating, so here it is.

Little paintings
-Little gifts for friends I've been doing just to keep myself from going insane.


Life is hellish right now. But good things are keeping me going.
More interesting update later.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Changing my degree project. Again.



I'm not doing a children's book anymore. I don't want to be a children's book artist. I don't want to be an artist who draws for children. If I see a kid's book, I'm going to throw it out the window. Then I'll go outside and stomp on it. And spit fire on it.

I hate that I had to change my idea so many times for this project - I like to GET an idea, love that idea, and bring it to finish and love it more. I don't like having to rethink my goals in life over a drawing. I want to feel successful when I finish something, not insecure about it. Fuck what my teacher wants - I'm doing what I want.

What I want is to have a portfolio of art that I'm in love with. Art that means something to me, that expresses growth. I don't want a portfolio of A+'s. I don't want a gold star. I WANT to be happy with what I'm doing and to give anyone who tells me to stop a fist in the face.

I realized tonight that life is unpredictable. Life is emotional. Life is too short to take shit from people all the time. You need to do what makes you happy, even if it screws up some other things.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Let me tell you...

There is nothing I enjoy more than dragging my ass to MassArt at 8am on a Saturday morning in my scottie dog jammies to print out makeshift business cards. The ones I had ordered, with TWO-DAY shipping, never arrived. I'm gonna see if I can get reimbursed for the shipping - after all, why pay to get it in two days if it's coming in 6?

Either way, I am prepared for the Modus Lotus show tonight, and I can't wait! I have lots of yummy goodies for Toys For Tots, and so many people are coming! Yay! Excitement!! <3333

Progress.

My list of shit to do has decreased significantly. Kind of easing through the last few days - I have to work every day at Blick, but I know I'll get everything done, so I'm not stressed at the moment. The thing that worries me the most is for classes to be over and for me to slip into "vacation mode". I still have to make a comic for Detour 12, and I also have to write a poem analysis for the 18th and my 10-page research report for Degree Project over the break. Lots of stuff.

Tomorrow: POP EUPHORIA SHOW IN WORCESTER. Biggest moment of my life so far. I'm PSYCHED. My business cards never showed up, though, so I'll be running to the studios in the morning before work to print up some not-so-makeshift business cards for the event. YAY.

But just to update with some real arts, here you go, my progress for Illustration 4. It's going to say, "A cupcake is forever" and there's gonna be all sorts of pretty fluffy graphic designy shit around it. Yay! I'm just trying to have fun with it.

Tomorrow: POP EUPHORIA SHOW IN WORCESTER. Biggest moment of my life so far. I'm PSYCHED. My business cards never showed up, though, so I'll be running to the studios in the morning before work to print up some not-so-makeshift business cards for the event. YAY.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Half rant/half not


GOOD:

-Got invited to be in Veronica's Pop Euphoria show in Worcester this weekend. I'm so excited! I picked my mime piece about Hamlet. And I'm gonna try to bring toys for the childrens, as Toys For Tots is gonna be there. Try to make it if you can! It's gonna be a blast. :) Gotta mount my piece somehow tomorrow, even though it's 12" x 12 3/4". Haha.

-Got another piece done for Black and White today, along with a final sketch that I just have to convert into a scratchboard masterpiece. I want to make Dan Blakeslee proud.

-I had thought a piece for my fashion history class was due next week, but turns out it was due today, so I had to be a Tricky Vicky and draw it in class, ink it in class, print it out on the break (with help from Amanda with the rolly scanny things), color it in LESS than two minutes (very tastefully, I might add) and mount it onto foamboard. It looks awesome. I don't like doing work at the last minute, but at least it's done. Yay!

-My mom is OFFICIALLY cancer-free. Hooray! *HUGE sigh of relief* Yay Mummy!

-Jared has been very, very wonderful to me lately. He's been a really big support while I've been shoving push pins in my eyes through finals, and I'm excited to go see him! But first: FINISH WORK.

-New shoes came in the mail! I love them! And business cards tomorrow! Yay!

BAD:

-
I'm really tired lately, and my acid reflux has been kicking in something fierce. It's from all the caffeine, sleep deprivation, unhealthy eating habits (or non-eating habits for that matter), constant stress, and just working as hard as I possibly can. It's all gonna be worth it though.

-Money really, really isn't doing so great these days. My rent was due a few days ago, as were the bills, and I've just been on the edge of my seat waiting for payday so I can kiss that money goodbye. I bought a new box of Cheez-its. Woo.

-I had to cancel my CAT scan (for my blinding migraines) for Monday because of the stupid Degree Project show. Everything for that is completely unorganized, especially the part where they want ALL the classes to be there but not critiquing kids from their own class but not having the artist present but not keeping all the work in one room and also trying to fit 40 students' process work onto maybe 8 tables in a very small room (914). That room has terrible lighting, too. They didn't even account for the fact that many students have class early on Mondays and wouldn't be able to bring it in at 11 unless they used their break from class. Blarfgkhjg.

-I REALLY need to dye my hair. The red needs to be gone. Now. Like, right now.


Ok, I'm done complaining now! Yay school! Yay everything! Yay Jared! <3
Time to go lay down. <3

Getting there


As per Sylvia's good example, I ordered some business cards off of overnightprints.com. They cost a lot of money. Money I do not have. But this is important, dammit. Ask me for one!

Looking forward to the gallery opening on Saturday, featuring the work of such wonderful people as my favorite, Lindsay Small, Alycia Garcia, Mark Reusch, and quite a few others. There's gonna be a Kaiju Big Battel suit and everything! And Andy Fish's Batman cowl.

Looking forward to that, getting finals done and trying not to spend too many nights in the studio past midnight. But I usually do my best work past midnight, so whatever.

Had a fantastic day today, and I'm feeling like the rest of the week is going to go really well. Yay for finishing work and making everybody proud!

NEW LIST OF THINGS TO WORK ON:

-Degree Project Due 12/8
a. Superimposed book layout printed
b. Label explaining my piece
-Illustration 4 Due 12/9
a. Putting my Juxtapoz piece into context
b. Color Johnny Cupcakes piece
-Black and White Illustration Due 12/10
a. Finish Gorilla, Unexpected piece
b. Scratchboard film noir piece (sketch + finish)
-Fashion History Due 12/10
a. Coat of Arms
-Poetry Due 12/18
a. 3-page analytical essay
-Detour Due 1/1
a. Bio page
b. Comic (not even started)

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Eeeeeee

Feeling stupidhappy today. And lovely. And pretty.

Today is going to be a gorgeous day.

Monday, December 1, 2008

FINALS FINALFKS FINAFKLLS

I spend most of my nights with lots of quiet. And lonely. Lots of quiet and lonely.
But I'm not so sad anymore - it's time to buckle down for finals and pump out some sweet artwork. These are some things I'm working on:

-Degree Project DUE 12/8
a. Quail Dobbs rodeo clown painting DONE
b. Quail Dobbs rodeo clown background painting 30%
c. Finished sketches for Bozo the clown painting 0%
-Illustration 4 DUE 12/9
a. Johnny Cupcakes ad 40%
b. Dracula pinup 70%
-Black and White Illustration
a. Gorilla block print 0%
b. Gorilla painting 0% DUE 12/3
c. "If The Cement Shoe Fits" final sketches 0%
d. "If The Cement Shoe Fits" scratchboard piece 0% DUE 12/10
-Fashion History DUE 12/10
a. Personal coat of arms 0%
-Contemporary Poetry DUE 12/18
a. 3-page analytical essay 0%
-Christmas Cards
a. Sketch DONE
b. Coloring/printing out/distributing 0%
-Coat of Arms Christmas present
a. Sketch 0%


I have a loooooot of work to do! Time to buy a bunch of low-carb Monster drinks and some more Cheez-its and live in my studio for a while. I've picked up some more hours at work as well, so it's going to be busybusybusy for Bamcat for a few weeks.

But!! Once reviews are over, I get to enjoy some time off and head up to Maine for a bit to hang out with some good friends and one particularly excellent, wonderful, and attractive friend who's gonna take me on a date. <3 I'm very excited!!! I'm also dying my hair brown soon. The red is too hard to take care of, and my hair needs time to relax, I think. So look out for that! Time to get some sleep so I can work my ass off all day tomorrow! Night!

(The awesome Christmas lights up in Portland during the winter! Part of my motivation to work hard and get this stuff done! I can't wait!!!)

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Kettles.

Was feeling bad, but feeling better now. Sometimes a million things want to kick you down in one day, and you get fed up.

Today is a day for coffee with friends, cleaning my mum's house for company, doing all my laundry (and it's a hell of a lot of laundry), depositing the hundred smackaroos I got for being second place in Detour, finishing my Dracula piece, and stealing a couple of my mum's Kahlua mudslides.

Today is a new triumphant day. It's almost Thanksgiving, and I have many things and people to be thankful for. That's the whole point of the holiday, right? Oh, I forgot. Pie. Pie is the whole point of the holiday. I'm so thankful for pie. <3


It's not a lover I want no more,
and it's not heaven I'm pining for,
but there's some spirit I used to know,
that's been drowned out by the radio

They say a watched pot won't ever boil,
you can't raise a baby on motor oil,
just like a seed down in the soil
you gotta give it time.

The Arcade Fire - Kettles


Monday, November 24, 2008

1st Part of Degree Project


Here's the first part of my first final for Degree Project. This fine gentleman is Quail Dobbs, a famous rodeo clown. My Degree Project is basically a children's book (not my original idea..) showcasing different famous clowns and telling a few facts about their lives in poem-form (Lindsay's idea, which I think is cute). As per Linda's request, I'm doing the finished portraits separate from the Backgrounds, leaving more room for mistakes.

Gouache, about 5 hours. 16" x 20" or so. I'm really pleased with how this came out - I actually redrew him from my sketch instead of just transferring my final sketch (something I've become accustomed to NOT doing anymore). Either way, love him, love him, love him.

Wish me luck on the background! I'll post them both together once I've got them done. 


Hey, rich people:

My tablet stylus has disappeared. After I had my surgery and brought it to my parents' house (ugh, horrible idea), I feel one of their kittens took it and hid it and possibly destroyed it.

So visit my Amazon wishlist and buy me a new one. Or I'll make you a sick drawing in exchange.

Also, there are some AWESOME, GORGEOUS books on that wishlist, too. Christmas? Anyone? For me?


<3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Going on a trip!

Third weekend in December, I'll be bouncing around Portland, Maine, spending some much-needed time with great friends, including Jared. Jared's always been wonderful to me (except that time he cheated on me and we broke up :P), but he's still one of the few men in my life who are genuinely concerned with my progress and always have something supportive to say. So we'll have some Brandy and watch Hedwig and the Angry Inch and catch up, and it will be a good time to get away after final reviews.

Go check out the movie Jared worked on and won the 2008 Audience Choice Award for here!

Doing some freelance work - not sure what yet, but hopefully something simple that I can complete without schoolwork killing me. Might even be doing some promo stuff for Chaos Before Creation (a local band from the south shore), so we'll see if anything comes of that.

I also did a couple of sketches on the train today. Here they are if you want to check them out.


Friday, November 21, 2008

Shame In You

It sucks to know you probably didn't mean as much to someone you loved as you thought. And it sucks to think that you were probably never that important to them to begin with.

I'm tired of living life alone.


It doesn't matter if you miss someone. It doesn't make everything right.


...I hate being depressed about this stuff.



When I awaken, and I'm aching, time for sleeping, yeah
When I'm saying time to go and, I've been hurting, yeah
When I'm laying, I'm still trying, concentrating on dying
Yeah

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Second place, bitches.

Everybody congratulate Lindsay Small for pwning everybody in the Detour cover contest for Undercover Fish. She's my super hero!!!!

Here's her cover!!!

Go to her blog and tell her you love her!
http://lindsaysmall.blogspot.com

YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY


As for me, I got second place. But I'll take second if she's first. :)


AND YAY THE DETOUR PROJECT IS OVER
*fall over*

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Sketchdump.

Today, I finished another sketchbook. It's always so sad when you get to the last page (which I never draw on, by the way, because I don't like my pencil digging into the chipboard on the back). It's like part of your life is just sectioned off in this thing, this number of pages, and you know in a few months it won't be as vital and important and, well, as good as the work you'll be producing later on. But every chapter is an important one. Sophomore year, I couldn't even finish a sketchbook in a year. Now I work in several at a time.

So here are some of my favorite sketches from my 9" x 12" (an odd size for me, because I like working in squares) that lasted me from the first day of school this semester until today.




And last but not least, a drawing I made of Lindsay on our first class of the year together. She's become a great friend to me this year, and I've admired her work and her enthusiasm for a long time. She's one of few people I'll openly admit has made my project look like crap in comparison on many, many occasions. Her love for art and her humble attitude make her one of the most lovely people I know, and I know she's gonna get somewhere in life. And I'll be right behind her.

Today

is a new day. Happy happy.
I have renewed vigor.
(even though my ex ex ex boyfriend called me at 6 in the morning from Iraq.)

But today I will force the Business office to give me the money they owe me.
Today I will have Black and White Illustration with Mister Roosh who's AWESOME. On that note, everybody in that class is AWESOME. We laugh all the way through class and still come out with great work.

Might hang out with my buddy Doug later. He's a great artist, too. He used to do the big windows at Blick before he moved way the hell away to Alaska (and back) and bestowed the job unto me. He's a great guy, an Illustrator and a graduate from AIB, so if you get a chance to look at his work, please do: http://www.doug-poole.com

Tonight, Detour final touches. I want to explore every possible option with this piece to make it THE BEST piece it can be. I admit I was a bit cranky about changing it. But remember? Renewed vigor!

And Friday night, the friend I'm going to the Electric Six show with? This guy: Patrick Fahy. He's a very good friend of mine who's an incredible jewelry maker/toy maker. He has about A THOUSAND toy robots (Lindsay you would pee yourself if you saw his collection) and is into a lot of the same kind of art as me. I've always wanted to learn how to make molds and casts and stuff, and he's already been a big help in trying to teach me. Yay Patrick!

Now, I'm off to school! Renewed vigor! Hopefully hash browns too! (I love hash browns. <3)

*deflate*

My computer pisses me off.



Drew this earlier! I was making faces at myself in the mirror.
That's what lonely people do. True story: my dad used to videotape himself making stupid faces in the mirror and laughed at himself. Like father like daughter.

Going to see ELECTRIC SIX on Friday with a good friend. He's into toymaking, and he said he'd like to translate one of my characters into a toy if I make him a drawing. Sounds good to me - I like toys. :)

Very tired now. I think I'll make it an early night.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Fuck. Yeah.

Pretty much foaming at the mouth right now I'm so excited.

We had our BIG DETOUR PROJECT JUDGEMENT DAY OF DOOM today. (See post two below this one for my entry.) The judges liked it, I got good feedback and a sense of validation I've been really needing lately. My piece is a finalist of ten for a chance to be on the cover. I was really excited to see all the editors again (I walked into Andy Fish's office and told Jamie Buckmaster to not mind how sweaty I was - why would I say that to someone? Whatever). Veronica's feedback meant a lot to me, as I feel that her comment on my piece when I was doing the colors differently REALLY turned the whole thing around. I still got the weird and slightly eerie feeling from my piece without going overboard, and without her suggestion I don't think I would have been pleased with how it came out.

All of the other entries were fantastic (save one or two), and I'm really impressed with how much work some people put into theirs. It reassures me that I'm working with soon-to-be professionals and that I'm in the right setting for becoming a professional myself. I don't care so much about winning (though I feel my chances are good) as much as I care about getting feedback from people who are doing what I want to be doing. I want to know I'm at least heading in the right direction and/or how I can get better. I know if I'm going to be doing this that I have to do all of the work myself, so any guidance whatsoever is priceless.

Good looks to everybody who worked their asses off on this project, and congratulations to the other finalists as well.


OH OH OH!! Tak from the Dig sent Andy Fish two big copies of my Dig cover from a couple weeks ago - AND HE GAVE ME ONE!!! It's big and beautiful and it has all my lovely pastel-y texture on it and it's officially my most prized possession.


Today is really working out for me. I MUST GO DO ART NOW.

Monday, November 17, 2008

*sigh*





The letters pile up in the hallway

Junk mail and bills from the catalogs
And the neighbors have guessed, 'cause I've canceled the milk
And they don't hear your voice through the walls anymore

How is your life today?

I was kissed on the cheek by a cold mouth
While the taxi was waiting like a getaway car
And each second seems like a lifetime
And the cat, it's been staring at me all this time

How is your life today?

Porcupine Tree - How Is Your Life Today?

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Detour = Finished.


Hand-done linework, digital color. Approximately 11 hours (not including my bazillion other attempts).

I'm not touching this anymore. I love it, I'm happy with it, and I can't wait to see it printed on pretty paper and displayed in my portfolio. I still captured the eerie feeling I was looking for but still kept it upbeat with the help of every person and teacher and even people I don't know.

I'm happy it's done. I hope I make Andy Fish and Veronica proud the most, because Andy's my favorite and Veronica's my idol. So I guess we'll see on Tuesday.

I've been staring at a screen for about 5 straight hours now, so I'm gonna go home and take a shower and sleep. 11 hours in the studio is good enough on a Sunday.

I have lots of sketches to post which I'll hopefully get around to soon. Wish me good luck on Tusday when they judge my piece!!! :D

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Playing around.


Still kind of unsure where I'm going.
I LOVE the way this looks, but I wouldn't consider it a finished book cover for a comic anthology that I would like to purchase in a store.

Not quite there, don't know if it's even quite close.

But here it is.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Nightmare *cue spooky music*


This is my finish for my Black and White Illustration class. Our assignment was to do a loose, quick acrylic painting with one main focal point, creating a dream-like kind of image.

You wouldn't want to run into this guy in the middle of the night.

Enjoy! Time to work on my Detour project!

A woman holds her tongue, knowing silence will speak for her.

Today, I spent twelve and a half hours at work. Twelve and a half. Creating a beautiful mural with Alex Carlson for Blick. With one break. With an aching wrist and a short fuse. I remember a bunch of sad Elvis songs coming on and thinking of Jerry, which did not help my mood.

It was grueling.

But! The mural looks great. It's a new piece to put on my resume. Something that I can be proud of, something that was my design, something that will be passed by thousands of people between now and April when the new one goes up.

Was it worth it? Yes. I needed time to remember to focus on my art and to get something done without any excuse. If it didn't get done, no one else would do it. Well, they'd do it, but they wouldn't do it the way I would, the way I had envisioned it to be. So I'm proud that my design made it up there, without any half-assing on anyone's part and without just throwing in the towel halfway through because I was frustrated and sore and grumpy. I'm proud of myself and of Alex for just pushing through and getting it done. Though it was a low-paying one, it was still an accomplishment, and I know my mum will be proud of me. So it was worth it.

Between that and all of the chaos going on, I NEED to spend a shitload of time in my studio. I need to remember how much the working atmosphere does me good. It's important for me to keep producing finishes, to have work to look back on later so I can improve.


I'm feeling better about things. I'm not letting things get to me anymore. What's done is done and what's in the past is in the past. Time to move forward. I can finally focus on me and no one else so that I can become the person I want to be. I'm hopeful. I'm willing. I'm able. I'm Allison "Bamcat" Bamford.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Blick winter windows.

As you may or may not know, I paint the windows now outside of Blick Art Materials (where I work) in Fenway. There's amazing foot traffic in that area, which is a great way to get my work noticed, and there's a company-wide contest for the windows we paint in the window, and if we get picked for having the best windows, we get a party. The task of painting the windows has been passed down to me this year after two of my favorite people left Blick for different life paths, so I'm excited for the opportunity.

My boss decided she wanted a big snowglobe in the middle with Boston inside. (I wanted yetis playing in the snow, but oh well.) Each window is 10' x 10', with lots of annoying supports and borders in between, which are tricky to work around, but that's okay. This year my incredibly talented peer and coworker Alex Carlson will be helping me, but I MUST do the linework. It's very important to me because I get very few opportunities to paint large, so it's very relaxing and meditative to make long sweeping strokes with big brushes. It makes me happy. <3

Here's the mockup. Expect to see these babies done in the next week or two.

Monday, November 10, 2008

T-SHIRT CONTEST ENTRIES!

These are all the entries we received. Judging will be completed today and tomorrow and results will be posted Wednesday night. Winners will be contacted so we can ask which colors they want the shirts printed on.

1.
2.
3.
4.
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(black block will not be included in printing process.

AGAIN, I'd like to thank everybody who took the time to enter. These all look great!

And don't forget - Mister Roosh is looking to make a black and white book this year showcasing artwork of the like, so enter black and white images for the book too!
Thanks guys!