The Forgotten Brush Giveaway!

Laura over at the lovely Forgotten Brush is currently running a pretty swell little giveaway on her blog, and one of my mini paintings has been included!


A Little Windy is a 2.5x3 framed watercolor. Laura was looking for donors to her giveaway and I contacted her over the holiday. Definitely go check it--and her blog-- out!

Clicky here!

StudioHaus Blog

Aha! The lovely StudioHaus has featured my little moth in a "vote for your favorites" entry. As usual, jewelry has the edge over art (it's all very nice jewelry though!) so I won't mind if you vote for me... but regardless I'm pleased to have the mention! Tis an honor to be nominated. ;)

StudioHaus' blog

NaNoDrawMo ?

So, I'm going to assume you've heard of NaNoWriMo. Wait... you haven't? Oh, okay. So, NaNoWriMo is an annual "event" held every November. The idea is you write a novel in a single month. The goal is 50,000 words in 30 days. Every year I intend on doing it and every year I neglect to do so. I was all set to do it this year and.... pfffft! My computer died (more like is in a coma). I've just gotten access to a computer for the first time in over a week and instead of writing furiously, I've found myself distracted by something else--

NaNoDrawMo.

This is a new little endeavor by a group of people on flickr, to try to inspire people to create 50 individual drawings in 30 days. To some people, that's cake. To some, eh, not so much. But I'm intrigued and am aiming to participate. Here's what I've done so far, although in the future I'm going to (a. get more rendered and (b. incorporate some figural stuff and portraiture. The latter two I've not done so much of recently, and it's time to really draw my ass off.

This one, I've actually put on etsy...

Craftastic

Arg! I just realized I'm missing the Bust Craftacular Holiday show in NYC this year. Last year I missed it due to Day Job but figured, "Oh, it's okay; I'll go next year..."

Ugh.

In time for Halloween, this blog is back from the dead.

First of all, if you still remember this blog at all, my thanks. I dropped it like a bad habit back in August, mainly due to a 1500 mile move. That was a bit of a pain in the ol' ass.

But, I'm back, as of today. I've got some stuff I'm adding to 7seventeengallery.etsy.com; check it out!

Like I mentioned in my last posting way back when, the tiny food paintings were a hit, and so I've put a few up for sale.


Who doesn't like cupcakes?



Annnddd a tiny cheeseburger. With radioactive beams of light!

Most of the pieces I'm uploading this week are 2x3 or 2.5x3, and all original... though, not all food. :)

I've got the Cintiq, printer AND a phat scanner hooked up and so there should be some prints available either this weekend or next, after a few tweaks on some stuff. So I'm looking forward to that.

back

So, I've been pretty busy. July was practically nothing but traveling; seeing friends over the 4th of July, visiting parents right after... my birthday came and went, and I had friends visiting, and almost immediately after they left, I went to Comic Con, to promote the book with Art Squared Publishing. I took along some mini paintings and did really well! Now it's August and... well, my summer really just flew past. I'm worn out.

Check out a few of the little things I had at SDCC...


This fox was a favorite of mine, yet he sat ignored for a day or two. Finally a guy came by and declared he'd give him a good home and off they went.


The donut and birdy painting is long gone to a home found off etsy, but I quited liked the donut itself. This is a tiny painting, in a 2x3 frame. I did a few little food paintings, and found them to be quite popular! The cheeseburger was also a fave.


One guy took a look at the donut and the burgers and such and asked me to do a commission! He apparently loves cheesecake, and asked me to paint a tiny cheesecake, so he'd bring it back to show his girlfriend as a gag. I guess she teases him about the cheesecake obsession.

Maybe that's my new niche; making tiny paintings of food.

I wish I could be buried beneath a mountain of salt and vinegar chips right now, and then just eat my way out of it. I always go through these food phases, where I can't get enough of one thing for a month or so, and then I get tired of it and move on. Although, I haven't been able to kick this chip habit, and it's been about 3 months now.



Like, if it wasn't crazy, I'd go up the street to the convenience store right now at 12:20am just to get a bag. But it is a bit crazy, and so I won't.

Just added a couple of the originals left over from MoCCA to my etsy.


Meet My Robot Parrot

If you ask her, Victoria is certainly due for her moment to shine amongst her high societal social circles. And now, thanks to a certain mad scientist whose services she sought out, her very own robot parrot will be sure to grab her some attention at the next cotillion. That Margorie and her silly talking dog won't know what hit them.



Bird. Donut. Birdnut.
Few things are grander to a small bluebird than the prospect of devouring an entire strawberry frosted donut. Once the initial confusion wears off.

Bags, bags, where to get bags...

I need some bags done up before I go out to San Diego for Comic Con.... enough people come to the tables and buy something and then look around haplessly for a bag to put their item in, that I need to do something. I wonder where I can get some with a logo printed, cheap. Or maybe the way to go is just get some plain bags, and then have stickers printed and slap 'em on the bag?

Stuff to ponder.

etsy etsy etsy

Added this to etsy the other day; all the little robots were popular at TCAF and MoCCA.... these are prints up on etsy; I actually did the original while sitting around at TCAF last month.

Yeti Shirt from Squid Fire

I got the cutest shirt at MoCCA last weekend....



Agh, so cute. The company is called Squid Fire. Stuff seems to be on sale, so go check it out; I love their designs.


word.

MoCCA

Well, I officially hate my camera. That's what I learned at MoCCA.

My scanner completely and ultimately pooped out on me, and so I wasn't scanning pieces as they were finished, and being that I have a craptastic little Sony point and shoot, I didn't really get any snaps of them at home. It occurred to me once the pieces actually started selling that I didn't have record of them. Duh.

So, utilizing the awful lighting in the Armory, I took some blurry photos of the table.


Not many really turned out too well. Bah.


In this one, I put little asterisks (...which you can't actually see unless you click on the image. ha.) on the ones that I still have, and didn't sell. I actually brought even more in on Sunday, and sold out of all the new items. So out of the 20 or so that I made, the ones you see with the asterisks are all that's left, and going onto etsy in the next day or so.


And quite frankly? I can't decide whether to be upset or glad that this one didn't sell. It's my favorite one. I did it at TCAF and it didn't sell there either. Seriously, people; it's a bird and a donut. How can you turn your back on a bird and a donut? I will probably make a print of this just to have for myself in the event that the original sells either via the blog or etsy.


This was something else I liked, and it sold pretty much right off the bat. A guy pointed at it, and asked his friend if someone would like it, and the friend was like, "If you don't get it for her, I'm going to get it". So that was pretty cool.

The Armory was hotter Sunday than it was Saturday, I think, and a prolonged lunch up the street was most welcome. I then came back and melted awhile. I didn't really get to walk around like I promised myself, except to buy Meredith Gran's excellent third volume of Octopus Pie.

All in all, MoCCA was a fair success. I am looking forward to Comic Con in San Diego, though I know I'll have the opposite issue with the temperature; I will freeze my butt off and run outside for brief moments where I can sit in the sunshine... and watch dudes joust on the terrace.

Ha, ha.

Reader AC posted a comment telling me how I've been mistaken for Jan Op De Beeck!

It's at this link...

It's just a link back to this blog with the title "Jan Op De Beeck makes the trek from New York with ex-pat Rina Piccolo". It's kinda funny-- Do I look like a Jan? I suppose people are thinking it's a feminine Jan, like, short for Janet. But It's Yahn. Jan is a very well-known male caricarurist and illustrator in Belgium. I'm kinda amused. Maybe I should have my actual name on the blog somewhere, eh?

I'm perplexed by how chilly it was in New York today. It'll apparently be back up to 80 on Thursday, which is probably exactly what will make me sick in the next few days.

TCAF- a recap

So this is how it went down: 9am, I piled into a van with fellow artists Joe Bluhm, Brendan Burford, and Rina Piccolo, and we drove a million hours and crossed the border into exotic Canada. I experienced Tim Hortons. I say "experienced" because all of my Canadian friends have waxed poetic about it for so long. My experience was mundane, though tasty.

It occurred to me upon arriving that, oh shit, I didn't have business cards. Cue hurriedly throwing something together on a laptop and then running a thumb drive to the least helpful printers in North America. But whatevs, I ended up with cards.

Essentially, I was there to sign copies of 'Famous Corpses', but I also--at the last minute-- brought some mini pieces of artwork, which sold very well, considering I really didn't bring enough, and particularly didn't bring enough robot pieces, because as we all know: People love robots.

No matter! I'm going to be completely prepared for MoCCA, which is creeping up on me.

At any rate, I had a lot of fun in Toronto, met some fab people, and saw a good number of things. I just wish I'd been able to buy more books-- I did manage to pick up Kate Beaton' book, which I heard sold out. I believe she should have more at MoCCA, for anyone who may be there. It's totally worth getting.

Shock of the Week

I have watched 'Veronica Mars'. Some of you may have as well.

But no one told me that this guy:



Was this kid!




HE WAS IN KAZAAM THE SHAQUILLE O'NEILL RAPPING GENIE MOVIE WTF






Fun Fact: I used to work out at the same gym in Orlando as Shaq and he talked to me a few times, and (a. I impressed him with my prowess at the arc trainer and the stair mill and (b. he offered to give me a ride on his motorcycle

Lauren Gray's Pyrography

Um, so... I just came across this blog recently, and took a good look at it just now. Her work is exquisite! I am so impressed by her choice of tool... she's using a woodburner! Look at this! It's so great!

Something up my sleeve!

...It's my arm.


GET IT?


Ugh, sorry. I'm sleepy, a wee bit warmed by shiraz, and bored. No, what I mean to say is, I'm working on stuff. Diligently. For real. Again. It will BLOW YOUR MIND.


Or not.

Has the weather been amazing for everyone else? It's been glorious here in NYC! And of course, I've had to work, and miss it. I've stared longingly out of windows, but not been able to been in it. Oh bother.

TCAF 2009

Now that I've remembered there's an internet to be on, let me take a moment to say that the answer to your burning question is that yes, I'm going to the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. Art Squared will be at a table (most likely dominated by a banner featuring George Costanza's giant head, as seen on Rachel Maddow (about 18 seconds into this clip) and I'll be sitting there. If someone wants a book, I'm there. If someone wants to steal my chair so they can get drawn by Joe Bluhm, well, I'll be... right over there.

At any rate, WOW! Exotic Canada! I've never been! I one time went to the Canada Pavillion in Epcot. The educational video I watched tried to tell me that everyone in Canada ice skates, and is either a fisherman, a dog sledder, or a cowboy. Scott Pilgrim tells me everyone is a cartoon, and when you fight people, coins appear from the sky. So I don't know who to believe.

Coraline

I finally saw 'Coraline'! I waited much too long; it's been out for a month already. It was, to put it succinctly: rad. The design was great, the stop motion was great, the voice acting was actually pretty great. The British comedy team French & Saunders, Ian McShane, and John Hodgman did excellent jobs. And freaking Keith David as a cat? I was a bit "meh" when I first saw Dakota Fanning and Teri Hatcher on the cast list, but to be honest, they each did pretty good jobs. I just don't think of their voices as interesting or distinctive. And I'm coming off the horror of listening to Miley Cyrus' voice in 'Bolt', a perfect example of an actor being cast just because of her contract with a studio, not because of any discernible voice talent. She sounds like a 45 year old smoker.



But Dakota Fanning was engaging and likeable, making her Coraline not at all cloying or awkward sounding. I was impressed, and that had been really my only misgiving. Even if her performance had been lacking, the design and animation would have distracted me.

Now, to see 'Watchmen', which I fear will invariably disappoint. Oh well. Fingers crossed.

roughage

So, these are just a few roughs from when I was dabbling with some character design for a studio's pitch.

Draw....ing....gg.....

I'm currently working on a character design project. On spec. What that means is I'm working for free, unless the project gets pitched and bought, and in that case, I get paid. It's okay; I know the people and trust them and they're an actual, reputable studio. Just with this economic freefall, who's got money to pay anyone anything*?

But right now, my hand is just about to fall off. I'm gonna take a break and watch Alec Baldwin on SNL.



*according to all the 'unpaid intern' BS ads on craigslist.... no one....

New York Comic Con '09!

Funtimes! Here are some pictures from this weekend.

I was there with the Art Squared table to sell 'Famous Corpses', the book I wrote...



See? I'm giving a thumbs-up! Come on by!


And, in terms of "Famous People I geeked out on", I met '30 Rock's Scott Adsit (pete hornberger)


and!

Joss Whedon!


Adsit was super nice and Whedon was being mobbed, being the most conspicuous guy on the convention floor, but he was still accomodating and friendly. So that was fun.

I walked around only a little bit, just enough to stop by my friend Lar's booth where he was selling his books for Blind Ferret Entertainment, and by the OniPress booth to grab the new Scott Pilgrim. It was fun!

New York Comic Con

SO, that's happening this weekend. I'm gonna be sitting at the Art Squared Publishing table, signing copies of Famous Corpses. You know. Just a lil' book I kinda wrote. Nothin' big.



That'll be kinda fun; I did some signings at an art convention in the fall, which was.... to be honest, weird! I haven't signed a book since the senior year yearbook. Not that I'm the only one there; I'm gonna slip away and go see potentially awesomer stuff, like um, just the brand new Scott Pilgrim!



Yeaaaaah!

RockLove.etsy.com

Oh, I never actually mentioned this buttttt for Christmas I received this:



It's a totally adorable necklace from the awesome RockLove's etsy shop! My boyfriend surprised me after spotting it in an earlier post. I hate that I forgot but I wanted to mention it; she's a really nice gal and the shop is great, so be sure to check her out!

I was pretty excited about all the snow, until I took my dog out and discovered it had all melted already and the sidewalks were rivers.

Happy 2009 or whatever

I've been away a bit.

I was in Mississippi for Christmas with my family, and then flew back to NYC, and then had to drive to Pennsylvania for a second Christmas. I've been back in New York this week, but I've been in some sort of time warp. I can't account for any single minute of my week outside of the New Year's Eve Party and our viewing of 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' on the 30th (I give it a solid B-- it was neither magnificent nor bland).

I guess this is because I no longer have The Day Job. That was a decision I made myself; I was monumentally unhappy and my boss' boss made some decisions I didn't agree with and that also really cramped my style. Eh, I won't get into it. Really, the issue is that retail is not my calling and I got forced into a corner where I had to make a decision one way or the other. And now I'm here, in my apartment with time passing simultaneously very slow, and very fast.

It's okay, to a point; I am going to make going to the gym my new job. Also, you know, art. And Craigslist searching. No more retail though!