I'm Baaack!

Aloha, I know I’ve been gone pretty much this whole summer, but I really needed it. Since starting to post my art online, write a blog and begin making videos back in 2106 I have never had more than a two week break. It’s so crazy to think about how I was a creator and public artist before social media was even a thing, and taking such a long break has really been good to help remind me what that feels like.

Even though I haven’t been active much online, does not mean I haven’t been creating. I’ve been painting in gouache and oil as well as learning how to do cyanotypes and making more framed flora pieces.

Luckily now I have a whole bunch more content to share, from visiting the Smithsonian galleries for four days to hiking along the Appalachian Trail, to, or course, all the art I’ve made and barely shared.

Anyhoo, thanks for being here now and allowing me the freedom to take a nice, long reset in order to remember how much I love sharing my art through posts and videos. Don’t you worry, I’m not going anywhere in the big scheme of things:)

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9.24.2022

New 'Siren of the Palms' Stickers!!

Oooh la la these stickers are supa sweet! One of my most favorite and beloved paintings, ‘Siren of the Palms’ found a new home earlier this year, which of course thrills me to no end! But I do miss seeing her around the Nest for sure.

Now though I happily get to see her everyday :)

These vinyl stickers are super thick and waterproof and they seriously POP! Like they are so vivid and high res they literally look like teeny tiny prints!

I just listed them in my shop for only $3 each so grab one or three and feel that warm tropical sun any place you stick ‘em!

'Siren of the Palms' Sticker

$4.00

Add to cart

8.11.2022

A Little Update Heading Your Way....

So…. you may have noticed I haven’t uploaded a YouTube video in about two months and I’ve been posting blogs a bit less often this summer…

Have no fear though, I’m not going anywhere. I’m just taking a little time for myself at the moment. If you’d like to hear a bit more about where my artsy lil head is at these days, make sure you are subscribed to my Birds of a Feather monthly letter. I’m working on a new one sharing a little personal insight into my lighter-than-usual content, and what you can expect in the near future.

If you’re not already, sign up for my newsletter below. And if you are, keep yours eyes peeled Thursday for my update (including a new art medium I’ve been working with and haven’t shared here yet!)

Second Place at an Art Exhibit!!

My recent painting ‘Splendorifica’ just won second place at an art show at the d’Art Center in Norfolk, VA! Which was even more shocking considering I didn’t enter the art show as a contest, just as an opportunity to share my work. I thought I had already ‘won’ just by being accepted, and then I got an email saying that they actually had a juror pick a first, second, and third place winner for cash prizes, along with three honorable mentions. Color me humbled!

Don’t you just love that natural-light-filled space?!

They were kind enough to share a few images from the art exhibit, and it looks like a pretty nice one! It was specifically a portrait show and there are some incredible entries.

The d’Art Center actually sent me a letter as well, and if you noticed they said there was about 770 entries and I won second place out of all of those… Wow… I’m literally speechless!

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend the show because it was a little far away, but this recognition is definitely giving me the motivation to continue to apply to various regional shows and hope to get my work seen more in person, and certainly within distances that I can actually attend. I think after these long two years hiding away, people are finally ready to start coming back out into the world and checking out all of the marvelous artistic things we artists have been working on, myself included!

Here’s a little video of me packing up the painting when I was initially accepted. Hopefully I’ll be able to work with the d’Arte gallery again one day!

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7.17.2022

Fun Skull Study

We have a full sized skeleton in the anatomy classroom which is great for helping my students understand a little more clearly how the body moves. This week I had my students spend a class session drawing it this past week, and since it has been quite a while since I’ve had the opportunity to do so myself, I figured I would join them.

Of course I am always walking around the room, checking on folks’ drawings so I couldn’t get to the entire skeleton like I would have liked to, just the skull. I’m thinking of doing a video for my YouTube channel drawing the full skeleton just for fun. I would want to have it seated and maybe holding something, or at least have the head tilted in a way that looked in thought… I’m not yet sure exactly what I’d do, but I would want the skeleton positioning to look somewhat ‘lively’, not just stiffly standing there like a dry anatomical diagram.

Let me know in the comments below if a full skeleton drawing demo on my signature toned paper would be of interest to you:)

But in the mean time, enjoy this lil skeleton shortie vid…

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..and then enjoy a few of my student’s skeleton drawings too!

7.12.2022

The Supreme Court vs Women

Normally I keep my website focused on art + nature, but how can I ignore the injustice that has just been bestowed upon myself as an autonomous human and all of the real women I use for models in my work?

The historic travesty that was handed down from the Supreme Court on Friday has felt like a weight on my soul. Knowing that the last 50+ years of progress can be undone so quickly makes me incredibly fearful for the futures of our gay and transgendered brothers and sisters as much for my own female body.

It would be one thing if the proponents of this descent back into the dark ages were even actually doing so because they valued human life so highly, but sadly these are the same people want to rip away practically all social services, not give women information and contraception to prevent such choices from even having to be made, nor even regulate guns so they’re not murdering the children that actually are already here. Absolute pathetic hypocrites, each and every one of them.

The saddest thing of all is that this is not even about any potential unborn children, this is only about control. Once again life reverts back into control by the patriarchy of the female body and will.

The fight is not over, but my heart goes out to those sentenced to a lifetime of unwanted and forced motherhood, often resulting in a lower quality of life and ability to financially care for oneself, while we figure this garbage out and get back on the right side of history. We thought the presidency of that asshole was over, but his greasy fingers have reached into the long foreseeable future and I don’t even know how to not give up on being an American anymore.

We cannot forget exactly who has taken away our rights when it comes time to vote. The small, loud, backward minority is about to wrestle power from the progressive majority if we do not make it to the polls in huge numbers at our next opportunity.

I Did an Art Trade!

If you’ve watched any of my studio tour vids (especially my latest one!) then you may have noticed am nice healthy original art collection on my walls that is not entirely mine. Now I do love monetarily supporting artists whenever I can, but I also seriously love to do art trades - one of the best hidden reasons to even be a fine artist in my opinion!

The full story….

I initially created this Puma Skull piece back in the fun quarantine days of 2020 and it had not yet found its forever home, although I did have a few inquiries, no one had yet taken the plunge. It was just hanging out in the studio waiting patiently for the right collector.

Fast forward to about a month ago when one of my sister artists Alithia Gomez (who was actually featured on my ‘Pandemic Real Talk’ vid) posted on Instagram that she was clearing out her studio and needed to get rid of lots of old pieces. She posted a quick vid of her full studio and I spotted one last black sand resin piece hanging amongst so many others.

Alithia had spent lots of her quarantine time experimenting with resin (like me!) and has since gotten really skilled with a multitude of different techniques. She can get so many effects out of the material, but my absolute favorite was when she would seemingly recreate the incredible lava-based black sand beaches of Big Island Hawai’i, which I miss literally every single day.

When I noticed this piece in the mix I immediately dropped a DM asking if she would be up for a trade and coincidentally she had been really keen on the various skull pieces I hade been posting previously. Total kismet!

Here’s a lil vid of me packing up the Puma….

And a video of me opening up the black sand piece (it’s honestly even more beautiful in person!)

I’m so super duper psyched to have this piece in my art collection! Not only does it just look so realistic you can practically hear the splashes, but it reminds me of one of my fave places on earth, AND a super inspiring sister artist who I can’t wait to meet in person one of these days.

Here’s a more detailed view of this incredibly realistic water, and you can see more of Alithia’s art at @artbyaligo

6.1.2022

Making Sketchbooks with My Students

You’ve probably noticed the recent posts about my latest handmade sketchbook release (thank you to those who ordered one!) both here and on my IG.

Last semester a few of my students commented on how much they liked the toned paper in my sketchbooks during our figure drawing sessions. So much so that when I told them I made the books myself, their eyes got wide and they asked if there was any way I could teach them.

Since I was getting low on pages in my sketchbook, I figured why not invite them to join me while I was crafting the next release so we decided to have a sketchbook making workshop here at Nossi.

I gathered most of the supplies they needed, which was made up of cloth and cardboard for the covers as well as box cutters and scissors etc. but I had the students bring in their own art paper so they could fill their sketchbooks with the exact paper they loved the most.

The workshop was quite a hit too! We had about ten students show up and they really impressed themselves and me with how beautifully and sturdy their sketchbooks turned out!

So if you ordered a sketchbook, keep an eye on your mailbox because they are all finished and have gone out in the mail already. Pretty please send in or tag me on Instagram in pics of your wonderful artwork in the sketchbook! I would love to see it!

6.1.2022

Custom Handmade Sketchbook Release

Hey folks I know some of you have been waiting for a new, inspiring, handmade custom sketchbook.. and I appreciate you being so patient.

I have just released the preorder forms for the custom sketchbook of your dreams, so head over here for all the details (including the deal you get if you order two!).

A few specs...

• 48 pages total

• Internal binds sheathed in tracing paper to protect drawings from touching each other

• Cloth hardback bound exterior with machine sewn bound interior pages

• Bound on the short side for ease of drawing for both righties and lefties

• Paper is acid-free and archival

• Your choice of toned paper or natural white...
  
  Learn more here!

These preorder sketchbooks are only available through Sunday May 22nd, and because I only offer them when I need to make new ones for myself, that's going to be it for this year!

I've also just come out with my latest Sketchbook Tour video so have a look at that if you need a refresh on all the awesome natural toned paper that comes in the 'Toned Variety' option.

I'm psyched to be making these again and I hope you get one!

Sketchbook Tour 2022

Yay I am so excited to be sharing my two latest full sketchbooks today! Sketchbook tour videos tend to be some of my most popular, and I totally understand why. I too love thumbing through other artists' personal works, sketches, attempts, and even (slight) failures.

These sketchbooks are comprised of all figure drawings, most from life but some from online figure models. I like to use Carbothello My Stabilo pastel pencils and white chalk for my drawings on Canson Mi-Tientes paper.

If you're interested in getting a one-of-a-kind custom handmade sketchbook from my Nest to yours, pop over here for all the info and ordering (these are only available once a year for about a week)

If you are seeing this video after May 22nd and would like more info on getting your own handmade-with-love toned (or white) paper sketchbook pop over here to be kept in the loop for my next sketchbook release.

Here are two videos on how I create my figure drawings: Vid 1 // Vid 2

5.15.2022