Pretty Poison

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well. A lot of sneak things are happening behind the scenes here at the Mill that I will be able to share shortly.

Sneaky like this, only less laptop/blue ski mask and more awesome.

Something I can share, is in anticipation of Valentine's Day, I am doing a set of three very small original cupid paintings that I will be listing in the shop this week. They're somewhat inspired by vintage cupids like the one below and they will of course be overflowing with glitter and cuteness. Only one little set will be available, so stay tuned. I will post pics next week.

As you regular followers know, I have started amassing some rubber stamps that I use for packaging and for signing my prints and the like. Well, they were sitting all over my office and I didn't want them to get damaged. So, I found an old stamp carousel on Ebay to store them. They look great now and they keep my stamps clean and ready for action at a moment's notice!

I have found a photographer who has blown my socks off this past week. Alex Prager won the Foam Magazine Call for Talent contest last year and I'm not surprised. Her work is 1960's pulp-inspired, dramatic, and spot-on. Her narratives make you want to see more like a good Alfred Hitchcock movie and her colors and photo treatments make the whole thing look 50+ years old. I flipped through her entire site twice. Love it.

And while we're on a 60's kick, Tracey Snelling is another artist whose work is inspired by desert motels, women on the run and danger. Tracey's work is part model-making, part installation art and part narrative. Really, you need to see her work and read her artist statement to get her mission and even then, you may not completely get it. I hate to say that I really just like the look of her work and nothing more. Take a peek.

All this talk of femme fatales and the 1960's makes me want to watch Pretty Poison. Have you guys seen it? I haven't seen it yet, but I'll let you know how it goes. I'm really just seeing it because I love Anthony Perkins, the posters are great, and the lead chick is a drum majorette, which I find hilarious for some reason...

Also, they're both bonkers apparently... so there's that.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Candy Brite Collection

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well this week. I have a ton of things to share, as usual here. The biggest news of the week, is I have just listed my new Candy Brite Collection! What is the Candy Brite Collection? you ask? I'll tell you; it's a series of 11 art prints inspired by Roy Orbison's song Candy Colored Clown. (Which is to say, on the surface, they're fun and colorful, underneath, they're worn and unsettling...) In addition, with the prints, I have listed Gun Clown Garland. Yep, you read it right, bright garland with guns and clowns on it. Take a peek you guys, it's kind of awesome:

And more good news! The Stapelia Company now has a professional photo studio space. So, as I've said to my Facebook followers; if you're local (or like to travel), bring me your ideas, your dreams and your paying clients and I'll make them fly higher, sing better and live longer. (Or at least look pretty neat... like this for example, or this.) I always love new collaborations, so give me a shout and let's do something together. (I will of course also be using the studio to create great things for you folks, never fear.)

It will be a lot like this, only, I'm not a man who looks like Buzz Aldrin...

Bright, colorful and retro is the theme for the day, so in that vein, let me introduce you to the work of Ragnar. Heard of him? No? Then, feast your eyes on his prolific body of work, including toys, books, commercial design. It's insane. And all impeccably done. See some examples below... I want all of his books. ALL of them.

So, as you faithful followers know, I got a brand new record player for Christmas, and I'm going to marry it. It's wonderful. One album I am particularly hooked on lately, is the James Bond Goldfinger soundtrack by John Barry. The title track features Shirley Bassey and the album cover features the famous "woman painted gold" and I can listen to it all day long! If you own a turntable, do yourself a favor and skip over to Ebay and get one. Stat. That's an order!

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Brite things are coming...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well this fine Monday! A lot to share as usual. First, I've had people ask me in the past where I get my inspiration for new pieces (because my work is obviously pretty unique). Of course, literary sources and movies, but I also love junking and I've picked up a ton of bright, colorful things for my studio that make me happy when I'm working and/or inspire me. I just posted some of these things to my Flickr stream. Take a peek!

These pieces have also inspired a new art photo series that I will be releasing in roughly 2 weeks time. It's bright, it's fun, and it's perfect for spring. I think you're going to love it Kiddies!

And lastly, I am working on a little set of cupid paintings for the shop that I think you will love. Only one set will be available for V-day, and they'll be cute, so standby. I will let you guys know first, because you're my favorites...

Inspired by this evil little guy. Yikes.

So, speaking of inspiration, I found Flora Fauna World recently while perusing the web and I fell in love. They are a design studio that also creates art posters and letterpress. Combining organic shapes and design elements with a clean, modern aesthetic and a mastery of typography seems to be their signature. Take a look. I love that snow globe card.

And speaking of flora and fauna, artist Iori Tomita combines specimens and art in a new and beautiful way. In her New World Transparent Specimens series, she utilizes a method of specimen preparation developed by the fisheries field, that breaks down proteins, rendering the specimen transparent. She then injects dyes into the bone structures, creating beautifully preserved and brightly colored aquatic specimens. When science meets art, great things happen people. Wow.

And holy smokes you guys. I sometimes post strange news stories and it's been awhile, so I dug up this doozie for you. Did you read about the poor guy on the NY city subway that was sleeping and had a giant rat crawl over his face? Yeah. Holy. And the worst part is, someone video taped the whole thing instead of waking him up. What the?! Poor man. I can't even imagine.

And we thought this was creepy...

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Bright colors... dark thoughts.

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you are all well. I have many things to share as usual. First, I am getting ready to put a new collection up in the shop for the new year. It's bright. It's deadly. I'm really excited about it and I think you're going to love it Kiddies. But first, I have added a Soon to be Discontinued section to my shop to clear out the old. Take a peek at that, once those items sell, I won't be re-listing them.

I ship a lot of prints and other flat things out that really shouldn't be bent in half. So, I decided I needed to get a Do Not Bend stamp. But then, I realized that's not how we do things around here. So, I designed one and I named her Bendee. Bendee will greet you with her smiling countenance on all orders from now on!

One last piece of business, I have two 16" x 20" overstock art photos listed: Medusa and Penelope the Sword Swallower. I never keep these on-hand so this is a rare treat. They're beautiful and ship immediately.

I have found a wonderful illustrator via Gallery Nucleus. Lorelay Bove (besides having a great name), did a series for that gallery inspired by Alfred Hitchcock movies (so of course I was sold). But her other work is just as delightful. It has a loose but obviously skilled look to it that makes me love it immensely. Take a look!

If I had one wish, it would be to own the tools necessary to make an ambrotype and the skills of Misha Burlatsky to make it wonderful. Holy smokes. This is a technique that cannot be mimicked by digital and that makes it wonderful. Look at that selective focus you guys... and that clown with the hearts blowing out. Holy. Smokes.

Let's wrap up with a haunting and unsettling movie recommendation, shall we? I watched Moon over the weekend and was pleasantly surprised. The acting was great, the plot had several twists and Sam Rockwell, while not movie star gorgeous, has the appeal of a Steve Buscemi in his ability to look different in every scene. I highly recommend it and give it all 5 corncobs!

Plus, the poster design is pretty top-knotch.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Okotteru...

Hello Lovelies~

Happy New Year! I am more excited about starting 2011 than I've been in several years. I know it's going to be a great one and it's wonderful to have all you fine folks along for the ride.

As promised, here are some pictures of my new Okotteru series. This series is for my gallery's Least Favorite Things themed show opening Friday. I went a very Asian art route and created little kids doing their least favorite chores. Okotteru means "I am angry at this/you" and the Japanese symbol on the art means "I hate this." Very tongue-in-cheek as usual. Origami paper shows through the cut out areas to contrast the otherwise stark illustrations. Let me know what you think!

I have been doing quite a bit of junking recently for a secret project I am very excited about that I will reveal in time. In the process, I have found some great things, including this book of short suspense stories compiled by Alfred Hitchcock. The cover? Wow. Vultures, ghouls, and A. Hitchcock as a baby? That's a 10 on the creep scale... and of course I love it.

I also found this hilarious cover from an old Popular Science magazine. These mags are crazy to read. They're chock full of lead paint ads, articles about building bombs, alligators for sale, it's nuts. But the caption: How You Are Thrilled... But Not Killed took the cake. I have yet to read the article. I'll let you know how it comes out Folks.

Have you seen the work of Deborah Parkin? Well, if not, you should skip on over to her site ASAP because her stuff really is top knotch. Some of it's mysterious, some of it looks vintage, and all of it is moody and beautiful. Below are some of my favorites...

So, because it was the holidays, I busted out one of my holiday favorites; Gremlins. You heard me. If you haven't seen it in awhile, it definitely deserves a re-visit. Holy smokes. I forgot how hilarious it was... and how absurd. Namely the mom character and the mean old lady character. (All the people in this movie are so one-dimensional that referring to them by name is unnecessary.) Absolutely ridiculous... and wonderful. Give Gremlins another shot very soon you guys...

Because there's this: a ski mask with teeth.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...