Ex.Arte

Not that I even pretend to be considered in the same league as the rest of these guys...

I am happy to announce Hobbs & Kent ex.arte cufflinks have officially launched. This project has been in the works for about a year... and I can't wait to see them in person. They're sending each artist a few samples this next week. The first series of artists are Gary Baseman, Jeff Soto, Gary Taxali, Ray Ceaser and myself. The theme had to pertain to "foursome" so I chose the four cardinal directions.




And here's a shot of me at this weekend's wine party partaking in some Absinthe. Cheers!

FIRE!

From the San Bernardino Sun:
"YUCAIPA - A wildfire started about 3:50 p.m. on Thursday in the hills north of Oak Glen Road and west of Yucaipa Regional Park. The fire came within 75 yards of homes along Golden Crown Way in the Chapman Heights neighborhood before fire fighters had it under control.
"My mother-in-law opened her front door and yelled, 'fire!'" said Diana Gamache, who lives on Golden Crown Way. "The flames were coming right at our houses."
Fire fighters had the blaze extinguished at about 5:30 p.m."

Yeah, so this is what happened at our house yesterday. The fire broke out right behind our next door neighbors' house. Me and the boys were out back, saw the smoke/flames...and got out of there. I didn't really know what else to do...all I could think was "just get to a safe spot". Luckily, the conditions weren't bad... there wasn't a lot of wind. But pretty scary all the same.


That white house in the picture is our next door neighbors' Tom & Bonny's home
Michael got home about an hour after the fire started and snapped some pictures from the backyard.



It all turned out okay, thankfully. Dylan was a tad traumatized last night because the firemen were still up behind our house working to put out any flare-ups, and it still smelled like smoke. I'm going to be a bit more nervous during the hot/dry times living here.

It's about time

Okay, I know... I know... I've been just terrible on the blog updates. So this one will be a bit long. Here's a little piece I did for MModern Gallery's Russ Meyer Tribute show. It actually opened a couple of weeks ago. "Vixen's Fishin' Hole"
And finally, some new merch my way!!!! I happen to be a fiend for tote bags... I love 'em. These are $20 apiece/ plus $5 S&H available through my website:

See here to purchase either of these fun little bags. And big thanks to Embroide-Me Northridge!
I've been feeling a bit crafty these days... so I whipped up a couple of these chalkboards to put up around the house. I thought it would be fun to have one by the dining table... for menus, or good quotes... whatever.
Took Dylly to Disneyland for his birthday a week ago. I didn't know this, but if you're a season pass holder... instead of paying your way into the park for your birthday, they give you a gift card for $70 to use in the park. Awesome. So Dylan got his giftcard and went nuts. It was a really great time. Both Mike's parents and mine joined us for the day there :)
Here's Mr. B in Toon Town.
And Mr. D giving a good birhday pose!
And I never get handmade things... I'm always the one making them... so I was tickled to get these two surprises. First a great door hanger for my studio made by the very wonderful Amanda Crum. See her delightful blog here. Thanks Mandy!
And some May Day Goodness came my way this past week. A very wonderful, yet secretive, neighbor made this beautiful Mayday basket and left it on our doorstep, leaving me giddy with excitement. Thanks You ;)
and, alas... Spring is here, Spring is here... it's the best time of the year!!!


Dylan and I made these really cute ladybug stones to put around our garden. I'm really loving our backyard right now... and terribly excited about the hydrangea plants blooming this year. Last year would have been the first year for blooms... but Bodie fell into them and broke off all of the stems. So fingers crossed for this year!
So that's my update. Now it's off to bed... our beloved little Bodie Bear has begun sneaking out of his crib during the night... so tomorrow we build the big boy bed for him. Man, they grow up fast.

Crazy days

So I'm outside with the boys today, and Dylan climbs up onto the slope in our yard to pick me a flower... he's up there for about 2 minutes, and he comes back and says "I need a bandaid for my owie"...I look at his arm and discover a damn snakebite! I'm freaking out because he said he couldn't feel it and the only snakes I've ever seen around our house are rattlers. It starts to get real red and swell and I had no idea what to do... ice? a bandage? All I knew is that if it was a rattler there might be some ugliness coming. Well, long story short I got on the horn with the hospital... they went through a bunch of questions...told me to keep a close eye on him...told me what to watch for...and luckily none of that real ugly stuff ever happened. This pic was taken about 6 hours after the bite, no more swelling or redness. But a real big lesson learned about living in a more rural area....and sadly this was the lessor of terrible things to happen today...but I can't even begin to get into the other. Thhhpppt on today.

However, this weekeng Hubby & I hosted a wine tasting party that was an absolute blast. Here are a few pics... Lots of cheeses to try...

lots of mingling....

LOTS of wine :)

Friends Byron & Laura.

The girls of Colden Crown Way, Bonny & I.

Bonny goes for a quick nap while Hubby talks up some of the local wine...

Tom, Donaldo & Bonnie havin' a great time! We really can't wait to do it again... that was just too much fun!

Okay, I HAVE to get back to painting. Our youngest, Bodie, has had major ear infections in both ears... so there hasnt' been much sleep around here. Subsequently, not much work getting done either ;)

For a long while now I've been wanting to make little signs to hang around our backyard. I originally thought about painting directly onto the fence itself... but hesitated with the thought of the elements ravaging it. Instead, I decided to make a sign I could hang... and then just take inside when the weather gets rough. So here's the first sign to grace our backyard... an ode to my sweet little family :)

I did it the other night while I was sick, so I wasn't sure how it was going to go... but I like it.

I got some good ink in "Deadbeat Magazine", this awesome Australian publication... just got my copy this weekend and was blown away by the quality of it...

Not only some seriously gorgeous photography, but the color, the thickness & weight of the paper it's printed on... all top notch. I am really flattered to be a part of this issue.



it's a quarterly mag, which I always find nice... plus there are some insanely amazing cars and chicks in this bad-boy! Thank you Sarah, for contacting me about this! I need to get to painting on for the Russ Meyers tribute show at MModern Gallery... but first, some sleep after last nights' lost "blankie" fiasco. Oh, and big Congrats to the Soto's on welcoming their new little one into the World today! Yay Natalie Rose!!!!

City Pages

I did the cover for this week's City Pages in MN, and had so much fun doing this illustration! I think the type at the bottom of the page really capped it off.
also did an interior illo to accompany the story. Wanted to do a blacklight poster kind of thing.

The boys have been keeping me busy. It's cool though, they're really starting to learn to play together and are having a lot of fun with each other. Here they are pretending to take a nap in Dyl's bed. Bodie looks as confused over the date stamp as I was... Mom hooked me up with her camera after mine recently broke... but I just now figured out how to get that stamp off. Thanks again, Ma!
We have a new park in the area that just opened up so I've been taking the boys on a walk every morning and ending it at the park. Here's Bodie and his little homie Noah. Noah's Mom and I go walking together on Tuesdays & Thursdays... so they have been getting their playdate on!
Okay... there was no sleep to be had here last night, so I'm going to hit the hay, after I finish my wine of course! Nite all!

Bonzai!

Commission for a good friend of the fam, JB Clegg

some art...

For an upcoming show entitled "Le Petit Morte" in IN.
My piece is 10" x 10" and called "The Moment After" Acrylic & gold leaf on wood.

And now... it's on to J.B.'s piece. He's a good friend of the family that wanted to somehow mix his love for martial arts with drag racing. Here's my sketch... now on to paint!

Love is in the Air

Happy Valentine's Day to you all! Me and Hubby are celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary today... and its' also the 12th anniversary of our first date. Love ya Hon!
It's been nice and chilly here in Yucaipa with these winter storms coming through. We keep getting occassional snow flurries.... which are fun for the boys and just beautiful to look out the windows and see!
This little hummingbird was sitting in our Wisteria tree watching me and the boys... and the snow falling.

Dylan showing off his snowflake catching skills.

So I've been meaning to put up pictures from the opening of the "Pin It Up Babycakes" show. Absolutely the most fun I've ever had at an opening! To make it even better though, our good friends Sloan & Joseph met us up there. Here we all are in one of the rooms before leaving for the show.

Here's me & Honey by my artwork inside 111 Minna Gallery. Emma Mount's amazing work is to the right.

A shot from inside. I took these earlier in the evening, by the time the show was in full swing the place was packed.

Sloan & Joseph sitting by my paintings.

Artist Christine Benjamin and myself. Photo courtesy of Christine.

Artists Ben Walker & Michael Slack came to peep out the festivities. I'd had a few beers at that point...

We staked out a table right in front for the burlesque show. Here's Bombshell Betty, Jessica Whiteside and another dancer, pre-pasties...

This gal was a blast to watch! She made me want to own a pair of feather fans!

This was the first burlesque show I'd ever been to... and I can now say I'm hooked.

All shapes & sizes... playful, cheeky and wonderfully sexy!

Alice Stribling and Jessica Whiteside, the brains behind the magical evening, thanks the crowd for coming out!

Me & Sloan before heading back to the Hotel

So much fun!