Honey, I'm Home!

This is the new card I designed after moving to new digs.

What a mess!

My studio is anyway. I have a photo at home somewhere in the digital camera...now if I could only find the cord so I can upload it to my computer. That's still missing in the unending boxes along with my hair dryer (though I keep getting compliments on my new slick pony tail look at work), my kitchen knives (ever try to cut a cantaloupe with a butter knife?) and half my wardrobe.

As some of you may know, we purchased and moved into our new house over the weekend with brand new studio space. So while everything's unorganized and a mess at home, I took the time at work to apply to trunkt and was accepted! As was the Mincing Mockingbird! Today we both updated to the premium account so that we could have more than three images in our portfolios. Here's Mincy's. And here's mine.

Next on our agenda, is to apply to some fall craft shows to expand our customer base outside etsy. Hopefully I'll find that cord soon so I can show before and after photos of the studio.

What's a NaniBird?

A NaniBird is a little piece of art you can download and make for your desk or anywhere else that needs a fabulous bit of design and color. I found this via decor8, which found it via Free Designs, which then directed me to Josh McKibillo's nanibird website. There are over 40 different designs in two different sizes that you can download and make yourself. Or if you're feeling creative, you can design your own and submit it here.

I Want My FMTV!

Frantic Meerkat moves into the video world. I asked my son if he thought a short animation featuring my cards would be a good promotional idea and he jumped at the chance. This is just the first of several shorts to be created. And who doesn't want to see a giant laser-eyed chicken in action?

Mmmmmmm....Strong Coffee

I Want to Live in a Cartoon!

I found this amazing furniture from a shop called Dust Furniture on etsy. It's created by husband/wife team Vincent and Jessie Leman out of Valparaiso, Indiana. Visit their website here or check out the etsy store for prototypes, extras or mistakes. If I had unlimited resources, every room in my house would have one of their pieces, but since I don't, I may have to settle on just one....I'm kind leaning towards the wine rack.

When You Clone Me, My First Order Of Business Will Be To Kill You All

This is a new painting in a series of extinct bird paintings by the Mincing Mockingbird. I love the expression on its face and the dramatic lighting.

I Love My Brother Birthday Card

A new card I designed that celebrates the loving relationship between a sister and her brother.

The "Who the hell can afford art anymore?" Art Show

Mincing Mockingbird and I will have new work at this show. (Click on the above invite to see larger.) I have three framed gocco prints, two that I printed on 50-year-old magazine pages. Mincy recently sold three bird paintings, and will probably have some new ones up. Kelly (the very cool owner) also carries a line of my cards. Regeneration is an awesome shop in Eagle Rock with really cool screenprinted retro clothing as well as tons of inexpensive eco-friendly items! Also, check out her shop on etsy.

Always Committing Some Unpardonable Sin or Another

This is the final piece for the Joint Custody Project show. "Borrowed" the title from one of Mincing Mockingbird's older paintings.

Heeeeeerrrrrrre's Johnny!

Here's the finished Johnny Depp acrylic painting I did for the Cactus show which opens this Saturday. It's not a very good photo, but it's all I could manage at 11:45 p.m. when I finally finished it (nothing like procrastination as a motivator). I haven't painted a portrait for a while, and it made me want to get out the oils and do proper portrait painting again. Sigh....hopefully when I get into the new studio, then maybe I'll start a series to sell on etsy.

New Fish Print Now Available for You to Hang in your Kitchen!

I decided to colorize some of my comic cards and sell them as prints. Here's the first one. Click on it to see a larger image.

Well, I finally met my partner in the Joint Custody Project last night. We'd been out shopping for appliances all day and I was exhausted, so we didn't get to the gallery until 7:30 p.m. (the opening was from 6-9). I was nervous about meeting Collaborator A because you never know if they liked what you did with the piece, or hated it. I started looking around at the show and my fiance, who had just come back from getting us drinks, said, "I think you're partner's outside. There's someone standing with a piece of paper that says 'Kim' on it."

Liz Acosta (above, right) turned out to be a young, bubbly, incredibly friendly artist who recently graduated from USC. We immediately hit it off and talked for quite a while about the back and forth process and why we did what we did to the piece. I didn't get many photos of the final product, but the gallery took some and I'll put them up as soon as I get them. Read this interview that Brady Brim-DeForest gave to L.A. Record about the show.

Come See Artists Fight!

Now I'm not saying I'm going to get in a fight, but last year when I participated, there were some hurt feelings among partners and a little extra drama was added to the evening. Something every good art opening should have, by the way. I dropped our piece off last night am looking forward to seeing all the other artists' pieces on Saturday night. The Mincing Mockingbird even contributed to the piece with some much needed artistry added onto the podium/stand.

Here's the official media blurb for the show:
22 artists, 11 pieces, 30 days, not a single word of communication.
The much anticipated opening of the Joint Custody Project: Los Angeles
is this Saturday, July 5 (6-9pm). The show is only up until July 13,
so make sure not to miss out. The Project kicked off on June 1, and
over the course of the following 4 weeks, 22 Los Angeles based
artists, from a variety of mediums, paired off to create 11 pieces of
art. The theme – "Double Up : Double Down." Curated by Tad Beck and
Shana Nys Dambrot. Join us on Saturday for the exciting conclusion of
the project, see the art as it is revealed for the first time, and
watch the collaborators meet face-to-face. See the art, share some
drinks with us, and then stay out late.

The Mincing Mockingbird and I will both be at this show, and Found Gallery always has a great party atmosphere at their openings, so stop by and say hello and see if there's any soap opera-like action going on.

The Rest Before the Fury

This photo was taken at Little Harbor on Catalina Island this past weekend. We had a final fling before buckling down with a house payment and took our three boys for a weekend of hiking, snorkeling and sleeping in tents. It may be the last time we take all three of them on a vacation since they're 16, 18 and 20 years old, and two of them will be in college next year. Spent the days hiking and getting sunburned on the beach, and the evenings playing frisbee and poker. Took tons of photos and even a couple that may end up as paintings. I have to start packing up my studio this weekend, so I won't have a chance to make much new stuff, but then once the studio is set up, I'll be creating like crazy.

Come see Icons, Legends & Notorious Figures!

My fiance, The Mincing Mockingbird, and I are both going to have pieces in this show opening July 12 from 7-10 p.m. at Cactus Gallery. I have two Jesse James pieces, but they're really small and I'd like to put in some bigger ones if I can get my act together this weekend in between shopping for new appliances for the house. The artist reception is Saturday, July 19 from 8-11 and both of us will try to make both nights, for at least a little while.