Mixtape III (2021)

The highly-anticipated follow-up to “Mixtape I” and “Mixtape II” is finally here, nearly a year after all of these songs came out. “Mixtape III” features imagery inspired by my top ten songs for March 2020. We’re all going to politely ignore that we’re only a few weeks away from March 2021, because only I’m allowed to make fun of myself for being horribly behind on this particular project.

Stylistically, this is similar to the previous pieces, but there’s something different (beyond the fact that I used a different pen on different paper). The composition feels less cluttered, even as certain images overlap with one another. The larger figures add an extra layer of motion and storytelling. I don’t mean to pat myself on my own back, but it definitely feels like a step in the right direction.

For those who are curious, here’s a list of the songs used for this particular piece:

1. Waxahatchee - “Can’t Do Much”

2. U.S. Girls - “4 American Dollars”

3. Niall Horan - “Heartbreak Weather”

4. Melanie Faye - “It’s A Moot Point”

5. HAIM - “The Steps”

6. Brandy Clark - “Pawn Shop”

7. Dua Lipa - “Hallucinate”

8. Triángulo de Amor Bizarro + Ariadna Punsetes - “Acosadores”

9. Megan Thee Stallion - “Captain Hook”

10. Róisín Murphy - “Murphy’s Law”

The final piece is about 9 x 9 inches with 6 x 6 inches of covered space. Much like the previous installments, I don’t have any intentions to frame this or show it anywhere. That said, I do think it looks much better in person, so there’s a possibility I’ll reconsider that in the near future.

IS THIS PIECE AVAILABLE?

“Mixtape III” is available in my online shop.

WHERE CAN I LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST?

The playlist can be streamed on Spotify or YouTube.

Mixtape II (2020)

It’s pure comedy to me that I’m sharing a playlist of my top ten songs for February 2020 in the middle of summer. While I have no idea when I actually finished selecting these songs, I do know that I dragged my feet on creating the cover art. It just didn’t seem like something I needed to prioritize, given the current state of the world.

Once I got started, I used a similar technique to “Mixtape I”. Sections of the paper were designated for certain songs, then filled with imagery inspired by the lyrics. This time around, I found myself using text as a bit of a crutch, but I actually enjoy the way the random phrases interact with one another. It's chaotic in the best way possible.

For some context, here’s a list of the songs used for this particular piece:

1. Caribou - “Like I Loved You”

2. Grimes - “Delete Forever”

3. Car Seat Headrest - “Can’t Cool Me Down”

4. Alex Newell - “Boy, You Can Keep It”

5. Christine and the Queens - “People, I’ve been sad”

6. Soccer Mommy - “crawling in my skin”

7. Jessie Ware - “Spotlight”

8. Orville Peck - “Queen of the Rodeo”

9. The Avalanches (featuring Blood Orange) - “We Will Always Love You”

10. La Roux - “21st Century”

The final piece is 6x6 inches, and I don’t have any intentions of matting or framing it any time soon. I’ve scanned and edited it for digital purposes, but admittedly, these pieces are mostly for my own enjoyment.

IS THIS PIECE AVAILABLE?

“Mixtape II” is available in my online shop.

WHERE CAN I LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST?

The playlist can be streamed on Spotify or YouTube.

Say Their Names (2020)

Over the past few days, I went through hundreds of the 3,000+ Black Lives Matter protests compiled by Elephrame. This was intended to be a meditation on my own privilege, as I wrote down the names of Black individuals who lost their lives to racism, white supremacy, and police brutality.

As often as possible, I read about each case—who they were, how they died, who killed them, and what happened in the aftermath. With each additional mark I made on the page, I contemplated those who died without protests, hashtags, public outrage, or a single article written about them.

The process was uncomfortable, and well, that’s kind of the point!

White people need to stop being comfortable with being comfortable. Being an anti-racist ally is not compatible with escapism, avoidance, and silence. I have been guilty of all of these things in the past, and I’ll say, it does not feel great to admit that about myself. Rather than let that guilt swallow me whole and push me further into a cocoon of shame, I’m challenging myself to actively do more.

At the same time, I struggle to define what it means to “do more”.

I recognize that it’s not enough to spend 3-4 days listening, learning, reflecting, and creating a well-intentioned piece of art that ultimately does nothing. I’ve looked to resources on how to help, and in response, I’ve signed petitions, donated, attended a local protest, and made a commitment to continue educating myself.

It still doesn’t feel like enough, and well, that’s kind of the point!

Being an ally is constant work. It will never be enough, because we cannot undo 400 years of inequality overnight. “Enough” is not a concept that exists when the list of Black lives taken by violence continues to grow longer and longer. We must listen, we must fight, and we must continue asking how we can do more.

Is this piece available?

Fine art prints of “Say Their Names” are available in my online shop.

All profits from this piece will be donated to bail funds and organizations that push forward the mission of Black Lives Matter.

The original piece is no longer available.

YES / NO (2020)

When we first moved to Wenatchee, I lived under the delusion that I would set up a studio in our garage. My partner, Eric, repeatedly told me that this was a terrible idea, because there’s no way to regulate the temperature of the space. Stubbornly, I pushed forward and set up a work desk in the corner. To prove him wrong, I sat down, drew a goofy dog on a woodblock, and began carving until I was about halfway done.

The block sat in the garage for over a year, virtually untouched.

It took a global pandemic (and warmer weather) for me to finally commit to finishing the block. Afterward, the palm of my hand hurt in a familiar way. It was a vaguely uncomfortable reminder of how much I love carving woodblocks. I sat on my couch moving for the next few hours moving my hand around to make sure it wasn’t permanently numb, thinking back fondly at the calluses that formed on my hand when I was completing my undergraduate thesis exhibition.

A small bit of dread set in when I realized I would have to print this block. It is perhaps counterintuitive that my least favorite aspect of printmaking is the, uh, printing part. I just never latched on to the technical side of the process. It’s also been over a decade since I set foot in an actual printshop, so my confidence was lacking in that department.

Two weeks passed before I returned to the garage with my roller, a tube of black ink, and an inking plate. I did a test print on a piece of scrap paper and quickly realized that I had not carved this character’s left ear. After correcting this, I did three more test prints, made some tiny corrections, and began to print an edition of nine on pre-cut paper. As the rows of prints were laid out on my desk, I was overcome with both pride and relief. It was a reminder that I don’t hate printing as much as I thought I did.

Once the prints were dry, I penciled in the edition numbers and matted eight of the nine prints.

Is this piece available?

Yes! Eight of the nine prints are available for $25 each in my online shop.

Let's Get Lost In The Wilderness (2020)

When I began this piece in February, I was feeling lost and disenchanted with my word-based artwork. I woke up with “The Wasteland” from Children of Eden stuck in my head, repeatedly singing out loud the line “lost in the wilderness” as I poured my morning coffee and went about my day.

The song remained stuck in my head, until I sat down in my living room and scribbled “Let’s Get Lost In The Wilderness” on a piece of paper. I began to surround the words with trees, leaves, mountains, rivers, flowers, and a variety of critters. I eventually added arrows pointing haphazardly in different directions to amplify the feeling of being lost.

Stylistically, this piece was a callback to my older ballpoint pen work, where I covered recycled materials with intricate patterns and images. It’s also no coincidence that this piece (and others like it) were completed after viewing Keith Haring’s “Untitled” at the Museum of Modern Art. The experience left me feeling both inspired and insignificant. I was frustrated that I might not ever create anything that beautiful and full of joy. At the same time, I was motivated to push harder and aim higher.

“Let’s Get Lost In The Wilderness” was my first attempt in doing this. Due to my lack of focus and the absence of a looming deadline, this 11 x 14 piece took over a month to complete. It technically only covers 9.5 x 12.5 inches of the surface. This is an amount of space that I’ve previously been able to cover within 3-7 days, and I’m trying to be kind to myself about my fluctuating motivation—especially in the midst of a global pandemic. It wasn’t exactly easy to work on a piece about going outside when I couldn’t go outside.

As far as materials go, this piece was completed on vellum paper with 005 Sakura Micron Pigma pens. Most of the pens had been used for previous pieces, so the tips were worn down and unpredictable. I tried to embrace the different line quality as much as possible, letting it guide how I formed shapes and images within this sprawling black-and-white landscape.

Once completed and framed, this piece was displayed in Confluence Gallery’s exhibition "Treespeak” from July 25 - August 29.

Is this piece available?

“Let’s Get Lost In The Wilderness” is available as a limited edition print in my online shop.

The original is currently on display at Flying Lion Brewery.

Mixtape I (2020)

Every month, I sift through 80+ hours of music and pick out ten songs that I enjoy. It’s a daunting, time-consuming task that literally nobody asks me to do, but I’ve somehow convinced myself that it’s essential for my sanity and well-being.

It’s become a running joke (with myself and maybe one friend) that I’m constantly behind on these playlists. For example, it took me until the end of March to narrow down my favorite songs from January 2020. I could give you a thousand reasons why it took this long, but it’s very likely that you do not care! You listen to your own music, and you probably do not need my stale recommendations.

With that horrendous attitude in mind, I decided to create a cover for my January 2020 playlist, using a technique similar to my “Let’s Get Wild” piece. I played the following ten songs on repeat, as I weaved together a piece driven by the lyrical content, music videos, and production:

1. Sarah Mary Chadwick - "Let's Fight"

2. KIRBY - "Kool Aid"

3. Dua Lipa - "Physical"

4. Daniela Rathana - "UT!"

5. Rina Sawayama - "Comme des Garçons (Like the Boys)"

6. Tame Impala - "Lost In Yesterday"

7. Selena Gomez - "Dance Again"

8. Tennis - "Need Your Love"

9. Sotomayor - "Menéate pa' mí"

10. Destroyer - "Crimson Tide"

The resulting piece is approximately 5 x 5 inches. It was scanned upon completion and lightly edited to remove a few imperfections that drove me crazy. Since the content is so specific and personal, I have no intentions to show this anywhere but online spaces.

Is this piece available?

“Mixtape I” is available as a limited edition print in my online shop.

The original is no longer available.

WHERE CAN I LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST?

The playlist can be streamed on Spotify or YouTube.

Let's Get Wild (2020)

“Let’s Get Wild” is part of a series that I created for an upcoming show. Each piece began with a short phrase written on paper in a somewhat random formation. Then, I dug into the comically large pile of used Sakura Micron Pigma 005 pens on my desk, and I proceeded to surround the words with natural imagery.

I wasn’t overly concerned with precision. I actually like that the used pens bleed more onto the paper, giving this series a bold look that’s reminiscent of woodblock or linoleum prints. The drawings are intentionally playful, primitive, and childish, creating a scattered wonderland for the viewer to explore.

As I’ve continued this process, there has become a common “language” for certain things—trees, leaves, branches, water, wind, clouds, and various creatures of the wilderness. Despite this, each piece has been an individual journey, like hiking on the same trail and noticing something new each time.

Eventually, I needed to add some borders to keep all of this sprawling nature contained. I had a few loose mats sitting around the studio, so I tested out different sizes and decided on 5 x 7 inches for the final piece. After penciling in the borders, there was an internal debate about whether to fill the entire space. I opted to do so, and I am pleased with the final results.

From there, I erased the pencil lines, scanned the piece, and edited the digital version for prints. All around, this piece took several days to finish, but I will confess that I succumbed to many distractions along the way.

Once completed and framed, this piece was displayed in Confluence Gallery’s exhibition "Treespeak” from July 25 - August 29.

Is this piece available?

“Let’s Get Wild” is available as a limited edition print in my online shop.

The original is currently on display at Flying Lion Brewing in Seattle.

Exquisite Horror (2020)

Occasionally, when I’m running dry on material for my word art, I’ll take a step back and look up quotes about words themselves. There’s a lot of material out there! And much as I considered making a piece about Natasha Beddingfield’s “These Words”, I landed on an excerpt from Edgar Allan Poe’s novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket:

“Words have no power to impress the mind with the exquisite horror of their reality.”

Once I had the quote, I dug through a pile of mats in my studio. Noticeably, I’ve been shy about incorporating color into my word art. Black and white is my comfort zone, but I wanted something that could help this pop a bit more if it were hanging on a wall. The navy blue 5 x 7 inch mat caught my eye, and the size allowed me to recycle a misprinted 4 x 6 greeting card made of watercolor paper.

Usually, I’ll pencil in the boundaries of my piece. For this, I used painter’s tape to temporarily secure the paper in the mat, then carefully navigated around the edges as I completed the piece. The opening of the mat left 3 x 4.5 inches of space to cover. I was able to finish this piece within a single day, probably within a couple of hours.

Is this piece available?

“Exquisite Horror” is available in my online shop.

Under The Sea (2020)

Much as I love the meditative repetition of my word art, there are times when I get frustrated with the rigidity of the process. This month, I’ve been experimenting with a pictorial technique that I’ve jokingly referred to as Keith Haring-lite. The shift to this freer, more joyful style may indeed have something to do with visiting the Museum of Modern Art, where I very nearly broke down in tears in front of Haring’s “Untitled” piece.

My concern with this technique is that it feels too derivative. It’s somewhere between imitation and emulation, and my hope is that it will evolve into innovation as time passes. It’s also possible that I’ll lose interest and abandon this approach in a few months! There’s only one way to find out.

Long-winded introduction aside, “Under The Sea” is the first completed piece in this series. I started drawing a fish, and to paraphrase my 3 year-old niece, I decided that it needed some friends. Soon, it was surrounded by more fish, an octopus, a mermaid, a sea horse, a starfish, a crab, kelp, and a clumsily drawn dolphin that’s wearing a party hat. The friendship mission was a success.

This piece was done on the back of a recycled, misprinted 4 x 6 greeting card made of watercolor paper. I used an oval mat as a guide for the shape of the piece, making my best attempt to keep the edges rough and avoid the borders. I’m extremely pleased with the resulting piece.

Is this piece available?

“Under The Sea” is available as a limited edition print in my online shop.

The original is not for sale.

Jubilee (2019)

After I was invited to participate in the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center’s 2020 exhibition “Obsessed: The Art of Nerd-Dom”, I decided to take this as an opportunity to create blatant, unapologetic fan art. The theme had me daydreaming about the various nerdy things I’ve embraced throughout my lifetime. The X-Men immediately came to mind.

Many children living in the 1990s went through an X-Men phase, but I took things to the next level. My uncle would gift me Marvel trading cards every time that I saw him, and I would sit in my bedroom carefully studying the strength, intelligence, speed, and other abilities of every hero or villain.

I didn’t do anything useful with that information. In fact, I would completely ignore it while playing with the action figures, choosing instead to evade attacks by jumping very high and staying there.

As you might suspect, I was also a fan of the animated series that aired from 1992-1997. Beast was my favorite character by a landslide. Constantly, I would jump into pools imitating the way he jumped in one of the franchise’s many video games. I imagine that my friends found this very annoying.

Despite my love for Beast, I decided to base my piece for “Obsessed” on spunky teen shopping enthusiast Jubilee. I thought the bright colors of her costume would pop in a sea of black and white text, and perhaps more importantly, I needed a safe space to show my appreciation for this line she delivers in the animated series:

“Does a mall babe eat chili fries?”

To complete this piece, I mapped out a bold, stylized Jubilee design in my sketchpad. Once I got the colors and proportions right, I cut out my original drawing and traced it onto an 11 x 14 inch piece of watercolor paper. I penciled in the rest of the design, then filled it in with colored pencil—meticulously layering and blending until the surface of the paper was no longer visible. To prevent smudging, I sprayed the piece with a matte fixative and waited for it to dry.

Then, as usual, I rotated the sheet and filled it in with the phrase above. I tried to vary my lettering choices to provide some extra texture in the background. The entire piece took several days to complete, and despite being the first piece that I started for the show, it wound up being the last one that I finished.

It was then matted, framed, and shipped off to be displayed at the Port Angeles Main Library from January 11 to March 15, 2020.

Is this piece available?

“Jubilee” is available as a print in my Redbubble and Society6 shops.

The original is still available. Please contact me if you’re interested.