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.

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.

Candy (2019)

I spent a lot of time thinking about (and researching) the word “nerd” as I prepared for the Port Angeles Fine Art Center’s “Obsessed: The Art of Nerd-Dom” exhibition. When the Nerds mascot popped into my brain, it took me a few days to realize it would pair perfectly with the lyrics to Mandy Moore’s 1999 hit single “Candy”.

Beyond this song’s bubblegum pop sheen, there’s a dark tale of unhealthy obsession. “I’m so addicted to the loving that you’re feeding to me,” Moore sings on the first verse, before continuing later that her, “Body’s in withdrawal, every time you take it away.” It’s almost alarming until you realize it’s the type of melodramatic metaphor you’d expect from a teenager.

Ultimately, this is a piece about Nerds and obsession, rather than a piece about nerdy obsessions.

To complete this piece, I began by doing sketches of the Nerds mascot. Once I got the color and shape right, I cut out the drawing with an X-acto knife and traced the outline onto a 5x5 inch square of paper. I penciled in a quarter inch border of white space on the edges.

Next, I replicated the drawing, then filled in the tongue and body with different shades of pink colored pencil. Once blended, I opted to outline the drawing in black colored pencil, rather than ink pen. This emphasized the cartoony quality of the image and made it pop a bit more on the paper.

From there, I sprayed the drawing with a matte fixative to prevent smudging. Once dry, I rotated the paper and began repeating the lyrics to “Candy” until the full square was full. I decided to go with a more uniform, simple text style to avoid upstaging the drawing.

It was then framed, and shipped off to be displayed at the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center from January 11 to March 15, 2020.

Is this piece available?

“Candy” is available as a print on INPRNT, Society6, and Redbubble.

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

A Nerd (2019)

I wasn’t very far into my research for the Port Angeles Fine Art Center’s “Obsessed: The Art of Nerd-Dom” exhibition when I realized that I had to do a piece inspired by the origins of the word “nerd”.

The first known English-language usage of the word “nerd” was in the 1950 Dr. Seuss children’s book If I Ran The Zoo. It had nothing to do with the definition we know today. A “nerd” was merely a creature that lived in the zoo. It resembles the Grinch (and predates him by seven years).

I chose to pair the nerd creature with a quote attributed to lifestyle blogger Mandy Hale. There was an extremely Seussian quality to a phrase she uses in one of her posts:

“Better to be a nerd than one of the herd”.

To complete this piece, I began with several drawings of the nerd creature in my sketchpad. This character was surprisingly difficult to draw, despite appearing quite simple. My final drawing was a bit clumsier than I would have liked, but I reasoned to myself that it didn’t have to look exactly like the original. It just had to look like a nerd.

Once completed, I cut out the drawing with an X-acto knife, traced it onto a piece of watercolor paper, and lightly penciled in an outline. I added the yellow portions in colored pencil, then followed it with the red parts. The black portions were drawn with a Micron Sakura ink pen. To make the white parts pop, I highlighted them carefully with a conté crayon.

The completed drawing was sprayed with a matte fixative to prevent smudging. Once dry, I rotated the paper and repeated the above quote, using a relatively uniform style of text to avoid clutter on the page. I continued until the page was full. In total, this piece took about two to three days to complete (while simultaneously working on other pieces for the show).

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

Is this piece available?

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

That Stage U Speak Of (2019)

November was an extremely busy month. I participated in the Lavender Rights Project’s 2nd annual LGBTQ art auction. I had work featured in Confluence Gallery’s “Wit & Whimsy” exhibition, as well as Art Intersection’s “Little by Little” show in Gilbert, AZ. On top of that, I was preparing for two additional shows, setting up my shop to sell greeting cards, and doing a dozen of other things that probably aren’t worth mentioning here.

Things were looking up! Until I found out that my favorite venue in town would be closing.

That may not sound like a big deal, but to put things into perspective, I spend most of my time indoors and desperately need a social outlet to stay sane. This is a small, often conservative town. RadarStation was the one place I felt safe enough to be myself, and after attending their open mic night for several weeks, I gained the courage to try stand-up comedy. I was immediately hooked and came back as often as humanly possible.

You’re probably wondering what any of this has to do with the piece above, which includes a 2011 tweet by Rihanna that reads:

“Good luck with booking that stage u speak of”

Well, the answer to that question is kind of convoluted! I had just done a particularly bizarre set at RadarStation that involved Costco and Rihanna in a top hat. (Please do not ask me for additional details unless you give me a few drinks beforehand.) Ultimately, this piece served three different purposes:

1. It was a continuation of an unofficial series about tweets by pop stars and celebrities.

2. It was an embodiment of my unhealthy Rihanna obsession.

3. It was reflective of the anxiety I felt that I’d never perform comedy again.

This story has a somewhat happy ending. I performed the Rihanna set to a packed room at the final open mic night, and it went better than I would have ever anticipated. The rush I felt walking off stage made it a bittersweet goodbye. If that was the peak of my comedy career, I might be okay with that.

While RadarStation as a physical space is gone, it still lives on in many other ways! Follow on Facebook or Instagram for phenomenal art, local events, and other things that I am mentioning because I am guilty that I made this entire post about me.

Is this piece available?

“That Stage U Speak Of” is available in my online shop.

Prints can be found on INPRNT, Society6, and Redbubble.

Secret Scrooge (2019)

I’m trying to establish a tradition of designing a new Christmas card every year. This year, I wasn’t really feeling the Christmas spirit, so I wanted to honor all of the Scrooges and Grinches out there.

The final product features “Merry Christmas” in negative space, surrounded by smaller handwritten text that reads “Bah Humbug”.

To complete this piece, I used a ruler to lightly pencil in borders along the edges of a 5 x 7 inch sheet of watercolor paper. Then, I lightly penciled in the “Merry Christmas” outline. It’s intentionally imperfect and a bit clumsy. I wanted it to look written by a human, not a reproduction of a common font.

Once the outline was in place, I rotated the paper and repeated the phrase “Bah Humbug” in a consistent size and style, occasionally alternating between uppercase and lowercase lettering. I continued until I filled all the space, then carefully erased all of the pencil lines. The original design took approximately one day to complete.

The completed piece was scanned, edited, and printed on 5 x 7 inch watercolor paper greeting cards.

Is this piece available?

“Secret Scrooge” is available as a greeting card in my online shop. Discounts are available for bulk orders.

The Center of Attention (2019)

“The Center of Attention” happened after I randomly heard Britney Spears’ 2007 single “Gimme More”. My ears perked up when I heard the lyric, “The center of attention, even when we’re up against the wall”. Soon, I found myself giggling at the idea of drawing a dot surrounded by the word “attention”. Appropriately, that piece of art would eventually hang… against a wall.

The process for this piece was similar to “A Small Noise In The Midst of Silence”. I measured with a ruler to find the center of a 4 x 6 sheet of paper, then stenciled in the black circle in the center. I lightly penciled in a small white border around the circle, as well as the edges of the piece. Then, I rotated the paper and repeated the word “attention” in various lettering.

The pencil lines were erased, then the piece was scanned and edited for prints.

Is this piece available?

“The Center of Attention” is available in my online shop.

Prints can be found on INPRNT.

Wine Helps Me Drink (2019)

This is my second piece of Bob’s Burgers fan art, and it’s far more subtle than the first. Two tilted wine glasses appear in negative space, along with shapes to indicate that they’re clinking. The text forming the shapes includes a quote from Linda Belcher:

“Wine helps me drink!”

To complete this piece, I cut down a large sheet of watercolor paper to 12 x 12 inches. I measured out an outside border of a half inch on each edge, then used a projector to get the positioning of the wine glasses just right.

Once the outline was in place, I began by filling in the “wine” section with a purple Sakura Micron Pigma 005 pen. I moved onto the black section afterward, slowly rotating the paper and filling the designated area to completion. This took approximately three weeks, though I took breaks between sessions to work on smaller pieces.

After breathing a deep sigh of relief, I erased the pencil lines and scanned the piece in four separate sections. These were then stitched together to form the final digital version. As of now, this piece remains unframed, but I do hope to show it somewhere in the near future.

Is this piece available?

“Wine Helps Me Drink!” is available as a limited edition print in my online shop.

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

You Are A Gem (2019)

Not too long ago, I popped into local businesses with some samples of my greeting cards, hoping that I could get them into retail spaces. One of the spaces specialized in rocks, crystals, and gemstones. I teased them with the prospect of a greeting card that says “you rock” in negative space—surrounded by the names of different rocks and gemstones. Unfortunately, due to shifting priorities, that card never winded up happening.

I wound up adapting the concept when I discovered that I could sell officially licensed Steven Universe products via Redbubble. The idea popped into my head immediately after a friend said to me, “You are a gem.” I’ll put that in negative space, surrounded by the names of the four main characters from the show.

Okay, so I’ll be honest! I spent hours agonizing whether I should include other Crystal Gems like Rose Quartz, Peridot, Lapis Lazuli, or Stevonnie. A consultation with a much nerdier friend led me to the conclusion that I should stick with the four original Crystal Gems, because it got far too complicated beyond that.

To complete this piece, I projected the “YOU ARE A GEM” text onto a piece of 5 x 7 vellum paper. I carefully measured and adjusted the paper to ensure that the text was placed in the right position. Then, I lightly traced the text onto the paper with a pencil.

From there, I rotated the paper and repeated the names Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Steven in various different lettering. I made the mistake of using some very clunky block lettering in the original version, which distracted from the central text in negative space. Rather than redo the entire piece, I covered these areas with small strips of paper and wrote over them in a new form of lettering.

This added an extra challenge to the editing process. I used Photoshop to blend the “patched” areas into the original piece, and I wound up being very pleased with the final result.

The final edit was uploaded to Redbubble, and despite following all of their guidelines, I was upset to discover a few months later that it had been removed from their platform.

Is this piece available?

“You Are A Gem” is available in my Society6 shop as a greeting card, print, or framed mini-print.

Becky, Can I Ask You Something? (2019)

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the film 13 Going On 30, I decided to make a piece featuring the iconic multicolored dress Jennifer Garner wears in the “Thriller” dance scene. The central image is surrounded by a quote from her character Jenna Rink, in which she asks her tweenage neighbor Becky:

“Can you tell I’m wearing underwear? ‘Cause I totally am.”

Multiple reference images were originally printed out for this piece. I tried to do a full-body sketch of the character dancing, but it appeared to be too busy in my mockups. The dress is so bright, colorful, and recognizable (if you know the movie) that it could clearly stand alone as the main focal point.

After dozens of sketches, I settled on one I liked and recreated it on vellum paper. The drawing was carefully cut out with an X-Acto knife, then pasted into the center of a sheet of 9 x 12 watercolor paper. Once dry, I measured out a one inch border from each of the edges and lightly penciled in a thin white border around the drawing.

With the borders in place, I rotated the paper and filled the space with a Sakura Micron Pigma 005 pen. I chose a relatively uniform style of lettering, so the background appeared consistently gray from afar. The pencil lines were erased, then the piece was scanned and edited for digital purposes.

Is this piece available?

“Becky, Can I Ask You Something?” is available for $125 through Gestalt Projects. The piece is part of their phenomenal online exhibition “What to Wear”.