Lisa Yuskavage, be my life coach. Please.

Brood.

Sometimes I hate living in NYC.

This week I was reminded why it's not so bad in fact it can be totally awesome.

First of all a few things. I got a bike. I got myself a hipster kickball team (LOVES it). I found myself included in a group that is going to start watching documentaries. And if you know me I do enjoy myself some god docs.

And to top off the week I saw Lisa Yuskavage give a lecture.

I must be honest I have a regret.

I am too shy to ask questions at a lecture and I just now thought of a good one.

I was sifting through some her images for this post and I would have liked to have asked about the subject of eroticism in her work. Even the fruit seems to be painted in a lustful way.

Moving on.

Here are a few of my favorites via David Zwirner.

I love her use of color and that she can really paint, like she paints the shit out of these paintings.

I'm jealous of her technical skill and her using that to create provocative smart images.

See more of her work here.

The Smoker.

Angel.

Manifest Destiny.

Interview with Jenny of Jenny Gray Art:

My favorite past time is browsing Etsy(almost constantly), I found this artist that way and was drawn to her use of color and shape.  Hope you enjoy as well!

Bike Boy in the Rain. Original Oil Painting.

The painter and graphic designer Jenny  of Jenny Gray Art.

Where do you like to work? What time of day is most productive for you to work and why do you think that is?

Because I work half the time in my graphic design business and the other half on my art I really separate my time and workspaces.  I have a wonderful painting studio that is messy and has paint on everything and then I have my office for business and design.  The separate spaces really help me focus on the particular work I am doing at the time.  I usually work on clint work in the morning so I don't feel like I have anything hanging over my head and then I am free to get lost in my artwork for the rest of the day.

Work Space.

What materials do you use and most like to work with and where do you get them?

Most of the time I work with oil on canvas and oil printing inks for my prints.  I try to buy locally, my walnut based paints are made in Oregon by M. Graham, these are amazing highly pigmented paints.  I pick some things up here and there at a locally owned art supply store but since I am not in a large city I do end up buying the big items from Daniel-Smith.com.

Tangerine Swing. Original Monotype

Cream and Warm Black. Original Monotype

Where does your source material come from?

I don't use a lot of source material.  I take lots of photos thinking I am going to use them but rarely end up using them.  i think everything I see sticks in my brain somewhere and comes out as I work.

You can see more on Jenny's inspiration here.

What kind of images inspire you?  Do you keep a sketchbook?

I don't keep a sketchbook anymore, I found I did not really refer to it anyway.   

Retro Stationary Set by Jenny.

$8.00 for a Set of 10 Letterheads and 10 Envelopes

What techniques and processes are your favorites?

I love oil painting for it's freedom and challenge, I see my monotypes as an extention of painting but with some of the qualities of graphic design that I love.  I always have about 5-6 oil paintings and about 2-3 graphic projects going at the same time.  I work on what I feel excited about and come back to things if I start to get stuck.  See my graphic work here.

What is special and inspiring about living where you do?

I am always amazed by the color in Oregon, no matter what the season I can spend hours walking and looking at the landscape.  I enjoy living out in the country, the quiet natural surroundings are the best part about where I live.

What is a normal day like for you? How many hours/week do you get to actually focus and produce new works?

I can never find enough time to focus on new works, too many ideas and not enough time.  Let's just say in total I probably work a total of 60-65 hours and week and in a good week 18 hours of that is spent directly on creating art.

Who are you're favorite designers? On Etsy and off.

There is tons of talent on Etsy, but my favorite designers and artists are pretty old school; Paul Rand would probably be my favorite designer and Richard Diebenkorn would be the artist who is the most inspiring to me.

Do you go to Museums? What is your favorite art related place to go?

Vacations always make me feel rejuvenated and excited about getting into the studio.  When I am on vacation the day to day stuff is not muddling my brain and I start to think of new ideas, projects, etc.  

Whenever I get to see abstract expressionist work around mid century I always get inspired, especially the stuff that was happening in California at the time.

Pls see Jenny's large scale oil paintings here.

A Few Moments with Caitlin Shearer of pepperminte

Secrets.

      I am going to start interviewing some artists about their work and process to share with you.  I love to talk to people about their space and materials, every artists workspace and process is so different I think it will be interesting to peak.  My first peak is with Caitlin Shearer of pepperminte:

Caitlin's Workspace.

What does your workspace look like?

My desk is such a mess, covered in black ink and half of it is taken up with papers and prints and pens and stuff.  Plastic ponies and quills and notebooks.

What materials and brands do you use?

Montmartre watercolors and gouache, artists spectrum ink, rotring clicky lead pencils, and ink pens.  Daler Rowney, Canson, or Arches watercolor paper and dollar store glitter.

A pages from Caitlin's Sketchbook

Who are your favorite artists?

J.W. Waterhouse, Charles Anastase, Sofia Coppola, Julia Deville, Gustav Klimt, Crispin Glover.

What kind of images inspire you, do you keep a sketchbook?

I'm constantly inspired by my friends on livejournal and flickr, people like Jessica Nicholls, Joyce Kipling, Matthieu Maharaja, Arielle Gavin, Jessica Sea, Katie Armstrong, Aviva Rowley ... there are heaps!

I do keep a sketchbook, but I am not very constant with it.  Some weeks I will cover pages, and then sometimes I won't touch it for a month.  I draw when watching tv sometimes and then it's just a mishmash of words that float past.  Then it doubles as a diary too and I gush about all the silliest stuff... you know... boys and dresses and cakes.

How much self portraiture is in your work?

LOTS. Although a lot of it is subconscious.  I use my art as a diary, or an outlet for whatever is going on in my head that week, it flows out because of the subject matter.  Some days I will look up from a painting and it will shock me that my face is looking back at me from the paper when it wasn't really what I intended.  The self portraits take on a sentimental role afterwards though, and they are kind of secret messages for people in my life.

Caitlin says this was drawn after she watched the Disney film The Princess and the Cobbler.  She says she doesn't remember the movie now but that it must have really moved her when she was 6, and that this drawing would have been epic to do at that age.

Some of Caitlin's works in progress.

What age did you start taking drawing seriously and what do you think it is about drawing and art that interested you?

I always drew as a kid, but in the middle of high school, when I was about 16 I thought that if i tried hard enough then maybe I could make this into a career.  I've been working hard and this year everything has started to come together nicely.  I'm not very good at speaking bravely, so I suppose to use art to communicate is what I love most.  To substantiate and make real what is in your head is also great.

What is special and inspiring about living where you do?

I live by the ocean, backing onto a bush reserve.  There are bush turkeys and birds everywhere.  There are peacocks in this suburb, also some cows were freed from a nearby property and ended up in our front yard a month or two ago.  It really makes you appreciate nature and there's nothing better than looking out your bedroom window to see the ocean.  My mum keeps a pretty amazing garden too!

What is a normal day like for you?

A normal day for me is trying to draw, visiting the computer, maybe watching a film.  I go to uni 3 days a week, and the other two are spent making art and attending to emails and etsy.  On the weekend I love going to car boot sales, having sleepovers with friends, movie marathons, parties, and adventuring.