Aveline

Lady Aveline

as tumultuous as the seas to which she is bound

30" x 40" oil on wood panel
(click image to see it larger)

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It felt so different to paint a background this time. It definitely changes the piece. As did adding the stars. Somehow they brought her to life, she was no longer just a figure on a dark background, she became Aveline. I actually started to dream about her and we swam through icy waters together. Her hair doesn't often dry, but I caught it on a rare occurrence and tried to recapture it to the best of my memory.

Her octopi and jellyfish would hardly sit still as they caressed her neck and danced on her arms. Even the sails on the boat seemed to gently ripple in a phantom wind. She once referred to ships "stains on the sea". (I shudder to think of the fate that fall on the ships she meets)

One compass spun wildly, but she never looked down. I could sense her chestnut eye longing to look, as it often betrays her. Ophelia's skull is the only part of her that remained motionless. Somehow frozen over her heart.

"el mar conoce nuestro amor"

the sea knows our love

Tattoos made of squid ink and urchin needles (she couldn't escape the sea if she tried)

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And now for a few progress pictures:

At one point I was using tweezers to pick off cat hair. It was pretty ridiculous. I think I'm done using oil mediums, everything sticks to it. Everything.

drawing her tattoos

ahahaha this was in the early stages of Aveline. The night I drank too much wine and got silly. by myself. on a friday night. (i'm really cool) and texted way too many work in progress pictures to my best friend (sorry morgan)

I didn't use a primer this time as I usually just use it on the exposed portions. There wasn't any exposed wood on this piece, so I opted for no primer. For some reason this particular piece (cherry wood) was being really difficult. The oil wasn't soaking in properly, like the wood was way too smooth and just wouldn't grip the paint. I had to repaint her face like FIFTY TIMES. It was all very irritating. But it was all worth it in the end.

Next up, the sea witch La Femme Naufrage // Lady Shipwreck, mother of Aveline and Ophelia.

But first, got to finish three illustrations for Volcom, two for a canadian magazine, get ready for a show on the 15th and my solo in february! Goodness gracious I need a clone / assistant.

Hope your holidays were lovely!! Etsy shop will be reopened next year.

xx

C

antlers + updates

Thank you to everyone who came out to support us local artists last night at Sketch Tuesdays!

Here's one of the little darlings I drew. The usual, flowers, leaves, antlers & lace.

(Thanks to whoever snapped this pic!)

 I also got to sit next to Matt Furie. (Hence the little pink sticky note below) Rad.

I started this one towards the end of the evening but didnt get a chance to finish her until this morning. Think I'll actually keep one of these for myself.

 

On a similar note, in January Taylor Wessling and I will be doing a show together at Pretty Pretty Collective. He's been drawing these awesome victorian ghostly figures and I'll be doing more silhouettes; good pairing! I have a bunch of brand new silhouettes that I'm excited to share with you when the time comes :)

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And finally, this new video by memoryhouse is super magical. I love them entirely too much.

Nylon Magazine + Album Art

Okay, blog, I'm back. I don't mean to neglect you, I've just become really comfortable with the virality of facebook. The instant feedback is exhilarating and engaging. Blogging is a slower pace, but also more methodical and thorough. Can any of you bloggers relate? I in no means want to stop blogging, I like having ideas and images all laid out in one post, but perhaps I've become lazy with the ritual of it. My blog has pretty much become a summary of my weekly facebook postings, but this way I can go in to more detail. Well, here are some of the latest:

My illustration for Nylon Magazine. I've been a fan of Nylon for years, so this was an exciting project for me:

(page 147 in the Dec/Jan issue)

The assignment was to do an illustraiton of Duffy, the welsh singer-songwriter. She put together the mixtape for this issue. It's definitely a very trendy illustration, (I tried hard not to give her extra eyes and tattoos) but a big part of illustrating is catering to the right audience.

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One of my best friends Morgan is releasing her debut album in mid-February, under the pseudonym Whiteflowers. I'm honored and excited to be doing all of her artwork. Here is a mock/sketch of the album cover. 

 

We have a really dynamic relationship, always inspiring one another. We're kind of obsessive about sharing work in progresses, I'll text her over a little iPhone pic for feedback and she'll send me a sound clip of a track she's working on. We're even working on an exciting collaboration, which I'll tell you more about later. Here is the link to her soundcloud where you can listen to some of her tracks.

Also, December 14th is another exciting night of Sketch Tuesdays over at 111 Minna. They don't usually have a December edition, but this year it's gonna big, two artist's tables and a killer group show on the walls. You can see one of my pieces on display. I'll be live drawing more silhouettes for your gifting/buyingforyourself pleasure, for cheap! Some bay area superstars will be there, and I get to draw next to them :)

Enough for now. Back to Aveline. She's so close, I can feeeeel it. I want to finish her so can start on my next piece. Yeah, I know, I don't stop. (wont stop)

Progress pics + tees

Here are a couple more progress pictures of Aveline. (For my upcoming nautical themed solo show)

Just workin' away, she's so close!

skull progress.

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And on another note, thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway! Our winner was a boy this time! :p
Also, T-shirts & iphone cases, skins, etc, are now available through my society6 shop. I'm tempted to order one myself!

And my new pirate silhouette is now in my shop, available for pre-order / made-to-order. These might not be up much longer as I spend a lot of time on each one and I have some big paintings to finish. So, get em while you still can ;)

xxxooxoxoxo

C