Nicole Mueller

new website!

2011-12-15T22:24:00.001-05:00

My website has finally been updated with all new recent work! Check it outtttttt:

http://www.nicolemariemueller.com

Special thanks to Adam Okrasinski for hosting it and for such a clean design, and Dave Colson for teaching me how to upload images and edit it on my own! I am forever grateful.

In other news, finals finished up today and so did my last day of classes, which officially makes me a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art! =) yeaa real world!

2011-12-13T23:08:00.001-05:00

Some recent little paintings! All 6 x 6", plus 5 x7" at the bottom:

A newer version of an earlier painting:

And another recently started painting!

safety first in the studio!

animation abstraction

2011-12-13T23:00:00.000-05:00

I recently started another stop motion project, this time trying to make a more abstract moving painting. This one is super in progress still, so this is just the first chunk of frames put together, but I thought I'd show the "underpainting" stage so far:

The movement right now is so staccato, so I'll be working back into the frames and adding more to affect the pacing and movement of things. There's so much to learn about painting AND animation in all of this! All of these video projects feel like mini experiments, just trying to figure things out yet. My plan for the spring is to develop some of these further, and/or start some larger projects. So much to do in so little time before the show though!

synthspiration success & sketchbooks!

2011-11-16T01:08:00.001-05:00

So Synthspiration last weekend was a super success! ;) The music and light set-up was superb, and I was sincerely stoked to screen print some T's! ok enough alliteration...you can check out more photos from the event on the Synthspiration website though!

And here's Jacqueline and I modeling our sweet synth shirts! haha..You can still buy them for only $10 via the synthspiration site, as well as an awesome woolly mammoth design by Jacqueline, to support future synthspiration and art events with The Light! Get 'em while you can! ;)

Also, I just set up a flickr photostream for archiving past and present sketchbook pages! My website will be updated shortly and will no longer include a "sketchbook" section, so if you ever want to just look at sketchbook pages,

check it out here!

marker madness in the studio!

synthspiration!

2011-11-09T12:14:00.002-05:00

Check out this t-shirt I made for the next Synthspiration party happening this Friday! Come by our apartment from 8pm onward for free food, art, live music, and dancing! =)

We'll be screen printing these and selling them for $10 on Friday, so bring cash monies or your own T-shirt if you want one (or let me know and we'll make one for you)! We'll have other cool images to print and multi colored t-shirts too! (you can see a few examples of older ones on the synthspiration website)

Originally inspired by my friend Joe, a group of friends and fellow artists from The Light church have been hosting "synthspiration" parties over the last year in various locations around Maryland. They're basically an excuse to get together and throw a party to show recent art we've been working on, eat, drink, and of course dance. =)

Lately, we've been getting together once every few weeks to share ideas, get feedback on our work, and come up with collaborations, so it seemed like a perfect time to have another Synthspiration party.

I'm really lucky to be a part of so many great artistic communities, this one in particular as a way to talk about what it means to have faith in God, be an artist, and what the relationship between those two things is.

Also, my friend Joe just showed me this cool song by Metronomy check it out!

some newer paintings

2011-10-31T14:07:00.002-04:00

I'm starting to work on a new animated painting after taking a break on the videos for the last couple of weeks. I felt like I needed some time to process all the feedback I'd gotten the week of review boards, and will probably come back to "landscape of lima" later in the semester, but hopefully I'll have an in-progress version of this new project to share in a couple of weeks!

During my animation hiatus I was focusing on making more still paintings, so here are a few newer ones, both in-progress and completed!

6 x 6 in. acrylic, oil pastel, collage, marker

This one ended up a little overdone I think, but that happens sometimes.

12 x 12 in. acrylic, house paint, oil pastel, collage, marker

Ken T. says this one feels claustrophobic, so I guess it still needs some work. =P Since I started working mostly with collage last spring, the size of my work shrunk to no more than 12 x 12 in. max, but I think it might be time finally to start upping the scale drastically.

24 x 30 in. acrylic, house paint, oil pastel

And here's my present artist statement about painting, or an attempt to articulate what painting abstractly is about for me:

My paintings are an attempt to develop a visual language.

There's a description I really like of the artist Albert Oehlen's paintings that says his work "remains a collage, in the truest sense. The sources Oehlen selects and samples are all taken from the numerous histories, languages, techniques, applications, methodologies, and mythologies of painting. The figures, devices, even the gestures, are like cut-outs or quotes. The canvas becomes a genuine montage of painted and painterly passages."

While I often work with collaged materials, or a combination of paint, found papers, markers, crayons, and other low-grade materials, I hope that my paintings, regardless of media, are collages "in the truest sense." They derive their meaning from a variety of sources, and are visual diaries of my own personal history—of everything I have seen, experienced, or felt. While they are abstract, elements of figuration remain, pulling from forms and color schemes, people and places around me. I hope that they convey a love of color, a sense of humor in their unexpected squiggles and gestures, or in a line that takes an unexpected turn, and are viewed as part of a search to clarify the assortment of residual experiences I carry with me.

oh and Happy Halloween!! =)

Jack's Mannequin poster design contest!

2011-10-25T15:32:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone! Jack's Mannequin (only my favorite band since high school) is hosting a poster design contest called Stop, Listen, Design for Jack's Mannequin through talenthouse.com to celebrate the release of their new album "People and Things." The opportunity I've only dreamed about since 9th grade is finally here! Here's the painting I made to submit:

The winner's design as determined by talenthouse will be used for promotional materials for the band, and four copies will be signed and auctioned off to benefit the "Dear Jack Foundation." The winner also gets VIP passes to a Jack's Mannequin concert, some cash monies, and a signed copy of the poster they designed.

There's also a "People's Choice" award that's determined by YOU giving me the most votes! ;)

HELP FULFILL MY LIFE DREAM BY VOTING HERE NOW!

To vote, just go here ^ and click "VOTE!"on the righthand side of the poster image.

Voting takes place from October 26th – November 1st, GO GO GO!

Please/Thanks/I Love You!!

Also, so you can share in my love and appreciation for JM, enjoy the trailer for "People and Things" and the song "Swim" from their last album "The Glass Passenger"!

sketchbook & studio shots

2011-10-25T13:09:00.001-04:00

Here's some newer pages from my current sketchbook which is almost full!

A couple photos of my studio in its usual working condition...plus new work, coming soon!

studio shots

2011-10-06T21:21:00.004-04:00

I took a few photos on my phone last Monday of the work installed in the studio during review boards, so here they are!

I projected the videos on one of the walls, here's "What The Dog Saw" looping. Watch it in better quality on vimeo!

All the still frames from "Landscape of Lima" hung...135 so far!

a selection of collages from "What The Dog Saw"

My usual half of the studio..also cleaner than usual..

Will be working on some new paintings soon, look out!! ;)

more things i like

2011-10-06T15:42:00.006-04:00

My studio-mate just showed me recently this music video for the band Grizzly Bear by Alison Schulnik. I knew her paintings before, but had never seen her claymations.

kind of funny and weird, but I like that it includes the same characters as in her paintings.

I would also like my paintings and animations to speak the same language. =)

Also, maybe my favorite art21 video, on one of my idols William Kentridge: Anything Is Possible (2010) - definitely worth the time to watch!

(image from google images)

new project in progress

2011-10-06T15:23:00.000-04:00

I started a new animated painting project at the beginning of the semester, based off of a video of a moving landscape I shot while in Peru. This one I intended to be approx. a minute longer than the first.

I've gotten some really helpful feedback this week and during my review boards (which are over and went great woo!) and it helped me to see some of the differences between the two videos more clearly. The dog one I think is actually closer to what I want to achieve with animating painting and the direction I want to move in, and is more compelling as a video.
The Peru one is still very in-progress, but I think moving forward I need to start taking more liberties with abstracting the paintings from the original scene/video. I don't want the technique to become just a painterly filter over a real-life scene, so I think I will end up working back into a lot of the images I already have.

This will probably change a lot so don't get too attached, but here's what I have to show of the video so far! ;)

"Landscape of Lima"

And here are some still frames from it:

"what the dog saw" finished

2011-09-24T19:16:00.002-04:00

For review boards, the big semester critique we have on our thesis work, one of the things I wanted to do was finish up the first experimental animation I started last spring. I just added a few more frames to make the transition a little smoother, so it could be played on a loop. I can't seem to figure out how to get it to move from the last frame back to the first without pausing on vimeo, but normally it would play continuously!

So here's a completed version of "What The Dog Saw" and a description to go along with it:

"What The Dog Saw"

I wanted to take something simple, like a dog walking, and collage back into it, abstracting each of the original drawings. This was my first experiment with the kind of collage animation I had in mind. The title "What The Dog Saw" comes from a Malcolm Gladwell book. The book is a collection of articles Gladwell's written over the years, as attempted glimpses into the workings and thought processes of other people's minds. In the preface of his book, Gladwell says that "Curiosity about the interior life of other people's day-to-day work is one of the most fundamental of human impulses, and that same impulse is what led to the writing you now hold in your hands...The [challenge] to finding ideas is to convince yourself that everyone and everything has a story to tell...Our instinct as humans, after all, is to assume that most things are not interesting." Gladwell concludes his introduction by saying that "good writing...succeeds or fails on the strength of its ability to engage you, to make you think, to give you a glimpse into someone else's head."
I also hold Gladwell's belief that everything has a story to tell, and that something as casual as a dog walking can be made interesting when colored by a personal lens. The title refers to that idea, but could also be interpreted as the experience of walking seen from the dog's point of view – an erratic blend of colors and shifting shapes.

Thanks for looking!

inspiration

2011-09-23T00:27:00.001-04:00

Just some things that have been inspiring my recent work lately...

Some images from my recent trip to Peru over the summer:

Jeff Scher: I've always loved his videos and their collage aspect, and especially that he considers himself a "painter working in motion." Really gave me the push I needed to start experimenting with my own animation while still feeling like I could retain my "painterly self." You can watch most of his short films on his website!

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (The Beatles): Classic song. Classic video. Love the crazy colorful animation.

Robert Seidel: I stumbled on this artist because of some cover art he did for the band Passion Pit that I always really liked and finally decided to look up. Discovered his amazing video work and want to be him. The way things bulge & swirl & swim together..SO GOOD. Check out his vimeo!

Joan Mitchell: I just love, love, love her paintings. After spending a long time with one in the American Art Museum in DC, will always look up to her as a master of color, mark, and painterly language.

(images from google images)

2011-09-19T00:26:00.002-04:00

Some small abstract panel paintings hanging in my studio:

6 x 6 in. acrylic, house paint, oil pastel, & marker

6 x 6 in. acrylic, oil pastel, sharpie, marker

12 x 12 in. acrylic, house paint, sharpie, marker

These last two will be given away next weekend at the (e)merge art fair in Washington, DC as part of Free Art Booth, a collaborative project started by two artists who go by the name of Peacock.

8 x 8 in. acrylic, oil pastel, sharpie, marker

6 x 6 in. acrylic, oil pastel, marker

preview!

2011-09-18T15:34:00.000-04:00

preview of something I'm working on in the studio!

sketchbook sketchbook

2011-09-16T23:19:00.000-04:00

Fall semester's in full force, and since it's (unbelievably) my last semester at MICA, I really want to make it count and have been busy already working in the studio as much of my life as possible. I've also been trying to work more frequently in my sketchbook, just like I said! Here's just a couple pages:

my brother getting his tan on at our neighborhood pool over the summer

i've been interested in drawing knots lately, since most of my work is about things converging, overlapping, and connecting

a sketch from a particularly slow day at work that I added colors to later...i loved working on that plaid shirt!

and some more sketches done at work!

More things coming soon.

happy birthday pugger

2011-09-16T23:17:00.001-04:00

So this has nothing to do with thesis, but one of my great friends Virginia just had a birthday and, it just so happens, has an exceptional love for pugs. Whenever I see a pug I am reminded of her future plans of owning a black pug puppy named Pugger. So I made this silly video of a slobbery pug. Who doesn't love an animated pug video, am I right?! Happy Birthday Virginia. =)

I didn't do such a good job of lining up the frames when putting it together, so sorry it's so jittery!

Relevant things coming soon.

summer sketchin'

2011-08-03T02:43:00.001-04:00

Another year of MICA Pre-college has officially ended and so has my third (and last!) year as a TARC (which stands for terrific, awesome real counselor, in case you were wondering). A little bittersweet, but on the bright side I was able to TA for the infamous Michael Weiss (my painting teacher during pre-college, and Elements teacher freshman year), our students were awesome, and overall we really went out with a bang I think. ;)

Me and Christian, my TARC partner, with Michael Weiss in DC. Go America!

our Weissers & Weissettes spelling WEISS!!! in front of the Harbor skyline...I'm pretty sure they'll want to use this in the next pre-college catalogue or something.

I haven't really worked in a sketchbook in awhile, but since there's hardly any time during pre-college to actually make work yourself, it's a really great creative outlet, and I'm going to try and do more things in my sketchbook from now on. So here's some drawings/collages I've accumulated over the last couple weeks!

some drawings from a field trip to the inner harbor we took with M. Weiss's class that I later collaged back into

my TARC partner Christian in profile

i call this one "Christian in motion" ...done sitting outside of Urban Outfitters in the Harbor

20 min. sketch done from an excellent still-life set-up in M. Weiss's class

drawing from the MET on our weekend trip to NYC...i really liked the gesture of this sculpture

some drawings from the last day of our Artist Books workshop

during critique in Artist Books workshop

a girl sewing some things

feet!

are they shoes or are they dinosaurs?

a couple friends came to visit the weekend after pre-college ended, and then we drove back from Baltimore to Georgia together...11 hour road trip YEA!

i really was sorry about that

my friend Bob driving

my friend Virginia reading her kindle in the passenger seat...only 147 miles to go!

and, I almost forgot the collaborative masterpiece of our entire roadtrip...this piece is titled "From the Imagination of Bob Kay through the Artistic Minds of Virginia Hogan & Nicole Mueller"

I think that's enough sketchbook pages for now, but I'll hopefully have more when I get back to Baltimore in a few weeks...I also have a bunch of ideas for new paintings and a couple videos, so be excited for next fall and thesis!!

Thanks for looking!

Also, enjoy this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDTZ7iX4vTQ&ob=av2e

what the dog saw

2011-05-10T14:07:00.002-04:00

For the last couple of weeks in the studio I've been working on this experiment, putting my collages to motion in an animation.
I had no idea how this was going to turn out, but I'm excited about the direction it's going! And it was really fun to make.
I just took something simple, like a dog walking (this is my 2nd cousin's dog, boomer) and then tried to play with abstracting each of the frames.
I'm interested in creating something that is time-based or has an implied sense of narrative (like an animation), but that is more abstract, or plays with the boundary between abstract and representational.

Here's a few shots of the frames hanging up in my studio. There's about 70 collages total.

And here are some of the still frames:

It's too bad that the colors lose a lot of their vibrancy when the video gets compressed.

Anyways, I'm really looking forward to having the summer to keep animating and playing around!

infinite mind map

2011-05-10T11:33:00.004-04:00

here's part of my final for my Ecopoetics class, which is probably my favorite non-studio class I've taken at MICA. The class revolved around the idea of ecology in the sense that it means the relationship of things to one another...how everything (living and non-living) is part of a system, parts and wholes are interdependent and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, how language relates to thought, and how these relate to ecosystems, etc.

So it was mostly about linkages and connections, as opposed to my initial assumption that I'd be taking a class about nature poetry (not that i have anything against nature poetry...but I am glad the class was not that)

So for this project I wanted to engage in an internal/external dialogue with myself and others, and draw connections between various text & images, while also setting up a dialogue between these other writers, creating "unexpected conversations." By combining collected quotes (from other artists, authors, and thinkers) with images/collages of my own, as well as my own writing and thoughts, I attempted to follow the path of thought from one idea to another. With a kind of "mind map," I attempted to draw parallels between these various things. In authoring the arrangement of the quotes and images I hoped to create a new conversation, with resonance beyond what the quotes hold on their own.

They were all displayed in a wall installation, spiraling out from a center point in a potentially "infinite mind map," with thread connecting things I feel are related.

In some ways it is merely a personal reflection - a combination of accumulated words and images that have stuck out to me, impressed, or resonated with me, but I hoped it would also represent the subjectivity of connection.

2011-05-06T00:53:00.002-04:00

this is a slightly bigger collage on stretched paper that I'll add a mark to every once in awhile so is still in progress, maybe.

more soon!

words on wheels

2011-04-29T14:11:00.001-04:00

I realized I haven't really posted anything from my Hand Letters class in awhile (unless you noticed my new blog header?! ^) so here is an older assignment we had as part of the annual Words on Wheels competition, where MICA students illustrate poems written by Baltimore city school kids to be posted as posters around Maryland's public transportation systems. Mine didn't get chosen as one of the winning ones, but this project was way better than that Planet Produce one ;)

chalk on chalkboard

Also, here's a preview of what I'm currently working on in the studio!

That's all I have for now, but as soon as finals are over (one more week!) I'll have plenty more to put up.

Except you can listen to this song that I am currently in love with! (and this artist, for that matter!) Oh Land's Human.

collages

2011-04-08T02:56:00.002-04:00

more collages!

on wood panel

on gessoed board

these are all small, about 5 x 6" max, except for the last one which is 8 x 10"

I can never get the colors to appear right on blogger =/

new mini collages

2011-03-10T02:30:00.000-05:00

some new collages I am happy with =)

two new collages

2011-02-28T18:29:00.000-05:00

attempt at stretching paper! these are approx. 8x10"

thesis thoughts

2011-02-28T04:01:00.000-05:00

I'll have some new work posted soon, but in the meantime, while I'm trying to compile my thoughts into some sort of artist statement, here's what I've been thinking about with my work. I usually don't make posts entirely devoid of images, but I am just kind of thinking out loud here...sorry for rambling!

Ok well I've been working a lot with collage lately, and I want my paintings to work like collages...to include different elements, forms, and gestures that may seem incompatible or dissonant, and to find a harmony, rhythm, and clarity within everything. They are mostly about these relationships between contrasting elements, such as wild vs. subdued, fast-paced vs. deliberative, spontaneous vs. calculated. They exist somewhere in the realm between figuration and abstraction. Working with color relationships, differences in scale and mark, figuration vs. abstraction, etc. I'm aiming to achieve a harmonious whole and the right amount of balance between whole and part. At least that is the challenge I'm dealing with in my current paintings.

I've also been thinking a lot about language (admittedly inspired by some poststructuralist ideas taken from a class I took last semester), but more on how painting is its own visual language, and the relationship it has to verbal language, and other types of language (i.e. music)

some quotes:

(on Albert Oehlen's paintings)

"...more like a collage than a painting: a loud and exasperating argument in different tongues, promising never to be resolved for lack of a common idiom."

"...his work remains a collage, in the truest sense. The sources Oehlen selects and samples are all taken from numerous histories, languages, techniques, applications, methodologies, and mythologies of painting. The figures, devices, even the gestures, are like cut-outs or quotes. The canvas becomes a genuine montage of painted and painterly passages."

(on Amy Sillman's paintings)
"Painting is a physical thinking process to continue an interior dialogue, a way to engage in a kind of internal discourse, or sub-linguistic mumbling."

"...absorbed in the semiotics of painterly language itself."

Hmm ok that's all for now.

Synthspiration

2011-02-22T01:11:00.001-05:00

If you missed out on the last two SYNTHSPIRATION events....well, I don't know what to say to you. It was fun. I got to include the painting I've been working on and a couple smaller collages at The Light's event last Saturday. Here's a couple pics!

That's all!

"What better way to spend one's life than to have, as one's primary task, the insistence on integrity of feeling? No wonder others are fascinated by artists." -Robert Motherwell

hand letters, sota, and thesis!

2011-02-16T00:22:00.005-05:00

Besides senior thesis, I'm also taking a handlettering class. So far it's been fun just experimenting with different type..I'm really excited about our next assignment, but I will build suspense and not tell you about it.

Ok I don't feel like writing a lot so I'll just let the hand letters do the talking (haha get it? puns) :

These were exercises we did for our first assignment, creating compositions in photoshop out of other handlettering exercises we did

We have to turn in practice sketches every week

Our past assignment was to create an edible alphabet out of fruits & veggies to be used in a logo for a local produce stand, Planet Produce. I think the letters themselves came out better than the final design. not my fav.

Here's a K made out of asparagus I was really upset I didn't get to use in my final project.

That's everything I have from handlettering right now. On another note, last weekend was the first part of SYNTHSPIRATION III at Studio of the Arts (sota) space in Annapolis. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go here. I've been working with The Light's gallery team since last semester, mostly helping with promotional things and maintaining the blog, and am really excited about all of the events we have going on this spring, so am shamelessly inserting a plug for the upcoming SYNTHSPIRATION event happening this Saturday at The Light 7 - 11pm! If you feel confused, intrigued, and synthspired at the mention of the word 'synthspiration' then you should definitely come. Art, music, food, drinks, DJ JVarg, screenprinting, and the Neverending Story will all be involved.

So anyways, last weekend was SYNTHSPIRATION III pt. 1 at sota and we were in need of some more art for the walls, so I had a couple paintings up.

Here's my friend Joseph, the creator of Synthspiration himself, standing in front of them

"Onomatopoeia" (L) and "Chicken Scratch" (R)

If you come to the next SYNTHSPIRATION event this Saturday, you'll get to see another painting I've been working on for thesis! Here's some in-progress shots of it in the studio (did I mention I have a brand new studio space in the Studio Center this semester?! because I do):

Hopefully it'll be 'finished' by this weekend! ;)

I'll post something later about what I'm thinking about with my work when I'm feeling more eloquent and less tired. =)

new website, new semester, new projects!

2011-01-31T01:01:00.002-05:00

SO, spring semester/first semester of senior year commences. I'm convincing myself that this is exciting. Some things that definitely are exciting though, that I have been neglecting to post over the past month, are....I have a new website!! =D yayy...it's like I'm on my way to becoming a real artist or something...I'll still update my blog "regularly", and use the website for displaying my portfolio, and once I get going on thesis, primarily that. Ok so here it is!

www.nicolemariemueller.com

Special thanks to my friend Adam Okrasinski for building it since my html/web design skills are zero.

I'm pretty optimistic for the semester, and should have some new projects to share soon, which I'll post as soon as I start them (which you'd think I would have done already, it being the third week of school now......ummm okyea)

Also, The Sketchbook Project deadline was earlier this month, so I decided the week before that I should probably start it. Next year's will be better...

That's all I'll share on here. The tour starts in March and will tour around to various cities before all the sketchbooks get catalogued in the Brooklyn Art Library. I'm still excited to be a part of it.

That's really it for now...art on the way!

P.S. here's a good song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ykt-VBwEeyk (and i'm seeing them in bmore this weekend yeaaa!)

Blanket feature!

2010-12-27T21:13:00.002-05:00

In the midst of the holiday hullabaloo (i don't think i've ever had an excuse to use that word before), I almost forgot to share some exciting news! I had the honor of being included in the latest issue of Blanket magazine as part of the "Here's my work I hope you like it!" section! (please reference pg. 44)

"Blanket is an online pdf art + design + photography magazine that uncovers emerging artists from around the world." You can download it online for only $2, and this issue features interviews with each of the artists included in the 2011 Blanket calendar (which I just bought for myself and looks sweet!):

Hooray!! Now go spend that $2 you would have unnecessarily spent on a slurpie on Blanket instead!
'Celebration' issue indeed. So many reasons to feel blessed this season......so I figured I'd spread the good cheer by sharing the 2010 Mueller family Christmas card with you!! (not really, but i wish)

Happy Holidays!!!

break time!

2010-12-20T23:23:00.001-05:00

Well, the semester has finally wound to a close...which means I am officially a senior! whoa. too too fast. It seems too early to have to think about thesis, but since I probably won't be able to paint at all during break, I'm looking forward to spending time researching, reflecting on this past semester, and just getting inspired. And of course I'm excited to spend time relaxing with my family, roasting chestnuts on an open fire, and having myself a merry little christmas.
Anyways, here's a few things I didn't have time to post during the craziness of finals time:

mixed media on paper

48.5"x42"

some more visual diaries:

I've taken a little bit of a hiatus on the visual diaries, and have kind of been reevaluating their role in relation to my other work...I started to view them more as compositional studies for larger works, annd am not really sure what function I want them to serve I guess. My work's been getting a little convoluted, and I feel sort of all over the place in terms of what I've been doing, so I think a general cleaning out, while still continuing to experiment, is needed. Like I said, break will be good.
Well anyways, I'll keep updated on what I'm doing over break, but don't expect too much ;) In the meantime, have a happy holiday!!

new painting

2010-11-26T19:48:00.004-05:00

"Onomatopoeia", 30"x40", acrylic on canvas

"Caution is the enemy of art, and everyone is more cautious than he thinks he is." -Robert Motherwell

shows

2010-11-20T00:11:00.006-05:00

Last weekend was the Salon 7 show at the Jordan Faye Contemporary..and it went really well! It was cool just to be a part of a group show and get to meet/have great conversations with a bunch of artists from outside of MICA. and made me realize that I definitely need to start going to more openings and just generally become more connected with the Baltimore art community. And other than making me acutely aware of how socially awkward I can be, the opening was pretty fun..here's some pictures!

this was the 'about me' blurb i had posted on the wall next to my work: "Nicole Mueller is currently a student at the Maryland Institute College of Art, pursuing a BFA in Painting with a concentration in Illustration. Her recent series of 'visual diaries' are spontaneous collages combining painting, drawing, collage, and other elements. Based off of feelings, memories, observations, and 'stream of consciousness drawing,' they are representative of thoughts, thus their meaning isn't always clear. Within each piece are moments of clarity, absentmindedness, and surprising moments of saturation."

my roommates/friends showed up later and brought me flowers! =) (that matched the color palette of my pieces - please note) Jordan, the gallery owner, also decided to keep some of the smaller works for the next show Small Wonders (up through Dec. 23). My pieces are small. I wonder about them. perfect!

i really love that red wall

artists Chris Attenborough & Sean Naftal, collectively known as Peacock, doing a performance piece during the show...pretty cool

Also, that color abstraction piece from earlier in the semester got into the Juried Undergraduate Exhibition at MICA recently..

(all these pieces are for sale, send me an email if you're interested in any)

biz cards!

2010-11-11T22:34:00.001-05:00

Look what I got! =D i ordered these for the salon show; they've just got my name, email, and blog address on the back...check me out, i'm like profesh or something..

install went well today, excited for the show tomorrow!!

visual dump and...show announcement!

2010-11-11T00:00:00.006-05:00

SOLD
24" x 20"

Sorry for the excessive posts...i just figured i'd separate out the paintings from the new stuff i've been doing..and I have a lot of things I've been working on, I just haven't been very good about updating!
Well, I've started doing some larger 'visual diaries' (while continuing to do the smaller ones, mostly daily now) and i think the next step is to blow them up even bigger...and to keep working on paper....maybe i'll even try stretching some paper like canvas!??! who even knows. well here are some more smaller ones (like around 5x4").

And, in other exciting news, a selection of these are going to be part of the Salon 7 show this weekend at the Jordan Faye Contemporary in Federal Hill! yayyyy. Consider this your personal invite, if you are in the area, to come and check it out! The opening's this Friday 6-9p. There will be food and drinks, and good art to look at, plus i would be so so excited to see you there!

"Painting has a nature that is not entirely translatable into verbal language. I think painting is a language, actually. It's linguistic, in a sense, but not in a verbal sense. 'I think that one wants from a painting a sense of life.' And I think that is true." - Jasper Johns

"The problems of inventing a new language are staggering. But what else can one do if one needs to express one's feeling precisely?" - Robert Motherwell

portraits of course

2010-11-10T23:24:00.004-05:00

"You approach the meaning through the act of painting. The figure - not pure abstraction - has always been the central thing, the thing you act on or react to. You can eliminate it, but it is there by implication, as a way of measuring space. What is done to it is a matter of style and strategy." - Georg Baselitz

Portraits are usually what I do when I'm not quite sure what to do, but need to paint something. So I've been doing a lot of portraits lately, before I started to really get into this visual diary series.
My original plan was to do a series of small portraits, then do larger 'abstract' paintings based off of those...but i really don't even know what that means....so they're mostly like exercises, or just excuses to paint. hah.

Here's an install shot of the large & small one of my dad:

and one of my brother Joe:

also, i did this one at the beginning of the semester..it's really just a study..but i don't want my mom to feel left out, you know....shout out to the fam! ;)

(sorry i don't have one of brandi)

alright, that's all the oil paintings I have.

studio

2010-11-02T00:56:00.001-04:00

Since i haven't managed to take any photos of recent work lately, but would like you to believe i update my blog very regularly, here are a few shots of my studio now that it is slightly more lived-in since the beginning of the year...and a preview of some new pieces in progress!

Also, this weekend i saw this new artist called Bonjay perform and now i can't stop listening to them..you should check out their music; they are really fun!

visual diaries

2010-10-27T21:15:00.002-04:00

here's some more visual diaries! i've got at least 20 or so now, and have started a few larger works in the same manner. excited!!

2010-10-17T11:38:00.004-04:00

Alright, here is some more of what I have been doing lately...this is a painting in my studio that I spent a few weeks on, still playing with the idea of figuration vs. abstraction...

Actually, though, I've been having a lot more fun working on this new series of 'visual diaries' that I started a few weeks ago. They're just spontaneous little collages combining painting, drawing, collage, and other elements - based off of feelings, memories, observations, "stream of consciousness drawing." They feel less self-conscious than some of the paintings I've been doing, so I am hoping these will start to inform the other work that I do as I continue doing them. I've been trying to do one at least every other day, so here are a few examples...

start of something new...

2010-10-12T14:29:00.000-04:00

preview of some new series I've started...

Also, I just bought the domain name nicolemariemueller.com. get ready.

color abstraction

2010-10-12T00:34:00.003-04:00

ok finally! some new work...This painting I did for my Color Abstraction class. The assignment was an improvisational painting, which was actually really freeing and pretty fun. I wasn't able to resolve it like I wanted to, but after 3 weeks of working on it, I think I'm kind of exhausted of it. It was really fun to work on though, especially in the beginning stages.

"the birth and death of a day," acrylic, 68"x42"

here are the deets:

have more. will post soon.

talkin with some artists

2010-10-01T01:24:00.001-04:00

This week has been a great week. Last weekend my teacher for professional development took us to New York to see the Dumbo Arts Festival, where her residency at the Triangle Arts Association was having open studios. It was an awesome opportunity to talk to a bunch of successful, professional artists about their careers and work (plus we had to write a paper on it, so we had no choice but to take advantage of the opportunity).

(photos taken from the Triangle Arts Assoc. website)

^The artist we're all sitting on the floor talking with is Sofi Quirno, an Argentinian artist. Her work was probably my favorite - she does these really great painting installations, and her blog is here if you want to check out any of her work.

And THEN today we took a trip to the Sub Basement Artist Studios, a Bmore art gallery, and talked with the owner, Jeffrey Kent, who was super helpful and friendly, and had a lot of really great advice to share with us. (this professional development class is proving to be prettty useful so far...)

Alright, i just felt like sharing! art coming soon

new studio!

2010-09-27T01:10:00.003-04:00

ok! fall semester 2010 is in full swing. all systems are go. i haven't taken any images of the work i've been doing, but once I complete some paintings perhaps I will get around to that ;)
In the meantime here is a shot of my brand new studio space! This is exciting because I have never had a studio space all to myself that does not double as a bedroom. It is more of a wall space than a studio per se but I do have a nice corner to put my stuff in...right next to the big MICA M. perfect. the fluorescent lights also don't extend over to my side of the wall so the lighting actually is this dramatic, always.

and here is a painting in progress for my Color Abstraction class with THE Timothy App.

I find a lot of inspiration in things other people have said, and have been reading some from Robert Motherwell lately, so here's a quote from him that I just like and want to share, from "A Conversation with Students"

"But in the end I realize that whatever meaning that picture has is the accumulated meaning of ten thousand brushstrokes, each one being decided as it was painted. And in that sense to say "what does it mean" is unanswerable except as the accumulation of all of these decisions in which, if it took two months to paint, my basic character has to be involved...But when you work steadily at something, your whole being comes out...all these pictures to me - they're all sentences, or paragraphs, or slices from a continuum that has gone on my whole life, and will till the day I die."

that's all for now.

in the permanent collection of J. Snellings

2010-08-27T00:31:00.005-04:00

see! I said I would have another painting done by this week...my friend Jessica and I have been talking about doing something for her apartment for awhile, since there is a large empty wall-space, recently painted teal, that was clearly in need of a painting to fill it. =) She suggested sunflowers and/or something yellow and black to go against the teal. I sort of used this as another attempt at abstraction and it felt good to end the summer in a somewhat productive way.

Here's a shot of it almost done, and my lovely set-up in my summer studio...i mean basement.

And here it is completed! The color palette sort of reminds me of a 70s style bedspread. or something. haha. Looking at it finished, I wish it would have looked a little more spontaneous...but ooh well, hopefully it will look good in Jessica's apartment! It's 30" x 42," done in oil.

And I honestly can't decide if I like it better this way...

or this way...

hmm...i think maybe option #1? I'll leave it up to Jessica to decide. Anyways, I am pretty excited to now be able to say I have a piece in the permanent collection of J. Snellings. ;)

throwback #2

2010-08-25T00:32:00.002-04:00

Get ready...for the second installment of..."drawings i did when i was six!" Apparently I went on some kind of publishing spree around that time in my life, because my mom and I came across this earlier today when we were reminiscing over old family photographs. If you thought "The Dragon and the Knight" was a story to remember, just wait till you read "The King Who Lost His Crown," because I'm pretty sure this is going to be an instant classic. So instead of posting current work I've been doing, which is what this blog is supposed to be for, I'm going to continue posting stuff I did from 15 years ago!

we are already off to an intriguing start

the plot thickens

finally. I was wondering how many more of lion's friends we were gonna have to ask before we solved this mystery.

Lion, really, this is too much

i love throwing parties whenever I find misplaced items

...but wait, it's not over yet!

the end.

can't forget the shout-out to Rusty

Alright, I promise to have a painting up soon...unless I decide to reveal my 6th grade masterpiece, "The Attack of the Yellow It"!?!

2010-08-18T00:53:00.001-04:00

I've been working on a few paintings while at home, working a little more abstractly than in the past, so here's something that I'm happy enough with to call done for now. They're more like experiments I guess, but I like the direction they're going in. I should have another painting completed by the end of next week that's going up in my friend's apartment so I'll try to put up some photos of that when it's done!

the power of positive thinking?

2010-08-17T01:54:00.005-04:00

hmmm i just felt like making this so i did

i am so good at embroidering, I only had to start over twice.

Also, I decided I wasn't spending enough time on the internet sooo I started a tumblr! I guess for quotes and other things that I like. check it outttt: http://www.nicolemariemueller.tumblr.com It might get cooler when I become more adept at using tumblr.

P.S. My sketchbook for the 2011 Sketchbook Tour came in the mail today YEA!

paintings coming soon!

some new collages

2010-08-10T02:56:00.005-04:00

Now that Pre-coll 2010 is officially over, I've just been hanging around at home, conducting 4:30 check-ins with my family, and reminiscing over all the photos I took while stalking all my new facebook friends. jk...Working as a TARC is honestly one of the best jobs I've ever had. You learn so much from it and get to work with some really wonderful people. Here's a shot of our 'Drawing & Painting the Figure in Oil' class on the last day right before the commencement ceremony! aren't we cute?!?

(VossOils 4EVA!)

I have been making things too, since I've been home. Some collages just for the sake of collaging, and I've been painting too lately, which is nice. Here are a few new collages, and a couple older ones too.

ALSO, I just signed up for the 2011 Sketchbook Tour Project, which I am really excited about.

You can learn more about it on the website, and then you can sign up and our sketchbooks can tour the country together. Like buddies! yes?

Ok this is the last thing, I swear. One of my favorite shows on t.v. right now is So You Think You Can Dance, and I just want to share this video that I can't stop watching with you. I feel so inspired watching people dance, especially this routine to Coldplay's Fix You-it is just so so beautiful! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm6MidMyFe8

throwback!

2010-06-19T15:51:00.003-04:00

So...since I really don't have anything new to update with, and since I'm about to leave for a month to work again as a TARC at MICA's Pre-college program so probably won't be updating then, I figured I would post one last thing before I leave.
I was looking through my bookshelf here at home and came across some of my earlier work from a book I published a while back. you know. And so I present you with just a few highlights from...

"The Dragon and the Knight"

by Nicole Mueller

(est. 1st grade)

...who, I mean, really, is the source of all my inspiration

...here the princess is stolen by the dragon...

don't worry though, this guy will save her

I mean, I didn't want to make it too difficult for him..

Did I mention that the king was very happy to see the princess?

how could they not though? Did you see that menu?

the end.

since no book is complete without an About the Author page...this picture should probably not be on the internet, but I had to show off my sweet denim getup...and realized that, otherwise, I am exactly the same person I was in first grade.

a few sketchbook pages

2010-06-06T23:38:00.002-04:00

I just got back from a family trip to Sarasota for a big soccer showcase for my brother, and while we were there we got a few hours in at the Ringling Museum of Art (where they have the largest miniature circus in the world?!), so here are just a couple sketchbook pages!

after Carlo Dolci's The Blue Madonna

after Antonio de Bellis's The Flaying of Marsyas by Apollo

FOR HIRE

2010-05-26T19:05:00.003-04:00

I'm doing portraits this summer! Pet portraits, family portraits, or any other kind of commission you might be interested in. They make great one-of-a-kind gifts ;) Please e-mail me if interested!

Painting Final

2010-05-17T13:34:00.002-04:00

I almost forgot to post this and it was probably the final I worked the hardest on...alright here it is...
Here is a shot of it in progress!

annnnd DONZO...

and here are a couple details of areas that I like...

Ok, I think that's it from this semester...I really want to continue painting this summer since I'll just be sitting around basically doing nothing until Pre-College starts (not that I don't enjoy sitting around doing nothing), but I figured I should attempt to at least be a little bit productive ;) I wanted to try and make a website but I don't have Flash or Dreamweaver..so so much for that...ok well I'll hopefully have things to update with soonish!

BTW check out my new favorite artist/some amazing collages: www.matthewbillington.com

Prints

2010-05-12T21:57:00.001-04:00

I realized I have never really posted anything from my printmaking class this semester, so here's a ton of stuff from my "Collagraph & Color" class. It was really fun and I'm a little bummed I won't have any room in my schedule to take any more printmaking classes while I'm at MICA..since collagraph was my first printmaking class EVAH! (and apparently the least popular among printmaking majors?) Anyways, by the end of the semester I felt like I was finally just getting the hang of it...here is a last little series I did of some ethereal/ambiguous landscapes(?)!

here's them all together...

and individually...

I didn't like them very much individually at first, but I really like them together as a series.

Here are also some various editions of prints I did earlier in the semester. My theme was "Macro/Micro."

it's illustration time!

2010-05-12T00:59:00.001-04:00

that's right. my mom brought the nice camera from home so I was finally able to take some good pictures of my work...but I'm going to build suspense by posting everything little by little instead of in one huge dump ;) Ok so this was an illustration assignment we had awhile back called "Say Anything." Everyone in the class had to write their most embarrassing story and then turn it in, anonymously, for somebody else to illustrate. (this wasn't my story.....don't worry, mine was much worse) I'm pretty sure this has happened to me at some point in my life, though. sad day.

And remember how awhile back I went to the zoo?!? well here are my zoo-inspired pieces/my final assignment for Illustration II. I am in love with cheetahs. And polar bears, for that matter.

alright, well I am going to get some sleep because I'm leaving bmore in the morning yo.

this song will make you happy.

portrait sketches

2010-05-08T19:06:00.000-04:00

So finals are finally over (which means sophomore/first half of junior year is over!) and I actually have a lot of stuff to post, I just haven't gotten around to photographing any of it. So in the meantime, because I have nothing better to post, and because I'm avoiding the daunting task of packing and cleaning my apartment, here are some sketchbook pages from my portrait drawing class this last semester. ok that's it.

ummm here's a song i like.

ZOO trip

2010-04-18T02:31:00.000-04:00

So my illustration class is really awesome. wanna know why? because instead of going to class, we get to have..adventure time! And last friday (blogger is telling me i spelled friday wrong...stop making me doubt myself, blogger) was absolutely beautiful out so I went to the zoo! =) best day ever! It wasn't all fun and games though- we had to document our experience, so I was busy drawing in my sketchbook all day and taking photos of swimming polar bears. Animals must love me, because every place I sat down to draw at, they kept coming up to the glass or sitting still for long periods of time. So here are a few pages I ended up with =) I had a lot of fun just being able to work in my sketchbook like this, which I feel like I never really get a chance to do. I'm hoping this summer will give me more time to actually do stuff just for fun.

portraits

2010-04-13T15:52:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple painting exercises/self-portrait studies...and now I really need to find myself some new models because I am really tired of painting/drawing myself..
Ok here is 1...
and a detail of number 2...

and speaking of models, if you've ever lived in the Commons, then you might have seen this really adorable old woman who always walks out front or sits on the bench with her bff...well her name is Margo, and she modeled for our portrait class last week! =) I want to give her this portrait as a present.

finished painting

2010-03-26T14:44:00.001-04:00

I've had this finished for a little while and just haven't posted it yet but anyways, here it is! The finished version of the work in progress painting I posted earlier.

haha for some reason this one doesn't have quite enough contrast and the other one has wayyy too much...so just imagine that the real painting is somewhere in between there

Joe bro

2010-03-23T19:13:00.000-04:00

a portrait done over spring break (break is a loose term here) of my brother, Joe. Thanks to Joe for sitting, sleeping, and homeworking while I drew him! =) my mom says we're hanging this in our living room haha (it was too big for the fridge)

painting in progress

2010-03-03T01:09:00.000-05:00

In my painting class we've been able to do independent work outside of class, so here's a painting I just started that (hopefully) I'll be finished with next week:

And here are a few smaller drawings I did along with this:

more portraits

2010-03-03T01:02:00.000-05:00

We've now graduated from just drawing heads and are moving on up to torsos and hands!

Llamas for Christmas!

2010-02-20T10:41:00.000-05:00

This was the second part of our illustration 2 assignment, based off the prompt "well that's not what I expected"...we had to take one of the other two of our three ideas and create another final done in just black & white, using sumi ink. as much as i love illegitimate monster children, i was really into the llama haha..

I, for one, would be ecstatic if I got a llama for christmas....

JimmyJohn

2010-02-20T10:30:00.000-05:00

So I'm also taking a Portrait drawing class this semester, it's been a lot of fun. Here are a few portraits from class..(i think their names are jimmy and john?) here ya go!

it's sad that blogger makes charcoal look so bad =/

"well THAT's not what I expected"

2010-02-06T15:28:00.001-05:00

That was our prompt for our most recent Illustration 2 assignment...based off a bunch of thumbnails we did we had to come up with three 'finished' sketches, and then convert one of them into a pen & ink drawing. The next step is to take one of the other 2 ideas and create another ink version using only b&w. My pen & ink drawing and the three finished sketches:

2010-02-03T00:51:00.000-05:00

it's finally a new semester! and i'm happy to say so far i love my classes!

heere's a drawing i busted out in 6 hours the day before it was due for my painting class, figure & ground. haha jk...maybe.....

anyways, i'm going to get back to praying that it keeps snowing so we won't have class tomorrow =)

THE END of the semester

2009-12-22T16:18:00.000-05:00

I was going to add a few things this weekend, but then the big snow storm of '09 happened so I...didn't get around to it. But anyways, I'm home now and no longer snowed in in Baltimore so here's a few things to finish up the semester with.

Here's a slightly revised version of our final illustration 1 assignment:

Some small studies from painting...

and a Degas and two Hopper studies

And now I'm going to get back to relaxing at home and enjoying the holidays =)

the most wonderful time of the yeeeear...

2009-12-09T17:28:00.000-05:00

finals time! ...no jk...I actually don't have a lot of huge final projects due, just regular assignments, so that's good. Here's a few things I've been working on in various classes...

For illustration our last project was to choose some song lyrics and illustrate them in a non-literal way. I don't really know why I chose the ones that I did but for some reason they stuck out to me haha...and I just really like this song...it's called Ten Dead Dogs and it's by Wild Sweet Orange =) The opening verse goes.."I saw ten dead dogs on the side of the road/ driving late last night to your apartment/ and I thought it was an omen, so i headed on back home, and/ walked in circles round my room"

I did a series of images and wanted to try to capture the mood of the song...

we had to do a black and white version for the class and then edit/enhance it in photoshop so we ended up with two final pieces...

From painting, here's some in-class stuff...

Outside of class, I've been working on some big mixed media/collage pieces. Here's one that's kind of in progress, about 5x7'. Actually that was a lie, this one I've started, and now I have to finish another one before my final next tuesday! =) sorry for the crappy image...

And this is unrelated, but I thought you should see what other awesome stuff I get to do along with finals this lovely holiday season =) ...like plan Kwannukahmas parties!

Anyways, I'll definitely be glad when the semester's over, I'm ready for a change of schedule and would like to hopefully be able to work on some stuff just for fun over the holiday ..liiike work in my sketchbook, which I never do anymore...along with relaxing and doing nothing, of course =) Well I should proobably stop procrastinating and get started on a paper...

AND i dunno why but for some reason it never lets you click on and enlarge any of the images after i publish a post =( it makes me sad

sphinx illustration

2009-11-22T01:43:00.000-05:00

We just finished a project in illustration that was supposed to be inspired by Greek mythology and based off of a particular story or character that we got to choose. So here is my sphinx illustration =)

more painting

2009-11-13T17:47:00.000-05:00

Here's a figure painting we did in class!

PAINTing

2009-10-22T02:08:00.000-04:00

SO finally here is some stuff from my painting class this semester, Height x Width. We've done so much work for that class already, but I don't feel like I have that much that's worth showing. I'm learning a lot but it's pretty intense...it's kiinda kickin my butt. Right now we've been working on our first in-class sustained painting during our night sessions, using studies we did during the day as reference. I've never done a painting from just studies before so that's....fun. I don't know how I feel about the actual painting but here's a few studies I'm using for it...

And! I finally finished (i think?) my first outside assignment for that class. oh yea we also have to do a couple master studies per week for homework, and one painting that I really liked was

Euan Uglow's Jenefer by a Door.

<-- That's it. So I used that as the basis for my painting, along with a poem by T.S. Eliot, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", that I read with a lit. class in high school and for some reason still remember. I'm not gonna pretend like I can comprehend half of Eliot's writing, but the poem is basically about a man (J. Alfred Prufrock?) in his old age lamenting over a youth dictated by fear and uncertainty. One line that I remember talking a lot about with my class that I really like is "Do I dare to eat a peach?" where the peach symbolized risk, or the fruit in the garden of eden or i'm sure a million other things. blah blah...but throughout the poem the speaker remains in that moment of suspense between "daring to disturb the universe" or continuing to "measure out his life with coffee spoons". What I liked about Uglow's painting was the way the figure is frozen in that transition, in the moment right before she takes a step forward. So anyways, that's what I was thinking about when I did this...that's a lot of words..sorry my explanations usually aren't that long. heeeere's my painting...

it's 26" x 42"

and lastly, some in-class drawings:

this is done with gesso, red, blue, and black conte, and is around 3 1/2 x 4 ft.

a life size charcoal figure drawing, about 3 1/2 x 5 ft.

missed connections

2009-10-16T18:50:00.000-04:00

Ok here's another illustration assignment, this one we had to choose a story from craigslist's missed connections and illustrate it from the point of view of the person who wrote the story. Mine was about a woman who'd seen an old hippie-man playing the flute outside of a Safeway parking lot. done in mixed media/collage.

painting stuff to come sooon!

P.S. check out this guy: Stefan Bucher

it makes me happy =)

Unexpected Party

2009-09-19T02:55:00.000-04:00

first illustration 1 assignment! yayyy

In class we read a ton of short stories by chilean artist Alejandro Jodorowsky's 'El Desoro de la Sombra' and then chose our favorite to illustrate. They were originally written in Spanish, but Jose our teacher translated them into English for us. So this is probably going to make me seem really morbid but the one I chose is: "The decapitated corpse sprung fireworks from the orifice in its neck." I only liked it because I read the story first and then the title, 'Unexpected Party,' after...umm I thought it was funny...haha. so heeere's my illustration, which after our critique I'm probably going to change a little bit before midterm. I think I'll tilt the frame a little to the right so the body is more parallel to the ground and doesn't look like it's floating, and maybe add color/more to the rockets.

Maybe once I do something worth showing, I'll post something from my painting class.

o hey blog, long time no see

2009-09-06T20:15:00.000-04:00

Soo apparently I'm not very good at keeping up with this...but hey! here's some sketchbook pages to start off the new year! Hopefully this fall it will get better since I'll actually be doing work that I can put up! This summer was pretty good, even if I wasn't as productive as I wanted to be...and that large painting I was getting ready to paint never got past its gessoing stages...haha but I'm using Precollege as my excuse so it's ok.

I'm really excited for my classes this semester though...I'm taking Height x Width (monstrous all-day painting class), Illustration 1, Literature of Eastern Philosophy & Religion, and the History of Illustration. good stuff. anyways, yea. sketchbook. here it is.

this was from a trip we took to D.C. my first few weeks back at MICA...we went to the Museum of Natural History for awhile b/c I wanted to draw animals =)

while I was doing this a little girl came up and asked "what are you drawing?" haha...oops

Thrive Fitness Mural

2009-06-15T14:31:00.000-04:00

So I'm sorry I haven't posted anything in so long but it's summer and I'm lazy and I haven't really done anything besides a few little paintings and some horrible sketchbook pages...BUT I did get the chance to paint a mural at a gym called Thrive Fitness Atlanta! They just had me paint the gym's logo on one of the back walls, it only took about 3 days. Here's some shots of it in-progress and at the end!

taping it off...

all finished!

I'll try to be a little more productive this summer so hopefully I'll have something else to update with soon, but I'm leaving to work as a TARC at MICA's Precollege program in one week so I probably won't have much time to do anything then! who knows! I had really wanted to do one large painting just for fun this summer, but so far I only have it stretched and gessoed...oh well haha it's a start...

Notions

2009-05-12T18:28:00.000-04:00

Here's a couple projects I did for Elements this semester (actually...the only 2 projects I did for elements this semester) but annyways, the first one was a collaborative project with William Niu. The assignment was to do something based off the color violet...Will happens to be awesome at flash animations, so we did one of those =)

The only link I have to it's on facebook, so hopefully you can see it here.

I was so inspired from the first animation we did that I decided to try one of my own ;) not without a lot of help from Will on how to use flash hah...so here it is! "la petite animation"

And I've been having problems uploading this different places online, so if it doesn't work then this one's also on facebook.

**I highly recommend viewing it on facebook ^ because it's seemed to have run the best on there so far. It's a little jumpy here...alright, just wanted to throw that in there =)

more FINALZ! Illustration

2009-05-07T01:41:00.000-04:00

And I realize that everything I've posted on here has pretty much been from my Life Drawing class...so here's some stuff from Drawing as Illustration! =D Our final project was an "8 Deadly Sins" book where we had to illustrate each of the 7 deadly sins and then make up our own...and make it into a book. Ok yea mine was based on a little kid who's confessing his sins to a priest, and making up all these elaborate stories about all his sins...I didn't come up with the 8th sin (delusion), another girl in my class did, which puts kind of an interesting, less lighthearted twist on it...

AND I'm just realizing that pretty much everything I've done this semester has been black & white! =0 i have nothing against color, i swear...anyways here are a few more illustrations we've done this semester, I don't really know how I feel about all of it but I learned a lot =P

zomg color! we illustrated a poem...

This was from an assignment where we were given two random words and had to illustrate something based off that...mine was 'giddy book'? and apparently this looks kind of like something james jean did? which is a little sad since i hadn't even seen it before and definitely wasn't trying to copy him!

the end =)

FINALZ! Life Drawing

2009-05-07T01:04:00.000-04:00

So finals have been taking over my life...which is why I haven't posted anything in so long...but I figured I would finally update with all the stuff I've been doing for my final projects...soo here is life drawing--

I wanted to continue with the same idea I had going with our last open assignment, about abstracting the human body...I think it was more successful this time around, or at least more what I had originally intended, but I still just need to do more of them to figure out what really works. I was looking at some of Bill Brandt this time, since he does a lot with distorting/exaggerating the body and creating figures so they look like part of the landscape...here's some of his stuff!

yep! annd here's my final 'series' I guess...the one on the right I'd done for the first assignment, so it doesn't really fit with the others. I wanted to use really dramatic lighting and do really organic looking abstractions that were mostly about shape...like I said I think some parts work better than others, but oh well I'll just have to play around with it more I guess =)

And here's them individually:

this one's probably my least favorite: =\

and here's some more in-class drawings for fun! =) a bunch of 2-min. gesture drawings

Hair

2009-04-27T16:01:00.000-04:00

So this is another assignment from Life Drawing...we had to draw three people's hair only, one short, one medium, and one long w/ a braid...k here it is!

I have some more stuff, but I haven't had time to take photos of any of it becaaause it's finals time =)

2009-04-19T13:54:00.000-04:00

So our last drawing hw was an open assignment and I wanted to do something working with abstraction and the human figure. I've been thinking about the way that lighting in photography and film can abstract the human body, so I wanted to try to do the same with drawing. I was first inspired by some work I saw by Timothy Archibald, from his series called "Echolilia: Weird Pictures of My Kid."

http://www.timothyarchibald.com

This particular photo has less to do with lighting, but I was just interested in the way his body almost seems to morph into some other shape. We also just watched a film in Elements a few weeks ago, Bill Viola's The Passing, which is probably a better example of the way lighting creates a kind of abstraction.

So anyways, here's what I came up with...it's not as successful as I wanted, I think it looks too recognizable as a body, but I think for my drawing final I want to continue this with something combining the figurative, landscape, and abstract.

Also, here's a few extra things we did in class:

Life Drawlings

2009-04-10T21:46:00.000-04:00

So I absolutely LOVE my life drawing class this semester! Drawing from the figure is pretty much my favorite thing to do...so here's some stuff from class and outside assignments =)

We had to do five contour line drawings of our hand and create an integrated composition:

And the same thing with our feet:

Here's some ink washes from class:

An exercise in foreshortening where we had to draw our hand/shoulder in the mirror 3 times:

Each outside assignment we get just keeps getting ridiculously harder every time...this one we couldn't use a mirror for and had to draw ourselves from the waist down in a contrapuntal position looking downwards...with strong directional lighting

Just some in class stuff:

(i dunno why i like this...haha)

And this is actually from my Drawing as Illustration class...but we still do figure drawings in there:

And that's everything for now! I have a few more things to take pictures of and then I'll post...and guess what they're figure drawings! surprise =)

SKETCHBOOK

2009-04-10T21:05:00.000-04:00

Lots of sketchbook pages...in pretty random order:

See I told you there were a lot!

blog blog blog

2009-04-10T20:55:00.000-04:00

Well I figured everyone else is doing it, so why not! ;) I don't really have enough of a portfolio to make a website so i made a blog. I'll probably be posting a lot of figure drawings and sketchbook pages...since that's pretty much all I've been doing this semester...ok so here goes! I'm gonna go post everything at once! =D