Art Show: TOMS Shoes for Seven @ Ayden Gallery

I finished my custom TOMS shoes! As I mentioned in a previous post, Ayden Gallery is hosting a show called 'Seven' in celebration of their 7th anniversary! Over 50 artists will add their personal touch to TOMS shoes. The shoes will be on display at the show opening at Ayden Gallery (Vancouver, BC) on Friday, February 18th, 7:00pm - 11:00pm. The shoes will be for sale and all proceeds go to charity. Find out more at the Facebook event page here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=198895993457931



When I was thinking about what I wanted to paint it was important for me to create a design that I would actually wear. I also wanted to paint something with a typography theme choosing names of characters from the story Alice In Wonderland. I wanted to feature the main lettering 'White Rabbit' as bright and bold. Then I added some 'supporting text' as subtle design-y looking shapes instead of being recognizable as text. The light blue text says 'Jabberwocky'. (You can see the in progress pics here and here.)

In Progress: TOMS Shoes customs

Previously we saw my custom shoes here. Since then I've completed the lettering. I still have a ways to go, but I thought it would be fun to show some in progress shots.

Urban Vinyl: Tuttz customs, Vici is unveiled!

The 3rd and last of my Tuttz customs is finally finished! I’ve named him “Vici” after the famous phrase by Julius Caesar: “Veni, Vidi, Vici.” (“I came, I saw, I conquered.”). Vici will be for sale in my Etsy shop this Thursday at 12:00 noon PST, and will be priced at $150. He is completely hand painted by me with acrylic paints and sealed. He was sculpted and cast by END of Argonaut Resins. He measures 6.5 inches high, he’s one-of-a-kind and signed on the bottom. You can see my other two Tuttz customs here: Veni and Vidi.



Vici's Story ("I conquered")
Vici has come a long way to be where he is now. He's been through very difficult times but he's survived. The bloody heart he bares on his shield shows others of his past... he's faced his demons and come out on top. This heart has strength. "You've got to find the strength inside to lead you out of here. One steps guides another till the way becomes clear." ~Down On Love by Sarah Blasko

Art Show: Seven @ Ayden Gallery

Ayden Gallery is hosting a show called 'Seven' next month, in celebration of their 7th anniversary! Over 50 artists will add their personal touch to TOMS shoes. TOMS is a very noble shoe company: "With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One." Some of the big names in the show are: Ben Tour, Camilla d'Errico, Lani Imre, Kristian Adam, Mandy Tsung, Peter Ricq, Peter Taylor and Peeta. The shoes will be on display and up for auction through the month of February. All proceeds go to charity. More info in this article.



Ayden has asked me to participate in the show! Here are a few shots of my TOMS shoes. I chose to work with my size; Women's size 7. You can see I'm adding the base colour in the top right-hand pic. More sneak peeks coming soon... :D

In Progress: 3rd Tuttz Custom Vici

Here's a sneak peek at my 3rd Tuttz custom; Vici. I'm so happy that he's... FINISHED! I promise pics this weekend. :D I had to put him on hold for a while because I fractured my hand and was unable to use it for a few months. But now I can draw and use a paint brush, so it's about time I got him done! This pic was taken while I was painting the lettering on his toes. He will be for sale soon. Stay tuned...



Check out my 2nd Tuttz custom Vidi and my 1st Tuttz custom Veni. Both are sculpted by Argonaut Resins.

Photos: Mounted Heads

What a great theme!

Drawings: iPad + sketches

I haven't drawn in a while so I thought it was about time! Here are a few things I doodled in my notebook with a ball point pen. I coloured them in digitally.









And this is my first sketch on the iPad. It's really fun using just my fingertips to draw.

Photos: Flat Track Roller Derby

A few pics from the Terminal City Rollergirls All Stars VS Jet City Rollergirls Party Mix bout on December 17th, 2010. The final score was TCRG 136 - JCRG 69. Watch a video of the bout here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eu2yQopucc

Trixi Trippin Chix gets through the pack.



Barra Couga blocks a player from JCRG.



Risquee Bisnatch was an unstoppable Jammer in this bout.





Amazombie is knocked over but quickly gets back up again.



Pics from the Co-Ed Open Scrimmage (Black vs White) bout on December 21st, 2010. Players were from TCRG, Vancouver Murder, Mainland Misfits, Fresh Meat + more!

Widow Maker, Last Rites, Noah Backtalk, Rye n' Coke and Rusty Bearings, were just some of the Vancouver Murder players in this game.



Andi Struction tears up the track as Lead Jammer.

Art Show: "Art Jam 5"; live painting at the 9 Lb Hammer in Seattle

This past weekend I went down to Seattle to participate in 'Art Jam 5'; a live painting event with a bunch of local artists hosted by artist Augie Pagan. It was held at a pub called the 9LB Hammer. "To keep the event affordable and open to the general public, no piece of artwork sold for over $50." (more info + pics in this article). The place was jam packed! Lots of art apprecianados bumpin' to the music, chattin' over drinks and watching the artists paint. The place had great energy, and was perfect timing for me to start painting again after fracturing my drawing hand (blog post on that coming soon, I promise)!


[My card suit monsters meet Lawrence's heart pantied Alice]

I collaborated with Lawrence Ruelos on an Alice In Wonderland themed piece. I haven't really done a collab before.. and definitely not in front of a crowd. It was fun tossing around ideas with Lawrence and watching our pencil sketches come to life as we lay down the paint in our different yet cohesive styles. I was a bit nervous going on stage at first because I'm not one for the spotlight, however the excitement of both the opportunity to paint + to collab with Lawrence outweighed any apprehension I had. My first time painting in front of a crowd + my first time painting after my hand fracture = big accomplishments for me! Lawrence had painted in the previous Art Jams so he was a pro. ;) We painted for about an hour and unfortunately it wasn't enough time to finish our piece (we had to wrap it up to let other artists have a spot at the easel), but I'm happy with how our piece turned out anyways. :)



The last time I was at a live painting event was this summer at the San Diego Comic Con where I watched Dave Flores, Joe Ledbetter, Angry Woebots and Yoskay Yamamoto breathe life onto large scaled canvasses at Munky King's Omi mask launch party. I was glued to the spot at that event... it was hypnotizing watching my art idols create their signature styles right infront of me. So to have the opportunity to be an artist in an event was huge for me + I can't thank Lawrence and Augie enough for having the confidence to give me a chance. :) Our piece sold to one of Lawrence's awesome girlfriends who skates for the Jet City Rollergirls (derby girl, wut! wut!). It makes me happy to know the piece is going to one awesome chika! :)



Dev, Augie and Shane White collaborated on this sweet monster piece.



Yet more awesome paintings! It's exciting to me that everyone has the same tools... canvas, brushes and paint + yet there is so much uniqueness + variety in each individual piece. /art dork This event is such a great idea. I hope there are more in the future!




[Moi Painting my monsters, Photo by Lawrence Ruelos]

Photos: Hipstamatic for iPhone

This month I caved + got an iPhone just like everyone else. I didnt think I'd love it so much, but I do. I'm obsessed with it. Not only can I check my email and Facebook wherever I go, but I can take pics with it too! My phone has become the perfect lightweight camera for a girl with a fractured hand. There are some pretty awesome photo apps you can download for it, but one of my favs is Hipstamatic because the program makes photos look like they were taken with old retro cameras like Holga or Polaroid. It lets you choose which 'lenses', 'film' and types of 'flashes' you want to use. Instant.total.love. Check it out: