Finally, a new story over at IStoleThisFromYou.com! Loved doing this one. Still finishing up a piece for another art show, so silliness will have to wait until next week when I have time to breathe again!

And here’s the finished study! Acrylic on wood panel. Still lots more I need to practice.

A huge thank you for making it out to the show Friday — Laundry Lung did a spectacular job! On deadline for a few things so I’ve hardly gotten any sleep… New silliness here next week.

But here’s a sneak peek at one of my bigger projects for an upcoming show… Doing a few test/ study panels to practice techniques before working on the real thing… Let’s see if I can stay up just a few more hours… XXX!

Samsung Galaxy S4 cases now available too (just click on “Select Model” in the individual product listing)!

Next week! Friday, May 10! At Laundry Lung, 67 West Street, Suite 214, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn! I’ll have a few pieces on exhibit in a show with seven other awesome artists… If you’re in the area, stop by and say hi! I’d love to meet you! I’ll be there from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., and then the afterparty at Coco66. Lots of other art and events happening in the area too, as part of Greenpoint Gallery Night, sponsored by Hyperallergic and Greenpointers.com. XXX

For the curious! It always starts out with a pencil sketch. Everything was painted with gouache; I also used a little bit of colored pencil to make the ridges in the lips, and to outline and accentuate the teeth here and there…

The Early Works, gouache on paper, 18” x 24”

Back with more silliness soon, I promise… Still finishing up a few bigger projects which I can’t wait to post here! But I’m taking a break from a full day of painting, so back now to watching Game of Thrones with Bruce — Happy Sunday!

Yay, IStoleThisFromYou.com on BuzzFeed! Thank you, Summer Anne Burton! And most importantly, thank you to the writer of this little gem… And to each and every one of you for making this project happen! I love y’all! XXX

And progress is slowly being made. While I am an avid supporter, and obvious purveyor, of cheerful, fun silliness, the introspective pace of this particular bigger piece has been fitting of late. My thoughts are with everyone in Boston… And to all victims of senseless violence around the world.

Perhaps the best drawing advice ever passed on to me, is simply to squint. Lower those lids until you’ve nearly shut the world out… And in that near blindness, you’ll find the truth becomes all the more visible. What’s really important cannot be missed — shadows and highlights emerge more forcefully… And the trivialities you shouldn’t sweat simply melt away. You can’t, and shouldn’t, place equal importance on every single detail in a drawing — precisely like life itself. Some matters must be given greater weight, and many little battles are better left ignored, for the sake of the big picture.

Eyes wide open, half-closed, or completely shut, however, the ugliness of violent attacks everywhere is as plain as day for anyone to see.

If you stare too long, too deep, at a crumpled piece of paper, you might lose your sanity. The complicated crevasses, the steep ridges, the infinite sea of stern wrinkles… Everything seems an overwhelming, chaotic mess.

But, with a willing and patient heart, your fingers find the familiar angles, your eyes seek out the smaller, simpler shapes. You begin to gain sure footing in the tiniest breath of a step, after step, after step… And before you know it, you’ve danced your way to the top.

What was once a seemingly unconquerable mountain of crumpled paper, has become your own masterpiece.

(And this is why I love drawing crumpled paper. And miss climbing so much. All this to say, a peek at a work-in-progress — much more to do! Happy Saturday night, my dears!)

Re-posting an oldie (but one of my personal favorites) because I’m trying to finish up a bigger painting by the end of the week!