photographs

i found out that the miami property i painted on for this year's art basel was sold recently and that the artwork will most likely be painted over. it's the nature of public spaces--they're bought, sold, torn down, rebuilt, renovated, and i love the temporary-ness of it. but i am also really thankful for photographers who have taken pictures of my work/me working. it gives the pieces a second life. here are a couple gooduns from wynwood:

by giulio sciorio

by patrick fraser

india ink + upcoming projects

this week i rediscovered india ink, my favorite medium for getting colors so bright they make your eyes water. here are some pieces from the last few days:

i am also re-establishing my etsy shop, and these, along with about twenty other pieces, will be available as cheap (but archival and suitable for framing!) prints.

other upcoming things:

although i realized i am just not a midwestern girl and moved to memphis a couple weeks ago, i will be going back to st. louis next week to lead a workshop at the contemporary art museum for their family day program. free and open to the public, february 11, 1-4 PM.

also, i've been invited to paint a wall in asheville in an effort to brighten up wilson alley downtown (made possible by john cram of blue spiral gallery and brie castell and heidi gruner at castell photography.) i will be painting from february 22nd- march 1st. on march 2nd from 5-9 PM, castell photography will host a reception to celebrate/unveil the new piece. their gallery is located at 2c wilson alley, adjacent to the wall. for one night only, i will have work for sale in the gallery, including lots of prints, and all proceeds go to funding this project. if you are in town, feel free to swing by while i am painting, and definitely come to the gallery for the reception: get a beer or a glass of wine, say hi, and check out the wall!

asheville rites project video

at last! the video of the asheville rites project is here! this was a project i co-organized with my good friend garth grimball back in may along the french broad river in asheville, nc. garth choreographed a contemporary dance piece with original music from michael libramento, and i painted a free-standing mural to act as a backdrop for this one time, free performance. this project was AMAZING. thank you to adam hillberry, meredith chetwynd and sabrina gilbert for their footage, and especially adam for editing the whole thing.

interiors

a couple shots of interior murals with paint pen. the top one has a 3-D element (right corner) and the bottom one is paint pen on adhesive latex (the material you'd use to wrap a car or a bus.)

working on a new project now (taking patterns to the streets!) and also solidifying my plans for the upcoming months. hopefully a lot of travel....

philip levine

Unholy Saturday

by Philip Levine

Three boys down by the river

search for crawdads. One has

hammered a spear from a

curtain rod, and head down,

jeans rolled up to his knees, wades

against the river's current.

Barely seven, he's the most

determined. He'll go home

hours from now with nothing

to show for his efforts except

dirt and sweat and that residue

he's unaware of sifting

down from a distant sky

and glinting like threads

of mica across his shoulders.

In the distance someone keeps

calling the names of the brothers

in the same order over

and over, but they don't hear

what with the river bank gorged

with blue weed patches and all

the birds in hiding. Perhaps no

one is calling and it's only

the voices of the air as

the late light of June hangs on

in the cottonwoods before

the dark gets the last word.

charleston mural

my latest piece for the chArt outdoor initiative (park circle, north charleston):

photo by my expert protographer colby rabon.

thanks also to thea lynn anderson, mollie howey, haley hobeika, patch whisky, ben sellers, and geoff richardson.

while i was painting, i had a lot of people tell me what they thought this looked like. favorite guess: armadillo.

court mccracken

i have been meaning to make this post for awhile, so i'd like to start the year off by highlighting an artist-friend of mine: court mcracken.

let me gush for a second. court has been my right-hand-girl on three different mural projects, and she is a real gem: supportive, attentive, hard-working as all hell. she has not only helped me tremendously in the past, but her newest drawings are breathtaking. i went to her studio while i was in asheville last week and they are even better in person. if you're in town, go see her show at the junction in the river arts district, beginning january 19th.

from the series "migrations":

art basel: take two

i'm back from my second annual trip to art basel: miami beach! this year was as good and wild and light on sleep as last year. i had the honor of painting a wall in the kohn compound alongside street art and graffiti giants who have been painting longer than i've been alive, and i'm coming back with renewed passion and drive to make more and bigger and better work before i go back for art basel 2012.

special thanks to court mccracken and miranda maynard, my two tough laybirds, for all their help. and thanks to josh kohn for putting together a great group and for being the best host and facilitator imaginable.

a couple pictures from 217 NW 24th street:

glamour shot by estria:

and a video from art primo (watch for 1:43):

vines mural

mural finished in my apartment. at home now in memphis, cataloging the nineteen million things i'm thankful for!

from my sketchbook

a few drawings from a much larger stash: