Art Plunge

a very tiny clip of my painting while it was still in process Today at NOON and only on my TIGERBEE ARTS FACEBOOK PAGE  will I be listing the newly released affordable art pieces. One of a kind real paintings (not silk screened, not digital, not quickly painted) that are given as much attention and time as my larger pieces but set at an affordable price for any would be collectors because they are smaller. Today I'm shooting to offer 2 canvas pieces that measure 12" x 12" each, done in my bright style focusing on my theme of Nature. Maybe they remind you to disconnect sometime and go explore the hyper amazing real world outside? Maybe they remind you to reconnect with the very basic essence of your very own life and self. Whatever they say to you I hope you enjoy a little piece of my heart and creations from my own hands. See you at noon!

Tomorrow will be the first AFFORDABLE ART release day. I'm hoping to do these every Thursday, release a new piece (or a few) of small affordable art for anyone wanting to collect some of my work while they can still get it at a ridiculous price. I'm in flux this year getting ready for a big art show at an established gallery and once I'm in the gallery the prices immediately go up and it would not be in my best interest or the gallery I'm working with to put work out there for any less so THIS IS YOUR CHANCE.  I wanted to talk a little bit about this project and why I'm doing it. First and foremost I know what it's like to love and appreciate art and not be able to afford it. Luckily for me I've been able to barter with some of my fellow artists for their work but that isn't always the case and most likely the artists really need the money to pay rent, eat, live basically. So I'd like you as the public to really think about where you are pu...

JOAN JETT cherry bomb Debbie Harry superstar Cherie Currie hello world I'm your wild girl TREX's Marc Bolan glitterlicious Johnny Thunders the one and only This is pretty much a snapshot of my weekend. I've been mad hustling on painting records for the Texas Theater show this upcoming Saturday and needing to leave a day in the week to create my affordable artworks so I can start that ball rolling. In case you missed the memo- these are the last records I'm doing for awhile as I need to focus on my fine art canvas work for my upcoming show at WAAS gallery and some other opportunities that are on the radar so...SOOOOO....if you want one of these I suggest you snatch it up because I won't be painting anymore for a while. Each one will be $60 flat with a small % going to the venue. I'l be DJing that night with my friend DJ Woodtronic and there will be a drag show along with a screening of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH! Costumes encouraged! :) ...

detail from my painting "World of Traceable Ghosts" I was just recently interviewed by a woman who is doing some reasearch for a possible book, she is studying the meaningfulness of work to different individuals in different fields. It's too long to go into here but we touched on somethings that I wanted to pass on in my blog in case it was helpful at all to anyone. One of the first things she asked me was did I find what I did meaningful and why... and why I decided to do what I do. So here is a bit of what I think on the matter and why I think it's important to find your job in life....not necessarily a JOB in the sense of the word of employment but your task, mission and place.  So let's skip back about three years to when I was still working at a not so very nice place using my physical body and strength to do work that eventually got me injured. Why I decided to do what I do? I decided to choose the path of ART because it was in me as much as the a...

Must survive till March! It appears March will be when luck smiles down on me at last. I have been waiting two years for money that is owed to me from my last job to arrive and finally finally it is being released to me AT LONG LAST! I think back on all the very hard times, riding a bike to the store weekly and picking the smallest cheapest chicken I could find and hauling my little stash of food home on my bike and back. Going without. Unable to help pay for my Dads headstone at the time. Missing out on so many things because I was broke. Being too sick and not able to see a doctor. At one point I even remember googling BOLLWEEVILS IN RICE to see if it was safe to eat the last box in the cupboard. UGH! Tight times indeed! I'm down to one pair of jeans that are nice enough to wear out. Havent bought socks and undies in wayyyy toooo looooong! So hearing that at long freakin' last I can live semi-human again just really made my day. New socks and undies! YAY! If I can ...

detail from "Path of Diligence" I've been doing a lot of thinking about this upcoming year and my upcoming show. I tried to paint on my canvas works for the show and then stop and switch to record commissions and right now it is very hard to pop into those different gears. I feel like the momentum gets lost and I've been thinking about how to work around it. I decided for a little while at least I'm cutting off the commission pipeline for a bit until I get zoned in where I need to be. I'll finish off all pending commissions and get my work under way. I have also decided that I will paint 2-3 smaller affordable pieces and offer them up for grabs on a certain day every week. These will be one of a kind paintings in the realm of my big ones -something similar to a closeup detail section of a painting. Whoever is collecting them will not only be getting fresh now ideas that may appear in a larger work for my big show but also helping to fund my work for th...

"The Path of Navigating Differences"  24" x 24" acrylic/krylon on canvas I finished it! This was a strange transitory piece for me as I wanted to shift color palettes and move into nocturnal territory. I've been experimenting with diffusing out the backgrounds on top of the krylon spray atmosphere I already create...more miasmic clouds and fuzzed out lights to change things up. I started with the branch and strange foliage and the piece just kind of built itself around it. I used three different species of bat to further the idea of "differences" and added in the mysterious serpents, an enemy to the bat...or at least a predator. Detail shot Detail shot As usual the pictures don't do it justice. The colors are way more dramatic and vibrant and for no good reason there's some streaky lines on the background that aren't even there in the real piece. I'm going to try to re-shoot today, possibly too much sun and wrong ca...

Today is the day...I must finish this piece! I vow to finish this today and that is that! I'll post a picture of the finished work when it's done. Then it's vinyl record painting time for a bit. I can't believe January is almost over, this has been a weird month. A weird start to the new year for sure. I'm hoping morning runs in the chilly air will set the tone for the day in the energy department. Move! Run! Get it done! :) Yesterday I cranked on this painting and also designed up a new little Etsy banner just because I was tired of looking at the other one. I'm not completely sold on it but it will be a nice stand in till I have time to really design something better. http://www.tigerbee.etsy.com My store is totally depleted except for a few Roly Poly prints and a record. Now is not the time to waste time, I have some potential opportunities that will require me to have work ready to roll soon so I better clock in and start punching! I'm t...

work in progress.... 2013 is the Year of The Snake, I had to put a little reminder in this painting to mark the occasion. I have sooo much work to do on this painting that I shouldn't even think about it and should just DO IT. It's going to be a nose to the grindstone kind of week, especially since I took the day off yesterday from painting. The weather was gorgeous and I was seduced by my bike and the sunshine. I also fit in friend time and saw some live rock n roll, it was a great weekend! I've been feeling under the weather and still fighting with my immune system and a lingering cough. I may end up going to a doctor by weeks end if I don't see a resolution...I'm kinda thinking theres some pneumonia hanging out in my lungs. :/ Finally got all the art to my wonderful collector Randy Parker (hi Randy!) and got to see it in it's new home, made me so happy! I love that these went into a bedroom as a lot of the imagery initially came from my dreams...

This is what is brewing in my studio right now... I'm in the midst of a new piece and I'm working with some very time consuming techniques and effects on this one. Each painting has to challenge me more than the last. I hate just cranking things out at the same level as the last one. What's the point? That's not climbing up the mountain that's playing around on the elliptical machine. (each section is painted and then "feathered out" with a dry brush technique to make it soft) So today I was thinking about how time consuming these were, how many new paintings I need to make for some upcoming opportunities, how many I will need to make to turn around now to make rent and bills and how much I charge for my work. I hate math. I really do.  Let's say I have been charging $400 for a piece that is 24" x 24". And Paypal will immediately take out about $15 of that. $385 and let's deduct the price of canvas and paint which if it ...

Places you can find my art right now include: NEIGHBORHOOD (Bishop Arts District) KETTLE ART (Deep Ellum) and look for me later this year at WAAS GALLERY this is THE big blip on my radar this year, my focus and goal is to get a body of work together to show alongside one other artist. I CAN DO THIS! To learn more about this wonderful gallery who is taking me on and the powerhouse woman behind it, I found a nice article: http://lamodedallas.com/art/waas-gallery/ So where am I? In my studio being the busiest bee I can be! Happy Friday! 

  Vinyl record art! Commission of David Bowie on vinyl... Yesterday I disconnected from online life (for a good chunk of the day) and ended up going to see the POSTERS OF PARIS exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art. Some of you remember me working there a few years back...for almost a decade! So of course I can't go in there without seeing at least 30 old friends, giving hugs and high fives and being asked that question: "What are you doing these days?" I used to cringe a little because I hadn't yet discovered my courage to answer quite proudly. But now I can answer that question with a big grin on my face. "I AM PAINTING, I AM SO HAPPY" Really? That is my job right now? I remember when I was working THERE wanting to be where I am now. I fantasized about it, visualized it, planned and plotted for it, saved for it. It was my dream, it was my goal and BAM! I got it. You can get it if you make it your mission. Quite simply. The exhibit was great I ...

Brother Sister project, my brother Erik and I created these records for Mr. Velez It was a studio lock-down kinda weekend- it was too cold to be outside playing and I had lots of work to do so I knocked out some commission stuff that needed doing. First up was dogs, dogs , dogs! These are painted on records with acrylic, fun pet portraits for my friend Chuck. (Sioux B is a pretty shy dog) Buddies! Caspar and Mason on a vinyl record Then it was on to the Brother Sister project I hadn't had a chance to get to in all the holiday craziness and bronchitis fun. My brother designed out the skull and lettering and did most all the work on the blue disc, I did the red disc using his designs a little more simplified and combined you have our two distinct styles- mines a little sweet and his has a little menace to it- a good sweet n sour combo if you ask me! He excels at that lettering! Today is ship day and I'm excited to get these to their proper homes.  I have bee...

Tree Bark found in my front yard after the rains My handy dandy cupcake calendar says there are about 3 more weeks left in January. That means 3 more weeks to make a stack of GLAM records appear for the Texas Theater show and finish up some commissions. There's also a little word floating around that I might get called on to work on a 4 week mural project that will involve working at night. That could get crazy but I can hang. The important thing is to be prepared by knocking out all my work as it comes in. As soon as Januarys batch of orders are done I will have to do some time management to make sure I'm on track for my art show this July. It sounds like a long way off but it's really NOT when you're pulling together a whole new body of work....and planning an installation idea. Yes. I am stepping into the world of installation and I've got some cool ideas I need to experiment with. I've been collecting interesting pieces of bark (like the one above) ...

"The Path of Attraction" acrylic/krylon on canvas 24" x 24" My newest piece was finally revealed last night at Kettle Art Gallery in Deep Ellum. This along with my two NATURE GRAFF pieces and some small 12" x 12"s  and that should give people a taste of what I'm up to right now.  The show was great and I got to show with a few of my peeps like Brian Hamm and Micheal Broussard. Both talented local artists you should check their work out. The show will be up this month so trek down and see it! Today I get my works back from Kessler and try to figure out where to put the musical totem again. I spent the past 3 days revamping my studio. SERIOUSLY. 3 DAYS!!! It's not a very big room but man oh man was it a MESS! I couldn't even work on anything until I had it sorted out because my brain wouldn't wrap itself around anything in that clutter. So I'm pleased to say ITS DONE! My studio is fresh and organized!  Don't tell my...

Blurred out Instagram photo of........ I try to give very freely of my thoughts, artwork, love and creative spirit and sometimes people tell me to be quiet. Don't show everything, don't tell everything, be quiet. Sometimes it makes me feel like the little kitten who wanted to play and jumped in someones lap and was tossed off immediately. But that's my nature. What if I am not here tomorrow?  I don't want to leave things unsaid. Bad enough to leave things undone. I don't see the point in a contrived production of secrecy but I do see this as a personal challenge for me so I will practice the art of quietude right now. I have wanted to take a techno break and not use the computer or my cell but that is a fantasy when you're a starving artist whose main source of income and info is coming from your computer. But this week and possibly next it's buckle down time as I have a lot of work suddenly and two new orders that popped up today. So while it's n...

when it rains it pours... Sometimes all it takes is a little jump start to get your motor running again. My January just got jumping and now I'm thoroughly swampered with work to do and commissions. Hustling new work for Kettles show next week, finishing loose end vinyl commissions from 2012 and soon to be starting 2 more canvas commissions that came in - one to a fab designer in the UK! Things just started picking up after Pantone (as in THE Pantone- the Industry Standard for Color!) posted my painting "Flourish" on their page yesterday. I can't explain how excited I was. As an artist who is an avid color fan, whose artistic decisions are fueled by color palettes and experimentations with color -I was completely geeking out. "Flourish" acrylic on canvas 36" x 36" now at {neighborhood} in Bishop Arts District I still have to amass some record art for next months showing at Texas Theater and it's just time to prioritize everything...

Detail from "Nocturnal Entanglements" acrylic/krylon on 12" x 12" canvas The bats have shown favor on me. I had just finished painting this one and made it's listing on Etsy and it was snatched up quite quickly by a fellow artist who had collected another one of my small canvases recently. I LOVE that it gets to reside in the same space with the other. These little ones look great hung together. I am trying to make a few of these smaller pieces in conjunction with my bigger pieces, they help me work out some ideas, techniques and they are affordable enough for my friends and fans to snatch them up. "Nocturnal Entanglements" SOLD On Wednesday I was feeling pretty rock bottom if you must know the truth. I hadn't made nearly enough money over the holidays as I had hoped and I had to miss paying a few bills while I crossed my fingers for magic to happen. In fact I sulkily painted the bat to get my mind off financial worries so thank good...