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Cameo in gilded frame, I made it some months ago

sketch for pinup with marionette

first illustration class, freshman year at MICA.  I think this might be gouache.  We were told to make abstract forms and then return later to find narrative imagery in them.

Let me be frank - LISA Frank

Among the many artists who captivated my heart in childhood (Elvis Costello, Graham Base, Patsy Cline), one stands out to most people as the pinnacle of syrupy sweet girly girl art, and she is Lisa Frank.  Everyone I knew in elementary school - or anyone the was anyone - had a Lisa Frank binder, folder, pencil box, eraser set, or some other permutation of frothy eyelash-riddled LF school supply.  I remember there being debates as to whose paraphernalia was more cute, more rad, more effective due to added sparkles or artificially colored animals.  Something about the computer-generated flawless eyelashed animals and the psychedelic other worldliness was incredibly powerful to certain people, and I was put under her spell along with an entire generation.  In more recent years Frank's art has shifted from the simple delight of lovable animals playing in a rainbow environment to predictable Bratz(tm)-esque big-eyed girls and breeches on the shore of Christian imagery (see Lisa Frank Best Friends crucifix below).  This comes is an unfortunate evolution, though not entirely unpredicted.  Nevertheless, miss Frank remains an important part of my girlhood whose art (the old stuff at least) I can still appreciate today for it's over-the-top saturation.

http://lisafrank.com/

ultimate Lisa Frank eraser collection

these yo yo hip hop fresh beat dropperz are ready to take you to party town

Trippy landscape accentuated by cosmic fluff and northern lights, and friends too good to be true

Glitter leopard on jungle log

I only want to see iridescent animals, not angels

 Foolish-looking rainbow leopards

Friends of Jesus Forever.  Now that I look at it more closely, I think someone may have made this with stickers, but it informative all the same.

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bulletin board, displaying beautiful children's book lining

drawing of girl with hoop

a w o m a n u n d e r t h e i n f l u e n c e

I was completely enraptured by John Cassavetes' A Woman Under the Influence.  It is the first film that I have seen in some time that I held still for and watched start to finish.  It is the first Cassavetes film that I saw, and by far my favorite.  It gives an extraordinary glimpse into the life of Mabel and her husband, and how they deal with Mabel's incredibly well-portrayed mental illness.

Mental illness is a very fascinating subject, but most attempts by actors to imitate it fall flat, and appear insensitive and unrealistic.  Gena Rowlands does not submit herself to this category however, and instead delivers an enrapturing and fantastically detailed human identity.  She plays the character impeccably well.

girls who wear glasses

I find myself extremely fortunate to be now living in a time where people who choose to be full-on glasses-wearers have a great deal of aesthetic options available to them in frame styles.  It is an important decision to make, and I personally go for a thick acetate most of the time.  I feel that we are at a place in our society where we are finally accepting four-eyed folk, and glasses themselves have become more of a compliment and less of an impediment to the face.  My favorite thing to see are people, beautiful or no, in a lovely pair of lenses, and there is nothing quite like a well-cultivated sexy librarian vibe.  Here is a collection of some fine dames in spectacles.....

Print by Sarah McNeil

sexy lamp for a sexy lady

familiar face

this category would be most incomplete without big T

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T h a i W e s t e r n

Thai director Wisit Sasanatieng's Tears of the Black Tiger (2000) is a beautiful blend of 1920s Asian cigarette ads and stern Clint Eastwood westerns.  The plot is descent - revenge, romance, betrayal - but the script is sticky and watching it feels a little like trudging along.  One is better off just taking in the stunning visuals and lulling soundtrack, and appreciating the bubbly roll of Thai, which I cannot understand but enjoy nevertheless.