Chase bank, painting en plein air, and the LAPD

I started another burning bank painting today, this time the Chase branch in Van Nuys. I got lots of thumbs up and likes from passersby but after an hour and a half the cops showed up. They said someone called thought I might be a terrorist. It was a peaceful encounter and I think the cops felt a little silly writing me up; its a long way from painting a visual metaphor of the banks to actual terrorism. They ran my ID through their computer, we chatted a bit and they let me go. I can't wait to start another one now! Aahahah! Who would have thought plein air painting could become an episode of COPS? The piece needs a little more work but I'm going to let it get good and dry and do more in the meantime. Oil on canvas, 22 by 28
Bank Bonuses Gone Wild!! Click here to check this hilarious new youtube video with Alex Schaefer and the Octocorn Network!

nudes in the woods

Yesterday on the Alex Schaefer Hour we had model Amy Pigg posing for us and giving interesting conversation. I took an old landscape that didn't go anywhere and decided to paint her into it. It was a series of ten minute poses composed on the fly. Click here to listen to the show. Oil on canvas, 18 by 24

Feeling Guilty About Not Blogging

I've been feeling guilty about not blogging so much lately. About not having new inspiring photos to share...feeling guilty about blogging in bursts rather than being consistent like I feel I should. I look at some folks blogs like Alisa Burke who I admire, and she's always got some cute project idea or beautiful recipe to share. Her photos look like magazine ads. I don't know how she, and many others like her do it.

I know that the more time I spend online updating my website, store and blog the better I will do in the long run but it's so hard. All I wanta do is make art. Sitting alone with my music, painty fingers, instead of the click of the keyboard.

I actually saw that the cherries I bought the other day have a Facebook and Twitter account. WHAT!? I really wonder what our life is going to be like 10 years from now. Maybe I should feel guilty about not keeping up with the rest of the world. Maybe every moment should be tweeted, documented. Maybe that's just how things are now. Maybe I am getting old. ha

chase

I was inspired to paint some plein air yesterday, and to add another burning building to my series, so I set up in front of Chase bank in Burbank and had at it. I got 90% of it done on location and the put the finishing touches on the fire at the Hive gallery during the closing show. I photographer there filmed a time lapse of the flames ... I'm curious to see how that looks! Oil on canvas, 20 by 24

Summer Heat. Ugg.

Hey guys,

I've been hiding from the heat working inside and feeling lazy. Summer always seems to do that too me. It's so humid here in Florida. Ugg. I haven't had a chance to journal in about a month. WHAT!?? Crazy right? Instead I've been working on paintings. I'm excited about teaching a few classes in Sandford FL this fall and am hard at work on my demo pieces and writing the classes. I am also excited because my good friend Tessa McSorley (http://www.howtomakeart.com/) and I have been working on a new online journaling class. It's going to be awesome. We will be binding our own journals, playing with plaster and lots more! It's still in the early stages so I'm not sure when it will be out but I'm so excited to be working on it with her. :)


What projects have you been working on this summer?

XO

Sarah

circle, triangle, and square

I gave an art talk at the Kidspace Museum and filmed some video of it... the kids had a great time and so did I! Here's the drawing I did to demonstrate building with simple shapes. I practiced so I could do it upside down! Ahahahah! I have more video but I'll edit that later.

Fun with Kuretake pens!

I was recently sent a bunch of fun pens by Kuretake, well-known for their awesome Zig pens. I had an afternoon to play and wanted to show you all my results! :)



Here are a few of my favorites of the lot:

The waterbrush. I take this with me everywhere! It has a reservoir you can fill with water and combined with watercolor media is perfect for journaling on the go.


A fabulous double sided metallic Painty marker. One side is silver and the other is gold. A great fine tip too!


Love the Woodcraft markers! A chunky tip with a nice opaque, slightly chalky paint that is easy to write over. Great for journaling!


This Real brush pen is fabulous! It leaves great brush strokes and is watersoluable for watercolor effects. LOVE.





The Scroll and Brush marker. I'm loving the double tip side.


The Painty FX! A great all around paint pen. Not quite as nice a tip as the Sharpie Poster paints for fine work but still a great pen to add to your arsenal. Slightly chalky and writes over well when dry.

Here are a few shots of my journal playing with these pens. The background is acrylic paint and all of the pen work is the Kuretake pens.

Here I tried to do a complete page with only the pens. The background was done mostly with the Woodcraft markers and made for a nice background. The other pens wrote and stamped nicely over top.

A big thank you to Kuretake for sending me these great goodies!!!

Here is their website if you want to check out their products: http://www.kuretake.co.uk/

Alex Schaefer Hour

Yesterday our guest was the fascinating artist Paul Whitehead. It was a really amazing interview and the portrait of him turned out great! The audio isn't the best unfortunately but hopefully you can make some sense of it! Click here to listen to the show. Also you can check out Paul's work at www.paulwhitehead.com

life drawing

Yesterday was life drawing at the Hive put together by the weekly scribbler group. There is really a crowd turning out for this and they are booking some great models. Here's what I got going. The group meets Tuesdays from 7 to 10pm and its $15 dollars to draw. All are welcome!

Idaho

I spent a week with my family in Idaho. What a beautiful place! It feels like a person can really live there but very differently than LA. Here's a couple landscapes I did... alkyd 12 by 16

wildflowers

Still life of wildflowers of Idaho. I arranged them myself too.

fallen soldier

This is a 5 by 5 inch portrait of Lyndon A. Marcus Jr., age 21 from Long Beach, killed in Iraq in 2004.

"When times get rough, look up in the sky and call me and look up and listen and you'll hear me say, 'Look where I'm at. Do you see me quitting? Don't give up the fight, 'cause I'm your bro, and I'm not a quitter, and neither are you.'"

— Lyndon A. Marcus Jr., in a letter his sister received the day the family learned of his death

let them eat cupcake!

red velvet cupcake portrait, oil on canvas, 6" by 6"

lets protest!

money is the root of all evill.