On being "dreamy"

I'm an adult and I still draw. Often enough i get called dreamy, unrealistic, and naive. If being strong willed enough to pursue my dreams and write my own story is all those things, i'll take it.

Most of us draw and paint when we're kids. We're told we can be anything we want to. But as we get older we're told to be realistic and aim for something stable. I still believe I can be whatever I want, i believe you can too!

I'd rather live a wild rollercoaster of a life than to wake up when i'm 30 or 40 and wonder what I did with my life/ youth. Wonder if working for a stable paycheck was worth selling my life for. Ditch the mid life crisis and fight for the life i crave.

I won't lie. 2011 was probably the toughest year of my life. But I regret nothing. Sometimes not knowing how I would eat or pay bills. But in the end I pushed my limits and things are looking up. I have faith that i'll be able to support myself fully from my art at sometime next year.

I'd like to thank all my friends, fans, fellow artists (who i love more than you know), and anyone else i'm forgetting that most likely helped me in some way. I'm going to spend this last day drawing and being in the company of good people. Hope you have a good new year.

Work hard, believe in yourself, and stay humble.

xoxo,
wishcandy

Oh, babe!

Oh, babe! watercolor and graphite, 5x7 inches. 2011.

I've been more motivated than ever this past month, and I hope the work ethic train just keeps getting better! I've been concentrating on art mostly and see big things happening in a not so distant future!

If you didn't already know, these recent drawings are now in my shop. I'll be updating my shop more regularly, so check it often. Never know what might pop up. If you're looking for something in particular, just shoot me a message on etsy or an e-mail ---> wishcandyyy {at} gmail dot com.

Ever imagine what you'd look like as one of my drawings? There are portraits available too. <3

Thanks for reading my blog you guys!

xoxo,
wishcandy

Prankster and the prints

There seems to be an echo around the internet lately. Are people disappearing as the holidays are approaching?

I'm online just as often, and drawing even more!


Prankster, watercolor and graphite. 8x10 inches. 2011

(The third drawing for Giant Robot's Printed matter show next month!)

I promise this won't be the last drawing of 2011. I'm going to keep cranking these out. The best gifts anyone could give me is their attention, support, kind words, showing their friends, and/or ordering a portrait. I do those you know.

Lastly, i'm running low on prints. So please snap them up so I can print some new ones for you guys!

Bitchin' Bird

The future is looking pretty damn exciting! Uncertain, but full of potential! We write our own stories.

Making art super often has had a huge uplift in my general mood. So has the upswing in traffic. It's influenced me to keep up this pace!

Which strangely led me into meeting some pretty awesome artists (and other people). Resulting in some good news: I'll be participating in Printed Matter next month at Giant Robot (in motherfuckin' LA!)

Here's one of the images i'm sending off to be printed:




Bitchin' Bird, watercolor and graphite. 8x10 inches. 2011.

I'll be most likely sending multiples of three different prints, which you'll be able to snag in person. It's a cash and carry show, so once you pay you can take it! They might also have some available online.

So excited! I've also been considering putting up some of my newer originals up for sale next month. For those of you who have been asking.

Finger food

 
Finger food, watercolor and graphite. 8.5x11 inches, 2011.

An illustration for the upcoming issue for Domestic Etch Magazine! The editor, Miss Elizabeth Goodspeed, was nice enough to allow me to post this early.

So go check out the magazine if you haven't yet!

This was so much fun and a big challenge compared to what i've been making lately. I've got a lot planned for the next couple weeks. I'll be participating in Giant Robot's show: Printed Matter.

Which means, there will be some new art and new prints for you to grab next month! It's a cash and carry show (some prints will be reserved for online).

Awwwkward

Awwwkward, watercolor and graphite. 5x7 inches. 2011.

I swear I woke up early-ish today just to scan this. Post it. Then eat a slice of banana cake for breakfast (which i baked at like 1 am).

I've been making more art, but this is an adjustment period. Need more. Quicker. Flex those damn art muscles! Focus!

Young Eyes

young eyes (fuck), watercolor & graphite. 5x7 inches. 2011.

Today has been much better. Rolling like a rebel, already starting my next drawing. My goal is to fill up a wall in my room.

Expect more art, more often.

Flooding from the inside

Welling up, watercolor and graphite on paper. 5x7 inches. 2011.

This drawing says more than I ever could. This isn't going to turn into a whining blog. I promise. Which brings me to this question: What has been inspiring you lately?

It could be music, art, books, a river you took a walk by.

Also: Prints are now in stock in my art shop! There are a few left after the pre-orders shipped, so snap them up! Every print sold means I'll be able to make more prints, and keep making art.

There are also a couple new 5x7 prints i told nobody about. So go get em'!

I appreciate you all!

Nothing worth celebrating

Nothing worth celebrating. 5x7 inches. Watercolor and graphite on paper. 2011.

I watched Pulp fiction twice within the past week. Each time I watch it I pick up something different. This was inspired by the colors in the diner scene with Uma Thurman and John Travolta. Red walls and a neon ice cream sign. I believe it said EAT.

Yum!

Also: I want to serve you guys better! I've been thinking of introducing a new lower priced print line. It'd be done on glossy stock paper.

Would you be interesting in purchasing these? Are there any images you're dying to buy as a print? I'd love to make some new ones! (Especially Burger Love, Sweet Tooth, and maybe Countess de Breakfast.)

Domestic Etch Magazine

Genuine talent bursts from the seams of Domestic Etch Magazine. A publication run by the humorous Elizabeth Goodspeed.

Issue 4 showcases artists, illustrators, and comic makers! Some you might have heard of and some you haven't. Every page is a good one, inspiring, and well selected.

The theme for this issue is summer. So prepare for images of lazy days in the grass a la Lilly Piri and Mel Stringer. Visions of the sea, swim suits, roadtrips, homages to celebration and relaxation.

Other artists include: Devon Smith, Benjamin Constantine, and Stacey Rozich (who I interviewed in this issue!)













Pssst! I did the cover art. Makes me wish fall wasn't coming so I could laze on a beach and eat popsicles while chilling with seagulls.

Snag a copy yourself! It's available in a digital format too.

Monsterbation Two!

I'm super pumped for Monsterbation 2! It's a erotic art show of monstrous proportions. I was fortunate enough to be invited back this year.

Here's a sneak peek of the pieces I submitted, for you lovely people. And if you're curious, the pieces i made last year are here and here.

The show hangs from October 6th to 30th at the Pony Club Gallery in Portland, OR. If you like sexy fun things, I highly recommend the show. There isn't anything else as genius!

Kickin' it old school, part 3

Rococo art is one of my favorite eras in art. I've referred back to it again and again over the years.

There's something magical in it. It was a time of leisure, flamboyance, indulgences, pleasure, and super delicious color palettes. You heard me. Super delicious color palettes!

Everything looks so soft and light, like whipped cream. And easter eggs! Lots of texture and pastels juxtapozed against neutrals. Lastly, don't forget some of the dramatic composition and incredible detail!


Marie Antoinette, Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun.


Marriage (part of a series), William Hogarth.


Cephale et Procris, Jean-Honoré Fragonard.


The Swing, Jean-Honoré Fragonard.


Miss Graham, Thomas Gainsborough.


Diana and Endymion, Jean-Honoré Fragonard.

Some of my favorite creatives have been inspired and made tribute to Rococo: Mark Ryden, Ray Caesar, and Sofia Coppola (see Marie Antoinette).

This style wasn't only found in paintings, the ridiculousness carried into architecture, interior design, and household goods as well!

Booksmeller Sunday, Invisible Monsters

Invisible Monsters caught me off guard, like any good novel does. It seeps into your pores and taints your thoughts. It stays with you forever.



Palahniuk's plots are strange and twisted, but I don't keep reading because they're "weird" or "gimmicky". The protagonists are usually really compelling. You don't understand why they are the way they are until the end of the novel. So I hop along for the ride to see more.

Invisible Monsters is my favorite so far, even only having read four of his novels. It's more or less about a model whose face gets blown off with a shotgun. There's a lot more fun in her life post-shotgun trauma. Her poor career ruined. But the adventure is just beginning. In the hospital she meets an in-transition transgender named Brandy Alexander, and this is where the fun happens.



Saying i'm a bit of a book nerd would be a bit of an understatement. I took a book arts class to learn how to construct a book, and also how to take advantage of it's format to produce content. When I pick up a book, I don't just take note of the cover design and illustration. (Although these colors are so peachy keen, pop, and monochromatic). I also look at the weight of the paper, the smell, the font chosen, the formatting and pacing of chapters, the size of the book, etc. Above all, I get super happy when I get a hardcover book, rip off that dust jacket, and see that there is a well thought out design there.

Books don't need dust covers, they need fancy designs on the hardcover cloth itself. And perhaps more illustration, like in the Victorian era.

Don't let me forget the whole purpose of these posts, besides to nerd out about the novels themselves. This borrowed novel smells sweet like powdered sugar, but at the same time it's sour like lemons or pickles. On second smelling, there is almost a hint of bacon. Which makes me giggle if i think about the content.

I say you go pick up this novel and read it! And smell it! It's highly entertaining. It amuses me how much people either love his work or hate it. I'm afraid to read his most current works, I hear they aren't as great as his older ones. We'll see...

So anyone else smelling books lately? Have a favorite book in your collection to smell? Do you walk into libraries and used book stores swooning to the smell of old books?

I do.

Domestic Etch

To this day it feels very surreal to see my work featured somewhere. I remember just a year ago when i'd look at magazines, websites, and blogs and marvel at others art. And now my name and work is being carried in the winds of the internet like spores, ready to plant flowers (or cutely macabre fungi).

Last week Domestic Etch featured some of my art. The magazine and blog is ran by the hilarious Elizabeth Goodspeed, who I met on twitter. (We have very *special* conversations, haha). Go check out my feature here, and the rest of her blog. There are a lot of talented artists shown, even Goodspeed herself paints!



I have so much to say, and so much to tell you! Lots of good news, but I have to keep my mouth shut for now.

Ch-ch-changes

Vision, 3.5x5 inches. Graphite on paper.

I've been a bad girl. I dove into reading Filth the past few days. It's a book about a misogynist pig of a cop. A friend let me borrow the book a while back, and I kept putting off reading it. I didn't even put it on my reading list. I read the first chapter when I got the book. It didn't intrigue me.

Many months later, I've entered a sort of "blue period" in my work. I've been more interested in what's dark. I've been researching the twenties and prohibition.

And now I've been diving back into writing. I made a promise over on twitter that I'd post a story up here next week. I want to post the story I'm working on now. It's my best yet. But no matter what, a story will be posted, whether this is complete or not.

Folk Life

I'm slowly surrounded by folk life. It gently sings to me in the waking hour. It fills my heart with promises of rustic cabins and a warm spot by the fire. My eyes fill with light as the sun sets and a lantern guides me through the dew covered forest.

A huge part of this inspiration is this cabin fever I've been suffering from. However the load is made a lot lighter by Grimm's Fairytales, handsome folk musicians, and the work of Becca Stadtlander.

Becca Stadtlander is an amazing artist. She recently graduated art school for illustration. She weaves a magical scene reminiscent of Folk art and Japanese prints. Her work holds a spot in my heart.







She marries colors both dark and vibrant, creating iconic imagery. Her portfolio is absolutely stunning, i dare you to go look.

Her prints are also amazingly affordable.

Booksmeller Sunday, Lullaby

I've only read two of Palahniuk's books and i'm still intrigued by the fucked up mystical world he weaves. I've read Diary, and recently read Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk.

He isn't everyone's cup of tea. He sometimes writes in a strange point of view. Or writes in like 3 or 4 points of view within a few pages (read Diary). He writes on and on and you wonder where he's going with it all. But by the end everything makes sense and your brain won't explode (disclaimer: no promises).



The overall design of the book is really lovely. I adore cursive fonts. The book is black and white with pops of yellow, keeping the design of the book modern. Also, the chapters are usually pretty short, which is nice because I like to read in short bursts.



The illustration of the upside down bird is also a foreshadowing illustration. I find it quite cute, but I have a morbid sense of humor. Dead birds, awww! (I have a small collection of dead bird photographs *whistles innocently*)

Upon first inspection, this particular copy of Lullaby smells like old ladies. It reminds me of mothballs, kitchen spices, farts covered by old lady perfume. Which makes it seem questionable, considering whom the book is borrowed from. You should smell it. Have you smelled your books before? I suggest it. I promise they don't all smell questionable.

An Education

Sometimes there are days where I do nothing more than sketch and absorb the world around me. It's a good break. This week I watched An Education and expected it to serve as fashion inspiration (and have a bad plot).

It was very much visually inspiring, but help a compelling plot as well. It's about a young lass in her last year of school. She's forced to choose between a safe boring path and a risky fun-filled one. So it's obvious which path she'll choose. But all the fill in the blanks inbetween was compelling.

It made me wonder what life would have been like had I been more defiant as a school girl. Regardless, it was touching to me because I chose to become an artist. Which isn't really well understood (by a lot of people "close" to me).

As Oscar Wilde so eloquently said, "Be yourself, because everyone else is already taken."

Lastly, on the surface of it all, I love the wardrobe of this film. I find the grey uniforms simply adorable. The use of clothing is somewhat symbolic in the film. Her outfits are very conservative in the beginning and in the end. But in the middle they're very glamorous. I've always believed 60s black eyeliner is to die for. And the lovely leading lady is even cuter in it.

Artist 1, Universe 0

It's not necessarily this artist versus the universe, but sometimes it feels like it. I had my week all planned out. I don't plan very far ahead, but when I do plan, the plans come crashing down and exploding from the sky. I wind up with days blocked off in advance, making me feel productive. But when the day arises, everything turns to crap. Somebody cancels, circumstances change for the worse, etc. But this week, despite the obstacles, nothing stopped me!

Sure I got canceled on, but I had a grand ol' time. On Tuesday I made soup i've never made before. And on Wednesday, I meandered around Baltimore with some people.



My brother had been going on and on about how we had to go to Dangerously Delicious Pies. For weeks, he went on and on about. I said, okay okay yeah sure. But I'd been on a inspiration kick, and found a blog with a pie recipe from that pie shop. The name of the pie: White Trash Creme Brulee. Instantly, I knew I had to have pie there. Any pie shop with a fabulous name like that for their goods? Aw hell yes!

Their main store is closed until the 20th, but they had another store in the city. So we trekked out to Baltimore to get a slice. Upon arrival, we found that not all pies on their menu was available. I'll either have to make White Trash Creme Brulee myself, or wait till the main store is open. Boo.



So I got the Baltimore Bomb instead! It's made with Berger cookies (i'm told the cookie is local to B'more) and custard. It didn't look good or sound great, but i risked it anyway. Why not? I got it and it was a flavor explosion in my mouth! So deliciousss. They have decent deal on pie, if you get two sweet slices, two savory slices, and two drinks, it's only $20. Otherwise flavors vary from $6-7 a slice.

The place is decent, although the red lighting is a bit jarring.

Next on the list of our travels was Teavolve, a local tea shop I hadn't ever been to.



Not really much to say about the place. Aesthetically, it's very metro. The menu has plenty of tea drinks: loose tea, cold tea, bubble tea, chai, and tea lattes. They also had an array of finger foods and sandwiches. We got spinach dip with pita, which was tasty. But the pie shop had more character and flavor.

See for yourself.



In it's defense though. The atmosphere was pretty chill and cozy. The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful. Didn't feel any rush to leave. Even though it was hella late.

Did I mention after this I went to yet another place? I went to a dive bar for late night kareoke with some friends. Very last minute, and kinda funny. Nope, no photos. But the best adventures are had without cameras.

Lastly, I'm still making progress on this drawing. Getting caught up in detail.



I should be done in a day or two. Fingers crossed.

P.S.- Do you prefer shorter posts, or these more in-depth ones?