WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER

And the winner of the OCTOBER giveaway is...

LITTLE ANGEL of http://littleangelbymeg.etsy.com/ !!

comment #8 picked by random.org

Meg has won a pair of amazing pink gloves from http://marinebiochic07.etsy.com/ and a ooak pink ribbon butterfly painting and painted votive from me at http://pnsnnedls.etsy.com/

AND a donation will be made in Meg's name to the SUSAN G. KOMEN foundation at http://ww5.komen.org/

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND A BIG THANK YOU TO MARINE FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION!

In honor of BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH enter a GIVEAWAY for some PINK inspired goodies! Just comment on this post and you could win!

I painted a piece titled "HOPE" in honor of those women and their
familes who keep hope in a cure. I used acrylic paint to create this
pink ribbon butterfly. Its a 5x7 on heavy acrylic paper.
The winner will also get a pink DRIP votive candle holder created with stained glass tint.



A great etsy friend also donated a beautful pink pair of crocheted fingerless gloves! These gloves are so cute and will be great for the upcoming winter! Visit her at http://marinebiochic07.etsy.com/

THE WINNER WILL ALSO HAVE A DONATION MADE TO THE Susan G. Komen FOUNDATION IN THEIR NAME . VISIT http://ww5.komen.org/ TO FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN HELP !

***just comment on this post and a winner will be chosen at random on OCTOBER 29TH***

ARTIST FEATURE~~~~ Matt Cipov

MATTY8080.ETSY.COM

TO DECORATE MY NEW APARTMENT I WAS ON THE HUNT TRYING TO FIND SOME COOL ZOMBIE PRINTS ON ETSY. I FOUND THIS SHOP WITH THE MOST AMAZING AND CREATIVE WORKS OF ART. I AM SO LUCKY THAT MATT OF matty8080.etsy.com AGREDD TO CHAT WITH ME...

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Often I am inspired by snippets of concepts. It's almost like they tumble in my brain for a while, ideas for a drawing, or a couple drawings and sometimes the ideas start to stick together... it might be a phrase I read, a bit of a conversation I heard, a dream from the night before, some really good music, a new weird animal I have never seen, a request that someone brings to me for art... and I let these things stay inside of my head... not sketched, not attempted, until I feel ready to put them on paper.

And when I do finally get to drawing, sometimes things that may have been intended to be single concepts merge into one, the lines and words I head and read become little hits of text that weave into my art. Just a bunch of fragments that take a long while sometimes to find a home. I am sure my brain is full of these things I see and hear and a lot of them are patiently waiting to end up in my drawings.

WHAT MEDIUMS DO YOU USE TO CREATE YOUR WORK?
I used to labor over each drawing I worked on so much more than necessary because of the mediums I chose to work in. For instance, I used a lot of watercolor and I was always in danger of ruining a piece of art if I applied too much of something, or not enough, or the wrong colors. A project could end up a water logged mess.

I love mixing color and line work, but I prefer to keep things contained and lacking the chaos of wet mediums. So now I use a combination of ballpoint pen, and various acrylic paint markers. You can do all sorts of painterly things with them... blends, builds, fixes, cover ups... and it is all applied like ink. It helps me get my ideas on paper faster and with the luxury of working from anywhere in my home, or almost anywhere off site.

WHAT ARE YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITE PIECES?
In the last year and a half, or so, I have really been pushing myself to explore more color play, more rendering and more ways to combine the various ways I like to attack a piece of art.

I enjoy working with cut paper, manipulated prints of my work, and stamps. When I was facing the construction of art for a large solo show in the beginning of summer, 2009, I wanted to push myself to use all the methods I enjoy and apply them to subject matter that I love. I ended up making a series called CREATURES of the DEEP... a lot of my favorite animals drawn and hand manipulated without digital tricks, or too much planning. The squid drawing is from that series.

I have also been working on a series called I FEAR THE EIGHTIES. A tribute to characters and icons form my childhood that I think would be fun to warp and make creepy. The Smurfs and Ewoks drawings are from that series.

Also earlier this year I was asked to make the art ad poster for a Christopher O'Riley concert that mainly focused on the music of Radiohead. I love Radiohead and love making with themes based on their music, but for this project, I dangerously only had a day and a half to make art, construct a poster layout and get the whole things approved. I had been working on the concept in my head for a long while and when it came time to make the art I really gave it all the energy I had. The results are one of my best experimental drawings and I am so happy it all worked out.

A FEW WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOUR ART?
Some people write journals, keep diaries, or make bogs and that is their way of clearing their mind of things they need to express. I use my art like that. I like to make immediate expressions of what is going on in my head. Fast paced, not overly inspected blasts of art. Sometimes I have a whole lot of ideas that fit together and I attempt to tend to them all at once over the course of a day, or two and other times I chip away at something in quick sessions until I think it is done.

And when I make art, it is about having fun and committing it to paper. I am not a person who fills his work with symbology and subtext. I just like being playful. I disallow myself to do much, if any prep work before making a drawing. I just jump right to final art with barely any pencil under structure because it creates an adventure. It promises that I will have some mistakes, or come up with some strange experiments, and I love it.

Sorry, that was more than just a few words.

ANY WORDS TO LIVE BY?
If you are an artist and you truly want to let other people into your head, or let them know that you seriously love doing what you do, prove it with art. No snappy statement or adjective ladened text accompaniment is really going to say what you want it to say.

But if you keep at your craft and constantly challenge yourself, you will over time produce a large body of work... hopefully one that you are proud of. And a massive history constructed simply from your art speaks volumes. If you want people to find you, leave them a trail of your art. If it is vast and interesting enough, you will be surprised to see who finds you.

WHERE CAN WE FIND YOUR WORK?
You can go to MATTCIPOV.com to see my current website. Soon enough it is going to be rebuilt and go thru a lot of changes. I hope to accomplish that before the end of '09.

Also you can check out my online store:
matty8080.etsy.com

And my FLICKR:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattycipov/

WeLcOmE tO ThE jUnGle

CLICK ON THESE GREAT ETSY FINDS TO BE TAKEN TO THAT SHOP!

STAINED GLASS VOTIVES

I am excited about this! I found this glass tint for painting stained glass. It comes
in great translucent or translucent colors. I started playing with it and dripping it
down glass- I ♥love♥ the result!
These fun votives are available in my shop now for
a low price http://pnsnnedls.etsy.com and I have plans for wine glasses and glass
picture frames!
Let me know if you have any color combo or theme ideas!

D is for Dinosaur

I painted this little guy for my new pen pal DANIEL! Him and his mommy DES are on vacation in Hawaii for a bit. I can't wait to get pics and letters from him! I am sure him and DES are having a great time hanging on the hawaiian beaches everyday ! You can visit DES' shop when she gets back to crafting here- DeslynnWDesigns.etsy.com

ARTIST FEATURE~~~~ DONNA ROSE

I have decided to do a monthly (possibly bi- weekly) artist feature on my blog. I will choose some inspiring ETSY artists and introduce you to their colorful world!

DONNA ROSE!!!

The choice for my first feature was an easy one. I find myself daily staring at the amazing work of Donna Rose. She is an artist from Montana who paints the most wonderful floral pieces. She also has an amazing ability to capture the movement and life in animals of all kinds. She uses mostly oils and watercolors to create her work.

I asked Donna a few questions :

Donna, WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

I find inspiration in life, colors and textures!

WHAT ARE YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITE PIECES?

I like a piece that let's me know I am done and I am not struggling with it.

A FEW WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOUR ART?

Color, texture, impressionism and sanity (art helps me keep my sanity).

ANY WORDS TO LIVE BY?

Paint for yourself! (which I really need to apply instead of painting what I think others will like)

WHERE CAN WE FINE YOUR WORK?

I have two etsy shops.

http://artbydonnarose.etsy.com/ http://asiasi.etsy.com/

check out Donna's amazing and inspiring work at http://artbydonnarose.etsy.com/ and be sure to check in for another ARTIST SPOTLIGHT!

CALIFORNIA LOVE

WE STAYED WITH FRIENDS IN SAN DIEGO AND HAD TOO MUCH FUN!

SUN ALL DAY AND DRINK ALL NIGHT