Tomie de Paola contest

Back in high school my dad thought it was obscenely funny to determine my status each day by asking, "Hey Kim! Are we stoked? Or bummed?" Proud of himself that he was using surfer lingo and knowing that as a teenager I was always at one extreme or another, he was able to get an accurate reading of my life.

I have thought of those days a lot these past few weeks, as I went from "bummed" to "stoked" in very short order. I almost feel like visiting the doctor for whiplash.

First I found out that I lost both of the classes I was slated to teach at the both universities I teach at. Ouch. In the same day. Double ouch. And I found out too late to go find other work. BUMMED! Then, just as I wondered how I was going to structure my non-semester (I am like a migratory bird and am instinctively directed by semester ebb and flows) this wonderful agent called me and wants to represent Surfside Girls and get it sold! STOKED! I will now actually have the time and ENERGY to thumbnail out the rest of the book and do some editorial changes. I adore the young people in my classes (they know how much I love them) but they do require massive amounts 0f my energy.

So I am happy Kim, feeling like I have a fairy godmother. Someone else to help me steer the ship. Thank you thank you.

Here is my Tomie de Paola Competition piece, which got done against all odds as I dealt with the most hyperdramatic group of college students yet getting their finals in. Seriously. I had one student (you know who you are!) who actually sent me a photo of herself from her phone with her artwork standing outside of her car on a shut down freeway, in front of a giant fireball. See what I have to deal with? The poor creature did not fear for her life, as the tanker truck on the 60 freeway caught fire and took out a bridge. No, she had a panic attack that she wouldn't get her final project in.

Enjoy the piece and enjoy some peace! Merry Christmas!

happy holidays...

The semester's winding down... I can't believe it's here already. While I'm terrifically happy to get some rest, it's also a little sad. I really do enjoy the classroom and it's always sad to know all those young people are launching out into the world. I guess it's just the mom in me, maybe it's too close to home with my own.

I am looking forward to a whole ton of stuff, which when I really think about it is not going to get me much rest. Painting the porch, organizing my office, relandscaping the front, creating a new personal website, doing some experimental art stuff, and maybe even working in some morning surfs! Cuando muerto, duermo, right?

Here's a piece I did as a demo in class working in shaved graphite. I borrowed the subject matter from another of my paintings, but the treatment gives it a whole different vibe.

Merry Christmas everyone!

page 40 part 3

Okay,it's late, but it's up!

Surfside Girls page 40 part 2

So I had an art playdate with my good friend and collegue Marilyn Scott-Waters (the Toymaker, see her at thetoymaker.com.) She hosted a lovely afternoon of apples, bread, cheese and painting. I really needed to shake things up artistically, and have wanted to experiment with painting on wood. It was so fun to bust out some paints with no game plan and play! This is the result, I will definitely be trying more!

Here also is the ink and type stage of page 40. I will paint after this, and post tonight!

Surfside Girls hits page 40!

So it's Friday, TG as they say... and today is totally totally momentous in that Surfside Girls has hit page 40, which to me is an awesome milestone. To celebrate I figured I'd chronicle the making of this page. I've never posted a pencil before, so here it is. I noticed in scanning it- it has to be scanned in two sections and put together in Photoshop- that there is (?) moisture condensed under the glass on part of my scanner. Yuck! This may account for the icky blue color I'm getting.

I didn't spend much time dealing with the blue color, as I'm off to ink now and then paint this afternoon. But anyway, I'm always fascinated with how people work, so hopefully you'll enjoy this.

By the way, since we're sharing, I'm considering starting a post somewhere, maybe facebook, where all of us arty types post pictures of our workspaces. I will edit out anyone who looks too neat and organized, as it may fuel my insecurity about the state of my desk! No, kidding, what I may do is ask you organized types how you maintain that!

Happy Friday. :)