Artspit

WIP Wednesday: Holiday Thangs

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 20:15:00 +0000

Oh hey, I'm back again with another little hint at what's to come. Hopefully by the end of the week, Pan and Chibi and I will have finished up our small series of winter/holiday illustrations and have our collection up in our shop--Sidewalk167 on etsy. Pan and Chibi are working like a couple of dogs trying to get everything photographed and listed. Fingers crossed we'll have it all ready in just a couple of days! Wish us luck!

-S

It's Friday, No Peeking

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Fri, 13 Oct 2017 07:00:00 +0000

Despite the fact that here in New England we're still having the occasional 80 but it feels like 90 degree day, winter holidays are just around the corner! That being the case, I've started designing holiday cards. In reality, I should have started a while ago, but I find being fashionably late suits me in most things.

As I'm a hermit and only truly comfortable in the company of cats, my two closest feline friends have agreed to model for the series of drawings that will become greeting cards. Here's a little peek at one of the works in progress. This one features Chibi--my tweaky siamese tot. Chibi is a year old and his hobbies include freaking out, dancing, playing fetch, freaking out, waking up at god-awful o'clock to freak out, advocating for equal rights, and being a sweet, sweet, lovable dorkpie. He's a very excitable fellow. I predict there will be very little sleep in our house this Christmas Eve.

Alrighty, I need to get back to trying to catch up! Hope you all have a lovely Friday!

TTYS,

-ssStephG

Watercolor Wednesday - Blue Cat in Blooms

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Wed, 06 Sep 2017 07:00:00 +0000

Blue Cat in Blooms is my latest painting and the tenth in the Tiny Cat series. It's 9 x 12 inches, watercolor and acrylic on paper.

Tiny blue cat loves spending his days playing in the garden. He's so small, the flowers tower over him so he can hide and stalk his prey from under the daisies.

Find it in my etsy--Sidewalk167.

Watercolor Wednesday. Yes!

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Wed, 09 Aug 2017 10:00:00 +0000

I painted this awhile back and sort of ignored it for a long time. Painting it was meant as sort of a meditation on positivity on a dark day when I was feeling... too much. It was a helpful exercise, and then I tucked it away and forgot about it. Since dragging it back out, I've decided I like so much that I'm tossing around the idea of using it as a jumping off point for a series.

Find the original painting in my etsy shop here.

Happy Humpday!

-Steph

Blue Cat Melancholy Caturday

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Sat, 05 Aug 2017 21:55:00 +0000

Tiny Blue Cat in a Summer Garden

9 x 12 inches

watercolor on paper

After I painted this I thought, "This tiny blue cat looks a little melancholy." And then I thought, "Well, that's probably why he's strolling through a garden--to cheer himself up. He'll be fine."

This is a little different from the tiny cat paintings I've been doing. It's simplified. Instead of mixing watercolor and acrylic, this one is just watercolor. I've kept the composition simple with a couple of bunches of flowers, a tiny cat, and lots of negative space as background as opposed to a ground of built up painterly washes. If you're familiar with most of my work, then you know minimal is not generally my thing. However, I like this.

If you like it, too, you can find it in my etsy here. There are more photos, including a closeup.

Over and out,

-Steph

Finished Friday! Tiny Cat Trio.

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Fri, 04 Aug 2017 17:58:00 +0000

I'm psyched about these new paintings, all three of them. They're all watercolor and acrylic on paper, and they measure 9 x 12 inches.

Black Cat Red Floral Burst

Tiny Blue Cat Caught in a Summer Storm

Pink Cat Over Rainbow Bridge

I've listed them all in my etsy shop. You can click through the titles to be brought to the listings.

Thanks for looking!

-Steph

Watercolor Wednesday Green Storm Orange Cat

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Thu, 27 Jul 2017 00:20:00 +0000

Cuz alliteration is alright!

Here's another tiny cat painting. It's watercolor and acrylic on paper, 9 x 12 inches. So far, I like this series. It's an interesting balance for me between illustration and abstraction. And they're cute... and I'm a sucker for cute tiny cats.

Find this in my etsy, Sidewalk167. Buy it if you like!!! Or just look. Either is much appreciated.

Have a good whatever you're having!

-Steph

Happy Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Tue, 18 Jul 2017 13:02:00 +0000

Wow, that was fast! Spring is gone and summer is happening! I guess I got so into the wonderfully defrosted world I forgot to check in with the virtual one. Ah well. Here's a tiny fraction of what I've been up to while not keeping up with this blog.

You remember my studio assistants--Pan and Chibi, right? Well, I started a series of lifestyle drawings featuring my furry little friends. The images feature Pan and Chibi swimming, gardening, dancing, and advocating for equal rights. Love and pride!!! The original works are done in sharpie which I love for fun, spontaneous drawing. I've taken the first six and made them into greeting cards. You can purchase them through my etsy shop--Sidewalk167.

Hope you're having a great summer!

Love and sunlight,

-Steph

Happy Spring!

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Sat, 25 Mar 2017 15:02:00 +0000

It's spring now.

Hurrah!

Tree sap is running and the days are noticeably longer. Before long, sugar shacks will be serving pancakes and snowbirds will be back at the bird feeders. However... right now, there is a blanket of snow still covering everything and it is dampening my enthusiasm.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I went on a road trip to Florida. It was so nice being in perfect weather. We swam in the pool, watched gators and cranes by the pond, played bocci, and drove around in a golf cart. Then we drove home and were greeted our first day back by a big, squalling snow storm.

Sigh.

To pass time during the road trip, I sketched. Mostly I sketched flowers. Since returning, I've been turning my sketches into patterns and designs. So even if the garden is covered by snow, I still have spring flowers to look at!

Digital Cat Monday Is Not Entirely Digital!

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 08:00:00 +0000

What do you get when you cross a spider, a cephalopod, and a cat?

This drawing I started with watercolor marker on paper. Then I scanned it and finished it up in photoshop. This was a nice change from what I've mostly been doing which is start to finish digital. Before I started making illustrations, 99% of the art I made was nonobjective and focused heavily on the physical materials used. Mixing various materials, allowing their particular physicality to remain while integrating it well enough to create a harmonious whole is something I've always enjoyed. That's what I was working toward here. I feel pretty good about the results. I was also trying to find a balance between cute and weird. That was a fun challenge. Both Pan and Chibi gave this the stamp of approval so I'll likely be making more illustrations in this direction.

10 Things I Say to My Cat

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 15:54:00 +0000

I have two cats. They're still kittens technically. Pan is six months and Chibi is five. Even though we've only known each other for less than half a year, we've grown very close. I talk to my cats a lot. And they talk back. Well, not usually in words. They speak in actions. I mean, Pan squeaks a lot, and recently, Chibi has started squeaking a tiny bit. He seems to be learning from Pan. Most people are surprised to find that Pan is a black cat and Chibi is Siamese, since, as everyone has knows, Siamese cats talk a lot. Well, Chibi is the exception that proves the rule. He's practically mute. Anyway, this is a list of things I say to Chibi because there is just so much that needs to be said to Chibi as of late. He's going through a phase. It's sort of exhausting, too, seeing how I've misplaced both my voice and my ability to sleep. Also, it is by no means representative of the top ten things I say to him, although a few of these I do say with far more frequency than you might expect.

Now then, in no particular order:

1. Stop climbing the curtain.

2. No you can't have my granola. You have food in your bowl.

3. Hey. Off the counter. Now.

1. Please quit climbing the curtain.

4. Get out of the cupboard.

5. Stop eating that plant.

6. Please get out of the dryer. You're not even wet.

1. Down from the curtain.

7. May I have that sock back? Where's your jingle mouse?

8. No you can't get in the drawer. I'm closing it.

1. OMG get down from that curtain.

9. Is bath water really that delicious?

10. I don't think you want to get in. Please stay on the side of the tub, okay? Please?

1. Would you PLEASE get down from that almighty frickety fracking curtain?!!

I hope you don't feel cheated out of the two minutes it took you to read this and scan the accompanying photos of terrible quality. If you do, well maybe next time you'll use better judgment. I mean read the title for Pete's sake. Ain't no false advertising there. What did you expect? I only wrote this because I was literally (not figuratively) up all night with insomnia and felt I needed a way to focus my thoughts so they didn't spiral out of control and turn me into a sobbing, raging puddle on the floor. And look. I did it. Go me. Still holding it together by a thread. Oh no wait. That's cat fur.

-Steph

Digital Cat Monday: OmniCat

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 20:41:00 +0000

OmniCat

If there is an almighty being, I bet it's a cat. If you're a cat person, maybe you agree. If you're not a cat person, why are you here? Really, I'm curious. You can let me know in the comments. Or keep up the silent stalking. That's cool, too.

I haven't figured that one out yet--the why am I here thing. I met someone once who claimed she had the answer, but then refused to share it. That just made me figure she's chosen her own purpose for being--to annoy others. Well, whatever.

-ssSteph

Feathered Hellfire Floral

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 02:52:00 +0000

It's cold as fuck and I hate the darkness. BUT... the days are getting longer and I have my cats to keep me warm. The three of us try to sneak in a little bird watching together time here and there during the few hours of daylight we get. I don't understand how those birds don't freeze in this arctic weather. They're so tiny! And it's so cold! Maybe they have tiny fires in their pudgy little bellies to keep them from turning into cocksicles. (I know they're not roosters, although we do have chickens that run through the yard occasionally in nice weather. Cocksicles just sounds better than birdsicles. Plus, 2017 is the year of the rooster.) Yeah, maybe they're minions of Satan staying alive through the powers of hellfire.

Whelp, that's what this illustration is all about--Satan and his feathered fire-eating army. I'm working on a handful of things like this in anticipation of fairer weather. Tryna stay warm and positive. My goal is to redirect my focus to better things in order to "stay afloat" until the ground thaws and the rabbits come back to eat my seedlings. Wish me luck!

Steph

The Fox

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Fri, 30 Dec 2016 02:13:00 +0000

One night over the summer, I saw three fox kits by the side of the road. Another day while we were on a walk, my friend saw a grown fox in a clearing off to the side of the same road. We learned from our neighbor that there's a mated fox couple living in the woods in our neighborhood. Our neighborhood is tiny. It's just outside of town and is abutted by woods so there's quite a lot of wildlife here.

My old neighborhood was not nearly as rural, so it's kind of funny that I saw just as much wildlife there. Maybe that was because my old city lay between a mountain and a river. My friend and I saw foxes a handful of times while walking through the city. We had all sorts of visitors in our back yard from raccoons to skunks to hawks and even a fishercat that showed up and scared the crap out of me with it's screaming late, late at night one week. It was even common to see bald eagles flying overhead on their way down to the river or up to the cliffs.

Well anyway, I've finally gotten back to and finished this drawing I started months ago. It's inspired by the foxes I've seen and the many, many tales about foxes in folklore and mythology. In all the stories I've read, foxes are highly intelligent and often have magical powers. Sometimes the fox is a mischievous trickster, and sometimes a loyal companion. I titled this "Kitsune" which is a Japanese word for fox because I like the Japanese stories I've read and the references in anime, too. The round thing at the bottom is a hoshi no tama--a magical gem said to hold the soul or life force of a fox. The fox carries it everywhere and if it's stolen, he will do anything to get it back because if he's separated from it for too long, he will die.

I'm tired even though I took a two hour nap earlier and slept a perfectly reasonable amount last night. Maybe my soul was attached to some random object I got rid of when we moved and my life is slowly burning out. That must be it. There's nothing else to explain this fatigue.

Good night.

-Steph

It's Caturday! Merry No Sleep Can't Think Yay!

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Sat, 10 Dec 2016 13:37:00 +0000

Happy Caturday to you! I've been up celebrating with Pan since 3:30 this morning! And by celebrating I mean not sleeping... well, I was awake. Pan dosed off for a few hours. Anyway, here's a new kitten-themed pattern I designed this week. The image above is a detail so you can really see it.

Yeah! I'm gonna go pour some coffee into me and see what happens.

Hope your day is swell!

-Steph

Mittens on a String: Nostalgia vs Brutal Reality

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Mon, 05 Dec 2016 18:31:00 +0000

Remember mittens on a string? What a brilliant idea! Sometimes I think I should sew strings between all my socks. Except that would not be very comfortable. Come to think of it, mitten strings weren't either. In fact, I hated the whole idea as a kid because who the hell wants a freaking string up the sleeve, across the chest, and down the other sleeve. No one, that's who. No one finds that anything but annoyingly uncomfortable. No way to glamorize this. It's just practicality at the expense of comfort which is actually impractical, so never mind. Still, the imagery is appealing in it's nostalgia, innit? Yep.

So here. Enjoy this illustration that will cause you no discomfort. Depending on where you live, maybe have some hot chocolate or tea and watch the snow pile up outside from the comfort of your armchair. And I guess, if you're someplace like Australia, make it an ice tea and bees buzzing in the backyard.

Happy holiday season!

-Steph

Celestial Cats Are Here to Help!

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 08:00:00 +0000

New in my Redbubble--Celestial Cat Calendars! Yay! Twelve celestial cats to help you through your next journey around the sun! Each month is a different cat portrait from my Celestial Cat series. Here's a peak at the front and back covers. Follow this link to see the rest and place an order. They make great gifts. The best gifts! They're terrific! Eheheh, just havin a lil fun there. Don't hate me because of my terrible Trump impersonation. There are so many better reasons to hate me. Pick a good one.

Okay that's it. Just sharing my excitement at being able to offer you feline revolutionary assistance.

Love and peace,

-essS

Felines, Sleep, and Junk Food

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 20:06:00 +0000

My cat kisses me on the lips and eats potato chips with me at 3 a.m. when I can't sleep and everything sucks so hard further upsetting my stomach seems like the only course of action. He's supportive as hell. He's even trying to help me write this post. We haven't known each other long (three months), but we're tight. And this is partly why I spend so much time drawing cats these days. I know at some point I will dive back in to abstraction, but for now, I'm all about the felines.

Mew drawing:

This is my cat, not the one who eats chips with me when the world is falling apart and insomnia won't let me forget it. This is my other cat. He's a bit younger and a lot tinier than potato chip cat. Potato chip cat is Pan--like the Greek god of the wild. Littler kitty, the one in this drawing, is Chibi. Chibi is sweet and crazy and I love him even though he's not my junk food buddy. Chibi crawls up on my chest and purrs in my face at night when I can't fall asleep.

Maybe I need to try sleeping in chunks throughout the day and night like a cat. If that works, I may also start jumping into nice peoples' laps and pissing on fools when they irk me.

Hope the holidays season is treating you right!

-Steph

Good Will to All

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Wed, 16 Nov 2016 19:46:00 +0000

The other day I read an article that admonished white people for wearing safety pins.

Safety pins became a symbol of support for immigrants in the UK when hate crimes escalated after the Brexit vote. People began wearing safety pins to show solidarity with immigrants. It was started by an American woman living in London. It's a symbols that says, "I support you. I am an ally." It lets people who are living in fear for their safety know that you are not a threat. It lets people who are scared while out in public know that others are around who care and are willing to help if the need arises. It's a good thing.

There are already too many hate crimes in the US, and it's getting worse. People here are starting to wear safety pins for these reasons. Again, it's a good thing. There are also concrete actions we can take to work toward making our society a kinder, safer place for everyone. This needs to happen. The article I mentioned above was written to stress that it's not okay to accept things as they are. Wearing a symbol should not ease our conscience so that we can accept horrifying realities. It does not excuse us from further action.

It was with that in mind that I drew the image above. I figure it's one tiny thing I can do right now. I drew it to share with anyone who would like to use it to show solidarity. You can download it and use it as a social media avatar. Set it as your desktop background to remind yourself people support you or to remind yourself to support others. You can print it and use it as stationery; write a letter of support and encouragement on the back to a friend or acquaintance who may be feeling scared and alone. Write a letter to your elected representatives urging them to denounce the inclusion in our government of people known to harbor racist, anti-human ideals and in support of legislation that dismantles systems of oppression and moves us toward building a world where all people belong and feel safe. Print it out and tack it up at home or on a bulletin board if you work or volunteer in a place where people would appreciate it as a positive symbol of that space as a safe haven for everyone. Use it to discourage hate speech and hateful behavior. Use it to help.

I've uploaded a zip file containing the large jpeg file and a couple of smaller ones to Dropbox. Click here to download. The largest file is pretty big--40 x 40 inches at 300 dpi. You can use your printer settings to resize any of them smaller.

I hope this helps in at least some small way.

-Steph

Drawing as Meditation and Wisdom a la Bob Barker

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Thu, 27 Oct 2016 15:53:00 +0000

"Steph! Where have you been?!"

Sigh...

"Look, anxiety got the better of me and I've been hiding under the bed for a while."

*Brushes dust-bunny from hair.

"But I see you posting on instagram!"

"If only the whole world were as easy to navigate as instagram."

*Holds up kitten photo.

"Big news! My studio assistant is getting neutered today!"

*Crawls back under bed, returns to deep breathing.

Awkward silence...

On the bright side, new art!

Woodland Tree Trimming

I'm working on holiday stuff. I know it's not even Halloween yet, but it just started snowing here so I'm taking that as a sign that my timing is perfect. These designs are available on merchandise in my Society6 and Redbubble. I'm also thinking of making them available as cards on Thortful--the mega-convenient app where they'll mail the card for you and you can even upload a handwritten message for the inside. Oooh cool!

Yeah... well, enough words.

Second image:

Catmas Morning

Okay, back to breathing and drawing. Have a wonderful day!

Love and kittens to you all.

-ssSteph

Digital Cat Monday: Abstracted Felines

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 16:58:00 +0000

The design above is part of a series of abstractions I'm working on right now. There are currently four images--two designs in two different color/pattern combos and more in the works. I'm excited about how these are working out. They're a significant step forward in terms of bridging my nonobjective work with the illustrative stuff I've been making more recently. They're also a return to addressing some formal issues I was focused on a few years back in work that never fully came to fruition before being set aside.

These designs are being produced as limited edition prints exclusively by Curioos. Each print is offered in several different forms--on paper, canvas, aluminum, and acrylic. They're also available in a really cool round metal disc format.

God of the Wild

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 13:39:00 +0000

I hired a new studio assistant. His name is Pan, like the Greek god. He's helping me organize and refocus so I can free up more time to spend on things like blogging and finishing those freestanding sculptures taking up prime real estate in the southwest corner of my studio. He started on August 28. What? Oh. Yeah, I know I've been blogging a little less frequently in the past few weeks. Well, no... I haven't finished those sculptures yet.

Sigh.

It's not that Pan isn't working out. It's just... he's had some heath issues. He was travelling quite a bit before he came to work for me and once he got here, we noticed some odd symptoms. Turns out, somewhere along the way, he contracted a couple of parasites. So I've been helping him out when I can--making sure he gets his antibiotics, ensuring his diet stays consistent so as not to worsen his condition, cleaning up when digestive problems get the better of him. The good news is that things are definitely improving. His belly doesn't feel nearly as distended when I rub it and his BMs are finally solid most of the time! Here he is taking a little time to recover from the trauma of ear drops which he gets every morning to rid him of mites. you can see his ears are still a little wet. Poor kid.

my new studio assistant, Pan

Anyhow, I will post more art soon. I just wanted to catch up a bit and introduce Pan first. Despite the few snags and bumps we've encountered during his easing in to this new position, his insight is like no other, and I foresee him becoming a permanent, integral member of the team.

Caturday Tarot Reading: King of Wands on the Table Again

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Sat, 03 Sep 2016 07:00:00 +0000

King of Wands signifies a powerful risk taker. one who combines the leadership and focus of a king with the energy of fire and the power of a lion. He is a passionate visionary, a man of action who relishes a great challenge and delights in victory.

Do you have to be a cat person to appreciate this illustration? Maybe not, but I think it may help.

Digital Cat Monday: Cat of Arms 6 (Includes Kittens in Pajamas)

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 20:41:00 +0000

This is number six in an ongoing series I'm calling "Cat of Arms." Yes, like coat of arms, only feline. See the rest of the series here.

Painting in Progress

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Sun, 21 Aug 2016 07:00:00 +0000

Here's another painting in in progress from the cats and flowers series I mentioned previously. These paintings are all a mix of watercolor, gouache, and acrylic on paper. I've been doing lots of digital work in the last few months, so this is a nice change of pace. It feels good to loosen up and make a mess with paint.