Well Lurkers, it's been a crazy month or so. It was like being on tour for a little while, except less smelly and a lot more rewarding. Oakland proved to be a great show, the people were nice and I even sold a piece or two. Santa Barbara was, well, a learning experience. My pieces didn't hang the way I wanted them to, through no fault of the venue, and it's hard to explain without giving too much away, because the pieces themselves will get a facelift and probably end up being shown at Linnaea's in October. Ok, I can show one of the pieces, here:

I have such respect for people who create structures. I was always one to appreciate a nice looking building historically, but I think it's probably the architect types around me currently whom have made me think about living space and how spaces can be living things themselves as we populate them with trees, animals and people. These paintings also give me a new venue to experiment with color and line weight, which is always fun.
In my journey last month I was happy to make the acquaintance of several artists and collaborators from LA to San Diego. The DIT (do it together) Alliance will hopefully prove to be an amazingly positive experience for artists from SD to SLO if we can help it. So many people, younger than me by at least 10-15 years, running non-profit venues, setting up shows, and giving opportunity to those that have talent or passion but don't know where to put it. Google these places: The LA Fort, The Dial (Murietta/Temecula), Che Cafe, Almost Holden, Bridgetown DIY, the LA Zine Fest and etc.
After all this craziness, it was nice to take a trip to Portland. I missed this city, and about three days in I said to my friend Kate the Biking Giraffe "why don't we just...live here?". I think a city like that with so much stunning art, food, coffee, transportation/bikeability would definitely ensnare anyone who visited..unless you are a native Californian, then you would complain it's cloudy or something.
 I got a job at a cool store in town. You should maybe visit it on July 5th if you are in SLO:

Look at all those fancy art stars! Also, a DJ named Velanche who is awesome, AAAND craft brewed rootbeer by Leff Street Brewhouse (which alcohol might be added to upon request). It should be a fun night, if jerks don't show up.
Ok, back to work for me. I just finished a bunch of cute drawings for the New Times 55 Fiction and my hands are all inky and colored. I'll drop a link later...or you could check the Flickr page for a sneaky preview!





ps: shout out to NR, thanks for getting back in touch.