Happy 2015, Lurkers. Hope it's going well. It's action packed over here so far. Instead of weighing this blog down, I'm going to throw some fun links and pictures at you. What a fun way to kill a couple minutes, right?
I just saw a dude named Aaron Drapin talk yesterday. I dragged my friend Terri with me, she says she doesn't get out much.
Mr. Drapin is amazing designer who's done a logo for anything you can think of. Nike? The Government? A hot dog stand? The legendary John Hughes (RIP)? Sub Pop? Done and done and done, etcetera.
We are almost the same age, the same build--cut from the same cloth one could say, except he is a success story. I'm still waiting for mine. Check him out here, you'll love him:
http://www.draplin.com/merch/
instagram: @draplin
Notice I linked you to his merch page. He don't pay the bills with sweet sweet words. Buy something cool and support good design.
Here's what I've been up to. If you don't follow me on instagram (@nealbretonart) you really should. You gotta be bored waiting around for the bus blog to arrive to internet town.
Anyway, pictures!!!

Digital Rainbow #2 (Slight Return)

 The clusters below are from a show I did at Baxter Moerman Jewelry in Downtown SLO. The show runs through January 2015.

 Death's Harvest Series.

The Leaf Series.

The Bummer Series.

If you like what you see here, head on over to my online store or write me if you see something that isn't on there. Almost every piece you see here in these clusters is super affordable, between $80-$100.

I also ventured out of my comfort zone with the help of some special people to create this baby:

La Espejo De Los Muertos

 Here is a closeup of all the weirdness.

I'll probably be spending the majority of 2015 creating new work. This year's show slate is tentative, possibly something in Orange County, Palm Springs and maybe one big thing in SLO, though I am awfully sick of doing shows in this town. 

My good pal Nick Wilkinson is got some exciting things going on, you should check them out. If you're a local lurker, check out Left Field. He'll be opening a gallery in the back of this sweet curio shop. If you're lurking in the LA/Santa Barbara area, check out his MCA Santa Barbara show coming soon!

Also, local lurkers--check out LEE GOLDE if you haven't already. I'm pretty hopeful for these brave young men, it's not easy opening cultural hotspots in a whitebread town like San Louie.

Until next time, lurkers.

Darkness falls on this blog from time to time, lurkers, but don't worry. I'm still alive. September is a boring month anyway, isn't it? October is where it's at. I started a new series in an attempt to paint like an adult:

I'm not sure what I'm calling this series just yet, or how many I will be doing, but they are far more personal than most of the things that I paint. A lot of meaningful symbolism will be embedded in these works.

I'm also still largely interested in painting pretty pools and other fun stuff like cacti:

A studio visit to my good pal Nick Wilkinson always seems to inspire me color-wise, but confuses me in that his body of work can be so different but make sense in the same way through his use of different mediums. I look at these two paintings and they could have been done by two different people. My work is schizophrenic and although that's bad for gallery owners trying to sell my stuff, it's the only way I can continue to paint, which has been very difficult this year. I just want to give up and be an accountant. 

In other news, Jeff and Bret and I are planning a holiday group show at Fiasco! Gallery's new location.

Yeah great work guys holding down that wall while I paint something

The show will include several local artists, an awesome DJ, a food truck, and some local beer. It's on December 6th, from sundown to about midnight. You should really go, it's good for you to get out of the house now and then. I'll post the address everywhere in due time, for now just keep your pants on and remember that something is going down on the 6th of December.

There was a show at Casita Del Pueblo in Whittier this month, not many people attended it and it was weird/awful to be back in a town I spent a brief moment living in. At least I like what I painted for the show:

There are some really great artists in this show, there are some really great pieces. I was lucky enough to co-curate this annual affair, and despite some resistance I think the walls looked pretty good. What do I know, I'm not some jerk from LA anymore, I'm a jerk who lives in a podunk town on the central coast of California.

Luckily, aside from the holiday-ish party in December at Fiasco!, I have no other shows to do. I am burned out and hate painting so much if it had a face I'd spit in it. Maybe if you're reading this you have purchased work from me, thank you, good for you. I don't think I'll be making much work next year and the year after that I hope to make even less. Does that make them more valuable? According to what I know about comic books and beanie babies, yes. 

If you're reading this and you hate me, I guess you were right about me and you win. Congrats. Happy Holidays everyone!