last day, last snow of 2009

it snowed this morning, for the last time this year.
hope you all have a wonderful last day of 2009,
whether you are out celebrating or spending a quiet time at home.
i'm doing a little but of both!

i'm so thankful for all the love and support this year (every year!),
i am grateful every single day.
i moved my blog from my older one for a fresh start at the beginning of this year,
and i do feel like it did shift my mindset as well.

i'll definitely try to share more process photos
and sketchbook pages (i have tons of!) in the new year,
as i hope to experiment for a month or two.

2009 was kind of a great, yet very tough year for us.
hopefully the new year will bring all of you lots of happiness
and great memorable things.

thank you so much for reading,
and see you in 2010!
xo stella

Happy Holidays!!

we had our first snow storm on saturday, it was so nice to see real snow finally!
but now that the fluff and wonder of the first day have passed,
i am itching to bike outside instead of walking everywhere.


bento is looking out through the snow mounds on the window.
(i made a hole for a lookout as the snow fall was beyond their height).

and for some visual treat for the holidays,
look what i found in this wonderful neighborhood of ours :

yes that's right, it's a liquor store window decor, (click pics to enlarge)
consisting of vodka in machine gun bottle (with a grenade bottle!)
and whiskey in a cane with a sheath, no less!!
that makes the shoe shaped bottles look quite extraneous and trivial almost.

although i'll be painting away in my cold studio,
hope you all have warm, fuzzy, cozy holidays!

xo
stella

Multi-plane Piece : Secrets

Secrets. 12"x12". Mixed Media on Layered Glass Panes & Masonite. © 2009.

i finally got some photographs of the Multi-plane piece from the gallery.
above is the image shot by the gallery, which is why it's nicely shot without any glare on the glass layers!

this was probably one of the most difficult painting challenges i've had,
and a painting i didn't use oil paint at all for in a WHILE.
i started using oil paint but then it took what seemed an eternity to dry.
well, it never quite did, because i wiped off while it was still wet.

below's an alternate view of the piece revealing a bit of the face hidden under :


(click to view larger)
photo courtesy of @xtratweet

and some photos of layers shot in progress :


: the under layers of shapes painted with porcelain paint then baked to seal.
(one of the layers completely peeled off once, so i had to redo the face layer!)


: closeup of the other face on the back board underneath the 'main' face on glass layer.


: almost finished piece in progress.

+ you can see the rest of the show here or at the gallery till 01/09/2010!

Multi-plane group shot at Corey Helford Gallery

a special group show of 50 artists who painted on layers of glass sheets and a wood panel, opens this saturday, december 12th, at corey helford gallery in culver city, ca (los angeles).

The Multi-Plane Group Show
Opening December 12th, 7-10PM
(on the main floor till 12/17, in the loft til 1/9)
Corey Helford Gallery
8522 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
310. 287. 2340
please inquire with the gallery for more info.
you can see some initial ingredients given by the gallery to each artist
and some pieces submitted by participating artists over here on arrestedmotion.com.

here's a glimpse of my piece :

i'll post a better image when i get one from the gallery...
among many challenges of painting on glass was photographing it.

this is a photo of miniatures i made out of acetate i had laying around
as studies before even attempting messing with glass pieces :


it was still a fun piece to work on so many physical layers,
and i am sure the show will be full of interesting things to see.
i'm bummed i'm not there to see them all in person.

but i'm definitely excited for audrey's debut solo in NYC opening this weekend!
it's gonna be an amazing show - you can see glimpses here and here.

Penumbra : Works on Paper. Solo show, Copro Gallery.

{ Paintings }

Broken (Secrets). 18"x25". Oil & Acrylic on Paper. ©2009. Stella Im Hultberg.


Unwillingly Mine. 10"x17". Oil & Acrylic on Paper. ©2009. Stella Im Hultberg.


All in A Whisper. 10"x17". Oil & Acrylic on Paper. ©2009. Stella Im Hultberg.


Restless Silence. 12"x17". Oil & Acrylic on Paper. ©2009. Stella Im Hultberg.

{ Tea-stained Drawings }

Reminiscence. 6"x9". Mixed Media on Tea-stained Paper. ©2009. Stella Im Hultberg.


Chie. 6"x8". Mixed Media on Tea-stained Paper. ©2009. Stella Im Hultberg.


Selene. 6"x8". Mixed Media on Tea-stained Paper. ©2009. Stella Im Hultberg.


Chandra. 6"x8". Mixed Media on Tea-stained Paper. ©2009. Stella Im Hultberg.


Ina. 6"x8". Mixed Media on Tea-stained Paper. ©2009. Stella Im Hultberg.

all works are on the gallery website.
please contact the gallery for availability and other info.

also amy's and nicoletta's amazing shows i was lucky to share the gallery with.

+ the prints from the show that i've mentioned here are now sold out - thank you!

below are some photos from the show.
most of them, except the top two are from amy and arrested motion :

bryan, audrey & leah at dinner.


amy & me.





more photos of the opening here, here and also over here on amy's blog.

the food version of my trip is here and here.

i didn't get to take many photos, the whole trip was 3 days and too short.
it was so nice to see our sweet friends though!!
thank you so much, sandamal, dana,audrey, bryan, amy, dylan, leah, matt,
danny, lauren, monica (nice meeting you finally souther!),
& the arrested motion gang again for making our trip so great again.
thanks so much to all the people that came out on the opening night
and for all the kindness!!

NEW PRINTS!

hello!
i'm back from LA and the show,
and i have lots of pictures and images of the pieces in it to post,
but i thought i'd announce the print release first.


Chie (L) & Chandra (R). originals are done in graphite, watercolor & acrylic on tea-stained paper.
(click image to enlarge)

Print set of 2 prints (pieces from the show), Chie (L) & Chandra (R).
limited edition of 30. $120. apprx. 7"x9" image on 8"x10" paper.
all signed and numbered.

please contact the gallery for purchase and availability.

+ EDIT : these are now available to purchase online here
SOLD OUT - thank you!!

Solo Show this weekend : Penumbra

i have an upcoming (mini) solo show opening this weekend at Copro Gallery in Santa Monica, CA,
alongside two amazing artists - amy sol & nicoletta ceccoli!

Amy Sol "Wilderness Buffet"/ Stella Im Hultberg "Penumbra" / Nicoletta Ceccoli "Babes in Toyland"
Opening November 7th, 8-11:30PM
Copro Gallery
2525 Michigan Avenue T5 (Bergamot Station)
Santa Monica, CA 90404
(310) 829-2156

please contact the gallery for previews, inquiries, and purchases.

all pieces in the show are on paper this time.
oil & acrylic paintings on paper, and some tea-stained drawings as well.

i have shown numerous times with amy until last year,
so i'm glad to have another show with her this year.
i think we have solos paired up next year as well!

here's a piece i have in the flyer above :

All in a Whisper. 10"x17". Oil & Acrylic on Paper. ©2009.

here's my animated gif of the process (most of which was documented on my twitter).
alas, i always feel like i like somewhere in the earlier part of the process the most than the finished.
(my very first animated gif - tada!)



.......................

on a side note...

this was definitely the toughest show so far to prepare for.
not because of the show itself or anything else but just the circumstances leading up to finalizing it...
a couple tragic things that have happened
in the recent months have kind of derailed my mental state from calmly
conducting my usual business of painting for an upcoming show.

for the first time in my life, i was nearly late for the show...
i didn't find it easy to try and get my shit together and paint
when all i wanted to do was either be with the family
and/or just cry all day and stare at a wall.

the paintings definitely made a darker turn in the process than initially planned.
nor was i able to include as many as i had planned either.
i hope it's still somewhat enjoyable...

i'm glad i somehow did pull it through, but in some ways,
i feel a little heartless for it.

painting in progress

painting in progress...
for my next show at copro gallery in november.

+ sorry i've been quiet around here.
it's been a difficult week - my dear brother-in-law passed away in a motorcycle accident...
between my bike accident last month and now this, it's been a very slow progress preparing for this show.

+ more updates are on my twitter.

sketchbook pages

some sketchbook pages from last month that i only got around to putting together today...
drawn with my favorite brush pen that i got as a birthday present last year.
(click to enlarge)

+ more updates on my twitter...

(i've been trying to make more frequent photo updates on twitter.
hopefully it will help document my processes (albeit random) at least for my own purposes.)

working...

some works/sketches in progress...
i've been slow in the studio lately due to a mild battle with some kind of a bug. :/

more on my twitter account.
* ps. thank you so much for all your kind thoughts (per my previous post)! xo stella

it's been a bloody week...

it's been about 10 days now since i had my bloody spill off my bike.
(yes that's my blood from my head on my bag).

i hurt my head and lost memory of that part of my life (initially a lot more),
but according to some witnesses, some pedestrian abruptly stepped out
into the bike lane on prince street in manhattan.

what a weird experience being at the hospital (even the trauma icu,
neck braces, cat scans), weirder because i don't recall most of the experience.

luckily i have most of my memory and brain power back,
and i am never leaving the house without my helmet anymore!
memory is such an odd thing. i never imagined being close to losing it.

this is the remnant of what took some of my memories away :



i still have a bump on my head, a bad scrape on my shoulder,
huge purple/green bruises all over my legs, and have trouble sleeping
on the side i have the head bump, but all in all, i feel lucky to
have come out relatively unscathed.

so these are some pictures from labor day,
which was my first bike ride since the accident...


crossword puzzles to help me get smarter.


biked down to the waterfront park.


and saw the hasidic jewish men boarding a boat on newtown creek!

ok enough rambling.
i've been pitifully convalescing all last week & weekend,
so hopefully some belated drawings will be posted sometime soon... ish.

Pieces from August Group Show

Spring and by Summer Fall. 9"x12". Oil on Canvas. © 2009.


The Killing Moon. 8"x10". Oil on Canvas. © 2009.

i forgot to add these small paintings i've put in the Josh Liner Gallery Summer Group Show that opened August 15th. (sorry).

it was my first show here in NYC, so it was quite a weird sensation
to go to an art opening i'm a part of on my bike for once,
and have a bunch of my friends there too.

here are a couple shots (including my dorky mug) from the opening
night by my friend mina :

summer group show

(click to see larger)

i'll have 2 small canvas pieces in a summer group show at Joshua Liner Gallery
here in NYC (my first show here!), opening this saturday.

pics of the pieces will be posted later after the gallery preview goes out,
but here's a little sneak :



please come by (& say hello) if you're in NYC - there will be 23 amazing artists i'll be sharing the show with! :)

please contact the gallery for inquiries and to be put on the preview list.
thank you!

*edit : here is the preview and info from the gallery.
i have seen some of the works in person and the jpegs definitely don't do any of them justice!

Memento Mori Opening night

i only took a handful of photos from the opening night.
it was pretty crazy - thanks again for all those who came out!!
and to those who adopted pieces of mine as well, of course. many thanks to you. <3

some photos from AM and Thinkspace Gallery :


crowds.


with travis louie, who i always see in LA despite us both living in NY.


with catherine brooks & hannah stouffer, who i shared the gallery with.
(more about each artist here.)


with gallery co-owner andrew, audrey, and catherine.


flanked by my friends & colleagues(?) leah (who runs great prints for us) and audrey. :)

speaking of whom, it was leah's birthday the week we were in town,
so we got to celebrate it at audrey's place.
what a fun night!




i only had a couple days to play, as the rest of the time was
dedicated to painting the mural at the gallery.

but you can see my LA food adventures on my food blog here, part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4.

thank you so much, andrew, LC, shawn for the show,
and special thanks to my friends, mari, audrey, bryan, for coming out and hanging with me while installing the show.
thank you everyone in LA area for making this trip so special!!

+ more photos & coverage here (with extra links) and here on Arrested Motion.