during the blizzard

snowed in during the blizzard (snowmaggeddon!).
lots of instagram photos of snow progress, kitties and some studio shots.
(you can find my instagram photos @ stellaimhult)

happy holidays!

happy holidays, by which i actually mean, merry christmas!

i don't much feel the christmas spirit, maybe because i'm sick
and have a slashed right hand with which i can't paint at the moment...
or maybe because of the overage of commercial bombardment
of holiday cheers for the past couple months...

but still, seeing these decorations around the neighborhood
made me smile.




so merry christmas!!
i'll be back soon with a new post, new art to share. :)

xo stella

Etsy Update Tomorrow

{ last minute small drawings sale }
Tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 18th, 3PM EST.
http://stellaimhultberg.etsy.com

+ sorry about the redundant posts.

Recently around the studio

+++

planning to have another { small *new* drawings sale } this weekend.
this saturday (12/18) around 3pm EST in my etsy shop.

Orders

all etsy orders from my drawing sale this past week (since friday)
will be shipped out tomorrow via Priority (US & International)!

if you didn't get a USPS shipment email, please let me know!
{ shop at stellaimhultberg.com }


+ prints are being shipped from LA, and they will be shipped soon as well!

'Tis the Season Pop-up Show

this weekend, Thinkspace Gallery has organized a special pop-up art show in North Hollywood, CA!


'Tis The Season...' holiday pop-up group show

Sat, Dec. 4th from 6-11PM
(special one-night only event)
5229 Lankershim Blvd
North Hollywood, CA 91601

presented by Thinkspace in association with Baby Tattoo Books and Cella Gallery Satellites

pieces from The Next Generation (12"x12") group show this past june at London Miles Gallery,
including mine below, will be exhibited :


Equinox. 12"x12". Mixed Media on Two panels.



more info on the show below :

This special event will feature live music from DJ Mr. NumberOnederful and X-Point plus...

- View select works from Thinkspace's recent UK show "The Next Generation"
- View a selection of new works from Thinkspace's roster of artists
- Check out all the latest from Baby Tattoo Books
- A nice selection of low-priced art prints

Plus featuring original works from:
Aaron Nagel, Adam Caldwell, Allison Sommers, Anthony Pontius, Brett Amory, Brian M. Viveros, Cherri Wood, Craig "Skibs" Barker, Dan-ah Kim, David MacDowell, Ekundayo, Gaia, Jen Lobo, Jesse Hotchkiss, Josie Morway, Kelly Vivanco, Lesley Reppeteaux, Linnea Strid, Mike Russek, Mr. Jago, Pakayla Rae Biehn, Peter Taylor, Rebecca Hahn, Sarah Joncas, Stella Im Hultberg, Timothy Karpinski, Tony Philippou, and Yosuke Ueno



+ ps : thanks to everyone that came by and even purchased my small originals sale on etsy over the weekend,
and also my website shop for prints!

i must apologize for all the craziness and shenanigans everyone had to experience with the google checkout invoices.

i've fixed this problem by just switching to paypal (i caved), and it's going to be a million times easier!
thanks so much for your infinite patience.

+ pps : i'm planning on doing another small sale of mini drawings, so please check back in a week or two!
(or keep your eyes on my twitter/facebook, if you prefer)

Etsy shop open!

Etsy shop is open and updated with 22 pieces of small drawings, studies and mini paintings.

click here to go see all the goods!


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

Edit :

+ Payment Info :

because my paypal account is currently down, i cannot use it for etsy, unfortunately,
at the moment (and for the next few months).

so currently i have it set up with "other" payment option on etsy,
which means, after you check out, i'll be sending you a Google Checkout invoice
which you can pay with credit card.

unfortunately for the buyers today and for me sending out the invoices,
Google Checkout decided to be 'checked out' - maybe they were doing maintenance type
thing, but it was extremely slow and at one point i couldn't get in through to my account.

but it seems to work now, so after you check out, don't fret,
your invoice is on the way. :)

thank you!

new shop(s) + new print release

yay shop update is happening!


Friday, November 26th (tomorrow!) around 4PM Eastern Time.


no make that two shop updates.
as i'll be putting up small originals on my etsy shop
(above) as well as my webshop, which i just updated!



ALSO!!

gallery 1988 will be releasing a run of limited edition prints of Mathilda tomorrow morning!


Mathilda
Limited Edition of 100.
Signed and Numbered.
$80

you will be able to find the print (linked to 1988 web shop) on my site,
but you can buy them here directly!

happy thanksgiving, everyone!

peeky

above is the pile i made of old studies and drawings that never made it to the shows from the past 2-3 years,
after cleaning and re-setting the studio last week.

i've also been working hard on re-formatting my currently sad and janky ass shop**!



i'm aiming for november 29th, the monday after thanksgiving to update.
[ --> edit: people have spoken - it will be updated on FRIDAY NOVEMBER 26th, right after thanksgiving! ]

at least for now, there won't be any new prints available,
just the current ones you see on line right now,
but there will be a new print available next week via a gallery,
and i'm thinking of making some open edition prints as well.
(suggestions welcome!)

the aforementioned old studies and drawings of ink & graphite on tea-stained paper (all originals)
will be put on my etsy shop for sale.

please check my twitter/facebook or back on this blog for update!



** the current jankiness, i apologize, is mostly due to paypal deciding to put my account on
hold and not believing that it was actually me who suddenly got funds funneled into it.
all the proof and talk obviously didn't convince them, so it'll be credit cards and
google checkout accounts only for now.
sorry!!!

Around the (newly re-arranged) studio

i often start feeling antsy and stale in the studio, so i rearrange and reconfigure
every once in a while. (some previous reconfigurations in the past studio before).

my current studio room hadn't been reconfigured in over a year since we moved in,
and it was time.

i moved the desk around 90º, so now i can use 2-3 sides of the desk!
moving the books off the desk and onto the mantle really helped with space too.



feeling so clean and productive (especially after being sick for a week),
i got to work immediately after finishing cleaning up.




some overdue clay fun.

and something in the works coming soon... :


now working on re-configuring my shop,
which, thanks to paypal and their craziness, is under a sad condition.

new shop should launch around or after thanksgiving!
thank you for all the email orders and your patience with them. ♥

Idol Hours Group Show at London Miles

Idol Hours, a group show of re-interpreted old masterpieces by contemporary artists,
opens this Friday, November 12th, at London Miles Gallery in London!



Opening Friday, November 12th 2010
7pm to 11pm.
London Miles Gallery.
242 Acklam Road. Unit 303. London.
W10 5JJ. UK

Phone: (44) 020 3170 8618
Email: info@londonmiles.com

view some sneak peeks of the pieces here!

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

here is my inspiration piece :


Double Self-Portrait. 1915. by Egon Schiele.

my interpretation (my own double self-portrait) :


Within You, Without You. 14"x11". Mixed Media on Canvas. © 2010.

some progress photos :


initial sketch concepts.


initial concept on canvas...


then i changed to horizontal concept (also because i was working on another piece that was similar in composition).


last stage before finishing (i chanced the face a bit on the foreground after this).


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

i got to see a pretty comprehensive Egon Schiele exhibit
some 5 years ago or so, at Neue Galerie here in NYC, which easily changed my life and myself as an artist.
the sheer volume of his prolific works in the short life he lived (not to mention the quality)
really moved and inspired something from within me when i saw them in person.

Schiele painted and drew himself a lot, mostly due to his poverty and not being able to
afford a model frequently.

i had never painted a self-portrait before, as i felt it was a little too self-indulgent on top of
what i consider already pretty self-indulgent... art, itself, that is.
but it turned out to be quite an interesting, introspective process.
since i mostly paint imaginary faces, i initially had to suppress the urge to "beautify" the face as i saw fit
as i usually do.

but soon after, i stopped looking at the reference photos of myself and oddly my own faces
transformed into just another face.
they didn't feel like my own or anyone else's in particular.

people have often asked me in the past who it is that i paint.
it's definitely not me except in the piece above, and it's not really anyone in particular either.
it's just a face. a form. an idea... maybe.
probably.

Thinkspace 5 Year Anniversary Group Show

Limitless, Undying. 12"x24". Mixed Media on Canvas. © 2010.

my piece for Thinkspace Gallery's 5 Year Anniversary Group Show this Saturday, November 6th!

more info here and preview of all works here!
and some peeks on juxtapoz, as well.

if you're near LA, please don't miss this show!
it'll be a great event by an awesome gallery, with an amazing line up of artists i admire.

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

my piece above was so hard to scan, because of all the dark colors
and texture of paint and canvas.
so here's another version of a photo of it hanging on the wall :



while drying :


some earlier progress photos :





this piece was started some months ago to loosen up my hand,
while finishing up another piece, which was getting a bit detail oriented and tight.

i didn't know where it was going to take me, and i just let my mind take me.
the stringy shapes are something i saw in my dream one night,
although it was sculptural in my dream.
this is a month-long fusion of my subconscious, really!

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

here's a short interview (that i was a bit late for so i'm not sure it'll publish) i did with
sour harvest, an art blog run by thinkspace.

5 Years - 5 Questions:

Tell us a little bit about your piece for Thinkspace's '5 Year Anniversary Show' this November?
"Limitless, Undying" is a piece I started months ago (last winter?) just to experiment on building up layers.
I worked on it little by little, in between other projects, and my feelings infused in it have evolved and changed during the months.
Still the idea of raveled thread-like form was the initial idea I carried all the way through.
Like other pieces I've done before with strings coming out of the mouth, maybe they stand for
our traces we leave behind - what we put out there in the world, words that are said, things we need to be responsible for...

What were you doing back in 2005 when Thinkspace started?
I was a product designer, just starting to draw and paint on the side for fun.
I was in my first art shows ever, and started making plans to be included in the project room wall
for new faces at Thinkspace Gallery in 2006.

Name 5 things you can't live without in your studio?
movies/music/podcasts, my macbook (for the movies/music/podcasts), any art supplies, keyboard (piano), heater in the winter.

Where do you hope to be 5 years from now?
hopefully still alive in NYC, happy with creating artwork, making lots of diverse genre of works,
and always learning.

What have you got coming up in 2011?
starting the year with a couple group shows in California and a mini solo in London,
and a group show at Thinkspace in the fall. Lots of other group shows throughout the year.
Definitely producing more work than this year, I hope.

5 years...

work in progress for Thinkspace Gallery's 5 Year Anniversary Show coming up
next month, opening on November 6th.

earlier process shots here & here.

congratulations to Thinkspace, to their amazing 5 years of artist support and more to come!

Self-portrait in progress

for an upcoming show at London Miles Gallery,
titled "Idol Hours", i've decided to take on the subject of self portrait.

each artist is to choose an older masterpiece from the past to re-interpret,
which is such a daunting task (for me, anyway).
i chose Egon Schiele's Double Self-Portrait (1915) below :


the reason for picking it among all the other amazing works was
because i thought i could tackle it from the angle of subject matter, at least,
without tainting the original artist too much...

many people have told me that they thought i paint my own face...
(like this piece, for example).
but this above is my first time...

and you can obviously see that i don't model for my paintings normally,
as the face is drastically more... boring & flat.

i've always wanted to experience painting a real person,
and i never thought i'd be my first real model, and what an interesting experience it has been.
after painting made up, nationality-less faces for years,
it's odd to paint a face that i can't... "control" the looks of.

now, i feel oddly detached from the images of my face as if it weren't my own,
but maybe the uncomfortable familiarity has settled in.
the painful imperfections and all.

at the moment it does look quite a bit like me (according to matthew),
but who knows what i'll end up adding onto this.

some sketchbook warmups :


click the image below for more info :