Happy Holidays! (p.s. - Art makes a great gift...)

I can hardly believe we're smack in the middle of the holiday season. Where does the time go? This month, especially, has just flown by...

Til the end of the month, I'm showing a few works at LITM as part of the group Small Works Exhibit. Ken Bastard and I came up with a brilliant plan (it was brilliant when drinks were involved, at least!) to collaborate on a theme: Morbid Sheep and Lurid Bo-Peeps. This is a cash and carry show, so as soon as one is sold, I'm putting up a replacement. At this point, because of the replacement pieces it's become more of a Lurid Bo-Peeps, Barnyard Animals & a few sad guppies. That being said, I'm making sure to have a cock on the walls at all times...People seem to have a thing for the cocks; big, little, crooked, kooky...

LITM is located in Jersey City at 140 Newark Ave, near Grove Street PATH Station.
www.litm.com

Until January 27th, I'm also showing a series of fish (variety of sizes) at Balance Hair Salon and World of Style Vintage Clothing. This, too, is a cash and carry show.
We sold about a third of them on the opening night, so I've been a busy little painter working to replace those spots on the walls.

Balance is located at 18 Erie in Jersey City, one block (or so) north of Newark Ave.

I'm showing 3 pieces at 32 Jones Gallery in Jersey City as well. The Gallery is located at 32 Jones Street in Jersey City. Go check it out!

Finally, keep an eye out for more information about my upcoming solo show at LITM in March. Assuming all goes according to plan, the place will have exploded in Battered Bunnies (and their associates) just in time for Easter...

Something Fishy at Balance, December & January

X-Ray Vision, upcoming group show

“X-RAY VISION”
October 24^th – November 14th

X-RAY VISION! during the Newark Open Doors Studio Tour 2008. The show will feature several regional artists from New Jersey, New York and even Pennsylvania who work in the comic book format or have been greatly influenced by comic book art. This is a first time solo curatorial project by fellow comic maverick Kevin Darmanie, who you may recognize as co-curator of Black Rock : The Metamorphosis of Home, from Isolation to Connection, where the concept of a comic and cartoon based event was first introduced.

X-RAY VISION! will cover a number of subjects, relating to role of comic art in current culture. It will present a brief look into the art of the past, present and future. The exhibit will identify the goals that comic illustrators have set for themselves as the true purveyors of the medium and question whether fine-artists, who are working with the medium, are doing so based on a deep understanding of it or simply on the advantages that the ‘look’ of comics has given them. It will challenge comic illustrators on the creative potential now afforded them and pose the question: How is comic art now perceived as a result of its current popularity in movie making?

With a month long exhibition, in a storefront immediately next to the Fortress Of Solitude comic shop at 597 Broad Street in Newark, a large turnout is expected. The opening reception will take place on Friday, October 24^th, 5-8pm. Doors open at 3pm.
The show is a project of the Newark Arts Council, Fortress Of Solitude comic shop and the Brick City Comic Convention. For more info, please email at thestrapking100@yahoo.com

Current and Upcoming Events

Currently, I'm in a group show at the Brennan Courthouse in Jersey City. It's called "Celebrating the American Sensibility". This is up until September 19th.
Towards the end of September, I'll have a piece in a show with Rock Soup Studios called "Collateral Collision".
The Jersey City Pro Arts Members show will be hung around this time as well.
Studio Tour is October 4th and 5th....
And, finally, on Saturday October 25th through November 8th, I'll have a piece at Art Gotham in SoHo.

Jersey City Studio Tour

Saturday, October 4th & Sunday, October 5th my little studio will be open to the public. Jersey City Pro Arts will have lovely, helpful maps to assist you in tracking it down. If you're curious to see where the "magic" happens, put a big red circle around my location and come on in!....Bring Cash!....(because you know you'll want to buy something)

Latest Miscellaneous Beast

This is a dead baby wallaby.
He's a little "sweeter" than most of my works. Sometimes it's a relief to paint something without any teeth or eyes. Everything's got to close both at some point, no?

Talking Heads

This is the smallest portrait I've ever done (11"x14"). I use a lot of tight brush strokes, typically on a 16"x20" to 24"x36", so finding brushes smaller than a 0 wasn't really practical. It was a decent exercise, but I'm sticking to the medium-sized canvasses for the rest of the heads.

Bunny in Chains

I've recently come across some inspirational literature.
Okay, fine, it's probably considered porn.
At any rate, these bunnies may find themselves in more awkward situations if the Ruler of the Fungus Kingdom has anything to say about it.

Back to the Bunnies

These two bunnies are having a rough go lately.
(8"x10" acrylic & pen)

Curmudgeons and Wailing Women

I don't simply paint sad/cute/tortured/demented animals. I paint sad/cute/tortured/demented people as well. One year all I wanted to paint was Canada's current Conservative Party. Find some images of Ralph Klein and tell me he doesn't look tortured. Look up Stephen Harper images and...I'll stop right there because I'm merely speaking about visuals and am loathe to come across as any sort of political. At any rate, here is my latest, more "serious" piece.

Hooray for Paint

I've been looking at a lot of work lately by other artists, and I'm noticing a growing trend towards slick images that veer away from brush strokes or gesture lines.

It's probably not a trend.

I'm probably just waking up to the notion of marrying artwork with graphics to create paintings that look as polished as posters. While I'm a fan of the computer and Adobe's Creative packages, I have to admit that, even when I use those, I like a stray line here and there.

I admire those who can keep all lines so exceptionally tidy that their paintings emit a "fresh off the press" vibe, but something about finishing a piece THAT much...for ME...makes me twitch a tiny bit.

Sad Bunnies

Life is hard when you're
a bunny in a dark room.

Toilet Humor

This piece was created in honor of a show coming up at Fish with Braids. It's this great new Jersey City shop with tons of cool handmade hats, hand-painted bags & other totally original accessories/works of art. Her show is up from June 6th through June 13th. The opening is June 6th.

Battered Bunny #5

More of these to follow...
That's the nature of
the bunny, no?

Frankie T'amata returns

Meet Frankie T'amata. He's a chef by day and a mafia hit-man by night. That might seem incongruous, especially for a tomato, but they actually work together quite nicely. You'd be surprised to know that both jobs call for similar skill sets. They won't be discussed in detail at this time, but efficiency is certainly one of them. Sometimes, while he's finishing off his night's work, he's also sorting out the next day's Special. Unfortunately for these little shrimp, they were "The Catch of the Day" twice in a 24 hour period.

Crass Menagerie Art Show

Last night was the opening of my art showing at LITM.
I just wanted to say thank you to those who came out to have a peek.

And, if you'd like to go see it but couldn't make it out, it's up until the end of May.

www.litm.com

Sadistic Mouse Paintings

This is the latest painting series.

The left is called "Sittin' Pretty" and the right is "Hearing Aid".

I'm doing a series of paintings with these two mice and will incorporate them into the Granny Ninja stories.

Introduction

Hello.

This is going to be the designated place where you'll be able to find my latest work and I'll be able to give you more of an idea of my "process".

~ Cheers,
Megan