"Frankenstein is Served", for the FRANKENSTEIN MEETS LITTLE WOMEN Art Show

"Frankenstein Meets Little Women: 

A Monster Mash"

"Frankenstein is Served", Oil on wood Oval, 18 x 24

Brand new art...! 

Frankenstein. Little Women.  Two highly beloved literary classics.  And both celebrating milestone anniversaries this year, the first having been written 200 years ago by Mary Shelley, with the second written 150 years ago, by Louisa May Alcott. Whatever would happen if you squished these two seemingly very dissimilar subject themes together....?  

Why, the 'Frankenstein Meets Little Women: A Monster Mash' art show of course!  

Event conceptualized and organized by Valerie E. Weich

The brainchild of curator and historical reenactment artist, Valerie E. Weich,  the "Frankenstein Meets Little Women" art show opens this weekend (Sat, 10/20) in South Pasadena, CA, and I was so delighted and honored to have been invited to participate.  Long standing literary fan and independent scholar, Valerie Weich had a vision for a multi-faceted art/literary experience, which, with much careful thought and planning upon her part, has come to fruition.  She has put together such a comprehensively entertaining and educational event -- complete with artist panel discussion, a living history performance, a movie screening, an educational lecture plus special opening and closing parties, all in conjunction with a fascinating art show by a fine group of hand-selected artists -- that my only regret is not being able to make the show in person myself (really sad about that!)....: 

So upon having been asked to participate, how in the world was I to tie together these two classic tomes in one painting?  All while keeping within my own particular artistic approach and style...?  

Norman Rockwell's "Freedom from Want"

One of the predominant themes running through both novels is Family.  Obviously, "Little Women" is all about Family, featuring as it does the four March sisters, and their beloved mother, Marmie.  But the story of Frankenstein is about family too -- or the lack of it in The Creature's case -- and how The Creature, isolated and apart, longs for the acceptance and belonging of a family, hurtfully rejected as he is by his own creator.  I tossed around a few concepts for my entry into the show until given a really juicy suggestion by Valerie herself that I felt I could truly run with -- that being the spoofing of Norman Rockwell's classically quintessential family-themed artwork, "Freedom from Want"....:

"Frankenstein is Served" (or, is it 'severed'...?) on a large oval plaque

And there you have it: "Frankenstein is Served", in which we have The Creature featured and meeting all the girls of 'Little Women" (Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy March), along with Mary Shelley his literary Creator), her famed poet husband, Percy Shelley, Louisa May Alcott, Marmie..., and....me!  (Because I couldn't very well parody Mr, Rockwell's famous painting and his wee cameo without including my own little selfie now could I...?).

And if you happen to be in the L.A. area this this week, consider going to see this this amazing show....!  Click this link to read what the South Pasadean has to say about it.

Private Commission: "Still. Life" 04/17

"People have to do what they want to do..."

-J. Mascis

"Still. Life." Oil on Found Wood, by Private Commission 12 x 13  2017

This as a really fun privately commissioned project.  My customer had requested a painting to present as a wedding gift for two very close friends.  I was told the groom was a huge fan of the musician J. Mascis, of the band Dinosaur Jr., while the bride was a huge fan of Frida Kahlo.   The painting was to somehow feature both subjects.  And oh by the way, can the painting also include the marrying couple's two beloved pet kitties...???   But of course! 

Digging around in my stash of found wood to use, I came across this old 12 x 13 cabinet bottom that I'd grabbed off a curb many moons ago. Perfect...!

The shape of the cabinet bottom, with its little notches into the top two corners, allowed for some creative wire hangery....: 

Eye hooks placed in the notched corners for hanging wire

A fun project overall, which I heard was well received by the gift recipients (yay!).

"Still. Life", featuring J. Mascis and Frida Kahlo

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"The Mad Tea", My Nibblefest Contest Entry for August's "TEA TIME" Theme

It's Nibblefest Art Contest Week...!

'The Mad Tea', acrylic on found, 9x6 wood plaque

August's theme is 'TEA TIME'. 

*CLICK FOR MY AUCTION LINK*

So what's the first thing that comes to mind when YOU think of tea....?    

Yeah, me too.  But of course, the famous Tea Party scene of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' is going to pop up, front and center.  Which it did.  And yet, I was initially a little resistant to the concept, only because, as much as I adore Alice (this being my third in a series of "Alice in Wonderland" tribute paintings), it felt at first maybe a little too....What?  Obvious, perhaps?   But then another idea came to mind.... 

I have long admired the work of American impressionist, Mary Cassatt, with one painting of hers in particular standing out for me.  Known as "The Tea", it captures a sweet little 'slice of life' scene featuring two young Victorian-era women enjoying the quaint custom of a proper afternoon tea.  Particularly striking is the pose of one of the women.  With her straight, 'lady-like' posture, she's captured in the middle of taking a dainty sip of her drink, pinky raised, with the teacup obscuring fully half of her face.  Only her eyes are visible, peeking brightly over the rim of the cup....:

 

My Inspiration:  "The Tea' (1879), painted by the American Impressionist, Mary Cassatt

I've always loved this Cassatt painting....and so, I decided to do a fun, little 'mash-up' of the two, while injecting plenty of my own personal style, resulting in this wee, loving tribute to them both....:

"The Mad Tea":  Side View showing the painted, beveled edges....

Note that this is actually my third piece in an "Alice in Wonderland" series of pieces.

A couple of years ago, I created a Nibblefest entry for the theme of 'Cats', featuring my own version of the Cheshire Cat...:

 

'The Cheshire Cat", painted upon a found wooden, cat-shaped plaque

I referred to 'Alice' again a number of months ago, for the Nibblefest theme of 'Books' ....:

"Logical Nonsense", my entry for the Nibblefest theme, "Books"

And now we have what I've titled, "The Mad Tea"...:

'The Mad Tea'

 

The following is my auction description for 'The Mad Tea" (*MINUS* the glaring error I made writing it (blushing), which I am now unfortunately unable to edit!  Check out and read my auction to see if you can figure out my mistake....):

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~"The Mad Tea"~

My entry for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC),  the theme for August being 'TEA TIME', features a fancifully painted scene from the timeless classic tale, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (with a nod and apologies to the lovely and talented American impressionist painter, Mary Cassatt...!).

Folks familiar with my creative style know how I love to mix things up a bit in my artwork, all while frequently painting the first concepts that come to my mind when reflecting upon a given theme.  Often this results in fun and interesting "mash-ups", and this month was no exception.  Reflecting upon the theme 'Tea Time' made me think of two classic, historic references -- one literary, and one artistic.  Naturally, the tea party of Alice in Wonderland fame popped into my head (but of course)..., but then so did a sweet, 1879 painting by the American impressionist artist, Mary Cassatt, known as, 'The Tea' (as seen here in my detail photos).  For fun I decided to combine these two entities (all while taking my usual liberties), with this as my result.  Here's hoping you enjoy my entry, "The Mad Tea", this month as much as I did creating it...! 

'Alice in Wonderland' meets Mary Cassatt!  Painted upon a 9 x 6 found, wooden plaque, this original, "The Mad Tea", is painted on all its beveled sides, signed, and ready to hang (Note: This is for a 5-day auction)..... 

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To see ALL the lovely 'Tea Time"-themed Nibblefest entries this month, click here....

"Dali's 'Stache", My Nibblefest Contest Entry for June's "SURREALISM"

"Dali's 'Stache", My 5x7 June Nibblefest Art Contest Entry

CLICK FOR AUCTION LINK

It's June.  Summer is upon us!  And a lovely one so far it is too, which I have been very much enjoying.  Busy to be sure however (very!) -- so much so in fact, that I found myself skipping last month's Nibblefest Art Contest.  Ugh.  With everything else going on around here, I just wasn't quite able to get my act together enough to pull an entry out of my hat, despite May's interesting "Freak Show" theme.  I really dislike skipping the contest (because I know how that can be a dangerously slippery slope!), and so it served to make me especially determined to have something ready for THIS month's "Surrealism" theme.  Thus, we have my June entry:

Recognize this guy....????  (The Eyes Have It!!)

When considering the theme "Surrealism", what pops into your mind...?  For me, I myself couldn't help but think of one of the Surrealist movement's favorite sons (or not, depending with whom you talk), the late/great Salvador Dali.  Dali was probably (in)famously known as much for his side-show hijinks as for his art -- heck, even his mustache had it's very own book...!   

Well, as creative as Dali got with his 'stache, grooming it into ever more outlandish shapes (someone wrote and told me it took him 15 years to train his moustache to grow upwards) even he never took it quite this far (so I did it for him...!).

Painted on all sides of an old, found wood plaque

My auction description...:

~"Dali's 'Stache"~

 

My entry for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC),  the theme for June being 'SURREALISM', features a portrait painted in tribute to a certain late, well-known painter of the Surrealist genre.  Some may recall how Salvador Dali often liked to creatively groom his long, handlebar mustache into interesting silhouettes -- I just had fun imagining what it might have been like to take that particular personal predilection of his to the next level...... 

Painted upon a found, 5 x 7 wood plaque, this original, "Dali's 'Stache", is signed and ready to hang (with the back of the plaque having a small nail hole)......

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*To see all the fabulous 'SURREALISM'-themed Nibblefest entries, click here....*





UPDATE***UPDATE**UPDATE


Happy to say my entry tied for 2nd Place in the contest this month!  A big thanks to all my bidders....!

"Dali's 'Stache" ties for 2nd Place Award...!