Monsters Show in Photos + Sudden Busytimes

OH GOOD EVENING MORNING, INTERNET-FRIENDS!  The current time is 6:06AM, and while normal folks have been sound asleep with nary a worry in their clever little heads, I have been awake and assaulting my eyes with florescent colors and patterns and trying to convince myself that although I am not good at math I CAN still count, even though I have CAUSED A SEVERE PROBLEM made a slight miscalculation resulting in about 6 hours of fixing mistakes that may or may not be my fault.  SO.  PLEASE FORGIVE ME IF THIS ENTRY IS SLIGHTLY NEUROTIC AND FEEL AND/OR ABUSES THE CAPSLOCK.

Because I know you just love photos with captions, I'm here to deliver you with some ace descriptions of fancy!times here at the Kai Lin Art gallery.  HERE IS THE GALLERY WINDOW.  IT IS LIKE YOU WERE THERE, INTERNET-FRIENDS!

Here are some general pictures of the beautiful / spacious / fantastic-and-perfectly-suitable-also-for-parties-and-receptions gallery itself (I will say right now that all fish-eye lensed pictures are courtesy of 944.com who were gracious enough to photograph the event for those of us without cameras, and by "us," I mean "me.") before it got super-crowded.  And you may be asking, "Oh, Katie, what are you talking about you narcissistic fool, that looks pretty crowded to me, what are you talking about."
But internet-friends, YOU WOULD BE WRONG.
 BECAUSE THIS IS WHEN IT GOT CROWDED.  We had a really amazing turnout of over 500 people I am told, and THAT IS A LOT OF PEOPLE IN ONE SPACE.  If you cannot tell, we are also all of equal shinyness and glossiness, because in spite of Shelley (gallery assistant / tumblr lover of my life) informing me that the thermostat was set at fifty, I was under the impression that we were suddenly on a tropical island and/or my grandparents house on Long Island 15 years ago where relief from the heat could only be sought from a 65 year old ceiling fan permanently set on "low."

ANYWAY.  Many, MANY people I knew were in attendance, of which was all a pleasant surprise that warmed my tiny, frigid heart.  OH FRIENDS, YOU MAKE MY STONE-COLD GANGSTA KILLAH IDENTITY A MERE FACADE.

Shelley, gallery assistant of your dreams.  With my hand in a slightly awkward position, OH HO HO, SHELLEY, WATCH OUT FOR THIS LADY KILLER.

Dante DeStefano, who is posed in front of one of her fantastic pieces in the show, I believe showed up in 80% of the photos taken of the night. I mean, who wouldn't want to get their picture taken with her?  In a yeti-hat?  THE CHOICE IS OBVIOUS, DUH.  I believe over the duration of the three hours we were in attendance, Dante completed approximately 900 laps around the gallery, hustle-hustlin'!  GO GO DANTE.

The couple on the right (Sorry, couple on the left, I have NO IDEA WHO YOU ARE) is Mr. Jason Hawkins and his WONDERFUL X INFINITY WIFE, BRITTANY.  I have admired Jason's work since we were in school together and his wife started making me baked goods to eat on numerous occasions.  Jason's oil paintings are outstanding.

Anne Elser was my bookmaking instructor, and my burrito-friend.  SHE IS SO WONDERFUL AND HAS ALSO HELPED ME LEARN THE SKILLS TO MAKE MY CHRISTMASES BEAUTIFUL AND THRIFTY.  Anne provided our lovely nametags for the show, and I was glad to be able to talk to her for a little bit.

THESE ARE SOME NEW FRIENDS, WHO I AM HOPING VERY MUCH SO THAT THEY BECOME MY INTERNET-FRIENDS.  <3 <3 <3  These two kind fellows (OH, WHAT A TIME TO BE HORRIBLE WITH NAMES.  I BELIEVE ONE OF YOU IS DAVID.  I'M A HORRIBLE PERSON, SORRY, NEW FRIENDS) talked to me for a little bit about my paintings and were generally a pleasure to speak with.  This was right before there was a flood of five billion people coming into the gallery and before my anxiety truly spiked.  GOOD TIMING.

The photographers at this event took 23094820389423 pictures of my two old neighbors and friends Kari and Derry (RHYMING NAMED COUPLE, ADORBZ) who were kind enough to make it out to the gallery to see me and try to steal the MacBookPro (just kidding).  AREN'T THEY CUTE, INTERNET-LAND?!?

My dad was also in attendance at the gallery!  CAN'T YOU SEE THE RESEMBLENCE.  The dad of the great Katie Lee Grosskopf drove all the way from North Carolina just to see me. FOR ME.  <3  THANKS, DAD.

Here, we stumble upon the greatest picture in the history of pictures.  For this picture, Gary Weiss is actually smiling and wearing a not-red-or-navy-blue-or-grey shirt, and my best pal Mike is wearing not-holey-jeans, and the three of us are together!  In the gallery!  Together!  Ah, words can't describe how happy I am that we somehow found our way into a picture together.  WE ARE SUCH TWEW FWENDZ.

OH, MY GOD, THAT WAS A LOT OF PICTURES.  I've probably lost half of you by now (so...only one reader left, oh ho ho) but if you made it to here, I congratulate you, and assure you that this is the last you'll hear of this show.  I know I've been hyping it for weeks now, but now that it's off my mind, the plan is to sleep for the next 4 days.

But, these plans are foiled!  Because, now that I've gone from a working-at-an-office type person to a working-from-my-comfortable-home-in-underwears type person, I have suddenly hit a point where I am up to my neck in work and jobs are coming in and, like the great Mary Tyler Moore said, I AM GOING TO MAKE IT AFTER ALL.  One of the jobs is fairly full-time freelance work which is on my mind 75% of the time, the other 25% being smaller jobs here and there.  SO, THAT PLAN TO SLEEP FOR FOUR DAYS IS SADLY LOST TO THE WIND, but will hopefully fly back in my face in the guise of a paycheck.  THINGS ARE COMING UP KATIE.

Right after I completed the gallery pieces a couple of weeks ago, I hit kind of an art-burnout stage, and to warm my artist-muscles back up again, I've been completing the 30 Day Drawing Challenge as posted on my tumblr / facebook fan page / wherever the hell else I am on the internet.  Here are the first batch of drawings!  I'll be posting them in groups so I'm not bombarding you every day with random 1-2 hr little drawings.

01 - Self Portrait

02 - Imaginary Friend

 

03 - Most Recent Dream

 

04 - Re-design a Book Cover

IT'S 7:00AM AND TIME TO PASS OUT, INTERNET-LAND! 
Otakon preparation is also taking place this week.  I'M SURE YOU CAN'T WAIT TO FIND OUT HOW I FEEL ABOUT MAKING PRINTS BECAUSE YOU KNOW IT'S MY FAVORITE THING TO DO, RIGHT!?!?

The Monsters Aftermath

Here's a ridiculously unattractive photo of one of my paintings and me, at the Monsters show last night!  Just call me the sweat monster, guhrossss.

I'm still processing what exactly happened last night.  I know it involved a room packed with 500+ people sweating and looking at my and my friends' hard work, and yelling talking excitedly over Lady Gaga booming against the walls, and seeing old friends (SO MANY FRIENDS) and meeting tons of new people, and lots of free booze, and selling a painting (!!!) and and and

*falls down*

Thank you.  Thank you all so, so much.  Friends, teachers, old co-workers, new friends--it was so overwhelming and like a dream.  I have never felt more loved than I did last night.  Thank you, everyone.  The amount of support that has been shown for me has seriously blown my mind.

I'm going to sleep for the next 12 hours.  More about the show next post!  And new prints will be available on the site!  STAY TUNED, INTERNET-FRIENDS.

The monsters have left my house and THE GIVEAWAY COMETH.

THE MONSTERS HAVE LEFT THE BUILDING.
Today, friends, I said some sad farewells to my little creations and put them in the hands of the wonderful Kai Lin Art gallery for safe-keeping, and by safe-keeping, I mean to hang.  Freshly varnished prior to delivery, my house smells like a garage and myself and my dog may possible be high as kites right now, but at any rate, OH, MY GOD, THE SHOW IS NEXT WEEK, THIS IS HAPPENING REALLY FAST, AGH, AGH, OH, OH, MY GOD.  I am a simultaneously excited and terrified.  While I get ahold of myself, here are some professional cellular telephone photographs:

BUT NOW IS ONE OF THOSE TIMES WHEN I MUST REJECT MY EMOTIONAL RESPONSES PUSH ON, and I have so much more to get done by the end of this month.  The past week has been pretty intense and chaotic, and, from the looks of it, will continue to exist in this manner at least through August.

All I will say is that the saying "something better is always around the bend," is actually proving itself to be true!  It's not always a load of horseshit false!  EVEN THOUGH I HAVE REQUIRED A PHOENIX DOWN FROM TIME TO TIME, KATIE LEE GROSSKOPF HAS JUST LVL'D UP.  (If you understand that last sentence, I truly am thankful for your presence in this world)  Everything, lately, seems to be coming up Katie, and I credit much of it to your support and encouragement! And, because I love you all so much, I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE BACK TO YOU.

This weekend, I am working SUPER HARD to prepare for this blog's very first giveaway.  I AM GIVING THINGS AWAY, INTERNET-FRIENDS.  And not just things like in your elementary school goodie bags you got from parties (ie: pencil with "happy birthday" design on it with eraser that does not actually erase and so said pencil has stayed unsharpened for 17 years) but I am giving away five free prints of the pieces in the "I'm in love with your monster" series of paintings that are smelling up waiting in the gallery to be shown on Friday to the general public.  This, of course, requires some participation on your part, but IT IS NOT HARD.  So easy, internet-land, that my little dog (as adorable as she may be, she is the most intelligent of life) could probably win this giveaway.

I'm announcing what to do when I blog on Monday morning!  It's a first-come-and-do-what-I-say, first-served, so please head over to seekatiedraw.com on Monday morning AND YOU MAY POSSIBLY WIN THE GIVEAWAY.

GOOD LUCK, INTERNET-LAND.  Prepare for my post on Monday!  Thank you for supporting the hell out of me--I truly appreciate all your e-mails and follows on all 2309842098423089243 social media sites I frequent!  INTERNET-LAND, YOU ARE TOO GOOD TO ME.

LO AND BEHOLD. A WEBSITE.

WHY HELLO THERE, PIECE OF FABULOUS.  WHAT ARE YOU?
OH, SO YOU'RE THE NEW WWW.SEEKATIEDRAW.COM, I PRESUME!?
MY, YOU LOOK DASHING.

Oh, internet-land, I am so happy to announce the launch of my new ultra-fantastic website, programmed and designed by Orange Umbrella, who were ultra-professional and took great care to cater to my every psychotic, control-freakish wish to ensure my great happiness and satisfaction!  I AM AN ADULT NOW, Y/Y!?!

In spite of my growing giddy nature about my big, shiny new website, I've got to simmer down, because I have got myself on apartment lock-down 2010, and I will not emerge (except for doggie let-outs) until I have all my pieces completed, built, and ready for presentation to hang on July 8th.  So, while I get back to that, here are some more in-progress shots:

Joon is supervising as she attempts to take cover under my leg from the fireworks:

Also, I have been working on some patterns for some SEKRIT PROJECKZ.  They are up in my children's art and patterns gallery. Where you may ask?  ON MY SUPER NEW WEBSITE.  I'm updating as I go, but here are some of my initial pattern ideas.  I've graciously been offered some help with color from my good friend Ivy Rose Mcleod (who I wish had a website, but here is her flickr account for you to peruse), and I'll be continuing pattern work in my downtime.  Whenever that is.

Here's a preview of those--go to my new site for more!

Can't wait to show you guys more as it comes around!

My Life is a Monster

The flyer for my show is out today, featuring artwork of the talented Dante DeStefano!  Now that I see it, it definitely feels ULTRA-REAL AND SIMULTANEOUSLY HORRIFYING AND EXCITING.  Please, if you are local and can make it out to see this show of epic proportions, I encourage you to do so!  It's being sponsored by Svedka Vodka and there is also an after party at the Halo Lounge down the street!

Taking a moment out of a crazy couple of weeks to share some in-progress pics with you all!  I only have a cell phone camera for right now, so the quality is just so-so.  Plus, the light today was not as bright as it usually is in the morning times, but you get the idea, right?

I enjoy painting on wood, and I've had a mini-lesson in building my own frames to back my paintings from the wonderful Richard Russell.  Also, for you local folks, Highland Woodworking helped me so, so much with materials and tools I needed to make my art presentable and beautiful, even before I painted anything; it's so wonderful to go to a shop where people truly care about what they sell and truly care about your projects (and your budget).

Also, I used a circular saw for the first time this week, and decided that I don't much care for using tools where the power is not my own!  D:  I've been hand-sawing and hand-sanding my frames, which I'm much more comfortable with.

The piece on the left is 95% done!  I mounted it on the frame yesterday and I'm sanding it down and adding some texture and poly coating tonight.  EXCITING.  Getting a few pieces totally done has boosted my morale tenfold.

Fellow art-maker Sarah Jane Sapang (whose blog / shop are both wonderful, if you have not taken a look, please do yourself a favor and do so!) pointed me in the direction of an etsy blog called "Quit Your Day Job," which interviews people who, because of their popularity and success on Etsy, have been able to quit their day jobs and work full-time for themselves!  Considering my current situation, this has ultimately put me in SUPER-INSPIRED-AND-MOTIVATED mode.  I have a morbid and insatiable curiosity to 1) see other people's studio spaces and 2) know what each artist's typical day is like when they work for themselves!

Also, I opened my formspring.me account again, so you can always feel free to ask me anything there!
Also^2, I am going to be doing my first GIVEAWAY soon!  So, please stay tuned for that!  I'll also be announcing this on my twitter, tumblr, and facebook fanpage, so no one will have an excuse not to participate!!  I'm so excited about this, and I hope you all will be, too!  Till next time!

Preview: I'm in love with a monster

Some pictures taken with my cell phone of one of my pieces for the show in July.  I wish I had a better camera, because, as you see, in these three pictures the color already looks ridiculously different.  I'm getting them shot professionally when the whole show is done.
More deets another time--going back to the hunker-down position, will not unfurl until I've got more done.  It's been steady, and I feel good about it.

Thanks for sticking with me, guys.  More soon.

A studio post

I got some questions on my tumblr and other internet nooks that I frequent about my studio space, and I thought I'd share some photos and talk a little bit about my "studio."  Studio meaning, that room in my house where I make arts happen.  If you were anticipating something Disney-esque, GRAVELY MISTAKEN does not even begin to describe.

Well, let's start with my drawing desk, which was donated graciously to me by Gary after the flood.  This is where I start to lose my mind / thoughts of artistic suicide begin.  The Daystar was bright as hell this morning, and burning my recluse-skin pretty hard.  For now, I've blurred out my pieces for the show, but I promise within the next week I'll give y'all an update about that.

Next to my desk are thousands of dollars of wasted money art supplies.  Pretty self-explanatory.  Because of the recent getting-laid-off thing, I actually rearranged everything and scrubbed the floors (BY HAND, LIKE, CINDERELLA-STYLE, Y'ALL) and I promise you that in a week I won't remember how I organized, like, 90% of this stuff.  And it probably won't matter because it'll all be a mess by then, anyway.

Across the way (read: 3 steps to the right) is my computer desk.  I learned the beauty of dual-screen action at work, and looking at one screen is almost foreign now.  I keep 2 bottles of 100 pills of Advil on my desk because MY HEAD ALWAYS HURTS FROM LOOKING AT THESE TWO SCREENS.  Also, I'd like to point out that my mother sent me the same Christmas card two years in a row and that kind of sums up the kind of awesome lady she is.

And behind my desk I keep some old sketches / paintings of mine that I like (usually color palettes or line quality or something to remind me that SOMETIMES I DO GOOD THINGS) and artwork from friends / inspirations that remind me to get off my ass and work.  There is also that giant paperweight printer.  Gotta get that working again.  It basically crapped out right before I was about to head out to Animazement.  WONDERFUL TIMING, AS ALWAYS, LIFE.

And there you have it.  Not much to it, like I said, but this is basically where I'm going to hideout for the next month and a half.  I've gotten some really sweet e-mails and replies from many of you, and I appreciate them all.  BUT NEVER FEAR.  I've no time to slow down--it's all full-speed ahead from here!

Gradjeeaytin'

I technically graduated in December, but the ceremony isn't until this upcoming April 16th. I'll walk um...a few steps forward, get my pretty piece of paper, and leave Portfolio Center again until I return in July as an instructor. My, how things have changed!

A group of us are having a group show at the Kai Lin Art Gallery in Midtown Atlanta in June. The theme is monsters, however, Yu-kai, the owner of the gallery, doesn't like anything scary or disturbing which basically cancels out 95% of my ideas, but I'm sketching some concepts this week and proceeding to bust ass once I've got things laid out the way I'd like. I've been experimenting with oil and woodburning, and picking up spare pieces of wood from the dumpster to practice on.

AnimeBoston was this past weekend, which was a total blast. It felt good to not stare at a computer screen for three whole days, and to use my paints and markers and pens again!