If you’ve ever talked to Michael Snyder (I usually bump into him at art openings in San Francisco and LA) then you know he’s got a wealth of opinions about nearly any topic you might choose to bring up — he gives good conversation.  His new webcast “Culture Blast” is just like one of those meetings, except you can have the pleasure of his company at the click of a button!  In his trademark rapid patter, Michael will tell you about films, comics, tv shows, art, music, comedy, and food — just the straight dope, no filler.

So imagine my delight when he told me the other night that he’d included me in a segment?  Thrilled to the gills and ticked to the ends of my flippers!  You can check it out right here.   (You can learn more about the show on the show’s FB page.)

Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss a morsel of his snarky updates on current pop culture.

Don’t you just love digital cameras?  How you can take hundreds and hundreds of pictures because you don’t have to pay expensive processing costs for developing film?  Yeah, it’s very liberating.  It’s over-liberating.  When I was in Miami last month for all the art fairs, my camera log tells me I took 1,060 photos.  In five days.  And I haven’t quite figured out how to share that with the world yet (or had the time to winnow it down into less of a visual onslaught, the art viewing equivalent of the endless battle scenes in the last “Lord of the Rings” movie).

Fortunately there’s sites like Cartwheel, where they’re a little more on the ball with timely reviews and have a spiffy editorial eye to pare things down to digestible nuggets.  So while you’re waiting for me to wade through a sea of JPGs,  you can check out some of their Miami art fair coverage right here.

Couple of classy broads resting their hooves after a long day

“Behold My Heart”. print on wood, 15 x 11 inches

We found a fabulous company that figured out how to print them directly onto wood, allowing a hint of the beautiful wood grain to peep through.  (Which is perfect in more ways than one since I do all my paintings on wood panels.)  There are different sizes and prices, from stocking stuffers

“Lucky 7″ & “Bitten”, prints on wood, 5 x 7 inches (each)

to “Oh honey you shouldn’t have (but I’m so glad you did!)”.

“Song of Birth (The Three Magi)”, print on wood, 18 x 24 inches

These are all signed and numbered, a very limited edition of 50 each.

“Besame Mucho”, print on wood, 8 x 10 inches

And if you order right now, you can still probably get them in your hot little hands in time for Christmas.  (Otherwise I think they’d make a smashing Chinese New Year present.)

“Golden Silence”, print on wood, 17 x 11 inches

The fab guys that make these prints run a solar powered shop, use FSC sustainably harvested birch, and for every purchase they donate a dollar to the Plant a Billion Trees charity.

“The Birth of Ginger”, print on wood, 16 x 20 inches

What are you waiting for?  Click right here to see ‘em all and snatch something up for yourself.

“Gone Native”, prints on wood, 10 x 8 inches (each)

This pair is sold separately or as a set, and you get to write their story in your mind — are they arriving at the tiny island in the background or escaping? Are they coming together or pulling apart? Is the storm brewing or passing?

“The Honey Dripper”, print on wood, 14 x 11 inches

What if the moment when Baby Bear and Goldilocks first saw each other, that instant when he cast his big brown bear eyes on her as she slept in his bed, was a “love at first sight” moment?  Maybe she would have stayed in the woods…

“Sew Much Love”, print on wood, 14 x 11 inches

And if things had gone a little differently for the Bride of Frankenstein and her Monster, perhaps they’d have decided to expand their family the best way they knew how.

Other goodies are also available at the Varnish Emporium, including Jennybird Alcantara’s new catalog “Creatures of Saintly Disguise”, prints by Jennybird, Mike Davis, and Attaboy, the Hi-Fructose Collector’s Edition boxed set, and gorgeous art books by and about all your fave artists.  One stop holiday shopping for everyone who’s been naughty or nice!

Happy Holidaze everyone, we made it another year around the sun!

“Song In My Heart” oil on wood

Come on over to Varnish Fine Art this Tuesday for the festive holiday bash “A Song In My Heart”, celebrating the phenomenal work of Visual Aid and its positive impact in the lives of artists living with illness.  Earlybird tickets start at $36 (use code SONG): http://songinmyheart.eventbrite.com/  (Tickets will also be available at the door.)

This is the last week to catch my show “Making A Better Yesterday Today”  and the VIP reception will feature signature cocktails, wine and fabulous passed hors d’oeuvres that are a palette for seasonal and sustainable goodies, followed by an array of addictive desserts. I’ll be doing a chatty “artist’s talk” walkthrough of the show at 6:45pm — my voice is still a bit shot from yakking it up in Miami at the art fairs but come listen to me croak and wax on about art, love, pop culture, and nekkid ladies.

Dress code?  Wear whatever makes you feel fabulous, from cowboy boots to stilettos.  Call Visual Aid @ 415-777-8242 or email Executive Director Julie Blankenship for more information: julie@visualaid.org.

Meanwhile, here’s a few fun facts:

1) In this show is the largest painting I’ve done in about 20 years.  (This says a lot more about the usual size of my work — kinda on the small side — than the enormity of this piece.  Still, I’m pretty amped about it.)

“Abduction of the Simian Women” oil on wood, 36 x 36 inches

2) I don’t usually do prints, partly because the whole idea of prints on paper never really excited me very much.  This is probably why I tend to make things like jigsaw puzzles and porcelain collector’s plates instead.  But technology has finally caught up with my oddball quirks and for this show we are going to be offering ten, count ‘em ten different images as prints on wood.  This is ultra cool to me because I paint on wood panels, so, you know, it’s kinda perfect.  Plus they don’t need to be framed — they’re ready to hang right on the wall!

Only 53 shopping days till Christmas! Just sayin’…

3) It’s actually two shows in one! In a riff on the show’s title, there will be a room of “Today” (the new paintings) and “Yesterday” (a curated selection of past favorites).  I love this.

“Get Your Hero On” oil on wood, 25 x 20 inches

4) I’m still obsessed with Batman and Catwoman.

“Cloud Nine” oil on wood, 19 x 16 inches

5) We did something really nifty — if you have a smartphone with a QR (Quick Response) Reader App, you can listen to me yap a bit about each of the new paintings.  Just scan the code on the wall by each piece and you’ll hear real actual thoughts that came out of my real actual head via my mouth.  (If you search ‘QR Reader’ in the App store there are several free apps that you can download to your phone, any of which will read the code and link you to an image specific audio clip.)

6) I’ve hidden a pineapple somewhere in every painting.  Okay that’s not even a tiny bit true. But I’ll think about it for the next show.  Maybe.

So please come and say hello –

“Making A Better Yesterday Today,” Opening Party on Saturday, November 3rd, 6-9pm, Varnish Fine Art, 16 Jessie St., San Francisco, CA

And if you can’t make it, you can scope it all out virtually right here.

That’s how happy I was when I read this absolutely terrific interview by Keith Dugas in Cartwheel (well it was either do a few cartwheels or maybe a Snoopy dance).  Keith asked some great questions that got me thinking, everything from making paint to artists’ rights.  Read on right here to get some inside scoop on the new work for my upcoming show at Varnish Fine Art, as well as some “it’s almost like you’re there” shots of the studio.  Enjoy!

I know I don’t stand a chance against these characters — they’ve been around forever.  Have you seen the prehistoric saber-toothed squirrel?

No wait, that’s not the right one… this one!

Hang on, that’s not right either — that is an actual Protosciurus or “first squirrel” from the fossil beds in Oregon, but it’s not much to look at.  I was actually thinking about these toothy little buggers, the Saber-toothed squirrels who lived in Argentina 220 million years ago.

Take the figs!  Take all the figs you want!  Truth be told, even though they keep calling it a “saber-toothed squirrel” apparently it’s not actually a squirrel. (Just as well.)  Lest you be in danger of having any squirrel nightmares, gaze at this for a moment…

Ah, all better now.  My own ode to squirrel coolness, “Nutz,” will be on display at “Awakened,” a show curated by Alix Sloan and on view at AFA Gallery in NYC.  It started out a bit like this –

And ended up like this –

The show opens Sept. 20th and a portion of every sale goes to Adopt-A-Pet in support of their mission to find loving homes for homeless pets.  There’s a great roster of artists involved with this show, including a live auction of hard to find prints, and you can read all about it right here.

“Awakened”, AFA Gallery, opening Sept. 20th 5-8pm, 54 Greene St. in Soho, NYC. Because a large turnout is expected, please RSVP to rsvp@afanyc.com if you think you’ll be dropping by.

“Wize” oil on wood panel

“Oakland NOW will feature some of our favorite East Bay emerging and established artists. With mediums ranging from illustration to sculpture to painting, this show is intended to serve as a cross section of the diverse art community living and working in Oakland and beyond. Some of the prominent lineup of artists include: Aaron Nagel, Andy Witrak, Brendan Monroe, Brett Amory. Deth P Sun, GATS, Gina Tuzzi, Isabel Samaras, Jason Munn, Jeremiah Jenkins, Jesse Hernandez, John Casey, Justin Lovato, Kelly Allen, Ken Davis, Lucien Shapiro, Marcos LaFarga, Monica Canilao, Nicomi Nix Turner, Rich Jacobs and Scott Hove.”

Opening weekend:
Friday August 3rd (First Friday) 6pm-10pm
Saturday August 4th (Art & Soul) 2pm-midnight
Sunday August 5th (Art & Soul) noon-6pm

Show on view through Saturday August 25, 2012

What: Oakland NOW
Where: lOAKal art gallery and boutique – 1423 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612
Website: http://www.spoke-art.com/

“It’s Like That” oil on wood panel, 11 x 14

… this time I decided to honor the ladies and this fine flock of females appeared in my sketchbook.

But who are those birds? Up at the top we have Da Brat, (Shawntee Harris) who was discovered after winning a rap contest on Yo! MTV Raps in the early 90′s, and went on to become the first female rapper to go platinum with her album Funkdafied.

She was promoted as kind of a girl version of Snoop Doggy Dog but she rolls pretty hard (convictions for assault, misdemeanor conduct). This bird is flying free again now.

“Da Brat”, watercolor on Medioevalis paper, 8 x 6 inches (framed)

“Latifah” watercolor on Medioevalis paper, 8 x 6 inches (framed)

“Missy” watercolor on Medioevalis paper, 8 x 6 inches (framed)

Tiny Trifecta runs at Cotton Candy Machine thru August 5th, so trot on over to 235 South 1st Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Time to get back to work!

Opening reception w/ DJ Captain Kerf from 5pm till late, Friday July 6th, 111 Minna Gallery, conveniently located at 111 Minna St, San Francisco, CA.