This is the cover from a notebook I used in a graduate seminar at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Can a notebook cover be a work of art? Heck, why not? Decorating mundane objects from daily life differentiates them from one another, plus it's something to do.
I'm no Lisa Frank, but seeing this collage does bring back fond memories of my time at RIT.
Choos, oil on canvas, 2005 by Sarah Atlee. Some rights reserved.
In all my years of art school, nobody told me that mixing brown and white would make blue. Cool.
This still life painting is of one of my beloved pairs of Vans Sk8-Hi Tops. The details are scratched out using an X-Acto knife.
Painted under the instruction of Robert Heischman at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Mary (Figure Study), ink on paper, July 2009. Some rights reserved.
I just signed up for Glen Thomas' Figure Drawing class at City Arts Center, which starts in late July. I'm so excited.
I've been a regular and loving attendee of Dr. Sketchy's Anti Art School over the last several years. Lately I've wanted to temper that experience with some traditional figure drawing, which I haven't done since I finished school in 2006. Last year I had a wonderful time in Bert Seabourn's acrylic painting class at CAC. I got reacquainted with some basic techniques and experimented outside my normal painting style. I'm eager to take this approach to learning and re-learning the figure.
City Arts Center, located on the Oklahoma State Fair Grounds in OKC, offers a wide variety of art classes for kids and for adults. Visit their website to read about course offerings and enroll. I guarantee you'll enjoy it.
Yeah, I'm a little late to the top-ten-list party. Here are my top ten artistic moments (in chronological order) from the Naughts, 2000-2009 :
2000 I have my first solo show, ____ day of my life, at the now-defunct ASA Gallery at UNM. 2001 My senior thesis show, Actual Size, sells out. I graduate from UNM with a BFA. 2002 Making art on my own in Indiana, I realize that I need more instruction to become a better painter. This becomes my goal in applying to graduate school. 2003 I begin graduate study at RIT. 2004 I learn a heck of a lot about the illustration business, and my personal style really begins to solidify. I start making paintings like this. 2005 I complete my graduate thesis show. One of these paintings is accepted to the Society of Illustrators Scholarship Competition. 2006 I move to Oklahoma, and am warmly welcomed into the artistic community here. 2007 I get a beautiful studio above Mainsite Gallery, and a slot in the Art 365 program. 2008 The Art 365 show debuts, including my series Normal, OK. 2009 I join the fabulous, inspiring, nerdcore community at the Oklahoma City Coworking Collaborative, or okcCoCo.
And from this past year, 2009:
January: I make two drawings for the Seeing Other People show curated by Jennifer Barron. February: I take my family to Society of Illustrators in NYC to see my piece in the annual Book Illustration exhibition. March: I quit my last day job to commit to art full-time. Haaaa-le-lu-jah April: I attend OVAC's Artists' Retreat at Quartz Mountain, where I learn all about residencies. May: I began the Occupied project, on my own, because a) I wanted to and b) I can. June: My drawing of romy is accepted to the 24 Works On Paper travelling exhibition. July: Back to Normal: Normal, OK Revisited opens at the Gaylord-Pickens Museum. August: I join the okcCoCo and move my studio there. November: I'm accepted into OVAC's first Oklahoma Art Writing and Curatorial Fellowship. December: Looking forward to 2010. There have been so many positive changes for me in recent years, I can't wait to see what comes next.
Brick Snow, acrylic on canvas, 2008. Click image to view source.
This painting was part of my Art 365 series, Normal, OK.
Artist Proposal Writing Workshop - Art 365 & Momentum Spotlight Tuesday, September 15, 6-8pm IAO Gallery, 706 W Sheridan Ave, Oklahoma City (map link) See this event on Facebook.
Learn the basics of writing a project proposal. Proposal deadlines are approaching for the $60,000 in Art 365 awards & exhibition and the $5,250 in Momentum Spotlight awards. For each, the same elements are required: description of project, images, artist statement, and resume.
Past Art 365 artist Liz Roth will present, offering tips about what makes a successful proposal. An OVAC representative will answer questions about the specific opportunities of Art 365 and Momentum Spotlight.
Workshops are open to all artists interested in improving their proposal writing techniques. Cost: $10 ($5 for OVAC Members). Click here to register.
As an added bonus, the OVAC blog has published examples of successful proposals by myself and Liz Roth, as well as examples of unsuccessful proposals.