utah art market!

my work will be in the utah art market the first week of december! 

...time to finish all those paintings and drawings (and prints)! here's a sneak peek of stuff i made for the beehive bazaar last year; i'll update you with images as i finish them! 

overcoming the selling barrier

*squints eyes, blows dust off*
wow. there is definitely a layer of time that has been caked on to this blog. let's get moving again, shall we?

first, an announcement: i will be casually selling my work at muse music's art blitz this saturday! from 2-6pm. so come hang out and maybe bring some money if you want some art for your wall. if not for mine, come for some other amazing artists' work! or just come hang out. no pressure.

#inktober day 22, anyone? forgive the poor quality &
sub-par typography. done on my phone = less patience :)

second, a conundrum:

i was messaging my incredibly talented artist friend mckenna about potentially selling her work at this event as well, and she responded,

I'm nervous about actually selling my work. Even though it's just student work I still have this weird attachment to it. Have you felt like that before? It's totally a great beginning to get people seeing your work so it's a toss up. What have you done to overcome that feeling?

and i thought about it. this was my response.

Honestly I was just wondering the same thing. How do I overcome that?

Well.

One thing that helps is to change my mindset from "this is mine" to "this is mine to give". I feel like God gave us talents not to keep to ourselves, but to share. 

It is SO cool to see others like my art enough to actually buy it and put it on their walls. And we as artists have a talent that not everyone has; we can create amazing, visually intriguing things.

So then it's all about the human interaction of the experience--the philosophy of sharing something super special to me with other people. Like sharing your favorite song, favorite food, or even your dearest thoughts about your beliefs. All of these require us to give something, but something greater always comes to take its place. Often they become more important to me after I deliberately share them with someone else. And I remind myself that as I give, it creates incentive to make more.

Still though, I definitely have pieces that I haven't sold because I'm not ready, or simply don't want to. Because I feel like some specific pieces will benefit me more than they'd benefit anyone else, but I can use them to inspire me to make things like them for others. 

so those are some thoughts, facebook chat style. definitely off the top of my head. definitely not comprehensive. but maybe a good seed. 

what are your thoughts? how do you part with something you've made? 

beehive bazaar!

i promise the influences/taste post is still coming; it's mostly written but on hold, due to a high level of art-making i'm having to attempt, and here's why....

the beehive bazaar is the next two weekends: may 1-3 and 8-10 and you should mark your calendars right now. seriously, right now. go ahead, i'll wait.

. . .

did you do it? cool. here's why:

i have attended two beehive bazaars before and let me tell you: it is an amazingly creatively stimulating environment. it's more than just a regular ol' craft fair...the work found there is the best and most eclectic local hand-made stuff around. from handmade books to terrariums to glass ornaments to stationary to leather to jewelry to macaroons and more. honestly, i've been a little disappointed in the regular local craft fairs the past few years; i've felt like everything has gone more "corporate" or it's all pretty much the same stuff. i guess i was spoiled when i lived in new york a few summers ago and got to attend some fairs out there, but the beehive bazaar is the closest thing to the brooklyn craft fair i've seen. and that's sayin' something. :)

last year, they added the "fine art" slot, and have added some fine artists along with crafters so that patrons could be exposed to both worlds. somehow, my work has been accepted into one of these slots--what a great and humbling opportunity for my work to show next to some of my art heroes and friends. speaking of which, click here to see a video about one of those heroes/friends, and get a feel for the bazaar.

my work will only be up for grabs on the second weekend, may 8-10, but honestly i'm probably gonna pop in intermittently through both weekends because i personally want to buy of goods from many of these fine vendors and artists.

click here to join the facebook event!

5 ways to ditch your sketchbook rut

do you ever get into an artistic rut? me too. ever want to get out? ...me too.

my pre-animation students and i have been talking about artistic ruts, and i think that one of the most helpful parts of getting out of those hang-ups is sketchbooking. why? because it gets you in the habit of drawing -- all the time. so when you have to draw for a specific purpose, like my students do in our figure drawing class, or when artists have to create a commissioned piece, it's no different: you simply make a transition in your mind. it's a different medium and a different subject and here we go. so i present to you----

1 // get rid of the idea that your sketchbook needs to be presentable. i know--people always want to see it. we're artists. we're cool. we carry around these little books with various drawing tools and oftentimes people think that we breathe and magic designs spill onto the paper. but we know it's not that simple, and we don't want to be self-conscious, so we want to draw well. we want to be impressive. but this can also paralyze us into ruts or worse, into not drawing at all. and what i often see in the sketchbooks of beginners (and of those in ruts) is that they worry about this and tend to draw very timidly, which shows through the drawing.

so with that idea--the idea that "this has to look awesome or someone will doubt my artistic legitimacy"-- out of your mind, your drawings might actually look, well, more awesome. sketchbooks are magical. they can be places to develop ideas, to study concepts in a deeper capacity, to play, to observe, to explore, to understand. don't worry; just draw.



2 // keep multiple sketchbooks. this can help with #1. so if you feel inclined, get a few different sketchbooks. perhaps you can use one for emulations, one for "pretty drawings" where you try to make finished work and one for straight-up experimentation. experimentation of medium, of style, of ideas, etc; this last one might surprise you in how free your drawings become...maybe it'll become your favorite. i don't even bother with the "pretty drawing" one anymore, honestly--i usually find my best stuff in the others. and to be totally honest, the types of books i've mentioned usually end up bleeding together. but my mind opens up as to how i can use my sketchbook.

some artists prefer just to draw on loose-leaf 8.5x11 printer paper, and then get it spiral-bound. this is a great way to keep your drawings together and make them look presentable later, if you must. it sure is a good way to gather random ideas or sort and organize them.

one of my favorite sketchbooks i designated as a "pen-only" sketchbook, where i inked on the first page, "permanent mistakes welcome". then i could then allow myself to mess up because it was supposed to happen--it was part of the process. i also made two rules for myself: #1- i could only use pen, which allowed me to be more bold in my mark-making, and #2- i couldn't skip pages, which helped me move on from "bad drawings" faster. i found that along with a lot of not-so-great drawings, i had a lot of successful drawings in that book because i let myself draw with reckless abandon. obviously there are times and places, but hey...it's a thought.



lastly, one of my most favorite sketchbooks i keep is a private* sketchbook -- this tiny, thin little book can fit in my pocket and it's one that i don't let anyone else see. in these pages, i record my personal thoughts and ideas, knowing there will be absolutely zero pressure of others' eyes. the thoughts and ideas i pour into this book aren't limited either -- they come not only as images, but also as words, as poems, as potential songs...creativity appreciates both boundaries and having boundaries lifted. also, i can be totally honest in my work here.

[above photo notes] left: 3.5x5.5 handbook handles water media well. pocket-sized! don't let the format hold you back. top right: the closed 3.5x5.5 moleskin book is my private sketchbook.  super thin pages but that's okay for this one for me.  i penned the words on the front, [*and here's a little secret--i'll tell you about one page in there, which is  the first page in the book which completes the thought on the front: '...nor perfection allowed'. again, it's my counterbalance to pesky paralyzing perfectionism. but apparently there is no counterbalance to alliterations when they just come....] bottom right: a sketch from a photo i took at a concert in my pen-only 4.5x8.5 denik book. pretty thin pages but good for ink only :) (and denik is a great cause...check them out) 

3 // switch up your medium! matt nolte visited BYU this past week and he said that when he gets frustrated, he changes his medium. i think this is excellent advice. when i use different media in my sketchbook it gets me all sorts of excited about drawing. if you can trick yourself into being excited about drawing, you'll want to draw-- all. the. time. and chances are, you'll get better if you're applying what you're learning in your classes or personal study (because you should always be learning...see #4). below are some of my favorites.

click to enlarge--read my wee notes!

you can tell what kind of rollerball pens these are from the photo--your standard pilot G2 and uniball, as well as a staedtler pigment pen (i used to use microns but the tips wore out too fast for me). here are links to the other goodies. some of them are general links because there's variety within the media -- pentel pocket brush pen (makes more expressive marks) // col-erase pencils // waterbrushes (can be filled with ink or water) // kneaded erasers // itty bitty watercolor set (!)

piggybacking off the idea of different sketchbooks, the surface we draw on also makes a difference. toned paper is great because it automatically creates a medium value, so i also add white charcoal pencils to my quiver to create some lighter values on top. below is an example of a sketchbook i started today! it's just toned paper i'm going to spiral bind later.

and speaking of quivers, it really helps to have something to hold your supplies. i love my kaddy pencil holder, but i've not been able to find any since i purchased mine. leave me a comment and link if you can find them, or what you find helpful to hold your tools in when you tromp around town to sketchbook. perhaps pencil roll cases might work? 

below are some studies that i decided have fun with and made more interesting by using a blue col-erase, one of my rollerball pens and my waterbrush to spread the ink from the pen around for value. again: using different media = so much more fun when you're drawing what something that may appear to be boring.

4 // get outside: inspirationally and physically
get outside physically: get outside of where you normally draw. take note--where and when do you draw? is it just in class? just in a boring meeting? just in your room when you're procrastinating other things?

well, there is an entire world of things to be drawn! so get out and draw in other places: the lunchroom, the park, the line at the coffee shop, the zoo, the apple orchard, the mountains, the library, the mall. draw at concerts! drawing from life (i.e. looking at something and drawing it) is essential to help develop hand-eye coordination and connect our brains to our work. i took a sketchbook class where we just went to different random places and drew whatever we felt like. it was the most liberating experience. i don't think i would have thought of going to the harley-davidson place and drawing motorcycles on my own but you know what? it was a blast. (photo below, top-left)

as a bonus, the more things and people you draw, the more trade your stigma of what you "think" you know for actual observation and realize what things really look like. also, drawing a variety of subjects helps put those things in your memory bank so that if you're ever called upon to draw, say, a fire hydrant for a job, you're already somewhat familiar with it because one happened to be next to that random train that you drew that one time you got outside of where you normally drew.

also, just be inspired by life. some of the drawings below in the bottom-left and the one on the right side are more emotionally-driven: ideas that developed from experiences i'd had. i've heard idea thrown around the BYU animation department that animation is the imitation of life. if you don't have a life, how can you imitate it?



get outside inspirationally: look at the sketchbooks and art of those you admire. and here's the thing. students often look at their peers for inspiration. this is great, but your competition isn't just inside of your classrooms or at your universities and colleges -- your competition is in the industry you're headed into.

so rather than just looking right and left in your physical classrooms, look at the wider world of art. bridge the chasm between you and the professional you want to be in 20 years by looking at the art of the professionals you admire, because once you graduate, those are the ones you'll be compared to when you're hunting for jobs or trying to make a name for yourself! it really helps to look through others' sketchbooks to be motivated into sketchbooking/art-making. i've started a pinterest sketch board with notes about sketchbooking. honestly, it's sort of what inspired this post (it also has most the images from this post pinned, because for some reason they wouldn't pin from this page). give it a look and a follow, if you fancy.

5 // "what kind of art do i even like?!" dismayed, that's what i found myself asking after my 3-week backpacking adventures in italy, september 2012. i was back in the states with only two months to create my final bfa project to graduate college--stoked and inspired from my travels yet totally stumped on what style or direction i even wanted to go in with my art. so i used pinterest for inspiration to help me understand the kind of art i liked, because i wanted to produce art that i liked. there is a lot to be said about curating art and a lot to be understood about yourself as a person and artist from what you find. read more about that experience here.

also, be observant in your own art and sketchbooks: what do you like to draw? what do you keep coming back to? not just in subject matter, but in qualities and stylistic choices? what media do you jive with most? don't tie yourself down, but do take note of correlations in your work over time.

it's like playing the game "clue": apparently i like drawing women. with long necks. and cool hair. with good line quality. swirls. profiles. ...pensive expressions? in oblong formats. in really great sketchbooks. usually 4.5x8 or smaller.

jumping off of point number 5, look forward to my next post where i'll discuss more about the importance of cultivating good taste to create your "style".

in the meantime, grab your sketchbook and get going! obviously these are just a few of my thoughts but i feel like i just let out all of my sketchbook secrets! dare to share yours? leave a comment.

hampton's drawing list

today my class is turning in my midterm, and we're starting to learn about anatomy. i'm LOVING michael hampton's book on it, because he really breaks it down. super helpful, especially for beginners.

carrying on from my last post--he made a super concise list regarding constructing the figure. here, drink some of his wisdom. *goblet clink*

"It is important to keep in mind the overall process at this point. Remember the progression:

Gesture

Shapes

Landmarks/Volume

Anatomy

Value

Think of these as all being related. Any time you move to another step, that step still needs to address all that came before it. For example, when we start to develop anatomy, we have to address the three steps that came before it in order to stay true to the original intention or gesture. Additionally, remember that drawing the pecs or deltoid is the description of a smaller or micro-gesture that is a smaller argument in support of the larger idea (the initial gesture)." -Figure Drawing: Design and Invention, pg. 89

drawing checklist

remember how i'm teaching figure drawing for animation at byu this semester? i'm so glad i am, because man...it's a blast.

the main reason for this post is because it's sort of an appendage to the post that i wrote a while back. and honestly, i just don't feel like making a powerpoint for my students (powerpoints...gross). so all of you get to peek at what we're learning about today. it's basically pulling together what we've talked about in the class so far. yeah, process! 

construction // 

i start every drawing the same way, whether it be a 30 second drawing or a 3-hour drawing. literally. it goes sort of like this --

some famous artist said it first and more elegantly, but i let the pose determine how i begin drawing. sometimes it's an amazing gesture. sometimes it's the midline. sometimes it's a sweet shape. sometimes it's the emotion. whatever it is, i find that and start there. then this is a reeeeeally rough process of what comes next:

1 -"ghost in" the figure -- lightly compose it on the paper with broad, general marks (usually the widest side of the conté or drawing medium)
2 -gesture first: exaggerate the pose and essence of the model in its entirety. meaning, at least imply the main parts of everything: torso, head, arms, legs, hands, feet. you can loosly incorporate the shadows if you'd like, to help explain the shapes. or, you might want to put in lines for proportion, ie where the feet, knees, pelvis and shoulders are if it's a standing pose, getting the dynamic angles in there. 

3 -build on top of the gesture with basic shapes (often, i start with the torso, because that explains the rest of the pose as everything else is an appendage to that. but again, let the pose decide the way to begin)
4 -commit a few areas, meaning, make some areas clear with firm, decided marks to say "this is where this line is", and then let all the other marks you put down subsequently relate to that area.

hmm, these numbers don't exactly match up with the list but you get the idea, yeah?

now i'll let you in on a secret -- this is what constantly goes through my head as i continue into a more extended pose, whether it be 10 minutes or 3 hours.  

mental checklist //

-keep the gesture alive

-construction: is the structure still there? 

-constantly draw through the figure (or at least think through it, literally)

-establish darks and lights

-light is for detail, dark is for form

-establish a focal point

-SIMPLIFY: choose to see less

-keep eye and hand moving

-think in terms of explaining and interpreting

-merge dark shapes

-pay attention to negative space

-always think: big to small, general to specific. from the tool in hand to the shapes on the page 

-when applicable, grid and relate points to each other

-commit lines and points

-strengthen and clarify. always! 

-when time permits, walk away and come back with a fresh view

SO. if i start to "lose" my drawing (meaning it's going well then something happens and it starts to look weak or not as good), go back to the top of my mental check list and figure out where i "lost" it.

i have the top 5 of these (the ones that are most important to me, or the ones i forget most often) written on my drawing board, to help me remember. construction is always on there, because you just can't really move on from a poorly constructed form. that has to be in place first. before value, before cool swooshy energy lines, before anything else. another famous artist said this: "you must build the house before decorating it." 

sooo...capisce?

drawing principles // 

keep these things in mind as you draw as well, after you get a good grasp on structure and construction and the essentials. 

-general to specific

-make sure to get the whole figure on the page. don't sacrifice this! 

-straight vs. curve 

-push the design: our mind always tends to straighten things out when they're on paper. we have to compensate for this in our designs. if the model looks slightly bent, draw them more than slightly bent and our brain will interpret it correctly when it sees it on paper. 

* * *

thoughts on value //  value refers to the lightness vs the darkness in a drawing. this is often where students get excited, but ironically where their drawings go downhill.

as far as value goes, this is one of the best tips i can think of. i'll even let go of my stylistic writing choices and capitalize my letters for you like a big kid just for clarification's sake:

Light is for modeling (it’s where the information and rendering should be) and shadows should be flat. Thus, leave detail out of the dark. Instead, make the dark shapes pretty flat. This will also help you to think in shapes and planes. Again: Light = texture, detail, rendering, modeling, color (if applicable). Dark = shape-making, flat, low hues (color). Now, some artists have reversed the two. This is just the approach I've found to be most successful. Either way, pick one to have the most information: light or dark, and go with that.

The next part is super helpful, so tighten your thinking caps one just one time:

The separation of light and dark is important. The lightest areas of the shadow still shouldn’t be lighter than the darkest areas of the light. I know...it sounds confusing, but it’s honestly one of the best concepts to grasp with value. If it’s not like this, it’ll look over-modeled, which is no good.

a quiver of tools // 

now let me be clear: the implementation of value does NOT make a good figure drawing. there are absolutely gorgeous figure drawings made solely of line! however, if you can learn to use value properly, it's another tool to add to your toolbox and you can pull it out when needed. there are times you might not even want to use value.

think about it: if your model is 90% in shadow (you likely came late to class and got the shadow side of the room), you might opt to just do a really great line drawing. but it will need excellent construction and a knowledge of anatomy. but to make it look superb, that's where the line quality tool comes in. that's why everything is built on top of everything else. you need to know the basics to understand what you're doing (and no artist can skip these, no matter how good he is), but the quality of the drawing is shown by incorporating the awesomes.

b a s i c s :

gesture

proportion

construction

shape making

a w e s o m e s :

line quality

value

force

exaggeration

composition

Our drawing surface will likely remain our best and most objective teacher.

~Ted Seth Jacobs

until next time, young padawans.....also, questions? leave a comment!

interview in city weekly!

just wanted to say that a couple weeks ago, i got interviewed by gavin sheehan of salt lake magazine's city weekly! please go read the article on his blog -- it's probably the most thorough thing i've ever written about my art. it talks about everything from my early influences to my career choice and everything in between, with a bit of advice sprinkled in the end and a few other local artists to check out! give it some lovin'!

check it here: http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/blog-70-10376-kristin-gulledge.html

here's my excuse

you know how sometimes i take long hiatuses from updating this blog because i randomly up and move to mexico to teach kids english for 3 months?

. . .

you don't? well. that's because this is the first time it happened.

so i will express my sincere apologize in two forms:

1. good news: i was recently hired to be a figure drawing instructor for BYU's animation department! i am thrilled. class started yesterday and it's a good group of people. i'm stoked to start figure drawing again as well because i used to all the time!

2. food and art: my art show at the slc library - sprague branch is up! the opening reception is THIS COMING TUESDAY from 6:30-8pm and you can check out the event here.

just a reminder....

a reminder that instagram likes to be gigantic when embedded into blogger. 

oh! and that my show is up through friday of this week. hours: 8am-5pm.

if you missed opening night, go take a picture of yourself with the art, and i'll include it in the opening night photos when i upload them to my art page on facebook. no one will know the difference. ;) email it to me at kgull.art@gmail.com. also, if you'd like to get updates right to your inbox, subscribe to my monthly(ish) newsletter by emailing me with "opt-in" for the subject line.

i'm traveling til the end of the month so all is quiet around here, but things will soon be in motion again.

meet the art! (parts of it)

this post is exciting because i will reward you for coming to my blog by showing you previews of my art that you haven't even seen before! none of these have ever even graced my facebook page OR my instagram! :-O put on your best surprised face because here we go:

look at this woodshop! i got the privilege of making some of the cradles for my art with that fine genleman on the left.

all the photos from this post are from my phone so i kind of cringe at the quality, but it was either this or nothing due to tonight's time constraints. so i figured this'll have to do. instagram lets you embed videos, neat! sorry it's huge though; i wasn't stoked to get my hands all muddy in the code to mess with how to make it smaller.....

  and onto previews of the art! again...cringing here because of the slight pixelation. but hopefully you'll come see them in real life where they aren't pixelated. :) i will document properly after the reception for those of you who are too far away to come to the show.  

1 // sleepyhead as a painting!  2 // ...with new words! i love these ones. they were a stream of consciousness one morning.  3 // this lovely lady was tied up in ropes the last time she appeared in one of my paintings so i figured it was time to free her. :)  4 // this painting came as a surprise to me in church on sunday. it really means a lot to me. she is the painting in the video up above. 5 // this is a study for the painting in #4.  6 // another detail of the painting #5 (wow that was confusing.....)  7 // close-up of enos. a very biographical piece as well.  8 // an interesting start to the sister piece for "godly sorrow"  9 // this piece has always had a life of its own. it just came out of my scriptures one day into my pen. then into my phone. and then onto wood. this is before i wood burned it. it looks awesome now.

i'm actually very excited about all the new work i've made for this show because they all have very unique stories. the above are just the seedlings. perhaps i'll do a post about each one. 
to close, you can watch twelve ginormous seconds (gosh instagram, why are you so huge??) of sleepyhead becoming blue. and heck, might as well follow me on instagram since it's sort of yelling at you....
 

meet the artists! (in pixel form)

hanging the show on saturday went surprisingly well. 

and now that the art is hung, i wanted to tell you a little about the artists.

obviously, normandie and i are -- very -- serious artists.

but there were lots of words in the last post, so check out this video that i made to introduce the fabulous normandie (plus sneak peeks of my art). note to self: next time, turn phone 90 degrees prior to filming....

the dear girl also said some pretty kind things about me too, and showed sneak peeks of her art, as well as some other events going on friday for you! we are clever, no?

isn't she adorable?! so if you didn't get enough of our lovable faces in 480p, you can see them in the flesh THIS friday! along with our art, which is arguably better or just as good as our faces. sort of a toss-up. 

surprise, i have a show in a week!

hello again, art world! (world, in general)

i spent the summer doing some photography gigs as well as lots of design stuff and traveling! i apologize it's been so scarce around here.

to make up for it, here are some exciting announcements:

1. i have an art show coming up with the lovely normandie luscher --

call me crazy; i've attempted to [start and] finish many of these...and more 

and it's been a mad house! i'm hanging the show saturday with many things still to get done! on to details--

location: the utah county health and justice building // 151 s. university ave, provo, ut

details: the reception will be from 6-9 pm complete with live music and food.

this is part of provo's first friday gallery stroll, where lots of the art galleries in downtown provo open up and each have the artists and new shows and food and music.

also, there is a free rooftop concert that night just a few blocks away which starts around 7:30.

so i basically planned your whole night for you, full of free art, music and food. YOU'RE WELCOME. ;)

oh, and there is a handy facebook event for our show if you'd like it to kindly remind you.

hopefully i'll stop by the blog with a few sneak peeks this week! (my main focus is actually finishing them in time...eesh....)

2. i was humbled and happy to hear so many people express excitement about my piece, head & heart. i'm pleased to announce that i've decided to make this into a series! i'll be taking commissions to make similar pieces and will customize each, as explained below:

many times we know something is true or right in our mind but for some reason, our hearts just doesn't feel it. it can be a difficult chasm to cross. sometimes it's pretty obvious when our heart gets the message. but other times, that transition comes subtly. this piece explores that concept. if you'd like one for your wall, you may choose whatever goes in her head: what things about yourself are you trying to believe? 

3. lastly, i will be starting to send monthly(ish) email newsletters. if you'd like to opt-in, email me at kgull.art@gmail.com. i promise i won't spam you and will do my best to keep them brief, informative and hopefully a tad entertaining. and they will get prettier as i learn the program i'm using, even though i'm pretty annoyed with the limited typographic options. ;)

three things.

agh!! i forgot to publish this a few days ago! here is what it said....

sorry for the lack of posts!

but sort of not sorry....why? cuz i've been making art instead of posts! for the ART OPEN HOUSE which was yesterday and TODAY FROM 9am-4pm.

i've been feeling sort of out of the loop with art lately, but when i was answering the questions that dear mckenna wooley sent so that i could be FEATURED ON HER BLOG for her awesome "inspire me monday" series, it really helped me to remember why i like doing this art thing in the first place.

so that was sort of neat.

aaaaaand here's that link again. just in case you didn't see it up there. :)

bottom lines:

1. less posts, more art. sorryish.
2. come to the art open house today. it was awesome yesterday. here's a hashtag for you to use, if you're into that sorta thing (and i know you are): #artopenhaus
3. read this post (last call!) if you'd like some insight to my artistic journey of sorts. also, check mckenna's blog often; she features her own great art as well as other guest artists.

help the starving artists!

i am pleased to announce that four of my artist friends and i are putting together an art open house this month! 

it's gonna be a laid-back cozy gathering at an actual house. we will sell art (both originals and prints) and there will be food, live music and some cool announcements on that friday night. 

more details will be added to the facebook event so make sure to RSVP!

in the meanwhile, do you have any requests for art from me?? any specific styles of mine or themes or ideas? i'm literally back to the drawing board and want to create things for your walls! leave you answer in the comments.

website!

just wanted to stop by and announce my new little website! 

www.kristingulledge.com

whatcha think? i just wanted something to keep everything together so that people can find what they're looking for. i whipped it up with basic html and css and then my good friend and amazing programmer trevor reed helped make it mobile-friendly and worked out the glitches. 

also, make sure to check out the design section because it's completely new, and i also have a new photo set up. 

some day i'll get around to designing better portfolio sites, but freelance is keeping me busy so that day is not today. : )

also, as this is an art blog so i feel like you should be rewarded for coming here with a bit of art. i know some of you have already seen it on facebook. thanks so much for your support!

searching for celia

i am so excited that i can finally talk about one of the biggest projects i've been working on!

the back story:: 

over the past year i've been involved in the branding/promo/publicity of a band (which started with my love of their music). undoubtedly one of my favorite branding gigs i've had. searching for celia is a rock-type band...but instead of a singer, they have a violin and cello. they don't even need lyrics. i would haven't believed it myself, but you can read my personal experience with the band if you'd like.

long story short, this is how i see it: their music explores the whole spectrum of emotion which provides a catalyst for thoughts to flow freely, preventing them from staying stagnant or circular. it's invigorating and beautiful. at least, that's what it does for me. i cannot even tell you how many times i've listened them while working on a project or on one of those drives you take specifically so you can think.

the promotion:: 
on february 9 they released their first album at their sold-out album release concert! over a week later, i'm still reeling in how beautiful it was.

i made the promotional stuff; the tree was based off of a painting by band member and artist sebastien gallego. it looked something (exactly) like this:

the album::
i also had the privilege of designing their albums, which were (surprise!!) actually swanky USB's in classy little cases! i thought this was innovative and interesting. it also provided some challenges as well as liberties. 

one of those liberties was that the drives held more space than a cd would, so they've included awesome extras like sheet music for the string parts as well as files to one of their songs that listeners can re-mix with any music editing software. there is a limited edition, so each has its own number signifying its place in the run.

the animation:: 

one more thing...this also meant that i could do the liner notes in a different way. so i decided to animate them. :) i mean...animated liner notes? was there even a question about this?! however, this brilliant idea came to me at 1:30 am, three days before the concert. i'm just barely learning after effects, so you can imagine how much sleep i got those days. (imagining sleep was pretty close to the actual amount i got). however, i was so grateful that my friend and fellow artist ellis elkins, who teaches an after effects class, stepped in and finished the animation after i'd created, exported and placed the assets. i basically directed and he animated. without him, it likely still wouldn't be done.

eventually it was decided that rather than liner notes, the animation would be a whimsical interpretation of a quote from a t.s. eliot play from which searching for celia got their name. it serves as sort of an album preview. here are some screenshots of it: 

we haven't put it online yet, so be sure to buy the album if you'd like to see it soon! the whole thing is a very reasonable $12. usb, packaging, the songs, the extras...all of it. we'll even throw in a flyer that i made for the concert for free. ;) if you don't believe me, city weekly thought they were pretty great too. 

to get your hands on one of these lil' gems, either contact me at kgull.art@gmail.com, or the band via their facebook page or searchingforcelia@gmail.com.

sora and a bonus!

whew! it's been a crazy whirlwind of a month and we're not even halfway done (of which i'm glad).

first of all, i had that show at sora asian dining. let me just tell you: sora is a fantastic little place. the food is super legit and the people who own the place as well as those who work there are some of the kindest you will ever meet. eating there is most definitely a lovely experience.

my show was only from 6-9pm on february 1 and it was little intense getting it up, but it had a good showing! this is sort of what it looked like:

(it's a little confusing to understand the space from the pictures. check the flikr set for a little tour).

as previously mentioned, i started to sell prints there, which was fun. (check this post for details on buying them.)

but one surprising highlight of the night was that i sold my [what's your] MUSE painting! i was so pleased that she got a good home. she now belongs to another fantastic artist whom i had the pleasure of meeting the night of my show, alicia vannoy call. (check out her work here! it's SO fun.)

also, bonus: on the night of this show, the byu illustrators' association (of which i used to be a part) put up their monsters show at muse!

they were so nice to let me contribute as well! here were my little guys:

both of these little dudes are on sale for $40! head down to muse any time this month and check out the awesomeness and diversity that byu's illustration students have put into these fabulous monsters.

~*~

thank you to jessica barry and danielle white for all your help that night. 

also, thank you to sora's awesome waiters josh and matt for your help and encouragement, 

as well as david and june (sora's owners) for this opportunity and your kindness! 

also. a HUGE thanks to annie henrie, for your help in taking down my show at muse and putting up my show at sora a wonderful adventure when it could have been a terrible nightmare.

prints for sale!

to see my little store, click here.

 for now, let's talk prints! these are $15 each (plus shipping if applicable).

i conducted a facebook poll a while back and the sleepyhead was an overwhelming first place, so i printed her first. there aren't many left of this limited edition print of 15 so claim yours while you can! 

8.5x11"

the muse of music was also in high demand, so here she is as well, singing her lil song: 

image is 6x6" on 8.5x8.5" paper

lastly, the secret print! this is a piece i painted a while back but is still one of my favorites. drumroll........

image is 5x7" on 8x10" paper

it's called, "a thing with feathers".

visit my store at http://kristinartdesign.bigcartel.com to purchase!

that one-night art show is tonight!

do you have plans tonight? no? well you're in luck, because i just made some for you.....

1. sora asian dining:: 

i will officially be selling prints tonight at my art show at sora asian dining!

from the results of my facebook poll, i will be selling prints of sleepyhead and muse of music...as well as a SECRET print that i didn't even tell you about!

the sora show is a one-night-only gig, from 6-9pm. 

also the food is fantastic, and i highly recommend you stay a while and make a dinner outing out of it. i heard there is also a band playing, so enjoy music with your food and art! 

2. muse music:: 

also, you should mosey on around the corner to muse music cafe again (because they are fantastic), and check out the art show that's replacing mine--because it's a show from the byu illustration association, of which i used to be a part. read = excellent art.

it's a show based on monsters...what more could you want?! go check out the work of my wonderful comrades! (and...i may or may not have two bitty monsters in there as well). visit the facebook event here.

~*~

i feel grateful that this will be my third time participating in the downtown provo art chase. 

for more info on the art chase, click here and here! 

(they are outdated articles, but they explain what it is)

see you tonight!

one-night only art show THIS friday!

earlier this week i got the confirmation that i'll be putting up another solo art show this coming friday at sora asian dining as part of downtown provo's first friday art chase! 

the actual location is going to be a little bit tricky to set up art, but we'll make it work. besides, sora has fantastic food and apparently a band will be playing as well. read: music, food, art. need i say more?

i hope i see you there so you can get first dibs on some limited edition prints i'll be selling! those who come to the show get first priority.

however, i want to make prints of work that you actually want to buy...so check out the pieces below, then vote right now on my [shiny new] facebook page!