Its Time to Play the Music...

I'm so happy to be able to show you all my contribution to "The Lovers, the Dreamers, and Me", the Jim Henson Tribute show that opens tonight at Gallery Nucleus. My piece is titled "Its Time to Light the Lights", and I thought it would be fun to show Bunson and Beaker getting into some trouble. Poor Beaker never seems to benefit from Bunson's experiments.

Here is some more information about the show:

Jim Henson's accomplishments have left a widespread and enduring impression on generations of admirers since his first endeavors in the late 1950s. From his iconic and colorful cast on Sesame Street to the groundbreaking fantasy Dark Crystal, Henson's imagination and ingenuity have ignited a path that many others have since followed.

Timed with the release of Disney's The Muppets motion picture and news on a forthcoming Henson biopic, Nucleus has invited more than 30 artists to pay homage to this universally beloved visionary whose inspiring concepts and characters have impacted our culture in a monumental way. The collection will showcase a variety of mediums from a roster of professionals who are also genuine fans.

Opening Night Highlights:

• Hourly Raffle Prizes
• Meet exhibiting artists
• Live Holiday & Henson Tunes by Kwortet
• Complimentary cupcakes by Chwa Cupcakery
• Complimentary refreshments
• Celebrate the season with fellow art lovers
• Shop unique gifts for those on your gift list

Exhibiting Artists Include:
*Artists attending reception

Alberto Cerriteno
Anna Chambers
Becky Dreistadt
Brittney Lee
Cat Rabbit
Chuck Groenink
Colin Jack
Felt Mistress
Graham Annable
Helen Musselwhite
*Ian Abando
Isobel Knowles
Israel Sanchez
Jackie Huang
*Jared Andrew Schorr
Jeni Yang
*Julia Sonmi
Lorelay Bové
Lorena Alvarez
MaricorMaricar
Mark Facey
Meg Hunt
*Michelle Thies
*Mike Mitchell
*Mike Peraza
Naoshi
Olivier Tossan
Scott C
Sean Chao
Sebastien Mesnard
TADO
Wool Buddy
Xavier Collette

I will be there tonight as well, so come on down if you can! I hope to see you there!

Morning Fog

Sometimes the quiet moments are the most memorable:)

CTN-X was a huge success! Thank you to all who came to say hello! This was one of the new pieces I made for the show, and I just had a chance to add it to the shop right here. I will share a few other pieces that I finished for CTN-X very soon, as well as some work created for upcoming gallery shows. So stay tuned!

And lastly, happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the U.S.! I hope you are all spending the weekend with family and friends, enjoying good food and good company. There is just so much to be thankful for:)

Until next time!

XOXO

My Favorite Part of Neverland

I know I have a problem. Okay, an obsession.

But when I was recently asked to create a new piece for a Disney Fine Art event a few weeks ago, the mermaid lagoon scene from Peter Pan was all I could think about. I thought it would probably be best to go ahead and get it out of my system before things got out of hand.

10" x 24" paper collage and gouache

I have been keeping busy working on several projects and getting ready for CTN-X next week! If you happen to be going to the show, you can find me at Table 56 right next to my good friend and fellow mermaid enthusiast, Liana Hee! I should have more updates before the show, but until then have a lovely week!

It's A Small World After All!

Well it has certainly been too long!

First of all, Comic-Con was awesome! Thank you so much to all who came out and said hello!

While I have tried to spend the better part of the last month enjoying what is left of the Southern California summer, I did find some time to work on this piece for the upcoming It's a Small World tribute show at Gallery Nucleus. Here is the info about the show from the gallery:

It's a Small World

Timed with the release of illustrator Joey Chou's latest children's book from Disney Press, a select group of talent will contribute work paying homage to this beloved and enduring theme of global peace. The book features Chou's illustrations interpreting the Sherman Brothers classic song written for the popular Disney park attraction.

This is an all-ages event. Meet some of the artists including Joey Chou who will be on hand signing copies of the new release.


Exhibiting Artists Include:

Joey Chou
Lorelay Bové
Patrick Awa
Brittney Lee
Becky Dreistadt
Patrick Hruby
Michelle Romo
Eric Diaz
Michael Fleming
Grace Lee
Brendan Wenzel
Justin Parpan
Israel Sanchez
Seb Mesnard
Griselda Sastrawinata
Rad Sechrist
Nellie Le
Pete Oswald
Mark Sperber
Winnie Ho
Olga Stern
Christian Robinson
Victoria Ying
Ryan Kramer
Alex Chechik
Kevin Chan
Sean Sullivan
Ryuku Uratsuji
Chris Turnham
Josh Parpan
Jesse Tise
Elizabeth Ito
Jing Wei
Ben Butcher
Brigette Barrager
Chris Sasaki
Claire Keane

Uwe Heidschoetter

Oliver Akuin
Edward Juan
Linda Kim
Jackie Huang
Patrick Raines
Eren Blanquet
Drake Brodahl

I am so thankful to Joey and Gallery Nucleus for inviting me to be a part of this show! This piece is one of the deepest and most intricate that I have ever made, and it was so much fun to figure out! I cannot wait to see all of the other pieces from all of the incredible artists in this exhibit. Here are a few more detail shots of my piece, titled Aloha! Bienvenue! Welcome!:






Lastly, for those of you who couldn't make it to Comic-Con, I now have copies of Confetti up in the shop! I will also be taking them on the road to APE and CTN-x this fall - I hope to see some of you there!




More updates soon! Have a lovely week!

Confetti at Comic Con!

What a whirlwind month it has been! This week is the infamous SDCC, and for the first time I will have a table in the Small Press area (SP O-15), so I am very excited for the show. Not only that, but for the very first time I will be selling my own little art book! Confetti, a 68-page collection of various works, will be making its debut tomorrow in San Diego! I will also have the usual haul of prints, bookmarks, some originals and special edition books (with bookplates) on hand so please stop by if you are in the neighborhood! And for everyone who cannot make it to Comic Con, I will be selling the book online shortly after I return from the show. Have a wonderful week, and I hope to see you in San Diego!

Harry Potter Tribute Show: Expecto Patronum

The second of my two Potter pieces - Harry defending Ron and Hermione from Dementors with the use of his Patronus charm. His stag patronus is just so cool, I couldn't help myself.



Both of my Harry Potter pieces (as well as many others) will be on display starting this Saturday, July 9th, at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, CA. The opening reception is going to be awesome, so be sure to stop by if you can!

Also, my Introduction to the Owlry piece is part of an online auction for the Harry Potter tribute show. You can view and bid on 11 of the pieces in the show right here. Have a wonderful weekend, and I hope to see you at the show!

Harry Potter Tribute Show: Introduction to the Owlry

I am definitely a Potter fan. When the nice folks at Gallery Nucleus asked me if I would be interested in participating in a Harry Potter Tribute Show that would take place one week before the final film opened, I must confess that I had to suppress a squeal of joy. It was really difficult for me to choose what to illustrate, but in the end there were two moments that I decided to try to capture.


This first piece is my take on little Harry introducing his Snowy Owl, Hedwig, to the Owlry at Hogwarts. I thought it would be fun to illustrate these two unlikely friends, as well as all of the different owl personalities that shuttle messages to and from Hogwarts.


The Harry Potter Tribute Show opens this Saturday, July 9th at 7pm at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, CA. You can see all of the crazy show details right here!


I have one more Potter piece that I will post before the show. Have a great week, and I hope to see you on Saturday!

Baker's Dozen at Gallery Nucleus!

I was recently asked to contribute to a group show that is opening this Saturday at Gallery Nucleus. The title of the show is "Baker's Dozen",with the idea that all of the contributing artists illustrate popular idioms.


For my first piece, I chose the phrase "Drink Like a Fish". Why shouldn't sea creatures enjoy a nice cocktail party once in a while?



And for my second piece, I decided on "An Elephant in the Room". A circus seemed like the appropriate venue for such an expression.



Here is all of the show information from the gallery:

Baker's Dozen - Illustrated Idioms
June 11, 2011 - July 4, 2011
Opening Reception / Jun 11, 7:00PM - 11:00PM

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a few words can make a delightfully pretty picture. This exhibit has 13 diverse, and notable artists visually exploring their favorite idiom.

A range of aesthetics and mediums will be on display in this playful exhibit that includes drawings, paintings, lithographs, paper-cuts and more!

Featured Artists:

• Ming Ong
• You Byun
• Brittney Lee
• Matte Stephans
• Dadu Shin
• Catia Chien
• Miki Sato
• Nicole Gustafsson
• Lorena Alverez
• Ahren Hertel
• Nico Duffaut
• Daniela Volpari

AND if that isn't enough, the totally awesome Nate Wragg is also opening a solo show at Gallery Nucleus on the same night! Stop by and say hello if you can!


More updates soon! Have a great week everyone!

Edward Scissorhands Tribute: The First Snow

I love the film Edward Scissorhands, and I am so happy and honored to be a part this 20th anniversary tribute show! Sebastien Mesnard has done an excellent job of organizing this event, and I cannot thank him enough for asking me to be a part of it!


If you are in LA this weekend, you should definitely check out the opening on Saturday night! Added bonus: there will be an Adventure Time show opening in the upper gallery as well. It will be a great time for sure - I hope to see you there!

An Afternoon at Gallery Nucleus!

Lots of things are happening! One of the neatest things I have to share is that the awesome people at Motivarti and Gallery Nucleus have asked me to spend an afternoon lecturing and demoing for anyone who might be interested. If you happen to be in LA on Sunday, April 17th, I would be honored if you would stop by! Here are the details:

An Afternoon with Brittney Lee

Sunday, April 17th, 2011
1:00 – 4:30 pm
at Gallery Nucleus (210 East Main St. Alhambra, CA 91801)

The afternoon includes:

- a one-hour lecture with Q&A, with topics including Brittney’s development as an artist, techniques for creating a fan base, and advice for making the transition to a career in the entertainment industry

- a two-hour, open-format paper demo, in which Brittney will craft an original paper work while explaining her process and techniques

- an artist meet-and-greet, with print and book signing following the paper demo

- a raffle of the original paper artwork created during Brittney’s demo; you’ll receive 3 free raffle tickets for attending, with more tickets available for purchase at the event

-an opportunity to purchase a limited-run, numbered and signed print which Brittney has created exclusively for Gallery Nucleus and Motivarti for this event

Tickets
Pre-purchase: $20 (click here)
At the door: $25

Get three free raffle tickets when you purchase an event ticket. Plus, college students show their I.D. at the door for an additional five free raffle tickets!

More information can be found here.

The painting at the top of this post is the print I made just for the workshop. I am not sure how many Motivarti/Gallery Nucleus are planning to make, but I do know that they will be exclusive to Gallery Nucleus (i.e. I won't be able to sell them in my shop.) I really hope to see you all there!

Now to finish my piece for this show. Back to work- more updates soon!

A Commission and a Con

With so much going on, I really haven't had much time to do commission work since I made my way down to Los Angeles. This was the last piece that I was able to work on, and I just realized that I had never posted photos of it. So here you go! It was a lot of fun to work on, especially the leaf/ornamental detail in the back.

I do love me some birds.



And just for kicks, I held the finished piece up to a back light. It got the inspirational wheels turning. Perhaps some lampshade designs in my future?

Perhaps.



I also wanted to let everybody know that I will be spending this coming weekend in Seattle at the Emerald City Comic Con! Miss Liana Hee and I are sharing booth #1004, and it is going to be a good time. Please come say hello if you can!

M is for Market!

A few months ago I was asked to contribute to an Alphabet Book project that Tools for Schools Africa is putting together for Ghanian school children. Each artist was assigned a letter and asked to create an illustration based on people, places, and things that the children of Ghana can recognize. I was given the letter M and asked to depict a market scene with a mango tree! It was so much fun to work on!

You can read more about this project (and see the other wonderful contributions) here. A big "Thank You!" to Mike Boldt for including me in this great project. Thanks for thinking of me, Mike!

And also thank you to everyone who visits this blog and leaves me comments. It really does mean so much to me. I have had a lot of requests for a paper tutorial, so I will try to work one of those up in the next few weeks. More to come soon!

Part of that...

A few months ago, artists at the studio were given canvases and asked to create a piece of artwork based on any one of the 50 Disney animated features that inspires us. Once finished, these canvases will be sold at a charity auction later this year. I will pass along the details as soon as I have them, but for now I thought I would post a few photos of my finished piece:)


My inspirational film of choice is (of course) The Little Mermaid. I knew that I wanted to work with paper for this piece, but I also wanted to utilize the large (18"x36") canvas that was given to me. After a little experimentation, I decided to cut the canvas to be the top foreground elements while its wooden frame serves as a perfect support for the inner layers of paper. The construction was tricky, but in the end I think everything turned out okay (and should stay in place)!

When I make original artwork for gallery shows, I am often asked if it is difficult for me to part with it. My answer is almost always the same: if I know going into the making of a piece that it will be sold, I don't have a problem letting go of it when the time comes.



Well, this one may be the exception.


Have a lovely week, everyone! More updates soon!