Solo Show this weekend : Penumbra

i have an upcoming (mini) solo show opening this weekend at Copro Gallery in Santa Monica, CA,
alongside two amazing artists - amy sol & nicoletta ceccoli!

Amy Sol "Wilderness Buffet"/ Stella Im Hultberg "Penumbra" / Nicoletta Ceccoli "Babes in Toyland"
Opening November 7th, 8-11:30PM
Copro Gallery
2525 Michigan Avenue T5 (Bergamot Station)
Santa Monica, CA 90404
(310) 829-2156

please contact the gallery for previews, inquiries, and purchases.

all pieces in the show are on paper this time.
oil & acrylic paintings on paper, and some tea-stained drawings as well.

i have shown numerous times with amy until last year,
so i'm glad to have another show with her this year.
i think we have solos paired up next year as well!

here's a piece i have in the flyer above :

All in a Whisper. 10"x17". Oil & Acrylic on Paper. ©2009.

here's my animated gif of the process (most of which was documented on my twitter).
alas, i always feel like i like somewhere in the earlier part of the process the most than the finished.
(my very first animated gif - tada!)



.......................

on a side note...

this was definitely the toughest show so far to prepare for.
not because of the show itself or anything else but just the circumstances leading up to finalizing it...
a couple tragic things that have happened
in the recent months have kind of derailed my mental state from calmly
conducting my usual business of painting for an upcoming show.

for the first time in my life, i was nearly late for the show...
i didn't find it easy to try and get my shit together and paint
when all i wanted to do was either be with the family
and/or just cry all day and stare at a wall.

the paintings definitely made a darker turn in the process than initially planned.
nor was i able to include as many as i had planned either.
i hope it's still somewhat enjoyable...

i'm glad i somehow did pull it through, but in some ways,
i feel a little heartless for it.

painting in progress

painting in progress...
for my next show at copro gallery in november.

+ sorry i've been quiet around here.
it's been a difficult week - my dear brother-in-law passed away in a motorcycle accident...
between my bike accident last month and now this, it's been a very slow progress preparing for this show.

+ more updates are on my twitter.

sketchbook pages

some sketchbook pages from last month that i only got around to putting together today...
drawn with my favorite brush pen that i got as a birthday present last year.
(click to enlarge)

+ more updates on my twitter...

(i've been trying to make more frequent photo updates on twitter.
hopefully it will help document my processes (albeit random) at least for my own purposes.)

working...

some works/sketches in progress...
i've been slow in the studio lately due to a mild battle with some kind of a bug. :/

more on my twitter account.
* ps. thank you so much for all your kind thoughts (per my previous post)! xo stella

it's been a bloody week...

it's been about 10 days now since i had my bloody spill off my bike.
(yes that's my blood from my head on my bag).

i hurt my head and lost memory of that part of my life (initially a lot more),
but according to some witnesses, some pedestrian abruptly stepped out
into the bike lane on prince street in manhattan.

what a weird experience being at the hospital (even the trauma icu,
neck braces, cat scans), weirder because i don't recall most of the experience.

luckily i have most of my memory and brain power back,
and i am never leaving the house without my helmet anymore!
memory is such an odd thing. i never imagined being close to losing it.

this is the remnant of what took some of my memories away :



i still have a bump on my head, a bad scrape on my shoulder,
huge purple/green bruises all over my legs, and have trouble sleeping
on the side i have the head bump, but all in all, i feel lucky to
have come out relatively unscathed.

so these are some pictures from labor day,
which was my first bike ride since the accident...


crossword puzzles to help me get smarter.


biked down to the waterfront park.


and saw the hasidic jewish men boarding a boat on newtown creek!

ok enough rambling.
i've been pitifully convalescing all last week & weekend,
so hopefully some belated drawings will be posted sometime soon... ish.

Pieces from August Group Show

Spring and by Summer Fall. 9"x12". Oil on Canvas. © 2009.


The Killing Moon. 8"x10". Oil on Canvas. © 2009.

i forgot to add these small paintings i've put in the Josh Liner Gallery Summer Group Show that opened August 15th. (sorry).

it was my first show here in NYC, so it was quite a weird sensation
to go to an art opening i'm a part of on my bike for once,
and have a bunch of my friends there too.

here are a couple shots (including my dorky mug) from the opening
night by my friend mina :

summer group show

(click to see larger)

i'll have 2 small canvas pieces in a summer group show at Joshua Liner Gallery
here in NYC (my first show here!), opening this saturday.

pics of the pieces will be posted later after the gallery preview goes out,
but here's a little sneak :



please come by (& say hello) if you're in NYC - there will be 23 amazing artists i'll be sharing the show with! :)

please contact the gallery for inquiries and to be put on the preview list.
thank you!

*edit : here is the preview and info from the gallery.
i have seen some of the works in person and the jpegs definitely don't do any of them justice!

Memento Mori Opening night

i only took a handful of photos from the opening night.
it was pretty crazy - thanks again for all those who came out!!
and to those who adopted pieces of mine as well, of course. many thanks to you. <3

some photos from AM and Thinkspace Gallery :


crowds.


with travis louie, who i always see in LA despite us both living in NY.


with catherine brooks & hannah stouffer, who i shared the gallery with.
(more about each artist here.)


with gallery co-owner andrew, audrey, and catherine.


flanked by my friends & colleagues(?) leah (who runs great prints for us) and audrey. :)

speaking of whom, it was leah's birthday the week we were in town,
so we got to celebrate it at audrey's place.
what a fun night!




i only had a couple days to play, as the rest of the time was
dedicated to painting the mural at the gallery.

but you can see my LA food adventures on my food blog here, part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4.

thank you so much, andrew, LC, shawn for the show,
and special thanks to my friends, mari, audrey, bryan, for coming out and hanging with me while installing the show.
thank you everyone in LA area for making this trip so special!!

+ more photos & coverage here (with extra links) and here on Arrested Motion.

painting on a wall

finished mural.

seen from across the street on opening night.
(photos courtesy of wesley wong/arrested motion)

one of the fun things about showing at thinkspace gallery is the installation
space they have at the front of the gallery.

of course, i didn't always think it was all fun.
this was my third time and i felt finally comfortable enough with the vast
expanse of the white walls and the tall ceilings this time around to have fun.

here are some shots i took of the progress after each day
(i had 2.5-3 days):





some more progress shots from andrew at thinkspace gallery :








that was a lot of fun, i hope i get to do another mural one day!

+
for those of you who far from LA and were wondering how the wood pieces were presented...
they were cradled in a beautiful frame like a shadow box:




i loved the way they turned out!

Works from Memento Mori, Thinkspace Gallery (image heavy!)

i apologize for a hugely late update of this blog,
i've been kind of out of my mind with summer fun since i got back from LA
from the opening of my solo show, Memento Mori at thinkspace gallery.
(which ironically closes this thursday!)

i had a great time, and i'll post some photos from the opening night
on my next post - but again, thank you so much for those who came out in support
and made it a great night for me.
thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.


below are all the pieces from the show - some of them are still available,
so please contact the gallery for any inquiries.

though most of them are small, there are 32 total pieces,
so please bear with me if the images don't load too well.
you can also see them all here on my flickr page.

.....................................................

{ oil on canvas works }


In Particular. 16"x20". Oil on Canvas. ©2009.


Penumbra. 12"x14". Oil on Canvas. ©2009.


Misty Blue and Lillac. 16"x12". Oil on Canvas. ©2009.


In Dreams. 10"x20". Oil on Canvas. ©2009.


Silently. 16"x20". Oil on Canvas. ©2009.


Breathe. 12"x24". Oil on Canvas. ©2009.


Disquieting Hearts. 12"x24". Oil on Canvas. ©2009.


{ mixed media on wood }


Memories Of... 6"x11". Mixed Media (Graphite, Acrylic, Metallic Pen & Watercolor on Wood). ©2009.


Let Go. 6"x11". Mixed Media (Graphite, Acrylic, Metallic Pen & Watercolor on Wood). ©2009.


No Regrets. 6"x7". Mixed Media (Graphite, Acrylic, Metallic Pen & Watercolor on Wood). ©2009.


Only Now. 6"x6". Mixed Media (Graphite, Acrylic, Metallic Pen & Watercolor on Wood). ©2009.


Disseminated. 6"x7". Mixed Media (Graphite, Acrylic, Metallic Pen & Watercolor on Wood). ©2009.


Doubts Remain. 4"x7". Mixed Media (Graphite, Acrylic, Metallic Pen & Watercolor on Wood). ©2009.


Still No. 4"x10". Mixed Media (Graphite, Acrylic, Metallic Pen & Watercolor on Wood). ©2009.


Ravel. 4"x10". Mixed Media (Graphite, Acrylic, Metallic Pen & Watercolor on Wood). ©2009.


Whisper. 4"x4". Mixed Media (Graphite, Acrylic, Metallic Pen & Watercolor on Wood). ©2009.


{ mixed media on paper }


Tell Me Lies. 7"x6.75". Mixed Media (Ink, Graphite, Colored Pencil, Acrylic & Watercolor) on Tea-stained Paper. ©2009.


Ennui. 6" x 8". Mixed Media (Ink, Graphite, Colored Pencil, Acrylic & Watercolor) on Tea-stained Paper. ©2009.


Silent Bloom. 7.25" x 9.125". Mixed Media (Ink, Graphite, Colored Pencil, Acrylic & Watercolor) on Tea-stained Paper. ©2009.


Into the White. 4.5"x6.25". Mixed Media (Ink, Graphite, Colored Pencil, Acrylic & Watercolor) on Tea-stained Paper. ©2009.


Unreflected. 4.5"x6.25". Mixed Media (Ink, Graphite, Colored Pencil, Acrylic & Watercolor) on Tea-stained Paper. ©2009.


Let Go. 4.25"x6.5". Mixed Media (Ink, Graphite, Colored Pencil, Acrylic & Watercolor) on Tea-stained Paper. ©2009.


{ wooden figures }








all together.
all of them are mixed media (acrylic, watercolor, graphite, metallic pen) on wooden shapes.

more info on these pieces here on thinkspace gallery website.

+ more coverage of the opening night (and better photos) are HERE by the wonderful
people from Arrested Motion, and also here from thinkspace gallery.

last peek

finished family of wooden figures lining up on my mantle.
ready to be packed to go with me to LA tomorrow!


and some drawings above - to be dropped off to be framed as soon as i land in LA.

all the pieces will be posted after the show when i get back to NYC.
if you'd like a peek online please check with thinkspace gallery for preview!

thank you so much for such nice comments on recent posts!
please come come come if you're in/near silver lake on friday night!
^__^

+ ps. i forgot to post the flyer (click to enlarge):

knock on wood

results of some of my graphic/mixed-media experiments on wood,
originally inspired by the kokeshi project.

it was quite a challenge getting used to acrylic paint & painting so small.

these will go with me to LA next week.

happy 4th of july!

only could watch the fireworks from my fire escape.
back to work now!! T__T
it sure was hard fighting all the fun temptation this weekend.

things other than painting

the cats like to come hang out with me and doze off while i paint.
they have been very content lately since i've been home all the time.

noodles (always sitting with the same paw positions):


bento, sleeping at my easel base :


the sky has been so amazing lately outside my window :

i feel lucky to have such a great view of the skyline out the window,
i never would have noticed how turbulently beautiful the sky has been otherwise,
being a hermit that i have been all of june.

+
these are via newyorkshitty.com one day when the sky was insane :

juxtapozed

i have a "profile" page in the new issue of juxtapoz
for my upcoming solo show at thinkspace gallery (info here).

and an interview by andrew michael ford on their website :

same interview also on daily du jour & andrew's site.

one more interview to come via sourharvest/thinkspace gallery blog soon!


+
a group shot of my oil-on-canvas pices before they left me :


more info on the show (opening next friday) here!

in progress...

waiting for some glazes to dry.
almost there...

+
for my upcoming show next month,
i'll have 7-8 oil-on-canvas pieces of varying sizes,
and some mixed media paintings on wood & paper as well.

i will probably be also bringing some of these figures.

also planning my mural installation for the front...

mari's creatures

one of my favorite artists and people in general, the talented mari inukai,
just opened her shop for her non-painting related goodies!

i got her nekomitaina doll right away, shown above,
who surprisingly came with a friend - tabekake donut man,
based on this character she'd made me for my birthday last year :



eeeeh!! so excited, and made my day to open the package.
now back to painting...

hurry & visit her store and get her very limited
precious items before they disappear!

GO TO :
www.marillavanilla.bigcartel.com

memento mori in progress

some images of works in progress for my upcoming show, memento mori,
(opening july 10th, at thinkspace gallery in los angeles).







and my messy desk :

moleskinny

a while ago, i got a small moleskine sketchbook for the first time.
the thick papers that don't let mediums permeate,
spreads that fall completely flat for better drawing and scanning...
nice! i understand the popularity now.

my other usual sketchbook is from muji and is very see through,
which can be nice too, but limits the mediums i can experiment with.
i look forward to getting a bigger moleskine and painting away.

below are some pages from the past few weeks in between painting.
(i've been very into black & blue.)

PS: also, i unlocked my twitter.









[edit : sketches done mostly with ballpoint pen, colored pencil & ink.]

headquarters is 3!

my wonderful montréal friends angie & tyson are celebrating
3rd anniversary of their gallery & boutique, Headquarters
with a great group art show this weekend!

they're a great little shop supporting indie/craft/art folks,
so please stop by if you're around montréal area!
i'll be attending in spirit. :)

Saturday, June 6, 2009
6:00pm - 11:00pm
Headquarters Galerie & Boutique
1649 Amherst
Montreal, QC

................................


i've sent the following piece (from february) & some prints :



congratulations, angie & tyson!