Renegade Art Fair This Weekend! Get Your Art Fill!

If you want to buy some affordable art and illustration, look no further than the Renegade Art Fair. It's this weekend in L.A., JULY 11 + 12, 2009 from 11am – 7pm, at the California Market Center. Go to amass cool tee-shirts, posters and original art or go to get great ideas and inspiration for your own art. Details are available at this link.

Skull Face Preliminary Art for iPhone App MULTIDENTITY!

Multidentity, the iPhone App that I created illustrations for, will be released in a couple weeks from now. In the meantime, check out some of the preliminary art that wasn't used in the app, but inspired many of the features like the above skull face. Check it out it out at this link.

Travis Louie's "Curiosities" Art Book Being Released This Month!

If you're heading to San Diego this month for the International Comic Convention, make sure you visit Baby Tattoo Booth #601, so you can pick up a copy of Travis Louie's first art book, "Curiosities". He will be there to sign them too. If you cannot afford to buy one of his highly rendered, creepy, cool, Victorian Monster originals, this is the next best thing. And if you cannot make it to the SD Comic Con, you have a chance to get an autographed copy of the book at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles. The book release says:

Gallery1988 will also host a book release party on Tuesday, July 28th for those unable to attend Comic Con. This party will take place at Gallery1988 Los Angeles, with Louie in attendance, for the debut of another very limited variant cover, the exclusive G1988 version of the book, which will also will include a limited edition giclee print that is signed and numbered by the artist.

July 11th, 2009: International Sketchcrawl! Join the Fun at L.A.'s Echo Park

It's that time again for the International Sketch Crawl. The one in Los Angeles will be at Echo Park this Saturday, July 11th, 2009, starting at 10:30AM. Meet up with other illustrators and artists to sketch people and places you see in the park. Sound like fun? More details about this art event are available at this link.

Dr. Sketchy Strikes Again at Billy Shire Fine Arts Gallery: Come Draw Hot Models!

Dr. Sketchy is a bi-monthly, changing location, sketch club. Coming this Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 7PM, you can draw the above beauty, Dani Doll, for 3 hours. This time the sketch club will be at Billy Shire Fine Arts Gallery in Culver City. Since this is the Independence Day Weekend, they will also have a weenie roast before the drawing from 5-7PM. Come for the food, but stay for the models. It's $12.00 at the door or $10.00 in advance. For more details, click here.

Design a Shirt & Win Prizes from the YEAH YEAH YEAHS!

Designing Tee-shirts is one of the things that artistic types can create and easily make some money off of. You see tees being sold on artist websites, and at craft fairs and everywhere in between. Now, the punk band Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs is asking its fans to design a tee-shirt for them for their newest album: It's Blitz. Winners will get free promotion and lots of prizes from the YYY's. Make your mark on popular culture and gain all the glory you deserve by winning this contest! Details are below or you can view them at this link.

THE PRIZE

* One winner will be selected by YYYs and will have their winning design featured on YYYs sites
* The winning shirt will be printed and sold on tour and in YYYs online store
* Winner will also receive autographed booty from the band

TO SUBMIT

* Design should be for front of tee
* Keep designs to 2-3 colors
* Designs must be for a Black or White colored Tee
* Design must be submitted digitally – no smaller than 300 DPI, photoshop or illustrator file is preferred
* Design must be no larger than 14" x 18"
* Email your file to > yyyteecontest@gmail.com
* For your submission to be considered valid, you must include your full name, age, location in the body of the email.
* Contestants under 18 years of age must print the release page, have a parent or guardian sign, and email with their submission.


ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY: JULY 22, 2009

Check Out the iPhone App I'm Creating Illustrations for: MULTIDENTITY!

Oh yes, this is a fun one. I'm helping to create illustrations for an iPhone App called Multidentity. It's a way to make your photos of people into different identities. The about page says this about the product that will be released in Mid July 2009.

About Multidenity

Coming Mid-July 2009, you will have the chance to take photos and change the identities of the person in the photo by adding identity BLURRING or ENHANCING features—whichever way you want to look at it!

The idenities are divided into the PRETTY SET and the SCARY SET. Big luscious lips are an example on the pretty set. Bleeding eyes are an example on the scary set.

But WAIT, you can also mix and match the 2 sets to create a photo that’s unique to only you!

Send your creations to Multidentity’s email and get your photos posted on this blog.

Check out the site to see more fun photos and to learn when the product will finally be released. I can't wait to see what everyone creates with this app!

Any Exposure is Good Exposure: My Fleurs du Mal Sculpture Mentioned in the Portland Mercury

The "4T" art show of 40 artists creating 40 pieces of work from 40 oz. bottles of beer was written up in the Portland Mercury. Matt Stangel wrote a little blurb on my above piece and didn't quite get it right, but I was complimented that I was one of the few mentioned by name in the little article, titled, "Of 40 oz & Face Tat ". Instead of knowing the bat guy was the French poet, Charles Baudelaire who wrote "Les Fleurs du Mal", he called this little figure "a cartoon Dracula". I guess I would think that too if I didn't know Baudelaire. Check out the article at this link and then check out what he got wrong by reading my original blog post about this piece. In the end, I'd say that any exposure is good exposure. Than you, Matt Stangel.

Projects for Artistic Innovators

So you too want to change the world, implement things to make life easier, better, faster & more enjoyable? You want to take mundane tasks and glorify them? Your head is spilling forth with ideas? Well, you're an innovator. And since you are, I know of a few competitions, projects and events you should enter to help educate and soothe the masses.


Social Designer has new tee-shirt competitions to save the world and win cash; one is called, " A Pattern Madness". Check them out by clicking here.

The Art House Co-op has many new art projects for artists, like an international sketchbook library, print exchange and more. Click this link to learn the details.

And since you are an innovator, you've got to get the word out on what you do and how you're going to change the world. Do that at a creative networking event like "Spark" here in Southern California. Click here for more info.

Look Inside My Head & See the Confusion

Yes, my mind is in a tangle of knots. Clarity is gone. Yet, can you see the elegant pattern within this crazy and painful state? I know many people who have said that even though, they have experienced a painful event, they come out of it knowing more, understanding more and being more self-assured. That's what happened with my confusion and that's what the title is of the above piece, "Confused". Basically, confusion helped me build something new and innovative.



It is about 3 feet high and made of Styrofoam, wire, newspaper, masking tape, acrylic paint and ink. It took about 3 weeks to complete. And it continues my headache theme, exploring the beauty, pain and absurdity of the mind or the inner world versus the outer world. You can see more of my mixed medium sculptures at this link.

Brooklyn's 3rd Ward Gallery Needs You to Submit Work for their Summer Art Solo Show

More contests than you can shake a stick at, eh? Yeah, it's true. You could find hundreds of art galleries and contests asking for art submission at any given time. So what makes 3rd Ward Gallery's open call any different from the next? Well, the jurors of course! If you want to get your art exposed to some of the most influential curators and art directors out there, this is the contest to enter. The jury includes: Katherine Brinson, Curator at the Guggenheim, Amy Kisch of Sotheby's and Jeremy Ortega, Art Director at Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine. It should be interesting to see who these 3 very different people with very different points of view pick as the winner. Prizes also include the following:

* $1,000 cash grant

* A solo exhibition in 3rd Ward's gallery, complete with a massive opening reception

* A 2-page spread in 3rd Ward's quarterly publication

* 1-month residency at 3rd Ward with FULL facility access

* NYC wide exposure - post cards, flyers, press!

The cost to enter is $25.00 which is a little below average for such a big contest. You can quickly and easily submit your entry online as long as your work is available to view online like at a website, YouTube or a Flickr account. See more details at this link. Don't wait too long, because the deadline is July 2nd, 2009.

William Kentridge Creates a Happy Marriage Between Theater, Fine Art & Animation

Considered to be a fine artist, William Kentridge is not satisfied with the traditional boundaries of it and pushes and intersects many different methods and disciplines like theater, animation and draftsmanship. His work is usually devoid of color, but full of texture and action. His large scale charcoals are wild and bold and his animations about war or love are silly, whimsical and thought-provoking. Below is one of them. I fell in love with his work when I visited the San Francisco Museum of Art which held a survey of some of his work. More of his strange and fun animations and films can be found at this link.

Illustrator & Teacher Keith Batcheller Advises You How to Design Your Future

About 30 years ago, Keith Batcheller went to Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California and studied illustration there. He currently teaches illustration and art at Mount San Antonio College. Because he has been in the field forever, he had to learn to paint in Adobe Photoshop to keep up with the times and keep up with clients' needs. Visiting his website, you can easily see that he has a lot of skill, experience and versatility.

With that experience, he has helped mentor young illustrators. A while ago he did a TV interview where he informed the public about illustration and advised young people how to design their illustration future. If you want a dose of good advice, listen and watch this interview at this link.

Mastheads Can Help You Harvest a Good Illustration Client List

Many illustrators I know are struggling to find clients and to keep their freelance business afloat. "Where do we find clients?" They ask. In Steven Heller & Marshall Arisman's new book, "Marketing Illustration", they give a lot of good advice on this topic.

One thing they said to do is harvest a good list of clients. Harvesting means researching magazines, advertisers and books to find which ones would be appropriate for your style and voice. You can do this by going to a bookstore or library and finding books and magazines that would fit with your style of illustration. When you find them, look for the "masthead page". This will usually be towards the beginning of the magazine and it will give you all the staff members and their positions and the address of the publication. Write this info down and use it to mail out direct promotional materials.

You can also do this online, by finding magazines and then finding the masthead info at a site called, simply, "Mastheads". If they don't have the magazine's masthead in their files they ask you to submit it so they will find it and add it to their already long list. A yearly subsription to this site is as low as $24.00 and includes a free 1 year subscription to a number of popular magazines. Check it out.

Street Art Just Got Easier & More Organized: Get Posters Shipped to You to Paste Up

I always thought street art was about randomly rebelling against everything---including organization and efficiency. You made your message on every surface possible, forcing the public to confront it. That may not have changed, but now you can get posters sent to you for you to paste up from "Street Art Posters" website. You can even get posters custom made to your design specifications. That's right! It's easier than ever to rebel! You have no excuses left! Order your posters today by clicking here and start pasting the streets and alleys.

November Fire: The Creepiest & The Coolest Paraphernalia

If you're a fan of creepy videos, B-Horror Movies or scary masks, you should visit November Fire. They have a serious overload of all things classic and creepy. The boast of specializing in "horror, Halloween, anti-establishment, underground, punk, metal, Gothic and drug culture." I got nostalgic looking at their huge selection of monster movies. And all the bandanna masks are way too fun. They also have shirts, music and other odds and ends you'd have to see to believe. Check them out at this link.

How-To-Do-Arts & Crafts-Videos at Blick Art Supplies Website

Bizarre, fun, artsy and crafty ideas await you at Blick Art Supplies online video library. You can learn how to create things like 3D Collage, Batik with Glue, Gelly Bowls and Metal Sculptures to name a few of the project they show how to do. I never knew I would want to make "acrylic shingles", but now I know how. I dare say most of these "lessons" are more of a starting point and much more crafty than artsy. But take a look and maybe it will get the old think tank turning and churning. Check it out at this link.

Have You Ever Had One of Those Days? The Worst Headache in the World

Here's my latest sculpture. It is about having a headache from living and from too much information. Here's what I wrote about it in my newsletter:

The Worst Headache In Your Life

Yeah, imagine if all the headaches you've had in your lifetime were combined into one excruciatingly painful moment. That's what I imagined for this newest mixed-medium sculpture, simply titled, "Headache". It's a tribute to you and me and everyone who has experienced stress, worry, confusion, disappointment, too many facts, too many figures, too many deadlines, too many opinions, too many emotions and all of the like. In other words, this is for everyone who feels like they might be going bonkers from the weight of living. It's also a way to ridicule it and laugh at it.

You know how after you've had a horrible day you end up telling your friend about it, and your friend is cracking up as you're telling it? Well, it's funny. So many absurd things happened all at once, that you became a tragic comedy or a story of dark humor. When more time has passed, you'll laugh at it too.

In a lot of the work I create for galleries and for illustration clients, I like to show the dark humor in life. It's funny and sad all at once. This makes the image or the art that more interesting to create and that more true to the viewer.

You can view more photos of "Headache" at my website. It took about 1 1/2 months to create because it was so complicated and had so many details. It sits about 36 inches high.

VOTE for CAGE FREE WOMEN at Social Designer

Here is my design for the theme FREEDOM. It is for a contest at Social Designer. The winner is decided by popular vote. Although, I'm usually not popular, maybe, I'll win this time anyway. If you'd like to help me win and you believe in this design like I do, go to Social Designer, find my design (which randomly sorts whenever you look at it) and vote for it. My deepest appreciation goes to you. You have about 2 weeks to get your votes in. Below is what I wrote about this design.

Title
Cage Free Women

Description
To experience freedom, one must be free from something. This is my quirky, and fun idea of freedom. Women have had a long history of fighting oppression, sexism and in general, a fight for freedom and for equal treatment. Here I am envisioning them becoming cage-free women.

Artist Name
Melissa Kojima

Artist Bio
Melissa Kojima is also known as Artist in LA LA Land because she lives and works in Los Angeles and her art and illustrations are surreal and quirky. She likes having her head in the clouds because she can get better ideas up there. She has created art work for the Los Angeles Times Newspaper, The Otsuma Women's College in Tokoyo, Japan and for Sexual Assault Support Services in Eugene, Oregon, to name a few. She believes art should help good causes like Amnesty International and Visual AIDS foundation which helps artists with AIDS.