Monday, September 2, 2013

Work in Progress - David Bowie's "Aladdin Sane" Painting

I am currently working on a new painting of David Bowie's "Aladdin Sane" album cover. This is possibly my favorite album cover of all time. The angles of Bowie's face and the glam makeup are a dream to recreate. The painting is just starting to have definition, so I thought I'd post my progress. It has lots of layers of transparent paint built up to create the design. So far I've used gauche only, but I will probably be adding watercolor and acrylic soon. Come back soon for the finished project!

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Geektastic Onesies on Etsy

Stormtrooper "Support Your Troops" and Sailormoon Silhouette Onesies

Possibly the biggest task facing a new aunt is the problem of how to find a way to amply spoil their little niece or nephew. The path I've taken to niece spoiling is that of geekery. My goal is to make my niece things my sister can't find in stores. I want my niece to be surrounded by handmade crafts that will inspire her own creativity as she gets older.
I've been making myself one of a kind t-shirts since high school. This started with spray painted bar codes and moved on to faces drawn with Sharpie (Andy Warhol's face was my fave). In college I experimented with both screen printing and acrylic paint on t-shirts. I finally decided to try stenciling with fabric paint. The results have the look of screen printing, but it is much easier to mix custom colors and the clean-up is MUCH simpler. I stenciled almost every plain piece of fabric I could, from t-shirts and tanks to towels and underwear. It seemed natural that when my sister had her baby, that baby would need a bunch of cool stenciled clothes.

Pink Sailormoon silhouette on white onesieMy sister and I both loved Sailormoon when we were younger, so a hot pink silhouette of Sailormoon on a onesie was a no-brainer. And really, what little girl doesn't love Sailormoon?? Made to order versions of the Sailormoon onesie are now available on Etsy. They come is a variety of sizes and the printing can be done in any color, not just the ones listed.

Purple Stormtrooper "Support Your Troops" on white onesieThe Stormtrooper design is actually one of my favorites so far. It is especially fitting for my niece, whose daddy is in the army. She definitely supports her troops, Imperial or not. I absolutely love it in purple or hot pink for a little girl. Most Star Wars stuff is for boys, so being able to make something Star Wars in girly colors makes it really unique. The made to order version of this Stormtrooper onesie on Etsy can be printed in any color, so it works for both boys and girls. It can be also be printed to match any military branch's colors. This onesie is a fantastic gift for both geek parents and military parents.