(thx 2 icanhascheezburger.com)kthxbye!
Release the dragons!
Editions Daniel Maghen of Paris, France has just released their second edition of L'Univers des Dragons, which is, obviously, a book about dragons. Omar's painting the Apple was chosen for this book, which also includes dragon paintings by Tom Kidd, William Stout, Todd Lockwood, Tony Diterlizzi and many more. We haven't gotten our copy yet, but from what they show on their website it is a really memorable collection of art. There's some more info about it on their blog also.
Dead of Winter
This weekend we escaped to New Hampshire to attend the Foxfire Studio Gallery's opening reception of their new show, "the Dead of Winter". The show features horror and monster art by gallery owner Pat Lewis, Rick Frane, Jill Bauman, Chuck & Wendy Lang, and a few other artists including us. Omar's painting, Cercopithecus L'Hoesti, is a pretty twisted self portrait he did a few years ago for the Necon art show. My drawing of the Bighorn Badger is a piece I did ages ago when I was playing around with skull and anatomy studies. Both pieces are a bit of a departure from the norm for both of us, but sometimes it is refreshing to step outside of the box for a bit. We had a great time at the reception, with live music provided by Knucklecocks. I gotta say I was a bit dubious about what kind of music a band called the Knucklecocks would play, but they turned out to be a very fun rockabilly/country/punk band. Definitely worth checking them out!
Shop 'til you drop!
We've got a pile of new goodies in our CafePress shop, just in time for holiday shopping. We've added more images to our ever-popular coffee mug line, plus a few new t-shirts designs and also some magnets, boxes, journals and note cards. Fun stuff! On our website, we added a whole pile of fine art prints for sale. We're also working on updating our website to showcase our original art that's available for sale. Those pages should be up very soon, hopefully (fingers crossed!!) later today.
Links:
our CafePress shop: www.cafepress.com/studiorayyan
Our website "Prints for Sale" page: www.studiorayyan.com/pages/buyprint.html
Return from Illuxcon
We've just gotten back from Illuxcon in Altoona, PA. A good time was had by all. So much talent converged on tiny little Altoona it's a surprise the town didn't combust. I'm pictured here with a sculpture done by Thomas Kuebler. Yes, that's a sculpture! If you stare at his work long enough you could swear you can see it breathe... Some more photos of our weekend can be seen here.
Go Ask Alice
Our work from the "Walk Through Wonderland" show. (See previous post)
Click on the image for a larger view.
A Walk Through Wonderland
Omar and I are taking part in an online gallery show hosted by the Duirwaigh Gallery. The theme is "Alice in Wonderland". Go check it out- there's some fabulous and diverse work in this show, and more art will be added as it goes along.
-Sheila
Avast, mateys!
Arrrrrr... today be international Talk Like a Pirate Day. Don't know how to talk like one? Try this link, or you'll be walkin' the plank for sure!
It's Derby Time
Omar created this illustration for our local newspaper, the MV Times. It's the cover for their special section on the Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, which is a month long fishing derby that starts this weekend. Already it's proving to be a popular image, so we've decided to add it to our CafePress store, where you can get it printed on all sorts of fun stuff: t-shirts, mugs, tote bags, etc. We are also selling limited edition prints of it, go to our web site for more info about them. Happy fishing!
Dancin' Fool
I've just finished a very busy week of dancing, dancing and oh, some more dancing. This was the week of the Built on Stilts dance festival here on the island, and I had 4 performances: 3 belly dances and one big group performance with my Zumba class. Last night was my final performance and after the show to celebrate we went out Salsa dancing! wheeeee!!! Just can't stop! After a summer of many many many rehearsals, I can't believe it's all done. Wow, now what am I gonna do?
I know what I'm doing today: going for the GOLD! Our local agricultural fair is this weekend and today is the infamous Women's Skillet Toss competition. I got a 4th place ribbon two years ago, maybe this year I get 1st!!
-Sheila
Tank Girl
I thought I'd share some photos of a pinup girl Omar painted on a friend's 1936 Indian motorcycle. Pretty sweet!
click on the image to get a better view
A Rilly Big Shoe
Well, no, but it's a really nice SMALL show. Omar and I have our art in the "Animals and Wildlife in Art" show at the Foxfire Studio gallery in Dover, New Hampshire. It's a great little gallery run by Steve and Pat Lewis. Steve does jewelry, Pat does illustration and tattooing, and they both have their studios in the shop. So stop by, check out the show, buy some art or a necklace or perhaps have one tattooed on! The show runs through September 30, more information is available on their website, foxfirestudioinc.com.
Spectrum calendar now in stores
The 2009 calendars in available for sale now. We just got our copies and they are beee-uuu-tee-full! Go get one!
Drum auction- ends June 16th- bid now!
Omar and I had the honor of being chosen to decorate two very special antique ceremonial Hatian Rada drums for an auction to benefit the Drum Workshop. Founder Rick Bausman has created these workshops to offer a range of ensemble drumming programs for elementary and high school students, elderly, people with disabilities. They also provide programs to address the issues of substance abuse, anger management, and violence prevention. Rick is a great guy, and a badass drummer to boot. Be sure to check out the auction. It ends June 16, so bid now!
Golden Apple revisited
Omar's award-winning painting, "the Apple" will be published in the soon-to-be-available 2nd edition of L'Univers des Dragons published by Editions Daniel Maghen of France. I'm not sure if these books will be available in the United States. Those of you living in or visiting Europe had better run out and grab yourself a copy of these books, because from what we've seen of the first one, they are absolutely stunning.
Vegas, baby!
We just got back from a quick little vacation to that humblest of cities, Las Vegas, Nevada. The air was warm (ahhhh...), scented with jasmine in bloom (ahhhh...), and windy as all heck (ooooh!). With a bit of self-control, scheming, and just plain luck we managed to actually come home with a little bit of money. Of course, it was less money than we went there with, but hey, ya gotta eat too. Like they say, if ya wanna make a small fortune in Vegas, go there with a big fortune. We saw a few shows, one being Cirque de Soliel's "O"-- it was freakin' AMAZING! We also loved watching the fountains of Bellagio from our hotel room...
Up from the ashes...
We were shocked and saddened by the news that a friends' gallery and frame shop had a devastating fire a few nights ago. Wendy and Chuck Lang own The Art Corner in Salem, MA. It's a great little place to find funky frames and even funkier art. We know Wendy and Chuck will bring back the Art Corner more glorious than it was before. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the fire, although Wendy said one of her goldfish did succumb a few days later. The Salem Arts Association is planning a fundraiser for the Art Corner, you can find information about it here. Also, be sure to check out the Art Corner's blog for news about their rebuilding. Best wishes to Wendy and Chuck!
Calendar Boy
One of Omar's paintings will be in the Spectrum Fantastic Art calendar for 2009. He even got "top billing" as it were on the back cover. I don't think they're available for sale yet, but you can get a sneak preview and more info by visiting the Spectrum website.
The Incredible Shrinking Woman!
For those of you out there that know us personally, you may know that I have been on a mad fitness kick for the past year or so, trying to lose weight and get in shape. I have been documenting my transformation as I go along and I thought this was a fun one to share. This photo is me, wearing the exact same clothes one year apart, almost to the minute (if you look at the shadow behind me you can tell we're off by maybe 10-20 minutes?). I'm also about 60 lbs. lighter than I was in last year's photo. And the tree grew and the grass is greener this year!
-Sheila
Happy St. Patrick's Day
I figured today would be a good day to highlight this children's book that Omar did years ago. It seems to be popping up in conversation a lot lately. It's a great Irish folk tale written by Teresa Bateman that Omar illustrated using my Irish relatives as characters in the book. Unfortunately, it is no longer in print, but Amazon.com does still offer it for sale. Click here to find a copy.
Springtime
Ahhhhh... we've finally had one of those lovely warm sunny days. Everybody was outside and smiling, the birds are chirping, the snowdrops are in bloom... Spring is in the air! Spot of course had the best idea of how to spend the morning... taking a nap in the sun. Look at him, he's actually smiling! What a content horse.
Golden Apple!
We just found out that Omar won a gold award in the "unpublished" category for his painting "the Apple" in this year's Spectrum Annual!
woohoo!
Studio Cat
We've got a cat. As with any other cat, she likes to sleep. Alot. And also likes to be right in the middle of things. So with our art studio being in 
our home, we have a cat in our lap (or elsewhere draped upon us) for a good part of the day. BTW, our cat's name is Patchouli, she's 18 and lives a REALLY good life.
our home, we have a cat in our lap (or elsewhere draped upon us) for a good part of the day. BTW, our cat's name is Patchouli, she's 18 and lives a REALLY good life.
Return from Boskone
We just got back from Boskone, where we had a very successful showing. I received much praise for my work, Omar sold a bunch of paintings and also got a pile of awards. This painting was shown at Boskone and is also the one we showed a "peek" of in an earlier blog, here it is finished. Omar titled it "the Knight, the Daemon, and the Donut". The poor horse looks a tad worried about what the daemon is going to do with that donut...It's available for sale, contact us for more info.
-Sheila
Happy Valentine's Day
Happy Valentine's Day everyone. Omar just finished painting this one, fresh off the easel and tentatively titled Froggy Went a-Courtin'. I thought it was appropriate for today, so I figured I should share it. He'll be displaying it at Boskone tomorrow. We're in the final stretch right now getting ready for the art show, and our studio actually doesn't look too bad. Usually by now it looks like a bomb went off. I guess the renovation and reorganization is actually working. Phew.
-Sheila
What's he up to?
We're down to the final week before Boskone, so we're getting pretty busy in prep for the art show. Here's a quick peek of what's on Omar's drawing board...
Groundhog Day
Well, good old Punxy Phil saw his shadow this morning, so that means six more weeks of winter weather. So far this week we've had 7 inches of snow, 2 days of pouring rain, high winds, power outages, mud, slush, ice, frost, and ladybugs in our morning coffee. I think I'm about done with this winter stuff. Can we send Phil back in his burrow for a second opinion? I found this great cartoon on Casting Stones Productions cafepress store, check it out: cafepress.com/cstonesprod
Selling out!
We've just entered the wild world of merchandising and opened a shop on cafepress.com to sell items with our fabulous artwork on them. So far we've done t-shirts, buttons, and my favorite: coffee mugs. More stuff will be added as I have time to put them together, so keep checking back. Don't forget: Valentine's Day is coming up and I just know you've been dying to give a Turtle Race coffee mug to your squeeze. Now's your chance! Buy! Buy! Buy! Make us rich beyond our wildest dreams! Go there now: www.cafepress.com/studiorayyan
Producrastination
Producrastination is a word that Omar and I have come up with. What it means is "productive procrastination". It's what you do to keep yourself busy when you really should be doing something else. With regular procrastination you can be just loafing around watching TV, but producrastination is a very active form, you're actually getting something done, just not the thing you SHOULD be getting done. For example, this blog today. I should be doing sketches, but instead I'm teaching the world a new vocabulary word. Producrastination.
Well, back to work! I mean, the work I'm SUPPOSED to be doing.
-Sheila
Well, back to work! I mean, the work I'm SUPPOSED to be doing.
-Sheila
Photo Booth Fun
I think the best way to procrastinate is to play with PhotoBooth on my Mac. This is my favorite self-portrait.
Website Updates
I've just put a pile of Omar's work up on our sale page. They are all paintings he did years ago for Iron Crown's Middle Earth card game, based on the Lord of the Rings by Tolkien. We've even got the game cards available for sale, signed by Omar of course. I didn't put the cards up on the website, there's just way too many. If there's a particular one you're looking for, drop us a note, and we'll check our inventory. Please note that we ONLY have cards that Omar illustrated! And don't forget that Omar is doing stuff for Magic the Gathering also. You can see the available paintings from that game on his gaming art page.
-Sheila
Happy New Year!
It's 2008 already. Wow how did that happen? Remember all that Y2K hype years ago? Seems like ancient history.
I had my belly dancing "debut" last night and it all went well-- I was nervous as heck at first, but then managed to settle in and enjoy it at bit. We had a full house with a lively audience, nobody fell off the stage, and no costume malfunctions (a la Janet Jackson), so I think it can be safely said the show was a success! Yippee! We spent the rest of our New Year's Eve having dinner with friends, then to see the fireworks at 9pm. Why fireworks at 9pm and not midnight? Beats me, maybe everyone else on this Island are old farts like us and go to bed before midnight (which we did, only to be woken up by a neighbor shooting off fireworks at midnight, so I guess they aren't old farts). Happy New Year everyone!
-Sheila
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