new stuff + opening night (zombies, pigtails and scarves – oh my)

i meant to post right after opening night of my show at radio room but i’ve been a busy bee. the night was fantastic! i had so much fun getting out, visiting with friends and yes, selling art. it was quite a success, at least to me, with six paintings sold plus eight prints. should i not be sharing that? i have no knowledge of what’s proper and what isn’t in this area so i’m sharing. i’m kinda proud of myself. until i haven’t been the “get our there” type and i’m really quite enjoying the transformations this year has brought.

i’m currently working on several larger pieces which is totally atypical for me, mostly 12×24 plus an 18×18 and 12×16 commission. in the spirit of october, i’ll share my “zombie girl with a brain balloon”. she’s still a work in progress but i’m certainly enjoying working on her! i’ve since fixed the balloon more so it doesn’t look so flat and made her eyes a little better (still slightly askew, of course! my favorite!). i’m loving how the string of the balloon turned out, all tangled in her hair. i’m considering doing a small zombie series — maybe three. sounds too fun not to do and if nothing else, my little zombie-loving-eleven-year-old would be thrilled to have them in his room.

another one i’m working on (that also isn’t done) is this… unnamed as of yet. i’m not sure if i’m going to list her or hang her in my bedroom (we’re in the process of painting and remolding it and i think she might look pretty fantastic in there).  like the zombie girl, she’s 12×24. she’ll have some ravens (or at least one) flying over head i think. i’ll share once she’s done either way.

as for the show, one of my favorite paintings that will soon be off to her new home is entitled “with music and with song” (i took that title for the little piece of antique sheet music used in the piece). short story: i usually arrive about a half to full hour early pick my son up from school so i can walk around the park, get a little exercise and breathe some fresh air, enjoy the trees, etc. every day i see this stunningly gorgeous indian lady in her beautiful black scarf. she just radiates beauty and love! one day she was wearing a red scarf instead of the black one i’d always seen her in and i just had to paint her. one of my favorite gals from shaman class snatched her right up and i couldn’t be more thrilled.

another one that i sold, is one of five more abstract pieces i had in the show. sometimes i need a little break from faces, although they are still one of my artistic obsessions right now. this is called “breathing holes” and measures 12×24. it will be flying off to new york at the end of the month to live with its new owner. it’s funny — i only like painting portraits and specific things in the summer, but this kind of work i love to do year round. i always wonder why art is so cyclic for me (for example i pretty much only make books in the autumn and winter). hmm. something to ponder.

this is my super favorite piece in the show and it’s still available. she’s entitled “nothing really bothers her, she just wants to love herself” and is 16×30. i know i shared a partial photo of her before but here she is straight on. you know i love anatomical hearts and redheads so that’s why she’s my fave.

over the next couple of weeks i’ll be posting the remaining pieces on my site… which brings me to more news. unless it’s made from the products i’m selling, i’m no longer putting my art (such as paintings) up on the altered bits site. i’m going to instead put it on my new art website (which i literally threw together in half a day and isn’t done yet so don’t judge): http://aliciacaudle.com/art. eventually the site will have all of my art, my shamanic and healing services, my farm blog and a gluten-free/non-gmo wholesome food blog ’cause that’s another one of my passions.

and i’m off… i have a bit commission to complete of a big painting with three girls in it. it’s for a friend who i used to do spiritual and light work with and cross-overs and such (i’ve probably never really shared that side of myself much, huh?). what are you working on today?

p.s. i’m having a one time only 25% off art sale from today through saturday for all remaining pieces from show. i have a sudden and unexpected car repair and outdoor school for my sweet boy all coming at once. i’ll be listing them on my site but in the meantime you can see photos (of not the highest quality) on the altered bits’ facebook page here.

i had a (very weird) dream

i’ve been meaning to do a blog post for weeks and weeks now — have about 143 in mind, but today, just the one.  i’ve been having so much fun arting with my little man (he’s 10, as most of you know) for the past several months and took a bit of a break from my own art to help him with his.  i will share all about that in a soon-to-be post — that kiddo sold more pieces of art in the past two months than i probably sold all of last year.  soooo proud of him!

for now, i’m sharing one of the weirdest dreams i’ve ever had and the art “challenge” i was presented with after sharing it with some friends.

a few weeks ago i dreamed that i gave birth to a litter of babies over the course of 36 hours.  it was a litter of 32 babies, to be precise.  some of these remained babies and some aged exponentially — for example buck was the size and intellect of a 9 year old boy by the time he was 24 hours and, and little charlotte morphed into a toddler the moment i breastfed her (while walking around).  i tried to find new homes for all of these babies, deciding that we could only keep three due to the size of our home (even three would be way more than we could accommodate but it felt wrong to give them all away).  i told my husband that we needed to pick our three most favorite and he had a fit.  “absolutely not,” he told me.  “we must keep 26 and name each from a different letter of the alphabet!”  well, we did name 26 of them but i was still determined to find new homes for all of these children as i still felt it was an impossibility to keep that many.  i called friends, saying “i had a litter of kiddies, do you want one or a few?” knowing that most of them thought i said “kitties” and not “kiddies”.  some people said maybe, but they wished to see them first.

that is when i realized that i needed them all to look spectacular!  i went to a department store which had a secret door into another department store which had another secret door into a third store and there i found a TON of amazing $6 sweaters.  i bought a different one for each of the children, and for the little ones, amazingly cool blankets and for a few of the more adventurous tots, costumes as i knew they were prefer it.

the challenge i was presented with?  to paint all of the children.  which i did in a week’s time.  if you wish to adopt one of the remaining babies, read below.

and now i introduce you to my offspring…

astrid – adopted

buck – adopted

charlotte – adopted

dorian – adopted

effie – (available) she is playful and loves little red riding hood

frida – adopted

gustav – adopted

hiram – (available) he’s one of my favorites — so quiet and sweet and loves to watch people paint.  he’s like a little shadow.

imogene – adopted

jessamyn – (available) he’s going to grow up to be a drummer and will continue to wear super cool sweaters.

khalil – adopted

llewellyn – adopted

mabel – (available) she loves rockin’ her bunny ear PJs.

napoleon – adopted

obadiah – (available) he looks a bit feminine in his colorful bear suit but don’t judge him – he’s cute and knows it

primus – adopted

qaj – adopted

rowan – (available) the first little baldy of the bunch

sabine – adopted

temperance – adopted

una – adopted

valis – (available) if you get this, you’re cool (my husband wants him, but we shall see)

wyatt – gifted/unavailable

xavier – adopted

ysadora – adopted

zenith – (available) i thought she was a girl but maybe not? s/he was born with no ears or hands for some reason but s/he’s really happy even if s/he doesn’t look like it

if you wish to adopt one of my remaining babies, they are all ACEO/ATC sized (2.5″ x 3.5″).  the adoption fee is $20 with free US delivery ($2.50 international delivery). leave a comment here, message me on fb or email me at hi (at) altered bits (dot) com (sans the spaces and such) and one of the remaining babies can be yours.

the remaining six unnamed babies might get their portraits done too, i haven’t decided yet.  it was super fun and silly.  they might be monsters (finn and i have been on another monster-painting-kick lately — can’t wait to share!).

have you ever turned one of your dreams into an art project?  i actually do it often.

going on an art diet, nudes and ancient books

omg, the zine is almost done!  i have a couple/few extra additions to add this week, bios to do, then it’s done.  i had to take a break from it this week though because my studio is a shit hole.  i’m sorry, but it’s true.  it was so messy and cluttered that there was literally a path to the desk and i had to hoist myself over boxes of bones and doll parts, canvases and other junk just to get to the other side of the room.  not cool.  so, it’s almost all the way tidy now and a clear space makes for a clear mind… and the ability to do MUCH better design/layout work.  want a peek of another one of the pieces?  here ya go (betcha you could never figure out who created this piece):

during the whole cleaning and crap excavation, i realized that i do way too much.  seriously.  there are only so many hours in the day and when i cook a bare minimum of 18 hot, nutritious meals per week, do a load of dishes or two a day, home school for 6+ hours per day (more like 8+ when you take breaks and attitude into account), do web design for existing “old” clients as needed, tend to my shop (that’s kind of a lie — i don’t think i’ve added anything in a year), do the zine, have two art groups for aspie kiddos (one for homeschoolers, one for public schoolers)… it’s just all too overwhelming.  and that’s not even the half of it, but you get the gist.  when i have “free time” or force free time by neglecting laundry, i love to create my weirdo assemblages, make handmade books, paint (i’m not that good at it but i LOVE it so who cares), make journals and cuffs, collage, art journal, etc.  too much.  so i decided that i need to go on an art diet.  i’m hereby no longer making wrist cuff bracelets or fabric art journals unless by special request.  instead, i’m limiting my art to painting, assemblages and books… and collaborations, but only one at a time (jilly!!).  there is only so much time in my life and only so much space in my studio.  i’m also nixing my ancient desire to learn to knit and crochet.  as a result, i’ll probably be getting rid of about 472 pounds of fabric and yarn… and crochet hooks and knitting needles.  et cetera.  i’ll save the good stuff for give-aways here.  🙂

cutting out the excess time-suck stuff means more art time and just as exciting, more time to catch up on what everyone else is doing!  it’s going to be like blog christmas, or whatever gift-giving holiday thing you’re into.  i miss my arty peeps (and nights of a full 8 hours of sleep).  slow down, alicia!

on the painting note, i love paint!  last year or so i started wanting to learn to paint portraits and figures “right” so i could start doing them wrong… i love the odd and disfigured for some strange reason.  my people often look dumb still, but it’s so much fun creating them.  anyway, i was recently commissioned to do a nude portrait, which scared the crap out of me.  recently is also a lie — it was over two years ago but he reminded me recently because i gracefully “forgot” due to fear.  so i created one this week and was a little surprised by the fact that i didn’t totally hate it.  the face is wonky, the limbs are uneven (love that), the hands are deformed (intentional), and her hair is abnormally red (among other things), but i don’t hate it, so i’m going to keep playing.  i can only post a peek because  he who commissioned me to create it hasn’t seen it yet.  i’ll share the whole thing at a later date if anyone is interested in seeing a weird naked lady painting.  i’ll take good pictures once the recipient has received it so you can see all of the texture.

i’ve also been getting about an email per week requesting more art tutorials, namely texture techniques (without the use of chemical art supplies), recipes for my inks and dyes since i’m allergic to 98% of the universe and often create my own goodies, and some of my strange books and bindings.  so, i’ve started a new “two story book®” tutorial.  i haven’t written it yet but the steps are all photographed and ready for me to create some free time to compose it.  this one isn’t super decorated, but one of the couple i’ve recently created (click to enlarge):

here are some of the inside [coffee stained] pages, all deckled and purdy on the outer edges

and here is some close-up detail of my binding.  i’m totally binding illiterate when i read other people’s instructions so i just make up my own, clearly.  looks like an ancient book to me.

once the zine is complete and i’m working on the tallest handmade book project, i’ll be whipping up this tutorial for all who are interested.  and painting lots more nudes.  i think i’m obsessed.

keeping myself busy

i LOVE this time of year!  art inspiration is always overflowing, the garden is growing and all is happy.  this is what i’ve been working on as of late:

i have started and/or finished around a dozen new cuffs and bracelets.  i’m wrist-adornment obsessed these days!  here is one that i used old coin charms and other ancient findings in (this is the second to the ugliest one i’ve made lately… but i like it and how in jingle-jingles when you move):

i will post more soon, and add them to my site for sale.  i’m redesigning my site though, so it may be a minute.  or ten.  i’m a busy girl, you know.

still working away on my series of doll head assemblages.  lovelove!  some of them have fancy books inside, all have bones, some have feet, most have arms.  can’t wait to share, but it will be a bit as i am working on a series of paintings in unison.  they are ghost paintings.  can’t really show you ’cause none are done, but… well, screw it.  here is a peek.  but it’s not done.  (as if saying it twice will make you believe me more.)  i’m not good at this kind of painting but i felt compelled to try anyway and i’m enjoying myself so that’s all that matters.  typically my paintings are tiny but this is HUGE.  well, huge for me.  16×24″ i think.

last, and of course not least, the garden has taken most of my attention.  here is a peek at some of our edibles and pretties around the yard (click to enlarge, if desired):

many things eluded my lens, but you get the picture.  most of the edibles and some of the flowers were started by seed.  wooohooo for my growing capabilities!  our tomatoes are not terribly pleased (thanks to the thunder storms and 2+ inches of rain in an hour last week or so) but peppers, radishes, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, bush beans, herbs, and raspberries seem to be happy.  we have six HUGE artichokes.  isn’t this really early for them?  i’m confused.  i swear we got them in late august last year.

how does your garden grow?

feeling girly, part one

i really don’t know what my problem is lately, but i have this odd affinity for “girliness” that i’ve failed to possess for most of my life.  i kind of did when i was pregnant with my son (and NO, i’m not re-preg, thank you very much), but not so much before or after… until now.  anyway, painting goofy little girls has been fun as of late and i did these a few weeks ago.  if i wasn’t such a crap-head i would have posted them then — i’ve been a slacker in the communications and  blogging department as of late.  summer is just so insane (most of you can relate, i’m sure, particularly those with offspring running around like wild overly-audible fireballs who demand all of your attention and then some).  and then there are my clients.  wowz!  i went from virtually no work to way too much for one artist-home-school-self-employed-shop-owning-wife-mama.  but it’s good — our bellies are full and the cupboards are no longer totally bare.

first, i did this portrait of miss frida kahlo.  frida with rosy cheeks and nasturtiums in her hair, leaning up against a wall.  i sold her yesterday before being able to post her, and she’s going to a lovely new home here in portland tomorrow where she will be cared for and well-loved.  that makes me happy!

originally her ears were naked and it bothered me, so i added this era-accurate earring which made me happy.  i had been coveting this for YEARS and it felt like the perfect place for it.

her eyes are a little off and her lips could maybe use some color, but i’m pleased enough with it since i really haven’t been able to do better than stick figures until my recent few portraits attempts.  yeah, yeah, her brows are off but i’m a quirky girl who likes things “off” sometimes.  (did i post the girl with the way too long i painted for my mum?  will have to see.)

this actually started as a doodle on art matte board and ended up way better than i had anticipated.  it didn’t feel right not on canvas or something better so i white washed a piece of 10×10 wood, drilled holes to run one of lisa jurist‘s amazing fantastically beautiful pieces of sari silk ribbon through the top and popped her onto it.  i like it much better now.  (in this photo it’s not glued down yet, thus the shadows)

next i did a little girl in a cute skull dress with skully hair-clips.  i call her maria (she’s one of my imaginary friends paintings).

i didn’t mean to make her eyes so sad, but oh well.  she was fun to create none the less.  i will be posting her for sale in my shop as soon as i have a few moments to do so.  email me in the meantime if interested.  but first, peek at the whole painting (6×6″ on canvas) — click to enlarge if desired:

next,a red pigtail girl named pepper.  she loves ravens.  and stripe socks.  and pigtails.  (all like me)  i’m not terribly thrilled with her face but i love her hair and dress.  🙂

she is 6×12″ on canvas.  it was requested to be in a “witches and ravens” gallery show for october with some raven pieces i’m having there but i said “only if i don’t sell it first”.  will soon list it on my site for sale, if only temporarily.  if interested and it’s not yet up, email me (i’m so busy that i INTEND to do way more than i ever feasibly can in one day).

i love pepper’s crackly dress and heart:

and the side — the reverse polka-dot of her dress sleeves and inside (and some of the polka-dots are polka-dotted)…

lastly, while talking to my sweet friend katie a few weeks ago i was working on this silly little painting.  i later showed my husby and son and husby said “you do know who that is, don’t you?”  i said “um, no.  an imaginary friend i have yet to name, i guess.”  he and finn-munchkin said “it’s katie!!”  oh.  yeah, it kinda does look like katie when we met, at least in the lips, nose and eyes.  that was 20 years ago.  weird, eh?  sooooo, she is called “katie’s garden”.  she too is soon to go off to a new home.

i painted the stripey flower garden scene around the sides of the canvas, too:

i have no discernible “personal style” when it comes to portraits or people paintings (other than red hair and stripey socks and other stripey bits) but have really been enjoying playing lately.  this is such a new thing to me — i’m so much more comfortable with my books and assemblages and collages and such, but i’m loving playing for sure!

oh, and speaking of katie…

my dear sweet friend katie cahill posted a great post on copyrighting your art (and writing and such) and i learned some valuable new things that i hadn’t previously known.  you should go check it out.  you think i can be mildly witty?  this girl is the queen of wittiness and i could read her writings (and rants) for days in a row.  she’s a fun girl (thus the fact that we’re been friends for 20 years).  anyway, her post his entitled “creativity condom” and i created this little image for it.  click the condom below to read katie’s “creativity condom” post.

happy, happy weekend and love to all!  i’m going to take a “client break” and catch up on all of your magnificent blogs.  then i’m going to take a “family break” and continue to do so through the night.  i’m excited to see what you all have been up to!

xxo