Craft Extravaganza at City Art, shop this Sunday Dec 14

City Art Coop is having it's first ever handmade and crafty art fair, at the Gallery this coming Sunday, Dec 14 from 11am to 4pm. Come by for browsing, hot chocolate, and lots of fun one of kind and few of kind items, or just to see some friends.

Holiday Cards

I'm completing a set of holiday card images, tiny little paintings that are quite sweet I think. I'm insomniac tonight so I'll post one here.

IF - "Pretend"

Here's this friday's entry for Illustration Friday. This is a recent painting sketch that just fit in with the theme. This little deer - thingy hails from "Sunny Imagination", which is what it feels like here in San Fran today - as they put up the Macy's Christmas tree in Union Square, over the ice skating rink, in the 89 degree heat!

IF - Wise

Here's my version of the topic "Wise" for Illustration Friday this week! "The Old Dolphin's Almanac" is a phrase that popped into my head some time ago, and I finally visualized it.

Last few days, Sacred show at City Art

This is the last few days of the October "Sacred show" up at City Art, 828 Valencia, SF between 19th and 20th street in the mission. It's a great place to get my framed prints for the holidays and birthdays, with no shipping cost to you, otherwise you can buy them online in my shop. Also, the big red bird is up there, he's only 600 bucks, don't you want him? Lots of other artists there too, and Sunday is the take down day for that show.

City art is open Wed through Sun this week, from 12 noon to 9pm. I'll even be there behind the desk this Wednesday night.

Jack o Lantern time!

My sister, her b-friend and I made these handsome jack-o-lanterns down in So Cal last weekend, hope they aren't moldy yet, there's another week till All Hallow's eve. I'm headed down to half moon bay tomorrow for punkin patch picking and corn maze running. Yea. Mine is the mean looking one.

Gloria and "friend"

Home sweet home, back from a trip down to my other home in LA, the family homestead. My guinea pigs don't appear to have missed me much, they were well fed by "friend" in photo. I think they are due for another trip to the vet for de-miting.
Ahh, money comes in, then it goes out.

10th anniversary show and party at City Art Gallery

City Art Cooperative Gallery is excited to celebrate it's 10 year anniversary party this month, to celebrate, we are having a big opening party this Friday, the 5th from 7pm to 10pm with food, drinks, entertainment, and approximately 100 artists showing, including me! Because we are so proud to be a part of San Francisco's thriving art scene for 10 years, introducing emerging artists to emerging collectors at reasonable prices with lots of variety, we are having a second party on Sept 27th, 7-10pm in case you miss the first one, with fun and prizes and food and entertainment for all!
Aside from yours truly, artists showing include, Trish Tunney, Hillary Williams, DK Haas, Katie Gilmartin, Glenn Hummel, Biff Moshe, Dan Pask, Matthew Johnston, Richard Dodds, Glenn Caley Bachman, Marisa Escolar, Leslie Moore, Kate Knuvelder, Amy Levine, Garrett Robinson, and many many more, too many to list! Please check it out and stop by one of the partys, we just wanna celebrate. I helped hang the show myself and have to say, it looks damn good.

Routine

This weeks Illustration Friday topic is "Routine". I can't think of anything more routine than doing the ol' laundry, can you?

Find my prints at Urban Color

Kendra Lock has asked me to show and sell some of my prints at her cute little new shop on Arguello Ave, between California and Clement St! It's called Urban Color, and she has lots of neat handmade gifts, art and unique home decor items by Bay Area designers and artists! I've got several of my framed 5X5 inch pictures there, so stop on in and visit, and maybe pick up a little Urban Color!

Marin County Fair!!

Had a wonderful time at the fair yesterday, it was perfect whether, great company, I had corn dogs, sweetcorn, smoothies, and cotton candy. Saw my old friend there, and saw a pig race, and lots of goats and cows, it was Dairy Day! Saw a goat being milked, and rode on the twister, and the tilt-a-whirl. Heard "America" do "Horse with no Name" as the sun set and the lights went on. Lots of great pictures for my painting inspirations.

Felting

I'm trying a new thing, felting. Got some nice wool at the Knitterly shop in Petaluma and made this, my first little felt animal!
Not too bad for my first try...
The long holiday weekend was kicked off by the City Art July art opening, where I've got originals, prints and cards. Please go have a look, prices are nicely lowered for the sucky economy! I'll be showing July, August, September and October there, with work rotating around each month. Now working on new stuff.

July 4th in San Francisco

San Francisco didn't disappoint, as usual, it was completely fogged in all day here. Earlier I had the rare experience of driving over the Golden Gate bridge, which I couldn't see even while driving over it, the towers were completely obscured by thick dense fop. Here is the view from my window while I heard the fireworks going of in the clouds down by the water. Not sure what those floating bubbles are that my camera picked up, maybe photo people can tell me. To me they look like ghosts.

Updated Fishchild

Yippie, I used my day off to update the ol' website! I still have some work to do on the "New Works Page", as that's not really up to date, but the whole site got a spiffing up and I'm pleased with it. I hope you enjoy!

Another Dairy Drive through

Here's one up by where my brother lives. I think it's called Joe's Ice. I've included a snap of the Ice machines. I bought a Coke in a bottle there, like them better because no high fructose corn syrup.

Alta Dena Express

To continue with my new obsession with the Dairy drive in's, here is one near my home town stomping grounds. I went there to buy a milk, discovered I left my cash on my bedside table at home, and had to leave. They had all the stuff a corner store in San Francisco might have, but here you could drive in, and the clerk will serve you at your car window. While I was there a gal bicycled in, got an icecream and left, and a man came in on foot, one car drove through, and I walked in after parking on the street. It's signage isn't the classic, but the building is a prime example of the ones I see all over here.

Interest in Dairy Stands

I've got more time on my hands lately, so I've been mulling over the idea of blogging my guts up all over the internet. I decided to just stick to one blog, and I guess this is it, other than the Pig Page, where my pets get the spotlight.
New obsession: Alta Dena (and other brands) Dairy milk stands. They are all over in the suburbs here in west of LA. They look alot like 30's, 40's and 50's gas stations, but with no pumps out front for gas. They are open drive thru thingys, where you can drive or walk up and get your milk and other cold drinks. I've never patronized one, but I vow to start while I'm doing the LA time. I'm going to start snapping their pics too. Here's one from yesterday, not a perfect example as this one is bigger than most, but it's the one I drove past yesterday.

Fishchild Shop on Etsy now updated

I spent some time updating and my Etsy shopand there's unframed prints galore up there for sale at the nice price of $15.00! Check it out.

Slugging around, but, Now on Flickr

Hello, strange blog, I've been absent for a while, being a white slug. Lounging in the LA summer sun, getting tan, eating too much fast food, and trying to "get it together".  

My "break" from work has turned into something of an adventure away from the normal world - and into a different kind of work. To be less vauge, my mom died and I get to be doing non work for pay stuff for this first whole half year. So far, I've not been so successful at "getting it together".

I did do a show of new paintings in May at City Art. My "Sad Animals" were a grief exploration, none of the originals sold, I guess no one likes watching cute animals sob.   

I also did an event in Marin, the "Babes and Babies" Event put on by Appell and Frank. The turn out wasn't so good, maybe everyone was at the Maker faire that day. 

I've re-bonded with my child hood mother substitute, the television. Though now we have DVD to rent thank god, cause I've found nothing but a wasteland on network TV. Thank god also for UHF channels here in LA, where one can watch "I love Lucy" all day and "Get Smart" all night. 

My new TV favorites are: "The Wire" O how I love the  Wire!   "The Office", could watch the Office all day, and when I'm really sad and depressed, I do, The Bernie Mac show sometimes makes me laugh.

Gearing up to "hit the ground running, I've been prepping a new studio in LA at my family's homestead, and maintaining the SF Studio. 

So tonight I updated my Flickr site to include a wider portfolio, including 60 of my archive portfolio images, examples of my art print products and later will include fun pictures I just plain snap for image research. Fun! Also a way to do something with all this detrius that comes out of my camera. 

Also going to update my Etsy shop, that was abandoned long ago. I've got a new high end printer to do some really great limited edition prints and can sell those cheaply on Etsy and elseware, possibly Ebay. 

Kat and I went to Silverlake district yesterday and I'm hoping to find some artsy vendors for my cards, prints and paintings down here too. Not to say hanging out by the kiddie pool and the beach won't be good grist for the painting mill later this summer, when the oils actually come out of hiding. 

Fishchild Studio's 2008

My hiatus is coming to an end, and I'm currently in the process of re-inventing Fishchild Studios.
I've opened a Southern California location, at my family home in the San Gabriel Valley, so some great new artworks will be coming out of beautiful Alhambra!
A joint venture with my sister hopefully will produce some neato art objects!

Currently you can see a preliminary of my Pidgeon Blues book on Ink Tart an online women's comics journal. More in the Pigeon vein is coming up in the March City Art show in San Francisco - Pigeons: explorations in worldly suffering, as well as some reflections on grieving. Not the usual springtime fluffiness, but oh well that's life.

Also, I've finally completed the Swan illustrations for International SWAN day (Support Women Artitists NOW) which will be launching as products on Monday this week, will blog it tomorrow.

During the fall I also completed some illustrations for personal trainer Heather Robinson, at WorkoutSF.com

So even though I've been out of commission, I've still been doing commissions! More coming soon.