Building a New Web Presence

At long last, I have made the time to build a new website to display my artwork! It's still being constructed, and the more I work on, the more I realize I have to do, but I am enjoying the process. I'm using a Squarespace template which is not only easy as pie, but very sleek and professional looking. The major bonus is that I can personally change and update my website any time I desire. I can add new paintings right away. My current website (www.laurenaldrich.com) is nice looking and has served me well, but the major downfall is that I have not posted any new artwork in 6 whole years. So, in a matter of a couple weeks most likely, my website will have a whole new look and a whole lot of new work. In addition, I have created a Pinterest profile to increase the number of people who will see my artwork, and also plan on making a Facebook fan page for my art. It's time that I expand my presence on the Web. Stay tuned for updates! By the way, once I create my new website, I will be transferring my blog to Squarespace, so everything is in one place.

Saturn Building Art Opening Part II

I'm throwing another party for the second month of my two month art show at the Saturn Building in Fremont. The building will be open for the First Friday Art Walk again, with it's 5 floors of artists and free wine and snacks. Last month was a blast, so if you missed out, here's another opportunity to come view my paintings in person! The party goes from 6pm-9pm so it's a great place to stop off on your way to your Friday night party or show. Many other gallery spaces in Fremont are also open that night. Lauren Kohn will be present again with her delightful gluten-free goodies and of course I'll have some grape juice for y'all. Hope to see your smiling faces! Please invite your friends. See previous post for location details, etc.

New Art Show Frebruary-March in Fremont

February First during the First Friday Art Walk in Fremont (Seattle) at the Saturn Building!!!

The Saturn Building is a new office building in the heart of Fremont, right across the street from the big rocket ship, sort of behind 9 Million Unmarked Bills and up the street from Red Door and PCC. We are throwing a little shebang during the Art Walk, complete with snacks and baked goods from Lauren Kohn and my sister Annie, complimentary wine & beer, and even some music performed by some of Seattle's top funk musicians performing in the lobby, including Olli Klomp on drums. In addition to about 15 of my big oil paintings and mixed media pieces, there will be an assortment of smaller crafts, prints, and jewelry for sale from local artists including myself, Alicia Weeks, Lauren Kohn, and more. Over all, this is shaping up to be a delightful event, plus you can roam the neighborhood to check out all the other art on display. I have completed a brand new piece for the show and a couple more on the way. Hope to see you on Friday, February First between 6:00-9:00 pm! Bring your friends, enjoy the local color and music! Also, we will be doing it all over again on Friday, March 1st if you can't make it in February.

Saturn Building hours of operation

(open to public, other than during Art Walk)

Monday-Friday: 7am-7pm

Saturday: 8am-6pm

Sunday: 9am-5pm

New Paintings

I finished these last week. Well, they both need a little more work, but I couldn't wait any longer to get them on my blog.

"Let's Get It"

"Climbing"

Spray Paint Stock Pile

This post is long overdue. I've been going to town with the whole spray paint schtick for a while now. I jumped on the Vinyl Killers bandwagon and began covering old LPs with spray painted stencils, a craft that's been around for a while. In fact I've heard there are whole conventions for Vinyl Killer artwork. Each of my stencils are made from my own original designs, which makes it feel more authentic though. It sure is fun! And fast! Found some old records in a dumpster, so it's cheap, too. Here are some of them:














And here is a much larger one that I did back in the beginning of my explorations to experiment with technique. Kinda loud, but spray paint colors tend to be pretty intense. Still getting used to that.

Onward and Forward

Here's a photo of the beginning stages of my next sprayed painting. I'm building background layers here. Got some new cans of paint in awesome colors today. Went slice-silly with some new original stencils, too. I'm having a ball! I think I'll be able to whip out some snazzy pictures in less than half the time it usually takes me to finish a painting. Woohoo!

The spray paint bug bit me!

Thanks to the influence of stencil artist Aaron Brick, I recently purchased a few cans of Montana spray paint (the artist-grade brand that you can't find in hardware stores). I have cut a couple smaller stencils and played around with those with somewhat disappointing results, but the other night I decided to tackle a larger piece (see image below) and use only a large abstract, blob-shaped stencil with which to make rounded shapes.

With no certain subject in mind, I began by simply laying down a signature of my first name (I guess it's called a "tag" though I would never think of creating graffiti on public facade) in the center with the intention of embellishing around the perimeter. A little hesitant at first, I soon was off and running, switching cans on the fly and using them as though they were paints on my palette. How fun!

I went back to the art store again today to procure more colors, and now I plan to experiment with laying down a background with spray paint that I can perhaps paint on top of with a brush with either acrylic or oil paint. I think a marriage of the two mediums could lead to very exciting results!

Perhaps I'm straying from my preferred and most comfortable medium here and becoming a bit distracted, but it sure is fun to discover new mediums, and as I always say, there's no harm in having more tricks up your sleeve as an artist!

(click the image to zoom in)

There it is! My very first attempt at creating art with spray paint. It's a bit cluttered and messy and clearly lacks a vision, but I think it's not too shabby for my first try. There is definitely lots of room for improvement. What do you think?

How to find pictures of my newest paintings

Hello! If this is your first time visiting my blog, I'd like to help you find the photos that I most likely sent you here to see, which haven't made it to my website yet. Here is a link to the portion of my blog where you can see my most recent artwork. And also here.

Due to life's uncertainties and obligations, I have had to take a hiatus from creating new work, but more is on the way, so please check back in a month or so.

If you have any feedback, I'd love to hear it, so please leave me a comment! Thanks for visiting my site.

Quadtych Collaboration

Last weekend I was paid a visit by Aaron Brick, my artist friend from Bellingham, Washington. We have collaborated in the past, and now we have created a new piece. Well, 4 pieces that will hang together as a "quadtych." Aaron contributed his amazingly detailed spray-painted stencils of the women's faces, and I produced the collaged paper and star stencils. When hung together, the piece is roughly 22" wide and 26" high. Click the image below to zoom in to better see the details.

My painting finds a beautiful home

I recently found a delightful surprise in my email inbox: a photo of the final resting place of one of my paintings purchased in December, sent to me by it's new owner Kathleen Dong. I am utterly stunned by this photo! The color of the water as I painted it matches so wonderfully with the color of the water outside the window and the tiles around the fireplace! I just had to share it with you all!

Commissioned Star Wars painting Phase 1

A nice woman has asked me to paint a Star Wars-based painting for her eleven year old son, and though it's not a theme I would have come to on my own, I am excited to have a new challenge. Here's a photo of my first "phase." I've got Luke and Darth and the Death Star in there. Soon to come: brighter lighters, more detail in the figures, 3CPO and R2D2 off to the left in the desert, Ewoks off the right with maybe some forest-y stuff, and an X-Wing battling some Tie fights with lasers and maybe some explosions in the dark outer space above. Yeah, I'm geeking out over here. Thank you James and Brian for helping me work out the details and composition. Prior to their advice I didn't realize that Darth Vader's light saber was one specific color, and Skywalkers another. VERY IMPORTANT STUFF. I hope this boy is totally stoked when I'm finished!

New Art Show! Trabant Coffee in Pioneer Square

Exciting news! An artist friend of mine (Dear Earthling aka Jeremiah Hammer) just helped me set up a show in a coffee shop that was caught with bare walls and no artist available to show. Pretty sweet deal for me! I hung eleven paintings there this afternoon (thank you Clovis de Milo for your help! I could NOT have done it without you!). The show will last for almost two months, ending on April 1st. Many of my newer paintings were sold during my last show, but I dug deep into my reserves and pulled out some great stuff that hasn't seen the light of day beyond my living room or closet for a long time, plus my newest piece is on display for the first time. I sure hope you can all check it out! Trabant has AMPLE wall space (I had to make another trip back home to pick up more artwork!), all painted white, with very high ceilings and great lighting. With it's simple, austere decor, this coffee shop seems very gallery-esque, and I think my work looks pretty darn good in it. Lauren is a happy girl today!

Trabant Coffee & Chai is located at 602 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA, where 2nd Ave meets James Street. Show ends April 1, 2011.