JOANNAMULDER.COM RE-MIX!!

Hello devoted followers! (...is this thing on?)

Just a little quickie to announce the TOTAL REVAMP of my illustration site,
www. joannamulder.com. There is definitely no rest for the wicked and/or the strongly motivated! I’ve given the site an extreme makeover, and I must say, I am quite pleased with the overall results. Here you can see a sampling of my professional work, and how it’s applied! So come on over and give it a looksee!

"I FEEL YUCKY-The Candy Colored Nightmare"

Greetings Joannarchists!

I have some very exciting news involving the art series I have been working on every waking second of my life! I have been invited to have a solo show exhibition at the Gitana Rosa Gallery in Williamsburg! The work involves big, bright and often disturbing cartoonish imagery with an eye-melting color palette...almost all the work is confrontational portraiture, with the goal of making the viewer feel slightly uncomfortable, and if I may say so, YUCKY. The fact that I am able to have a solo exhibition (and gratefully so), showcasing all of the work that represents how much black tar is stirred up inside of me on a daily basis, and to have it celebrated and spotlighted is an amazing vindication. It makes me feel like I am doing something right, or at least on the right track. It reiterates how important it is to follow your dreams and passions...and how nothing should take those things away from you. And it also makes me proud of myself and my work, and don’t think there’s anything wrong with saying that. When you’re told countless times a day what’s wrong with your drawing, your composition, your graphic, your colors, your font, etc...you get used to it. There is something getting programmed inside of you to automatically assume that what you’ve done will be wrong in some shape or form. Then you get too many cooks in the kitchen, and it becomes a nightmare... A DAILY nightmare. So for once, it’s not just nice, it’s AMAZING for people to not only like your art, but like it the WAY IT IS, and respect what it is about....what a concept!!!!

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: "MUDDY"

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: "FOCUSED"

SAN DIEGO COMIC CON!!

Yeah, this is my sweet table this year before the madness begins. I went for the "kissing booth" look, which surprisingly enough got lots of compliments. I think it was just because it lit up...

Check it out...it's Peter Mayhew! He signed one of my shirts, and bought two. What a wookie!

PILGRIM'S PROGRESS

Good morning, jive turkeys!

It's a lovely Thanksgiving Eve here in NYC... Most people are out of town, which is just the way I like it! I'm not big on holidays, or holiday decorations for that matter, but walking to the train this morning, I saw one of the most brilliant window decorations I've ever seen. Why change them every few weeks when you can combine them all into one? YES! Finally, its "Skeleton Santa Holding a Gourd". Genius. (the pic isn't the greatest, but you get the idea.) It's things like this that make me happy to be alive:



Now on to business...
Joannarchy.com on Etsy sales have been steadily awesome! International sales are at an all-time high, and much like David Hasselhoff, I seem to be quite popular in Germany! I've just received a fresh batch of Android Love tees, hot off the presses, ready for BLACK FRIDAY, and the newcomer, CYBER MONDAY. (which I think is hysterical.) Get them quick if you want them for Christmas, as I will be advertising up the wazoo!! (and the shop will be on hiatus beginning Dec. 22nd. until Jan. 2nd.)

International orders ready to embark on their treacherous journey:


The TOP SECRET project is coming along nicely, and I am bursting at the seams to complete it. Thanksgiving is really usurping all of my freetime this weekend,and as usual, my projects have to take the backseat. Bah Humbug! Until I have a few solid hours to work on this baby and post pics of its completion, here is a tiny teaser... I dare say it will be DIABOLICAL!!! Mwah ha ha ha ha!!!

The Exclusive Sneak Peek:



Well, until next time!

And Happy Thanksgiving er, whatever.

THE ARTIST TEMPER TANTRUM

Hello dear readers,

Today I'm going to discuss Artist Temper Tantrums and How to Control Them.

So, the afore mentioned ruined painting has now become my testing ground for various art materials, to insure that no more paint debacles occur. I've slapped all kinds of media on that unwanted orphan just to see how they interact with the canvas, as well as with various fixatives and varnishes. (since I'm using light reactive paint, it's important to choose the right varnish, with UVLs, without UVLs, blah,blah,blah...) The result? Nothing seems to be working the way I want. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Enter the Artist Temper Tantrum. It's not like a "fling yourself on the ground, kicking and screaming and crying" kind of tantrum, but it's close. You have the hopeless, "I don't want to do this anymore" feeling. It is accompanied by the, "this painting sucks anyway" feeling, as well as, "I'm not even sure this is the direction I want to go" sensation. Then you think of the other painting ideas swimming around in your noggin, and those start to look mighty dubious as well..what you're left with is an overwhelming sense of defeat. It sucks.

THE SOLUTION
Work on something else. Something manageable, and something you are confident will work. Walk away from the offending eyesore, and create something awesome to give your damaged ego a little boost. A band-aid for your art boo boo, if you will. And that's what I did. I'm not going to reveal what it was, as it's part of a larger multi-media sculpture I'm working on, and for now, it's TOP SECRET. But it turned out better than I could have hoped, and confidence was restored. The painting will be figured out, and I guess when you have to do something over again, it's a great opportunity to improve things that you might not have been satisfied with the first time around. After a good night's sleep, things definitely look better in the morning,too. No more temper tantrums. In the sage-like words of Jedi Master Yoda, "Try not, only do."

What a wise little muppet...

BLOGS IN SPACE

I know this is way geeky, but I just got an app for the iphone that allows me to post and publish directly to my blog...so all that boring hangtime I have on the subway can now be utilized by typing away at my whimsical musings. The beauty part is, even though I'm miles below the earth's crust and don't get an internet signal, it automatically saves the draft, and it's ready to send when I do get one. I just thank god this application doesn't come with a "smell feature". (Like right now, this guy next to me has what I'd imagine to be a gallon of the world's WORST cologne on...bleh.)
Whoops, here's my stop! See ya! :)