Miro Miro on the Wall

I've done this concept before, but I was never entirely happy with how it came out -- but this one I finally like!

I'll be at the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit this weekend, so I'm trying to get some new paintings done in time. Maybe I'll have one or two more to upload before the weekend :)

University Place street fair in Greenwich Village

Yesterday I went to a street fair in Greenwich Village to sell my artwork. My dad found it online, and it was my first time at the show. It turns out it was much more of a street fair than an art fair, though. Many mass produced items, food and cheap sunglasses... not so much art. 

It's funny because my favorite art show that I do each year (The Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit) is only one block away from this show! But I guess the classification of "street fair" as opposed to "art exhibit" makes a big difference because it was by no means successful!

The only redeeming quality of the fair was that it is in my very favorite part of New York. I'm just as much of a tourist as the next person when I come out of Penn Station and gawk at Macys, the Empire State Building and all of the hustle and bustle. But in this section of Greenwich Village, near Washington Square Park, I feel like I'm home. My favorite market in the world was right across the street from my booth (Space Market on University Place... go there!) and though I've purchased food there a million times, I discovered yesterday the best roasted potatoes known to man. It made my day.. really! (If you know me, you know that my love for potatoes and grapefruit juice knows no bounds.)

All in all, it was a so-so day. I made back by investment in the show, but not a penny more. I've been feeling under the weather so the 1.5 hour car ride there and back didn't help matters any, and I've made today a stay-in, watch-movies and take-naps day to make up for it! :)

I won't be doing another art show until WSOAE rolls around again at the beginning of September. I like that I'll have some time to recoup, restock and get myself situated. I need to reorganize all of my buckets and inventory since I'm so scatterbrained and unorganized right now! 

But I do want to say "thank you" to the people who did stop in and enjoy my artwork! A few of you really made my day worthwhile. One person in particular said that she glances up at my art at work when she needs a good chuckle. Just hearing that makes my art shows worthwhile.

Moreau Moreau Moreau Your Boat

This is my very first funny art in watercolor! I'm pretty pleased with the results. As always, I had some trouble with faces and so Moreau #1 doesn't look quite like Moreau #2 or #3, but they all bare a slight resemblance to the actual Jeanne Moreau, I believe. 

This image is pretty tiny (the blogger format is not very kind to short, wide images) so if you want to see it bigger just click on the painting! I'm going to have it professionally scanned next week, so this is just the temporary scan (It's big so I had to scan it in pieces and put it together in photoshop)

Moreau, Moreau, Moreau Your Boat

8" x 24"

Available

Arson Wells

It's definitely another obscure "hardly anyone will get this" pun, but it may be one of my favorites.. I think, unlike some of my other puns, this one isn't being stretched really far. It still sounds exactly like "Orson Welles" 

And my favorite part? (that really has nothing to do with the pun, but oh well) .. you usually go to a water well to PUT OUT a fire! Not to start one! Ha!

Arson Wells

8" x 8"

Available

new website design

I've been meaning to re-design my site for what seems like forever now. Well, more like six months or so... When I started the classic movie art and the flapper doodles, I changed my business cards to look something like this:

Kate Gabrielle

www.kategabrielle.com

www.kategabrielle.etsy.com

www.kategabrielle.blogspot.com

www.silentsandtalkies.etsy.com

www.silentsandtalkies.blogspot.com

www.flapperdoodle.etsy.com

www.flapperdoodle.blogspot.com

kategabrielleart@yahoo.com

Whoa! That's a lot of websites!! Then a lightbulb went off... Wouldn't it be easier to just have links to everything on my main site? Yes!!

So now, www.kategabrielle.com houses all of my links. From this landing point, you can jump over to any of my blogs or etsy shops, join my mailing list, visit my twitter, flickr or youtube accounts, or send me an email. I've included a short bio (along with some fun trivia) and a list of upcoming shows and recent awards. All of this is jam packed into a tiny little site now. Voila! My business cards will now read simply:

Kate Gabrielle

www.kategabrielle.com

kategabrielleart@yahoo.com

So anyway! It would be fantastic if you would take a look at the new site and let me know what you think! I designed it myself (I do a little web design on the side) and I'm pretty happy with my new, unconventional layout.

giveaway!!

Would you like to win an 11" x 14" print, three 8" x 10" prints, a pocket mirror and three notecards?? Then just head on over to my Silents and Talkies blog, here, for instructions on how to enter!! Hurry up, the giveaway ends on July 15th!

STOLEN

LINK TO THIS POST: http://kategabrielle.blogspot.com/2009/06/stolen.html

Yesterday at my art show on Bleecker Street in New York City, FOUR of my original paintings were stolen! To be honest, the money part doesn't bother me in the slightest-- but the idea that a mean criminal has four of my paintings-- two of which were my favorites! -- in his possession gives me chills. This was my third run-in with credit card fraud, but the very first time that the artwork stolen was of such enormous value, both monetary and sentimental.

My parents and I suspected the guy from the start, and as he was waiting for my dad and I to pack up the paintings my mom started chatting with him about how I was only 22, I wasn't making much money off of this, I'm really a sweet girl, etc. discreetly trying to stress how important it was that he shouldn't steal from me. What a low life to actually go through with it after that.

The robbery was reported to the New York Police, and I am officially STILL the owner of these paintings. They are legally mine. Do not buy them from anyone, even a reputable seller. If you see them, immediately report it to the New York Police department.

I will be painting new versions of these paintings, and when the originals are found I will keep them.

To all artists doing outdoor shows in the New York area: be on the lookout for two young, slim, middle-upper class Middle Eastern men at your art shows. They were a criminal team-- one rides around on a bicycle looking for artists who use old fashioned credit card imprinters, and then the other swoops in to meet the bike guy and to purchase the artwork. The man on the bike was wearing a t-shirt and the man who paid had on a black windbreaker, a preppy plaid and khaki outfit and they both had short cropped hair. At first they said they were on a budget, and bargained me down on two paintings. It would be wise, if people resembling this description try to purchase an expensive item from you, to try to run an authorization first before letting them leave.

The Kiss won Fourth prize!

I'm a little late in posting this, only because I was waiting to get the photo that was taken when I won the award... On Memorial Day weekend, I won Fourth Place in Oil/Acrylic at the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit for The Kiss! I'm always a bundle of nerves when I  go to pick up my artwork, and it was such an unbelievably wonderful feeling to know I won a prize! 

I'm usually really selective about what pictures I post online, (or I should say, really self-conscious) and this is no different, not fond of the messy hair, baggy pants, strange "did you get the photo yet? this thing is heavy" smile, etc. but I'm still so excited about the prize that I thought, what they heck, I'll just post the photo :)

Thanks so everyone who came to the show! I'll be there again on Labor Day weekend, and this Sunday I'll be at the Bleecker Street Fair if anyone is in the area!

Featured on Funky Finds

Today I was featured on the Funky Finds blog! Click here to read what they wrote :)

Monroe Monroe Monroe Your Boat

My original idea for this one was Marilyn Monroe, but then as I was getting my paints & canvas ready I remembered President Monroe... fantastic! I like this SO much better, because three pictures of an early American President on a pink and green striped background is SO much funnier than the same painting with Marilyn Monroe.

Monroe Monroe Monroe Your Boat

8" x 16"

Available

Dalicatessen

This is the biggest piece I've done so far, except for the Handy Warhol panels. It was one of the most detailed, intricate and painstaking pieces as well.  If someone asked me which of my pieces I'd consider my "masterpiece", I'd have to say this one. Okay, masterpiece is a little too grand, but you know what I mean :)

Dalicatessen

24" x 36"

SOLD

Miro Miro Miro Your Boat

Miro Miro Miro Your Boat... gently down the stream...

Miro Miro Miro Your Boat

8" x 16"

There are two of these paintings-

One SOLD

One is Available

Red Haring

This idea was born during a dinner conversation with my dad... I told him about my idea for a Haring character to be holding a red herring fish. He shrugged, and said it was an okay idea, and we kept eating... then he said, what if the character was colored red, and you get rid of the fish? I shrugged and kept eating... Then I realized there was another way you can make something "red" besides painting the color-- communist! yes! A Red Haring. I love this pun!

Red Haring

8" x 10"

SOLD

8" x 10" Version #2
Available

Frozen Custer

Didn't know they had cryogenics back in the 19th century, did you?

Frozen Custer

10" x 20" x 2"

SOLD

Candy Warhol

Before you know it I'll need a blog just for my Andy Warhol spoofs... here's the most recent in my Warhol series, Candy Warhol-

Candy Warhol

12" x 12"

SOLD

20" x 20"

SOLD

8" x 8"
Available

Big Ben

It's true; Ben Franklin stands like a giant over the city of Brotherly Love. I've been there; I've seen him. Seriously!

Big Ben

10" x 20"

Available

Ballet Lugosi

A combination of two of my favorite things: Bela Lugosi and ballet dancing. Doesn't he look graceful?

Ballet Lugosi

11" x 14"

Available

Patton Leather

Shrinking another bully down to size... and then framing him.

Patton Leather

13" x 15"

Available

Moodigliani

Please tell me you know who Moodigliani is... please? He's one of my favorite artists; I adore the way he painted! Unfortunately, he has a name that's very hard to pun-ify. Moodigliani is my first attempt, though my dad thinks MoDOGliani would be better. Personally I prefer MOO, what do you think?

Moodigliani

12" x 12"

SOLD

Plastic Monet

Plastic Monet

20" x 24"

SOLD

20" x 24" Embellished print
Available

Ernst Borgnine

Max Ernst + Ernest Borgnine = Ernst Borgnine.

Ernst Borgnine

11" x 14"

SOLD

Astaireing Contest

Oh, I adore Fred Astaire. You can read my post about him on my other blog, Silents and Talkies, here.

I've done three versions of Astaireing Contest, luckily I have photos of all of them:

Astaireing Contest

10" x 14"

SOLD

Astaireing Contest

18" x 24"

SOLD

Astaireing Contest

11" x 14"

SOLD


*I also have an 11x14 version with a light blue background that is AVAILABLE*

Stalin Grad

Another one in my "shrinking the bullies down to size and then framing them" series. I like the idea of making fun of oppressive leaders so that people view them as silly, absurd idiots. One of my favorite films is Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" which succeeds in making Hitler look like a power-hungry buffoon. Sometimes humor isn't the best medicine; it's the best poison.

Stalin Grad

8" x 10"

Available

The Man Ray Who Came to Dinner

It seems like my favorites are always the ones that nobody else likes or understands... or the ones where the joke is so obscure that you have to be a fan of three or four random obscure things in order to get it. In this case, you need to be a fan of surrealist photographer Man Ray, and the 1941 film The Man Who Came to Dinner. And you need to REALLY be a fan of the film to figure out what in this painting is taken from the film!

But I think it's one that, assuming you DO know about the artist & the movie, will give you a good chuckle :)

The Man Ray Who Came to Dinner

11" x 14"

SOLD

The Kiss

I really love this one -- I've done quite a few versions of this, too... like with some of my other paintings, I didn't get to photograph all of them. Here are three of the five I've painted.

The Kiss

18" x 24"

22 kt. gold

SOLD

The Kiss

11" x 14"

SOLD

The Kiss

18" x 24"

12 kt. gold

SOLD

Johns

Jasper Johns is one of my favorite artists, and I often fell asleep trying to come up with some kind of a pun for him. The only one I could think of was more of a family thing... my cat growing up was named Jasper.

Needless to say, I didn't end up doing a target/flag/encaustic wax portrait of my cat Jasper. Instead I went with long "Johns" - also, I couldn't afford to buy all of the encaustic equipment necessary for just one piece of artwork, so I instead used artists acrylic medium, and a lot of improvisation to get the encaustic texture I wanted.

Johns

24" x 36" x 2"

Available

How Green Was My Valli

Okay, this is my favorite. Nobody in the world ever gets it, but I just adore it, because the pun is really good if you know your film history! Valli was a very famous Italian actress, most known for her performance in Carol Reed's The Third Man. How Green Was My Valley was a great John Ford film from the 1940's. Valli's face is green in the painting... How Green Was My Valli... get it? Gosh, I love the pun!!

How Green Was My Valli

12" x 12"

Available

The Degas the Earth Stood Still

This is a spoof of the original film. You couldn't drag me to see the new one if you gave me a million dollars. Really good films shouldn't be remade. Period.

The Degas the Earth Stood Still

9" x 12"

SOLD

Pugcasso Puppies

And of course, there had to be puppies..

The orange background one is my favorite, I think he looks drunk :)

Pugcasso

For the dog lovers, too...

Pugcasso

16" x 20"

SOLD

16" x 20" Version #2
AVAILABLE

Pugcasso

16" x 20"

SOLD

Pugcasso

18" x 24"

Available

Que Seurat Seurat

I love Doris Day films... they are the perfect medicine when you need cheering up! My favorites are her films with Rock Hudson. I treated myself to their box set last year, and I've watched them a few times each since then. I think I love "Send Me No Flowers" the best, in which Rock Hudson plays a hypochondriac who tries to pick out a new husband for his wife because he's convinced he's dying.

But Doris Day didn't just make great movies-- she made great music. She was actually a band singer before she ever started making films. I used my favorite Doris Day album as a reference for this painting.

Que Seurat Seurat

12" x 12"

SOLD

Chagall About Eve

I think I'm the only one in the world who likes this one :)

Chagall About Eve

11" x 14"

Available

Chipmunchs

How cute would it be to actually hear these guys scream?

Chipmunchs

11" x 14"

Available

Leotardo da Vinci

It's about time someone covered up that Vitruvius Man... 

Leotardo da Vinci

8" x 10"

Available

Munchkins

I know a lot of people pronounce Munch differently-- (munch or munk) -- but I've got that covered. If you like saying it with the "ch" sound on the end, than Munchkins is an awfully funny pun. But if you like saying it with the hard "k" sound at the end, than Chipmunchs is more your style.

Of course, it also depends which pop culture phenomenon is more up your alley... are you a Wizard of Oz kinda person or a Chipmunks kinda person? Decisions, decisions....

Munchkins

11" x 14"

Available

Grass Hopper

This is another one that a lot of people don't get. I think it's because while Edward Hopper's paintings are iconic, like the one I spoofed here (Nighthawks) his name is not well known. 

I think that's unfortunate, because he is one of my favorite painters and deserves to be as famous as Picasso or Dali.

Grass Hopper

11" x 14"

Available

Handy Warhol

This is one of those ones that still makes me giggle when I think about it.. 

After I painted the first one, a gallery asked me to do a much larger, four panel version, which is pictured under the first one. These are about 2" x 4' per panel. They didn't sell at the gallery, so I have them now and they are too big to bring to my shows. I'm now trying to figure out what to do with them!

Handy Warhol

20" x 10" (I think)

SOLD

Handy Warhol

4 Panels, approx. 2' x 4' each

Available

(will sell as a set or individually)

Toulouse LauTrek

It's funny, everyone likes the first version of this painting better and I really prefer the latter...

Oh well, live long and prosper!

Toulouse LauTrek

11" x 14"

SOLD

Toulouse LauTrek

11" x 14"

SOLD