Work on Adelaide Road

This is the first art I've made since I've been in NZ. Hell, it's the first work I've done in a month - my supplies have been packed for weeks. Still are. They're sitting in a big blue bin in the wood workshop of Massey. The University has a really great library. I found a fantastic book called The Dodo and Mauritus Island: Imaginary Encounters by Harri Kallio. It has some delightful images of dodo skeletons and such, very inspiring. I just happened to put a sketchbood, a few pencils, and one lone charcoal pencil in my luggage which I used on the above pieces. I also used eyeshadow on the top piece and coffee on the bottom one. Hey, gotta make due. Making due has played a major role in my life for the past two weeks.

My Beacon

I think of all the things I've learned thus far, it has been when lost in downtown Wellington don't panic, just look for the War Memorial...my Wellie beacon of light. I spent Thur. and Fri. in downtown to take care of some biz. You know, the usual...setting up a bank account, getting an IRD tax code to be eligible to work in NZ, hunting for grocery stores, figuring out bus and train schedules, and other mundane grown up stuff.

Luckily in the midst of all of this I had the pleasure of visiting the Te Papa Museum (Killer! LP, I saw Rita Angus' painting, Rutu, with my own two eyes! It's the work that is on the cover of the NZ female artists book.) and touring Massey's campus. The campus is delightfully small and everyone I met was wonderful. Before releasing me onto the city streets, one of my profs gave me the golden advice to always look for the War Memorial which is located directly in front of the University. That beautiful memorial saved me much anguish in my two day downtown adventure.

The first day with map in hand, I cruised the town and did pretty well. I made an appointment at the bank, had a great lunch, mailed some bills, had a delicious pear cider at a local pub, picked up some groceries, found the railway station where I purchased a ticket and hopped on board, and even managed to get on the correct bus towards home. Nicely done.

Second day...not so much. I got into town around 9am. My goal, have breakfast and make it to my bank appt. at 11am. No prob. I had this shit down yesterday. Let's just say that I both did and did not make my appointment.

Got lost leaving the train station. Check. Found a breakfast joint now drenched in an hours worth of sweat from being lost. Again. Check. Bowl of fruit, blueberry muffin, and two cups of coffee. Check. Made it to the bank at 11:01am. Check. The kicker...it was the wrong bank branch. Apparently I had the map upside down the day before. No need to worry, my banking needs were met and I was on my way. When I stepped out onto the sidewalk I realized I had no f-ing idea where I was. Then I looked up on the hill and saw this.....

Thanks War Memorial! I could have hugged you that day.

Let's Do This.

I feel excited about being here for the first time since I arrived. The first 4 days were overwhelming and lonely despite being surrounded by absolute beauty. At the moment I'm sitting on the the front porch waiting for one of my profs to pick up myself and my art supplies and then off to school we go.

I thought the desert sun was warm but the sun here is quite intense. Pretty sure I got a sunburn just sipping coffee and writing this. I can see the beach of the bay from here and a herd of school children just exploded onto the sand like a group of penguins. For all I know it might have very well been a group of penguins.

On the agenda today...schooly paperwork for teacher's assistant gig, get a NZ bank account, hit up the grocery store, and roam....tourist-style. My venture back via bus will be interesting. I'll keep you posted and wish me luck!

11 Tuna Terrace

Titahi Bay, Porirua, NZ

My New Zealand Window

Day Nine AM

Day Eight AM

Day Three PM

Day Three AM

Day Two

Day One

Journey to New Zealandville

Feb. 10, 2011 12:45pm (Phoenix time)

Okay people, entry number one...New Zealand-style. I'm sitting in Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. First stop, San Francisco then to Auckland and finally on to my final destination...Wellington, New Zealand. The city I've been fighting to get to for the past four months. My 22 hrs. of travel have officially begun.

I would like to begin by saying that I truly enjoy the fact that you can order a beer with a tequila sidecar at any time of day at the airport with no judgement. In fact it is encouraged. And I'm doing just that. Cheers!

I cannot express the feeling of freedom knowing that all of my worldly possessions are locked away in storage and the 3 bags that will sustain me during my 2 yr. stay in Wellie are on their way to New Zealand. My only hope is that my bags and I will be reunited sometime in the near future. But you know, if they decide to go AWOL I packed an extra pair of jeans, my Willie Nelson t-shirt, jammie pants, and a toothbrush in my carry-on.

I shall stay in touch but for now I mus eat an overpriced airport meal and it is delicious.

Feb. 10, 2011 4:41pm (San Francisco time)

San Francisco Airport. Check. So this may be my official last taste of Mexican food for a long time....airport-style. A bowl of tortilla soup is headed my way to accompany my Dos Equis. Observation...International terminals are way fancier than ghetto domestic terminals. From my vantage point I spy a shop where I can buy a suit jacket next to a kiosk peddling swarofski (sp?) crystal.

The flight here was painless except for having to listen to people whine about leg room and lack of overhead compartment space. Hey jerks, I'm trying to soak up this 1 hr. jaunt because by hour 12 of my next flight I'm gonna be going ape shit.

I have a good 2 hrs. until the big flight. My eyes welled up when we left Arizona. I put my cheek as close to the window as I could to absorb the last bit of Phoenix sunshine. I will miss you mountains and endless sky. I think the next flight will be the kick in the ass I've been waiting for. This whole moving to NZ stuff still hasn't sunk in. Cheers San Fran.

Feb. 12, 2011 7:45am (Auckland, NZ time)

Well, I made it to NZ-town. The 13 hr. flight wasn't bad. About an hour after we took off we were served dinner. After dinner I ordered a whiskey and water to wash down the Ambien and dramamin. 30 min. later it was lights out. We woke up to being served breakfast and in no time we were landing in Auckland.

Here is a lesson I've learned. When the Phoenix airport counter dude says that "your luggage is going directly to Wellington", he actually means that you need to claim your luggage in Auckland and re-check it to Wellington.

Thinking that I didn't have to deal with my bags, I casually got off the plane, went to the latrine to brush my teeth, meandered through customs, and then got an iced coffee (my first purchase with NZ dollars). I saw all of the peeps from my plane in a line so I thought hey, I should probably be in that line as well. Waited in line while sipping my coffee, got to the airport clerk, and said..."I don't know if I need to be in this line but..." He then informed me that I should have picked up my luggage and I now had to go to the baggage claim office to gather my bags to re-check. Long story short...if you would have been there you would have seen me racing my luggage to the terminal (a 10 min. sprint to another building), dumping my bags, and running to the gate just as they were boarding. Whew!

I was picked up at the Wellington airport with bags in hand and wisked off to my new home. I then slept for the next 2 days. Zzzzzzz...........

New Zealand or Bust Baby!

BRAND X IS HOSTING...

New Zealand or Bust!!

FAREWELL BASH & FUNDRAISER

FRIDAY JANUARY 28TH 7PM—10PM

One of our favorite local artists, Layla Luna has a one way ticket to New Zealand and needs to lighten her load! Over 50 original drawings will be available for purchase. All funds will benefit her upcoming move to New Zealand where she will be studying for a fine arts graduate degree at Massey University. Even if you are not in the market for artwork, join us to say bon voyage to Layla!

Can’t make it in to purchase an original drawing?

Buy online!

rowdystudios.etsy.com

More about Layla Luna & her artwork

laylaluna.com

SKETCH PRICES

All sketches are pastel and charcoal on butcher paper

Small (8”x10”) $40

Med (16”x20”) $60

Large (24”x36”) $80

BRAND X IS LOCATED AT 414 S. MILL AVE.

TEMPE, AZ 85281 (MILL & 5TH STREET)

Pip Pip Hooray!!

Pip with Pip!

Pip

Meet Pip! He is part of the lovely Martinez family. I'm pretty sure he is trying to collect some secrets with those ears. Pip is the last painting I will complete before leaving for New Zealand...only 19 days away! EEkk!!

heART ON

Carr Commission. Check.

Screech Owl

Great-horned Owl

Meet the first paintings of 2011! Before passing these off to their new owner, I will cover them in a coat of Liquin for shine and protection. Looking forward to what this year will bring!

Carr Commission In-Progress

(Session 2)

(Session 1)

Above is the progress for a commissioned piece for Ms. Carr. The background is from my most favorite vintage wallpaper sample book. These two pieces are intended to be hung separately but work together; one feminine and one masculine. Next step…glazes.

Dos Birds

2nd to last holiday commission. Check.

Ogee & Omar. Check.

Learned a lot by working on this piece. I will definitely continue to experiment working on wood panels. I really prefer their stability in comparison to canvas. Another one down...four more xmas commissions to complete. All of this hard work is for you New Zealand adventure!!

Ogee & Omar Progress

Stage 4

Stage 3

Totally dig working on this commission. It's a bit of an experiment. I really want to incorporate the integrity of the wood panel. The wood is very porous and absorbs thinned paint easily. I'm basically just staining the wood with layers of oil paint/Liquin washes. I've blocked out the lightest areas with gesso so it retains a sense of a highlight. It makes for a very soft feel.

Ogee & Omar

Stage 1

Stage 2

This is Omar. Ogee is the cat that will soon live on the face of Omar's tag. Trying new foundation ideas with the charcoal base on Omar. I want to utilize the natural wood of the panel in his coloring as well. So far I've used gesso, charcoal, and yellow ochre oil.

All Aboard the Way-back Machine

Authenticity check....yep, it's the real deal.

My mom came across this old drawing I did when I was 11. Birds, really?! I’ve gotta think about a new subject… I totally remember doing this sketch at The Fort Worth Museum of Science & History’s Museum School.

I attended Experimental Art Classes at the Museum from age 10 until I was 18 and it was the most positive, wonderful experience of my childhood. I was a Museum School teacher’s assistant all throughout high school and later worked at the Museum’s Omni Theatre box office. I lived there! As a kid, when I wasn’t working or going to class there, I’d have my mom drop me off so I could spend time in the exhibits. Nerd alert!

The art classes were cancelled my senior year but Mr. Hailey, one of the art teachers, held the class in his private studio. Sadly, I don’t think the classes continued much longer. Mr. Hailey if you are out there, I’ve been trying to get in touch with you to say thank you for such a wonderful experience!!!

Landscape III: Done and done.

Landscape III

Landscape III. Check. You can see it's progression in earlier posts. I really want this series to contain at least a dozen paintings but I don't have time to work on any more before I head to NZ. I'm very anxious about letting this project sit for 2 yrs - I just don't see myself finishing after so much time will have passed. I would carry on with it in grad school but I will be focusing on New Zealand wildlife and landscapes for my MFA project. Oh Wyoming landscapes, I will miss you so...

New Zealand...What?!

This week has been nutso in the most beautiful of ways. I had my first grad school interview, celebrated my 35th birthday, and was accepted to grad school. Wait, what?! Yeah its official, I’m totally going to grad school.

When I started selecting schools, I decided to choose one “reach for the stars” school. If someone handed me a plane ticket to go anywhere on the planet, where would I go? I immediately knew exactly the place I wanted to experience and began researching schools.

See the little orange swiggly sliver of land in the bottom right hand corner? That my friends is New Zealand. Massey University Wellington is located on that beautiful sliver of land and it will be my new home for the duration of Massey’s 2 year MFA program. And to think I have an entire two months to plan this move to a land so far away that it is already tomorrow there.

What’s on my to-do list? Passport renewal, sell truck (I am extremely sad to have to part with Baby), find NZ housing, pack stuff in storage, fine tune my MFA project idea, go back to Tejas to see and say adios to the fam, investigate unfun stuff like opening a NZ bank account, cell phone service, etc., and then I need to come up with a ridiculously large amount of cash to cover school, living, and getting my ass on the other side of the world.

There are other cool things to sprinkle in as well like learning the metric system, brushing up on currency exchange rates, and working full-time. Putting the sarcasm aside, there is truly nothing I’d rather be stressed out about. New Zealand, are you ready for this...cause I'm headin' your way.

Barn Owl III

So apparently barn owls are in this season. I have Barn Owl II in the Casa Grande Art Museum show (which sold - thank you baby jesus) and was commissioned to do a similar barn owl painting. Above is Barn Owl III. It's not a fully accurate depiction...the eyes are larger than they would be in reality but I'm going with it.

30 Sketches Project IV Is On!

LET'S DO THIS! Check it...30 SKETCHES PROJECT IV.

Landscape III Progress...

Landscape III stage 5

Making progress on Landscape numero 3. I darkened it a bit with a raw umber wash and added some tree-type things. I adore working on the rocks. Next step...sky. Below are some areas that I really enjoyed working on.

rock-like items

(They remind of little, wobbly thumbprints.)

tree-like items

These poor little guys were washed away a few times in a solvent rain shower. I just kept pulling them back out. All of the shadows were done with smudges of charcoal and I then painted liquin over them to make them permanent.

There is something about these 3 little dudes that I really like. They are totally friends.