Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween

Hope everyone has a grand time trick or treating this Halloween. Toshi our Shiba couldn't decide which costume he wanted to wear. Pumpkin or Space Pup....it's a hard decision but I think he's more partial to being crew-member for NASA.



Cat's really don't do the costume thing (no matter how hard we try!), but they do love investigating pumpkins.



Our pumpkins after we carved them up. I went with a witch cat silhouette while Matt made a grinning pumpkin. Happy Halloween!

Monday, October 29, 2012

Bad Dad's show at Spoke Art

Last weekend was the opening to Bad Dad's art tribute to the wonderful Wes Anderson films at Spoke Art. It's always hard for me to choose what film to depict for this show, because I love each of Anderson's films for different reasons. But one constant throughout the films (except for Bottle Rocket) is Bill Murray playing some eccentric character. So that is the basis for my piece.


Wes Anderson Murrays
11.25 x 7.25 inches
Gouache & ink on paper
© Nicole Gustafsson 2012
SOLD

Photo via Spoke Art, by Colin M. Day

There's lots of sweet photos from the opening reception. Lots of people dressed up as there favorite characters. Check out the photos on Spoke Arts facebook page. And watch some more Wes Anderson films while your at it :)

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

New Postcards in Shop!



I've created a new postcard set featuring details from my tree town paintings. The set comes with four different designs.

They are currently available in my shop.

PS. If you really like this tree series, some of these original paintings are still up for grabs at Spoke Art

Monday, October 22, 2012

Pumpkin Patch + Friends


Every year we make a yearly pilgrimage to the Country Harvest Pumpkin patch. We discovered this pumpkin patch several years ago while in college. And even though our college friends have since moved to different towns and states, we all still try to get together once a year, which usually happens in the fall season so we still get to go to the pumpkin patch together.

My Polaroid was a little off center but that's part of the charm of these old school cameras right?


The pumpkin patch was actually really busy (this picture doesn't really do the heat and crowds justice), but the family that runs the place does a really great job of coordinating everything and there's always yummy food, new play area's for the kids, and they added more hayrack rides (to the pumpkins in the fields) to compensate for the crowds.

With the incredibly dry summer here in the midwest I didn't think there would be much of a pumpkin selection but all the pumpkins we big and plentiful.

I went with one of these bluish-gray pumpkins. Not sure of the official type of pumpkin they are but they are a lot heavier than the traditional orange pumpkins.

This is Matt's photo of our pumpkin haul. They have these little carts to wheel your pumpkins around while you look at the other sites. 

The pumpkin patch has an area with farm yard animals and we see this goat every year. I think he/she loves all the attention the visitors give. 

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We also got the chance to try out some new board games with the group. First up was Mystery Express and I think it is my new board-gaming love. It appealed to my love of mysteries and if your a fan of Clue you'll love this game. It was dubbed "clue for grownups" because of the extra elements you have to solve. 


Next up for the board games was Zombicide. Our group ended up not completing our mission...aka getting totally destroyed by the zombie horde, but after playing it now we have some better ideas on how to not be overcome by the zombies. (sorry for the grainy photos!)


The only down side to these games is that you usually need 4 - 6 players to play. That said it also makes them the perfect games to play with your friends.


Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Fall Camping

Last weekend we went camping with my parents at Branched Oak outside of Lincoln. It hasn't rained in quite a while here, let alone thunderstorm, but each night wind, lighting, and lots of rain poured down on our tents. It was still a grand time and the days were nice and warm.

Toshi our pup likes to be part of the crew. He's been having issues with allergies but he was enjoying sniffing the crisp fall air.

 My sisters stopped by for the afternoon too and I had to get a family photo with the whole group with my trusty Polaroid!


Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Original Art added to my Etsy Shop!



I've been adding more small original artwork to my Etsy Shop as we gear up towards the holiday season. These paintings are all hand painted by myself using gouache paint with ink. They come archivally matted, and are ready for gift giving (or to claim for yourself!).



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 I have also been working on new Christmas card designs. These ones feature my woodland characters with a little holiday cheer. The original paintings are currently available in my shop here. The greeting cards featuring these new designs will be available in my Etsy shop this November.


Friday, October 05, 2012

Cat Art Show - Benefit for the Cat House

Our local screen printing shop/gallery Screen Ink is hosting an event next month to benefit The Cat House - a no kill animal shelter and adoption facility here in Lincoln, Nebraska. I love my feline friends and was happy to make a piece for the show.

Here are a few process images from drawing to completed piece. I get asked quite often "how long does a painting take you", well..... it depends a lot on how well I know the subject, size, if things are going "well" with the painting layer. But this specific cat painting (3.5 x 5 inches) took me about three hours.

The final scanned image. This painting will be part of the show, and proceeds from gallery sales will be donated to The Cat House. So if your in Lincoln stop on by for First Friday in November at Screen Ink!


Monday, October 01, 2012

Zombie Show at Bottleneck Gallery

The undead are coming....this Friday at the Bottleneck Gallery in Brooklyn, NY! What better way to kick off the autumn season than a zombie show. Here is my contribution for the show:

Zombie Cats Just Wanna Have Fun
9 x 9 inches
Original Painting - Gouache & Ink on Rives BFK
© Nicole Gustafsson 2012
SOLD
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A portion of the proceeds will go towards American Red Cross. See the flyer for complete artist lineup!
Can't Beat Em, Join Em: The Zombie Show
October 5th - October 28th
Opening Reception: Friday, Oct 5th from 7-10pm
Brooklyn, NY