Desert Bus for Hope 6

It's that wonderful week of the year where gamers and fellow-nerds tune into Desert Bus for Hope. All week long, the dedicated individuals who run this charity event play the game Desert Bus and raise money for Child's Play Charity, who donates games and toys for children in hospitals. There are guest callers, live auctions, silent auctions, giveaways, and all kinds of excitement going on!

UPDATE: Thank you everyone for tuning in and yea to the winning bidders!

This is my third year donating an item for their auction and I love being involved and meeting new people through this Desert Bus event. The Legend of Zelda is one of my favorite game series so that is what I chose to paint this year. It is a mystery just how Link is able to carry all those items in his inventory so my painting depicts Link traveling Hyrule with all his stuff. Zelda also likes to travel the world and her kingdom, so I made a companion painting featuring her as well.

I also debossed the mat's with the Triforce symbol (to be extra nerdy!). These paintings will be up for the live auction HERE on Wednesday, Nov 21st at 12:00pm EST (or 2:00 CST). You must have a donor account to be able to bid in the chat. (see the FAQ for more info on this).

Update: SOLD for $1515.15!!! 

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This year I am also doing a CUSTOM PAINTING based on the video game of the winning bidders choice. I get a lot of requests for video game commissions, so if you are interested or emailed me in the past for a custom piece, this is your chance!!! Again all the money goes towards Child's Play Charity so it's a double win.

The silent auction for the custom painting 5x7 based on the video game of your choice goes live Wed, November 21st at 6:00AM (PST). Click here to go to the auction link.

Update: SOLD for $1818.18!!!

The painting above is the "Custom Painting" winner from Desert Bus for Hope two years ago, and the clients game choice was Super Mario Galaxy. I had not played the game but had the fun of doing a little "research" and playing the game. The music was amazing and being a Mario fan it was great to see such an interesting world for Mario to be in.

Tune in to Desert Bus for Hope and check it out. There are a lot of really great items being auctioned, and awesome people visiting in and doing what they can to help earn money for the charity.  

A few upcoming shows and sneak peeks.

There are lots of great shows coming up this fall. For those of you that follow me on the twitter, facebook, and instagram world you've probably already seen these little sneak peeks of my works in progress, but here is some more info on the shows and events these items are for.

First up this October is The Zombie Show at Bottleneck Gallery in NYC. While I am really creeped out by zombies, I still wanted to come up with something for this show. Here is a detail of my painting "Zombie Cats Just Wanna Have Fun". Cute, cuddly, slightly undead felines can still enjoy the catty things in life despite their zombie status.

Can't Beat Em, Join Em: The Zombie Show

October 5th - October 28th

Opening Reception: Friday, Oct 5th from 7-10pm

Bottleneck Gallery

Brooklyn, NY

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Coming up this November 9th is the PRISMA Artists Collective show Milk at Fine Grime Gallery located in Bath, UK. Our collective consists of 30 artists from around the world who chat (thanks to the internets) about art, materials, and help navigate the art world together. It's great to have such a great group of friends to talk with :) 

I will have more details on this show when it get's a little closer. Above is my white Irish Elk painting for the show.

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I am very excited to participate again this year in the Desert Bus for Hope event! The past two years I've donated a video game inspired painting to be auctioned off for the event. Proceeds go towards the Childs Play charity that donates games for kids to play in hospitals. You might reconize the two characters above from one of my favorite game series The Legend of Zelda. 

I originally was just going to do a painting of Link, but thought Zelda needed her own piece too so I ended up doing two different pieces. This original paintings will be available for auction for the event. I will be posting the exact times and dates they go up for auction later in November.

Tune in later this November to watch the Desert Bus online, there are always lots of guests, exciting auctions and lots of fun!

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That's just a few of the shows coming up. There is also a Wes Anderson show, Craftacular one-night event in Lincoln, and a few local holiday shows as well!! And last but not least, is a two-person show in California that I will be part of and FINALLY TRAVELING TO CALIFORNIA to be at...I am very excited for the show!!!

Old School Video Game Art Show at Gallery 1988

Tomorrow is the opening for The Old School Video Game Art Show at Gallery 1988. 

Looks like a really awesome lineup of artists to reminisce about their favorite games.

The Old School Video Game Art Show

Gallery 1988 Venice

Reception: Friday, September 16th 7:00pm

Show runs Sept 16th - October 8th

Hide and Seek, 7 x 14.5 inches, Gouache & Ink on paper, © Nicole Gustafsson 2011, SOLD

One of my favorite video games is the Legend of Zelda series. My personal favorite from the series is Windwaker which influenced the style and characters in this painting. I am very much looking forward to the new game coming out this year. I got a little peek of it at PAX and it looks awesome!

I become quite fond of the  Bokoblin's (little green guys with torches) when working on this piece. I want to think of myself to be somewhat-like princess Zelda, but really I think I'm more like a Bokoblin just hanging out, enjoying some of the scenery and being a little puzzled :)

If your in the area this is a show not to miss! Say hi to all the little game sprites for me :)

Desert Bus for Hope!

I love playing video games. I grew up playing Mario with my friends and sisters and lots of fun times then and now. I was happy to donate a piece of art (and a custom piece) for Desert Bus for Hope to raise funds for Child's Play who provides games, books, and toys for children in hospitals.

Child's Play was created by web comic Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik of Penny Arcade.
"Since 2003, we’ve set up and organized Child’s Play, a game industry charity dedicated to improving the lives of children with toys and games in our network of over 40 hospitals worldwide. In four short years, you as a community have answered the call and come together to raise millions of dollars."

"Treasure!" 5  x 7, Gouache & Ink, 2010

My pieces on the silent auction go live tomorrow. One of my favorite games was "The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker", and I based my painting around Link treasure hunting for rupees.

Bid on my painting "Treasure!" based on the video game "Legend of Zelda: Windwaker" here! SOLD for $1,500!

Bid on my custom piece (original painting based on your favorite video game) here!  SOLD for $1,702!

There's lots of great artwork artwork and bid get some really cool stuff, while providing children in hospitals with gifts to brighten their day.