2012.

2012 was the bomb dot com. I didn't remember the beginning of the year until I went on a photographic journey with Matt Benyo. I did some rock climbing. My hair changed a lot this year. I got two tattoos. I celebrated my 25th birthday Golden style in New York City, made a YOLO list, went to SLEEP NO MORE, and met Nick Jonas. I saw One Direction. I met Cher Lloyd. This summer was a blur of fun and adventures with my best friend in the whole wide world. Successfully baked cupcakes for him and surprised him for his birthday. Met Larry Bruner who sent us to Europe to fulfill our dreams. Ate lots of Slow's. Met Jeremy Sumpter. Flew first class and back to Europe. Stayed with Cloe in France and put a lock on the infamous lock bridge. Surprised Kory Kalnasy in Italy. Became an aunt. Started hanging out with people I hadn't seen in awhile. Went to New York again and won tickets in the Wicked lottery which got us in the front row for $30. Voted for the first time in my life and spent the holidays with Matt Benyo and his family. Life rules.

Big Rabbit.

I have an obsession with the children's book Big Rabbit's Bad Mood by Ramona Badescu and illustrated by Delphine Durand. It's about this Big Rabbit that develops a bad mood after he calls his friends and they kind of give him the brush off and he gets paranoid and thinks WELL MAYBE THEY'RE HAVING A PARTY WITHOUT ME. YES. THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND THEY ARE PROBABLY EATING COOKIES. Then his Bad Mood follows him and it's this monster thing and it is a great book. My boss calls me Big Rabbit (because Matt Benyo originally called me Big Rabbit anytime I'd get into a mood over something minuscule) and so now it's this ongoing thing at work and it rules.

For Christmas, I got crafty and magicianed a Big Rabbit out of some paper SOMEHOW. Matt Benyo asked me, "How do you know how to do that?" I told him I didn't and I just hoped it would turn out great and it turned out good enough to give. Neil opened it today and LOVEDDDD IT. Mission accomplished. Here is my little Big Rabbit for Neil because he's my favorite boss ever.

By the way, Matt Benyo drew this skull girl. I want to break his knee caps, but he knows I love and support his artistic endeavors endlessly. He inspires me to want to draw again. I'm gonna draw that too.

Marilyn Monroe.

I drew this with Crayola markers using a grid method. I love Andy Warhol. He's my favorite artist. His flat, graphic work has inspired my own. This is an ode to Andy.

The Battle.

The Horse Battle. The Battle Royale. I turned that man riding that bloody horse into a hipster. Subconsciously, I must've related that to Matt Benyo. Who knows. I had planned on drawing this entire scene, but it was far too extravagant and elaborate and I underestimated it. Horses are difficult to draw. My favorite part of this drawing is the leg of the guy on the horse. Click to enlarge and see the details!

Spooktacular!

Tis the season for frights and follies. I love October. I love everything about it. The autumn smell, the crisp air, the crunchy leaves, the apples falling from the trees and the ones that will be turned into cider, the smell of cinnamon in a burning candle, the thrill and anticipation of the fear that builds around the nights, and of course, Halloween. I'm Haunted Housing this weekend and it's been fun so far. Here's a sketch I did; morbidly so. I also painted these Calavera Dia de los Muertos inspired glasses for someone that they in turn gave to someone else for a wedding gift. Painting on glass sucks, but overall I'm happy with the results. Don't mind the terrible quality, but do enlarge for a better view. Happy haunts, boys and ghouls.

Collage Party.

Today, you get 3 for the price of 1. That's an outstanding deal. When I get bored, but don't have any inspiration, I just draw a bunch of these collages. #viciouscycle

EURO-YOLO 2012.

So, I just got back from Europe. EUROPE. I went for 28 days with Matt Benyo (of course) and we went to France (Paris & Nice), Italy (Naples, Rome, Venice, & Florence), & England (LONDON). It was the best adventure I've ever had.

Let's start with how it was even possible to go on this trip.

Matt Benyo and I met a man by the name of Larry Bruner. After talking to Larry about our hopes and dreams and how we wished we could go to Europe, Larry told us to make friends with someone that works for the airlines. Larry left and we thought that was the last we'd see of him, but he came back a little bit later and told us we'd be seeing him again because he was sending us to Paris because HE worked for the airlines! I literally cried. My mom always said if it's too good to be true, it usually is, but Larry pulled through and a week before we took off, we bought our plane tickets to Paris. As a gift to Larry for his kindness, Matt and I worked relentlessly on a Smorgasboard for him which we presented in a frame. As a result of getting this opportunity, we also got to fly FIRST CLASS both to AND from Paris. That's a $6,000 ticket one way. I was literally in shock for the duration of this trip.

This was both of our first times out of the country and a trip that most people spend half a year preparing for, we did in a matter of weeks. Nothing was certain until it happened. I was the lunatic (big shock) and I had a lot of doubts, but somehow, it all came together. Let me tell you, I could not have done this without Matt Benyo. He was the navigator of the trip and navigate us he did. Not to mention I would've been completely useless in Paris if it wasn't for him because his French is phenomenal and he was able to order and all sorts of other things. #lifesaver.

This trip wouldn't have worked without all of the help we received while abroad. Cloe, you made us feel so at ease and made us feel at home. Thank you again. Also thanks to Zoe and Elena for making England truly unforgettable (hi Paul & Amy!) and Kory Kalnasy ('s family) for letting us stay. 

Europe is awesome. If you haven't been, you need to go. France is great. England is incredible (and is the only place that we felt completely robbed on time). Italy is meh. I did eat Pizza everyday in Italy though which ruled AND Venice is absolutely breathtaking, but everywhere else is the pits (especially ROME. Rome sucks).

So, top moments of the trip had to be as follows in no particular order:

- Flying FIRST CLASS.

- River dancing in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.

- Successfully surprising Kory Kalnasy in Naples, Italy because you know there's nothing quite like 2 of your friends from where you live back home showing up on your doorstep 5,000 miles away. 

- Laying underneath the Eiffel Tower at night as it sparkled while eating macarons and laying next to 2 incredible people. This was actually THE best moment.

- Finally staying awake for all of The Dark Knight Rises in Nice, France.

- Attending a nude model drawing in Paris, France and sketching.

- Swimming in the Mediterranean Sea with Matt Benyo and throwing messages in bottles into the sea

- The Party House with Matt Benyo & Kory Kalnasy. 

- The mask shops in Venice.

- Drinking Pimm's and Pimmin' in the garden in England with Matt, Zoe, and Elena.

- Frightening all of the pigeons.

- Attending the Harry Potter studio in England.

- Seeing my 1st show on West End (Phantom of the Opera) which left me elated.

- Being on the Metro and listening to a sing along of Bob Marley's Redemption Song with this awesome guitarist, a man that chimed in and joined him in singing, this Andrew Garfield look alike, a nice man and lady, and Matt Benyo.

- Going to Harrod's.

- Matt Benyo's wardrobe from TopMan and seeing him become Louis Tomlinson right before my eyes.

- Running across 5 lanes of traffic (and 12 streets that converge) at the Arc de Triomphe!

- Attaching a lock at the lock bridge.

-Seeing the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Toulouse-Lautrec, & many more!

- Laying on the ground to admire the Sistine Chapel WITHOUT GETTING CAUGHT!

- Hearing our life anthem in a laundromat while being tattered and torn.

- Drinking Tea in England!

There's so much more that I could add. It was truly incredible. I also splashed myself in fountains I came across in Rome, touched all the stray cats, became obsessed with peaches and peach flavored syrup (thanks Cloe) and violet flavored everything, and got a rad outfit. I wish we had gone longer, but next summer we are going above and beyond. I made YOLO lists for each country as well. We spent our last day in Paris. We went to the top of the Eiffel Tower and that night, sat in the field and watched it sparkle for 2 hours. Here is an in order montage:

I wish I could do it all over again. It was a once in a lifetime experience and we both did it together. Matt said several times how excited he was that we were able to pull this endeavor off on our own without any help and it felt good. One good thing about coming home was that I got to finally meet my Nephew, Dalton Cole. I'm an Aunt!

Jeremy Sumpter.

As my celebrity luck might have it, I met Jeremy Sumpter today at a random bar in Bloomfield Hills. WHAT ARE THE ODDS? In case you don't know, Jeremy Sumpter is most famously known for his role as Peter Pan in the 2003 version and he has stolen my heart since. He literally sat at the table next to ours and we were facing each other. I knew that face! So, I told Matt Benyo it was him, we did some research, found out it was, and I walked to his table and said, "You're Jeremy Sumpter aren't you?' to which he replied, "I AM Jeremy Sumpter! What's your name?" He offered a hug and I asked for a picture and BAM! Magic! I was so excited. Seriously, a celeb crush of mine since he was a teen and what are the odds that he would walk into the place that I was currently at? Seriously made my day and he's gorgeous.

Watercoloring.

Been working with watercolor a bit. Here's Mike Wazowski partying and an ode to Stina Persson. Check her out. She does some great watercolor work. I was experimenting with her technique. Felt good to set the drawing aside for a bit.

Drawing Again.

Been awhile, but I'm getting back into the swing of things. Here's a pen portrait of Charley Harper which was actually a challenge and a collage of things Matt Benyo likes because he did the same thing and I wanted to show him we have different styles. The paper I used bled a lot, but whatever. Trial and error!

Post-It Up.

I like drawing on post-it notes. Maybe because I like to draw small and post-its are a stack of small paper for the taking. I don't know. Here are three I recently drew. I feel like I'm getting somewhere, but I don't know where it is exactly. Click to enlarge!

Matt Benyo's Birthday.

It was Matt Benyo's 21st birthday on Saturday! So on Friday, I prepared a surprise party for him (with the help of Kory Kalnasy and Kevin Scott) and spent way too many hours making cupcakes with little drawings and a nice anchor card that I cut out of wood. For the record, wood is difficult to cut and sand. It was great and there were sparklers and I've never used a sparkler before so that was neat and scary. Matt Benyo was surprised and that was the goal. It was wonderful.

On Saturday, Matt Benyo and I hit the town hard. With a special yolo birthday list in mind, we got fancy and headed to Detroit to go to the casino, eat some saganaki, and explore the beverage world for adults. Well, Matt did, I just sipped sodas.We made our way back to our neck of the woods and went to Kevin's grad party. Kory said that Matt Benyo and I looked like a million bucks. Best compliment ever. 

Overall, I think it was a success. If I won the lottery, this would've been 1,000 times better, but happy birthday, Matt Benyo. I hope you loved it.

The SmorgasBOARD.

What have I been working on for the past few months? THIS BEAST. Matt Benyo has help me come up with a name for this style and it is called the smorgasBOARD. It is a mishmash of things that I put together of your choosing; just like the custom shoes. In this case, Brandi Keeler, a dear friend from CCS, asked me to make this board paired with things she, as well as her boyfriend, Donovan, liked. (Go look at his blog for some other photos of it!) This is all sharpies on illustration board and it measures out to 18 by 18 inches and it is PACKED WITH DETAILS. Let me just say that I never would've finished this when I did if it wasn't for Matt Benyo. He helped me with a big chunk of this board and his determination and willingness to help me hasn't gone unnoticed and I thank him dearly for it. We finished yesterday and drove it down to Brandi and when I turned it around and showed it to her, she screamed, "HOLY SH#%!" It made it completely worth it to hand this precious baby over to her when I saw how excited both Brandi and Don were. I know it will be a great addition to their home and I thank them both for the opportunity to create something so special and unique for them. What's your favorite part? If you're interested in a SmorgasBOARD of your own, let me know and click to enlarge the photos!

Dry Cell.

My friend, Jason, who previously got THIS Red Wings tattoo designed by me, asked me to design him another tattoo. It wasn't a total redesign, but it was a cleaner version, with color, and some minor adjustments that he was happy with. The photos that follow give you a feel for the process I go through when doing a piece. Thumbnails first, bigger version, some tweaking, and finally the finished product (which I made in illustrator). It's still humbling and surreal when someone likes something I did so much that they get it tattooed on them. Click to enlarge!

Playing Ketchup.

Every year I post about my birthday, but this year I was too wrapped up in the celebrations to make a blog. This birthday was, without a doubt, the best birthday I've had. Why? Because it was my GOLDEN BIRTHDAY. I turned 25 on the 25th! For my birthday, I got two new tattoos. YOLO, to remind me to be daring this birthday, and Stay Gold, because I've always been a fan of the quote, but also because it represents my Golden Birthday. 

   

Where better to be for my birthday than New York City? I went with two of the greatest guys I know, Matt Benyo and Kory Kalnasy, and together, we successfully completed my YOLO birthday list. Enlarge to read!
 

In addition to seeing a celebrity, Kory got him to sign that list. This is me meeting Nick Jonas and getting a polaroid with him! Matt Benyo suggested Nick sign it:  

Kory totally surprised me at midnight outside of Cody's dorm with Matt Benyo, Cody, and Kory singing to me. Kory made me this giant robot card and had a red velvet cupcake for me! I was so happy! Kory also stole that 2 and 5 from a gas station.  

Matt Benyo and I went to this thing in New York called Sleep No More and it is so hard to describe. Even putting it into words does it no justice, but it's like you step back in time to the 40's and you get a playing card and white mask (pictured below) and you wear it around 6 floors, but you can't take it off or talk and you follow actors and actresses around (they don't talk either) and you piece together the story they're portraying and each floor is different. Floor 4 had shops, Floor 2 had a bar with a live band, Floor 1 had a cemetery. It was SO COOL. It's interactive and it loops 3 times throughout the night giving you the opportunity to follow different people and see things from different perspectives. Matt Benyo and I were going to split up, but when we walked in, it was dark and scary so we stuck close, but while waiting in the bar to head inside, I was asked to come back to the bar at 8:45 so I went to the bar and I got taken to a secret floor where I was left with this Silent Hill looking nurse who wheeled me down a long, dark hallway in an old fashioned wheelchair and it was just the two of us and I almost died. The night concluded with a hanging at a banquet surrounded by 400 masked voyeurs. It really was one of the coolest and most surreal experiences I've ever had and I know Matt Benyo agreed. We couldn't stop talking about it afterwards and even now, he smells things that remind him of it. I wish I had a time machine. I'd love to go back. Since then, Matt Benyo and I have gone to Chicago for pizza, Jamba, & good jams! And even more recently, we joined our friend, Rhiannon, and went to see ONE DIRECTION at the Fox Theatre. It was sold out, but Rhiannon and I waited 7 hours and finally managed to get 3 tickets in the 9th row! We had the best time ever!

So, that's where I am. ALL CAUGHT UP. Art to come next!

HBD, RUSSELL BRAND!

OKAY. I have not been on blogger since February and it has a new look and I am having a mini meltdown. Jesus. I was prepared to make a comeback, but now I have to overcome this technological hurdle. Let's get back on track. TODAY IS RUSSELL BRAND's 37TH BIRTHDAY! I love him dearly. He hosted the Video Music Awards last night and I was smiling like an idiot the entire time. This is my homage to him. Check back on the blog. I'm going to be updating every other day. The next entry will be about my life and have a polaroid in it!

PUSA!

Hot diggity dog; THIS IS MY 600TH POST! This is also my homage to President's Day featuring Georgie and Honest Abe. If I could've used photoshop, I would've edited the flag out because I realized after I did it, I didn't like it, but all I had was preview. This is what I did at work today for 2 hours because it was dead.

Hummingbird Heartbeat.

Shelby bought me this really cool book from the MoMA. It's a skywriting journal and it has pages with clouds, the sky, & vast landscapes and they're all by this photo guy (whose name is slipping my mind because I just woke up) and you can draw all over the pages. This is my first drawing. I feel like I can't just draw whatever in this book; it has to be AWESOME. This will be a challenge. More to come.

Les Miserables.

I drew this on a post-it note and it is inspired by this version of Empty Chairs at Empty Tables. However, the actual piece is derived from the ghost(s) in the song. I'm coming around and drawing more. We all have our dry spells.

Inspiration.

I've got a piece I'm posting tomorrow, but in the mean time, here are some inspiring things. I came across this Joker picture on my friend Scott's tumblr (and obviously I go way back with the JOKER) and I came across this Aubrey Beardsley piece entitled Peacock Skirt in a compilation book about art over the ages. I like it a lot.