Hey Ma! I'm in a Magazine!

VoyageMichigan recently did an interview with me about my work and I'm seriously thrilled that I can share it! You can read the interview by clicking HERE. Special thanks to Maria Filar for recommending me for this. I'm pumped!

Hobbit Holes.

One of the greatest experiences of my life was visiting the Hobbiton movie set in New Zealand. It allowed me the opportunity to get up close and personal with the hobbit holes seen in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films. I've been working on my digital painting skills by painting them.

My most recent hobbit hole is this one with the blue door. I drew it based on a photo I took while there. Here's included a photo of me there! Andddd I spent a lot of time drawing/painting it!

This one with the blue door took me 12 hours. No exaggeration. I did it on procreate. In this particular image with the three different paintings, I wanted to show my progression. Each piece is separate. The first piece took me 45 minutes and it was more of a study. The second piece took me 6.5 hours and it was the same reference as the first. The third is my most recent and it's the one that took me 12 hours with a different reference.

I printed one of them to hang up. I'm so happy with it. I hope that you, too, can share in my appreciation for progress and hobbit holes because both are magical.

TIGER KING COOKIE!

I was approached by this awesome baker named Candace and she asked if she could use my Joe Exotic and Tiger to make a cookie out of for fun. I told her absolutely! She finished it up and posted it today and I AM BLOWN AWAY! You can check out her other cookies and beautiful work HERE! How friggin cool is this?! You can still get the Joe Exotic sticker on my etsy! Don't miss out!

The Wienermobile.

My love for the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile knows no bounds. I have been obsessed with it for as long as I can remember. I wish I took a picture with it every time I went to see it when I was younger, but I have started doing it over the last few years. As you can see, my hair color changes in each of them. I have bought many a membership to the Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan just to bask in its presence. I am so in love with it, in fact, I got a tattoo because it's one of my favorite things in the world. I recently whipped up this little drawing of myself with the wienermobile. Anyway, I just want Oscar Mayer to take me for a ride and send me some sort of memorabilia with the wienermobile on it. I would actually die.

30th Birthday Round Up!

Man, what a whirlwind. My life has been absolutely awesome. The past two weeks, I've been celebrating my birthday. I went to Nashville for delicious food, stopped by Chicago so Matt could meet Lita, got the best birthday surprise of my life (a video that Matt Benyo put together of all of my awesome friends wishing me a happy birthday/including a memory/just saying super nice things about me), my mom cooked me dinner and dessert, got a tattoo on my birthday (thanks to Matt) to commemorate the start of this new decade, and I finally met/pet/fed A SLOTH. Pinch me, man. I ALSO whipped up a little Red Velvet mini cake from paper (in case you missed it). So, here's some photos of my best moments. Click to enlarge and thank you to everyone that helped make this the best birthday I've ever had.

The Rabbit Hole.

Today, my little sister, Shelby, and I decided to exchange birthday gifts. Her birthday is March 22nd and mine is April 25th, but she is really terrible at holding onto gifts. She got me some great ones. She got me Space Jam on DVD, some magic wish dust, an amazing customized Psyduck watercolor by my friend, Crystal, a nice card with some Lush cash, and a Limited Edition Satanic Coloring Book (that isn't as weird as you'd think). I was cracking up. Then, it was my turn. I made my sister a book full of inside jokes and pictures. She loved it. I wrote her a nice note. She cried. I got her some cool gifts, too. I also colored this White Rabbit because Shelby loves Alice in Wonderland. It was how we kicked the gift giving off. I hit a home run with this gift and I knew I would. It's all about the personal, homemade touches when it comes to me. I would pick a card with a nice handwritten note in it over a "thing" any day. Those are the important things; words. I like to extend that courtesy to others when I think about how I can impact their day. She felt great about everything and I did too. Mission accomplished. Happy early birthday, Shelby. I love you a lot. LYLAS. You're my spicy boy.

Drawlloween 2015: Day 2!

Today is Devil day or Wednesday Addams day or whatever you want to call it, but I'm posting this beast that I've been working on for the past month. I wanted a sweet looking denim jacket so I gave my old one a make over. Additionally, I painted this entire back panel with acrylic paint of some of my favorite halloween time things. That works for devil day. I bought a slew of studs, spikes, and safety pins and Matt Benyo helped a lot with the sewing of the fabric (and giving me wings). I mean, if this is going to be an over-the-top jacket, let's make it over-the-top, amirightoramiright? Anyway, I love it. I also love that we just did this photoshoot that makes it look like it was made for tumblr. Special thanks to Matt Benyo for taking the photos! Click to enlarge to see the details!

Custom Kid Kicks!

Matt Benyo and I were fortunate enough to be asked by our friend, Elise, to create a pair of custom kicks for her son, Jonah. It was our first pair of Kids shoes and we were excited. We just finished these little suckers up. We went through about 20 sharpies and it was NUTS. We delivered them to Jonah today and he was having a fit over Foxy from Five Nights at Freddy's. Click to enlarge!

Photo cred: Matt Benyo

Michigan SmorgasBOARD!

GUYS, I'M STILL HERE. Matt Benyo and I busted out a Detroit/Michigan themed smorgasboard for a friend of ours. Kari asked us to complete a piece for a silent auction for Christy's Legacy of Hope. We didn't have any ideas, but while camping, Matt suggested a smorgasboard and it took off. We finished this in about 3 days and it's a completely 50/50 collaboration. Sharpies and a few microns for the smaller sections were used. Afterwards, we had to set up a faux studio to capture it. If you are interested in a print, email me or leave a comment because we're getting a limited number of these suckers printed up! Click to enlarge!

Post Halloween!

Yesterday I was Mick Foley/Mankind/Cactus Jack ALL IN ONE. The best part about my costume? The mask. Matt Benyo single handedly made my costume amazing. This was just a thin layer of foam from Michael's and using paint and markers, Matt made this thing look like LEATHER! I did the gold rivets with a sharpie, but those are insignificant compared to the overall mask. I was in love with my costume and I won the costume contest at our friend's party! $10 gift certificate to Timmy Ho's! I tried to Mandible Claw a few people, but Mr. Socko enjoyed himself nonetheless. Matt was this cool skeleton inspired by Tate from season 1 of American Horror Story. Also, his hair is corn rowed. I did that. Click to see the details!

In honor of today's CELEBRACION of Dia de los Muertos, I whipped up a skeleton musician. His music is in memory of those that have passed and so his music speaks to the spirits. I wanted it to be fun and colorful. Matt Benyo said the word of the day is simplicity so I tried to keep that in mind. I used illustrator! Check it out!

Wrestling in 1999.

For the past 2 weeks, I've been laboring away on this giant piece. I used expo markers on a dry erase board to create the magic of WWF wrestling circa 1999. Now, I did leave off a few key wrestlers and I am sad I didn't get around to finishing them, but I got most of them AND I am aware that King and JR should be switched (Thanks, Matt Benyo), but after I drew them I didn't want to redraw them. I really like how this turned out. I've gotten better with the expo marker (see my first expo collage from 3 years ago: Harry Potter) and I am proud of this. Here I am, standing next to it for size comparison, holding the Sword of Destiny and rockin the pack. If you're down with this collage, give me a HELL YEAH! Click to enlarge for details!

Demon.

I'm dead. Or evil. Or a ghost. Or whatever. But I'm not a zombie. Make up job compliments of Matt Benyo. Happy Halloween, boys and ghouls. 

Old Costumes.

My aunt posted this link on my cousin's facebook and I was curious so I took a look. Instant nightmares. There's nothing scarier than vintage costumes. These two particular costumes really freaked me out. Drawings tomorrow!

 

Scary Sunday.

Taking a break from making things and posting this photo I saw Elizabeth Wight post. She has that whole creepy thing on lock. Vintage scary is way scarier than anything these days. So, back to the drawing board tomorrow!

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.

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!