Posts Tagged ‘Artwork’

So, I got this GREAT idea last month. You know how every day is National Something Day? Like, National Donut Day, which is one of my personal favorites. Well, for every day of the year there are actually multiple things honoring all kinds of random shit for that particular day. There is even a National Day Calendar to keep track of all of them. Take today, for example. You may not know it. In fact, you probably shouldn’t know it and I almost feel bad taking up your time telling you, but today is National Cheese Curd Day. It’s also National Grouch Day as well as National I Love Lucy Day. Why do any of these things get a day? I have no idea, but back on September 19 it was National Talk Like A Pirate Day. And this is where my GREAT idea came from. I figured I could use the absurdity of some of these National Days as a prompt for something to draw.

True to form, I did it once and then never again. I actually attempted a few more, but ditched those digital doodles because other things took priority. I do love the idea though and totally encourage you to give it a try if you find yourself stumped on what to draw on any particular day. What made it a GREAT idea to me is the hashtag possibilities. Obviously, I am not the first person to think of this. National Talk Like A Pirate Day was trending on Twitter and there were a lot people using #nationaltalklikeapirateday on Instagram, so it could be a good way to find some like minded individuals as well as promote your art and maybe pick a up a few fans along the way. Ok, enough jibber jabber. Here’s the time lapse.

Enjoy!

Thanks for reading and watching and hanging out.
See ya!

– Jeff

* * * * * * *
Was that enough? Are you not satisfied yet? Well then…
Check out these “stump paintings” from five years ago.
If you like painting time lapses here are some more.

A couple of weeks ago I came home to these drawings waiting for me on the kitchen table.

Obviously, I love them. It’s just so cute. In the second photo you can see one sad girl, which is funny because he usually makes everything happy. My guess is he wasn’t pleased with the sad girl, but tried it out because that’s how I drew it, then immediately drew another one, but with a smile. I can only assume that he circled the happy one to designate it as the one to pay attention to.

As adorable as it as that he would copy me, make no mistake, this kid does not need any inspiration. Check these out. He has his own style totally unique to him. I love these.

He drew these because it’s October and he’s super excited about Halloween. He calls them Spooky Chomps. Even with the spiky teeth the Spooky Chomps are still cute and happy. One of my all time favorite things he’s drawn though is this window drawing. His grandparents keep glass markers in the house and as soon as Elliott found them he went to town on the slider.

Oh, I love it so much! For years he’s had a thing for drawing cyclops and triclops creatures, but he always makes them so cute and endearing that you just want to squeeze them.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking!
– Jeff

* * * * * * * *

Not sick of me yet? Great!
Check out this Pumpkin Spice post from five years ago.
Watch a time lapse of me painting a Blockhead Owl.
Follow on Instagram: @jeffclaassen

This is how the main art wall looked when I got to work this morning.

The goal that I am always striving for in my shop is to have 100 pieces of art hanging on the walls. And if I can’t fit that many on the walls then I am almost willing to say “on display” because I do have matted prints that sit on a shelf and every once in a while I have framed pieces on a shelf too. But here’s the thing, I feel like that’s cheating because it would be SOOOOOOO easy to mat a bunch of prints in those clear sleeves you’ve probably seen around. I have nothing against those and I have them too, but I could easily order a bunch of mats and literally have 100 pieces of art “on display” within one week.

As of this typing I now have 38 pieces of art on the walls. I have 10 matted/sleeved prints and 2 framed prints on a shelf. So, technically, I have 50 art pieces on display. I’m exactly halfway to meeting my goal, but that doesn’t discourage me. It gives me something to work towards. This goal is almost unattainable because every time I sell a piece it’s like a step backwards, but I want to sell pieces, so this is one of the few goals in life where taking a step backwards works in my favor. Trust me, if I never meet this goal, but continue to sell artwork I’m a winner at the end of the day. With that said, today was a day where I was able to add pieces to the wall and here’s how that went.

I started the day with these 6 prints mounted on wood panels that needed to get wired and hung.

Wire is one of those things an artist can never have enough of. When I buy it I usually buy a few packs at a time and always think, “I’ll never run of of wire again!” Until I do.

This image is from a few years ago, but I’ve never had it available as a print on wood until a couple of weeks ago.

This is what the back of my limited edition prints on wood look like. Title written all sloppy like, numbered edition of 50, signed, dated, and wired. Ready to hang before you even get home (or right out of the box if you order online.)

I usually put this style of framed print on a different wall, but between you and me there was some space to fill on the main art wall and these fit perfectly. These are a couple of classic images that I haven’t had available for awhile, so it’s fun to see them again.

Here is the before photo. I posted it at the top of this post, but figured I’d put it here too just so you don’t have to scroll up and down the screen to compare the before and after photos.

There are only 7 new things on the wall, so it’s not a drastic difference, but it’s looking a little more full, which is good.

And that’s it for now. Day 5 of Blogtober is complete.

Thanks for reading!
– Jeff

(* Disclaimer: Although the title of this post is “New Painting And Video” the truth is that the painting was made last summer, but it is new to you and to this blog. With that said, let’s continue.)

I don’t talk much in my videos. Or at least I try not to because it makes me cringe when I have to watch/listen to myself when I’m editing video. Anyway, how this painting came to be is very interesting to me and I wanted to share the story. If you’re only here for the video then feel free to scroll down and skip all this gibberish. If you’re a loyal reader/voyeur of this blog you might remember my “Secret To Selling Art” post from last August (I can’t even remember what I ate for dinner last night, so if you remember my blog posts from 11 months ago you should seek professional help.) Well, the story of this painting is even crazier than the story about the painting from that post. In the chance that you don’t know, I am a bit obsessed with stories about synchronicity or, for the layman that’s not referencing Wikipedia while typing their blog trying to appear smarter than they actually are, “meaningful coincidences”. That’s right, coincidences do not exist. Everything happens for a reason. Sometimes we don’t understand the reason, but let’s not get into that here because it’s a rabbit hole best saved for another day. I’m also quite fascinated with the butterfly effect. I think the two theories work hand in hand to some extent. Anyway, enough psychobabble, let’s get on with it already.

Back in 2008-2009 my sister and her husband opened a pizza restaurant. One of their employees, Amy, liked my artwork. Well, let’s be honest, ALL of their employees probably adored my artwork 😜. Fast forward 10 years or so and Amy walks into my shop in Paso Robles. We chit chat about Pizza Fusion and whatnot. I have this canvas print on the wall called “Gone But Not Forgotten” and she tells me it would look great in this black and white themed room in her house.

She wants to buy it, but it’s not quite what she’s looking for. She wants something bigger and vertical and, if possible, with a little gold added for fun because the room she wants to hang it in has some gold accents. Naturally, I said I could paint her one.

And that’s how a commission painting comes about. Some of them take 10 years to happen and others happen in 10 seconds. Here’s a time lapse of making Amy’s painting.

Bored yet? No? Well, shit…let’s just keep this thing going, shall we? So, what does this have to do with synchronicity? Remember, “synchronicity” means “meaningful coincidence”. You would never think that my sister and her husband opening a pizza restaurant would result in me getting a commission job 10 years later. Amy walking into my shop was not just a meaningless coincidence. Synchronicity was at work here. It had been years in the making and I find that incredibly fascinating.

Is there a lesson to be learned here? Probably. As cliché as it sounds, good things can come from anywhere and they can be totally unexpected. I think the lesson here is to continue to put yourself out there. Being an artist can be frustrating and it’s easy to get jaded when things feel like they are not working in your favor. I can’t tell you how often I think of deleting my Instgram account and my YouTube channel while spiraling in a fit of frustration. But, I don’t because I remember stories like this one and remind myself that we just never know when something we do (like meeting somebody 10 years ago) will have a positive impact (getting commissioned to make a painting) on us later.

What are your thoughts or crazy stories about synchronicity? I’d love to hear them.

Thanks for reading!
– Jeff

* * * * * * * * * *
Still not bored? Wow…
Then you should follow me on Twitter.
And probably Instagram too. Before I delete it.
And while you’re at it, what the heck, check out some of my videos. Before I delete them too.
Also, please share this with all your artsy friends. Thanks!

I’ve been a little obsessed this past month with painting these 3″ square canvases and this is the newest batch. All of these are available in my shop. They are all one of a kind originals and the awesome little easel is included.

This is Eli. He likes chillin’, long walks on the beach, and gobbling space cake.

Meet Arturo. This little bun bun is all about those late nights sipping wine on the couch while talking to himself.

Henry The Bunny. This little bun-dle of bunny is quite the sassy whipper snapper, but that only makes him more lovable.

Say hello to Russ. He likes hunting, fishing, and playing Parcheesi.

These are $30 each and make great Valentine’s presents except Valentine’s Day was last week, so it looks like I posted this late. But not too late, because they still make great President’s Day presents except that was on Monday and people don’t give presents for that. You know what though, tomorrow is National Margarita Day and that seems like the perfect excuse to buy a painting.

Cheers!
– Jeff

* * * * * * *
If you don’t want this party to end…
check out some of my videos.
and follow the grams.

I posted this photo on Instagram back in September.

After this the mini canvases sat. And sat. Then they sat some more. They sat all the way until mid-January. That’s 4 months of sitting. Obviously, other projects I had in the works took priority over these three inch square art pieces. But why? I could have just set aside one night to finish them. Procrastination and the inability to prioritize efficiently are two traits I’d like to delete from the hard drive of my personality. Just drag them straight into the trash can. Ughh, I’ll do that later. Anyway, I am very happy to have finally finished them.

Thankfully, they sold fast. The only one still available is this dude.

“Willy”
3″ x 3″ – mixed media on canvas.
He’s available to purchase on my site.

Once I finally got the mini paintings finished and on display in my retail shop it got me excited to start a new batch. Here’s the first one.

This little bunny is named Martin. He’s already found a new home, but I am on my way to the art store now to pick up more mini canvases. I want to say I’d like to paint a couple dozen of these, but let’s be honest. If it took me 4 months to paint, essentially, 5 of these who knows how long it could take to paint 24 of them. Time will tell. Don’t hold your breath.

Thanks for looking!
– Jeff

* * * * *
If you want to keep this party going…
Follow me on the IG: @jeffclaassen
Check out my videos.

Today I have 3 new blockhead paintings to show you. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you’ve probably already seen them. And if not, then you’re seeing them for the first time and that’s cool. There are a lot of things I would love to see for the first time again. For some reason, the movies Matrix and Fight Club come to mind. Or even The Sixth Sense. Anyway…I hope you enjoy these. If you’d like to add any of these to your art collection they are all available in my online shop.

“Simon The Owl”
3.5″ x 7″ – mixed media on wood
Available here.

“Sydney”
3.5″ x 7″ – mixed media on wood
Available here.

“Ritchie”
3.5″ x 5″ – mixed media on wood
Available here.

Thanks for looking!
– Jeff

In case you don’t want this fun to end:
– Check out my time lapse painting videos!
– Visit my shop Viva Paso at 1211 Pine St in Paso Robles, CA – online at www.vivapaso.com
– Listen to our podcast, Live Work Love.

“Little Franklin”
6″ x 6″ – mixed media on wood

“Big Thomas”
6″ x 6″ – mixed media on wood

Happy to add two more to the “Hunnuh” series. Are they bunnies? Are they dogs? They’re hunnuh’s!

Both of these can by found in my online shop and both would entertain you for years to come. You know what they say, “there’s nothing as lovable as a hunnuh.”

Thanks for looking!
– Jeff

It’s been a long time since I’ve painted a phone case and, in fact, thought my days of painting them were over. But no. Here is the latest hand painted phone case. You could say it’s part vlog, part how to. Either way, I hope you enjoy it. And if you’re interested in getting my artwork on your phone case please check out all the options at society6.com/jeffclaassen/cases.

Thanks!

These are the first four paintings I’ve made in the new year. I’ve got a couple of bigger pieces in the works, but it feels good to get something new posted. So, here you go!

“Marshall”
4″ x 4″ – mixed media on wood

“Skye”
4″ x 4″ – mixed media on wood

“Rocky”
4″ x 4″ – mixed media on wood

“Zuma”
4″ x 4″ – mixed media on wood

As always, thanks for looking!
– Jeff

I just finished these little 4″ square paintings yesterday. Or maybe the day before. This 90+ degree heat where I live makes my brain all fuzzy. Anyway…
I have four new paintings available in the shop now. They are all 4″ x 4″ on wood and are $40 each, plus shipping. Since they are brand spanking new you can use the code “EARLYBIRD” to get 20% off for the next 24 hours. Like that old phrase goes, “The Early Bird Gets 20% Off” or something like that. If you’d like to add any of these paintings to your art collection or send them to somebody you’ve been stalking, simply click the image and you’ll be taken directly to my shop. Also, I highly suggest using the Paypal option for payment because the other method takes about 3 days to clear, which will totally delay shipping. Here we go!

“French Dude”

“Let’s Escape”

“Let’s Hug”

“Tour Guide”

When I come up with titles for my paintings it is usually after I have photographed them and am saving them on my computer. I need a title at that point because I refuse to save photos named “IMG4169” or whatever the camera auto saves each image as. So, when I was saving all these I was listening to French music and that totally influenced the title for each of these paintings. I hope you enjoy them.

If you have any trouble ordering or the EARLYBIRD code doesn’t work, let me know and I’ll help you out.

Thanks for your support!
– Jeff

I’ve been really into drawing and painting on chipboard lately. Chipboard is basically a thick paperboard made from reclaimed paper stock. It sounds fancy, but you see it used quite a bit for things like keeping photos flat when being shipped, which is actually why I have so much of it. I use it when I mail drawings or prints to people. Anyway, I think black ink looks great on it and it’s a nice alternative to the standard white paper. Right now I have 10 available and they are a mix of Sharpie marker, brush pen, house paint and acrylic ink. If you’d like to purchase any of these simply click on the picture and the rest is easy. Oh, if you do make a purchase I highly suggest using the Paypal option because the other option (Stripe) takes about 3 days longer to process. Here we go…

“The Repair Man”
5″ x 7″ – $15, plus shipping. Order here.

“Floppy Bun”
5″ x 7″ – $15, plus shipping. Order here.

“The Almond Milk Man”
5″ x 7″ – $15, plus shipping. Order here.

“Donut Owl”
5″ x 7″ – $20, plus shipping. Order here.

I made a quick time lapse of this next one.

“Benny The Owl”
8″ x 10″ – $20, plus shipping. Order here.

“The Carnies Are Coming”
8″ x 10″ – $20, plus shipping. Order here.

“Barfly”
8″ x 10″ – $20, plus shipping. Order here.

“Pretending To Smile”
8″ x 10″ – $30, plus shipping. Order here.

“Lucky Laura”
8″ x 10″ – $20, plus shipping. Order here.

“Sleepy Harold”
8″ x 10″ – $20, plus shipping. Order here.

I know that’s a lot to look at, so thanks for taking the time to check them out. If you have any problems ordering online let me know and I will help you out.

See ya!
– Jeff