Next Week Will Be More Exciting

Feeling weird right now. My laptop is at the apple store getting its logicboard replaced which is definitely slowing down my whole website/blog super update endeavors. I will say that my St. Vincent painting is completed and I'm excited to scan and post it in the coming week. I'm also commiting to posting once a week as a minimum and since I don't really have much to show this week here's a st. vincent video. I hope you enjoy :)

Mini-Update

Hey guys I'm sorry for not blogging but its because I've actually been busy. :) I've got a few shows coming up which I'll keep everyone posted with as they get closer. I need to get better at documenting although I will have plenty of updates in the very near future to make up for it, but I must go now and find good reference of a boat. Here's a hint why...

The Spirit of St. Vincent

Working on a new piece based on the soothing voice of singer/songwriter/musician Annie Clark. I was listening to her first album and was thinking to myself "This stuff could calm a sea faster than Poseidon." and so here we have the sketch. Which is her standing amidst a stormy ocean trying to calm the ocean with song. Below are my first set of color studies, its been awhile since I've done them digitally. This reminded me of how awesome photoshop is for finalizing images.


You can find her tunes here if Interested. I'm excited to start this painting. :)

Vote 4 Me

Hey Guys I have a few pieces up for voting over at infectious.com. Do me a favor and vote for my designs so that they can be used as iphone/cell phone skins and or laptop skins. :)

VOTE 4 "GRACIAS POR LA INVITACION"

VOTE 4 "PURGING STRESS"

VOTE 4 "A TALE OF REGRET"

Many thanks to all who vote.

Still Painting.....

New piece in progress. Hoping to have this one finished by the end of week. session 2 begins on wednesday in oils. More info about the piece will come as I get closer to completion so please stay tuned.

In other news, I gots a twitter now so if your on twitter too lets follow each other. I'm @colliemills you can just click the link on the sidebar to follow me. :) and also in the spirit of twitter my friend henry made these awesome twitter joke icons. you can check out more of his stuff here.

Remembering Stella

Hey I just finished this portrait of Stella, she departed earth in 2005 and I was honored to help carry on her memory through a painting that embodies her likeness. The portrait itself was very fun, and the baroque framework is something i've always wanted to paint and it was really cool to apply it to a sentimental portrait.
.....and I also coded this website for my friend Darvin. He designed it and I was the person who coded it and acted as a design consultant. check it out if you get a chance here

Mind-Blowing

I found these videos online tonight. They have no credits and have come out of nowhere and are extremely intriguing. All I can say is that I'm interested in whatever is going with these vids. I hear they're promos for a band. who? I have no idea either way they're very intense and I can't wait for someone to step forward and claim ownership of these videos so that I may bow to their creative awesomeness.













and I have finished a painting and made some progress on another. A pic and an accompanying tale coming to a computer screen near you very soon my friends.

Visuals for the Uninspired

Recently been entranced by a couple of vids, so I thought I'd share. Video is an artform I have a lot respect for. The thought process to bring these visuals to life must be an arduous one and I commend these directors and animators. These videos make me want to instantly get and go start working on something. Keep up the good work guys I'm looking forward to seeing more work from these guys

Trichrome Blue from Lois van Baarle on Vimeo.

Yeasayer - Ambling Alp from Spy Films on Vimeo.

There is also an equally awesome interactive video type thing on www.amblingalp.com, look only if your brave

fever ray - if i had a heart from Raf Rennie on Vimeo.

These New Puritans - We Want War from Raf Rennie on Vimeo.

DEBORAH ANN WOLL | EN LAS DISTANCIAS CORTAS UN HOMBRE SE LA JUEGA from seres on Vimeo.

This one was directed by Tyler Shields

On to the Next One by Jay-Z from Wasiu Bello on Vimeo.

Preview

These are two pieces I'm starting this coming week. I'll give more info as they approach completion. :)

Best of Film of 2009

So I'm kind of enamored with James Cameron right now. Last Night I experienced the Avatar in 3d and was completely blown away, not just by the character design and great acting but by the way this old story was told in such a new and refreshing way. It is also amazing the lengths that everyone involved in the process of making this movie have gone through, especially the 3d modelers, animators and motion capture folks. This film IS amazing and if you haven't seen it yet then you are doing yourself a disservice. P.S-You'll definitely want to see it in 3d, it enhances the experience and really puts you in the film. check out the trailer and some behinds the scenes stuff in the video playlist underneath.

Creative Quarterly 17 Unleashed!!!

I'm very excited to say that it's official the new issue of Creative Quarterly is out. I made into the online gallery which is pretty much awesome for me. To have my name included in the same list as artists like Anita Kunz is a crazy honor. I'm stoked on it so check out the online gallery and the magazine should be in stores now, there's a lot of really great art in it.

Snow Day

So this is the scene outside my window right now. Maybe tomorrow when it stops I'll start a snowball fight with someone I don't know. Until then inside I shall remain until it stops and just make sure I'm ready to brave whatever will remain of this elemental carnage.

I also managed to find time to scan two of the sketches I did while trapped in the trenton train station last weekend. I did do more sketches but they were just plain ole silly. I'll save them for when I need a good laugh. but yeah since I'm trapped I'm gonna buckled down and do some final sketching and movie watching.

Some Quick Studies

These are just some spontaneous small paintings. some done in watercolor and some done in acrylic done purely for the sake of fun and experimenting with some more spontaneous ideas.

My Favorite Album Art of '09

The artwork for these albums made me want purchase before listening to the music. Kudos to these bands. They obviously understand the need for great art

Daytrippin' in New York

My friends Marvin, Gloria, Danny Mak and I took a daytrip to New York to check out a couple of sights and to see the "Hajimari-A Prelude" show by Audrey Kawasaki at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery. Her show was amazing and packed full of people waiting to get their prints and postcards signed. I'm really excited because I did not get a chance to meet her at the last show she had in Philly so my friend Gloria and I both seized the opportunity. She was super gracious and awesome and her and her show are the highlight of this month even after christmas day. But yeah here's how the rest of the day went. :)

We arrived in Chinatown and got some amazing dumplings.

We also checked out the Kandinsky exhibit and Thanhauser collection at the Guggenheim.

We stopped pass Times Square which left me kind of speechless.

and we missed the last train to philly, so we commandeered a table at Trenton train station and talked smack, sketched and people watched until 7am. Good Times!

oh yeah and my favorite piece in the audrey kawasaki show. see more here

Guitar update

One or two sessions left. Time for me to sleep.

Feeling Nostalgic

I've really been thinking about acquiring an old school polaroid camera. I've always love the way polaroid pics came out and lets be honest when you were a kid you loved shaking those instant prints when they shot out of that camera. I don't like the colors of the one pictured, maybe I'd get a black one or white & grey one either way I think I'm getting one of these bad boys, gotta love that white border.

and continuing with the theme of nostlagia this has been stuck in my head as well.I think I was maybe 6 or 7 when I first heard this song. good times

My Boo from Big Eaze on Vimeo.

I got me a Gee-Tar

Hey everyone I've been working on this commission. The only guidelines I was given was to ensure that the piece had some bluebirds in it and beyond that I was given complete freedom and Yes, its a painting on a guitar!! I'm stoked on it especially after going through some priming issues that are now dead and gone. This is only the beginning so I'll keep everyone posted as it goes. Its going to be finished really soon. :)

The presence of Exposure

Last night I went to my friend Doreen Garner's Senior Thesis Show opening entitled "The Presence of Exposure" at the Tower Gallery. What she had on display was a mix of Illustrative glasswork set on top of a chaotic display. The show was great and every corner of this installation was intriguing and thought provoking. Here are some more pics

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