Drawing Commissions for the Holidays

For the first time since I was 10 years old (yep), I’m accepting drawing commissions (yay)! Tell me your requests for black and white doodles.

Spot from The Good Dinosaur channeling Dug from Up.
Here's to the loyal dogs of Pixar.

My rates, using the same advanced art terminology I used in my prime:

Cartoon: $10

Combination cartoon & realistic: $30

Realistic: $50

(So you can get an idea of what in the world I’m talking about, some examples of my personal doodles and sketches can be found at artistsonthelam.tumblr.com/tagged/scribble-sunday and instagram.com/artistsonthelam.)

How this works:

• You pick the style and make a request (e.g., “a cartoon version of me and Santa riding a herd of jellyfish through outer space”) via social media (comment on this Facebook post or reply to this tweet) or email. If your idea involves a real person, like you or a friend, include a few photos for reference.
• I [hopefully] approve your request, and you pay via PayPal.
• I create the drawing and mail it to you.

Happy holidays! (During which there will be plenty of art events to attend; see the previous post for my picks.)

11 Chicago art gallery exhibitions to check out in December

Happy December! Here’s my Time Out Chicago list of art shows to see this month.

Last week I performed at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and it was great fun. The MCA blog has collected a roundup of highlights (thanks for including my tweet as one of them!) here.

And for those who celebrated, hope your Thanksgiving weekend gave you much to be thankful for! Mine consisted of affairs like my 10-year high school reunion, The Good Dinosaur (this is a PSA for everyone to go see the film, which is helmed by Pixar’s first Asian American director), and said director liking my tweets. Clearly, life’s simple joys.

Discussion: Why do you collect art?

I’ve returned from a trip to New York, where I attended a Pixar Artists Masterclass; hit up as many art events as possible, such as Bronx Calling: The First AIM Biennial (my good friend and fellow Columbia alumnus with whom I was staying curates at Wave Hill), which showcases experimental work by 72 emerging artists and runs through September 5; and got into oddly heavy late-night discussions that included questions like “Would you resort to murder if not doing so meant you could no longer create art?” with the aforementioned friend. I also may or may not have gone tagging with said friend. (You have no proof!) (I type this with unpredictably permanent paint still encrusting my fingernails.) It’s always good to be back in NYC.

ARTnews recently published their Top 200 and Top Ten Collectors lists. Accompanying the latter was an article that detailed the art market’s recovery over the past couple of years, a shift in collectors’ interest from Impressionist and Modern to contemporary, and reasons for collecting art:

The late art historian Kenneth Clark probably said it best: "It's like asking why we fall in love, the reasons are so various."

Some of the reasons: social climbing; the work will increase in value; and, as a dealer said, it "provides you with feelings or sensations that you cannot get from anything else—visceral rewards, emotional satisfaction, the fact that you can look at the work in your home every day and continue to get renewed pleasure. It doesn't wear off."

Why do you collect? Whose work would you most want to collect, barring any and all financial and political limitations?