Holiday Drawing Commissions

I’m also grateful for all of you. Thank you.

Now, an announcement:

15-min. sketch of Shu Qi in The Assassin.

For the second holiday season in a row, I’m open for drawing commissions! New this time: I also have existing art—both from my represented artists and from myself (rare, I know!)—available for purchase!

You can:

1) Request custom drawings of anything you want! (For example, Robin Rios asked me to create a cartoon of her sculptures interacting, and this was the result.) $18 cartoon, $36 combination cartoon & realistic, and $63 realistic.

2) (New this year!) Buy any of my available* sketches from my Scribble Sunday series. *(The ones I exhibited at LEXICON have been sold, and the childhood art I’ve shared isn’t for sale.) The Good Dog and Summertime Sadness are $45, Of Dragons and Hero are $54, Ghostbuster is $81, Mood is $99, and each sketch in the Gossamer series is $198.

3) (New this year!) Buy art from the artists I represent! Check out the tags for Chicago painter Sheila Arora and Hong Kong photographer Valentina Loffredo, and look through their portfolios here and here, respectively.

For one and two, 30% of proceeds will be donated to the ACLU, Amnesty International, and NRDC. Fight beside me, and own some neat art while you’re at it!

Another quick sketch of Shu Qi in The Assassin.

(The rates are an explanation, of sorts, for this silly status.)

Star Collecting: An Interview with Sheila Arora

Me at Sunday’s “What Matters” panel: “[…] I’m an awkward weirdo.”

Paul Klein, moderator/art critic: “You hide it well! You’re not awkward at all. You’re just weird.”

Thank you so much to those who attended, to Paul and Startup Art Fair for inviting me to be a part of it, and to all the amazing artists I met for being you!

Sheila Arora, Flower Healer, acrylic on paper, 18x24 in.

On the subject of amazing artists, I interviewed painter Sheila Arora, whom I represent! Here are her own words, unfiltered and free-flowing like her art:

Jenny Lam: Introduce yourself!

Sheila Arora: Hi Jenny, thanks for talking with me! I’m an artist living in Chicago. I have always been drawing and painting. I used to do traditional work including figure, still life, and portrait. I started the abstract acrylic painting a few years ago, and I found it was a great fit with my style. I love using color and exploring marks. My current work is expressive, free, and a total explosion of joy on the canvas.

Sheila Arora, May I have a piece of cake please,
acrylic on paper, 18x24 in.

JL: Could you describe your work (both your abstract paintings as well as your portraits) and the process that goes into it?

SA: My paintings are bold. I use a lot of color and marks to keep the pieces active. I have a busy mind, and that is reflected in my work. I’m also a risk-taker when I paint, so I’ll go for anything and everything. I’m always pushing my work in new directions.

Sheila Arora, I tried to say thank you in a million ways,
acrylic on paper, 18x24 in.

My process is very intuitive. I lean into the intuition and trust that what I’m feeling is where the painting wants to go. I generally work on a series of pieces that will consist of 15-30 paintings. The overall series is an idea of what I want to capture. For example, I am currently working on a series of paintings called Expressions. These pieces are all about exploring freedom of the line, being looser with the paint, and letting go.

Sheila Arora, My room is messy but you're still invited,
acrylic on paper, 18x24 in.

The portraits are a really fun combination of the abstract and realistic work. I used to do lots of figure drawing from the model, so I have a really good grasp of the face. I start with a reference photo to understand placement of features and lighting, and then I add the abstract component to make the piece totally crazy. I have two portrait series: Crazy Portraits and Princess Warriors. I started adding some writing to the Princess Warrior series to bring the characters to life.

Sheila Arora, Fallen Angel, acrylic on paper, 9x12 in.
[Update: SOLD!]

Sheila Arora, Story Weaver, acrylic on paper, 9x12 in.
[Update: SOLD!]

JL: As someone who’s also both an artist and a writer, I love that some of your paintings are accompanied by your writing. What a wonderful way to combine two art forms. Could you also explain your process for that? Do you come up with the painting or story/poem first? Also, how did you get into creative writing?

SA: I love to write. I have a crazy imagination, so creative writing has always been a natural fit for me. I recently started combining the two art forms. I started writing a set of stories based on my small abstract painting series. I would pick a painting and use that as a starting point for the story. I let the painting give me the ideas, and then I would write a short piece from my imagination. I wrote about everything from a rainbow tornado to a buffalo cave! I wrote 30 of these short stories, and each one was totally different and fun.

[Continue reading more after the jump.]

Love Letters: An Artist Studio Visit with Sheila Arora

Conducted a studio visit at represented artist / actual ray of sunshine Sheila Arora’s apartment in Chicago’s Loop (look at that view!) and sold a painting to architect (and fellow Columbia University alum) Chyanne Husar! Thank you for your support, Chyanne! And thanks to Sheila for letting us into your home and your mind!

Sheila Arora in her apartment showing us her favorite piece she painted.

More behind-the-scenes photos below. Step into Sheila’s world!

(As announced in this post, Sheila—who was a part of my latest interactive exhibition, LEXICON—has entrusted me with the honor of being her artist agent and representative, and I couldn’t be more pleased.)

Sheila keeps her place downtown “barebones” and “in neutrals,” an amusing contrast to her art, which is as bold, colorful, confident, and imaginative as she is.

The Princeton graduate is nothing if not prolific; most of her pieces in her current collection were created within the past year and a half! It’s incredible how she can sustain so much creative energy; she has a corporate job out in the suburbs, so she only has a few hours every night to paint. And she does.

We shared great conversations on how art can set the tone for your home. What colors do you want to wake up to? What emotions do you want to live with?

Sold! Sheila Arora's painting that Chyanne Husar purchased.

Chyanne ultimately chose a fun and vibrant work on paper that she knew would make her happy.

Sold! Sheila Arora, Untitled, acrylic on paper.

If any galleries would like to showcase Sheila’s work, let me know! You can view Sheila’s portfolio on her site.

Also, in case you didn’t see the edit I made to the previous post, I’ve been featured on Asians Doing Everything! Thank you! (That’s two features in two days, the other being Women of Wednesday, author Olivia Cole’s interview series with women of color!)

And my birthday’s tomorrow! (If you follow me on social media, you might’ve seen my nostalgic look back on a past celebration.) Want to give me a present? Give yourself one and buy art!

Princess Warrior

I am so happy to announce that I’ll be representing Sheila Arora—one of my LEXICON artists—as an artist agent! (Yes, artist, independent curator, writer, artist agent, mad scientist… I’m a woman of many graphic t-shirts hats.) Sheila’s paintings are an explosion of creativity and color and I couldn’t be more proud to rep them and their creator.

Sheila Arora, Circle Tribe, acrylic on canvas.

Get excited for an interview with Sheila, spotlights on her work, and more!

Speaking of LEXICON, the page (mentioned in the previous post) comparing your written Post-it notes with the artists’ original statements is forthcoming!

(And a reminder to follow Artists on the Lam on social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr.)