Phthalo Blue Studio

Day 5: Best Friend

2011-11-24T22:06:00.000-07:00

Day 4: Favourite Place

2011-11-23T22:05:00.000-07:00

(Certaldo, Tuscany, Italy)

Day 3: favourite food

2011-11-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

(cherries)

Day 2- favourite animal

2011-11-21T22:09:00.002-07:00

30 day drawing challenge

2011-11-20T22:05:00.002-07:00

Day 1- Yourself

onward and backwards!

2011-08-07T18:30:00.002-06:00

First try at pigskin. Much harder than citruses. But you know, sometimes, when you fail miserably you learn a lot. I have learnt that shading is hard, and I should probably read a book/blog/wiki/ask someone who knows for a few tips.

Also, for those wondering, NO i have no intention of sticking needles into people without having an apprenticeship. I am just entertaining myself and trying to see if I can be any good at this.

That is all.

<3

because I do what I want....

2011-08-02T20:21:00.004-06:00

I've had this tattoo machine for a while now, but was to chicken to try it out... not bad for a first try no? but I have this feeling oranges sit nicer than people do. plus they don't complain when I fuck it up.

Passive Aggressive notes from artists

2011-07-07T08:56:00.002-06:00

Because apparently grown ups need instructions on how to use a shared office toilet.....

zombie apopaclypse

2011-05-23T14:25:00.000-06:00

pixel cow

2011-05-20T14:23:00.000-06:00

random doodles

2011-05-18T14:22:00.001-06:00

Dinosaur eats city!

2011-05-16T14:21:00.001-06:00

Random doodles while waiting in line for things

alley cats at night

2011-05-12T17:42:00.000-06:00

i'm an alley cat. This makes it hard for relationships, because i am prone to wander. It's not about wanting to have relationships or sex with a bunch of people, i'm not that kind of person, and probably couldn't manage the juggling act even if I was.

No it's about space. I need space. Space to wonder. To let my mind breathe. To do random things that I'm afraid will make me look crazy to the rest of the world. To scrape off the 10 million thoughts that get stuck to the insides of my skull. To find a glittery ribbon floating in the wind and follow it down the road for a while, and then realize suddenly I just drove to vegas. that kind of space. It's a rare person who can appreciate this quality, or at least, if not appreciate it, accept it.

See for most people, it's not enough to just put a saucer of milk on the back step. Ally cats crave affection as much as any other, it's just that they will only accept it on their own terms. They need to remain independent, or at least need to hold onto the illusion of independence. People need to draw boxes around everything. to define things. But defining things so often puts them in cages, and I can assure you the best things in life wither and die when put in cages.

cici n'est pa un narwhal

2011-04-06T23:35:00.001-06:00

Cabin

2011-04-05T23:34:00.000-06:00

It snowed like 30 cm in April. Winter will never end and we will all freeze to death. probably.

Penguin

2011-04-04T20:32:00.000-06:00

I think forgot what penguins look like...

Panda

2011-04-03T19:29:00.000-06:00

I ran out of space...

Done and Done!

2011-04-02T09:35:00.003-06:00

Ok, so I managed to make a few bad decisions, said "yes" to a few too many bevvies, and threw up by the Mercury (practically The Ship, well it was The Ship's fault anyway) I like to get my resolutioning done early, so now I can spend the next 364 days working on my spinsterhood, and sewing outfits for my cats.

Also, why can't I find a decent novelty butter dish? really! all I want is something ridiculous to store my butter in. I am beginning to think I will have to make my own, and you know that will be a whole new level of crazy... hmmm... actually that's a rad idea! I am imagining there will be a pickle fence on it somewhere! Do you think Super Sculpy is food safe?

resolutions

2011-03-31T09:30:00.002-06:00

I don't make new years resolutions, but I do like to take a moment on my birthday and challenge myself to grow. It's my own personal new years. So for 2011 I pledge to do the following:

Say "yes" to more
make bad decisions
throw up in public (preferably by The Ship, but anywhere on 17th Ave will suffice)

A good day

2011-03-30T08:16:00.003-06:00

Best day I've had in a long time... Could be the fact that I got a 3 hour Derby siesta for lunch! I volunteered to go to a media event for the roller derby league, the morning news yackity-yack show wanted to check out the league. Then, I managed to avoid all contact with media for 3 hours. Yes, only I would volunteer to be part of this media event then deftly avoid all media. There may be a shot of me getting smashed into the wall though, that was fun! We played a half scrimmage then skated fast laps!

Then regular derby practice! More scrimmage!

Then delicious poached eggs with spinach and butter sauce that I invented

Then kitten snuggles

Then online window shopping to buy myself useless things for my 30th birthday. things on my list:
-Humidor
-GPS
-Novelty butter dish- the novelty factor is a requirement

I don't want to do what you want me to do, I want to do what I want to!

2011-03-29T14:42:00.003-06:00

Pop-punk breakup songs really are the best soundtrack for the day. Really. Check out teenage bottlerocket and The Dollyrots- excellent. Wait! I smell turpentine! no, it's not a seizure, it is new office furniture, that for some unknown reason, is being rinsed in solvents? indoors? in a full office? by the elevator, within the vicinity of my desk... what???? I love the smell of turpentine... I think I will pretend to get a coffee, but just hang out over there and smell the solventy goodness....

......

......

oh yeah, so worth the uncomfortable silence and staring from unknown delivery persons... that smell is the feeling of brain cells dying in pain....

Pickle Fence

2011-03-25T19:50:00.001-06:00

I really did think it said Pickle Fence, until I was half done and realized that why would someone tell me to draw a pickle fence?

mushrooms

2011-03-22T19:48:00.000-06:00

always creeping gnomes where there are mushrooms....

corn dog

2011-03-18T19:46:00.001-06:00

I don't like this corn dog... the ketchup was an afterthought....

katetonic polyopterix

2011-03-15T21:01:00.004-06:00

Created for for my friend pruney, based on a survey of random questions I invented:

1. favourite colour to accent your black wardrobe:

2. iceberg or romaine?

3. fuzzy or slimy or spiky?

4. unicorn vs zombie vs narwhal:

5. favourite conspiracy theory:

6. which planet is best and why:

7. breakfast, lunch, or brunch:

8. How many vampires am I supposed to care about these days?

9. list 3 words to describe your inventory:

10: are dinosaurs cooler than aliens?

11. If you had to post a sign on your door, that every customer had to read, what would you like to say to them? (other than open/closed)

12. Name your favorite holiday character (ie Jesus, Santa, Golem, Dancing Mexican Skeletons, cupid etc)

13. would your mascot eat other mascots, or would it make friends by sharing it's fruit roll-ups in the park?

14. 3 things you like

15. 3 things you don't like

16. If you could go back to any time in history, when would you go to, and what would you do or see while you were then?

17. Jon Cleese or George Wendt?

18. Favourite movie released between 1986 and 1989:

19. strength or fury?

20. how many legs are too many?

21. wings? if yes, feathers or leathers?

22. Rabies or Mange, which is worse:

23. name 4 things that are physically close to you

24. what's the best worst smell you can think of?

25. what does your last text message say?

26. Do you like things that glow in the dark?

27. what colour crayon looks most appetizing?

28. mammal, lizard, insect, fish,or bird?

optional survey for additional credit:

1. what colour are aliens?
2. Do whales get gingivitis on those giant teeth they have?
3. Camouflage (like rattlesnakes) or the opposite of that (like bright neon poisonous tree frogs)
4. If you discovered a new life form, would you name it after yourself, after something awesome, or would you name it scientifically?
5. why are all transformers male?
6. do dinosaurs taste like chicken or does chicken taste like dinosaurs?
7. square is to triangle as Fanta (grape) is to ?
8. you go fishing for a day in Halifax, what is the one thing you hope to never catch?
9. Mall food court: what is your best bet?
10. it has hooves.

A Submarine

2011-02-26T22:45:00.000-07:00

crab apple

2011-02-22T22:24:00.000-07:00

with toast ghost

A Squirrel

2011-02-18T22:17:00.001-07:00

Apocalypse Squirrels! I saw them out my window....

I think I just built some character....

2011-02-13T16:30:00.003-07:00

Without accepting responsibility, you can never affect change. This is one of the things I learnt in 2010, especially the last few months. I accept my own role in how things fall apart,, but I wasn't on the ride by myself... and you can't say I didn't try hella hard to fix it.

Now, I need to work on loving kindness, because unlike the dalai lama i wish my enemies pestilence and itchy rashes in private areas, not compassionate understanding. yeah, need to work on that one still....

Ever wonder what happens when you forget Super Sculpey in the oven while you drive to Red Deer to watch rollerderby?

2011-02-13T10:20:00.005-07:00

It turns brown and crumbly! Sorry little mascot monster.... you will have to be re made :(

campfire

2011-02-06T10:17:00.000-07:00

marshmallows toasted on a stick!

unripe banana

2011-02-04T17:47:00.000-07:00

It's a Banana. These don't grow in canada, and I like to eat them still a little green. Just because. They are especially good if you fry them in butter with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

sea gull

2011-02-02T17:44:00.000-07:00

My new pal Steve. We shared a hotdog on Venice Beach.

Things on my mind

2011-01-31T20:56:00.002-07:00

I was reading a friend's blog today. some of it is about weight loss, some of it is about self image, and how women beat themselves up over shit. She's right about one thing though, people can say they understand, but unless you have been walking around with a 100 plus pounds on your ass, you can't really comment. You have no idea. 2007 marks the year I lost 100 pounds. 107 to be exact, it took 4 years, and I am still on the journey. There were a lot of personal demons to overcome along with it, and the lifelong knowledge that they can never be defeated, just locked in the basement for a while. And even though I shed an average size Asian woman from my body I still have the same outlook. FGS i call it (Fat Girl Syndrome.) Because, the thing that all those weight loss shows and self help books don't tell you is that you are still the same shattered person you always were, you just wear smaller pants now. The weight can be lost, but the problems are not fixed. You still think every boy out there is making fun of you, because that's what every boy since grade 2 did. A boy asked me out for a drink when I was on a trip last week, and my first reaction was to think "why are you making fun of me?" then "what is it you want, where's my wallet?" and then the thirdly, Run Away. It's not a simple lack of confidence. I know I am an awesome person, yet there is a dark bramble of thorns that twist this knowledge into something else. Something that makes it scary to even try, and that is awful.

Burrito

2011-01-31T18:27:00.000-07:00

elbow pad, burrito... Po-tay-to, po-tah-to

a turnip

2011-01-30T18:52:00.000-07:00

It could be a rutabaga... well it's a root vegetable of some sort, similar in concept to a turnip...

pickle

2011-01-29T20:49:00.000-07:00

I really need to get a scanner.... or abuse the one at work for free... hmmmmm...

Toast

2011-01-23T22:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't had toast since that time last July when my brother bought me breakfast at the blackfoot diner, and I ordered whole wheat toast with a side of raisin toast. That was some good toast...

A Kebab

2011-01-22T19:58:00.000-07:00

It's 12:02
Just me and you
And seven other dudes
Around you on the dance floor
I draw you near
Let's get out of here
Let's get in a cab
I'll buy you a kebab
I can't believe
That I'm sharing a kebab
With the most beautiful girl
I have ever seen with a kebab

Ointment

2011-01-21T22:55:00.003-07:00

Tattoo ointment to be specific. Also, forgive the crappy pictures. I have a pretty great camera, so it is all user error. too many buttons, and dials and who-dads.

A Rolling Pin

2011-01-21T22:50:00.003-07:00

While in San Francisco I picked up a neat sketch book at the SFMOMA that is basically 642 things to draw. Because apparently I need a book to tell me to draw things every day. So, that is the goal. Draw something every day. 5 minutes or 5 hours, as long as I draw something. I will post them all here, though probably not every day...

looking for that space in between...

2010-12-03T22:28:00.002-07:00

sometimes it feels like the work is closing in, and I long for places that are somewhere and nowhere at once. Places in between. that's why I love the beach. I hate water, fear it even, but I love the beach. it's not the ocean but it's not entirely land. It's in between. Like a fence. like the moments just before you fall asleep, not really awake.

Resurrecting old ideas

2010-11-06T17:49:00.002-06:00

Working on an old project I started in art school- building my own tarot card deck. For no reason really, other than I have always been fascinated with the cards and pictures on them since I was a kid...

The 7 of swords here needs some work but this is like a first draft... I was trying out some new ideas of scraping the paint away, but it is painted on paper so it's a bit tricky to not scrape too far...

Prussian Blue, success!

2010-11-04T13:16:00.002-06:00

I managed to achieve my goal of prussian blue today at lunch. thank you, thank you, but please hold your applause until the end of the post. I ran out because I painted. Yup. It's not finished, but I will post it when it's done. It's nice that I can walk to the art store form work, and the sun was shining in that special autumn way, even though 17 degrees in November is end of the world weather...

I have forgotten my deep love affair with colours! all of them, in little tubes, lined up in neat rows. I want to touch them all, adopt one of each of them. I managed to resist purchasing more than just the required Prussian Blue, but it did kindle a longing in my heart. in a good way. like nostalgia.

Dia De Los Muertos...

2010-11-01T11:13:00.002-06:00

and I have no image to post. sorry My creative attempts were foiled this week due to lack of pumpkins... I wanted to make what could possibly be the world's first Narwhal themed jack-o-lantern (zero results on google, so it could be a first) but there were no pumpkins to be had! Well, I did find 2, roughly the size of a yoga-ball, and even with all my derby strength I couldn't schlep them far, and they were squishy... so sorry narwhal, no pumpkin for you.

And then i ate myself into a candy coma, and wasted the rest of the weekend watching bad horror flicks. Well, I did manage to make some cat food, so that was ok. But only a little bit because I don't have a pressure cooker, and the interwebs has led me to believe canning anything meaty without a pressure cooker means death. instantly. like lightning from the sky. although, I truly believe if my critters can consume crusty bits from behind the fridge, they can eat some un pressure canned food. not like it would be hanging around for weeks and weeks... can cats even get botulism? i mean, they lick their own bums!

Also, I must paint this week. Now that Roller Derby is off season for 2 months, I have 0 excuses.

Also, I am going to Montreal for the first time, and I am excited. We are going to get tattoos! well, I'm not getting tattooed, the invisible boyfriend is. I am just along for the ride. My tattoo is in San Francisco in January....

One Tree Hill

2010-10-28T13:32:00.002-06:00

This is the first painting I sold, for like real. I think I got like $800 which at the time was almost a month's wages, so I was pretty stoked. And naturally, being me, and being terrified of any form of success, I stopped painting altogether shortly after. Because making a living from art would be horrid. trust me.

2010-10-27T10:21:00.002-06:00

This was also based on Italy... a little town called Casole Di Val D'Elsa, where I worked in an arts center for a while.... oh the memories! It is these memories that keep my old bones warm in the cold winter nights... Sadly this is also long lost in a studio frenzy of destruction! but it's ok, the old must die for the new to be born.. or something deep like that....

Via Appia

2010-10-26T08:10:00.003-06:00

I made this shortly after returning from living in Italy in 2005.... it is part of a brief, non-angsty phase... I like it. there are a few more in the series I will post later. it reminds me of happy things. And comic books. Sadly, this fell pray to a massive studio cull, and the painting exists no more... except of on the inter-webs.... (hushed soft wind noises)

Waiting...

2010-10-25T14:17:00.000-06:00

I meant to upload this before, because i made it some amount of time ago... like 3 years? more? has it been that long? This painting actually kinda reminds me about how time keeps happening, even when you aren't paying attention. Like how sometimes I forget about things I made until I see them at their new homes, on the walls... the original title was "Waiting for the front door to splinter, waiting all winter" but that seems less apropos now.. anyway, I like where it lives now, and it can be called anything it wants to be called.

Fish Head

2010-10-11T16:16:00.000-06:00

I haven't painted for the better part of 5 years... With the years flowing against my will towards 30, I have decided to take greater efforts to do creative things for myself... so this little gem is simply me trying to remember how to paint... Be nice, it has been a long while since I dusted off the brushes....

2010
Oil on board
(c) Tina Riedner

random thoughts

2010-10-11T16:04:00.003-06:00

this is the first thanksgiving without my father.... well, it's actually the first holiday without my father... it's weird... I have been training myself for this day for a while. Making sure I ended every conversation with " I love you dad" for a few years now. Even if it was expected i still feel unprepared.... I remember how he couldn't say certain words properly, like "Octopus." He always said "oxtapush." It's not like that word comes up too often in every day, but I always thought it was charming in some way.

I went for a walk because the walls were closing in on me today (and because the cats woke me up at 7 am by knocking dishes off the table, and then knocking stuff over as they ran away from the noises they created) and I saw this old man, probably like 70-80 years old. His thick glasses were laying crooked on his face, and he had a box of Tim Horton's. He was walking with his granddaughter, and he had the biggest smile on his face. I lost my shit in public, and had to hide in the park a few minutes to compose myself.

Things that are there while you forgot until you find them again

2010-10-08T15:15:00.002-06:00

This blog is still here. on the internets. the remnants of something that was, like a carapace. But I miss my phthalo blue thoughts. I had some alizarin crimson thoughts for a while, lately they seem to be turning payne's gray, so I am trying to steer them back to phthalo blue. Phthalo blue is much better.

I painted the other day. lIke a picture. it's a dead fish. the point however, is that I painted, for the first time in several years. it felt nice.

Then I played Yo-Noid on nintendo, I still can't beat the circus level. bastard.

Kitsune

2009-09-06T11:16:00.000-06:00

2004
Oil and charcoal on paper
(c) Tina Riedner

The Unkindness of Ravens

2009-09-06T11:13:00.000-06:00