Holy week in heaven!


I have spent the last eight days walking in clouds.

I feel like I have been revived from a two-year coma.

My apartment is still in a slight state of disarray after the heavenly week that has just passed. I can't even bear to clean it up. Every time I put something away I feel a day further away from when my amazing and lovely Lady H came to America and made me believe in love all over again.

It's safe to say I have never been this happy. It's like a switch has been flipped in my brain to being positive again.

Yes, I am in love. I can't contain it. I can't play it off cool.

I really AM this lucky.

Art updates will resume after I finish the illustrations for this children's book. Deadline is Monday.

Until then, I am going to draw with a heart filled up.

US Postal Service = Epic Fail.

Once again, the Post Office has proven to be a very unreliable service.

In mailing this piece to my friend Candice, who purchased it several weeks ago, the Postal Service managed to put a huge tear in the canvas.




Boo on that.

So since she was so cool as to say that she still wants the idea of the piece and she didn't want a refund, I gave the idea a second chance.


sharper photos on the way... the sunlight has been very sparse lately...


Now that all is fine and good and the painting has been reproduced larger, with a better handling on the colors and what I was attempting to do with the swing in perspective (yeah, I went overboard on the self-critique on the first one), I'll be FED-EXing this one off as soon as possible. In the meantime however, it makes my house look nice and cozy.



In other AWESOME news, Lady H is arriving today!
I'm pretty darned excited.



Also, this painting, which started out as an ugly still life painting that I found in an alleyway, is now completed and hanging on my wall.




He's a big guy. I haven't taken the measuring tape to him (mostly because I don't have any), but he's bigger than my usual 18 by 24 inch pieces.

This in addition to all the work I have been doing on the Montessori School of Denver's yearbook cover, and our classroom story book (that I wrote and I'm illustrating... holy process Batman!)... I've been a busy guy.

But I have FRED stickers!!!!




Now that I know how easy the process is, I'm going to start doodling up ideas for other stickers. But until then, I've got 240 of these bad boys.



aaaaaaaand I finally have a wireless connection. This has been conveniently typed from various places around my house, including my couch, my bed, and my toilet. Ah, decadence....




TODAY!!!

Arrrrghh! So excited! Just a few more hours until she arrives!!!!!

I used to get so frustrated about feminism that I would write stupidly-long rants about it. Seeing myself as a humanist, I thought feminism was one-sided and not addressing the issue at hand: unity. So with that bias, I came across an article that posed the question, "Is There Anything Good About Men?"

Surprisingly, it had a few good answers, and it made me look at the human race a little differently.


Click here to read...

Aside from busying myself with rants like these that don't get much done, I have actually been rather productive. I have fallen into the habit of finding junk and making art of it. The results of these endeavors will be posted in the next entry, if all goes accordingly. I still have two more steps in cleaning up this gorgeous end table that I have found, and I have yet to get a good picture of the file cabinet drawer that I've made into a shelf/drawing frame.

All the other time is being spent working on a children's book for our class project for the kids in our class. It has yet to be written, but the outline is ready. This will be a fun project for both the kids to color/decorate as well as myself, because it will give me a chance to do fun caricatures of them all.

Scratch that, all of my other time is being spent covering up my recently blank walls. I thank everyone who has contributed and moved those pieces, and I'm glad they have found new homes.


Since then, I have been painting escapist pieces like this:

Panda Air
$200

Click Here to see it bigger!

and this:

 
 


Winter Ghosts
$100




This is a time of a lot of growth. It's not going to be easy by any means, but I will make my life better.

My mind is seemingly entirely detached from my hand as of late. I have been painting with my head in the clouds, fully removed from whatever is going on.

This, if you are on Facebook, you probably have seen already but I am just posting it for posterity.

I started painting this while I was in De Pere at about 4 in the afternoon. I finished it at 1 in the morning. It was hard work but It was the most exciting project I have worked on in ages. I painted this for Cleopatra's Hookah Lounge.




And to inundate this post further with more images, I share my most recent paintings.






And last but not least, this guy:



He was painted on a broken skateboard deck.

And if it weren't for the bullet in Mario Kart Wii, I would probably be a far worse Kart player. That doesn't say much, however.



That's that. I just needed to get it out there.


Also:


GO SEE "THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS."
I think it has won a place in my favorite movies of all time and I just saw it last night.

Next year is approaching on the calendar, quicker than I could have ever expected.

I don't have much of a BEST OF list, aside from saying that the best album that came out all year (and yes, I've heard the new Iron and Wine AND the new Andrew Bird albums) is STILL in my humble opinion, White Rabbits' It's Frightening. Audio candy. I have a sweet tooth.

Best movie? District 9. Equal parts funny/action/gross-out/political statements.






Now for the holiday paintings!

These were all completed for the holiday season. My favorite three pieces I finished in the month of December (out of the NINE I managed to crank out in the month's time) are below:


A humble effort for Thea and Stan Kirkwood...


And for my dear friends Nathan and Leah LeMasters:








A gift for my father. Now hopefully he will replace the painting I did for him while I was in high school! He's a sentimentalist.... I gave that one to him almost six years ago!

And as a gift to myself, I renewed my Flickr Pro account, so that a good host of all my paintings are still displayed on the internet in one easy to view location!

Take a look, but most of these paintings are sold or painted over!

CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE SWEET PAINTINGS!


And for a better list of what is still available, just look at my website. :)

http://www.nikarnoldi.com


I'm back, full-force. My brushes are at the ready and I am getting paint stains on EVERYTHING.

It didn't take me long to remember how awesome the Calvin and Hobbes comics were... Bill Watterson is a genius of the highest order when it comes to ink and short stories.



Hello world. I'm still alive. Somewhat.

For the first time in nearly a year, I visited my family back in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was a pleasant relief to be back in the arms of those lovely people I've missed so much. As a post-turkey treat, we all adventured up to Michigan to enjoy the DeYoung Family Zoo. I love that place. These pictures can serve as evidence WHY I love it so much.






My sister Grace and the spider monkey Grace. Friends for life.





And I'll be an uncle's monkey. Err...




The Zoo also rescues pet dogs. Some of the rescued dogs decided to follow us around while we visited the animals on the other side of the fence.

They thought we came for them, so they made the best of it.




Animal magnetism. And bad breath.




The horse is an aspiring photographer.




And this is the baby tiger I held two years ago.

I think some of my attitude rubbed off on him.

But he's probably pretty heavy by now...




In short, I saw people I love and it filled me up with joy. :)







6th Issue of Coffeestain Comicks will be out soon... If you'd like to contribute to its production, buy a painting!

Today, before going into my usual ranty drivel, I'd like to take a moment and wish the best for Alicia Rose Martinez. While driving up from Colorado Springs to Denver for a meeting with me, she happened to get into a very serious accident that totaled her car. Fortunately she is alright, but I have no other details other than that. I hope with all of my heart that she is well.


Wow.


I don't know quite how to get back into all the other things that I was supposed to write about, but here's an attempt at it.




In less serious news, I have begun growing a moustache for MO-VEMBER. This event spans the entire month and is an attempt to document the growth of said moustache by any number of participants who agree with it, and with their participation, raise donations for testicular cancer research. If you would like to donate to the cause, here's a link:

The picture leads into another topic that I'd like to share... See that little panda dude on my shoulder? I drew that. Currently, I have been working with Marques White to develop a clothing line called "Burning Bamboo", which specializes in 100% organic bamboo clothing and sustainable products. Not only is the shirt quality RIDICULOUSLY comfortable, but it's good for the environment, too. Bamboo is hypoallergenic and can grow at up to one metre per day. Bamboo ALSO absorbs 35% more carbon dioxide than trees of the same stand. source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_textiles

If you're interested in purchasing a T-shirt or hemp tote bag, email Marques White (mj_white09@yahoo.com) for details on sizes, styles and colors. We're just starting up so we don't quite have every size of every color printed up, but I'm certain that if you have a request of one of the colors or styles we have available, he can order your size to be printed. Support the cause, and I'll keep everyone updated as to the progress. I see big things coming with this idea.


MORE NEWS: Since I rarely update this thing anymore, it seems like my entries end up being miles in length. But in any case, here is the latest painting finished in my studio. The original piece it was created upon was actually found in a back alleyway of framed batik fabric with flowers and butterflies. I of course decided that I would create something that would be unregocnizable from the original piece, so I just let my sharpie and paint do the rest!







Also, hard at work on my comic book, I have decided to share a page just to record the difference between the original drawn page (pencils by Davis) and my digital edits on the page.





It's only one of the frames, but you catch my drift.

Due out on December 1st, the sixth issue of Coffeestain Comicks!




Now I must get some work done before we leave to see Regina Spektor!

Oh happy day...

Emjoy and I decided to play "Cowboys and Indians" for this Halloween.


I think something was lost in translation.

Aside from that, life has been wildly busy. I am now lacking in bicycle. This makes getting to work more of a hassle for everyone else. But I found a guy on Craigslist who is building a bicycle that fits my measurements, and he's not even charging much.

Also, FRIDAY Em and I joined Kira and David in Fort Collins to see GOGOL BORDELLO. Amazing show. I have never felt as much raw energy as I did in that show. The whole place was packed to the back and everyone was jumping, pushing, dancing and celebrating. My only regret is that I wish I would have had contact lenses for the show. My glasses suck.

Em was lucky enough to shake Eugene Hutz's hand at the show. He's a lot shorter than he seems.




The tree outside my apartment window, coupled with an evening of painting, helped inspire this piece:






And in the meantime I am working on my comic and a commissioned portrait piece! 'Tis the season... if anyone wants comissioned pieces, contact ME a-s-a-P, while time is still available for working. Depending on the piece and the week, it'll take anywhere from one to two weeks to complete a 16 by 20 inch piece.

One of these days I am going to install an internet connection in my own home. Sounds WILD, doesn't it? Never heard of anything like it! Bizarre, CRRRRRAAAAZZZZYYY even!

But I probably wouldn't get as much art done if that were the case.

I'm pretty darned happy because between work and art-WORK and all the fun stuff between (including work, since my job is pretty fun), I have almost entirely forgotten about not even having internet in my own home.


Some big concerts are coming up that I'm excited for. My little inner alterna-teen is rocking out to the fact that Stone Temple Pilots will be at the Filmore next week, and I have my very own ticket. YES, I still listen to them. NO, I'm not expecting them to be as good as they were in their heyday. And YES, I will have fun. Near the end of the month, Em, Kira, and I are all going to see Gogol Bordello, which is pretty ridiculously rad. I am hoping for a minimal amount of bruises from that show. Also, early next month, Regina Spektor will be coming to Denver and this will be the second time I've seen her live, but only the first time I've heard her play music. I am stupidly excited.

With all of these good things coming around, I have been easing back into the paint. This latest painting has me in the best spirits I've been in a while.

About a week before I finished that painting marked the END of working on this animation, which was for the great folks at Light Gives Heat who are helping out in Uganda, one beautiful, hand-crafted necklace at a time.



There are some other big projects on the horizon, as well as the regular holiday season commission influx, but I will save those for another update. In the meantime, CARPE DIEM.

Lately I haven't been writing with a poetic hand in these entries. Of this I am well aware.

There is just simply too much to put into words. Change is all around, from my innards, out.

I'm spending these past few weeks rebuilding, in many ways. My home in Denver is still so new and fresh to me. I'm settling out here, trying to make myself comfortable, make new friends, and make a name for myself.

And last night's show back in Colorado Springs made me feel great.

A good handful of my dear Co-Spri friends showed up, warming the space and providing for a nice catch up. It felt great to let everyone know how I'm doing up in the big city, and let them know that they need to come up and visit. And nothing beats a good conversation.

My brush has been flying lately. I only have three canvases in my house and I have just painted over two of them. The one above is in my show at Shuga's in Colorado Springs and will be there for another couple weeks. The other is below and is looking for a better home and a way for me to buy more canvases and art supplies.









In other news, I have dire need to get back to Colorado Springs and get some decent photos of the bathroom mural at Amsterdam Hookah Lounge. However, I do have a photo of the signage which I also worked on:







I have decided, as well, that it would be for the better that I start taking photos on my own again. For the longest time I have been a little shutter-shy, as Em usually takes all the photos. But this city makes me see everything in a new light. Now to just start actually following through on that....


WEBSITE HAS BEEN UPDATED!



CHECK IT OWWWWWT!



Also: address for those in the cool:

236 S Logan Apt 201
Denver, CO 80902

(My mailbox has been lonely and lacking materials actually addressed to me... I have received too much of the previous tenant's mail.)

GOOD NEWS ABOUND.


Hello world. I've been ignoring you for a while as I've been swimming in my own head for quite some time over the choppy waters of all the things that need sorting.

Of course, sorting them in my own mind never quite accomplishes the same as sorting them in the external world. But hey, it's a start.


Here these things are, in GOOD NEWS form for easy reader's digestion (best viewed with coffee)


GOOD NEWS : Secured my securely-deposited security deposit (WITHOUT the help of my last landlord, who has undoubtedly spent my security deposit and promised me my check after she gets new tenants...) with a cozy one-bedroom in a rockin' neighborhood just west of Wash Park. I contained my cool rather well through the day (irony being that it was so bleedin' hot outside...) but now that I'm hanging out in the neighborhood, I just can't stop freaking out about it! Denver is wayyy cool.

And the really fun part is that I will start collecting furniture again! My nesting instincts are stronger than the Force with Anakin.


GOOD NEWS : Sushi.



GOOD NEWS : Sharla comes back from South America in a couple weeks. Massive celebration will ensue. Both of her pets are alive and well as I've done my best to take care of them in that time, and her house will be cleaner than when I moved in.

Now I can say that I've taken care of a tarantula. Not that I've ever really aimed for that as a life accomplishment, I am still rather amused with that morsel of experience.



GOOD NEWS : THIS PAINTING.



Em and I painted for several hours yesterday in her brother's backyard, while Dexter the husky and Riley the german shepherd sat in the little holes they dug for themselves. It was amusing, and a beautiful day, and having someone else's input on a piece like this was really quite a bit of fun. It's not for sale just yet because we need it for a joint gallery showing of our works, but it will be on the market soon enough.

GOOD NEWS : (See above in mentioning a joint gallery-showing of mine and Emjoy's work.)


GOOD NEWS : My parents will be visiting soon! This means I will be recording video like mad and adding to my home video collection, acting like a tourist, hanging out with the three coolest of my kin (who just happen to be my Mombo, Todd, and my lil sister Graceface), and generally having fun.


GOOD NEWS : FREE COFFEE REFILLS AT STELLA'S. BZZZZZZZBZZZZBZZZZBZZZZ BUZZZZZZ......

BAD NEWS : free coffee refills at Stella's..... I will probably annoy the mess out of my girlfriend.... or at least try to do so.....


GOOD NEWS :

The long awaited (as well as long-procrastinated) post of the SLOTH JAM COMIC!!!!:

www.nikarnoldi.com
(best website ever.)
(well, best website ever about me.)

Just a couple more weeks and I'll be in Denver.

JUST A COUPLE.

I am so impatient. A couple weeks feels like years.

It doesn't help that I am also stupidly excited for my parents to come visit. And lil Grace. There'll be videos of her, to be sure.


Speaking of videos, I have barely even started uploading videos from the Black Canyon, of which there were only two.







That place was breathtaking.


Did I mention I am excited to get to Denver and actually start living again?


Also, in art-related news, Turtlefield sold a couple weeks ago. It was sad to see it go since it was with me for so long, but I am glad he went to a good home.

Bye, turtles....


And, here's a tattoo design I completed for somebody not too long ago....









I need jumper cables that attach to my brain so I can get it going again.

I have no new art.


There is a jam comic, but that will take too much effort to post.


So in the interim, I have started to upload videos from my new camcorder, which have been about our various adventures.


This one is of my sister, who came with my mother and grandmother to visit. She amazes me.



I love her.


In two weeks I move to Denver!

Buy some paintings and help fund the move!




www.nikarnoldi.com

contact@nikarnoldi.com

This marks the last painting for quite a while for me.

Okay, maybe two months isn't a long time, but it will feel like it for me.


I am not accepting any further commissions of the paint sort, unless it's a mural on-location.


All of my pieces available on my site are still available. I am still available for shows.




This break from the canvas is equal parts dreaded as well as it is necessary. I have some huge transitions going on in my life, and I have come to understand a great wealth of knowledge in such a short time. When I put my brush to canvas again, it will be with renewed purpose.

My life has somehow balanced itself out in a very big way. Now that all my misunderstandings have been cleared up, I apologize to those who may have been hurt in the process. You know who you are. Also, I apologize to those dear to me who had to suffer my frustration and venting. Not that one would expect any less from me, but it didn't need to happen to begin with.



I will be house-sitting for two months this summer. In that time, I will be saving up for my next big move. These are two more BIG reasons I won't be painting.



In the meantime, I will be working on updating my website and giving it all the potential it deserves. I may not update as often, but when I do it will most likely be about jam paintings, comics, or illustrations. Possibly even photography. (sentence fragment)



But now I am unwinding from my trip to San Francisco, for the third time. Emily Joy and I are about to celebrate our meeting, nearly a year ago. She has so far been the best birthday gift to me ever.




Photos will be posted in weeks to come about the adventure, but it was excellent.




Meanwhile, for the upcoming two months, I must brace myself.

It's finally June.


In less than a month, I will be house-sitting for my friend Sharla. So basically, I get to play with her cat all day and watch her tarantula.

In less than a week, I'll be in San Francisco with Emjoy and we'll be enjoying the sights and sounds of my favorite city (so far).


In less than 20 minutes, I will be on my way to work. Not as fun. But at least I get to watch "The Dark Knight" with my teenagers.



In the meantime, my folks should be waking up in their hotel room not too far away from here. Grandma, Grace, and Mom have come down to visit. This is one of their last days so I really want to make it count. Em is taking them on a tour of the zoo while I am at work, and I have no idea what I'll be doing with them when I get off work.

















To see more of her lovely photography, click HERE.




And as her shutter flies, my paintbrush splashes.

I have finally finished the brontosaurus that was shown in my adayinmylife entry.

He's going for $100.

If anybody wants him, speak up!




I have one more painting that I will probably post before my birthday.











Also, Pollen is next in line to get painted over. Any takers? Going once.... going twice....

I think I can be official now and say that my website is NOW up.

Prices will soon be placed on all the items in the Fine Arts section for those of you who may be so interested... but in the meantime, if you have any questions you may email or comment. Or just look at the pretty pictures. Either way is fine by me.





The pieces I have for sale are in the Fine Arts section. The pieces that are sold are in the Archives/Commissions section. :)


The year has brought about many changes and mountain hiking adventures.

These photos were taken by the lovely Emily Joy Kirkwood.

Also, I am putting one last call out for Pollen before I decide to paint over it again.




It's a hundred bucks, USD.

COME GET YR ART!

Comment, or email me (contact@nikarnoldi.com) if you REALLY want it. For friends or previous purchasers, the shipping and handling is free. For those who don't fall in that category and live in the continental US, it's $10. $20 for Canada.

Dollaz will go toward more canvases. I need to reload my studio. I have taken to painting over many items as of late since I cannot tolerate having sub-par art in my house.


And I have new shoes.


Having new shoes is like feeling the world in a brand new way. I think this is a much-warranted venture.


Oh happy day!

Anyone who may have attempted to visit my website (www.nikarnoldi.com) might have been unpleasantly surprised by the lack of ANYTHING there.

So this post is a big high-five out to the Domain Registry of America, who has been sitting on the approval for my transfer from their server. Way to make a guy look professional. Any of you web developers out there, beware of that site. Stay far away from droa.com and give them none of your money.

In the meantime, I will survive this week.


Earlier this week (see: Monday), I posted one of those good ol' adayinmylife community posts. I was much more caffeinated that I am right now (which is severely lacking), so I had quite a bit of fun. Want a link? Here's a link. CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT.


Sometimes the fun thing about listening to Polysics is that I can't tell if they're singing in japanese or english.


IT IS SO WINDY OUTSIDE THAT I COULD BE A KITE.

In fact, I will probably be one on the way to work. The wind affects my bike ride to work so much that sometimes I have to leave for work early to make up for a strong northern wind.


Lately I've been revisiting a lot of my old paintings with a new mentality. By a lot of my paintings, I really only mean one, and by lately, I just mean last week. But either way, here is part two of Cardinal Direction.

The original Cardinal Direction is in the posession of one lovely ihugalltrees and it was painted in a fit of passion. It is pictured below:





The passion is most definitely still there, but it's more thought out and purposeful. At least that's how I interpret what comes out of these hands. Sometimes I really have no idea of how these things will come out, and that's often the excitement. Like the brontosaurus I'm working on right now, these things just go in whatever direction they're meant to go.





Downstairs, the neighbor is blasting "Nativity in Black". It's pretty hard to mistake that riff for anything else.

THREE MORE DAYS.

I have a stupid backache.

It's only a short time until I will be able to unveil the new redesign of my website, which has been designed and implemented by Jason Herzog.


In the meantime, I've been painting. A lot. Stupid amounts of a lot.

Now, this doesn't sound too off the ordinary because of how much I paint to begin with (which is already quite a bit), but when sinuses grip one's throat and make it difficult to speak, the only logical expression comes through the hands.

Friday, my voice sounded as pathetic as a dog trying to run on linoleum.



I stayed home from work and told everyone I had swine flu, and spent all that time watching movies and painting.

I want to sell this one so badly.

It's making all the other paintings depressed.

It's so full of light and wispy-ness that all the other paintings just feel like acrylic slapped on canvas.

My asking price is $150.

In two weeks' time, adventure will find its way into my life in a very real way.


I painted another, but I'm waiting for better weather to get a good photograph of it. It doesn't photograph well in overcast skies.

This process is getting faster and it's great experimentation.



Being around these guys helps me push myself to try new media, new poses, new page layouts, and laugh my face off.

For the link to the set on Flickr, click HERE.

I find it ridiculously ironic that several days after sending an email to somebody, telling her that Seaworthy is a difficult sell and it'll probably be around for a while, that somebody finally comes along and snatches it up.

Tina, your lovely diptych is on her way to you.



Another commish is on its way to its future owners as well... It's been a rather busy week. I expect this week to allow for more fun times.

Wolverine is coming out this weekend. I've boycotted X-Men 3 in the theatres (but got around to watching it because I am a tool, anyway), but this weekend I think I need to see Wolverine in all his campy Hollywood glory. Just say yes to cheesy VFX, poorly staged special FX (did anyone SEE how fake Sabretooth's leap was in the trailer?!), and deviance from the original plotline(s). I'll be the martyr for my own cause as I don't expect anyone who is as much of a movie snob as I am to join me.

Speaking of movie snob.... finally saw Ichi the Killer last night. Wow. I was definitely entertained, but I don't think I've ever seen something so graphic. And yet, the entire time, while I wasn't grossed out, I was actually rather amused.


On another unrelated note, JAM time with Jonas and Davis tomorrow. I am stupid pumped. Any ideas for themes? We need ideas!!!


FACT: A group of larks is called an exaltation.