10th Annual SMOGFEST

Saturday August 6 2011 will be the Opening Reception of the 10th Annual SMOGFEST in Windsor ON.  This year however will be my first year involved in it.  I finally finished my 4 pieces last night and dropped them off this morning at the CEA Office with only minutes to spare til the deadline.  Anyone who knows me, knows that is in true Elizabeth Matlack fashion! lol 

I did manage to find a few minutes to photograph everything before I brought it in this morning. So that I can present it here for all those in other parts of the world that are interested but whom obviously won't be making it to the Opening Reception on Saturday.

Each artist was allowed to submit 4 pieces in total.  They could be any medium, shape, size, they just have to represent Windsor's Smog issue in some way, shape or form or any other environmental issue that we deal with in this area.

I initially set out to do 4 acrylic paintings, however due to time constraints that just wasn't possible.  I later decided to do one large Acrylic painting with 3 mixed media pieces I call Eco Art.  I felt it was only well suited to do Eco Art for this being an environmental show and all.  

I first present you with my original Acrylic painting titled "Destruction of Beauty" done on a Gallery Wrapped canvas 16" x 16" x 1.5" in size.

When looking at this painting one might think it would look so much prettier if it didn't have those ugly smokestacks and smoke, and if the pretty flowers and greenery, trees and butterflies just continued around the globe! Well, that is the point!!!  So would our earth!

Then I added 3 Eco Art pieces, one is called "Life," one is called "Footprint," and one is called "Smokestacks" each are 8" x 10" in size and framed.

When they are hung around the painting, the whole thing says.... "What will YOUR footprint look like when you leave this world?!"

SMOGFEST is a silent auction and it runs for a month.  For anyone who in my area and would like to attend.  There will be lots of beautiful artworks from many talented local artists displayed at Pop Hair Gallery located at 973 Erie St. E. Windsor ON.  It's 2 levels and contains a hair salon in half and an Art Gallery in the other half.  The Opening Reception will be August 6th 7pm - 10pm.  I do not have dates and times for the rest of the duration that it will be open.  

It Only Takes One Drop...

True Blood, the hit HBO special features an amazing character by the name of Lafayette.  Anyone who is familiar with this show I am sure can already picture just who exactly I am talking about.  Are you picturing him in your mind?  Can you see him nice and clear?  Good!  I want you to take a look at this.....

If you are not familiar with this television show then you can see him HERE!

This is a custom portrait that I just recently finished for a client.  The painting is done in premium acrylics on a 16" x 16" x 1.5" gallery wrapped stretched canvas.  I can honestly say that after many many hours over the last month that I have invested into this painting, that the client is and was more then pleased with the results.

To order your own custom portrait you can visit my online shop Oddball Art Co. for more details.

Art Attack ~ Lydia Dekker of Horrible Sweet

It has been a long time since I did an Art Attack post and I bet a lot of readers thought that it was never coming back, well I'm just full of surprises and Art Attack is never going anywhere!  It's taken me a while to find anything worthy of the Art Attack title, remember we are looking for mind blowing, eye popping, spazzmatron, whacked-out, brain freeze ART,  but I think I have found a real treat for you all today!

In my daily travels through Etsy land I stumbled across a listing that was featured in the same treasury as one of my items, I give you exhibit A...

I found this sculpture by the name of Herman to be very intriguing and he pulled me into the shop called Horrible Sweet.  I got lost in this shop for over an hour and by the time I had left I had hearted everything in it!  That brings me to Exhibit B...

Pinky

Alien

Miss Purple

Anti

And that is just a small taste of the horrible sweet tasty treat that you are in for if you visit this Etsy Shop !  I went ahead and contacted the artist of all this awesomeness Lydia Dekker and she agreed to do an interview for Art Attack.  So I had the privilege of speaking to Lydia about her art and her shop, and so I give you Exhibit C.....

My Interview with Lydia Dekker of Horrible Sweet

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your shop?
My name is Lydia Dekker and I am from the Netherlands. I started sculpting about 4 years ago and it immediately became an addiction. In my Etsy shop you can find various horriblesweet figures and dolls, headhuggers and prints. 

What inspired you to open your shop?
I live in a small apartment witch is stuffed with boxes with materials, finished and unfinished sculptures. I wanted to make some space and money to be able to continue with my sculpting addiction
.
Besides designing & creating things, what do you do?
I am an artist and a mother of a beautiful 6 year old boy. Next to the crafting I also make big sculptures .

Where, who or what does your influence come from?
I guess the main influence comes from various contemporary art forms, fantasy, fashion, design.

What inspires you to be creative?
I have been a craftaholic for as long as I can remember. Crafting comes naturally to me ….I have always felt the need to create things.

How do you get out of a creative rut?
I try something different :D

When did you first discover that you were or wanted to be an artist?
I studied contemporary art at the Art Academy in Utrecht but always thought I would end up being a mother of a herd of children devoting my time in raising them and doing some craftwork aside. When my son was born the need to create increased and by the time he turned two I realized that next to mothering I must create stuff and grow as an artist to be happy. 

Can you describe your creative process for us?
I always start out with sculpting a face. When the face is done I know what kind of body I want and then I just go with my instincts. 

What is your most cherished handmade possession?
I am always most enthusiastic about my latest projects. My son has made me some really nice crafts…I will guard them with my life.

Where do you see or want your shop to be this time next year?
I would like to see it completely sold out :D 

Where would you like to be in ten years?
I would like to be able to earn a living out of my art. 

Where else other then Etsy can you be found on the net?
I have a website, Facebook and Flikr account and a blog

www.horriblesweet.com

www.flickr.com/photos/22634850@N07/

Thank you Lydia for sharing all of this with us and for anyone who hasn't clicked on the link to her shop or website yet, what are you waiting for?

Here is the treasury that we were both featured in for anyone who might have been curious about that, there are some other pretty cool finds in there too!

July Give Away

3" x 3" x .5"

Acrylic on stretched canvas

Miniture wooden frame easel included

Mandatory Entry

Leave a comment telling me what this painting inspires in you! *Please leave your email address in comment if it isn't visible in your profile* This entry must be done first before any extra entries will count.

Extra Entries

*You MUST leave a separate comment for each extra entry for it to count ~ 1 ENTRY = 1 COMMENT*

+1 Follow Oddball Art Co. via Google Friend Connect

+1 Give Oddball Art Co. a heart on Etsy

+2 Leave a comment on the Official Oddball Art Co.Webpage

+3 Visit my Etsy Shop and tell me something you like

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+8 Blog about this giveaway and leave a link to your post in the comment

+10 Purchase something from Oddball Art Co. on Etsy

(1 comment = 1 entry)

*If you don't follow the mandatory entry your extra entries will be disqualified*

Winner will be picked by a random number generator from Random.org and the winner will be emailed and posted on this site. Winner has 48 hours to respond to the winning email or another winner will be chosen.

This giveaway will close at Midnight est. on July 31 , 2011 and is open to participants of all ages all over the world.
(Family members are excluded from entering this giveaway :( So sorry.)