DEFY MONDAY: It's been resolved.

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I am not a big advocate for saying one needs to change. (Or believing that one can change.) Especially not change for change sake, say every year around the 1st of January.

What I am for is realizing what we're working with, what our strengths and weaknesses may be, and what kind of energies we have that we would like to see bend in some other direction than currently bent - - -

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I think I am wonderful, as every individual should think themselves to be - -

but here it is: a short list,

The Mountain's New Year's Resolutions 2011

1. Answer. The. Phone.

2. Be. Consistent.

3. No. More. Negativity. (shit-talking or gossip)

And more than those things we would like to change about ourselves, (or the people around us - but then that would be going against my resolution #3,...) what a New Year is best for is allowing a fresh start - a free pass past all the time we think we've wasted, all the wrong decisions we feel that we've made, up and around too many late nights spent "just thinking" - a fresh start to Get Motivated and to make the New Year even more than the year before it.

So, you heard it: Let's MAKE IT HAPPEN. It's 2011!

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(You can start by supporting your homegrown artist - find these upcycled eco friendly art prints over at Etsy from Moon and Lion. Many messages to start your New Year right!)

...mhmm...

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Hope y'all have a great weekend!

-drop it like a top

pop it while it's hot-

(summer is almost over... enjoy it while you can.)

Wednesday Work: speaking of Matte Stephens...

Rupert and Leonard wait for the tram on their Swedish holiday.

You've seen Matte Stephens' paintings and work whether it be for American Express, IBM, Disney or The Boston Globe - or from our last blog post - to name a few, but have you seen Matte Stephens' felted "action figures"?

Mr. Owl and Uncle Rutherford

Felted Action Figures.

I am not usually all too interested in those things (styles, ideas, etc) that I see everywhere. They often seem ungenuine, or at the very least less accessible to the individual, to myself as a person. They instead just become a commodity, an extension of the corporate working to establish something else, usually a product.

While I enjoy Stephens style, my enjoyment was purely an aesthetic one until I saw these little guys. These felted "action figures".

I'll say it again: felted "action figures".

Whimsical and endearing, I especially like the way they move from felted form to 2-D medium. See the felted figure above, and their corresponding gouache paintings below.

Mr Owl.

Uncle Rutherford.

Not only action figures and portrait paintings, Stephens weds his work with titles imbued with a sort of magic realism.

Titles like: "Felted Rooster School Bus and Mr. Owl".

And, "Alfred, Louis and Francios after 12 years of preparation were surprised to find a cafe at the top of Mount Everest".

I like that Matte Stephens' work consumes him.

Large Owl paper sculpture.

In this image titled "Large Owl paper sculpture", notice not only the sculptural object, another extension of Mr. Owl, but also the clock on the wall behind it. Stephens' style all-consuming of his reality.

These seem less like paintings for paintings sake, or ads for hire, and more like these characters, combined with their background stories and daily lives depicted in various paintings, it seems this is not work for Stephens, but in fact, that these are Stephens' friends.

This inspires me, not only as an artist, but as a person too. To see not only that which is before me, presented to me, available to me in my daily routine, but to see more, to create those things and those stories that allow me an outlet - that give me a little magic; it is a unique occurrence indeed.

The further on into adulthood I go, I am beginning to see just how important it is to be reminded of the potential and the magic all around us.

Thank you, Matte Stephens.

Lumberjack Breakfast.

Lillian playing with abstract thought.

See more of Matte Stephens at his blog, here. Buy some of Matte Stephens work from his etsy shop, here.

Wednesday Work: Linoleum Prints: Troy Lovegate

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So, I am really into acessible art as of late. Art that I think I could make too... ok, well, at least art with a process that isn't way far over my head, or way out of my ability to gain materials for.

Viola - the linoleum print, or linocut. No fancy materials, nor does one need a lot of materials. A process - that once you get past the idea of printing backwards - laying down those colors in the background first and working your way out to the front of the print - a process that doesn't seem too difficult to understand.

L-L-Love these linoleum prints by Troy Lovegate! A jack-of-all-trades, he works in painting, drawing, mixed media and installation as well.

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You can see more of Troy's work here, and here.

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And in the spirit of doing-it-yourself, check out easy to follow linolem print tutorials here, and here. The first one even has a margarita recipe at the end! (The second is more kid-friendly.)

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Who's going to try it with me? I'll post mine, if you show me yours....

Wednesday Work: Brainstorm Print and Design

Summer is coming!

We love this silkscreen print, Sunny Surfing from Brainstorm Print and Design. This duo keeps their designs witty, colorful, and detailed, just the way we like it.

Not even a rainy day like today can keep me from dreaming about weekends at the shore. Not so far away since Spring days seem to turn over like the pages of a good book.