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Featured Artist ||| Chloe Edwards (Bowling Green, KY)

This week’s featured artist is Chloe Edwards. She holds the title as the youngest artist to be featured on Paint Pens in Purses. As I am about to turn thirty, the mantra that age doesn’t matter, is sounding better and better. However, I mention her age because this young lady, who is only nineteen years old, is extremely productive! She has a wide array of prints, a style of her own, and great characters. 

She is inspired by the anatomy of animals, horns, and fur. She incorporates vivid colors and line patterns with watercolor to create a cartoon and dream like quality to her creations.

Her future projects include some large scale collage pieces, involving wheat pasting, and a portrait watercolor series. Chloe Lee Edwards was born in Bakersfield CA, and was raised across the country, from Maryland to Bowling Green, KY. To see more of her work check out her website and her online store. 

 Article written by: Shayna Yasuhara

Featured Artist ||| Jennifer Parks (Portland, OR) 

Part 2 - Art Explosion Open Studios

Here are a couple more photos from the Art Explosion Open Studios. Today I visited the 2427 17th St location which is one floor packed with artists. Here are a couple pictures from resident artists: Ytaelena Lopez, Marina Loeb, Tim Svenonius, Georgianne Fastaia, and Simon Cox. 

Featured Artist ||| Jennifer Lewis (Boston, MA) 

This week’s Featured Artist is Jennifer Lewis from Boston; the starting place of Paint Pens in Purses, our most beloved art collective. We are pleased to share you some images from Jennifer Lewis’ Cats at Work series. This particular series, which was inspired by old World War II propaganda posters, is both adorable and thoughtful. To check out more work visit Jenifer Lewis’ website or on her Etsy page. There were some buttons on there that I am already eyeing, so you better hurry. 

Bio:

I grew up in a small town in Maine, where I read a lot and spent numerous days in the woods chasing the animals.

Looking at the little things and observing the details has always been of great joy to me. Early on I was influenced by the detailed works of Hieronymus Bosch, Bruegel, and Lisbeth Zwerger. My influences grew to include numerous comic book artists, Mark Ryden and James Jean.

Visual storytelling became a big part of my art. Following my influences I set out to become an illustrator. In 2000 I graduated from the Rhode Island School of design, with a BFA in Illustration.

Currently I reside in Boston where I show my work at numerous galleries and cafes and continue cultivating my freelance career. I spend my days painting, baking, drinking coffee, arranging my loft and feeding my two cats.

My love of the arts continues to evolve and grow. Just recently I started attending Graphic Design classes at Mass Art and have big plans for the future.

You an find my work at the Made In Fort point store or Etsy and I also participate in the Fort Point open Studios.

Cats At Work Series

This series evolved from my love of old World War II movies and posters. I really enjoy the old propaganda poster aesthetic, simple with hand painted imagery. There is something quaint and unsettling about looking at the classic images of the 40’s from our modern viewpoint, I highly recommend  the movie “Fido” to illustrate this example.

My favorite images from this time period are the depictions of the factory girls. These women, like Rosie the Riviter started to support themselves and their families after the men went to war. I imagine these kittens like Rosie the Riviter, being all self sufficient with a great sense of pride in their work. Whenever I look at these paintings I always hear the Flogging Molly “Factory Girls” song in my head.

Featured Artist ||| Cristina Natsuko Paulos (Las Vegas, NV)

This week’s featured artist is Cristina Natsuko Paulos, a talented animator, puppeteer, cartoonist, illustrator and artist who resides in Las Vegas, NV. As a Gemini, I was instantly drawn to Cristina’s series, Mirror Twins. At the risk of oversimplifying, it also reminded me of the my favorite Sanrio characters, the Twin Stars. So, perhaps I am a bit impartial. In any case, I hope you will enjoy reading more about the undeniably amazing, Cristina Natsuko Paulos. For more of her work visit: www.cristinapaulos.com and http://nookofcuriosity.com.

Cristina Natsuko Paulos graduated from Cal Arts in the Character Animation Program in 2006. In her work she creates from her own original characters the MIRROR TWINS. She often works on wood, handmade papers and canvas.  She uses mix media materials such as oil paints, acrylic, watercolor, graphite, sumi ink, and dyes.  In her work she combines narrative storytelling with abstraction influenced by cartoon movement used in animation.

“My paintings are made through the process of drawing, rather than using traditional painting techniques. I work very fast but with very slow pacing, to stop and reflect back up upon the subject. The painting “build up” process and the drawing immediate response are infused, often chaotic but with fluidity of movement.

Taking the elements of intuitive approaches to line-marking, I am able to expose the raw emotion, gravity, lightness and coarse beauty of those I capture.” -Cristina Natsuko Paulos

Here is a little bit about the Mirror Twins, which I pulled from Cristina’s website. I was quite thrilled to see that they are Geminis! 



Names: Victoria and Eleanor
Birthday: June 1st
Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Unknown
Hangouts: Antique Shops
Food: Japanese Sweets
Likes: socks, cat’s cradle, outer space, jump rope, the changing of the seasons


Victoria and Eleanor are two twin girls. They were born in a test tube in a desert town. They speak in “idioglossia” their own secret language. Their secrets lies in their eyes. 

Featured Artist ||| Jennifer Davis (Minneapolis, MN) 

Jennifer Davis, an illustrator from Minneapolis, is Paint Pens in Purses’ newest Featured Artist! If you live in Austin (TX) you will have a chance to see her work in person at GrayDuck Gallery. They will be holding their opening reception for “A Certain Reality” featuring work by Jennifer Davis, Megan Kimber, and David Ball on Friday, 2/22/13. 

To check out more work by Jennifer Davis please visit her website or her Etsy page. 

Bio:

Making art is a daily ritual for me. I enjoy painting everyday and get a deep satisfaction from sharing my work with other people. For me, painting is a vehicle for expressing my most personal thoughts and ideas. I am trying to communicate things that are often unspoken and private but commonly human. I started selling original paintings and collages on Etsy in 2006 and added limited edition prints in 2010. In addition to selling work via my Etsy shop, I regularly exhibit my work in shops and galleries throughout the U.S. and beyond.

Featured Artist ||| Tofusquirrel (Boston, MA) ||| Illustrator

Tofusquirrel is this week’s Featured Artist and long-time friend of Paint Pens in Purses. We are very pleased to have her ice cream creatures flying ALL the way here from freezing Boston, Massachusetts to come chill with us in San Francisco for the “Ice Cream Girl” show at D-Structure NEXT Friday!

With Prismacolors, pens and paper; Tofusquirrel can create magic. You will also never meet someone more excited to watch the Planet Earth documentaries. Tofusquirrel loves animals, bugs, and all creatures times a zillion. True story. 

Tofusquirrel has been displayed at galleries, store fronts, New England Comics during Free Comic Book Day, The New York Comic Con, The Boston Comic Con, The Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, The Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo, and the world famous Art Basel Miami. Tofusquirrel has done art events for companies such as Apple, ADIDAS, Converse, Karmaloop, and Wizard Sleeve Toys. She has also had billboards and wall murals advertising Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer in cities across America.

In 2009, Tofusquirrel was flown to LA to do live painting along with Tara McPherson at the Hive Gallery during the very first Feminality show, all female art, hosted by Wizard Sleeve Toys. In 2011, Tofusquirrel’s work was displayed in Tara McPherson’s Tiny Trifecta art show, also the grand opening of the Cotton Candy Machine art boutique in NY. Dozens of low brow/pop surrealism artists were also in the show. Fans camped out in front of the boutique the night before, and the event was filmed by MTV.

Tofusquirrel has been published in LA Weekly, The Boston Phoenix, ColorInkBook Volume 11, The Boston Metro, The Boston Herald, The Weekly Dig, WIRED.com, STUFF Magazine, The FAT CHUNK robot anthology, MTV.com, I Luv Halloween 3, Juxtapoz.com, and more. She was featured in the Best of Boston 2008 and 2010 issues of the Boston Phoenix Newspaper, highlighting her gig posters and Paint Pens in Purses (an urban female art collective). In 2010, FuelTV flew to Boston to film Tofusquirrel and her work. The Tofusquirrel segment aired internationally during Mountain Dew’s Green Label Experience Action Sport Championships. Her artwork was also shown during the championship commercials. In 2011, she illustrated an octopus for the cover of “The Best of” issue of the Phoenix for Boston, Providence, and Portland. In 2012, she won the 1st place award for illustration at the New England Newspaper & Press Association Awards (weekly newspapers, circulation more than 6,000), for the Phoenix’s “Best of 2011″ octopus cover illustration.

At the event we will have Tofusquirrel pieces for sale, however, if you a.) can’t wait, b.) you need to get something N-O-W, or c.) you can’t attend the show, then you can purchase her work here.  

Featured Artist ||| Monster Kat (Los Angeles, CA) ||| Curator/ Illustrator/ Creature Designer/ Monster Scientist

Twice a year San Francisco hosts the San Francisco Renegade Craft Fair and I get all excited and want to buy and embellish every thing I own with something cool and crafty. A great chance to see lots of cool artists and D.I.Y ideas in completed phases, all under one roof.

In any case, this year amongst the treasures I found…Monster Kat! A Los Angeles based artist who’s booth was filled with monsters and lots of people eager to buy Monster Kat pieces! Unfortunately for me, I did not purchase a piece that day but to my delight, there were many other one-of-a-kind monster pieces to discover online and for me to share here. Monster Kat is a busy lady- between curating and creating she is also traveling the states with visits to San Francisco, Los Angeles and on September 8 & 9 she will be at the Chicago Renegade Fair

For more info on the artist, show schedule and images, visit Monster Kat’s website.

Article by Shayna (aka Shayna Shenanigans), Art Director of Paint Pens in Purses.

Bio: Monster Kat has been a curator for the past 15 years. She has a keen interest in science and nature, with a special emphasis on both Monsters and entomology. She studied scientific illustration and entomology, and currently helps curate a science gallery in Downtown LA. Monster Kat regularly exhibits Monster and recycled art around the country. Past projects have included a bike-based gallery handmadestoreonabike.com and current shows include Monsters on Bikes at the Notebaert Museum in Chicago. A creature designer, animal wrangler, scientific illustrator, prop building, vegan gal with a whole lot of imagination!

Featured Artist ||| Elisabeth McCamish (Portland, OR) ||| Illustration

This week’s featured artist, Elisabeth McCamish, lives and works in Portland, Oregon. We love Elisabeth’s odd and endearing creatures, surreal landscapes and seascapes. Her illustrations are filled with detailed shapes and patterns which fill in one piece and interweave into other pieces in her collection.

When we asked McCamish of upcoming events she mentioned that she is nine months pregnant with a daughter on the way! She is currently working on a nursery mural that features the dragon piece seen here, and after the baby is born, she hopes to experiment with new ink washes and adding more texture and depth to her drawings.

On motherhood and art, she adds, “I expect the change of becoming a mother will change the way my creatures interact with each other and will stretch my imagination to entirely new places. I’m excited to see what is to come!” A big congratulations to Elisabeth and her family!

For more info and images, visit Elisabeth’s online portfolio.

Featured Artist ||| Mary Syring (San Francisco, CA) ||| Illustration

In a busy modern world we still find pleasure and intrigue in imaginary lands and enchanted forests. Fairy tales perhaps, as kids we loved them, as adults; the same.

This week we celebrate this with featured artist, Mary Syring. Mary is a Bay Area native and studied in Illustration at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. Her work also reflects her time abroad, including time spent living in Kazakhstan. She is currently writing and illustrating a short story titled, “Children of the Sea”. Mary will also be participating in the Alternative Press Expo in October. For more info and images, visit Mary Syring’s website.