Cosmos Creative on Display at White Electric!

(Artwork by one of my favorite local artists Alec Thibodeau)

Hello and happy Wednesday folks! It’s been way too long since I last posted, but I’m happy to share some good news with you today…I currently have some work on display at White Electric Coffee here in Providence. For those of you who don’t already know, White Electric is a fantastic coffee shop located on Westminster Street. They serve some of the best coffee in Providence. In fact, I live across town from the joint, but I find myself there every morning buying my daily dose of Hazelnut. They are one of the few coffee places left in Providence that actually brews Hazelnut beans, instead of using flavored syrup…“Dear White Electric, please don’t ever change your ways! I heart your Hazelnut coffee – Thx, Emily”

So, if you’re in the area, be sure to stop by, get your caffeine on and check out my artwork! It will be up for the next three to four weeks. Happy viewing and brewing folks!
 If you want to see examples of my work go here | If you would like to make friends with White Electric go here.

Random Reading: Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd #3

Photo: From the collection of Pattie Boyd via The New York Times

“My Mother wouldn’t allow us children to go to the cinema on our own—to this day I never have been inside one alone. She also said we were never to sit next to little old ladies in case they were to stick hypodermic needles into us and spirit us away into the white-slave trade—where she got this idea from I shall never know. But she had double standards: when she put me on the train to go back to boarding school she would say. “Let’s find a little old lady to look after you.” One minute they were potential abductresses and the next they were guardians.”

-Excerpt from Boyd, Pattie, and Penny Junor. Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2007. Pg.27

Random Reading: Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd #2

Photo by Bobbie Gaymer- Jones via The New York Times.

"My Grandparens’ house stood at the bottom of a long, winding gravel drive—on which, some years later, I learned to ride a bicycle—with glorious views in every direction across the game reserve that surrounded it. It was a single –story house with a veranda that ran almost all the way around it. My grandparents had brought paintings, china, and cutlery from the house in Scotland but they had all of the furniture made in Nairobi of mooli, the most beautiful honey-colored local wood. There was a huge garden, with lawns, standard roses, peach trees, and nasturtiums, that ran straight in the wilderness, It was quite common for giraffes, lions, or other wild animals to wander in and, because of the bushes, it wasn’t always easy to see them. The dogs, though, would bark incessantly until the interlopers left.

One night my grandfather was sleeping in a small bedroom leading onto the veranda. It was a hot, still night, the door ajar, and in slunk a leopard, which leaped onto sleeping grandpa. He woke immediately, but as he reached for the pistol under his pillow the big cat jumped onto the floor. It had smelled dog, and took the Alsatian, which was asleep under the bed. Grandpa shot wildly as the protesting dog was dragged out onto the veranda. Next morning there was no sign of either animal. My Grandfather was distressed at having lost his favorite Alsatian, but it could so easily have been him."

- Pattie Boyd recalling her childhood in Kenya, excerpt from:
Boyd, Pattie, and Penny Junor. Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2007. Pg.8

Random Reading: Wonderful Tonight, by Pattie Boyd #1

Image via Amazon.

Hello and Happy Monday folks! Hope you had a fun and restful weekend. I spent the majority of mine reading a great new book; Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Me by Pattie Boyd. Normally I don’t read tell-all titles or autobiographies; I usually stick to fiction, but I’m certainly glad I picked this book up and bought it on a whim. I’m not sure how I first heard the name Pattie Boyd…I think it was in a conversation, I had with my friend Paul, about muses. I’ve always been fascinated by women who inspire artists and musicians, so I filed the name in my memory bank. When I came across the title at my local book store, my interest in Pattie Boyd was instantly piqued. I picked up the book, read a few lines at random and ultimately decided to buy the book. To say the least, I haven’t really put it down since. Not only is Patty’s own life story interesting, but her insight into the 1960’s and the lives of George Harrison and Eric Clapton are fascinating. Over the next couple of months or so, I’ll be sharing some excerpts from the book, that I personally find interesting or inspiring, here on Cosmos. I’ll be sure to include some photos too, so stay tuned and stay inspired! Lots of good reading to come soon. Enjoy!

From the Sketch Book #071910

Hello and happy almost Friday friends! I've got a newbie from the sketch book for you today. At first I wasn't sure I was going to post this one, since I'm not actually that happy with it, but then I realized...I haven't posted anything in weeks, eek! So, here you have it.

Overall, I think the sketch is ok; it's not bad, but it's not good either. I think it looks rather flat and one dimensional and almost cartoonish. Not really what I was going for, but I've learned sometimes that it's a necessary evil, as an artist, to create something that you dislike. It's sort of like cleansing your creative palette; you have to throw it up and get it out of your system in order to move onto something better. Besides it keeps you humble and keeps your ego in check. It also makes you appreciate the work that you are happy with...that much more. With that said, I'm off to bigger and better things folks! Enjoy your weekend. More posts to come soon, so stay tuned and stay inspired!

Visual Diary: Ultra Tattoo Classics #2

Woohoo, I’m on a roll peeps, watch out! This is my second post of the week, can you believe it? I can ;} I have lots of good stuff coming down the pipeline over the next couple of weeks and I can’t wait to share it all with you!

Today I’ve got some lovely new kitsch for you from my temporary tattoo collection! I’ve got four new tattoos to showcase, just a few less than the nine I featured back in October 09. I blame this on my recent schedule…haven’t really ventured outside of my daily grind of work, sleep, work, eat, sleep, studio, sleep, etc. So as a result, I’ve been frequenting the same vending machine for the past few months or so. This has led to getting a lot of bad designs...ones that I didn't think were worth showing as well as duplicates of those same bad designs. Good thing is though, I did manage to score these four lovelies, in addition to a couple of duplicates that I actually do like.

I got three sacred hearts and I’m starting to think they may be good luck…I especially think so, when I see them all lined up in a row! Looks similar to a slot machine, don’t you think? Perhaps I should look into a trip to Vegas! Yea, baby! Either way, hope you enjoy the kitsch. I’ll be sure to post again soon, so stay tuned and stay happy, it's Friday!

From the Sketch Book: #061310

Hello and happy Monday peeps, hope you all had a lovely weekend! Mine was rather chill…I spent all of Saturday in the studio and spent most of Sunday doing errands and relaxing indoors. Given the rainy weather, it was a great weekend for staying in and getting stuff done. I only wish I had been more productive in the studio. As you may, or may not know, I’m working on some new pieces that will be up at White Electric in August and unfortunately, I didn’t get much done in preparation for this. However, I did manage to play around with a couple of concepts/ideas that I think will develop nicely into some new Envelop products! Yey! So, stay tuned for more info on that to come…

In regards to preparing new work (a.k.a drawings, etc) for White Electric, I seemed to have been more productive outside of the studio. Rather unexpectedly, I cranked this sketch out late last night in the comfort of my itty bitty kitchen. Considering I didn’t think I had any creative juices in me what so ever, I’m happy with the way it turned out. It sort of reminds me of an oceanic/bayscape view with a heavy dripping effect that may, or may not have been a subconscious effort to illustrate the recent BP spill. It’s strange how the brain regurgitates information sometimes. Either way, I hope that you like it, feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think…I always enjoy the feedback! More good stuff to come soon, so stay tuned and stay inspired!