Dayler Update - New Artist Collaboration Wallets

I have teamed with two of my favorite artists to make some limited edition wallets for Dayler. Each wallet is signed and numbered by the artist and the edition size for each design is 40. So, once these 40 are gone they are gone forever. Both of these artists are quite productive and have been showing their work in galleries for a few years and things are not slowing down. It's only a matter of time before these wallets become collectors items.


"Window Panes" by Aaron Kraten




"No Reason" by Kendra Binney




"Let Go" by Kendra Binney



About the artists:

Aaron Kraten: This is our first collaboration with Aaron and we already have another wallet design in the works that will be released within the next couple of months. Kraten was born in 1974 in San Francisco, California. He moved out of the city to Huntington Beach in Southern California while he was young. Kraten is interested in street graffiti and skateboarding. He worked full-time jobs while establishing himself as an artist, taking jobs in factories and working a stint as a courier. He gained recognition in the 2000s, and subsequently set up a factory-like studio in a Costa Mesa loft on the East side.

Aaron is currently showing at Wax Poetic Gallery in Burbank CA.

For more information about Mr. Kraten visit his website: www.aaronkratenart.com


Kendra Binney: In 2007 Dayler released three limited edition wallets with Kendra which have all sold out. This time around we have increased the edition size from 20 to 40. Kendra Binney was raised in a small mountain town with no shoe stores. Most of her time was spent barefoot treading through the miniscule world of spiders, snakes and all things hiding in the grass. She transfers this closeness with the small and obscure into her paintings. Through scenes of dripping landscapes and insecure, vulnerable characters, she illustrates a world draped in memories, remorse, and fragile realities. Seen through pastel washes and shiny candy coatings of resins, her works evoke both nostalgia and contempt. They are at once gentle and cruel, sweet and unsettling.

Kendra currently lives in Portland Oregon. She spends her days all alone in a small studio with no windows. Here she paints, daydreams, and paints some more.

Kendra is currently showing at Richard Goodall Gallery in Manchester UK. She also has several shows lined up for 2008 throughout the U.S.

For more information about Ms. Binney visit her website: www.kendra-binney.com

To snatch up some of these awesome wallets please visit the Dayler Online Shop at http://dayler.bigcartel.com

Artist Spotlight: Brian Christopher of Artichoked

Let me introduce you to the world of Artichoked.



"Pinup Girl"




"Gold Digger"




"Ol' Glitter"




"Exquisite Corpse"



Brian Christopher is the man behind this awesome work. He currently has a few things available at http://jabc.etsy.com.

Also, you can see more of his work at the upcoming "Urban Escapades" show on April 4, 2008 in San Luis Obispo CA.

Shop Update - two new screenprints on paper

A couple new works on paper have been added to the shop. They are both 11" x 14" mixed media on paper and are $30 each.



"Last Minute Details", on green




"Last Minute Details", on white


Click the photos for more info (descriptions and more photos) or to purchase.

I like making these original screen print paintings. It's fun to see the same image on different backgrounds. It's also nice for the collector to get something that 1000 other people don't have.

In other news I am painting the dressing rooms of this new shop in town and I should have some photos of it within the next few days.

Stay tuned.

Shop Update - four new works on paper

I added some random stuff to the shop. Here are some photos to check out and if you're interested in purchasing any of these you can click the photo to guide you through the process or just click the photo for more info. All of these are on paper and are $20 each. High five for affordable art!





"Make A Vow"




"You Found Me"




"Crooked Neck Girl"




"Hi, I'm Cute"



Thanks for taking a look!
- Jeff

First Tattoo

Ah, the permanent ink from a tattoo machine. What could possibly say, "I like your artwork" more than this?








To my knowledge this is the first tattoo of my artwork. I'm assuming if there were others out there I would have heard about them by now. Anyway, the source for this particular tattoo was a painting I called "My Darling Angel".





I don't have the time to draw custom tattoo's, but I did draw a couple of stars for Cassi to use. I think the stars on her arm are different than the ones in the original painting. Also, I'm not sure if the little whimsical line was something I drew specifically or if Cassie found it off my site or if the tattoo artist drew it on his own. Regardless, I think it turned out great. I like the pink fill and outline.

If there are any other tattoo's of my artwork floating around out there I would love to see them. And if you are interested in getting a tattoo with my artwork you have my permission. I would be flattered. For reals. I wouldn't advertise drawing custom tattoo's, but I'm not completely opposed to it either. It depends on how short I am on rent that month. I would probably charge a lot and encourage using something I have already done so you don't have to pay for a custom drawing.

A big thank you goes out to Cassi for representing!

a little update on the dayler line

I have been working on some top secret artist collaboration wallets for Dayler. They have been in the works for awhile and I should be able to release them before the end of the week. I'm pretty excited because I'm working with two of my favorite artists on these. Anyway, in my snooping around and playing with numbers it looks like at the present moment the top two Dayler products are the...




"Space Guns"


and the


"Elliott Smith Memorial Wall"


In other Dayler news, I have officially stopped making cardcases. It was fun while they lasted, kind of. I may come up with an updated pattern to use in the future but I think focusing on just wallets for awhile will be good. As it turns out I currently have twenty-one wallet designs and as soon as I finish sewing the new artist collaboration ones I will have twenty-five total designs. Exciting stuff, people.

All the available designs can now be purchased at http://dayler.bigcartel.com.

I'm trying to work on an offical site for Dayler, but I'm juggling a lot of projects at the moment and it never seems to get checked off of my daily "to-do" lists. One of these days Dayler will have it's own little site to call home.

Artist Spotlight: Matthew Moerman of Reclaimed Relics

Thursday will be my official "Promote An Awesome Artist" day. I think I can come up with a better name, but it's late and right now that's the best I can do.

Let me introduce you to the world of Reclaimed Relics.



"Winged Heart Necklace"



"Beetle Ring"



"Barbed Heart Earrings"



"Studded Jesus Belt Buckle"



Matt Moerman is the brainchild behind these amazing pieces. His line currently includes a plethora of necklaces, rings, earrings and belt buckles.

For more of his work check out Reclaimed Relics.

Also, visit his online shop at http://reclaimedrelics.etsy.com

upcoming group show in my fancy pants gallery

I'll be hosting a group show in my gallery for april 2008. Hopefully, you can all make it. It's going to be pretty awesome!

just a quick photo post

Here are some installation shots of the show at The Box Gallery. I'd really like to write some crafty phrases for each photo, but I am anxious to crawl in bed. I will write something later about the show in greater detail, but for now I hope you enjoy the photos.

Two Art Shows Tonight In Orange County

i'll just copy/paste the mass email i just sent to my elist.


Hello All!

I apologize for this last minute update. As it turns out I am
attacking Orange County with a vengeance. If you are in the Southern
California area and need something to do for tonight (March 15, 2008)
I am in a 3 person show at The Box Gallery. I have 12 originals on
display and 17 prints along with some other goodies (shirts, wallets,
sticker packs). And I will be there as well if you want to just come
by and say hi.

The show is from 7-10pm
Please visit their site for more info, including address and
directions: www.boxboxbox.com

I am also in a big group show tonight in Newport Beach, about 20 miles
away from The Box Gallery show. This big group show has about 30
artists in it, so there will be a nice eclectic collection of work to
check out. I won't be able to get to this show until after 10 because
I'll be at The Box Gallery. Anyway...

This show is from 7-11pm with an after party that goes until 2am.
Please visit their site for more info, including address and directions:
www.mauveonline.com

Again, I apologize for the last minute update. Hopefully, some of you
can still make it.

See ya,
Jeff
www.jeffclaassen.com
(oh, i finally got the "commissions" page up if you want to take a
look at it.)



and this was was not in the mass email, but i'll post the show flyers here.

It's a print making factory over here.

It was a beautiful day and what better way to spend it than by playing with wood. No, not that wood. I'm talking about pine. I use pine for a lot of paintings and for all of my prints. The last couple of days I've been consumed with preparing for the show on Saturday. As if I wasn't busy enough I thought it would be fun (as in oodles) to document my print making experience for all of you. When I speak of "you" what I am referring to is the 3,300 readers my imagination has invented that visit this page every single day. And sometimes even twice a day. Of course, there are the stalkers too. You know, the ones that check for updates here 7-10 times every thirty minutes. That's right, I was thinking of you fine folks when I assigned myself the task of documenting this activity. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) there are a few steps here and there that were skipped for one or two or all of the following reasons.
- I forgot to take a picture.
- I did not feel like taking a picture.
- I was so involved in my "work" that I could not bring myself to stop for the 2-3 seconds it would have taken me to push that little button on my camera.
- The particular step in the process was just to heartbreakingly boring to subject you, my faithful 3,300 readers, to.
- I was feeling lightheaded due to drinking a bottle of wine with Seamas The International Traveling Street Poet.



(More about that at a later date.)

- Too high on spray paint fumes to differentiate one step from the next as they all seem to blend into one GIANT step*. For mankind.






Lots of wood pieces. Some painted. Some not painted yet. I used to paint the edges with a paintbrush, but I recently grew some brains and started spray painting the edges. Making this discovery is good and bad. Good because it saves me time. Bad because the time it saves me is actually killing me. The paint fumes that sneak their way into my body could be shaving minutes off my life. The very minutes I so proudly went about saving. If I live to be 100, which I intend to, it will most likely even out. If a disgruntled postman is hellbent on shooting me in the face tomorrow, well, I'll be happy knowing I saved up enough minutes to write this.







After the edges are painted I glue the prints on the wood. These are nice prints, by the way. None of that home printer ink jet crap. These are done in a professional photo lab on real photo paper. Not that pretend photo paper you've been tricked into thinking is real by Staple's employees. None of that here. These are The Real McCoy.







Epoxy resin. Yummy. I dare you to drink this. Chances are if you did you wouldn't live to tell about it. This resin always makes me think of one of the torture tactics from Stona Fitch's "Senseless". Please take note of my sexy latex gloves. What could possibly drop panties faster than a nice attractive pair of latex gloves?







Now I pour the resin on the print. I've found that a business card torn in half is the best tool to use in the back and forth spreading of resin. Luckily, these business cards are not completely wasted. Not only do they make a wonderful tool, but when the job is done they can be used for my Senior Thesis on the Structural Integrity And Aesthetic Soundness Of Spontaneously Constructed Torn Business Card Fabrications.






My torn business card sculpture now proudly weighs in at eight inches tall. Interestingly enough, Ron Jeremy's penis is approximately one inch longer than my sculpture is tall.





* Yes, I know the correct quote is "giant LEAP for mankind."

Cold Cuts With DJ Mayo

I am in the process of updating my site and I don't just mean an "update" in the sense that I have a couple new things to add. I'm talking a mammoth of an update. A big nasty sonofabitch. In my digging around for things I need (or "want" rather) for the site I came across this commission drawing I did as a Christmas gift.





Isaac's mom came into the gallery a little before Christmas 2007 and asked if I could draw something for her son, who's a fan and has been coming into the gallery since the beginning. In a sense, I've seen the little rascal grow up. He was probably a sohpomore in high school when he first came into my shop and now he's off in Washington (state) for his higher education. He's also way into graffiti and hip-hop. He's a bright young lad. Anyway, his mom told me that he hosts a hip-hop show on the college radio called "Cold Cuts". He goes by the name "DJ Mayo" while his co-host boasts the moniker "DJ Mustard". I whipped up this 8" x 10" drawing for him.

In Progress Fish Paintings

Well, the big plan for "Gallery Redecoration Day" did not go as planned. When you stay in bed until noon that tends to put a damper on the whole production. It's ok though. I'm not going to beat myself up over it. The beauty rest was much needed. On the plus side, I've been productive in other arenas. Here are some "in progress" photos of a couple kissy fish paintings I'm working on for the upcoming show at Box Gallery.














In that last photo it looks like they could be finished, but I assure you they are not. I have a little more work to do on them before they're ready to hang.

In other news, I saw a couple the other day in their 70's (at least that's my guess) and the wife was talking about their iPod. How awesome is that? I would love to have had the opportunity to scroll through their songs to see what they're rocking on that little pod of theirs.

The Hump Day Update

I really hate the term "hump day". Obviously not enough to refrain from using it. The word "hump" brings back memories of being in fifth grade. This one particular kid used it all the time. Hump this and hump that. It must have been his favorite word. Ok, allow me to get back on track.

Tomorrow has been deemed "Gallery Redecoration Day". Otherwise known as, "This Place Is Freaky Dirty And Needs Some Serious Cleansing Day." It's my least favorite day and I never look forward to it, however, as with most things we dread, it always feels great afterwards as we walk proudly back and forth in sheer amazement at ourselves for how nice, new, and fresh the gallery looks.



Our "Valentine's Window" is still up and it's what...March 5th already. As much as I love the window display (honestly, it's one of my favorites) it will be nice to get something new going on. If you're in SLO tonight will be the last night to see the window in person. There are a few more photos of the window display on my flickr page if you want to take a look.

* sidenote: I am totally addicted to Flickr right now.

I'm Procrastinating, But Who Cares?

In less than an hour it will be a new day. I'm taking a little break from work to get a few words down. Sadly, I forgot my camera at home so I am unable to please you visually. Here's the deal. I always leave my house with my backpack. Except for when I don't. Like tonight. And my camera is always in my backpack. You know, just in case. 99% of the time I never need it. Naturally, the night I don't bring my backpack is the night I want to use my camera. I would take a picture of the table in front of me. On it you would see a smorgasbord of various artworks. It's not that it's impressive. Seriously, I'm hardly impressed by it myself. However, it's picture worthy because it's a "behind the scenes" look at what I'm doing. And behind the scenes looks are almost always fascinating. For instance, before I saw "Behind The Music" I had never ever in my whole life heard of teen heartthrob, Leif Garrett, but there I sat. Transfixed. Just as you did. Oh, don't lie... you know you were just as fascinated as I was. How could you not be? I mean, look at this.





Anyway...
the point I was trying to make is that no matter how uninteresting a person is (for example, me) catching a glimpse of what happens behind the curtain is always interesting.




- INSERT PHOTO THAT I WOULD HAVE TAKEN HAD I NOT BEEN A JACKASS AND FORGOTTEN MY BACKPACK HERE -




All that artwork you see on the table needs to be put in my car. In the morning I am driving all of that (and a few more not in the photo) down to Costa Mesa for an upcoming art show that I'm in. While I'm driving I will be a little bit delirious due to lack of sleep, but I'll have some good music to keep me company. The bonus is that it will also keep me awake. Especially when I start head banging to "November Rain". It's hard not to when there are about 32 guitar solos in it. And don't think for a minute that I won't be singing along with Axl.




I will be belting it out. That, sir, you can count on. During my Act II Intermission I will put down my microphone and pull into an In-N-Out Burger where I will eat the most delicious hamburger ever made. You'll be jealous. But don't worry, I'll be thinking of you as I take that first big bite. Oh, I can almost feel my teeth sinking into that delicious sponge bun now.

Dear Sponge Bun,
Oh how I love you! If only I could crawl inside of you and sleep for days and days...