Call To SLO Area Artists, Crafters, And DIY'ers

The Cal Poly Hip Hop Congress is looking for visual artists, crafters, diy fashion designers, etc. to set up merchandise tables at their upcoming show on Monday March 2, 2009. I'll be there with a table of goodies and you should be too.

To get involved contact rachel@rachelstreet.com
or call rachel at 630.544.8572

For more info about the Hip Hop Congress check out www.myspace.com/calpolyhiphopcongress

Titillating Gallery Shots And The Love Of My Life

I just posted a bunch of "installation shots" from the Lovesick show on my Flickr page. For those of you pressed for time or possess a hatred for having to navigate away from the current page or are just too plain lazy to click on that link I have hand picked (or shall I say mouse clicked) a few shots that I think best represent the exhibit.


This is the main wall where I have over forty pieces on display.





This is one of the guest artists walls. This particular wall features Stenzskull, Aaron Kraten, and Nic Rodriguez.




This is the other guest artists wall featuring Neal Breton and Kendra Binney.




Here are some peeps checking out the show. Thank God people showed up, which kept me from feeling like a loser on suicide watch.




And this is what you see when you enter the front door of Alpha Cult.



There are some more detailed photos if you dare to venture on over to, once again, my flickr page. Unfortunately, I never got any of those arm in arm big smiling gang throwing glamour shots with any of the patrons, guest artists, or gallery owners. That's sad for me. What's not sad for me, however, is that I've been eating Candy Cane Joe Joe's all night!

Huge Site Update - 21 New Paintings

Hello Hello!

The opening at Alpha Cult last Saturday was great! A big thanks to everybody that came by to check it out. I wasn't sure what kind of a turnout to expect on Valentine's Day, but a lot of people stopped by to see what was going on. Anyway, I just now updated the site with all the new paintings, twenty-one to be exact. I made twenty-two, but I guess I forgot to photograph one of them.

If you would like to purchase any of the new work please contact Alpha Cult. It's in their hands from now until March 11, 2009. You can reach them by phone at (562) 432-9144 or by email at contact@alphacult.com. The majority of the work is $160 and under, including nine pieces that are only $65. It's a good time to pick up some original artwork at reasonable prices.

Ok, enough jibber jabber...see all the new goodies at
www.jeffclaassen.com

Thank you all for your continued support!
- Jeff

The Claassen Gallery
1118 Morro St
San Luis Obispo CA 93401
805.391.0361
www.jeffclaassen.com

A Word From Alpha Cult

(I love when people make me sound way cooler than I really am.)







Greetings, All!

Love is in the air, and we are prepared to let loose with our next art show featuring San Luis Obispo-based artist Jeff Claassen in his aptly titled show, "Lovesick". Jeff's work is a beautiful blend of mixed media elements and styles: illustration over a graffiti edge. Thematically, he explores just about everything, and his design aesthetic always seems to match oh so perfectly. His characters are whimsical, and fantastically framed by his use of bold color blends and stencil art. But the "cuteness" comes tongue-in-cheek; as there is almost always a note of sadness, confusion, or unrequited love which makes the work so damn alluring. Jeff is truly a master of juxtaposition and he continually evolves his craft, all the while operating his shop/gallery located up in his hometown.

Also featuring artwork by: Aaron Kraten, Kendra Binney, Neil Breton, Nic Rodriguez, and Stenzskull

"Lovesick" opens THIS SATURDAY, Feb. 14th, with an artist reception party that goes from 6-10 (or later if the vibe is still strong...). Now, we realize that the 14th is Valentine's Day...which makes it a PERFECT stop for your special date!! Stop in before (or after) a dinner and have some drinks, check out the art, meet the artists, and hear some excellent grooves spun by our resident DJs: Púr One & Namo! Don't have a date that night?? Well, get over here, mingle, and GET one!

See You Soon!! ^_^
- Daniel & Sally, www.alphacult.com

Pretty Packing And A Little More Work To Do

Tuesday was package day. I wrapped all my artwork up and shipped it down to Alpha Cult. UPS is awesome. It arrived the very next day. I promise, I didn't try to make the packing so pretty, but those pastels were the only color tissue paper I had at the time.





Naturally, I had the feeling as I was driving to UPS that I was forgetting something. After I shipped everything I realized I forgot to ship Nic's artwork too. The pieces he's showing are ones that I've had in my shop so I told him I would throw them in with my shipment. Luckily, UPS is so awesome that I was able to send Nic's stuff yesterday and have it arrive today. Anyway, I sent a lot of prints and twenty new original paintings. There were two pieces I wasn't able to finish in time, but I think twenty new pieces is plenty. The unfinished ones will give me a jumpstart for the next show.





With all the originals and prints out of the way I am now working on some merch items, like buttons, pocket mirrors, sticker packs and wallets. I also have one more painting to finish for the front window display at the gallery. It's a biggin…weighing in at 4' x 5' 10". Yesterday I painted the background (pink and white for Valentine's Day) and tonight and tomorrow I will work on the details (india ink because it's my favorite). I forgot to take photos of it this morning so I'll post some in progress shots of it later.

Counting Down And Possibly Throwing Up A Little.

Well, the show officially opens one week from today. I probably won't have any more "in progress" photos to post so I might just start posting nudes of myself in various yoga positions. Grab your barf bags! Anyway, here are four in progress shots for you.

Octopi, Sleepless Nights, And My Life Turning Back To Normal. Almost.

Meet Demetri, my little octopi friend. This painting isn't quite finished yet, but I'm getting pretty close. Today is the last day I have to work on paintings for the show. This one I am sure I will finish, but there are about three more that I'd really like to get done, but there is a possibility I won't be able to. And that's fine. I'm not going to beat myself up over it. A few years ago I would have, but I am learning to not stress myself out over such things. As it is, I have sixteen new paintings that are completely done and ready to hang. If I finish two more that's a good number. Also, I have some new original drawings to display, so I'll actually have between twenty and thirty brand spanking new pieces for the show. With my prints and other goodies there will be quite a plethora of artsy items for any collector.

I was asked to do this show just three weeks ago and I've been painting every day and every night in preparation. It's been exciting and I'm anxious to see all the new stuff hanging on the walls of Alpha Cult.

If you haven't checked it out yet, I set up a photo set on Flickr documenting the progress of all the work I've been doing, click here.

I hope to see some of you in Long Beach for the opening.

Nighty night.

Upcoming Art Show - Lovesick at Alpha Cult

Thanks Junobo!

Sweet! Junobo Paint featured one of my new pieces in their blog. Check it out at junobopaint.com/blog.

MNKR Clothing

My friends over at MNKR Clothing updated their Flickr page. They are gearing up for the Pool Tradeshow and have a lot of new designs coming out.

Be sure to get laid this Valentine's Day

We made a bunch of buttons for Valentine's Day. They have been tested and ARE effective. If you wear these out on the town there is a good chance you won't go home alone.

You can use the above "buy now" button to order, which will direct you to my Paypal shopping cart or you can purchase off my site, which will also direct you to Paypal. So, either way you'll find yourself on Paypal. However, on my site you'll see a lot of other goodies, www.jeffclaassen.com.

Homebody Sunday

I am spending the majority of the day working on stuff for the upcoming show. Here are a couple in progress photos from about an hour ago.










Last night I finished three paintings and still have about fifteen in progress that I'd like to finish in time for the show. This coming week I'll be a bigger homebody than usual trying to get everything done. Now I am off to Jamba Juice for my Orange Dream Machine.