bee warbler's blog

Upcoming Show!

2012-01-18T09:21:00.001-05:00

I will have a few pieces in this show at the KGB gallery. Jimmy will also be showing a little something! Click the image for deets.

doggies

2011-10-14T15:54:00.000-04:00

for the 2nd year in a row, i have submited work for the westminster kennel club dog show poster contest. this year my painting was selected as a finalist! here it is!:

you can see the winner of this year's contest here. while i'm at it, here are pics of the painting i did last year, which got an honorable mention, but i don't think i ever posted:

some studies

2011-10-01T16:49:00.000-04:00

i've gotten a little behind with updating, so here is just a bunch of studies from the last few months for you to see. this first one, another white stag, will be in this year's take home a nude auction at sotheby's:

this one will be on view at the KGB Bar in a couple weeks:

finally, a couple of red-tailed hawks:

psssttt.....!!!

2011-09-27T20:58:00.001-04:00

i'll have 4 little paintings in this show at the super cool KGB (kraine gallery bar) in my old hood, the good-old easy villy. you should absolutely come join me for a drink at the reception on october 12th (if you live around here)!!! you can also check out the blog with some sneak peaks here!

Back to school!

2011-09-05T16:13:00.001-04:00

FALL SESSION: September 12 - November 30

New York Academy of Art, Continuing Education
Monday – Tuesday – Wednesday
10am to 1pm and/or 2pm to 5pm

I will be teaching the painting portion of this course Tuesday afternoons, Wednesday mornings and Wednesday afternoons.

Registration is open! Visiting New York City for a short period of time? You may sign up for this class by the day or week: tailor the class to fit your schedule.

For information please visit www.nyaa.edu or contact me.

Giraffe in Maine

2011-08-25T09:22:00.005-04:00

This is the mural Jimmy and I just did for our friends' new baby's room!! Welcome home little Oona Lulu Lafayette Murphy!!!!!!!!

new studio!

2011-07-27T09:00:00.002-04:00

i've moved out of the little studio in our apartment, and into a large space in brooklyn which i am sharing with friends. here are some shots of my main wall, almost all set up. i'm excited to get to work!

happy birthday jimmy drawing

2011-07-03T16:12:00.001-04:00

for jimmy's birthday this year, i did a drawing of him and papi smooching in the sunlight :)

art books

2011-07-03T09:28:00.005-04:00

more noble ancestors!

2011-06-19T12:59:00.011-04:00

last year i was commissioned to do some tiny portraits of king henry II and his wife eleanor of aquitaine. this year, the same person requested paintings of a few more ancestors. here they are! william the conqueror, charlemagne, and sir william johnson, first baronet of new york.

from the east river ferry on a cloudy day

2011-06-15T08:33:00.002-04:00

animal drawing postponed

2011-05-20T09:16:00.004-04:00

fyi, my drawing animals class at the jersey city art school has been postponed. i will post here when i find out the new dates. for now, here's a study i did from a cute little fella currently in my studio. :)

upcoming classes!!!

2011-05-16T08:51:00.007-04:00

i will be teaching a 4-week long animal drawing workshop at the jersey city art school, starting this thursday (may 19th)! you can see a class description here. we will be drawing from live taxidermy animals.

also, my continuing education class at the new york academy of art starts up again for the summer session on may 31st!

there are still spots free for either class, if you're interested. feel free to send me a message if you have any questions: contact@shaunafinn.com.

i hope to see you!!!

this made me cry

2011-05-11T10:46:00.004-04:00

click the image to see the whole strip. it's by an artist in norway called ida eva. love it.

happy cinco de mayo!!

2011-05-05T11:36:00.003-04:00

(just pretend this is papi instead of this stranger)

party painting

2011-04-18T09:08:00.013-04:00

this is the painting i did during this year's Tribeca Ball. it was kinda dark and i was painting a moving model which is tricky, but this violinist was lovely and i like how my little study of her turned out.

a success!

2011-03-18T16:58:00.000-04:00

the single fare opening was awesome - SO much great work. i need to go back to take pics, but for now, here's a great spot that appeared on reuters.com about the show. look out for a shot of my little guys!

there has been lots of other great press too, including a piece in the NY times. i gotta go back to take pics (the opening was packed) so i'll post some of my favorites later!

oh deer!

2011-03-16T20:20:00.000-04:00

tomorrow is the opening for single fare II, i'm very excited! check out the blog for a taste of what's in store at the show, some installation shots, and to see the shout out my little paintings got! it's going to be a great show - i'll be sure to take some pics at the opening and post them here later.
:)

7th

2011-03-07T07:50:00.001-05:00

i think i'm done. my eyes hurt! but i would like to continue with these just a bit larger.

the 6th

2011-02-28T20:25:00.002-05:00

one more, plus a pretty white peacock :)

2011-02-28T08:15:00.002-05:00

a third

2011-02-25T13:24:00.002-05:00

another stag

2011-02-24T13:10:00.000-05:00

metrocard #2! (this year) :)

swipe again!

2011-02-18T08:57:00.009-05:00

SINGLE FARE is back!!! artists, this show is going to be amazing, and you are all welcome to participate. check out the details on how to submit, start collecting those metro cards and get to work (and start saving your pennies, b/c there will be so so SO many lovely and affordable little works of art for sale!)

i've begun with another little white stag, and think i'll do a few more :)

first painting of 2011

2011-01-09T20:46:00.000-05:00

i did this in a 5 day intensive figure painting workshop last week. it's about 3' tall.
happy new year!

another copy

2010-12-29T18:19:00.002-05:00

i love copying old master paintings. it's a great way to experience the work and to just learn. plus it's something to do when i'm not exactly sure what i want to paint. this one is from gainsborough; a detail from the painter's daughters chasing a butterfly.

fröhliche weihnachten!

2010-12-29T17:01:00.008-05:00

...or whichever holiday you celebrate. here are some little paintings i gave this year for christmas; a copy of a detail from the rokeby venus by velázquez, and a copy of rembradt's titus van rijn in a monk's habit. :)

warbling

2010-12-09T17:44:00.004-05:00

this little man is a subalpine warbler. i've been continuing to paint lots of birds, but i'm going to try and keep the birdy related posts to the finch blog. i'll highlight some faves here once in a while, for example this guy who i particularly liked. he is currently hanging at the academy, getting ready to be bought up by a lucky bird-loving holiday shopper at this year's annual holiday party fundraiser.

royal ancestors

2010-12-02T08:35:00.015-05:00

here's a commission i did a while back, for a gentleman who wanted some tiny family portraits done. when he gave me the details, i learned i would be painting none other than king henry II and his famous wife eleanor of aquitaine!

he has since commissioned me to do a couple more family portraits, this time of charlemagne and william the conqueror!
:)

stoop sale score!

2010-11-24T08:23:00.003-05:00

i recently hit the classical music jackpot at a neighborhood stoop sale. there was so much more than what i ran off with.. what an amazing collection they were getting rid of - for just a dollar a disc!

oink

2010-11-22T13:14:00.008-05:00

look at this piglet!
jimmy almost barfed from TCO (total cuteness overload) when he saw it, so i gave it to him.
:)

guess who

2010-11-19T15:32:00.008-05:00

bee is back!
i know it's been half a year, but that just means there's a back-log of good stuff to post! art work, photos, inspirations, wedding goodies.. lots of things stored up to share. so i'm hoping to get the blog up to speed and back on a regular posting schedule, cuz i've been missing it.

for now, here's the painting that recently sold at sotheby's, in the academy's annual take home a nude silent auction:

it was very exciting: my painting was designated a "hot lot", there was a bid off, and it went for almost twice the estimated value.

i'm not sure, but i think this is the winner (she looks very excited, how cool is that?):

little white stag

2010-05-05T10:04:00.006-04:00

i did this little painting for the SINGLE FARE show that some friends from the Academy are putting on this weekend. he's painted on an NYC metro card! :)

a meadowlark, black & orange flycatcher & a pine warbler

2010-03-21T21:44:00.002-04:00

birds are back

2010-03-13T19:53:00.009-05:00

another robin,

and some cute little sparrows!

nibbles!

2009-12-18T13:31:00.003-05:00

this little painting of the nibbler's head is about 3 x 3 inches. just about life-size!

Finch!

2009-12-07T09:06:00.001-05:00

"finch", the craft venture of shauna finn and james french, has taken off! we were in brooklyn this last weekend at a little craft open house, and sold a few paintings and a few wooden birds. it was fun! and as you can see on the new finch blog, our stuff is available in a little shop in our neighborhood too. check it out!
:)

chirpity chirp chirp

2009-11-22T11:09:00.001-05:00

chirp!

2009-10-25T10:10:00.005-04:00

i'm back! sorry for the lack of posting. but here are a few little cuties to brighten your day.
:)

2 more

2009-08-24T20:56:00.004-04:00

more birds!

2009-08-21T14:47:00.004-04:00

a tiny blackbird, and another tiny blackbird!

new painting

2009-08-16T17:30:00.011-04:00

here's the painting i just finished. it's about 30 x 24" i think.
:)

Daisy and Louis

2009-08-07T18:13:00.005-04:00

sorry for the lack of blogging - i've been working on a new painting. i'll show you that one soon, but first, here are daisy & louis - a couple of french bull-dogs i finished a while ago for a commission.
:)

a mockingbird & a kingbird

2009-07-20T10:06:00.005-04:00

a king fisher & a purple finch

2009-07-04T17:32:00.000-04:00

small study

2009-07-03T09:01:00.006-04:00

birds!

2009-06-28T21:25:00.003-04:00

catbird

and a bluebird

Ditch Plains Beach

2009-06-17T19:16:00.006-04:00

here are some little paintings i did in montauk. it was a bit stormy but beautiful for painting! we had such a nice time. more photos to come :)

Montauk

2009-06-11T21:32:00.003-04:00

i'm off to montauk with jimmy tomorrow - i haven't been since i was a kid, i'm very excited to go back. more pics soon!

2009-06-02T08:45:00.007-04:00

new plants make me happy

2009-05-26T18:54:00.004-04:00

figure drawing!

2009-05-19T09:32:00.002-04:00

i finally rejoined my friends at the LIC studio for drawing group last night. i've really missed it!

showing up for work

2009-05-16T15:52:00.003-04:00

this is a TED talk that i discovered a while back - it's by elizabeth gilbert, author of eat pray love, and it's about creativity and being an artist and all the fears and anxieties that sometimes come along with it. sometimes when i feel scared of painting (kind of a lot), i watch this video. she's a great speaker and i think this way of approaching the creative process is so helpful and comforting. ..plus she relates anecdotally how tom waits is the best living example of this approach, and tom waits is one of my favorite artists of all time. enjoy!

sunday succulent terrarium stoop party

2009-05-13T09:27:00.015-04:00

i spent mother's day with my own new babies:

aren't they precious? i particularly enjoy the tiny pots they came in:

jimmy bought me the glass bowl a few weeks ago and i've been planning to put a little tiny garden inside it. starting out was easy enough but it became pretty tricky getting my hands inside and maneuvering around the plants to put new ones in.

here it is all finished:

and here it is in our little bedroom garden, with a bonus pic of papi stalking birds at his bird feeder:

pink trees

2009-05-12T09:48:00.007-04:00

it has been so amazing watching jersey city come to life this spring. there are so many beautifully flowering trees and plants in our neighborhood - magnolias, pussywillows, eastern redbud, dogwood (a spectacular white one in our backyard), callery pear, crabapple, linden, sweetgum and oak... and many more. but by far, my favorite are the wonderful kanzan cherry trees, which are found in abundance around here:

although the canopy of blossoms only lasts for a couple weeks at the most, the way the petals cover the ground when they fall is almost just as enjoyable. it's like having snow in springtime, only pink!! :)

Mom :)

2009-05-10T21:39:00.009-04:00

happy mothers day to all the lovely moms out there - first and foremost this pretty lady, the sweetest & greatest one i know. love you mom! xox

white stag II

2009-04-23T08:58:00.001-04:00

here's the larger version i did of our magical friend, the white stag. this one's 58" wide. :)

sorry sorry

2009-04-20T12:07:00.003-04:00

hi everyone, my most humble apologies for being just the worst blogger. i am lazy and out to lunch a lot but it's no excuse for going so long with no posts. to get back into it, here's a balthus cat as promised. there are lots of weird kitties in his paintings, but this one is my fave i think. anyway hopefully soon i'll have something of my own to show you. toodles!

group show!

2009-03-10T13:43:00.002-04:00

i have 4 paintings in this show which will be up through May 11th. come by Wednesday for the reception if you can!

sold!

2009-03-06T14:23:00.005-05:00

i was invited again this year to be a working artist at tribeca ball, the academy's annual gala fundraiser. this is the little painting i did, which i just sold to one of the guests! below are some shots of me setting up and starting to paint. it was fun, but the downside is i was too busy painting the whole time to see such fabulous guests as justin timberlake and bill clinton. apparently jt was even standing behind me for a few minutes while i was painting. and no one told me!!!

white stag

2009-02-22T13:52:00.003-05:00

this little study i did for the tribeca ball, which is a big gala fundraiser at the academy. it will be on view at the party and if it sells half goes to the school and half to me!
i loved painting this magical creature - and i've decided i'm going to do a larger version :)

bowl of milk

2009-02-20T10:48:00.007-05:00

sticking with the cat theme, and in light of the current exhibition at the Met of his late interiors, i present to you another Bonnard. in this one the cat is not immediately perceptible; you have to look for him in the shadows. i love this painting - called The Bowl of Milk, circa 1919. i'm not sure if this piece is in the show, but i can't wait to get to the Met soon to see more of these weird and maniacally colorful interiors.

chat

2009-02-19T08:00:00.003-05:00

this is a Bonnard's Le chat blanc. Bonnard has tons of cats in his paintings to keep me going here. and Balthus. don't even get me started on Balthus. you'll definitely be seeing some of his felines here soon.

sorry about the pin holes, this guy has been pinned to the last 4 studios i've inhabited.
:)

cats

2009-02-18T09:10:00.005-05:00

i will have another little painting finished soon, but i've been thinking that even when i don't have something of mine ready to post i want to keep the blogging going. the painting of papi i just did gave me an idea: i've decided that for now i will fill in with pictures of the best cats from art history. like this guy:

isn't he ridiculous?! i love it. it's a detail from The Graham Children by Hogarth, 1742.

papi in a cartwheel ruff

2009-02-17T09:01:00.008-05:00

i'm back! after a good weekend of lots of painting it's time for me to get the blog back up and running. i was feeling a little lazy and stuck with painting for a few weeks, but after the best pep-talk ever by someone whose name rhymes with shimmy, i am feeling super inspired and motivated. this painting was a gift for my valentine, it's bob wearing an old thyme ruffled collar. we have an awesome fancy gold frame that will fit it perfectly when it's dry. :)

2009-01-24T19:02:00.007-05:00

i started this painting months ago, then put it aside for a while, and have been working on it again the last couple weeks, and i think i'm finally done.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T16:11:00.003-05:00

i'm going to wear my new orange hat everyday this year. not really, it's pretty warm. fun to paint though!
:)

best presents ever

2008-12-21T14:06:00.002-05:00

i received a couple of amazing prezies this weekend from my two ultimate bros.
the first one is from jimmy. every time i fly away somewhere he hides a card or note in my suitcase for me to find later. this year is the best one ever cuz it's a christmas card that he made (that also included a check for $5 to spend on ice cream). look at this dapper gentleman:

and the second one is the most amazing painting by christina of some adorable kittens. she got herself a paint by number kit and worked on it for weeks. she let the numbers serve as a guide but eventually went into it with her own colors, seriously taking paint by number to another level. how awesome is this???? words can't express how much i love it. thanks again buddy :) :)

heather the pirate

2008-12-16T15:54:00.005-05:00

for her 40th birthday, jimmy and i did companion portraits of heather as a pirate. here's mine, and u can see jimmy's here!

bride's maids sashes

2008-11-12T17:38:00.006-05:00

as the maid of honor, i told christina i would help her jazz up the bride's maids' dresses. so i made a pretty sash with a flower to go around our wastes.. jimmy and i had a little craft party at home and he helped me cut them all out. here they are in progress:

the finished flower:

this isn't the best but it's the only pic i have yet of the whole ensamble. when cp forwards the wedding photos i'll post one with all of us together. ..oh yeah and there's Christina looking all bridal.. doesn't she look beautiful?
:)

more from Eleuthera

2008-11-06T08:35:00.003-05:00

the bride & groom:

look at this cuteness:

every sunset here has been amazing

p.s. we watched election coverage on a tiny tv in the gym here, sitting on stair-master machines and bikes. this is the second major world-changing event that has happened back home that i've been away during (911 i was on an island in greece). it's kind of upsetting not to be home celebrating with everyone. (not that i'm complaining).
go-obama.
:)

BahamaMama

2008-11-04T11:25:00.001-05:00

sorry about the irregular posting but i'm finally in the bahamas! it is so great to be here with christina and tom. it's so quiet and warm and peaceful. the wedding is going to be so beautiful! i'll post pics here each day. here's a couple right outside the door where i'm sitting:

happy halloween from JC

2008-11-01T10:56:00.009-04:00

after last night, i love our neighborhood even more. nothing pleases me more than seeing people go all out for halloween. and our block proved to be the spookiest one around for all the trick-or-treaters..

this is our building; through the window you can see margie the manequin who lives in the foyer:

our neighbors across the street had the goriest display for sure: notice the rat eating this poor skeleton's brains:

but i think these lovely witches, also across the street, took the prize for the most spooktacular set up:

The Met

2008-10-29T09:07:00.008-04:00

how i love it so..
siobhan and i went to see the morandi show. this is the 3rd time i've had the opportunity to see his peaceful little still-lifes - i really love them so much:

everytime i go to the met i discover something new. like this awesome balthus painting i never knew was there:

and i finally made it to the rooftop for the first time ever, (on what happened to be the last day of the koons exhibit):

doggies

2008-10-22T22:15:00.005-04:00

i finally finish the painting siobhan commissioned me to do for her friend gayle's wedding present. these are gayle's babies.

muscle man

2008-10-21T22:52:00.007-04:00

this weekend i finally went to grab a few last things that were left at the old studio, including all of my écorché sculptures from school. sadly, i had to say goodbye to this fellow, b/c there's just nowhere to put all of them, and i have another one just like him but more developed. peter, my friend at the old studio adopted him. anyway here he is, and some day i'll post pics of the ones i took with me.
..looking at them really makes me want to sculpt again.

fun with camerabag

2008-10-20T11:03:00.008-04:00

my latest iphone webapp: camerabag. it's basically fun filters that you can apply to any pics you take with your iphone, or even photos you already have. here is a shot from the canko loft opening (the big art exhibit in conjunction with the JC studio tour):

and here's infrared papi lickin his chops:

and, mysterious man in our living room wearing my favorite hat:

p.s. i found out that the little woodblock i painted went for $250 at the auction in wellfleet - very exciting!!
:)

2008-10-17T18:48:00.002-04:00

painting for woodfleet project

2008-10-16T11:25:00.006-04:00

this is a little painting i did for a charity auction that my friend katie organizes every year in cape cod during oysterfest. she gives out 5 1/2" inch long pieces of 2 x 6 lumber to anyone who'd like to participate, to work them in any creative way they please. in the spirit of cape cod i decided to stick with a watery theme and use another pic from our trip to newport rhode island this last summer.

Chrysler Building

2008-10-14T22:37:00.002-04:00

happy monday from papi

2008-10-13T22:07:00.002-04:00

2nd version

2008-10-10T09:54:00.002-04:00

of a study i posted earlier..

2008-10-09T10:27:00.001-04:00

papi

2008-10-09T09:59:00.004-04:00

papi was also a big hit on the tour. so here he is - some sketches in my sketchbook from a couple years ago.

Artists Studio Tour weekend

2008-10-06T11:08:00.008-04:00

this weekend was the Jersey City open studio tour. it was a lot of fun and a great success! we met lots of enthusiastic art lovers from both sides of the river, as well as some of our really cool neighbors in JC, and i got great feedback and interest in my work. here are some pics of the little studio all set up. :)

2008-10-03T09:55:00.002-04:00

2008-10-02T09:33:00.002-04:00

2008-10-01T09:45:00.001-04:00

2008-09-30T09:00:00.004-04:00

Newport

2008-09-29T09:38:00.001-04:00

i just got around to developing a roll of film i took in rhode island this summer. lots of good shots of this little family of geese.

Leuchtturmwärter

2008-09-26T12:35:00.014-04:00

it's been a while, but it's time to get the blog back up to speed. starting today, i'd like to bring the "daily" back into "thedailywarbler" and try to post something monday through friday, either art-related or just little daily musings.

for now, here are the paintings i did this summer for german artist sven johne for you to see. sven is a conceptual/installation/journalistic/photographic artist working in leipzig, and as some of you know he commissioned me to do 7 portraits for part of his upcoming exhibition. this component of the exhibition involves the last lighthouse keepers in germany. he gave me some photos of the actual individuals for reference, but it wasn't important to get a specific likeness, and for the most part the portraits are invented. sven was more concerned that the facial expressions convey a specific feeling. because these guys (and one lady) are basically the end of a line, he wanted me to push the expressions to varying degrees of pride, loneliness or sadness.

the exhibition opens in berlin in november; he'll be sending me images from the exhibition and i'll be sure to post them here.

The Teenager

2008-06-18T12:17:00.003-04:00

Gro

2008-06-18T12:14:00.002-04:00

sorry i haven't blogged in like over 2 months.. here's the portrait of Gro finally finished.

2008-04-08T19:44:00.003-04:00

new studies

2008-04-08T19:42:00.000-04:00

more studies :)

2008-01-28T18:06:00.000-05:00

ed

2008-01-28T18:02:00.000-05:00

a study i did from one of jane's models

small sp study

2008-01-26T21:30:00.000-05:00

i'll be posting a few more soon; some little studies i've done here and there over the last few months. :)

a future in television?

2007-10-08T16:59:00.000-04:00

last week i rented 11 of my paintings to FOX, for an episode of their new show "New Amsterdam." apparently it will air sometime in january, and when i find out exactly when i'll let you know so you can watch. the episode has something to do with some artist from the 19th century, and my paintings dressed the set of his studio; were meant to be his work. who knew all my figure studies from school would actually be rent-able!?

the new season of 30 rock began last thursday and sure enough my drawing is prominently placed in baldwin's character's office. here it is right between him and guest-star jerry seinfeld:

i'm sorry i forgot to give a heads up to watch, but it'll be there in his office all season if you'd like to tune in and see - it's a funny show by the way. and here is a shot of one of the drawings i did last season, just for one episode (on the wall behind tina fey):

student

2007-09-17T11:11:00.000-04:00

in my defense, yes he did look this angry. in his defense, he was reading the SCUM Manifesto for his feminism class. on day 2 he read something a little more tame (although the light kinda changed and i think i killed the underpainting: