Who doesn’t like to hear the words, “I am so proud of you!” For my friend Mallika’s birthday, I made her this self-affirming piece to read to herself everyday.
Here’s me bearing the gift at the Impressionist exhibit at the de Young Museum on her birthday (which was great!) and here it is the next day hanging at her desk at work.
Props to Have Gun, Will Travel on their award from American Songwriter and props to me for getting the presentation right. The article reads:
“This month’s winner in the Conceptualization category was a no-brainer: Bradenton, Florida’s very own Have Gun, Will Travel. Their handsome sophomore effort, Postcards From The Friendly City (Suburban Home) is almost as notable for its ingenious design and packaging as its organic, infectious brand of Americana pop. We here at UTR are big fans of bands that claim their hometowns with pride and, like the finest local produce, HGWT’s music has a refreshing immediacy to it that can only come from an innate connection with one’s native environment. Like a Sunshine State-sanctioned answer to New York’s Fountains of Wayne, the band expertly canonizes the displacement of suburban existence on such gems as “Land Of The Living” (We belong to the land of the living/ but we don’t live there anymore) and conjures up a disturbingly cheery dystopia in “Maritime Rag” and the aching “Salad Days.” And, really, in these days of managed expectations and digital-only releases, not enough can be said about the great lyric insert in the album package, cleverly reproduced to look like a folded miniature copy of the Bradenton Chronicle from 1955. Excellent work, fellows.”
Source: www.americansongwriter.com
Made with Gawker.
Does anyone else write frustrated/angry emails that you know you probably won’t send? I’ve written a few in my life, and admittedly, one today. After that, I did this painting:
You guys remember that screamo band, Grade (like, circa ’99)? I think your friend Matt was into them. Anyway, if you don’t know Grade, don’t bother, but this one came on iTunes while I was emo-painting and I was taken back to high school. YEAH MAN, LIKE, I SO IDENTIFY TO THAT.
“This is a time in my life where everything is falling apart,
and at the same time it’s all coming together.”
— Grade; A Year in the Past, Forever in the Future
For Virna.
And here’s a video I saw today from Knife Party that’s good in visuals and in theory:
Coalition Of The Willing from coalitionfilm on Vimeo.
SHWING! Which, for one thing, means more bike rides and looking out for new music with a bikeable quality! CSS ‘s album “Cansei de Ser Sexy” was a favorite of mine back in LA. Here’s a cut:
…And I don’t know about the “bikability” of FREE ENERGY, but spawned from the ashes of one of my favorite groups, Hockey ♥ Night, it’s worth mentioning that I can’t stop listening to their debut album, “Stuck on Nothing.”
Hockey Night slumber party, 5/11/06. Boston.
New painting > PROCESS > 1, 2, 3!
My mother is one of the most talented artists I’ve ever known. When I was 7 or 8, she set me up in the basement and gave me a lesson in watercolor painting. As an Emmet Kelly collector and admirer, the subject she chose for my first painting was a hobo clown. It is still proudly on display in an overstated frame in the house I grew up in.
So did you guys hear about the stunt Fat Mike from NOFX pulled at this year’s SXSW? He played an acoustic show as this character called Cokie the Clown. If you want to peep this super controversial set, there is a video below. It’s more than a half hour investment, but if you happen to be a fan, it’s worth it. Spoiler alert: The prize at the end is where he reveals to the audience that they had taken shots of Patron cut with his urine.
Since my NOFX obsession hasn’t really subsided since I was 14, I was inspired to do a hobo clown painting V.2 which I then went ahead and made into a poster for a fun design exercise.
Here’s the show that inspired this painting:
(Thanks Ricky / theinternettoday.net for providing this video!!)
This is one hour.
Here is a watercolor I recently painted for my dear friend, Erin Davis.
About this piece: For three years in high school I lived on a cattle ranch in Sarasota, Florida. The goats were my responsibility and I have loved them since! The uncle I lived with used to call me the goat girl because I spent so much time with them. My favorites on the ranch were our Nubian milking goats, which explains the text in the painting. And animal heads on hot bodies is pretty much a recipe for cool sketches.
I started smoking when I moved to LA. I don’t know why I thought that would be a good idea, but after a year of indulging in this disgusting habit I’ve really had enough.
I haven’t smoked in a week. My lungs already feel clearer and my sense of smell more acute.
Here is a reminder of how it makes me feel to enjoy a cigarette.
Has anyone else noticed that the new Vick’s motion logo is very similar to the logo Vimeo uses while the video loads? This seems like a great opportunity to share this Vimeo video of my #1 little pig having a good ol’ time (filmed by my brother-in-law, Andrew). Refresh the page to catch it quickly.
VIMEO:
VICKS:
When I’m feeling creative, my dog is often my default subject matter. This is pretty of “low-art” of me, I know, but in this most recent painting, I want to bury the image of Ruby with tens of thousands of paint drops so she’s barely noticeable. I did a very small painting similar to this one last year (maybe 12″ x 8″) and I loved working on it. Every single paint drop is a decision, but the joy in that process is that the consequence is indifferent once it’s placed. It’s like meditating and it gives my mind an uninterrupted chance to wander.
I wanted to do a larger version, so this piece is 47″ x 22″. The base image for the last piece was an abstraction (almost like a solar system) so I thought this time I would try incorporating an image. And hello Ruby!
I’m very excited to launch janellf.com v.4. New year, new work, new layout. Built with Indexhibit™, a great liaison to better my comprehension of css and php. Here is a sneak peek at the format while I iron out the final details. Happy twenty ten!
Today is the first anniversary of the blog™. I turned a year older a few days ago as well. It was a great golden birthday, rich with sweet baby James and good friends.
Here’s a logo I finished recently for local musician, Seth Jeremy, for his electronic project Rewind Stop Play. For some reason, it reminds me of watching Double Dare. His tunes aren’t released to the public yet, but if you want to see how it’s coming, you can check his site for updates.
Spreading a little Holiday cheer to your neck of the internet.
Every tree needs a star, and Ruby’s perfect in red felt and embroidery floss. <3<3<3<3
Yes friends, I’m taking orders and colorways for Winter hats! You now can finally own one of my weirdo crocheted mohawk hats for only $50. Each hat is guaranteed to make you feel at LEAST 20% more badass. Email me@janellf.com or comment below.
Click to see larger :
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…And for those of you who were sleeping about 8 years ago during Don Hertzfelt’s amazing REJECTED commercials viral interweb boom, please enjoy. I sure do.
Have Gun’s album is out now! They’ve gotten some good attention from their review in Tampa Bay’s alt-weekly newspaper, Creative Loafing. Read the album review.
Quality photos unfortunately don’t exist in my life right now, but here are a couple crummy pics of the final CD artwork.
Tampa Bay 10 morning crew loves my packaging designs!
Matt Burke, next time you call me your “layout person” at least give my URL a plug. ;]
And there’s 2 other videos of Have Gun, Will Travel from Studio 10 here.
My dog, Ruby, has shown me recently that it’s OK to blow past certain people when you first meet them. In the past, this bothered me because I wanted everyone to know that I have the sweetest dog in the whole world. But she’s right. Even if they’re talking to you in their cutest voice, it’s good to be discerning with new friendships.
Once again, I find myself living a place without a real Winter. Los Angeles has cooled off a bit lately though which makes my crocheting tendencies come to life. I’ve made a few new things lately. Click to see!
Nothing beats designing the album artwork for one of your favorite bands. Hailig from Bradenton, Florida, I first worked with Have Gun, Will Travel back in 2008 for their release of “Casting Shadows Tall as Giants” and was lucky enough to be invited back to design their upcoming release “Postcards from the Friendly City.” We went with a 4 panel digipak and 8 panel insert, which was a really fun format to be able to work with to seamlessly show off the photography. And as always, front-man Matt Burke is truly a dream to collaborate with. Also, thanks to the dudes down at Imprint for taking such good care of the CD manufacturing. I LOVE IMPRINT(.com)!
I cannot wait to hear this album in it’s entirety.
HGWT, I love all you guys and miss your shows. West Coast Tour 2010!
COVER CONCEPT:
FINAL:
Photos will be in my portfolio section as soon as I get a copy. :]
Let it load & Let me explain…
Click to see!
A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF J2F
*Note: the left / right arrows on your keyboard will move you to the next picture
Refer to picture # if you wanna say something. Comments are fun.
I recently had the pleasure of working with Leslie and the Badgers on designing their September residency poster at The Echo. The music makes you smile and her voice just makes you fall in love.
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