my artsy stuff Archives • Page 2 of 9 •

Category Archives: my artsy stuff

There’s always room for more beer.

Written on December 16, 2013 by alyson in my artsy stuff, watercolor

And epic beer posters. If you’ve followed me on Instagram in the last few months, you’ve probably seen several sneak peeks at some beer bottle watercolors I’ve been painting.

And painting.

And drinking and painting.

And then some more painting.

And then the formatting. And re-arranging. And tweaking (but no twerking). And stifling of OCD tendencies.

And then FINALLY a little proofing and, heck, some more drinking time:

All for the huge piece of beer-love you see here:

Beer Hoarder. If you are into craft beer at all, you know one. You might actually BE one. Scooping up rare bottles at beer events. Stalking your local bottle shop for the next release. Waiting in lines for beer, like some perverse Soviet-era throwback. All to take your precious down to your basement, garage, cupboard, or cardboard box to let that bad boy get some age on it. Develop the funk. Yep, you’re a beer hoarder.

Actually, come to think of it, I’ve been doing a little bit of hoarding myself. I’ve been tinkering with this final piece for weeks now. And while it might be prudent to wait to release this baby into the wild until 2014, I just can’t bear to wait. Real artists ship. (Or so Steve constantly tells me.)

What I AM going to do is release a limited edition series of the Beer Hoarder print on 100% cotton fine art paper. And it is delicious paper, people. So thick and textured, it makes this print look every bit as good as an original. Limited edition of 100. Snatch one up here by Wednesday for Christmas delivery.

And because it is the holiday season and there are serious feelings of gratitude for all of my customers and supporters this year, I’m giving away one of these limited edition prints! How can you win? Simply be the first to accurately identify every beer depicted. Easy, right? Your list must be posted under the post on the Drywell Facebook page. I won’t tell you which ones someone misidentifies, only that they didn’t get them all right.

42 craft beers away from glory.

Hoppy Holidays.

xo, alyson

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Bar towels are hot.

Written on December 11, 2013 by alyson in my artsy stuff

Super hot, apparently. I waited over two years to create and decide on a design, and in less than a week after putting them up for sale, they are almost gone. Yep, that’s right. My limited run of 100 bar/tea towels is almost sold out. (Men apparently don’t understand “tea” towels, but totally get “bar” towels. So there you go.)

So if you want one of these really freaking kick-ass bar towels to plop under your Christmas tree (or just to wipe up your spilled bourbon) you should grab one while they are still available. I will clearly be printing more because I LOVE them, and so do other people apparently, but not until 2014. Consider this your PSA.

Cocktails before they became famous on bar towels.

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Original Sidecar For Sale

Written on August 29, 2013 by alyson in my artsy stuff, watercolor

Framed original watercolor. $175

As you may recall, last month I participated in Project Make, an online documentation of the creative process. The project is over, but that means there is original art for sale!

Offering original art is not something I have done a lot of online, choosing instead to sell at local shows. So now’s your chance, if you’re outside of the Bay Area and in need of an original watercolor painting. Check it out at the Project Make Shop.

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meat into food, part III

Written on August 5, 2013 by alyson in food bank, my artsy stuff, other people

The ongoing magic trick (sorry … illusion) of turning meat art into actual meat continues! Ever since January 2011, Drywell Art has been donating 10% of the sales of every Meat My City neighborhood meat maps to a local food bank. It only makes sense that if I’m peddling food for a living, I should be giving food to those in need as well. As I was making my quarterly food bank donations this month, I realized there hasn’t been a recent update on the cold hard cash facts!

Above are the very grand totals of food bank donations by city since January 2011. I’m astounded. The San Francisco donation alone equates to over $5000 worth of food that the San Francisco Food Bank distributed. All from meat on paper. Go Team Carnivore!

(You can also check out the initial announcement , 2011 quarter one results , and 2011 Q2 + Q3 results, and 2011 Q4 plus 2012 Q1-3 results)

With no further ado, here are the totals for 2012 Q4, 2013 Q1 and Q2. Drumroll…..

6. Brooklyn – $25.00 to the St. John’s Bread and Life food pantry in Brooklyn

5. Portland. $32.50 to The Oregon Food Bank

4. Seattle. $55.00 to the Northwest Harvest food bank in Washington.

3. Los Angeles. $65 to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. That’s 260 meals of food that can be distributed to needy families in LA!

2. San Francisco. Narrowly missing the top spot is my home city. $150 to the San Francisco Food Bank. The SF Food Bank distributes $6 of food for every $1 donated. That means the SF Food Bank will be able to distribute $900 worth of food to needy residents of SF! Amazeballs.

1. Chicago. Man, the Midwest is representing, big time. The newest city to get a poster leads the pack with $167.50 to the Chicago Food Bank.

If you’re from one of these cities and think that another food bank needs the donations next time, just drop me a line and let me know. Thanks everyone!!

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summertime cocktail prints, ready to rock

Written on July 25, 2013 by alyson in art show, city life, craft show, my artsy stuff, other people

The weather has taken a turn for the sunny, and dare I say, warm? I was actually able to sit outside at Public House with my father on his short visit to SF yesterday, and *may* have even said it was hot at one point. And the sun went down behind the buildings and it was all over.

But, it is supposed to be quite lovely this weekend, which means it will be a great time to hang outside and stop in Renegade Craft Fair at Fort Mason. There are over 200 vendors, including your’s truly. Drywell Art will be front and center, quite literally. We’ll be set up next to my pal Kai, at Nosh This, who will be slinging Bacon Crack (TM) after a long hiatus.

Jam-maker extraordinaire, Lemon Bird and culinary soap-master Etta+Billie will be sharing a booth nearby, and my pal Sharon Z. will be there too with her eponymous jewelry line. Some other faves are SF tees for kids by my friend, the newly engaged Jamai of Animal Instincts, and the always amazing art of Ryan Berekley. (I just saw a show of his while I was in POrtland … really hoping he’s made some prints of those pieces!)

And Drywell Art will have some new goods on display, including a slew of framed original watercolors and at least two new cocktail diagram prints, the Sidecar and Sazerac.

Stop in, eat some chocolate and say hello.

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Making Stuff for Project Make

Written on July 18, 2013 by alyson in craft show, my artsy stuff, other people, watercolor

Booyah! Final Sidecar cocktail diagram

Fully back in the swing of things here at Drywell HQ. Not only is Renegade Craft Fair coming up next weekend at Fort Mason, but I’ve also been busy creating new pieces for Project Make.

pencil sketch of sidecar

Project Make is a pretty fun project headed up by fellow artist Meghan Urback. Basically, for the next month, a group of local artists will be documenting their process for creating art. The process photos are posted on Instagram with the tag #projectmake as well as on each artist’s page on the Project Make website. Here’s mine. After the pieces are finished, the originals will be available for purchase on the site.

Where the magic happens. With the watercolor.

Photoshop mock up from fellow watercolorist Emily Proud

Woodcuts from Sirima Sataman

It has been pretty interesting so far to see everyone’s processes, especially those working in different media, such as wood block printing. My process can be at times …. a bit unorthodox.

Inspiration comes in many (delicious) forms.

…but tasty. I’ll post when the final paintings are available for purchase.

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One Benjamin

Written on July 4, 2013 by alyson in my artsy stuff, travel

Mangosteens: Queen of Fruit. Ubud, Bali.

Just in time for Independence Day, I’m finally back in the USA after over 35,000 miles flying around the world. Actually, more accurately, I’m back just in time for the World Domination Summit 2013 in Portland, Oregon.

Last year, the conference was awesome, and I wrote about it. Here. Last year, the organizers of this conference of non-conformists also made the insane gesture of giving away the profits of the conference to the attendees. Insane, I tell you. So I’ve had this $100 bill sitting around since then, and before I set off for my round the world trip of awesomeness, I decided to invest in myself. By buying fancy ass travel paintbrushes. With which I painted these things.

The trip was always intended to be a semi-working trip. When your business and leisure interests (i.e. food and drink) line up so well, that’s a no brainer. I already had a travel watercolor set, and these brushes allowed me to actually have nice brushes to you know, paint with.

While I didn’t paint as much on the trip as I intended, I am positively brimming with ideas and inspiration from eating my way through Asia and Europe.

So when the amazing ramen diagrams and kebab illustrations make their debut, you have Chris Guillebeau and the generosity of the World Domination Summit to thank.

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Padrecito

Written on March 10, 2013 by alyson in city life, my artsy stuff

Preparing for 17 weeks of travel was challenging, to say the least. As with any trip, it seems like the last week or so is the most jam-packed time, when you are frantically trying to make sure everything is ready to go and you haven’t forgotten anything important. Any sane person would put all their energy into getting prepared and use any remaining time for a bon voyage party and relaxing with friends you won’t see for months.

I, however, am not a sane person. Eight days before my departure, I commented on Padrecito bar manager David Ruiz’s Instagram post, showing the progress of the long-anticipated Mexican restaurant in Cole Valley. Padrecito is taking the place of neighborhood stalwart EOS, which closed last year. Cole Valley is my neighborhood, and I’ve been peeking into the brown paper-covered windows of the restaurant, checking on the progress for months. That one little comment turned into an email exchange, which turned into a phone call, which then turned into a quick meeting at the bar. And that’s how I found myself, less than a week before my departure, illustrating the cocktail menu of a neighborhood restaurant.

And it looks pretty bad ass, if I do say so myself.

As cool as the menu looks, imagine how delicious the cocktails are! I’m beyond bummed that I didn’t get a chance to see the restaurant in action before I left. But if you’re in San Francisco, you have no excuse. The restaurant is gorgeous, and if the food and cocktails at sister restaurant Mamacita are any indication, Padrecito is going to be delicious and packed very soon. (Sneak peek of the dinner menu is here). From what I hear, soft opening was this weekend, and looking to open for real on March 12th or so. Follow @PadrecitoSF on Twitter for updates.

So get over there, and have a cocktail for me. Bonus points to anyone who tweets a picture of their cocktail and the corresponding illustration to me at @ilovedrywell.

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Sustenance and Carly Rae Jepsen

Written on January 31, 2013 by alyson in art show, city life, my artsy stuff

I’ve kind of been riding high this week, flitting from a group art show – Mixed Meat-ia– opening at Lolinda, curated by the Bold Italic, to a friends and family pre-opening at the much-anticipated Hi Lo BBQ in the Mission (twitter can do amazing things, people). Notably, I’ve NOT been flitting to and from the Hall of Justice, because my number didn’t get called for jury duty this week. And to top it all off, on Friday, I’ll be at the opening reception for the Sustenance group show, at Rare Device.

The Sustenance show is curated by Lauren Venell, who you may know as the master-mind behind Sweet Meats — those amazing plush hams and other assorted meat products. The theme of the show celebrates the history of the space that Rare Device now inhabits on Divisadero. It has been at one time or another, the Bank of Italy, a butcher show, and an orphanage. We were given the guideline to do something that relates to the hisotry of the space or the theme of sustenance in general.

I already knew that the space had been a butcher’s shop, but as soon as I found out that it had an Italian connection, it took me all of 5 seconds to figure out what piece I was going to make.

Yeah, I listened to a lot of silly pop music during the crush of December. I’m not embarassed. And you know you like it too.

Now available as a 8.5 x 11 print!

RSVP here.

……..

SUSTENANCE: 150 Years of Feeding the Community at 600 Divisadero

Rare Device presents “Sustenance”, a new group gallery exhibition with a focus on the unique histories of 600 Divisadero and the positive effects the residents of the space have had on the community. Curated by Lauren Venell, the show features local art by Lauren Venell, Heather Hardison, Samantha Barsky, Alyson Thomas, Dan Brazelton, Tina Jett, Ally Ritchie, Andrew Venell, Karen Curtiss and Brian McHugh.

Opening Reception: Friday, February 1 from 6 – 9 PM

About “Sustenance”: 600 Divisadero Street has provided nourishment to everyone around it for over 150 years. Since 1876 this piece of pasture has housed an orphanage, a Bank of Italy, a neighborhood meat market, and now, Rare Device shop and gallery. Each of these institutions has fed the community–sometimes with food, and sometimes with more spiritual sustenance, as a place for neighbors to gather and feel at home. The community also feeds 600 Divis, much like tributaries feed a river. Generations of San Franciscans have flowed through here, sometimes stopping and spending time with the people, goods and spaces that have grown and changed here over time.

In 1876 the Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum was built on the site of 600 Divisadero, which fed dozens of children–and, after the 1906 earthquake, more than 50 other members of the local community as well. Even though the kitchen was destroyed, Superintendent Henry Mauser grilled meats over an improvised fire pit for weeks following the disaster. 50 years later 600 Divis continued that tradition by serving local residents with high-quality, low-cost meats at Divisadero Meat Market. Divisadero Meat Market stayed open under just two different owners, finally closing in 2010. Now the storefront is home to Rare Device, a welcoming spot where people can nourish their spirits and homes with meaningful, beautiful objects, or gather for community events like children’s story time.

About Lauren Venell: Lauren Venell is an independent designer and artist from San Francisco, whose products can be found in stores around the world. Her work has been published in titles by Chronicle Books, Klutz/Scholastic, and Quarry Books, and featured in several media outlets including The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, Everyday with Rachel Ray and on Canal+ Television. Lauren lives and works with her husband and an ornery parrotlet named Elvis.

About Rare Device: Rare Device is a store and gallery that features functional experiments and original ideas in art, design, craft and fabrication. Owner Giselle Gyalzen constantly seeks out objects that are beautiful, evocative, well constructed and thoughtful. We are pleased to bring to our San Francisco store an ever-growing roster of local, national and international artists and designers for a truly “rare” experience.
Rare Device (raredevice.net) is located at 600 Divisadero Street, at the corner of Hayes. Store/gallery hours are Monday through Friday noon to 8pm, Saturday 11am to 7pm and Sunday 11am to 6 pm.

For more information contact: Giselle Gyalzen at info@raredevice.net or 415-863-3969

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Beer Bourbon & BBQ ad infinitum

Written on December 10, 2012 by alyson in beer bourbon and bbq, meat sections, my artsy stuff, watercolor

That’s right. I’ve finally got all the new art from my Beer, Bourbon, & BBQ show transformed into schmancy print-form, right here in ye ole shop. They’ve seen the light at a few craft shows in the past week, and damn, if they aren’t popular. I think my older art is getting jealous.

Oh, and if you want to up the ante in the gift-giving department, there are still some original pieces available from me for local pick-up in San Francisco. Just shoot me an email using the “contact” button above and we’ll get you set up.