"Happy Food" and LA Adventures

I'm back from another jam packed trip to the West Coast and boy am I tired! Ed and I just love it out there and always have the best time. We started with a lovely morning at the LACMA. I was especially excited to see their special exhibition, Nature and the American Vision: The Hudson River School (no photos allowed, but it was amazing and so moving in person). We were also greeted by the genius "Urban Light" by Chris Burden:

And just around through the entrance was the amazing "Levitated Mass" by Michael Heizer. So powerful in person!

By the way, all these photos are by my husband, Ed Mironiuk. He has such a better eye for framing than I do :)

At this point in the trip, the clouds thickened and the wind picked up and it seemed like we were back in Jersey. Just as we were headed to the line of food trucks for some lunch the heavens opened up and we rushed to our car to have some delicious mexican food. It seems that it always rains when we go to the coast and boy, do they need every drop they can get!

We finished up at the museum and met up with friends at a coffee shop nearby. The rain tapered off at that point and the sun even came out. It turned into another beautiful day in Los Angeles.

Later on, we stopped by Gallery 1988 to see my show all hung. It's always such a thrill to see months of work filling up a room as I'm usually worried that it won't fill a closet. The great folks over there always do such a wonderful job, I can't thank them enough for all that they do.

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The morning of the show, we woke up to some more rain and wind. Not a problem! Ed and I wanted to venture out to the ocean, grabbing a sushi burrito from the Jogasaki food truck. We took it over to the beach and once again, the clouds parted and the sun came out. It turned into another perfect California day overlooking the Santa Monica Pier.

We jumped into our car and headed up the PCH, passing all the surfers and beautiful homes along the coast. Then a trip through Malibu Canyon, to head to the Hollywood Hills to try and find the iconic Chemosphere House. Built in 1960 by John Lautner it's an amazing structure.

Now, I must admit, I'm not a fan of driving through the hills. The twisting turns and tiny road (with two way traffic) makes my stomach turn. But the views and the homes more than make up for it! Our gps said that we had arrived at the address but alas, no Chemosphere. We drove a bit further to the end of the street and turned around to head back to the hotel. Then we looked up...

Success!! So gosh darn cool!

Back to the hotel to try and relax for an hour or so before dinner with friends at MudHen Tavern.

It was such a great meal of little tapas style plates. Definitely recommended if you're in the Melrose/Highland area of LA.

Dun dun dun!! The big opening. Jitters, sweating a bit and wondering if anyone would show up. From the moment we walked in around 7:30 till 10pm the gallery was just about full. I met so many wonderful people (a couple from Australia even!), old friends and new, I was overwhelmed by the kind words and smiles. I'm getting choked up a bit just thinking about it again. Thank you so very much. And darn it - we totally forgot/didn't even have a chance to take any photos! You can see the whole show online at Gallery 1988. We ended the evening at the iconic Pink's around the corner for a hot dog.

The next day we spent with one of our favorite people, walking around Los Angeles which we had never done before. We went to the Bradbury Building (think "Blade Runner"):

Past some really spectacular buildings like the Grand Central Square Apartments:

Look at the fascade! Never saw cow skulls with horns on a building before.

Had some lunch at the Grand Central Market which has been there since 1917! We even went to the Los Angeles Public Library and saw the most amazing lobby:

Surrounded by murals depicting the history of California it was truly breathtaking.

Whew! Back in the car and then off to the airport for our red eye to NJ.

I hope that you enjoyed my tale as much as we enjoyed experiencing it. Coming back home is lovely, but it doesn't beat the excitement and love of friends + art + architecture.

Thank you.

-Kris



Happy Food Solo at Gallery 1988

Happy Food is coming!

I am humbled and honored to once again be showing my work with Gallery 1988. When asked to do another solo with them, I had a couple ideas for themes, but kept coming back to happy food.

Mr. Good Morning Waffle along with 29 of his tasty friends will be on display from May 15th through June 6th at their East location. As with all their shows, there will not be an advance preview so if you can't make it to the opening, all remaining art (including limited edition prints) will go on sale the next day in their online shop. But since Ed and I will be flying out for the opening, we hope that we can see lots of you there!

What? You'd like another sneak peek? Here's "Salud":

I'll be showing a few more complete paintings over the next week, so stay tuned. ARe you still itching to buy some artwork now? Gallery 1988 is having a spring sale until May 17th on most inventory. Use the code 2015 for 15% off! I've got a handful of items that are eligible for the sale which you can peruse here.

Going Down Under

I can't believe it, but Ed and I are going to Australia! The great folks at Auguste Clown Gallery have invited me to do a larger solo with them October 2nd and we decided to go for the opening! It's quite the trip and believe me, not an easy decision due to the cost of getting there (not only money-wise, but physically and emotionally as well - 24 hrs in an airplane is a LONG TIME), but the pluses far outweighed the minuses. We will be in the Melbourne area for a week and hope to get a good overview of the city as well as a day trip or two outside (Great Ocean Road, anyone?). If anyone has any tips or hints or must-see places or might even want to meet up for a coffee let me know!

I'm not set on a theme just yet, but have started sketching and having fun coming up with some new characters. So stay tuned and I hope to see some of you in October!

Never Nudes and Puppy Dogs

Hey everybody!

I wanted to share my latest painting which is for Idiot Box 2 at Gallery 1988. The theme is everyone's favorite television show and I just couldn't help myself, I had to do an homage to Arrested Development. Now why I chose to do Tobias in his never-nude shorts, licking a frozen banana with nuts as a fuzzy blue monster, I can't readily say, other than it made me laugh.

I hope he brings a smile to your sweet faces as well!

"Mr. Gay" acrylic on maple, 8.5" x 8.5"

If you're interested in purchasing him, he's available over at Gallery 1988.

Now for the puppy dogs! I recently had the pleasure of showing my work at Baker+Hesseldenz Gallery in Tuscon, AZ for their spring group show. I painted two new "I'm Not Hungry" pieces (both originals sold), "Maple" and "Winslow".

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           I was thrilled that "Maple" was even shown in an article about the show in American Art Collector Magazine alongside some amazing artists like Van Arno, Fabio D'Aroma and Fay Helfer.

If you're interested in these two little pups, I have prints as well as mounted prints in my shop and just because you guys are so special to me (seriously), use the code SPECIAL and get 10% off everything you buy until May 10th. Visit shop.cuddlyrigormortis.com and have fun!

Limited Edition Large "Kokoro" Mount

After years of people asking me to make more "Kokoro" mounted prints, I finally decided to just go ahead and make a small edition of them. The first mounts were 5x7, an edition of 100 and sold out. But now they are 7x9 and an edition of only 10. I say, grab one for your honey while you can :D Available in my shop here.

 

While you're there you might also see a print of a painting I did back in 2012 for Bats Day. There are only 2 prints available, 8 x 10, signed and titled and only $20! Have fun shopping everyone and thanks for looking :D

Happy New Year Sale and APs

 

As a thank you for all the wonderful support I received this year, I decided to put a whole bunch of APs and some rare mounted prints into my shop along with a discount code for 20% off - everything! That's all the new items, originals, and anything else you may put into your shopping cart. Just use the code CRM2015 and it will automatically take 20% off your whole order. The code will be good through January 4th so have fun shopping and pick up a little something for your walls. You deserve it.

A Happy, Healthy New Year to you and yours - Thanks everyone.

 

Available Originals Holiday Guide

A few shows have opened since I've been away and I wanted to provide everyone with a handy list of what's available for purchase (including some discount codes and purchase plans when available).

Here goes:

1. First we have four fun holiday paintings that I did awhile ago for another project and would love to have them make someone happy in their home. They each measure 8" x 11" and will be available for purchase in my own shop tomorrow, Monday, Dec 15th at 3pm EST for $325 a piece.

2. Get the Lead Out VI presented by Swoon Gallery. I had 4 pieces in this fantastic show and only 1 painting is left. "Annie" is acrylic on maple and measures 8.5" x 8.5" and is available for $475. Please visit Swoon Gallery's website for purchase details.

3. Flower Pepper Gallery's 3rd Anniversary Show. This was such a fun piece to paint I hope that these 3 silly characters can brighten someone's day. "Sunny, Goggin & Crump" is acrylic on maple and measures 9.75" x 11.75 x .75". It is available for purchase for $550 at Flower Pepper Gallery's website.

4. Crazy 4 Cult Back in LA presented by Gallery 1988. After my last Kubrick inspired piece I just couldn't help but do a painting inspired by one of my all time favorite movies, A Clockwork Orange. "Fuzzy Navel" is acrylic on maple and measures 8.5" x 8.5" x .75 and is available for purchase for $450 from G1988's website.

5. I also wanted to mention that Gallery 1988 is having their yearly sale. Use the code SALE88 through Dec 31st for 30% off past releases (does not include the above painting)! These are the 2 originals that do fall into that category along with some prints. Visit their website for what's available.

6. And finally, there are still a few originals from my Happy as Kings solo at Gallery Nucleus. They have some great deals (free shipping) and if you ask nicely they will do a payment plan for you! Visit their website for available pieces and prints.

I wish you all the best this holiday season and thank you for your continued support and well wishes. I'll be back to painting soon :)

xo

Kristin

My Mom

This photo was taken of my Mom and Dad at Christmas in 1961. I'm posting it because they look wonderful and it's a little bit easier to look at old photos of my Mom right now.My Mom passed away peacefully one week ago on December 6th surrounded by her family. It's so surreal I can't quite put it into words. Everything will forever be different without her around. She took care of everyone - people and animals alike - that crossed her path. I'm not sure what I will do without her.

The good thing is that I have such a wonderful family that really took care of me and Ed and my Dad. My sister-in-law, aunts, uncles and cousins visited and brought so much delicious home cooked food. My Dad, brother and nieces were so strong. Friends reconnected and gave me comfort. What else can I say but thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

I also want to thank everyone for their kind words and well wishes for me and my family. It means so much to know that even though we may have never met in person or don't know each other personally, you took some time to write a little something or just even to have read this post. 

Rest in peace Mom and thank you for everything.

41 Days

I've been quiet but wanted to write a little something about what I've been going through.

My mom has been in the hospital for 41 days and will not return home.

She's dying and it's the hardest thing I've ever experienced. I've temporarily relocated to my parents home, along with Ed and my pup to not only be closer to my mom but help my Dad out in this difficult time.

I go to the hospital early in every morning to sit by her bedside and stay until late at night. She is unresponsive at this point, in no pain and comfortable. It's all we can ask for at this point. I stroke her hand and talk softly to her. The last time she recognized me was the day I came back from my trip to California. She opened her eyes and smiled.

I don't know what else to say at this point other than be kind to those you love and make sure they know you love them. You never know what will happen day to day as my family has experienced.

Thank you for reading and for being so kind to me. I hope that my artwork will continue to bring smiles to your faces very soon.

-Kris