Happy New Year!!

Fire works at the Binnenhof in The Hague

Happy New Year

Gelukkig Nieuwjaar
Buon Anno Nuovo
Feliz Año Nuevo
Bonne Année
feliz Ano Novo
С Новым Годом
明けましておめでとうございます
З Новим Роком
新年快乐
Glückliches Neues Jahr
Selamat Tahun Baru
नया साल मुबारक हो

Sretna Nova godina
Среќна Нова Година

Ευτυχισμένο το Νέο Έτος

Bon Fire in Scheveningen, The Netherlands 2014/2015
officially the largest one ever !!

Wherever you are, whatever you do, whatever you dream, whomever you love, whatever you create: Have a Great 2015!!

2 gone and 1 commission

Just another Friday... I received a message of a brand new facebook friend who asked me if it was ok to come to my studio and see my work this Friday. 
Of course it is... I actually love that - seeing people outside the Art Walks because it is much more relaxed. 

I was painting when he and his partner walked in, they looked around and we started talking... and soon enough it became clear to me that they were collectors and owning a gallery. They contacted me because of a very dear friend of mine (and major fan of my work) who recommended me to them... So there I am wrapping my head around it - because I actually didn't see that coming at all - and in the meanwhile they start happily shopping among my pieces.

The result is: 2 pieces sold, 1 commission and possibly a contract for shows in the Middle East.

Little M 11
aka Little Charlie
6" x 8"
Acrylics on Birch Wood

Little Andy with  Bananas
9" x 12"
Acrylics and Resin Coating on Italian Poplar Wood Panel

What can I say other than... Just another Friday but a pretty AMAZING one.

Little M's leave the State

The following 4 Little M's I made for a very special show: OPEN, the openings exhibition of the Trespass Gallery in Clarksville, Tennessee.

I had to make them special for the show as the ones that I had planned for the show all sold before I could send them to the gallery. So suddenly I had this new super tight deadline. But I kicked ass and created 4 Little M's who are now at the Gallery.

Little M 7
aka Little Carmen M
6" x 8"
Acrylics on Birch Wood

Little M 8
aka The Hitman Too
6" x 8"
Acrylics on Birch Wood

Little M9
aka OOPS
6" x 8"
Acrylics on Birch Wood

Little M 10
aka Cheering the Stars
6" x 8"
Acrylics on Birch Wood

To see the Little M's and other great pieces, please contact:

Trespass Gallery

110 Franklin Street, Suite 202

Clarksville, Tennessee 37040

(305) 915-7819

Bad things that happen and Good things that happen too!

Sometimes I get that people think that artists party a lot and live the life of a 19th Century Bohemian in Paris... but many of us don't. We go to the studio every day and work. If you are lucky to be in a building with several studios - like I am - you share what you do with other artists... we have coffee together... and complain about all the bad things that happen and share all the good things as well. And then right back to your own studio and back to work!

Sounds pretty much like life in an office, doesn't it? In some ways it is but with one huge difference:
I love what I am doing... it makes me get up in the morning.. It feels great to see my creation come to life on canvas or wood. It makes me want to do more... and again and again... And every day is different!

Then there are days that nothing works... the days any artist should stay away as far he / she could from the studio. I had such a day last weekend. Did I listen to my gut feeling? Of course not. I was working on a commission and I really wanted to finish it. 

After a few hours of working I looked at it and to my horror I had overworked it... it looked awful (and that hurts me to say so). I freaked out, tried to correct it which made it look even more awful, and called my better half at home. He calmly listened to my rants and then asked "Do you want me to sand it down?" 
This commission is on a wooden panel and sometimes I ask him to sand it down if I am not satisfied with the result.... On canvas it is a little hard to sand it down but on wood.. I have him to delete my mishaps. And that is what he does and I start over again... doing what I love!

And good things happen too of course... like this morning when I opened my email and realize that somebody wrote an article and mentioned me. That makes me feel so amazing!

Here is the article: http://www.miamifashionspotlight.net/2014/01/the-real-life-of-viviana-g-mccormick.html
and the Examiner.com took it and made it part of their online publication. 

And I am back to work... getting ready for the February Art Walk or as I call it "The LOVE Edition" with some special LOVE-M's like the little fellow below:

Little M's to start the New Year with a smile...

Here are some of the latest M's which are currently for sale in my studio... 

They are all part of the series "Proprietary Innocence and to see all the pieces from that series, click on the following link

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.144431802409924.1073741831.139503036236134&type=3 

Little M 2

6"x6" 

Acrylics on Birch Wood

 

Little M 3

6"x6" 

Acrylics on Birch Wood

Little M 4

6"x6" 

Acrylics on Birch Wood

 

Little M 5

6"x8" 

Acrylics on Italian Poplar Wood

End of 2013

In my last show of the year I saw my name in lights!!!

In the last week of 2013 I started and finished the first of a mini series of MINIONS!

Yes, on the very last possible Sunday of 2013 this online Magazine writes about my very first Art Walk in Miami in 2014!

dominicanaenmiami.com - Monique Lassooij expondrá en el primer Downtown Walk de 2014


Now that is kicking ass!!!! :)

DIGITAL MIAMI for ART BASEL

I am really excited about the exposition Digital Miami, where I have two large paintings with my children and referring to works by 2 Dutch Masters.


Join us on Tuesday 3 and please RSVP:
http://siqueiros.com/digital-miami/

Honorable Mention

I participated in the Annual Juried International Competition by Irresversible Magazine and I won a Honorable Mention!!!!

All the winners are showing their pieces at Gallery 2014 in Hollywood, Florida and the artists are from all over the world. 

To put the cherry on the cake: all my 6 pieces showing are already pre-sold!! 

So yes, I am glowing and smiling...

Little Kurt Cobain... and so much more

After "Little Jimi" and "Little Janis" a "Little Kurt" could not be left out.And while painting this one, I learned so much about him, that I wondered how this genius had passed me by back in the 90's. 

At first I wanted to put the words "Come as you are" in the back ground but for some reason it didn't cover him enough.. so after long deliberation I decided to go for the Nirvana logo, even though he was way more than Nirvana. 

Little Kurt

11" x 14"

Acrylics and Resin Coating on

Italian gesso panel

And now back to paint more... 6 panels of 9" x 12" for the Art Fair in Mexico City and then starting with 2 canvasses of 55" x 46" for Art Basel. Oh, and also a small commission of 9" x 12" and a larger one of 16" x 20"... and somewhere in between I have to breath... I love my life!!!

Busy, busy... and it only gets more busy...

Yes, I have been busy but all my hard work is paying off... 

First I finished "Little Adam and Little Eve". I painted them just at the precise point where God is asking "What are you doing". Adam has just handed back the apple and tries to look like it has nothing to do with him.... If Adam could, he would have "unfriended" Eve on the spot. Eve knows she will get the blame and the snake is slithering away from the scene...

 Little Adam & Little Eve

2 x 9" x 12"

Acrylics and Resin Coating on Italian Gesso Panels

I am also starting to create 6 new panels (each 9" x 12") for the Art Fair in Mexico City in October 2013 and also will have to start to paint a few new panels for Art Basel as I am in one of the Satellite Show in the Intercontinental Hotel. 

And yesterday Miami Art Scene did a little write up about me and put it all over the social network/media... 

To see the write-up, click HERE.

As I said, I am busy... but in a very, very good way!!

MUGSHOT.... and then some...

 

What do you do when you get into the studio as an artist and you bring your new mugs with you.. Not just any mugs, but mugs with your artwork on it. Simple, you get 2 other artists and have one take a MUGSHOT.

And today I am the Featured Artist on The Artistic Blog.

Yes... I am having a great day!!

SOLD before the paint was dry...

Janis Joplin was the last addition to the series "Proprietary Innocence" I had finished on the day of the Downtown Miami Art Walk... Carefully I framed it... not even coated with resin because that would take at least 3 days to dry and I wanted to show "Little Janis". 

6 PM: my studio is ready, I am ready and Janis is ready... 
6:05 PM: A nice lady walks in, tells me she is a fan of my work and that she read on my Facebook Page that I was painting "Little Janis". Then she took a good look at Janis, asked the price and said:
"Sticker it, it is mine!"

These are the best starts of an Art Walk!!

Artist Profile - in Soul of Miami.

Sometimes life can take a strange turn, surprises come on your path and sometimes they are great. Just like the other day when I was asked if  "they" could do a profile on me. Now I do know the people of the Soul of Miami and I love what they are doing, so I didn't think twice and said yes!!

and this is the result of me agreeing:

http://www.soulofmiami.org/2013/07/29/local-artist-profiles-monique-lassooij-2/

And if you could see my smile now... I think I will keep it for a while.

I was also busy working on some new additions to the series "Proprietary Innocence" and here are some of my new paintings :

 Little Mona

11" x 14"

Acrylics and Resin on Italian Gesso Panel

Little Jimi

11" x 14"

Acrylics and Resin on Italian Gesso Panel

Little Frida

8" x 10"

Acrylics and Resin on Italian Gesso Panel

And I just started to paint Little Janis Joplin  and sketched Little Kurt Cobain... yes, more to come...

DOGS ... Nine, Ten, Eleven....

After the 2 plates that I made for "Art That Feeds" I wanted to paint the little French Bulldog one more time and also two small commissioned pieces 

 

 

 

The French Bulldog

12" x 12"

Acrylics and Permanent Marker on Canvas

 

 

Pom Pop (Commission)

10" x 10"

Acrylics and Permanent Marker on Canvas

 

 

The Boston Terrier

12" x 12"

Acrylics and Permanent Marker on Canvas

 

 

And now I will start another commissioned piece which will be a Cairn Terrier named Joda.

Dogs on plates

I have just finished two plates for "Art that Feeds". This is a wonderful initiative by "Touching Miami with Love" who will use the sale of the plates to feed children in an area in Miami called Overtown. 

I have chosen to paint two little puppies (one on each plate) in the blue colours that remind me of Delfts Blue, with the lines that connect us.We all have memories of pets that are special to us. Even some that were not our own. The lines in my dog paintings and on these plates represent those connections and memories.

On May the 5th there will be a special afternoon filled with art, music and hopefully the puppies will be sold.

"Fox Terrier"

Acrylics and Permanent marker 

on Acrylic Plate

"French Bulldog"

Acrylics and Permanent marker 

on Acrylic Plate

DOGS.... Eight

 

"Ready!!" 

24" x 24"

Acrylics and Permanent Marker (Orange)

on Canvas

Here is Dog number 8 from the "DOGS" series. I aimed to capture the readiness of this little Fox Terrier. 

Young or old, this breed is ready for anything... full of life and spirit.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

Happy Holidays

Until we meet again in 2013!!!!

Inspired by RED

A few weeks ago I received a phone call with the question "You do have some pieces in red, don't you?" I looked around my work space... while pretty much being covered in red paint as I just had finished my piece with the Dachshund. 

Long story short, after some pictures back and forth, and pieces in other shows, I decided to create a new piece - inspired by Red - for this exposition and 2 days ago I finished a cat close-up on 36" x 36" (90 x 90 cm). And today I took it over to the Gallery together with other pieces in red.

This Saturday the openings reception will take place at Mano Fine Art Project Space in the heart of Bird Road Art District in Miami.

Art Basel @ The Station

I wanted it to keep it quiet this year with Basel... Just going 3 days to as many venues, shows and what not as possible. Just be the viewer and participating, and then a friend called and said.. We are going to do a POP-UP at The Station... are you in??? (pop-up is a one night show and I love those..in..show..out).

and I said yes.... (of course) immediately I felt the Basel-fever take over: re-worked 3 smaller (12" x 12") pieces for this show... let everybody know... tomorrow I will check out the venue... is there anything I forgot... yup... Art Basel Fever (and it feels good)...

"Found it !"

"Pretty, pretty flower"

"Zip it !"