I apologize for being a terrible blogger. 

Updates soon!

just a li'l doodle from last night.

This t-shirt design is starting to fuck with me.  I like this idea better than my last idea.  So, I'll probably mess with this image for a few hours today.  I like the playfulness of the composition and I like squirrels (duh).  I'll keep you posted as the design progresses.

A few pen and inks.

I have to come up with a t-shirt design for a print exchang (more pics once the due date arrives).  Lots of brainstorming....here are a few doodles.  All pen and ink.

Sometimes we forget. Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Close.

"The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who'll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you're sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that's almost never the case."


 -Chuck Close

It's smashed penny time!

My buddy, Victoria and her lovely family, are always kind enough to think of me whenever they see a smashed penny machine.  They recently visited Colorado and brought me back this lovely, tiger-centric smashed penny from the Cheyenne Zoo.  I love it when the machines have animal designs.  I'm a sucker for that.

I have also gotten my pal, Enza and her husband, addicted to collecting.  Enza is so into it that she bought a smashed penny passport.  I love that the nerdiness is spreading.  Smashed pennies are the best.

The Postcard Collective, Summer 2013.

I decided to Google myself and realized I forgot to mention this excellent postcard exchange I was involved with last summer (RUN ON SENTENCE!!!).  Here's the link if you wanna see what everyone made.  See if you can find mine, I dare you.

http://www.postcardcollective.org/past-exchanges/#/summer-2013/

The Seventeen Year Cicada and how a bug can make me yearn for my childhood.

It is loud outside. Like, louder than I would expect a plague of horny cicadas to be. Loud like an army of maracas rattling in the trees. There are so many cicadas it's almost biblical. I have always been completely fascinated by these noisy creatures, here's why.

1. They have the coolest larval stage ever (i have no idea if that is the correct term to use for a cicada before it becomes a winged creature...nymph stage, maybe?). They live in the ground for 17 years and when they emerge they look like little clawed tanks. They remind me of the bugs from the movie Starship Troopers.  Enjoy this clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAJLWSg5PIY

2. Our dog, Mudd, looks hilarious when he chases them. My first dog, Ryder (*pours a 40 on the curb* I miss you!), loved to eat them. It was also hilarious. The sound of a toothless cocker spaniel gumming crunchy bugs is a sound not to be missed.  Side note: cicadas are not poisonous, a dog can totally eat them...just not too many coz their exoskeletons are hard to digest.

3.  My first cicada experience was at the Brookfield zoo.  It was hot when the plague peaked and the zoo was a madhouse.  Cicadas everywhere, screaming/freaked out kids running in circles/stomping bugs, stressed out parents and camp counselors everywhere.  A madhouse.  I didn't even care about the gorilla house or the lions.  I just wanted to count cicadas.  It was the first time I felt awestruck by something.

4.  Those red eyes?  So excellent.  And some of the other kinds have cool camouflaged backs.  Damn, do these things look cool.

5.  The shells are interesting and I always regret not collecting them for something art related.  sigh.

6.  When I was little the kids on the block would play a cicada related game.  If you saw one that looked dead you would dare your friend to pick it up.  If it was dead the game was over and if it wasn't dead the sudden BUUUUZZZZZZZZ was enough to make a kid shit their pants.  It was a fun game.  Kind of like kiddie-russian roulette.

omg.  how embarrassing.  you can still see the arrow from my screenshot.  too lazy to crop today.  sorry!

the 17 year cicadas are small.  whirlybird tree seed for scale.

A cicada that recently emerged from it's shell.  man, they are completely fascinating.

I've always enjoyed these creatures.  Yesterday I spent five minutes staring at a tree just so I could watch the swarm buzz and fly through the branches....there were so many of them.  The sound was deafening and the visuals were awesome.  

Ecovisions. A show at the McLean art center.

I was recently invited me to participate in an exhibition called Ecovisions at the Mclean Art Center in Bloomington, Illinois.  They decided to use my painting on the promotional material....yay!  Here's a fancy screenshot and here's the website http://www.mcac.wildapricot.org/About

I plan on attending the opening in September. 

My New Studio at the Oskaloosa Art Center.

Big weekend, people.  I moved into my new studio and I'm so happy.  I've already started transferring a new drawing onto 400 lb watercolor and should be ready to paint in a couple days.  Life is good even though I'm sort of cranky today.  Yay!  Cranky!

 As always, thanks for all the support, blog readers.  You guys are the best.

Thank you, 27th Annual McNesse Works on Paper.

I sad to say goodbye to this piece recently but I'm happy to see it go to a good home in Louisiana.  Thank you to the 27th Annual McNeese Works on Paper Exhibition for giving me an opportunity to show and sell my work at the Abercrombie Gallery.

Fresh Paint, Studio Visit interview.

Good morning to all you fine people. I was recently asked to be a part of the Studio Visit portion of the Fresh Paint blog.  Check it out.

 Here's the link: http://www.freshpaintmagazine.com/2/post/2014/05/jane-ryder.html

I need to quit being so apathetic!

I got a little burned out and haven't picked up a paint brush in three months.  I suck*. I hate myself*.  I'm terrible* but I'm ready to start again.  I had a little doodle session last night, here's my favorite one.

* I don't really hate myself, think I suck, or think I'm terrible.

Future Farmers of America.

The local chapter of the FFA (to the city folk, it's a club called the future farmers of america) asked the shirt shop I work at to make a drawing.  They specified the need for a slew of babies for their t-shirts: baby cow, baby horse, baby pig, baby sheep, and baby chicken.

I drew them...they're so saccharine!  I could puke from their cute.  Perhaps I'll color them in with adobe illustrator...but I'm not feeling ambitious today.

Fresh Paint Magazine. Issue III.

I'm very proud to be a part of this lovely publication. Please, check out the link...soooo many brilliant artists. http://www.freshpaintmagazine.com/issue-iii.html

Someone "borrowed" my image. UPDATE: my new friend was kind enough to take down the image.

EDIT: march 27th. Thanks to Mad One-Eye dog for taking down the image. I appreciate your prompt response. If anyone is ever interested in using one of my images on their website email me @ fluxbiota @gmail.com. I will let you use an image for 50 bucks. If you are writing a blog about my art, no money is needed. Just ask and send me a link to your blog and add a link to my artist website. Much love to my new friend. I thank you for your kindness and I apologize if I made a scene. It is worth noting that the internet has changed how we view property. I'm happy that my work is well received but I (and all artists/musicians/writers) need to make a living. We make a living by selling our work to you lovely people (i really do love all of you). If you want to use an artist's image on your website, please, take some time and contact them before you do so. We really appreciate it when you contact us. And if you want to share our work on social media, please put our website on the post and maybe we'll get some traffic. Thanks for listening. Intemperanças de Panino Manino I'm not too happy about this. I'd like to fix it. Anyone know how to do a cease and desist? Maybe I should send a polite message to credit my website. ugh.

Yes. I am begging for money.

UPDATE!: Both pieces have sold! My two friends (Teresa and Kim, you are amazing) have effectively paid for FIVE months of studio space. I feel so warm and fuzzy.

I'm trying to raise money to pay for my NEW ART STUDIO!!!!  Basically, I'd love to sell you a painting.  If you've ever wanted to own one of my paintings, this is the deal of the century.  I'm asking for $250 bucks a piece.  This price includes shipping and A PAINTING THAT IS ALREADY FRAMED (are my caplocks annoying yet?)

Both images are 22 X 30 gouache paintings in a 24 X 32 birch frame from Westfall framing (a fabulous framing establishment).  They were from my MFA thesis show, Flux Biota.  Message me if you're interested fluxbiota @ gmail.com.  Once again, all proceeds will go to studio rent.  Please share this with your friends. 

It's that time of the year!

the ice in the creek bed looks like an ancient glacier (stolen from @itsyourrock on instagram)

I don't know how many of you readers exist in the Midwest...but if you do, our collective pain is palpable.  This winter has been a rough one. I'm sure it's been hard for everyone...there's just something about being land-locked that makes my pain more important than your pain.

Saturday was nice, though.  It was roughly 50 degrees (t-shirt weather, yay!) and we decided to go on a fossil hunt.  We threw the dog in the back of the Honda and were off like rockets to my favorite fossil ditch.  We had a fairly successful venture: horn coral, petrified wood, brachiopods, some crinoid stems, and some Devonian coral (not sure what kind, anyone? anyone...bottom row second from the right).  

Not too shabby.

Wild Things, a juried exhibition in Pennsylvania.

I was recently accepted into a juried show at the Sweetwater Art Center in Sewickley, PA (about 12 miles from Pittsburg).

Here is the description of the show pulled directly from their website:

Wild creatures. Wild urges. Wild colors. Wild movement. For the upcoming exhibition, Wild Things, Sweetwater Center for the Arts is seeking art with an unrestrained spirit that upsets its surroundings and moves the viewer. This exhibition coincides with Sweetwater's awareness campaign featuring a public art installation created by UK Street Artist, Filthy Luker.  All 2D, 3D and mixed media are eligible for submission. We are especially interested in kinetic sculpture and performance artists for the opening reception. Unleash your craziest passion in this ferocious exhibition.
Wild Things will be juried by Cynthia Shaffer, a mixed media artist favoring bugs, bones and sea creatures to traditional art materials. The show will include a sampling of her work which can be seen at www.cynthia-shaffer.com.

Cynthia Shaffer is a lovely artist and I'm proud that she liked this piece (snake nest, made in late 2012) enough to accept it into this fine show.  I'm looking forward to seeing the other artists who were chosen to hang at Wild Things.

MY LOCAL ART GROUP IS AMAZING!

After many years of trials and tribulations, the fine arts group in Oskaloosa, Iowa finally got a home!  I couldn't be prouder.  Each member of the board has worked super hard to make this happen.  An art center...and studios!  STUDIOS!  I can't wait to finally have a studio outside of my home (although I love my in home studio).

We're having a big opening next week.  Even though none of my readers live in Iowa, I just thought I'd share the happy news.  Hooray!

An Artist Interview.

an interview tid bit.

I was recently accepted as a featured artist on the 365days/365artists blog.  I did an interview and i don't sound like an ass-clown...so, check it out.

http://365artists365days.com/2014/02/16/jane-ryder-bussey-ia/

A little write up about my show at Dakota State University.

http://www.dsu.edu/news/2014/Jane-Ryder-0207.aspx

Soooo, here's a little write up about my solo show, Iowa Dirt. I will be hitting the road and landing in Madison, South Dakota on the 19th...my closing reception is from 4-7 at the First Bank and Trust gallery (Dakota State University). This is my first solo show in awhile. I'm pretty pumped. It was a lot of work and I'm excited to see all the pieces hanging on gallery walls.

Preliminary Drawing.

I've been on a 2 week painting hiatus...now I'm bored with the hiatus and am ready to begin another piece.  Here's the basic idea: a multi-tiered burial mound.  I'll show you the next step in the preliminary drawing process on Wednesday or Thursday.

Learning Color in Adobe Illustrator.

It took awhile but my first lesson is sorta complete. 

A wee doodle.

I have a little bit of time on my hands and have decided that I need to learn how to use Adobe Illustrator.  This will enhance my life and I need to quit stalling and just learn. 

First step: Make a lovely little drawing of a moth (check).  Step Two: learn how to add color with illustrator.  Step Three: Possibly turn it into a t-shirt design.

Step Three may or may not happen depending on how thrilled I am with the results.  Step two...I'm all over step two.  Hopefully, I'll have an update for you guys tomorrow.  Expect a colorful death moth.

365 days/365 artists.

Jane looking very professional in her professional studio.

And artist portrait for all the damn applications I have to fill out.

studio shot, suckas!

It's nice to have talented friends. My buddy, Teresa, is a budding photographer. I hired her to take some shots for an upcoming "thingy." Follow the link to get an idea of what this "thingy" is...I'll make an appearance sometime in February. Until then, enjoy the shots (we learned how to use photoshop to erase acne...I am so pleased.

 http://365artists365days.com/

Under The Gum Tree, a publication.

Two entries in one day?  Unheard of, Jane.  Well, I recently applied to have my work published in a micro magazine called, Under the Gum Tree.  My work was accepted and the publication looks AMAZING.

Under the Gum Tree is an independent literary arts micro-magazine. Because they strive for authentic connections through vulnerability, they exclusively publish creative non-fiction and visual art.

If any of you guys are interested in checking out the publication (which I suggest you do) (if you write or make art you should apply) go to:

http://underthegumtree.com/

And this is the link for the digital copy

http://underthegumtree.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/UTGT_012014_SMALL5.pdf

A Tiny Spider!

This tiny little jumping spider stole my heart (in August).  He looks so apologetic and pensive.  I was half tempted to set up a terrarium for the li'l fellow but I decided that a spider's place is in the great outdoors. 

I finally have time to blog again!  Be prepared for stories I didn't have time to tell you

A Recently Completed Painting.

Effigy Mound. 30 X 17, gouache on paper, 2014.

I like to keep things scary by working up to the ABSOLUTE final moment possible.  Why oh why do I work better under pressure?  Such a curse, such a damn curse. 

This is the final piece for my show, Iowa Dirt (thanks for photographing it, Teresa!).  I finished, photographed, matted, framed, and packaged it yesterday.  I will be shipping it to South Dakota in a couple hours and I couldn't be happier.  Yay!  Complete, I feel so giddy.