Art & Life by Jessica Torrant

Funfest in Boston

2008-07-22T18:21:00.001-05:00

Ladies night out, originally uploaded by livefunky.

Here's a picture of me and the ladies on "our" boat (we wish!). We stayed on this masterpiece of a vessel thanks to our friend's boyfriend who is on the crew. So much fun just soaking in the sun, dunking our feet in the water off the dock, talking, laughing and making up dances like we were 16 again. Not to mention the incredible food and *ahem* beverages that were enjoyed. I am so thankful that our bond has continued and grown through the years. This is our third yearly gathering and I'm already dreaming of plans for next year. Much love to Jill, Jess, Nicole and Chrissy - you are the greatest.

She has wings and she can fly

2008-07-16T23:55:00.003-05:00

Here is my lady with extra layers of paper mache.

And here she is with a hair cut and a little bit of gutting the junk in her trunk - which was all filler for an otherwise firm form. Scissors are a dangerous tool for me when it comes to this sculpture - it relates to many really bad home made haircuts like chisels chipping away at my plaster sculptures - once it's gone, it's gone. I tried to be conservative. Once I get back from my little vacation, I'm going to paint her and REALLY give her life.

As for this vacation, I am beyond excited, I'm just about jumping out of my skin. My girlfriends from the way back machine and I are getting together in Boston. I'll be back on Monday when I'll ship whatever I need to out, keep working on my sculpture prototype and bask in the glow of having been with the best of friends. If I ever complain about life, slap me, because right now, I know I got it good.

First Armature: A Woman Emerging

2008-07-16T01:06:00.003-05:00

We'll see where this soul sister goes and grows, with new layers of paper and paste, and paint and everything else. I'm thinking in 3D - this should be interesting...

stayed tuned.

The Art of Cooking 1 - Garlic Lemon Tilapia

2008-07-12T19:27:00.008-05:00

Hello my creative friends! Today was a good day, lots of beautiful sunshine and a sweet breeze in the air. I went to the market with fish in mind for our dinner, and found these beautiful tilapia fillets that were calling my name. I have my favorite Cajun dry rub that I usually use with fish, but once I got home, I thought I'd go looking around the web for some good tilapia recipes.

First I found this recipe for Sautéed Tilapia with White Wine & Lemon Sauce. It sounded delightful, but I didn't have any shallots. I looked around for an onion, but I was all out. I did have some garlic though, and I wondered how that would fare with the other ingredients instead of shallots. So I did what I always do when I'd like a second opinion - I turn to the Etsy forums!

I started this thread in Etc. asking the community what they thought. I got some great suggestions and advice, and though I think the recipe would work ok for us (being garlic lovers), it would have done the recipe a disservice as the shallots mellow flavor compliments the other ingredients and the garlic would end up really dominating the dish. I went back to the grindstone looking for a new recipe with these search words: garlic, lemon, tilapia. That's when I found this recipe for Lemon Garlic Tilapia. One of the reviewers on Allrecipes.com had some great suggestions for slightly altering the recipe for the best results. I took a little bit of the original, a little bit of the suggestions, and made a few alterations of my own.

Considering how loaded with garlic this ended up being, I've changed the name to Garlic Lemon Tilapia! A very helpful Etsian from the Etsy thread, inediblejewelry, suggested that I take a picture of the finished dish. I decided to photograph the whole process and it was so much fun! I think I'm going to make this a regular thing. Maybe once a week or every other week I can do a new "Art of Cooking" post to share new recipes. I'd really like to challenge myself when it comes to cooking. I've got my old standards that are wearing a little thin these days, and there's just too many great dishes out there to not try new things. It's fun to share my findings with others, but I also really like that I can refer back to these posts to remember my favorite (and least favorite) new dishes and how I made them.

Now, onto making Garlic Lemon Tilapia!

I began with four fillets of tilapia. You'll also need 1 lemon, butter, non stick cooking spray (probably not essential), garlic, salt, pepper, and parsley if you've got it (fresh is best!).

First I washed the fillets and patted them dry with a paper towel, then put them in a baking dish sprayed with non stick cooking oil. Salt and ground pepper those bad boys.

Meanwhile, I melted about 5 tablespoons of butter (which is a lot more than the recipe called for based on the reviewer's recommendation) on very low heat in this small pot. I minced 3 large cloves of garlic (like I said, we aren't afraid of garlic!) and tossed them into the melted butter. I just wanted the garlic to cook long enough to get soft. There's nothing worse than burnt garlic, so I stirred this pretty constantly for a few minutes until it looked like this - the little bubbles surrounding each chunk of garlic releasing that amazing aroma.

This picture is terrible, but the next step was to squeeze the full lemon into a measuring cup, take out the seeds, then pour over the fish. Then I poured the butter/garlic mixture over the fish and it was ready to go into the oven, pre heated to 400 degrees. (I should add, I was down to the bottom of a jar of dried parsley I sprinkled on top, that on second thought, I shouldn't have even bothered with - unless it's fresh parsley, I wouldn't bother). In about ten minutes it was done!

And here is the finished dish, complete with a glass of chilled white wine, summer squash, and steamed spinach with balsamic vinegar. Even though it was loaded with garlic, it wasn't overwhelming and the lemon flavor was perfectly balanced with the buttery garlic goodness.

I will definitely be making this again. Next time I think I'll reduce the butter to just 4 tablespoons and I'll have fresh parsley on hand. Other than that, I don't think I'd change a thing!

Reuniting with eBay

2008-07-05T16:11:00.002-05:00

Here's Looking At You - original ink and crayon ACEO by Jessica Torrant, 2006
Now available at www.ebay.com - search "Torrant" to find all of my current auctions.

Ok, I know. I broke up with eBay two years ago, what am I doing going back now? Well, as I was fishing around on the Etsy forums (lurking like I often do) I came across a thread (one of the thousands) about not underselling your work. The very reason I love Etsy is the reason why this whole summer sale thing might not be such a good fit there. In general, the Etsy community of buyers and sellers expect quality and prices reflect that. There's a wariness of lower prices - "Is the seller desperate? That's not a good sign." "Is the work sub par? It must be at that price." My whole plan is to unveil a new body of work with higher prices. I wouldn't want that transition to be a real shock going from unusually low prices to unusually high prices. So, I decided to take some of my older work that I don't have on Etsy and list it on eBay. eBay buyers are excited to get bargains - that's part of the fun of it! I'm going to see how these listings go and if they are worth my while. If so, I'm going to keep slowly chipping away at my older work, listing it on eBay. I'll keep you all in touch if I do.

In the meantime, the wheels are spinning thinking about my new collection. I can't wait to get started! Soon.... first I need to max out this summer sale, then I need to set my studio up JUST SO for a prime working space. Good times!

A blast from the past

2008-07-02T16:52:00.004-05:00

Pour Your Heart Out To Me - currently available at http://www.livefunky.etsy.com/

This is an older abstract I made in 1999/2000 that I've just listed in my Etsy shop in my summer clearance sale. Looking at this painting, all of the emotions and energy of that era come flooding back to me. Soul searching, confused, curious, passionate, questioning everything under the sun, trying to define myself, my love, the love of others. I guess I'm still doing all of those things to a certain extent but it certainly isn't my "full time job" anymore! Comparing now and then, I feel like I'm more comfortable in the present moment. Just being. Less bouncing off of my own internal walls constantly. Ahhhhh - what a relief!

Speaking of the present moment, I'm still plotting and planning away for my autumn unveiling of more streamlined shops and product lines. It's fun getting all of your ideas out there, then shuffling through them and making sense of them from a "big picture" perspective. It's an artform in itself. What are you currently working on?

(happy 4th of July if I don't post again for a few days!)

More Summer Sale Goodness

2008-06-20T20:21:00.003-05:00

Sun Worship - Ink and watercolor on 2.5" x 3.5" watercolor paper

As part of my huge Summer Sale on Etsy, I'm offering all of my ACEOs at about 50% off my standard ACEO price. See all of my available ACEOs for sale HERE!

PureDecor Products

2008-06-17T15:31:00.007-05:00

I'm spreading the PureDecor love around, now with a new Zazzle shop at www.zazzle.com/PureDecor*. I've taken some of the original paintings I have for sale at http://www.puredecor.etsy.com/ and put them through Illustrator to alter the color and simplify the lines to a more graphic look. I'm currently only offering prints and mousepads, but there may be new products in the future.

Below is an example of what you can do with the prints. You can choose your own size from small to huge, the paper quality, from poster to UV papers and canvas, and your own matting, framing and glazing preferences. They have lots to choose from to suit any decor.

In this example, I've selected the largest size, 35" x 35" in Premium Matte paper with a silver finished wood frame (no mat) and UV protective acrylic glazing.

To custom frame your own version of Leaves 3 click HERE

In the next example, I've selected the smallest size, 11" x 11" in the basic cardstock paper, and I've added a double mat (white with green) and a classic black frame with regular acrylic glazing.

To custom frame your own print of Mod Circle 5 click HERE

I've also opened a free shop at CafePress. Just a handful of cool products like the ones you see below. www.cafepress.com/PureDecor

Time flies - and so I am adapting...

2008-06-13T00:11:00.006-05:00

...slowly.

It's a hard thing for me to realize there are only 24 hours in a day. The actualization of an idea happens much faster than the accualization of a product. And right now, well, since the dawning of Spring, I've been ablaze with ideas - new ones every day, every hour! Fevorish sketches and notes filling my sketchbook, and almost constant internal tangents that can keep me up at night. (I'm not complaining - I love these thought processes the most - the ones behind your closed lids when the world is still and your mind is still buzzing with inspiration). But tonight, after a little regrouping post launching PureDecor and creating my sale at livefunky, AND thinking about my presentation as a whole - my website, my product lines, etc - I realized that I've got a lot of work ahead of me to get to where I REALLY want to be, and this is the time to do it. And to do it right, I can't put an unreasonable time restriction on it.

What is unreasonable? Me wanting to have 20 new paintings, a revised website and everything else I've got going online updated and sparkly fresh in 24 hours... or a week... or a month. Ummm, no. That's not going to happen. And if it did, it wouldn't serve me well.

So this is my plan for the summer...

Continue with my sale at livefunky to purge all of my older work.
Work on fine tuning my product lines at Zazzle.
Work on fine tuning my website, http://www.livefunky.com/

Work on a new body of work for livefunky/galleries

HAVE FUN AND ENJOY IT

At the end of the summer I'd like to have...

A new website

A new approach to livefunky

A continual flow of new paintings for PureDecor

A solid line of misc. products on Zazzle

Instead of wanting to get to the finish line (by thinking of doing this or that ASAP), I think this deadline is going to keep me focused on my goals for the summer and beyond. What are your creative goals for the summer?

Mod Circles by http://www.puredecor.etsy.com/

Pure Decor - My new shop on Etsy

2008-06-08T20:15:00.003-05:00

PURE DECOR - Contemporary Decorative Art by Jessica Torrant
www.PureDecor.etsy.com

I couldn't wait another day - PureDecor has been launched!

Here's a quote from my revised profile on Etsy...

Very recently I've come to a "great divide" as far as creating and selling my work. I have loved being the sort of artist that offers a little bit of everything, and that has worked well for me, not only as far as selling, but most of all, as a creator. I've needed these years of experimental and intuitive creating, trying it all, and finding what works for me. But I've reached a point where I'm ready to raise the bar, and as always, I want it all. I want to offer affordable art as well as gallery priced work, I want to continue the process of cranking out art and I want to hone in on my paintings and make some breathtaking series.

After a great amount of thought and sketchbook tangents, I've come to the decision to have two shops that focus on the two different sides of me and how/what I create. The first is my already established shop, livefunky. The second is my new shop, PureDecor. To answer "What is the difference?", let me begin with the fact that I've always relied on making art to fuel/embellish/relieve any mood (and, like most, my moods run the gambit). There is the art I make because I'm eager to express and GO THERE, and there is the art I make because I need something to help me relax and escape. You could call me a bipolar painter and I wouldn't protest.

There are many other distinctions, but I casually classify the polarity as "sitting down art" and "standing up art". Sitting down art (PureDecor) is meditative, with a slower hand, with a desired outcome, and a formula that can be repeated over and over in new works in new ways. I usually create this art either sitting at a table, or sitting in the half lotus position on my studio floor (the same pose I had twenty years ago in my childhood bedroom, working on drawings of outfits, flowers and cartoons, or the doodles that served as the unconscious foundation for my future abstract paintings). Standing up art is intuitive (livefunky), unpredictable, energetic and intense, with an exploration for new ways of manipulating paint/form/color - never to be reproduced in that exact way again. This is when I paint ever so physically - I truly attempt to make paint dance.

I am a believer in loving art just because it's beautiful. (PureDecor)
I am a believer in loving art just because it moves you. (LiveFunky)

What Have I Been Up To?

2008-06-07T20:32:00.007-05:00

As you may have noticed, I took a little temporary break from blogging. Besides working on my big "surprise" (which I suspect I'll be announcing in my next post) these images will show what else I've been up to.

Enjoying my garden and the colors exploding - this is my favorite time of year.

Yucca and Iris

My favorite groundcover and iris.

Yellow iris (these multiplied like crazy from last year's divide and transplant!).

I've also been enjoying the smile on my dog's face after a good game of frisbee and a cool drink of water and bath from the hose.

Life is good.

HUGE SALE!

2008-06-07T11:51:00.002-05:00

(as copied from my Etsy shop announcement, www.livefunky.etsy.com)

TAKIN' IT TO THE STREETS MEGA SALE!!

Blow Out, Huge, Enormous, You've got to be kidding me SALE - What a fool believes!

Consider me the silver fox that is Michael McDonald - I'm takin' it to the streets with this huge nope-I'm-not-going-out-of-business-just-transitioning sale. Livefunky is due for a royal makeover and most of my inventory is greatly discounted for a short time (and then it's gone, people. Gone for good!).

Why the great purge? Well, the major answer is I'm ready to take my paintings to the next level. I've been a painting machine for years as a child, student, confused post grad and then for the last 3+ years selling online. I've decided it's time that I stop speed dating paint and actually settle down and get serious. (Paint and I have this dream about a little place by the sea, but we'll see how it goes).

Don't worry. Nothing is going to drastically change as far as the direction that my work has been going in. It's more of a "raising of the bar" as far as materials, time, intention, and yes, my prices as well. If you're a fan but more on the frugal side, you'll be happy to know I've got a special surprise on the way. In fact, everybody is going to be excited about this surprise because it's awesome. You're intrigued now, aren't you. That's why you're going to check back to find out more in the coming week. ;)

:S: If you had no idea what I was talking about when I said "Takin' It To The Streets", "What a fool believes" or the silver fox "Michael McDonald", see below.

As a courtesy to everyone Takin' It To The Streets:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=G54lfxiid_w

And just for the heck of it... The Fox himself:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=EXvi9bySjQQ&feature=related

Honoring this sale and the 80's kid in me, and the synergy of those things having nothing to do with each other, I'm going to try and come up with new themes for this sale that will blow your mind in the days to come.

With love,
Livefunky
aka JT

More new paintings

2008-05-25T20:26:00.005-05:00

Urban Abstract - Acrylic on 7" x 10" canvas

Intention - Acrylic on 8" x 8" canvas.

The Awakening - Acrylic on 8" x 8" canvas.

Happy Memorial Day! Hope everyone has a safe and fun weekend!

Painting up a Storm

2008-05-24T16:49:00.007-05:00

It's been beautiful here and I've been painting up a storm the last two days. I'll let the art speak for itself....

Orange Sun - Acrylic on 16 x 20 canvas

Hovering Circles - Acrylic on 16 x 20 canvas

John's Lament - Acrylic on unstretched 8 x 10 canvas

Blast of Inspiration - Acrylic on 16 x 20 canvas

Abstract Landscape - Acrylic on 8 x 8 unstretched canvas.

I'd also like to thank Erik at Etsy Art for featuring livefunky! http://etsyart.blogspot.com/

New Commission

2008-05-24T16:47:00.003-05:00

This painting is a recreation of a smaller mixed media piece I made earlier this year translated in acrylic onto a 20" x 24" gallery wrapped canvas.

365 Sketch - Day 7

2008-05-22T13:34:00.002-05:00

We All Wonder - original ink drawing on paper
Available in my Etsy shop

365 Sketch - Day 6 - May 21, 2008

2008-05-21T20:03:00.002-05:00

This drawing is available for purchase in my Etsy shop - www.livefunky.etsy.com.

Check it out!

2008-05-20T13:40:00.001-05:00

Check out my interview with the fabulous Martha Marshall (aka colorpoetry on Etsy) at www.lookseesaw.blogspot.com!

365 Sketch - Day 4 - May 19, 2008

2008-05-19T20:08:00.001-05:00

365 Sketch - Day 4 - May 19, 2008 , originally uploaded by livefunky.

I take that back - Finished.

2008-05-19T14:09:00.005-05:00

Patchwork Bliss
Acrylic on 30" x 40" canvas
Available in my Etsy Shop - HERE

Ok. I got my wish for more sun and looking at this painting with fresh eyes I knew - I'm done. If I added just one more block of color, I'd *need* to add a whole new layer. I'd end up losing some of those first layers that are still present in places, and those are some of my favorite "moments" in the painting. So - finis!

I also took a drive out to West Hartford to Jerry's Artarama to get a bunch of new supplies. Since most of the people that read this blog are fellow artists, y'all KNOW how great it feels to get a batch of supplies! It's kind of.... delicious. That feeling plus a cup of coffee (I'm usually a tea drinker so coffee to me = ZING!) has me in a pumped up and sort of spazzy mood. Ready to rock more canvas with my lovely new set of paint. I've got a commission to begin, and that is going to be a lot of fun. I estimated production time to take about 2-3 weeks, but I have a feeling it will be a matter of days. I'm just really excited to jump into this one. Speaking of.... the sun is out and I'm going to go paint! Have a great day....

JT

Almost Finished

2008-05-18T14:29:00.003-05:00

This is a new painting I've been working on the last couple of days. I've been working outside and today it decided to drizzle, then rain enough that I had to call it quits. I could have moved back into the studio, but there's other work to be done today, so this is it for now. I need a sunshine to take a fresh look at it, then add just a FEW more elements (you'd better hold me to that, I have a tendency to overwork my paintings!). This is a large acrylic painting on canvas stretched flat on a board (designed to be shipped rolled and stretched by the buyer's framer). It was primed in black gesso which is something I've never tried before and I was very pleased with how it affected my process.

I'm crossing my fingers for a sunny day tomorrow, but we're caught in a long rainy spell here in New England. Hopefully I'll have some good shots of this painting completed soon!

may17 - 365 sketch

2008-05-17T15:05:00.001-05:00

may17 - 365 sketch, originally uploaded by livefunky.

Peace, please.

2008-05-17T15:02:00.001-05:00

Illustration by Jessica Torrant.

This new design is now available on a t-shirt at www.zazzle.com/artjct*

Let's Try That Again

2008-05-16T15:48:00.001-05:00

365 Sketch - Day 1 - May 16, 2008, originally uploaded by livefunky.

I decided to do 365 Sketch again, only this time the moment is right and I'm really ready to go for it! This piece is an ink and sharpie drawing on a recycled paper bag.

Change of Heart

2008-05-10T19:21:00.002-05:00

Mixed media on 8" x 10" matboard.
Available at www.livefunky.etsy.com

It was another productive day today. More art papers and I photographed this collage I made yesterday. This is my favorite piece right now. One of the materials I used was cut up pieces of the thick layers of dried acrylic paint I peel off of my palette.

As quoted from my Etsy listing...

"One of my little artsy joys is to peel away the dried layers of plastic like acrylic paint from one of my palettes (a glass pie plate and a frisbee!). I never knew what to do with it besides enjoy the feeling of the chunky texture on one side and admire the accidental beauty of swirls of color on the slick, shiny backside. Now that I've been on this recycling kick regarding my art, I am loving the effect of depth that this raw material creates on an otherwise two dimensional piece. I think you'll be seeing more of these "chunks" in my work in the future. No more tossing out ANYTHING! It all can be reused and manipulated to create new work :) "

Chipping away at the materials I already have has been a fun and gratifying challenge. I've been doing a lot of thinking about living green and what that means to an artist, or I should say, to me as an artist. I don't know where these thoughts will lead me in the long run, but I'm just working with ideas and projects in the moment and not worrying about grand implications. Will I stop working on canvas? Probably not, but you never know. Maybe I'll switch to stretching recycled fabric. Or painting on odd found surfaces. I won't make any promises, I just know what I feel right now is a good feeling and I'm going to try and keep this train of creative energy cruising as long as I can.

On a more personal note, this was my husband's first week working day shift! Our prayers were answered, and it's a real change for both of us - all for the best. Tonight we ate dinner together and I literally cried with joy. Jazz in the background, the sun setting, my love sitting across from me sharing a good meal - that's it. That's what I've been praying for all these years and I feel so lucky that someone was listening...

This evening all I can think and feel is LIFE IS GOOD.