Serena Epstein » art

New paintings!

Serena — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:24:30 +0000

As well as setting a really dangerous precedent of two blog posts in one week, I’m also getting into the bad habit of posting a lot of images and very little text. I’ll try to get better about that, though I secretly believe that people are, in general, too lazy to read lot of text anyway.¹

As promised, here are my four most recent paintings. They’re actually finished, which is more than I can usually say! We’ll see about continuing this trend.

Everyone should have blue skin.

spring

summer

fall

Voila! I’m going to save up for a couple of canvases² so next time I don’t have to paint on paper.

Have I lost you yet?
Did you know: en française, ‘canvas’ is ‘toile’. Not to be confused with etoile or toilette.

Mystery project and contest!

Serena — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:16:05 +0000

I’m still here! Despite my hectic work schedule,¹ I’ve gotten quite a few art projects done over the past month. More on that later. But now, a sneak preview of my next project! (click for full size)

And just because I love you all so much, the person to guess the highest percentage of these correctly will receive a special prize! So go on, I dare you.²

Including not getting home till after 11pm every night last week.
Isn’t this so much better than some dumb post about toys?

Do I dare to eat a peach?

Serena — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:17:57 +0000

Two years ago, when I was afflicted with horrible sunburn¹ and confined to the house, I started a tradition of decorating notebook covers with strange collages. As I was completely sunburn-free last August, I missed my opportunity. But this year I’ve revived the tradition! Not only that, but I’ve revived it with poetry. This year’s notebook brought to you courtesy of T.S. Eliot and The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.²

"I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each"

"I do not think that they will sing to me"

My sunburn notebook from two years ago:

And one extra this year because I had so many leftover magazine clippings:

I fell asleep on the beach for four hours or so…
I hope my mother didn’t need those magazines.

Illustrations!

Serena — Thu, 07 May 2009 23:23:02 +0000

So I finished writing the short story for my individual study last week, and decided to draw some accompanying illustrations. (I’m a sucker for illustrated books.) Just to give you some context, here’s a little bit about my story:

“Saturday Night” brings retellings of myths and fairy tales into a contemporary atmosphere through an unusual setting: a bar that—instead of serving drinks—serves stories. Characters go to this bar for the same reasons one usually does: companionship, escape, distraction, stress relief, solace, and entertainment, for example. Each retelling addresses its reader in some way, though it’s not always enjoyable or comforting. But then, some of the characters aren’t that pleasant either.

For a retelling of “Sleeping Beauty”:

“Snow White”:

“Little Mermaid” retelling:

Poetry retelling of “Pygmalion and Galatea”:

Leftover Sketches

Serena — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 06:47:07 +0000

I draw on everything. Really, everything. And the drawings are usually bizarre.¹ I’ve scanned a few scraps from notebooks and calendars, just for you. Ready? Be bold, be bold, but not too bold.²

–

On a page of story ideas:

A toad’s eye:

A cartoon man with an oversized tie standing on someone’s closed eyelid:

Brainstorming page for a poem:

Random face:

Linguistics notes:

More linguistics notes, and a Very Hairy Man:

Mermaid, and other observations:

An imagined doll outfit:

Someone you may recognize, but–as observed–not the correct age. And eye with arrows:

Feathery Tuesday:

Almost November:

A Halloween skull hat:

Shocked that it’s Saturday:

Random mermaid:

The evil elderly:³

More eyes:

Sometimes even accompanied by equally strange text!
From “Mr. Fox“, in case you didn’t get the reference.
Extra credit: “Scapegoats“