PECULIARBLISS
ISSUE 2 / HAPPINESS / CHARMAINE OLIVIA
P E C U L I A R B L I S S ISS U E TWO PeculiarBliss.com is a stream of doodles and images, featuring creative, original works from sketchbooks and other mediums into one location, with the hope to inspire continued creative thinking. PeculiarBliss Magazine is the quarterly continuation of this effort. This issues theme: “Happiness� Cover design: Charmaine Olivia
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Happiness is everywhere - Constanza Gowen-Segovia
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come down, lets go to the beach - Sara Sani
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happiness - rand renfrow
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Happiness on wheels - chris piascik
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Happy - David Vogin
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art makes peoPle happy, piece 7 - Nick Villalva
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untitled - INKINK
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FERRIS WHEEL - Kayla Davis
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Diana Mini - Sophie Davies
PREVIEW
introducing
Charmaine Olivia
She is a drawer, painter, tea-drinker, a self-taught San Franciscan artist. She was born and raised in a small beach town in Southern California where she first started drawing with soy sauce on napkins, but has since upgraded to paper and paint. Charmaine now resides in San Francisco’s sunny Mission District where she loves playing Scrabble in the park and drinking peppermint tea. interview BY : SHANNON DUGGAN
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Bears in her Hair • graphite, OIL
Women dominate your work, do you feel you are keeping your women, contemporary? I live vicariously through my ladies, especially with things like facepaint, hairstyles and tattoos. I keep them contemporary because they’re mirrors of me. When did the triangles find their way into your work? I used to be obsessed with drawings arrows, and I think they just ended up evolving in to a triangle. Triangles have definitely been trending for a while now, they’re a beautiful shape and much easier to draw than a square or a circle, so I like them. Do you believe there is a Californian mentality that carries itself into your work and goals? I think so. I’m a born and raised Californian, so it’s hard for that mentality to not find its way in to my work. I think that I embrace the strange, free-spirited, sexy aspects that make up my California.
I create my best work when I’m excited and cheerful, even if my work doesn’t always come across as being ‘happy’, it is. Do you travel often? How does travel effect your art? I love to travel. Partially because I’ve always been fond of the type of art I create while I’m traveling. When I’m away from my usual workspace I feel like I think differently. Since I generally don’t have all my usual resources, the things I create are purely spur of the moment, much more raw than at home when I have time to plan it out and experiment. When I’m on the go, I just go for it. The results are more raw and almost feels more real, like a true extension of my subconscious. Do you have an “artist’s circle” or a creative group that you see regularly? Not really, but alot of my friends are really creative people. Being around creative people is really important, at least to me. Whether they are musicians, writers, thinkers, visual artists... it’s fun to bounce ideas off of each other. Do you have a daily working routine? Wake up, check my email in bed, snuggle with my kitten, make some tea, noodle around on facebook, draw, blog, respond to emails, scan images, conceptualize in photoshop, snack, drink tea, make lunch, repeat. Is there a soundtrack to your work? Yeah, anything by Memoryhouse.
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PREVIEW: Charm aine Olivia
boat • watercolor
Logomasque Design • 2010 fox • oil, ink on wood
boat profile • watercolor, ink
NET NEST • watercolor, ink
dry toast • digital
headaches • Oil, colored pencil on wood
Deer in Gym Socks • Acrylic
Describe your work space in six adjectives. Messy, painty, glassy, inky, colorful, hungry. Your work has included laptop skins and wall coverings. Have these routes altered your creative process? A little bit. I’ve been focusing more on paper works lately, partially because it’s so much easier to get a high quality scan of paper, which then can be used for large scale prints (like wall coverings) and other media. Paintings and larger works are more difficult to get an accurate photo representation of. Those are definitely things I keep in mind when I’m working. What are the dimensions of your works? Lately I’ve been doing works on paper, relatively small, around the 8” x 10” size. I’ve been itching to start an oil painting though, those tend to be a much larger scale. There are paintings, drawings, and photography... can we expect sculpture and printmaking in the future? I’m definitely intrigued with printmaking, but I don’t think I’ll delve in to sculpture any time soon. I don’t think in 3D. Have you found that being a self-taught artist has helped or hindered your work? I think it has helped. I was lucky to learn some painting and drawing basics when I was really young, and it was enough to inspire me to further my art education holed up in my room, experimenting and playing with my own ideas and concepts. I feel like I could have gotten too wrapped up in technique and less on creativity if I were to have had formal training. The best and worst parts of working freelance? Worst part is that it can be inconsistent and unstable, every month is very different than the last. Best part? Everything, but the inconsistency. I get to make my own hours, draw in my pajamas, eat as I’m working... it’s fantastic. What makes for a great client? Someone who isn’t overly nit-picky, and someone with lots of money! Ha! 17
Charmaine will be featured in three upcoming exhibits and continues to work on her 50 States Project. Visit: www.society6.com/studio/the50states
What art supplies do you always carry on you? Micron .005 pens, black. Where does happiness find a place in your works? I’m generally a very happy person, and I create my best work when I’m excited and cheerful, even if my work doesn’t always come across as being ‘happy’, it is. I’m also a fan of blank expressions, it’s amusing to me how many people look at a painting of mine say ‘she looks sad!’ Nope, she’s just thinking. Most influential book you’ve read in the past year. Does the Onion count? Advice to aspiring artists? Use the internet. Seriously. Some people resist it, but it’s such an amazing tool for getting yourself out there. END
visit Charmaine’s website for more info www.charmaineolivia.com
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clown - Joe Wray
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fence - john rudolph
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happiness - Michelle Kondrich
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happiness - Katie Hanratty
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happY - Sabreen Aziz
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Brodie in the Laundry - SARA MARTIN
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keeping cool - hannah fichandler
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happiness - Mia Christopher
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kids - Pimnara Pakati
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Bliss, The Silent Song - Rebekah Plett
HEARD
1. Brothers - The Black Keys 2. Memoirs - Rox 3. Sir Lucious Left Foot - Big Boi 4. Dead Weather - Sea of Cowards 5. Everything in Time - DJ Center 6. Cosmogramma - Flying Lotus 7. It’ll Be Better - Francis & The Lights 8. The Good Son - Homeboy Sandman 9. I Learned The Hard Way - Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings 10. Mustard - Tiron 11. Causers of This - Toro Y Moi 12. This is Happening - LCD Sound System 13. Maya - MIA
Compiled by Wonderland of Homebasenyc.net
compiled by wonderland
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happiness - Mosellejojo
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city - steve ponzo
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reading - Steven Lyons
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Floating Head - Zoe Austin
P E C ULIA RB LIS S ISSUE TWO PeculiarBliss Magazine is a quarterly publication. To contribute to the magazine or website, email us: pbsubmissions@gmail.com
Editor / Designer Vaughn Fender www.vaughnfender.com
Associate Editor Hannah Fichandler
Writer Shannon Duggan
Music Curator Alice “Wonderland” Grandoit www.homebasenyc.net
Contributors Charmaine Olivia www.blog.charmaineolivia.com www.charmaineolivia.com www.charmaineolivia.etsy.com www.twitter.com/charmaineolivia
Kayla Davis www.flickr.com/people/hellokayla
Sara Martin www.saraemartin.com
Sophie Davies www.ohmyclumsyheart.com
Mia Christopher www.miachristopher.com
Constanza Gowen-Segovia www.constanza.posterous.com
Sabreen Aziz www.sabreenaziz.posterous.com
Pimnara Pakati
Sara Sani www.sarasaniphotography.com Rand Renfrow www.r-quad.com Chris Piascik www.chrispiascik.com David Vogin www.davidvogin.com
Joe Wray www.flickr.com/people/8918307@N02 John Rudolph www.wecantstop.com Michelle Kondrich www.michellekondrich.com Katie Hanratty www.inspector-marmalade.blogspot.com
Nick Villalva www.artbehindthefridge.com
Sabreen Aziz www.sabreenaziz.posterous.com
InkInk Collective www.ink1nk.blogspot.com
Hannah Hichandler
Rebekah Joy Plett www.catchtheredballoon.com Joanna “Mosellejojo” Velozo www.flickr.com/photos/mosellejojo Steve Ponzo www.steveponzo.com Steven Lyons www.thisisrabbit.com Zoe Austin www.zoeaustin.co.uk
We are now accepting submissions for the theme:
“DREAMSCAPE”
Submission Deadline
09.20.10
Content: We are open to all mediums – doodles, photography, digital, paintings, collages etc. All work should be sent by email, please submit work to pbsubmissions@gmail.com with the title of the current theme. Guidelines: 1. Dimensions: 10” x 10” 2. P lease create your work high res and provide a copy @ 100 dpi. 3. P rovide your contact info with all submissions. 4. O nly send work you want to have considered for publication.
P E C U LI A R B LI S S . C O M