The past few weeks have been really stressful, so I didn't get time to post these. Most of them are in the sketch stage still, but I'll be painting these this afternoon and making new ones this evening. Hopefully I can update tomorrow and sort of catch up.

My first try at Neil Young:


My second try at Neil Young:


Woody Guthrie (just started painting this one; will repost the finish with the next batch):


Martha:


Jack:

banjo on my knee

Here are a few paintings from this week:


This is Brandon. He's amazing. I think he's simultaneously having the most ridiculous spring break in history and working on gigantic, socially-conscious paintings of deer.


This is Laura. She's SOOOOO AMWESOME. I'm hoping she'll have her website up soon, so you can look at her paintings. They're incredible.


The first Son House painting. The drawing was really promising, but then I painted it and it stopped looking cool.


The second version. I like this one better but it's still boring. I'm working on creating more interest in my stuff this week....


This one is pretty terrible too (Steve Buscemi). I spent most of my time this week climbing trees instead of drawing, so I'm off to a rough start this week. I did these paintings yesterday, just knocking them out. I'm out of shape.

I did do a decent painting of my friend Seth Mulvey wearing my sunglasses. He has the best flannel ever:

John Solis NEW WEBSITE! Fresh NOW!

Hey! John Solis has a website (and a middle name) now!

Pretty pictures here.

celebrity spots

I've been working smaller with the portraits, here are a few from this week:

When I did Amy Winehouse, I had originally thought to put her in one of those cut-away things you put your head in to take cheesy photos with (usually at the beach) but the painting was pretty terrible.

I did a few versions...then had some success with this one:



I must have filled three pages with her crazy 'hive.

Here's Little Richard:



Right now I'm working on Steve Buscemi, Frank Zappa, and possibly Vince Vaughn.

That Cool Book by Fantagraphics (Beasts 2 Book)

Some of my studiomates were making work for this Fantagraphics book.

I came up with this guy:

Websites Revisited

hmm, so some of the websites I posted last weren't the most up-to-date.

Check out Diana Ho and Cannaday Chapman's blogging apparatuses here:

Diana Ho!

Cannaday Chapman!

Also, Nick Zutrau's state of the art message to the people can be viewed in various places, the most optimal being his Flickr account:

Nick Zutrau!

Additionally, the top secret project Teylor and I are working on with our studio mates is coming along....yesterday we had an art jam and made some interesting collaborative drawings; I'll post a sneak preview when we're closer to putting them up in a group show.

Here's a few old sketchbook pages, after reading all this text it's like a fluffy desert for your eyes:

tomorrow, tomorrow

here's that work I promised in my previous post...

Dead people I like:


Jim Henson, gouache and digital:.


Sketch from Truman Capote Story, Other Voices, Other Rooms.



heath ledger in the movie, "I'm Not There".


Fred McFeely Rogers:

Opening at the Society

went to the society of illustrators show; I'm so lucky to be in new york. I went with a big group of awesome people from the studios, harrassed even more awesome illustrators, who were very kind and good sports about a mob of us in full regalia, passing out business cards and yapping ourselves blue. I've been submitting work to all the competitions and just making work.


jess

p.s. i filmed a regrettable segment of this evening on behalf of the society, somehow documenting "artists who inspire me". I'm pretty sure I just babbled about zohar lazar and david park.
additionally, I saw seth mulvey, who is keeping busy with storyboarding...his stuff here.

Also check out my friends here:

Yoko: Yoko Furusho.
Victor: Victor Marchand Kerlow.
Nick: Nicholas Zutrau.
Cannaday: Cannaday Chapman.
Diana: Diana Ho.

I'll post stuff tomorrow when blogger is being less of an enigma. for sure.

New and slightly improved digital

i shot some new photos of my past work; here is a detail of "The Farmer's Trees":



I've been doing some bookmaking, and am currently finishing up a really hardcore embroidiery piece. Check back soon for updates.

Also, I saw a really awesome show in chelsea. The thumbnail doesn't do it any justice. Check out Hope Gangloff's work here.

Big Rock Candy Mountain

The Hens Lay Soft Boiled Eggs. gouache, embroidery, and applique on bandana fabric, 2007. © Jess Ruliffson.

The Farmer's Trees Are Full of Fruit. silksreen, toy bird, embroidery and gouache on bandana fabric, 2007. © Jess Ruliffson.

The Jungle Fires Were Burning. Applique, embroidery, gouache on bandana fabric, 2007. © Jess Ruliffson


These are from a series of ten done in the spring for the Location as Character show at the SVA Westside Gallery on West 26th Street.

Lately I heave been inspired by Marc Burkhardtand Jenny Hart . Ironically, I have been having an itch to move to Austin lately, and they are both Austin-based artists. I had seen Marc's work in 3x3 and one of his promotional mailers via Minh from the Village Voice when he spoke in our class last fall, but sometimes looking twice really helps. I just heard of Jenny via a Google search for illustrators working in embroidery, as I've been exploring the medium all year and am looking for a place to go with it.

There's also a show at the Museum of Art and Design you should check out called Pricked: Extreme Embroidery. It's up till March 9th, 2008.

Here are some other pieces I made this fall, since I have been lax with my 'Embroidery Tuesday' entries, and will likely not be updating through the holiday.


River Baptism. Embroidery on linen, 2007. © Jess Ruliffson

Small Talk. Embroidery and gouache on cloth dinner napkin, 2007. © Jess Ruliffson.

Embroidery Tuesday

Toyota Tercel station wagon. Embroidery on cloth dinner napkin, 2007. © Jess Ruliffson.

Intro

I am a self publishing, embroidery-making, tea-drinking machine. Here you will find updates of current projects, daily musings, and related shameless self promotion. Please enjoy.