Happy Friday! Sorry we’ve been a little M.I.A. this month. Beans can be pretty distracting and June gloom has put a damper on our adventures. Hopefully summer is in full swing where you are or maybe it’s full on winter for our readers in the Southern Hemisphere. Either way I hope this mix can add a little spring to your step this weekend! I’ve also got a mini Gil Scot-Herron shout out in the mix since this is the first mix since losing the musical legend. Tracklist and download link after the jump: Continue reading…
Our dog Beans makes the cutest pig noises when he’s happy. He snorts and oinks! It’s like we have this little mutant animal living in our house. Which is awesome.
I’ve been following artist Steve Kim’s work for a few years now. Steve’s a recent Claremont University MFA grad and Art Center teacher who has updated his illustration portfolio with some of his latest “hybrid” pencil+digital work.
I talked with Steve a little about his process and it’s pretty remarkable. Many of his most recent pieces started out as sketch studies. Once he’s got your typical photorealistic sketch, it’s all about subtraction and abstraction. His “Perfect” series featuring the portraits of Steve’s Tumblr followers is a prime example of this process. Steve explains it better than I can:
I was hyped up on Tumblr and had a handful of followers and said I’d draw anyone that sent me photos. I did that, but of course I could not leave well enough alone and so once the “study” was done I would go in and abstract things until they were at a point I was happy. A point where I didn’t feel the work wasn’t a waste of paper or a waste of time, which is usually how I feel after studies… but yet I feel compelled to do them! It’s totally schizo.
After Steve completes all the pencil work he moves the sketch into Illustrator/Photoshop to “figure out what it needs as an illustration—generally I am looking for something clean and emphatically digital. I’m basically double dipping but hopefully no one will skewer me for it.”
Check out the process for the image on the top right of this post.
I’m totally digging these 70′s inspired boardshorts by The Break.
“At The Break, we’re a small shop sewing boardshorts the way they did back in the 70′s… better. It all started when a few locals set out to redesign the trunk with wetsuit functionality in mind–integrating snaps, zippers, and velcro. Our boardshorts are styled with an above the knee hem and bold prints that certainly do more than give a nod to the days of vintage California.”
These shorts, designed in LA and manufactured in the OC, are limited to a 100 “units” per design. So once they’re gone they’re gone. So jump on it! After the jump, check out a few more images from their summer lookbook shot at one of the most iconic OC beaches, Crystal Cove. Continue reading…
1. Go to the beach at least once a week. Doing pretty well on this one so far.
2. Eat copious amounts of fresh fruit.
3. Paint my toenails really bright colors.
4. Go for lots of early-evening walks with Beans.
5. Throw parties in our backyard. Perhaps a good ol’ fashioned crab boil?
6. Use our ice cream maker.
7. Read. Nap. Try not to do both at the same time, but fail miserably.
8. Explore more neighborhoods in L.A.
9. Roast marshmallows over the fire pit.
10. Be shamelessly lazy.
What’s on your list? I’d love to know!
- Jessica
Pics via pinterest, originally from here and here. Pinterest is addictive.
Cancer comedy!?! Yes. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has pretty good taste in scripts so this one should be pretty solid, and Seth Rogen is typically best served as a supporting character.
“50/50 (originally titled I’m With Cancer) is an autobiographical story based on the experiences of Will Reiser, a producer on HBO’s Da Ali G Show and VH1′s Best Week Ever. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Adam, a 27-year-old who is diagnosed with cancer, and his sometimes funny “struggle to beat the disease.” The film, funded with Summit Entertainment’s giant pile of Twilight money, co-stars Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard and Anjelica Huston. 50/50 won’t hit theaters until September 30th 2011, probably after a film festival run.” – Slash Film
Get the full run down of the film over on Slash Film.
Hey y’all! How was your weekend? We split our time between OC and LA, family one day and friends the next. We’re going pescatarian for the month of June (meaning no meat or poultry, just fish/shellfish), so we got some yummy sandwiches at A Market in Newport Beach on Saturday. Mine had goat cheese with a bunch of veggies; Curt’s was a classic tuna sandwich. Yummy! A Market is a superbly curated little spot. Aside from all the gourmet meats, cheeses, wines, etc., they sell stuff that’s just plain cool. We finally scored some of those Whiskey Stones that we put on our wedding registry but didn’t get. Those beautiful strawberries are not from A Market; they’re from Whole Foods. They were just so darn pretty that I made Curt take a nice picture of them. Continue reading…
McDonald’s ran a pretty rad billboard in Stockholm. It’s an amazing piece of interactive marketing. Swedes in the public square are invited to challenge the billboard in a game of pong via their smartphones in order to win a coupon for a free item at the local McD’s. Surprisingly, there’s no app to download. It’s based through the browser and GPS. Pretty cool.
However, what I’m most impressed by is how fashionable the Swedish John Q. Public is, or should I say Sven Q. Public. You’re not going to find that level of sartorial flair anywhere in the US.
When you think about it, professional sports logos and team names are kinda weird. Heat? Nets? Canucks? Dodgers? Browns? Brewers? Galaxy? Weird. But you gotta love these reimagined NBA logos by beantown graphic artist Michael Weinstein. Along with these rad new logos, Michael also provides a thorough visual history of each logo he’s redesigned.
Here are four fresh and breezy unsigned bands for you to fall in love with while soaking in some early summer rays over the weekend. Thoughts? Do you think any of them have a chance to go mainstream?
