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litsa@alitsa.net
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Fiftyish Drawings by A. Litsa: $14 free shipping
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Agave
I always though agave plants looked really cool. I love how the bluish leaves contrast against the yellow flower. And, I like how they look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book.
I drew Agave at Epoch, I think in 2006. It's stuck in a pile of spaghetti because at the time I was really enjoying drawing layered things like rags and ribbons.
Aaron makes really great Mexican Martinis. I think Mexican Martinis were the first cocktail I actually liked. I hadn't heard of them before I moved to Austin. I wonder if they are an Austin thing? If so, good reason to visit Austin!
Gluttony
I don't usually draw subjects so dark. Kelly Newhouse had hosts an art show at Jerry's Artarama whose theme was gluttony. I thought I'd be clever and add a twist, hence the super skinny material girl. However, when I got to the show I found that I was the only one that really followed the theme.
This drawing is probably my most popular next to K is for Kitchy. The ladies like it. I think it reminds girls not to be so hard on themselves because self-perception can be cruel.
It's true. I had a friend once that was looking at old photos of her younger self. "I was so hot back then." Her self-esteem was pretty low, and I thought to myself, "Man, if only you had realized it then and if only you would realize it now." Self-hatred is a waste of time.
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Alice
I drew Alice at Austin Sketch Group one Sunday.
Dowa
I have two nieces, Aspen and Sage. Aspen was born in 2005 when I was working at Scanner. Sage was born two years later.
Aspen wants you to like her. She's amazingly sweet and is thrilled to do anything with you. I've had her wash a whole sink of dishes when she was three, and she still talks about it.
On the flip side, she's very envious, especially of other little kids. It is truly shocking to her when something is misaligned in her universe in which she is the center. At Chucky Cheese, for example, she saw another little girl wearing Dora the Explorer sneakers. "No fair!" She meant it too. It was unjust and disheartening that some stranger stole her favorite cartoon character. One each; Dora was made for Aspen.
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Bees
Zach Taylor, one of my friends from Sketch Group loves to say, "Beeeeeees!" Now they make cameos in my drawings.
The drawing with the rounded rectangle border is actually my name plate at work. About a year ago HR passed around a bunch of name plates and told us we could personalize.
A few weeks prior at Sketch Group Sam Hurt had said something about a friend drawing a squirrel barfing a rainbow.
Benko
Christopher Palmer, his wife Carolee Mitchell, and a handfull of friends created a music video for Benko featuring their song "Eurohit." The video was shot at that laundromat next to Quacks on Duval and at the Cockpit. Special thanks goes to Gadjo Disko for the dancing. Opah!
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Blas
Blythe, myself, Ashley, and Sarah formed a band called Blas for a short while. It was really fun while it lasted.
Ashley and I spent a lot of time cooking up our origin stories and recounting our misadventures with our rival band, the Todds. Ashley, who writes for the Chronicle, is prone to living at least part time in the world of the fantastic. Anyway, even though we never got a real physical gig, and even though we haven't played together in months, the Blas lives on through stories.
RPM
After the Blas, another group called Muffin Club formed. Like Blas, this group was 50% hypothetical. However, we did manage to produce two paintings together.
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Dancers and Flyers
I love to draw people striking weird poses. I like how goofy and awkward our bodies can be. I love it when goofy and awkward bodies are adorned in equally goofy and awkward clothing. For that reason, I love dancing and I love parties!
I was surprised when Foot Patrol played at our company Christmas party. They are funk band with a foot fetish they want to tell you all about. I was wondering how the CEO would respond to that. It's kind of like watching a rated R movie with dad in the room.
Anyway, they played 80s covers until a lot of people had left, and then they switched to originals. As the lyrics started registering with folks, the dance floor began to clear. Awesome! Andrea and I took advantage of the floor space to tear it up and break it down.
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Chrysanthemums
I enjoy Romantic poetry the most, I guess because it's as close as the written word can get to a painting. Plus, I find it so fascinating to read words written by someone that lived over 100 years ago. I don't know how to express how cool that is. This poem has reached across century to deliver the thoughts of Thomas Hardy to me. Neat.
Emma
In the photo Emma is the one standing next to the sailor caught mid-swear, behind the crazy Cleopatra, and in front of the dejected pirate.
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Jolly Day
Aaron has been my honey since August of 2007. Aw. <3
I sat down to draw at Epoch and I ended up with this coloring book type illustration of the two of us on a grassy hilltop.
At a New Years eve party I sat down and thought about my life. That night I confirmed with myself that I really love Aaron. Since then my drawings have been so gosh darn sappy!
Auto Van Jetski
Oh man, I sure did think I was clever when I thought of that name.
Aaron is a drummer in three bands: Magnifico, Plutonium Farmers, and Benko. They are a Queen cover band, Surf-rock/Experimental, and Indy Pop, respectively.
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K is for Kitchy
I drew this for an Alphabet art show, but then someone had already taken K. Kelly Newhouse had, actually. Small world.
K is for Kitchy is my second most popular illustration, next to Gluttony. Oh nuts. I just realized the proper spelling is Kitschy. Gosh darn Germans. Oh well.
Robots
I created the Robots illustration for Entrepreneurs Foundation for Central Texas. They have an annual Texas Hold'em game and I think this illo was used on the invitation.
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Mom
My mom was born June 2, 1953 in the wee village of Talada, in the Province of Lakonia, in the land of Greece.
Pomegranate
The pomegranate girl reminds me of Lisa Osterhout, and Lisa Osterhout reminds me of Lisa Simpson.
The portrait is not of Christina Rossetti, but I was trying to imitate that Pre-Raphaelite style.
I did the figure drawing at Art Authority with the Austin Figurative Gallery.
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Rags and Rags
I drew the rags as a part of a series of drawings that went into the Aspen illustration. I scanned in all of those line drawings, composited them in photo shop, and added color digitally. That was back in 2006, and I was selling prints mounted to wood for a while.
In 2009 I finally turned Aspen into a straight-up painting. I'm still working on it. I haven't got the flowers at the bottom figured out yet.
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Roses
Rose Tower began as a T-shirt graphic. I had the roses printed up the side of nude colored boat neck t-shirts. They are all sold now.
Later I got an old classroom transparency projector and projected the image onto my living room wall. Now Rose Tower is a big ol' mural; warm lavendar roses on a cool lavendar background.
Chrysanthemums
The Chrysanthemums drawing became a mixed media painting. I had a lot of fun playing with acrylic mediums. I also used nail polish and tissue paper. I did a lot of learning while painting that.
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Bandvoice
Bandvoice is the Bazaarvoice company band. Jon Loyens (Midgetmen) plays guitar, Robert Skorpil plays bass, Scotty Loewens plays guitar, Dan Shillace plays drums, Sarah Loyens sings and plays guitar, Chris Wellington plays guitar (San Saba County), and I play keys!
Mug
I drew the scolding Mama Beaver for the kitchen sink at work. As soon as the dishwasher gets full, people get all helpless. Washing a dish is not that hard. And if sponges were that unsanitary, you'd be dead by now. Ratsel-frastel!
In other news, my friend Leah Sharpe Lovise is one of my favorite people to go to parties with. She is an uninhibited ball of fun and a talented motion graphics artist.
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Todds
I think the Todds are just boy-Litsa.
Pizza
I was an airforce brat, so I got a lot of ping pong playing in at the rec center on base. It was so awesome being the 12 year old little girl that showed GIs what up!
Bazaarvoice (the place where I work) had its first ping pong tournament February 2008. I played a lot in preparation. I went to my home town of San Angelo to get my dad to teach me his killer serve. I had a montage.
When I returned to Austin, my ego was inflated. I drew a picture of myself being intimidating, and then I intimidated people with it!
Then I played Nils Marchand and lost.