A client of mine wanted to attract potential customers to their booth at a trade show, so they brought me in to do 'live painting' at their 20' x 30' booth. For two days I set up my easel and painted on a 4' x 4' canvas. It really drew people in. The paintings were being raffled and people could drop a business card or get their badges scanned to enter to win. It was a fun way to start conversations between the sales people and the attendees. Below is a photo of one of the completed paintings. I painted in their five 25th anniversary colors.
You can also view paintings that this client has purchased and given to business partners and employees as recognition.
Facebook Pages
Indigo Creative and Mahoney Artwork both have Facebook pages. Please visit or 'like' them if you'd like to see the lastest portfolios or comment on your favorite images.
AIGA - Santa Barbara
Indigo Creative is AIGA Santa Barbara's Feature Designer.
http://santabarbara.aiga.org/featured-designer-series-indigo-creative/
Article by Indigo Creative's writer Robert Hyndman
OCCCA – Orange County Center for Contemporary Art
ENERGY Exhibition
August 5 - September 17, 2011
117 North Sycamore, Santa Ana, CA
Juror: Howard N. FoxHoward Fox is an independent curator. Formerly the curator of contemporary art at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), from 1985 through 2008.
Melissa Mahoney's painting titled INVICTUS, from the Vortices series, is part of this exhibition. MahoneyArtwork.com
Michael Kate Interiors
On show now through August 14, 2011. michaelkate.com
INCEPTION, Earth Show at Michael Kate, 60” x 48” x 1.5”, acrylic on canvas
Earth resides in the Milky Way galaxy along with 50 billion planets and 100 billion stars. And the Milky Way resides in the Universe where there are 400 billion galaxies. Observing our planet from outer space in 1968, Astronaut Bill Anders remarked: “The Earth isreally small.”
My painting shows Earth as raw energy during the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago, as ‘early matter’ was transferring between matter and energy. I think this raw force of energy resides in our planet and in each of us as individuals. Although in the context of the Universe our Earth is small, our formation was very powerful and alive.
From the Vortices Series
Carina Cellars 2011
Mahoney Artwork Reception & Wine Tasting
Sunday, June 19, 2011, 12noon - 3pm
2900 Grand Avenue, Los Olivos California
$5 Wine Tasting.Please mention you're with the Mahoney Artwork Reception.Wine tasting usually $10.
______________________________________
You can also find event info on the 'Bonus Track' of this fun blog in town. Scroll down on this page to view it. Also sign up for their eNewsletter to receive local event information.
http://www.lovemikana.com/?q=fridayinlove
i Madonnari
May 28-30, 2011
Santa Barbara Mission, i Madonnari
Sponsor: Douglas Bartoli Memorial Fund. Size: 12' x 12'. Proceeds go to The Children's Creative Project. This year we'll be recreating an original piece by Maria Rendon. Stop by and see us – Melissa Mahoney and Maria Rendon
Friday - Sketch + Grid
Saturday
Sunday
Finished!
HOLLY HUNT May 2011
NYC
Reception
May 16, 2011
6-9pm
150 East 58th Street
New York, NY 10155
Holly Hunt will be introducing their new products at this reception and some of my paintings will also be on view. If you're in NYC please stop by.
Pacific Design Center, Holly Hunt – 2011
Paintings by Melissa Mahoney on view and for sale at the Holly Hunt Showroom in the Pacific Design Center. Open to the trade only on weekdays.
Laguna Design Center - March 2011 and ongoing
Gina B & Company at the Laguna Design Center is now carrying artwork by Melissa Mahoney
23811 Aliso Creek Road, Laguna Niguel, California
Plum Goods – March 2011 and ongoing
is now carrying paintings by
Melissa Mahoney
909 State Street, Santa Barbara, California 93101
Edward Tufte — Data Displays and Presentations
I attended an excellent workshop by Edward Tufte, in Los Angeles last week. Below are some notes I took. He has published four books that have a wealth of information as well as amazing charts and data displays.
http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/
Data displays (charts)
Focus on causality; interaction of cause and effect
Lines = verbs, arrows = nouns, dotted lines = uncertain data
Causality is visually expressed on the (linking) lines. That’s where the action is.
Drives you to causal thinking (verbs not nouns)
Every design movement should carry content or data
Don’t order tables alphabetically, show in a logical order
Ask, what is your story?
Ask, why should they believe you?
When gathering data use ‘Whatever it takes’ principle
Have a spirit of inquiry when looking for data
Don’t cherry pick data
Chart chunk = replace large amounts of data or numbers and simplify
Segregate data by content, not by mode of production
Establish credibility: send links to data you find, source note, diversity of data
Show credibility by showing mastery of detail
Parenthetical: at least until better evidence or alternative explanation is found
You want an open mind to other possibilities, but not an empty head
Fundamental Principles of Analytical Design
(from Beautiful Evidence, Edward Tufte, pp. 122-139)
1. Comparisons (contrasts and differences)
2. Causality, Mechanism, Structure, Explanation
3. Multivariate Analysis (more than 1-2 factors)
4. Integration of Evidence (whatever it takes attitude)
5. Documentation (credibility)
6. Content Counts Most of All
Analytical presentation ultimately stands or fails depending on the quality, relevance and ingenuity of its content.
Strategy for non-fiction reports / presentations
Know your content, respect your audience
Engage audience using first person language (I, we); second (you) or third (they) person speaks down to the audience
Story + credibility
Analytical design comes from analytical thinking (mainly done to make comparisons)
Arrange information to help intellectual task
Cognitive tasks are turned into principles of evidence, presentation and design
Get rid of design; it’s an impediment between interface and viewer
Short / intense presentation
Increase information and throughput
Strip out jargon
How to make a presentation (cognitive style)
Print out Summary: problem, relevance, solution
Print out Technical Report, don’t show as a slide. High res data dump
Budget questions on another handout
Presentation points out the things that are important, follow by discussion
Meeting is about information consumption = good. We, the person, are not the center of attention.
Have really good content
Show up early (to the meeting you’re leading)
Finish early
Flow diagram
Intriguing texture of content is a sign of good design
Genuinely interactive, giving a cue to look further
High information (detail) shows access to design
People have a high capacity for information processing
Note: information travels the optic nerve at a rate of 20 megabytes / second
Design
Enhance signal by reducing the amount of noise (other signals)
Don’t use legends or codes if you can avoid them (they impair learning)
For comparison, show things in adjacent space (instead of flipping)
Deep stacking is clunky and hard to follow
Use small multiples as an effective way to display information
Tables: recommend Gill Sans or Trebuchet
Interface design
Should be 90% content
Managing the flood of material and relevance of information
Fast scanner: yes, no, look again
Sparklines
Small word size graphics that display quantitative information
Show recent recording and last 500 (+/-) readings
Note: cognitive bias to put too much weight to most ‘recent’ information
Sparklines might not be technically accurate, but give the right answer to the question
Galileo’s first book used symbols (great change in cognitive thinking)
Notes
The publication ‘Nature’ has best data displays
The sports stats charts are also well done
Find a super graphic about your field
The publication ‘Library of Science’ is a beautiful journal
Napoleon’s March Chart was designed to be an anti-war poster
The Elements of Geometry, 16th Century, Euclid
Beautiful Evidence book (page 137, read this) Principles of Analytical Design
Eggbert the Artist
iPhone and iPad app available now.
App name: Eggbert the Artist
Order directly from your device through the 'App Store' or click link below.
$0.99
This interactive book presents fun and simple steps to help children cultivate their creative minds. It is a useful tool for parents and teachers. It provides problem solving tools in a bold, easy to read, playful format. Eggbert the Artist is geared toward children 5 years of age or younger.
These simple steps help children as they get older, work through their inhibitions around creating. It also teaches children to share and celebrate the things they create, this is important for building friendships and being proud of the things they create.
This book concept first came to me when I met my new little niece and I wanted to pass along my love for art to her. My own initiation to art education came from my mother, who taught us to draw as soon as we could hold a crayon.
Enjoy!
You can also visit the website where additional Eggbert merchandise will be available.
Greeting cards
RoRo Artworks is now carrying greeting cards with Melissa Mahoney's artwork. They will be available in August 2010 at these stores.
Lazy Acres, Santa Barbara
Yoga Soup, Santa Barbara
Lassens, Ventura
Ojai Stores: Made in Ojai, Ojai Creates, Rainbow Bridge, The Farmer and the Cook, Coffee Connection, Attitude Adjustment, Ojai Springs Car Wash and Distilled Water, Mail Call, and The Ojai Business Center.
SBMA Newsletter
Look for Mahoney Artwork scarves featured in this issue of Santa Barbara Museum of Art's newsletter. July | Aug | Sept | 2010
SB Digs
2010 Event
SB Digs is Santa Barbara's guide to what’s new and undiscovered for home and garden, entertaining and fashion. Look for Melissa Mahoney's artwork featured on their blog. sbdigs.com
Past Event
2010 Event
Melissa Mahoney – Vortices Series
5-10 PM , Thursday, July 15, 2010
Bottoms Art Galleries at
Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara
1260 Channel Drive, Santa Barbara, California
Wine contributed by 'Sort This Out Cellars' in Solvang Opening information also available at VAS: visualartsource.com
Artwork on Display
Melissa Mahoney's artwork is on display and for sale at
in the
Finished
Thanks for all the support through the weekend. It was a super fun year!
i Modonnari Santa Barbara – 2010
It's that time of year again... May 29-31. Here at the Santa Barbara Mission, my friend Maria Rendon and I will be working on a 12' x 12' chalk drawing. Our sponsor is the Douglas Bartoli Memorial Fund and we'll donate our time and the proceeds go to The Children's Creative Project.
This year we'll recreate an image of a Balinese dancer with beautiful silk robes and gold ornamentation, framed with intricate architectural elements. I just travelled to Ubud, Indonesia in March of this year so the imagery continues to weave into my design and now our chalk drawing. Come by and see us if you're in town.
Santa Barbara Museum of Art Store
2010 Event
Please stop by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art Store to see the new silk scarves I've created, inspired from one of my recent paintings.
Santa Barbara Museum of Art Store
Trunk Show – Melissa Mahoney
Saturday, April 3, 2010
NOON to 4 PM
1130 State Street, Santa Barbara (Cross street Anapamu Street)
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=414658559621&index=1
http://www.mahoneyartwork.com/STORE.html
Montecito Art opening – Saturday, March 27, 2010
2010 Event
Stop by this Saturday for an art opening at Maiani Gallery and view some of my paintings.
Maiani Gallery
Saturday, March 27, 2010
7 to 9 PM
1269 Coast Village Road, Montecito, California
Just for Fun
I wrote and illustrated a children's book last year. It's for children around 2-5 years old. It was inspired by my new little niece, and is available for purchase through Lulu. One day it would be fun to be a cardboard book, but for now it's heavy paper.
Paintings at Elements Restaurant and Bar
2010 Event
If you're in Santa Barbara, stop by Elements to view some of my paintings. They are hanging in the dining and bar area. Elements is located at 129 E. Anapamu St. (between Anacapa St. and Santa Barbara St.)
http://www.elementsrestaurantandbar.com/
Environmentally friendly papers
When choosing a paper for your print projects, it's best to try to specs papers that use post consumer fibers or that have environmentally friendly production methods. Below is a chart for deciphering the icons and options.
10 Essentials for Achieving Business Success
I like to start the new year by looking at my own business vision and goals. I read this and thought Martha Stewart had a great way to step back and assess your own business.
Soho - 2010
2010 Event
If you visit Soho Restaurant & Music Club, in Santa Barbara, you can see some of my some new work from the Vortices series. It includes some of the Chi (Energy) paintings along with other circular studies.
Eden - 2010
2010 Event
Durning the month of October, you can view some of my paintings at Eden Home Furnishings at 17 West Ortega Street in Santa Barbara. Please drop in and feel free to say hi to the owner Juliane.
Family Artwork
It's totally fun, I just rediscovered some family artwork.
Here is a woodblock my Mom did in 1950.
Mom's pen and ink of shells, 1974
Enso
Ensō is a Japanese word meaning “circle” and a concept strongly associated with Zen. Ensō is one of the most common subjects of Japanese calligraphy even though it is a symbol and not a character. It symbolizes enlightenment, strength, elegance, the universe, and the void; it can also symbolize the Japanese aesthetic itself. As an “expression of the moment” it is often considered a form of minimalist expressionist art.
In Zen Buddhist painting, ensō symbolizes a moment when the mind is free to simply let the body/spirit create. The brushed ink of the circle is usually done on silk or rice paper in one movement (but the great Bankei used two strokes sometimes) and there is no possibility of modification: it shows the expressive movement of the spirit at that time. Zen Buddhists “believe that the character of the artist is fully exposed in how she or he draws an ensō. Only a person who is mentally and spiritually complete can draw a true ensō. Some artists will practice drawing an ensō daily, as a kind of spiritual exercise.”
Some artists paint ensō with an opening in the circle, while others complete the circle. For the former, the opening may express various ideas, for example that the ensō is not separate, but is part of something greater, or that imperfection is an essential and inherent aspect of existence (see also the idea of broken symmetry). The principle of controlling the balance of composition through asymmetry and irregularity is an important aspect of the Japanese aesthetic: Fukinsei, the denial of perfection.
I painted my first Enso last night. Circles are a prevailing theme in many of my paintings, but technically I had never painted an Enso. I used white paint on unbleached linen canvas that had a clear gesso. The clear gesso repelled my paint, so I created this Enso with three circle strokes, filling in some of the gaps. This does not follow the rules of making an Enso with one stroke... therefore supporting the Fukinsei philosophy of the denial of perfection... this philosophy makes me sleep better at night :)
Finished
Stylized and colorful... we took some liberties to use more colors in the chalk box.
Maria and I donate our time and the square is sponsored by the Douglas R. Bartoli Memorial Fund, a fund that was established after Doug’s death with family and numerous friends of Doug’s contributing to the fund. The money raised at I Madonnari goes to support The Children’s Creative Project
Day 3
It's coming along. This year feels like more of a struggle. We've stylized this year's painting more since the reference didn't have much color in it and was low resolution..
i Madonnari - Step 1
The grid.. almost done.. :)
iMadonnari 2009
Well It looks like the smoke and ash are clearing and we'll be doing iMadonnari this year.
Come down an visit May 23-25 at the Santa Barbara Mission. We'll be recreating an Audubon painting this year.
Studio Visit Magazine
Studio Visit is a juried art book received by 2,000 curators, gallery owners and collectors. It is published by Open Press Studio, the same company who publishes New American Paintings magazine.
I'm happy to share that paintings from my recent series called 'Chi' were selected to be in this year's publication. I'm checking to see if these publications will be available in book stores. Here is a link with some additional information about the publication.
http://studiovisitmagazine.com/
7x7 Magazine
If you live in San Francisco and receive 7x7 Magazine, look for one of my paintings inside on page 56. You can also find this painting for sale at ANTHEM. http://anthemsf.com/
You can view an electronic version of this April 2009 edition.
http://www.7x7sf-digital.com/7X7sf/200904/?u1=texterity
Om Mani Padme Hum
This is my first attempt to carve this Tibetan prayer into sandstone. I joined a friend of mine at a meditation center in town to do this. It was really fun and it was a great medium to work in. About 20 of us sat outside in the sunshine and some of the people were humming or chanting Tibetan prayers. It wasn't strictly business though, one of the Lamas came by and was joking about liking the show 'Everybody loves Raymond'. What a relaxed and happy group of people. These mantra carved stones will be heaped together and form a Dobum on the hillside of Santa Barbara. Building a Dobum brings great blessings including peace, prosperity and balance. This Dobum is being created in honor of the daughter of Bhakha Rinpoche who died in a helicopter crash in Nepal in 2006.
OK, I'm slowly getting deeper into this social networking. I've updated a few things on Twitter. For the most part my blog will have the main updates, but I'm testing the water with Twitter and how much I'll do in there. And I am following Jon Stewart on Twitter, now I think this is reason enough to sign up :)
Chi
You can see my new series of paintings, titled Chi, on my Mahoney artwork website.
TED Palm Springs
TED feels like going to camp for your mind! I'd recommend it to anyone that has thought about going. I attended TED Palm Springs, so it's a satellite conference, but it didn't feel like a disconnect from Long Beach. There were 400 people attending the Palm Springs event. All walks of life...professors, tv show hosts, industrial designers, economists, artists, and the list goes on. People attending were approachable, professional and relaxed.
The event was top notch! Great venue. Some of those highlights... Google sponsored a coffee shop with free lattes anytime, Odwalla juices and all the naughty munchies you can imagine. Dinners were poolside with heat lamps, great food and wine (to help with creative thinking). Inside the main room was built by Steelcase, so great chairs, couches, bean bags, big plasma screens, little screens, table tops, etc. It was nice to mix it all up since you're there for 4+ days.
And finally, not to forget the main reason for being there... all the inspiring speakers. Most of the people in the line up I had not heard of before, but had truly innovative things to share. The theme this year was 'The Great Unveiling', so talks somewhat centered around that.
They will post the talks on Ted.com, I think some from this year are already posted. Some of my favs:
Dan Ariely, Behavioral Economist, Author of Predictably Irrational, I was amazed in his talk how you could even track and measure behavior in human actions, and things that don't seem trackable.
http://predictablyirrational.com/
Bonnie Bassler, Molecular Biologist, Taught me that our bodies are made up of 10 trillions cells. And that our bodies in addition include another 100 trillion bacteria cells...EEW! But these are good bacteria.
http://www.molbio.princeton.edu/
Ray Anderson, Founder, Interface Global, An Atlanta based carpet manufacturer that turned his company around to where it is roughly 80% sustainable, with a goal of 100% in the future. His message, corporations need to get on board with environmentally friendly production. The good news, going green actually raised profits in his company.
http://www.interfaceglobal.com/
Elizabeth Gilbert, Author of Eat, Pray, Love. Gave a great talk on what to do next after her 'freakishly successful' book. Her presentation style was disarming and she addressed what i think any creative has to face at some point... when you produce something you're proud of, or that has a big success, how do you approach creating the next thing..
http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/
Nina Jablonski, Anthropologist, Talked about the color of our skin, it's origin... the talk was much more interesting then the way I just put it.
http://www.anthro.psu.edu/faculty_staff/Jablonski.shtml
Daniel Libeskind, Architect, Challenging approaches to architecture such as expressive vs. neutral, inexplicable vs. understood, unexpected vs. habitual and optimistic vs. pessimistic. I like how this applies to all creations in life..
Pattie Maes, Interface Inventor, She just had cool new gadgets...
http://ambient.media.mit.edu/projects.php
Jacek Utko, Newspaper designer, He visually transformed some European publications and it reflected positively on their bottom line. He did really nice design work... but when it comes down to it, hire me not him! :)
Margaret Wertheim, Science weaver
An artist and scientist with a great cause: http://theiff.org/
And of course a few talks about sex:
Some great music! Regina Spektor, Jamie Cullum, Deepak Ram
Some great dance troupes and performers: Capacitor from San francisco, Natasha Tsakos
I left TED feeling inspire and with a sense of more objectivity around the work I do in design, painting and outreach.
Here are a few photos that really won't do it justice. But I did get a kick out of the 'bling' covered pool table in the entry.
Anthem - San Francisco
Anthem opened their doors in October 2008. It's a beautiful new home furnishings store. Indigo created their logo and stationery, including hangtags with gold foil stamping and blind embossing to mimic the intricate wood paneling inside the store.
If you'd like to visit Anthem, you can find them at:
3274 Sacramento Street, San Francisco
Logo Lounge 5: Winner
I'm happy to announce, my Butterfly Bay logo was chosen as a winner for the Logo Lounge 5 book, coming out this winter. You can read more about Logo Lounge at http://www.logolounge.com/
i Modonnari 2008
This year Maria and I recreated a painting by Walton Ford called The Sensorium..
Here is his description of his painting:
The Victorian explorer and scholar Sir Richard Burton (1821 1890) was a young officer in India when he gathered together in his house forty monkeys in order to learn their language. As the British Empire colonized parts of the world, so too did Burton try to "colonize" simian culture, assigning his monkeys titles or occupations. His wife Isabel wrote:
He had his doctor, his chaplain, his secretary, his aide-de-camp, his agent, and one tiny one, a very pretty, small, silky looking monkey, he used to call his wife, and put pearls in her ears . . . they all sat down on chairs at mealtimes . . . and his pretty little monkey sat by him in a high baby's chair . . . he had about sixty words before the experiment was concluded . . .
Epinard Cuisine
Chef Joel Chapman is the founder of Epinard Cuisine, a new catering and personal chef here in Santa Barbara. Epinard is the French word for spinach. Since Joel was classically trained in France, it was the perfect inspiration for his company name. For the logo I carved spinach leaves in Potato wedges, inked and stamped them, then scanned in the stamps.
i Modonnari
Here are some photos from 2007's i Modonnari festival. Maria Rendon and I created this 12' x 12' chalk drawing in memory of Doug Bartoli, a Santa Barbara local who passed away 2 years ago. It's a custom designed piece where we incorporated some fabric that he had designed along with some of his favorite things, birds and sunflowers.
