Oh, hey. Here are some shots of a couple murals I recently completed at Dancing Eye Gallery in Northville. A huge thanks to Theresa for having me out to adorn the walls with my array of bears. Make sure to pop in and check them out next time you’re downtown.
Put My Bears on Your Body
I’ve soft launched my new T-Shirt shop with Threadless! I’ve got some classic designs and a few new ones for your perusal HERE.
Entering the third dimension
Hey, what do we have here? New work on the horizon! I’ve been busy getting back into sculpting and resin casting and I’m pretty stoked to have a few new pieces releasing on Tuesday, July18th in the Kill Taupe online shop.
First, I’ll be releasing my first resin toy since 2014, the Mustachioed Bear! Each bear is hand painted and sits on a unique woodland base.
I’ve had a lot of fun mixing my pop art style with rustic elements lately and it’s a trend I want to explore more with my work in the future. I made that pretty rad cigar box piece for the Ferndale Pride benefit show last month and I’ve incorporated another type of box for my latest original sculpture “Taste Your Tears”. The piece features a trio of sculpted bear heads nestled among faux foliage inside a vintage Kraft Cheese box. This one of a kind piece hits the shop tomorrow!
“Last, but not least”, is something every cliché writer would say and it’s something I’m saying right now because I have one more thing to yammer about. It’s a new magnet. And it’s glittery. And there’s a skull involved. AND it comes in three colorways.
You Fucked Around. Prepare to Find Out!
Bodily autonomy is sacred.
That’s why the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade has me furious. It’s time to rise up, be loud, fight back and tell the government to keep their rosaries off your ovaries.
I want to help, but how? All I’m good at is drawing… so I did a drawing to do some good. Yup, channeled all my rage into this fierce rainbow warrior and now you can get it on a sticker or a pin.
For the week of July 25th - 31st proceeds from these pins and stickers will be donated to the Midwest Access Coalition. They are an organization that believes in access to safe, free and legal abortions for all. MAC helps people traveling to, from and within the Midwest access a safe abortion by assisting with travel coordination, lodging, food, medicine, childcare and emotional support.
Available individually or in a Bestie Pack that has 5 pins and 5 stickers so you can pass ‘em out to friends!
QUEER @ The Gallery at Stone and Spoon
"QUEER: Celebrating Work by LGBTQIA Artists" opens on Friday, June 3rd and runs through Sunday, July 24th 2022 in The Gallery at Stone & Spoon.
Join us & the featured artists on the Opening Night Reception, taking place on Friday, June 3rd, 2022 from 5-8pm in celebration of First Friday & Pride Month. It takes place at The Gallery at Stone & Spoon, 110 W Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti MI 48197.
QUEER: Celebrating Work by LGBTQIA Artists: This celebration of work is a clear example of how varied the work among our local LGBTQIA community is, and how unaware we are of the multitude of creative processes taking place daily. Whether it is handwritten in journals, painted on canvas, sewn into fabric, typed into Notes app, sung into a microphone or whispered into each other’s ears, our community of artists are out here, ready to put their work into the world, and we are here for it.
Opening reception on Friday, June 3rd from 5-8pm will include three live performances.
10% of artwork sales made at the opening reception on June 3rd will be donated to Ypsi Pride to help secure its future in our community.
*Mobility note: Our beautiful 19th century building has no elevator, so all attendees will need to take a flight of stairs up to The Gallery. If you are unable to do stairs, but would like to see the exhibition, we will be posting a live video of the exhibition alongside the artists for an insider's perspective. This will be another great way to see this exhibition!
A Note from the Curator:
"This exhibition, “QUEER: Celebrating Work by LGBTQIA Artists,” holds a dear place in my heart. As a queer artist, business owner and curator, I have a deep passion and feel a special responsibility to provide a platform for others to show their work. To submit artwork for an exhibition is not only a risk which carries with it the chance of rejection (a fear all too familiar for someone who is queer), but it is an exercise of intimate vulnerability. One’s work is direct access and exposure to what makes the artist tick, feeding their life, their mind and their soul. For a queer artist, it is this very public gaze that can be a beautifully validating experience as well as a potentially dangerous one. Again, this real risk that may result in pain or pleasure is a familiar gamble…a familiar “coming out” to the world and growing into ourselves.
Much of this work has been created within the last two years, which has been a strangely isolated time. Many took this as an opportunity to reflect, and look deeply into what it means to be happy - peaceful - connected - fulfilled - authentic…what it means to just “be.” Art is, of course, transformative in many ways, and always will be for so many reasons, but I have found that through art, people can show the world who they really are…who they have always been..and, for them, what it means to “be.”
Join me in celebrating this collection of eclectic work, and the brave LGBTQIA artists who created it.
Queerly,
Jen"
The Gallery at Stone & Spoon is Downtown Ypsi's newest creative epicenter which will include rotating art exhibitions, workshops, classes, meet-ups and more! This space is on the second story of a beautiful 1850 historic building (above the shop), which you will enjoy as you make your way through Stone & Spoon that still showcases the building's original wood floors, tin ceilings and exposed brick walls.
For more information about The Gallery visit our website here: https://www.stoneandspoon.com/thegallery
Blockbusterz II @ My Plastic Heart
So happy to be working with Martian Toys again. This time I got to customize one of their Blockbusterz platforms. I did a little custom Dunny to go along with it as well. You can see this piece in person when Blockbusterz II opens at My Plastic Heart in Brooklyn, NY on Friday (April 29th).
Illuminati by Nature at Mothership Gallery
The Illuminati by Nature group show is now live at Mothership Gallery in Philly. 58 artists took on the all seeing eye to produce some super cool customs. Check ‘em out at the link!
New 3x3" Stickers
Oh hey there new stickers. I can’t wait to slap you on something.
Sign of the Times Mini-Painting Series
The times, they are a changing. So many things to engage with on a daily basis! These bears are breaking out their sharpies and poster board to express themselves. Behold their inner thoughts!
This batch of 18 minis is a blind boxed series. That means you won’t know which bear you get until you unwrap it at home. Each mini is an edition of 1 and won’t appear in future batches.
FIND THE GOLD BEAR! Hidden inside one box is the golden bear. Find his happy, shiny face and win an original 5x7” painting.
Kitty Killer Custom KMNDZ
Something strange is happening in the neighborhood. Cats are going missing at an alarming rate. Some folks are saying a winged beast is to blame. Some folks say it resides in the old water tower. Could you imagine such a thing?
Kitty Killer custom KMNDZ vinyl toy acrylic, paper, ink 2020
Happy 20th of April!
It's high time for some new artwork, so a fresh batch of mini-paintings have floated on a dank little cloud over to the online shop. Everything continues to ship for free with no code needed. Be well and stay amazing!
FREE SHIPPING
With show cancellations and shops closed I will be trying to sneak more stuff into my online shop.
Get free shipping on all the stuff and things! No code needed. ♥
Color Me
Hey there! Thanks to the coronapocalypse it looks like we’ll be spending an extended period of time indoors, so I made some coloring pages to help you pass the time.
I’d love to see them when you’re done! Just tag @killtaupe on social media.
Have fun, stay healthy, be smart and stay home. Love to everybody.
♥
You can download the pages here>>
100 Bears - Wave 1 Prints
No lions, no tigers, but we got plenty of bears. Oh my. There are a few bears who are ready to belt out pop hits at the top of their lungs, a handful of them ready to traverse great lands to take on the big-bads and a couple who are just trying to live their everyday bear lives.
The first wave of prints from the 100 Bears Illustration Project are now available.
Kill Taupe @ DIYpsi
Hey there fine reader of the Kill Taupe news section. The next place I'll be popping up is in my hometown of Ypsilanti, MI at the always amazing DIYpsi. See you in August!
New Circle Prints
Here are two recently completed prints that are now available in the online shop.
"Canoe Trip" was inspired by my recent trip to Michigan's upper peninsula. There were woods to explore, small towns to visit and of course, lots of time spent on the lake fishing and taking in the beautiful scenery. It's amazing how spending time outdoors and appreciating what nature has to offer can make you feel balanced and humble.
"A Good Life" celebrates living simply. This yellow bear is just happy to tend to his many, many houseplants and then lose himself in a good book.
Kill Taupe @ MoPop
Hey there fellow lovers of fun and colorful things. I am excited to announce that I will be setting up and selling my art stuffs at this years MoPop festival in Detroit. Two days of music, art and good times await you at the West Riverfront Park July 28th-29th. Hope to see you there!
Pride Celebration Print Series
Happy pride month! This print series was created for the LGBTQ Pride show hosted by Riverside Arts Center in Ypsilanti, MI. If you're local make sure to check the exhibit out! It runs through June 30th. If you're from out of town these prints can be picked up in my online shop.
Snacks Giclee Print
These crazy bears can’t get enough to eat. It’s snacks on snacks on snacks in this crowd of hungry critters.
“Snacks” giclee print now in my shop.
