Playing With Ink

I started a new black and white painting yesterday and this is where I'm at so far. I have a long way to go, but I like how it's looking so far. This one is 18" x 24" and is on wood. If you missed the last black and white painting I made here it is.



Hopefully I can finish the new one before the weekend. I'll post a photo of the completed painting as soon as I finish.

The Cheese Cake Man

"The Cheese Cake Man"
6" x 9" - mixed media on vintage cookbook page

$30 - available at jeffclaassen.etsy.com

This is the latest painting in the ongoing "cookbook series". There are more coming, but I can't make any promises as to when or how soon. Sorry, us artsy types are generally unreliable with setting dates. C'mon, what do you expect?

Embodiment Video

I'm stoked that both my models ended up in the video. You can see Christy at 30 seconds. She's the one in the middle. Jamie is at the 1:45 mark. Check it!

New Painting - A Delicate Place

"A Delicate Place"
48" x 60" - mixed media on wood
$1495

I finally finished! This painting has been sitting around my house for awhile now and I am very happy to have finished. It's now hanging proudly in my gallery if you want to come by and check it out in person. It's pretty big and better in person than in the photos. If you can't swing by the gallery here are some detail shots to give you a better look at it.









And here it is on display.



Thanks for looking!

Not A Half Naked Lady, But...

The aftermath of testing out various inks so I can be prepared for the Embodiment Show tomorrow.

I still have tickets available. Pick them up at the gallery today from 12-6pm. $10 each or $8 each when you buy three or more.

New Hand Painted iPhone Case

I painted this a few weeks ago, but wasn't able to post it because it was done as a Christmas present for somebody. I'm stoked with how it came out.

I'm pretty busy for the first month of 2010, but I am still taking commission work for iPhone covers if you're interested. As long as the cover is that of the hard plastic variety it should work just fine.

Right now the price for a handpainted iPhone cover is $65. If you have one you'd like me to paint let me know.

You can check out some other ones I've painted in the "Commissions" section of my flickr page.

As always, thanks for looking!
- Jeff

Someday I Will Actually Finish A Painting

I started the above painting about a week ago and finally had a little time last night to work on it. It would be nice to finish it before the new year. However, painting has been fighting a lot with my reading time, so we'll see what happens. In an effort to paint more I actually brought a painting to the gallery to work on. I've tried this before and I end up getting distracted too much, but I'm willing to try it again. Here's the one I started yesterday in the gallery.




Just the background for now. I might end up making this a horizontal painting as opposed to vertical. Oh, the details...sorry to bore you.

In other news. I have A LOT of projects in the works. Stay tuned!

Oh, The Potential

Holiday Gift Idea #2 - Art For Bird Lovers

I am just full of blog ideas today! I will attempt to post some "themed" blogs for holiday gift ideas. This first one I had in mind is art for Bird Lovers. Allow me to present you with all of my art pieces that feature a cute little winged creature. Enjoy!



"Wistful Desires"
5.5" x 7.25" - limited edition of 50
$50, plus shipping. For more info or to purchase click here.





"Sing To Me"
5.5" x 5.5" - limited edition of 50
$40, plus shipping. For more info or to purchase click here.





"Let's Fly Away Together"
5.5" x 5.5" - limited edition of 50
$40, plus shipping. For more info or to purchase click here.





"I Own This Town"
4" x 5.5" - limited edition of 20
$30, plus shipping. For more info or to purchase click here.





"The Bird King And His Little Planet"
5.5" x 5.5" - limited edition of 50
$40, plus shipping. For more info or to purchase click here.





"Cahoots With Me"
5.5" x 5.5" - limited edition of 50
$40, plus shipping. For more info or to purchase click here.




The above are all limited edition prints, but I also have some original bird pieces available. And here they are.




"Corn On The Cob"
6" x 9" - original painting
$30, plus shipping. For more info or to purchase click here.





"Living On Eggplant"
6" x 9" - original painting
$30, plus shipping. For more info or to purchase click here.





All these pieces are currently available in the gallery as well. If you are in or around SLO come on by and see the work in person.

The Claassen Gallery
785 Marsh St
San Luis Obispo CA 93401

Thanks for looking!

An Alternative To Cave Painting

"An Alternative To Cave Painting"
48" x 48" - mixed media on canvas
$1195, plus shipping


I just realized that I never posted the completed version of this painting online. It's a collaboration with my friend Nic Rodriguez, who's artwork I think is super awesome. I think we started this painting in July 2008 and I'm such a typical slacker artist that I didn't finish my portion of the job until January 2009.

This painting actually has a little bit of history in its short life. For starters, I've had to strap this thing to the roof of my car more times than I can count. Drive it to Nic's house. Drive it to my house. Drive it to the gallery. Drive it to a film studio for a commercial (which you'll have the chance to see in a minute). Walk it up three flights of stairs. Drive it back to the gallery. Drive it to a one night art show. Drive it back. Drive it to another art show where it was on display for three months. Drive it back to my gallery. One of these days I will drive it to a collector's house and I will never have to drive it anywhere again.

Here are a few behind the scene photos of the painting in progress.














And here's the commercial it was featured in. You'll see it four times. The opening scene as well as at the eight second mark, fifteen second, and fifty three seconds.

imwithchris.com - 60 sec Spot from Flicker Films on Vimeo.

Somewhere I have more photos of this paintings adventures being strapped to the roof of my car, but it's late and I can't seem to find them at the moment. Anyway, If you're interested in purchasing this please don't hesitate to let me know. I have yet to ship a painting this size, but I'd be willing too. I'm guessing the shipping cost would be in the $120 range for something this big. However, if you live close I'd be more than happy to strap this thing to the roof of my car one last time.

Thanks for looking!
- Jeff

My Obsession With Chubby Birds Has Yet To Wane.

The latest in the "Cookbook Pages" series. Also, I seem to be really into these chubby birds lately. This one is available for $30 in my etsy shop.

Thanks for looking!

Get Naked And Jump In

It's been a good year for commissions! This is the latest one and one that I consider the most ambitious commission project to date. It's by far the biggest three dimensional object I've ever painted. Enjoy!

Messing Around In The Gallery

Here are a couple "in progress" photos of something I'm working on today. Hopefully, I can finish before closing time.








Stay tuned for the completed painting. And enjoy your Friday!

Kicking It Old School

I was going through some things tonight and came across this old canvas I painted in Sept. or Oct. of 1999. It's got some definite Keith Haring influence to it. He was a huge inspiration at the time. If my friend Brian is reading this... hey, you never returned my Keith Haring Journals!

An Adventure In Painting, To Be A Third Grader Again.

I was recently asked to work with third graders on a project. What's funny is that this is the same elementary school that I went to from fourth to sixth grade. Ah, the universe works in mysterious ways. The idea was to do something artistic that the kids could make with me and whatever we make could be auctioned off at a school event to help raise money for the school.











I came up with this idea to paint one of my characters on a wood panel and the students could color them in and add their own characters and designs. I made sure to leave a lot of empty space for the kids.








I had anticipated helping a lot, but the kids were so stoked they just instantly started drawing the moment the painting hit their table. I was extremely impressed with the fact that they had no hesitation with what to do.








I had a great time and the kids had a lot of fun. The hardest part was having to wake up and be somewhere by 10am. Lucky for me there was a Jamba Juice on the way to the school and that really boosted my energy. In all we made four paintings. Here are the completed pieces ready to be hung in the Getty.














I'm not sure when the school is having their event to auction these off, but as soon as I find out I will let you know in case you want to try to get your hands on one of these masterpieces.

I'd like to give a BIG thanks to Bishop's Peak School for letting me hang out and draw with the kids.

Sometimes I Make Things.

Painting things is fun. Here are three originals from the Picking Daisies show. They are now available in my etsy shop.




"They Call Me Tommy"
5.5" x 7" - mixed media on wood
for more info or to purchase click here.





"Social Narcotics"
5.5" x 7" - mixed media on wood
for more info or to purchase click here.






"Siblings"
5.5" x 5.75" - mixed media on wood
for more info or to purchase click here.