New Illustration

I was quite happy with the way this illo turned out. It calls out some of the intricate detail of the entrance to the music building on the Mills College (Oakland, CA) campus.

Kitty Gets Artwork for Christmas

Our Cat Cho-Cho received some artwork from Santa this year. . .

Note: When Cho-Cho misbehaves we blame it on her evil twin "Chi-Chi."

New Works from Nakashima Fine Arts

Here are some items that haven't made it on to my website. Some of them are short runs of cards and books and other odds and ends. If you are interested in purchasing please contact me at dawn@nakfinearts.com

50/50 Book

Limited quantities

6" x 8", spiral bound, 28 pages

$25.00

I was in a group show in the summer of 2009 called "50/50." The premise of the show was to have the invited artists create 50 pieces in 50 days. There were 67 artists in the show. We were each given 50 - 6"x6" pieces of masonite and everyone came up with their own concept. My concept was to base each tile on a specific day's events and was created with one word done in positive space and the other in negative space. The chosen words, usually opposites were to convey the happenings of that day. For instance: Day 10 (5/27/09) was "FAIR/FOUL." (President Obama nominates Judge Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme court Justice. Raised in the South Bronx Sotomayor is a life-long baseball fan.) I was happy with the way the piece turned out and created a limited number of books with all 50 tiles so I would have a record of this project - and a journal of sorts of 50 days in 2009. To see each tile in detail and to read what transpired on each day see my older blogs.

50/50 Paintings

Coincidentally, I was working on a 50/50 project of my own before the above mentioned group show. For my 50th birthday last December (2008) I created 50 new pieces. Some of them were paintings on cardboard with the positive/negative, 50/50 theme. Some of them were inspired by the 2008 Election and all were reminiscent of the old WAIT/WALK traffic signs. I think my palette took its lead from the colors used in "The Cat in The Hat." Here's how they looked installed:

50/50 Paintings for sale

YES/NO

12" x 10"

acrylic on cardboard

$25.00

RIGHT/WRONG

12" x 10"

acrylic on cardboard

$25.00

OBAMA/MCCAIN

12" x 10"

acrylic on cardboard

$25.00

PALIN/FEY

12" x 10"

acrylic on cardboard

$25.00

PRO-LOVE/ANTI-LOVE

12" x 10"

acrylic on cardboard

$25.00

SAFE/OUT

12" x 10"

acrylic on cardboard

$25.00

HOME/AWAY

12" x 10"

acrylic on cardboard

$25.00

CASH/CREDIT

12" x 10"

acrylic on cardboard

$25.00

BULL/BEAR

12" x 10"

acrylic on cardboard

$25.00

JOBS/GATES

12" x 10"

acrylic on cardboard

$25.00

MAC/PC

12" x 10"

acrylic on cardboard

$25.00

ipod/MP3

12" x 10"

acrylic on cardboard

$25.00

JONAS/MILEY

12" x 10"

acrylic on cardboard

$25.00

FIFTY/FIFTY

12" x 10"

acrylic on cardboard

$25.00

CONTROLS - red

14" x 14"

(4 - 6"x6" paintings)

acrylic on cardboard

$25.00

A couple of paintings were inspired by the images we watched during the

2008 Summer Olympics in Bejing

Bejing #1

30 1/2" x 15 1/2"

acrylic on canvas

$125.00

Bejing #2

30 1/2" x 15 1/2"

acrylic on canvas

$125.00

And a couple were inspired by time spend in peach orchards during my youth

Ladders #1

28 1/2" x 40 1/2"

acrylic on paper

matted & framed

$175.00

Ladders #2

28 1/2" x 40 1/2"

acrylic on paper

matted & framed

$175.00

50/50 Card Sets

ENVIRONMENT card set

Set of 4 cards

$6.00

BASEBALL card set

Set of 4 cards

$6.00

POLITICS card set

Set of 4 cards

$6.00

FOODIE card set

(KROC/WATERS - think "Ray" & "Alice")

Set of 4 cards

$6.00

CIVIL RIGHTS card set

Set of 4 cards

$6.00

Some other cards I've created recently

Drive/Bike/Fly card

"The human race is challenged more than every before to demonstrate our mastery, not over nature but of ourselves." - Rachel Carson (1907-1964)

Set of 4 cards (one design)

$6.00

Oprah/Limo card

"Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down." - Oprah Winfrey

Set of 4 cards (one design)

$6.00

APRONS

"Usu" apron

(usu is the name of the bowl using in pounding mochi)

Hand stitched fabric applique

100% cotton natural canvas

$25.00 (one left)

Usu apron detail

Baseball Diamond apron

Machine stitched fabric applique with buttons/bases

100% cotton natural canvas

$25.00 (one left)

Baseball Diamond apron detail

Mochi Mouse Club apron

Screen printed /100% cotton

White (w/adjust. neck) $20.00

Natural canvas $15.00

Mochi Mouse Club apron detail

50/50 Book available

Limited edition book

50/50 by Dawn Nakashima

6" x 8", Spiral bound, 28 pages

$25.00

Contains images of all 50 (+ one) tiles along with the date and event that correlates to each tile. Also included is an image of the piece as a whole. The books are available by contacting me at dawn@nakfinearts.com

Installation complete. . .Opening on Friday!

I spent a few hours in Pacifica today installing my 50/50 piece.

Here's a sneak peak:

There are 66 other artists in the show. The work is pretty interesting and varied. I think my piece holds its own pretty well. I'm looking forward to going back to take a closer look at the other work during the opening and when I gallery-sit on August 16th. If you go, my piece is in the East Wing, fourth one on the left.

I have a few more things to do to prepare for Friday's opening. . . then I have to clean up my studio!!

All 50 Tiles . . . plus one

50/50 Show

Grand Opening - Friday, July 24, 2009, 7-9pm

Sanchez Art Center

1220 B Linda Mar Blvd.

Pacifica, CA 94044

Show runs July 24th through August 29th

Gallery is open Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays, 1-5pm

Come see how the other 66 artists interpreted the task of creating 50 pieces in 50 days!

Day 41 thru 50. . . 51?

Day 41 - June 27, 2009

King Tut exhibit opens at de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park.

Day 42 - June 28, 2009

39th Annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Parade

in San Francisco

Day 43 - June 29, 2009

Sci-Fi thriller Transformers 2 opens to huge box office receipts

Day 44 - June 30, 2009

Bernie Madoff sentenced to 150 years in prison for

bilking investors of $65 billion; guilty of fraud, theft, perjury

Day 45 - July 1, 2009

After 8 months, Democrat Al Franken is declared winner

of Minnesota Senate seat over Republican Norm Coleman

Day 46 - July 2, 2009

Unable to agree on a budget, State of California to start issuing IOU's

Day 47 - July 3, 2009

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin resigns in surprise move

Day 48 - July 4, 2009

The United States of America celebrates its 233rd Independence Day

Day 49 - July 5, 2009

Serena Williams defeats her sister Venus

to become the 2009 Wimbledon Champion

Day 50 - July 6, 2009

Last day of 50/50 Project. . . or is it??

EXTRA Day 51 - July 7, 2009

Michael Jackson's Memorial Service is televised

from Los Angeles and viewed by millions worldwide