I am dreXeL. I thought you knew… Art, eating paint, life in Brooklyn. Fear it.

you drink tea now, originally uploaded by *version-3-point-1.

ok testing blogability from flickr again. do not be alarmed, this is only a test.

Technorati Tags: art, merch, tshirt, geisha, girls and guns, version3point1, flickr

Posted under art

you drink tea now, originally uploaded by *version-3-point-1.

(Note: I’m trying the blog feature from flickr for the first time. Let’s see how it works…)

I just found out today that an AWESOME girl in the UK heard about my new tshirt from a mutual friend (also AWESOME) named Martin. She is the first person I’m aware of that’s outside the US who has one of these tshirts. So I’m really excited about it. Just thought I’d let you know. Oh and also, she is an ace photographer and seems to have flawless taste in like…everything.

Note #2: Didn’t work. Text and links transferred, but the image didn’t. I had to removed a couple paragraphs of code that flickr put into the post. At least until I figure it out and fix it so it works correctly.

Note #3 UPDATE: the Flickr blog feature actually DID work. The reason the image didn’t transfer is because of the permissions set by the owner of the photograph. Mystery solved. Yay! Now I have a WAY quicker way to blog. That makes me happy.

Technorati Tags: art, flickr, flickr.com/people/version-3-point-1, geisha, girls and guns, shotgun, payback, god save the queen, merch

Posted under art

TastyTees homepage

As of a few minutes ago orders for my new limited edition tshirt have begun! This is a limited run, and will only be available for purchase until June 15th. That’s less than TWO WEEKS. Then they’re gone forever.

Some of the proceeds go to StartingArtists.org, a local charity that provide free after school art classes and art business training to inspire youth to create arts-based enterprises. Which is awesome. And some proceeds go to me.

Click THIS LINK or click the image above. Support the arts, support children in the arts, support the artist. And thanks in advance!

XO, dreXeL

Technorati Tags: tasty tees, tastytees, tastytshirt.com, drexel merch, geisha, girls and guns, japanophilia, katakana, shotgun, payback

Posted under art

Finally finished the artwork for my upcoming limited edition tee. So excited!

you drink tea now

Technorati Tags: geisha, shotgun, payback, kimono, tshirt, digital art

Posted under art

Just wanted you to know that my new Geisha stickers have arrived, and are available for purchase and for…um…STICKING at drexel.etsy.com. I will be giving them out as gifts with purchases of tshirts, paintings, prints or jewelry, as well.

Also my next tshirt is coming this week so STAY TUNED!!

XO, dreXeL

Technorati Tags: geisha, art, sticker art, sticker, street art, japanophilia

Posted under art

After years of study and practice with Photoshop, Illustrator and Corel Painter, my life savings spent on iPods, iPhones, iMacs, Macbooks, digital cameras, study of html and css, countless hours reading technical blogs and trying to stay on top of every new development, I’ve come to realize something…

It’s comforting to return to simple things. And there are certain qualities about earlier technologies that don’t exist in later ones. There’s a pride in doing things the original way that they were intended to be done. So it’s no surprise that so many people still prefer filming with Super 8 instead of digital, or making cakes from scratch when the mixes in a box are so awesome. Or handcutting stencils despite how long it takes and how badly your fingers hurt afterwards.

I bought a cheap plastic polaroid camera last week for $10 from a woman on Craigslist. It’s the first time I’ve ever owned a Polaroid camera, despite always wanting one as a kid. When I posted the scanned results of my very first Polaroid photos on flickr yesterday, I was asked what I used to get the effects I got. I laughed because I used nothing. I used a piece of plastic and pushed a button. I even spent an hour that day looking for the place where you put the batteries for the flash to work on my new cheap piece of plastic camera. I asked people in the line at Duane Reade. I made phone calls to professional photographers. Finally I found out that the energy needed to power the flash is actually INSIDE THE FILM. I was amazed. It really made me rethink my viewpoints about technology, my condescension of everything that isn’t the newest, best, latest, coolest thing.

Perhaps what’s coolest is what came first.

No, I’m not going out and buying an abacus. I’m just sayin…

Posted under photography, technology

My friend Scott just emailed me with the subject line “you’re on TechCrunch”. So of course my heart immediately leapt straight out of my chest. I took a deep breath. I clicked the link…

Turns out it’s an article about new features and applications for the Ning platform, with a screenshot of a page from Brooklyn Art Project’s Ning website. Brooklyn Art Project (BAP) is a social network for artists, of which I am a member. The TechCrunch article has nothing to do with me particularly. But as luck would have it, the screenshot they used was probably a month old, from when BAP had my artwork as the header image for their website.

I am accidentally on TechCrunch today.

And that is better than cupcakes.

XO, dreX

Posted under technology

I have now collaborated with an awesome jewelry designer named Missy out of North Carolina. Her company is called Oh Sexy Girlfriend. She’s awesome and now my geisha can be worn! So that’s fun and it makes me happy. If you’re interested in purchasing any of her/our jewelry, just contact her/purchase via the above link.

Here are some pics of what she’s created with my images:

Need something slightly different than what you see on the page? Contact Missy via her myspace page. She might can sort that out for ya!

Technorati Tags: art, jewelry, collabos, collaboration, ohsexygirlfriend, geisha, cameo

Posted under art, design

I’ve now cleaned up the original Geisha 4 which was originally done on a USPS sticker for the “Going Postal” show in Chicago. I changed the size, cleaned it up, made some other changes and should have a nice bulk quantity of them for display and sale in a few weeks. When they run out I will make stickers from another Geisha in the series. I’ll let you know when they are ready for purchase. I’m excited about this series.

geisha 4 sticker

Posted under art

I entered my mom into a contest! If she gets the most votes, she wins a trip to come see me in NYC and a shopping spree at Victoria Secret’s flagship store for Mother’s Day. Thanks in advance! XO, dreXeL

“Love You Mom!” Sponsored by Victoria’s Secret

Posted under family