"Man Eater"

This piece was created out of the last large sheet of paper that I took to Palma.
Now it's back to the smaller format. The larger pieces are fun and on my next trip to Portugal I'd like to get some 22x30 inch paper. The only problem with the bigger pieces is that they are harder to travel with and sell.

Looks alot like the guy is playing hockey

I guess Oskar's Canadianism is wearing off on me.
Only 1 piece of 18x24 paper left. Then I have to work on 11x14 or 8x10 paper. I'll be leaving Palma a week from Sunday. I'm satisfied with the trip; I got to practice my spanish, research Toronto's art scene, and create a solid body of work. Hopefully I'll be selling most of it at shows and art festivals this summer.

Pieces of the Week

Some new pieces that I've been working on this week. All three are 18x24 inches. I'm trying to find a balance between solid color paint and the quilted look of the pastels while keeping a clear narrative.

Day Trip to Lluc

Drove up into the West Coast Mountains of Lluc and Sollier where the highest mountain on the island is located (1445 metres). I can't believe that we made it up and down the windy roads with the old transporter that we are driving. We even passed a bus that had gone over the edge (pic above). Scary! The spanish authorities hadn't even cleared it away yet. I wonder when it had happened? Atleast we made it home safetly with some beautiful pics to share:)

More New work from this week.

I'm a machine. I think this creative burst has been building up for a while. While I was in Miami the past two months I really didn't do that much artwork. However I was going to alot of galleries and taking it all in. These three pieces are 18x24 inches and will be included in the Toronto show.

"Images of the Week"

I was very productive this week! These are all 11x14 inches and will probably be including in the Toronto show.
Excuse the poor photoquality quality, i didnt bring my tripod to europe with me:(

New technique incorporating Scratchboard

I've expanded my materials to now include scratchboard, which I'm really happy about.
Using scratchboard on my protagonist in the illustration gives the character much more life with the ability to communicate feelings through facial expressions, while keeping with my artistic aesthetic.

Hike to La Trapa Monastery, Mallorca, Spain

Oskar and I took a long hike yesterday into the mountains of San Telm
(the southwest tip of Mallorca) to the monestary La Trapa. It was
great to see another side of the island, which was incredibly lush
with darker soil, green grass, orange,lemon and olive trees. The path
started out wide and easy at the base, but by the end of the hike we
were literally rock climbing:) Let's just say, due to liability
reasons, a path like this would not fly in the states. At
the very end of the path we came over a large rock and were really
wondering if we were on a path to no where, when all of sudden we see
this small self-sufficient community with a monastery in the center of
it. When we arrived the people that live there were preparing a meal
that smelled so good I was really kicking myself for not bringing food
or water :(

ARTSHOW scheduled for August in Toronto

Yay! My artwork isn't homeless anymore:;)

Just got the word from Niche Coffee and Tea in Toronto that I will be having a show there in August. I will keep you updated on details as the show opening approaches.
To learn more about Niche see there website http://www.nichecoffee.com

Visited the Caves of Portochristo, Mallorca

These are the caves in Portochristo on the mid-eastern coast of
the island that we visited. These caves are several hundred metres underground and have been
there for millions of years formed by volcanoes. It was really neat to
see stalagtites and stalagmites in person, that was a first.

Made it safetly to Palma, Mallorca.

I made it safetly to Palma Mallorca. I'm still alittle jetlagged, but other than that things are going well. I put away my clothes and set up my art work area. Already I've made 4 pieces, all smaller than usual. Its nice to change up the scale in which i work. I also got an email back from a store/gallery in Toronto that I'm going to have a show at in july, so i'm excited about that. I think that's made me get refocused on the artwork making.
Tomorrow I'll get to take a day trip to a different part of the island, probably up in the mountains. My boyfriend and I have an old transporter vw that we'll be using while over here. It's good to get from point a to b, but not very good at accelerating up the mountains. We'll be here for the next 6 weeks. The island is beautiful. We are staying in S'arenal at La Playa Palma. The earth is very dry and sand-like. Lots of cactuses and some how flowers manage to grow here.
Nothing really stands out quite like argentina yet. The produce is alright, nothing special, and i have yet to taste the cafe since I quit drinking it:(
Also the town that we are in is the German equivalent to Cancun for Americans. Its not quite the season yet, but there are almost as many germans as spaniards. yikes. Everywhere there is uber-this or beergarten- that. So this should be interesting...

Originals & Prints now onsale at Yessy.com

To view my work that is currently on sale go to www.yessy.com/bretschger
The work ranges from reasonable 8x10 Signed Photos for $35 to Original Collages starting at $150

Thanks for your support,
Crystal