Current Gossip Girl study in progress….poor little J.
The Gossip Girl work is starting…
October 18, 2010 By 2 Comments
As many of you know, the CW show Gossip Girl is one of my recent pop culture obsessions. I have written of my love for Chuck Bass and now finally…I am getting things rolling for a series of Gossip Girl.
Here is a peak of the first study I am working on….
Oh Hai Mr President!
October 7, 2010 By 2 Comments
Current work in progress: Study of Marilyn at JFK Birthday Gala.
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Marilyn Monroe Candid Profile
September 25, 2010 By 5 Comments
New drawing I churned out after work last night. Marilyn’s image used to be stressful and overwhelming to work with. Finally, working with her image has become a soothing practice…now that it’s been a few years, and I’ve read more books than I can count on the dame. I also decided to add a process shot as well.
Before:
In process shot...
"Candid Marilyn Profile" 9/2010
9.02.10 Teen TV Residue Gallery Opening: RECAP
September 11, 2010 By 1 Comment
9.02.10:Teen TV Residue opening at the Distillery Gallery in South Boston last week. There was a good turn out, despite the near 100 degree weather, moving day for much of Boston, and the fact that this was my first post college/non-cafe gallery show….and of course, the usual last minute chaos. In the hindsight, the show could have been bigger, better, gone more smoothly etc…but the bottom line is that it happened, and folks enjoyed it…..and it was good.
Among many things, including strong pieces, strong artists, and a strong turn out for the show, one of the things I am most proud of about the 9.02.10 show is that it started from something very personal and became thing universal. The unfortunate part is I realized the unversitility late in the game, thus. lst minute. Still, we delivered….from Jessica Pollak’s shadobowboxes of the men of Buffy,
The Men of Buffy: Oz, Angel, Spike-by Jessica Pollak (courtesy the DistilleryGallery Flickr
to Mary Fay Holt‘s Virginity Lost Specimens..
"Last" By Mary Fay Holt. (Includes Alex P. Keaton, Spike Nelson, Brenda Walsh, Buffy Summers, & Blair Waldorf)
Independently we also had a Jordan Catalano (“Hunky Dreamboat”) by Tony Bevilacqua and an Angela Chase (..can like, narrate”) by Cassandra long. Robert daVies tied it all together by painting the thought/speech bubbles
"My So Called Life Installation" by Tony Bevilacqua, Robert daVies, & Cassandra Long
We also had a collaborative project amongst studio 11, spearheaded by Nick Ward & Mary Fay Holt…an interactive teen bedroom. You could write notes to your high school crushes, or to anyone, rummage through this fictional teens things, or just hang out and remember what it was like.
"Becca loves Zach" -Studio 11 Colloboration
Across from the teen room, Kelsey Jarboe’s piece “Makeup Takedown” contained a video loop of YouTube videos of female teens dressing up their straight male friends in drag. Participants were allowed to sit down, and dress themselves up too
"Makeup Takedown" by Kelsey Jarboe
And of course…there was my 90210 pieces, Some crying Brendas, a stoic Branda, and of course…Donna Martin Graduates.
Brenda,Brandon,Brenda-Elizabeth Grammaticas
Brenda Walsh is Crying!-Elizabeth Grammaticas
Donna Martin Graduates!-Elizabeth Grammaticas
and of course, let’s not forget…our very own Peach Pit
Peach Pit at the Distillery
All and all, we put together an enjoyable, fun show….thank you everyone who participated…thank you everyone who came, and thank you everyone who’s interest we caught for future shows. For a first show, I say we did a good job folks. More on the after party and studio 11 events to come….
Brandon Walsh Sketch #1
August 29, 2010 By 1 Comment
Oh Hey, how’s it going Brandon Walsh? Stoic? Pensive? Thought so.
Brandon Walsh # 1, 2010
A few tweaks needed here and there, but almost done!
Tweeting Works in Progress
August 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Hey folks,
As some of you may know, I have a twitter (Linked on this blog). I had a Twitter ages ago, but now am finally realizing more of its pros and cons…and working it to my advantage. So thus the new Twitter. I hope. As of right now I am periodically tweeting pieces as I work on them over there. If there’s more of an interest here for works in progress, or more about my process, I may start lumping some together in some posts here. I also am human and not completely professional, and also will tweet about other various aspects of my life….but don’t worry, I won’t be posting photos of every meal I eat.
For now, if you are interested…especially in the next ewek as a churn out pieces like mad for my upcoming show, check out my twitter feed. http://twitter.com/LizGrammaticas. …or to go directly to photos : http://twitpic.com/photos/LizGrammaticas
None of you may care, but just in case…here ya go!
I know I have a small readership with this blog, but appreciate all you for your interest!
Crying like…a Teenager.
July 8, 2010 By 3 Comments
Brenda Walsh is Crying, Once More! Mixed Media. 7/2010
Crying affects all of our lives. Whether its around you, or it’s your own self…you can’t ignore the cry. Sure, you can repress it. Sure, you can fake it, but most of the time..you can’t control it. Unless of course you are an actor, and more importantly, an actor in a teen TV show. In that case, you are a pro.
I don’t think anyone cries more than the characters in teen TV soaps/dramas. Whether their lives are actually dramatic (Beverly Hills, 90210, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or they just teen-perspective dramatic (My So-Called Life)…there’s always the drama…and with the drama, come the tears. Teens are in transitions with everything, and crying certainly is one of them. They are no longer ‘children’ that are somewhat oblivious to crying etiquette, and not quite adults who are aware of the social role of crying, and have that structure embedded in their systems.
There is a freedom in crying as a teen. You know more about what is worth crying about. You also know more about how crying affects other people, you know how to work it, and you have the freedom to get away with not caring when its ‘inappropriate’. You are still, ‘just a kid’, but you have those pesky ‘adult’ (seeming) problems. You are totally free to cry over being stood up on a date like half your family was murdered. That’s power. Teen crying is epic, so no wonder TV producers love it so damn much.
Ode to awesome teen tv crying take 1 : Beverly Hills 90210
Oh no! Brenda Walsh is Crying Again
June 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment
So my Beverly Hills, 90210: Teen Pop Culture & Trauma series is finally getting underway. This is my first body of work I am premiering in Boston. I have a lot of work ahead of me. My drawing/paintings skills are definitely rusty, and it will take a lot of work to churn out images of the quality I want. This is perfect, because this is a body of work I am insanely passionate about doing…which exactly the kick I needed to get my art game back on.
As a teen, my favorite TV shows had a huge impact on my life. When my life unlike that of my surrounding peers, I was able to connect with them week to week on relating to our favorite shows. The shows also worked as an escape, and as friend. For me, it was Buffy Summers, always feeling like the world was going to end, or someone might die. This TV show of vampires and teenage heroines felt more like my life/what I was feeling than anything else around me. Also, those undead metaphors made it easier for me to deal with the actual dead…but let’s not go into vampire studies now.
I was too young to be of the original Beverly Hills, 90210 generation. The show’s lifespan was the entire decade of the ’90s. The show has now recently been syndicated for SoapNet, where at any given day the show airs not once, not twice, but four times. Also, don’t forget the CW’s new version, 90210 reaching out to a new generation of fans, while still featuring a few of the original’s iconic characters. For a few overlapping generations in the U.S, it’s very difficult for someone not to have an opinion on this show.
Beverly Hills, 90210 was the first U.S. soap opera specifically aimed at teens. It straddled chronicling the epically dramatic relationships and friendships of the cast, along with topical teen issues. Any sort of problem or lesson tended to be solved in an episode. No matter what, these privileged teens prevailed against their trials and tribulations. Things always end up okay, at least for the main characters. The candy-coated nature of the show makes difficult issues digestible. You end up seeing the Beverly Hills, 90210 version of life’s difficulties. ….and it’s ridiculous. Yet your brain prefers the ridiculous and the colorful over the cruel and painful. So does the American public.
Why else would we love seeing Brenda/Shannen Doherty cry so much? We love to see her cry, and for our own reasons, we need it. We need our hollywood versions of teen pain. So, it’s time for some paintings of this. Cry Brenda Cry!
- Above. “Brenda Walsh is Crying, I”
New Marilyn Study.
June 14, 2010 By 1 Comment
I am trying to draw more and more…to just…build up my skillz. When breaking from my teen-drama/Beverly Hills 90210 work, Marilyn is my fantastic fallback subject to do studies of.
So here’s a recent .
Golden Globes
