Psychic Eye painting, new silkscreen shirts, ribbon dreads, apron

Lots of new stuff to show off this morning.

Firstly, i finished a painting over the weekend:

Psychic Eye
14" x 14"
original acrylic painting on canvas
by Chelsea Rose

Also listed two new Lucid Optic Lab creations:

New silkscreen print shirt!
Purple Perception Mandala silkscreen print
hand designed, hand printed

Women's long sleeve shirt
92% cotton
8% spandex
size Medium
Bust 30"
selling for $20 here.


Evolve Mushroom silkscreen print
hand designed, hand printed

Women's stretchy long sleeve shirt
95% cotton
5% spandex
Size XL
Bust: 39" un stretched
selling for $20 here.

I also wanted to show my new dreadly adornments:

Over the weekend i tied in some green and purple ribbons. Now that i have added in those psychedelic wool dreads + ribbons and beads I am really starting to feel they are extensions of my spirit. I had kept them plain for a long time so that they could be considered acceptable at work but i found 90% of the time i was wrapping them up so they were out of sight anyway. So i decided to go ahead and start adorning my locks. I feel they are becoming a thing of art, which i love and can truly feel with my soul!

In other news, check out my new apron:

My dear friend Dr.Bob kindly sewed it up for me. It was made from a vintage dress i found at the goodwill bins awhile ago. Strangely enough this is my first apron. Wearing an apron while painting was something i hadn't considered doing until recently when i realized that everything i owed has some amount of paint on it which was making it very hard to dress for work. I knew i wouldn't actually use apron unless it would be interesting enough for me to want to wear it. I think this apron is the one! I have it hung right before my painting table so that i have to walk by it to get to my easel. lets see if i can manage to remember to wear it!

So thats all the "newness" i have for you this Monday morning.

However, today is Marten Luther King Jr day. On the way to work I was listening to the DemocracyNow broadcast( listen to it here ) in which they were doing a special focusing on his anti war, anti violence and anti profiteering stance. Many of his words which he spoke about Vietnam are still extremely relevant to today's world affairs. I especially enjoyed a quote he recited during his "Beyond Vietnam" speech:


"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." -JFK

Peace n Love,
-Chelsea Rose
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Blue Cacoon new acrylic painting, print SALE

Its been cold! Its supposed to be snowing right now but i think its closer to slushing. I did run out to the store and buy a new pair of wool socks so i am set.
I also managed to finish a painting:

14" x 14" original acrylic painting by Chelsea Rose

....put the varnish on her last night and called it a done deal. You can check out some work in progress photos here if youd like.

I also wanted to share that i am offering 8.5" x 11" prints of The Green Man for Sale through the Holidays:

The Green man 8.5" x 11" is on sale for $15 here. He is not a print i normally offer through etsy so grab him while you can!

and Lastly...check out this neat dread up-do i managed the other day:

I have been experimenting with what to do with my dreads for my mid December art opening. I was not having much success until the other day when i came up with the above "up do."
For this one i took my first layer of dreads on either side and tied them together around my head. Then I took my second layer of dreads and tied them over the first layer. With the last layer i braided and then wrapped it up around on the sides to meet in the middle of the top of my head. No rubber bands or pins used. did that make any sense?
I hope i can manage to duplicate it when i need too..haha.We shall see about that!

Peace n Love,
-Chelsea Rose
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Work in Progress acrylic painting + 23rd street art show

Another productive weekend was had!
I got a lot of work done on the acrylic painting i am working on:

Danny snapped this photo of me while I worked on her. After an hour more of painting i finished putting the first layer of color on the entire painting...so now there is no grey left peaking out. I have to go back in and lay more color down on certain spots + work in more shadow and highlights....then i should be ready to sign and varnish the painting.

Also...you can see in the photo i have combed out my front two locks. Now i have some soft hair to play with in the front. I felt i just needed a bit of a change and i am pretty happy with the results. It took about an hour each to comb out the dreads. I soaked them in heavy conditioner and then used a flea comb to push the knotted hair smooth. Was a lot of work but im glad i did it.

and on to some very exciting news!


Danny will be showcasing his newly created body of ebru/screen printing artwork which will include his life size Buddha silkscreen prints with his giant ebru marbling mono prints and more. For a sneak peak at some of his work that will be on display check out his flickr page.
"This is a one night event in conjunction with NW 23rd third Thursday art walk. Come check out huge Buddha screen prints, art drawings, sculpture, marbling, Industrial Dub music, jewelry, faerie tutu’s, and wine on November 18th from 6pm to 9pm. The event is being help in a "pop up" gallery that use to be a cheese shop on NW Thurman and NW 23rd. Bring friends and family!"

....So that about wraps it up for this blog entry.
Although I am excited to announce my body art photography book is ready to go to print today...so my books will be available soon for purchase. More details soon!

Much love to all,
-Chelsea Rose
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Weekend Projects and Play- mermaid painting, silkscreen creation

Twas a relaxing birthday weekend at home spent hanging out on the patio and working on art projects in the morning while it was cool- then movie watching marathon + lots of naps in the A/C bedroom now deemed "the cave"- as the days got super hot.

I got more work done on my mermaid painting:

I darkened the ocean a lot more so that i could make the bubbles more glowy. Also added some new bubbles in and a couple jets of shimmery lil bubbles. Everything is very very rough so i need to go in and shape everything with more color and shading. I have also decided i need to change her flesh tone to a more pale/blue tint to reflect the fact that she is submerged in water. Still need to decide on how i want her hand to lay on her tail and what i want/if anything sprouting from the top of her third eye. plus more bubbles shall be added as well.

While i was painting Danny was working on an art project of his:

He made this huge silkscreen frame and stretched the mesh himself- the frame is pretty much as tall as i am. Here in the photo he is using the drawing fluid medium to paint out the first part of his intended gigantic silkscreen/ebru(Turkish marbling) creation that i cant wait to see finished.

As the shape is beginning to suggest- he is creating a Buddha symbol which will actually have a few different silkscreen components to make up the finished details of the form.

And for no apparent reason on Saturday i was up at midnight playing with my dreadlocks in front of the bathroom mirror and i had to snap this photo to share:

I call it the "Tower of Dread."
Pretty ridiculous no?

Anyhoo....i am looking forward to doing some body painting tomorrow for a local Portland photographer. It is an "earth mama" themed maternity shoot where i have been commissioned to paint earthy floral patterns on his pregnant model. Should be fun...."work in progress" pics will be posted from the experience as well!

Much love,
-Chelsea Rose
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May is here- new beginnings!

So its May already? That means my two gallery shows have come to an end. On Sunday i went to InOtherWords feminist bookstore to take down my artwork which had been on display for the entire month of April. Today after work i go downtown to grab my artwork from the Practical Magic show. It was a great month with wonderful opportunities! I'm excited to see what May has in store.
...Speaking of new beginnings Danny and I had our rental applications approved for a glorious 2 bedroom apartment that we have had our eye on for a couple weeks now. Thus...we will be moving in another week! And yes...this does in fact mean i finally get an art room vs an art corner!
So on Saturday we went on over to the rental office and put a deposit down that takes the place off the market. We will be signing contracts come Wednesday...and then the moving maddess will begin!
Danny got a new lens for his camera so i was playing with it over the weekend. Its an 18-55mm ...which is significantly wider then his other lens. The wider lens really allows for more versatility. It can focus up to 11 inches close to the subject...and captures so much more of the suroundings too!
...i also found out that i can actually take pictures of myself using this lense without having to set up a tripod:

so yes...here are a few shots done in the oh so cliché "stretch you arm out far enough and snap your photo" self portrait way. Fun huh?
my dreads are about 16 months old now. they stopped shrinking but they still seem to be getting fatter. cant wait till i finally grow some length.


here is a snapshot i took of danny as he was daydreamin on the couch. He was talking about cutting off his dreadlocks once we are finished moving to the new apartment as a sort of "cleansing" ritual sorta thing. I am going to miss his dreadies. This is the longest he has ever had his hair.

I also wanted to share a goodie i got in the mail on Friday:

My Aunt Char sent me this really cool head wrap in the mail. It was a great surprise and the wrap is super bright and colorfull.
I loved what the label said- " Life is an illusion, dress accordingly."
Thanks Aunt Char! I love it :)

So thats about it! It may prove to be a busy week. We have to find some moving boxes and start packing all the books and trinkets. Im really looking forward to this move. Change can be a beautiful thing.

I wish you all health, happiness and success in this new month!
Much love,
-Chelsea Rose
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The Dread Goddess- finished acrylic painting

So, I did manage to finish my "Dread Goddess" painting over the weekend!
Here is a quick picture of it that i took before i went to bed last night:

Rainbow Roots Dread Goddess
18"x24"
original acrylic painting by Chelsea Rose
(these colors are slightly off. I will get a better picture of the painting soon.)

...It had all started with a pen and ink drawing that I did back in 2009:

(Original pen and ink drawing by Chelsea Rose)
When I posted this drawing online i got a lot of interest on it. It seemed the drawing was well received and people had expressed hope that i would end up painting it some day soon.
I didn't get around to painting it for long time. In fact i started the painting process on April 3rd, 2010, which was only last weekend.

The creation process went like this:

....Last weekend I woke up Saturday morning and took a look at all the blank walls of my apartment and freaked out. It seems i have parted with most of my artwork for the time being since its up in a few different places around town for the month of April. Seeing the blank white walls staring at me jump started my need to create. I began this blue background that is visible in the above photo with the intent of finally trying my hand at painting my "Dread Goddess."

The next step was to transfer my original drawing onto the painted background:

Here you begin to see the humble beginnings of my 'Dread Goddess' painting. I transferred my original pen and ink drawing by way of art projector. I projected my drawing and then outline it onto the canvas using my favorite pens: Faber Castell India Ink pens.


When i got to this point i began to work out what the overall color palette would be for the painting. Once this was established it took about one more week of me layering color to finish the painting. However i have two things left to do for this afternoon when i get home.
1. I have to paint the sides of the canvas a nice solid and neat black.
2. I need to gloss Varnish the painting and allow it to dry.
....then it will truly be done, ready for hanging, for displaying and even for selling!
I love work in progress pictures and information and i have found that its very interesting for me to document my creative process. Its allowing me to not only share my projects with others but to study and prefect my techniques.
....So now that this painting is done its time to start a new one!!
I will keep you posted on when and how this new painting materializes.

Other then that i had a wonderful weekend. Danny and I found a new hiking trail not far from our house. We hiked 3 miles on Saturday and then 3 more on sunday( not a very big hike, i know but it was the first leg stretch of spring- got to get back into the groove.) It was nice to have a sunny weekend amidst all the rain and blustryness that we have been experiencing up here in Portland Oregon. Plus, a dear friend from out of state has been visiting which means we cooked wonderfully yummy dinners, had fun catching up and exploring Portland with our friend.
So that is indeed the latest scoop.

...Oh, and did i mention we finally listed some baby onesies tie dye in our etsy shop?
Here is an idea of the colors currently available:


check out all of our baby tiedye onesies in our new shop section called Baby Tie Dye.
FYI: we are currently 1 sale away from hitting our 90th , so who ever is our 90th sale will get some free Lucid Optic Lab goodies!

Peace n Love,
-Chelsea Rose
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Petal Pixie Painting + 1 year dreadhead anniversary!

So a week or two ago i had finished my latest painting but never managed to post the finished product. I thought i would share it today:

Petal Pixie
original acrylic painting by Chelsea Rose
....So for this painting i tried something new. I created a very simplistic semi "impressionistic" background via color placement. I also actually painted hands this time instead of hiding them out of the way or turning them into flower sprouts and spirals. Turns out i can totally draw/paint hands- i just need to use references. no biggy! So while i would say i have yet to really embrace hand anatomy i am making some steps toward it which will hopefully open up more pose ability within my artwork.
I like her bald head too!

As of this weekend Saturday was actually my one year dread anniversary!
And for those of you who are not entirely sure what a dread anniversary is it means Jan. 23rd 2009 was the day i began locking my hair into dreads for some very personal reasons: Health and Happiness!


I would have to say dreadin up my hair was probably one of the most healthy/positively influential things i have done for my body/mind. I went into the process with a few different interests in mind: culture- dreadlocks have played an important part in the spiritual routines of different cultures all over the world from the beginning to the new age. The Celtic druids, Buddhas, sadhus, Nazarities and Rasta's + more of this world have all seen and recognised in their own way the power that we all hold within. In similar and different ways all these cultures have embraced dread locking as a way to focus in and own personal power, cleanse and purify the spirit, recognize and remember tradition and elder wisdom. I have seen more and more people of different ethnicity dreading up their hair in recent times. Granted, some people do it purely for the look...i feel a great many people are doing it as a wake up call for themselves and for others + doing it in a way that initiates them into a healthier/sustainable living routine while sometimes committing ones self to a greater spiritual path sometimes involving sacrifice and the recognition of roots.
Dreadlocks were certainly a way for me to live healthier- it inspired me to stop using common hair care products whose chemical concoctions not only poison our bodies but our water and earth. I now wash my hair less( one time a week, and that does not mean i bathe only once a week...a bathe every day. its called a shower cap people!) which has allowed my scalp to reclaim its rule over itself and produce and maintain healthy hair/scalp with natural bodily oils. the human body is an amazing machine and its really surprising how healthy one can be when you leave off using chemicals and allow your body to actually cleans and care for its self. As far as care products go i will sometimes wash/rinse or dab on throughout the day some essential all natural oils such as tea tree oil(keep away dander/scalp problems + moisturize) and calandual oil( moisture and strengthen hair) but other then that its all hands off. I just let my dreads do their own thing. Since i have stopped using shampoos and conditioners my scalp has become healthier, not to mention i am not breaking out on my face, shoulders and back anymore.
...Sure, i do get some nasty looks from random people on the street, not to mention people tend to lable me as a certain type of person but largely i have felt an overwhelming network of support from friends and family. However, really i did this for myself and no one else and perhaps most importantly they feel right for me and i am looking forward to growing with my locks through the years.

So i will leave off on that note.
Best wishes and much love,
-Chelsea Rose
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