Welcome to my September artist newsletter! I’ll start off this month by sharing some new art (because that’s why you’re here… I think? I hope?), then update you on upcoming, current, and recently past events. At the end, I have two very exciting announcements for you! Beyond even that, as always, there’s a photo of Ruby the cat to reward you for at least scrolling to the bottom.

I haven’t been painting plein air as much as I would like over the past month, but I did sneak in a session after a visit to Pier 70. I thought I would do some of the industrial buildings by the water, but when I spotted the swoop of 20th st over Minnesota, I had to do this.

I was sick for a few days, but I still wanted to make something, so I ended up doing a still life. My kitchen gets these amazing shadows in the afternoon light, and I was suddenly struck by the beauty of the red plate with the kitchen table’s red floral decorations. 

One of the biggest and most important events of the year for me and my art is coming up: SF Open Studios!

I will be hosted again by Suze Riley at 1942 Divisadero. We are part of weekend 5 on October 24th and 25th. I’ll also have a piece up in the SFOS exhibition, opening on September 18.

I’ll be bringing out old and new paintings, folders of drawings, prints, postcards, stickers… basically everything I have. This is a chance to see and buy original art that won’t be going up in any galleries. You can also come to just look and chat with me about art.

This year, I’m listed in the printed guide! My closest painting buddy, Mila Kirillova, is also showing with us, along with photographer Oliver McNeil, and painter Samira Bakhtiary.

We will be hosting a special preview party the prior evening on October 23rd. More details and an invite link will be included in my next newsletter, and posted to Instagram, but you can mark it in your calendar now!

In case you didn’t know, September is Transit Month in the California! To celebrate, Mini Bar and KnownSF have put up an exhibition all dedicated to public transit: Ticket to Ride. I have two lino prints and two photographs in the show. 

This is my first time exhibiting my photography. I took both of these photos during MUNI Heritage Weekend last year! I had such a blast riding around in the oldest streetcars and busses. This year’s event is September 20th and 21st, and I highly recommend that you check it out! 

These prints are both made from blocks that I carved a while ago, and it was nice to pull them out and make new prints from them. The MUNI Trains I arranged differently to fit onto a smaller paper than they were originally designed for. I always enjoy MUNI’s iconic bus stop shape. 

San Francisco Zine Fest was amazing! This year it was in the beautiful Hibernia, which was previously a bank. I’ve never gotten to see the inside of that building before, and it is stunning. Zine Fest was packed for the entire day, and then The SpookyHaus and Sean Owens hosted the after party at Fabulosa Books– a long and beautiful day. 

Multiple people came to Zine Fest just to pick up my new book, Views From Fulton. It was so encouraging and delightful, both that people would come to the event for me, but also to hand over the book in person. If you didn’t make it, but still want a book, I will have them available very soon at Fleet Wood on Clement, and other shops TBD. If you aren’t local, you can respond to this email and I can mail one to you!

It’s so satisfying to hold this book in my hand and have the whole series of fifty paintings together again. They were all painted Plein Air in 2024, within 50 days. You can see the journey from East to West and watch the Golden Gate Bridge appear and disappear, and the fog slowly consume the vista. There are dogs, busses, garbage trucks, and neighbors throughout. You can go back to newsletters from that time, such as this one, to read more. Also, can you believe I’ve been doing the newsletter that long?

Last year, as the BEACONS series was starting to coalesce into an idea, I did two paintings of The Roxie. After the exhibit, Lex from The Roxie reached out to me about prints of those paintings as gifts for board members. Afterwards, I suggested that we could also sell prints in the lobby! It has all become a reality, and now my art is in the box office, how cool! Grab yours next time you are seeing a movie.

I also had the incredible privilege of touring the projection booth when I dropped off the prints. Lex told us all about their 35mm projectors– which burn carbon rods instead of having a lightbulb. If I remember correctly, there are only 7 theaters still using that type of projector today.

For a projectionist to run them alone, they have to train for about a year! In addition, the film itself has to be shipped in specialty containers and examined before being used. Really makes you appreciate the work and dedication they put in to bring you the 35mm screenings, so make sure to get tickets to the next one.

SF Neon has a screening coming up on September 19: Lost Landscapes. I met Al and Randall of SF Neon while working on my BEACONS series, and they are truly amazing people. Everything is connected in SF!

Every Tuesday at Madrone Art Bar, I host a figure drawing session with Sketchboard. We have a special session coming up on Tuesday, October 27 for Halloween! This will be a “portrait party”-- where participants (could be you!) sign up to model in their Halloween costumes. 

If you just want to draw, you’ll get a chance to draw lots of people in different costumes. If you come dressed up and want to model as well, you’ll get to see many drawings of you in your costume! Sketchboard is a 501c3 nonprofit, and this event is going to be a fundraiser with a portion of bar sales going to Sketchboard. Also, it will be three hours long, from 6-9, instead of the usual two (6:6:30-8:30), so mark your calendars, and I will see you there!

These are a few drawings of me in my Star Fleet uniform from last year. Left side is by Jeff Lance, other two artists unknown (but if you know, please tell me!). An yes, I will be in the same costume this year.

Now for the big announcements!

In huge news for me, and for the amount of space in my house, I got a real art studio! My friend Lisa Niedermeyer was looking to share her space, and she told me just as I was desperately looking for somewhere, as I have far outgrown the area I’d been using at home. 

I’m just getting set up, but it’s already a huge relief for both my home and my art practice. I really need the space and the dedicated time because….

(*drumroll*)

I have a show coming up at STUDIO Gallery in March! For years, I have had paintings in just about every large group show they put up, such as City Streets, Delicious, and TINY. Every year, they also do a few small group shows with only three artists, and I am so excited to be in one of those; opening in March 2027. The exhibition will consist of work from me, Rab Terry, and Carol Tarzier. Rab I know from the gallery, and Carol I know from Frank Bette! It’s going to be a fabulous combination. 

There’s a lot of space to fill in the gallery, so I need to do a lot of large paintings. March may feel far away to some, but paintings need to be done about a month ahead, and one large painting a week will be just enough to hold up my part of the show. So, I’ll be spending as much time as possible working in the new studio between now and February. 

When the curator, Jennifer Farris, offered me the slot, she said “Paint whatever you want.” This is an absolutely unheard of concept for me; I’m used to applying for themed shows, or setting particular bounds for a series. So, how do I know what I want to paint? Just like with a Plein Air painting, I’ve started with thumbnails. 

I’m trying to do many, many thumbnails and then use them to decide what to paint. I’ve already done a couple of pieces, but I’m not quite ready to share them yet. Here’s the exciting hint, though: they are oil paintings! 

Previously, my small paintings have been gouache and my large paintings, acrylic. I’ve tried oils off and on over the years, and always found it intimidating and frustrating. Even after two years of working at ARCH Supplies and learning a lot of theory about the material aspects and media in the world of oil paint, I had some kind of hangup about it. I even took a workshop, and, through no fault of the instructor, found it extremely frustrating. 

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I felt like trying again, and oil paint was suddenly my best friend. I am so excited to be painting in oil, and painting what inspires me with no set theme, in a dedicated art space. 

Even though I have a studio of my own now, I’ll still be doing Open Studios with Suze, since that was set in stone many months ago. Maybe next year, you all will get to see this studio for yourselves. 

Thanks for reading! As a reward, here is a picture of Ruby, having a little sunshine snuggle with Sean’s elbow as a pillow. Comfy?

While you await the next newsletter, you can check out my website to see my portfolio.

I have prints available in small businesses around San Francisco! Find them at: Queer Arts Featured, Fleet Wood, SF Mercantile, and Locali.

Stay tuned for next month, and let me know what you’d like to hear about in the newsletter in the future by responding directly to this email or reaching out at [email protected].

-Nathaniel J. Bice

he/him

njbice.com