Open studios is coming right up, and I’m painting in oil for my upcoming small group show at STUDIO Gallery! Join me for a packed month of creating in San Francisco. Stick around until the end for a photo of my cat, Ruby.

It’s almost here! I will be holding open studios October 24-25 at Suze Riley Studio (1942 Divisadero), with Suze, of course, and Mila Kirillova, who you often hear about in this newsletter. We will also be joined by Oliver McNeil, and painter Samira Bakhtiary.

I had so much fun last year meeting and talking with everyone who came by, so I’m looking forward to it. I’ve been sorting through my entire stock of original paintings, from new to old.

The really old stuff, practice pieces, and experiments that would never end up in a gallery will be priced to sell to make room for what’s next! I have original paintings for as low as $50, and many of them marked at just $100.

I also have sketchbooks full of figure drawings from my weekly Sketchboard sessions at Madrone Art Bar (every Tuesday at 6:30!). They will be available for pay what you can as donations to Sketchboard!

I will also have a variety of prints, postcards, stickers, and copies of my Views From Fulton book available. Read more about the book in last month’s newsletter!

On Friday, October 23rd, we will be having a collector’s preview from 6:30pm-9pm, and as a newsletter reader, you are invited! We will once again have mocktails and cocktails by the fabulous Sean Owens, plus it’s your chance to get first dibs on everything I brought. Please RSVP here so that we know how many people to expect!

Additionally, we are going to stay open an hour later on Saturday the 24th, until 6pm. We figure lots of people will have a big day of running around seeing a lot of studios, and could use the extra time. We will probably also have a casual toast to celebrate. So, there are plenty of opportunities for you to stop by!

The following Tuesday the 27th, we will have a special figure drawing evening at Madrone: Halloween Portrait Party!

Each week, I host figure drawing with Sketchboard at Madrone Art Bar, at Fell and Divisadero. Normally, we have a professional costumed model posing for us, but in honor of Halloween we are inviting the artists to come in costume and try modeling for themselves! Here are some of my drawings from last year:

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 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 6:30-9:30pm, instead of the usual two (6:30-8:30pm), so mark your calendars, and I will see you there!

Speaking of figure drawing, I submitted a collage of my scanned figure drawings to the XL art gallery at the upcoming Bearrison street fair, and it was accepted!

Bearrison is this Saturday, October 17th, 12-6pm. I can’t wait to see this larger than life out on the street, so make sure to check it out if that event is up your alley ;)

My main focus right now is painting for my upcoming small group show at STUDIO Gallery! This is a huge deal for me-- STUDIO was my favorite gallery before I ever started exhibiting paintings. I’ve been part of their large group shows for years, and I am honored and excited to be featured alongside Carol Tarzier and Rab Terry in March.

It’s a lot of space to fill, and I don’t have many large pieces remaining in my inventory. I’m not constrained by any sort of theme, so I get to follow my joy and excitement wherever it leads me. Last month, I shared some of the thumbnails I’ve made to help me decide what paintings to do.

This month, I’m feeling ready to share some of the pieces I’ve been making for the show! Keep in mind that these are just studio photos, so apologies for the lighting and glare— I’ll be getting professional photos of this whole series before the show goes up.

Mila and I spotted this classic VW Bug waiting at the light during a lunch break in between paintings one day in North Beach. This painting is big for me at 20”x16”, and it’s painted in oil! I shared a little peek of it last month.

I haven’t abandoned gouache, however. It was perfect for this:

Here I’m playing with clouds as a compositional element, and capturing that magical golden hour light on the bridge.

I’m even venturing into painting figures!

Looking aside from the famous Alamo Square view of the painted ladies, there are other great houses, and it’s a beautiful spot for a picnic. Plus, who could resist this dog?

I’m trying to complete at least one of these larger paintings per week until February when I need to get them to the gallery, so wish me luck. Hopefully I will also sprinkle in some smaller plein air pieces.

Bonus: Don’t forget to vote! These are my entries from the 2023 “I Voted” San Francisco Sticker contest.

Thanks for reading! As a reward, here is a picture of Ruby. I’m sure she doesn’t mean anything by this.

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