This month I get to share the news of my first solo show!I also have some group exhibitions currently up, and I painted a Hearts in SF sculpture! Stick around until the end to be rewarded with a photo of my cat, Ruby.

Can you believe it’s already time for TINY at STUDIO Gallery? This epic show heralds the end of the year, and it’s always a blow-out celebration of Bay Area artists! The walls are split into grids of small pieces with different themes, and paintings sell right off the wall and get replaced, so you can return again and again to see new works between now and December 22. 

I have seven pieces for the show this year, though they won’t all be up at once. If you visit, just ask for my work and they will show you where they are in the drawer! The two paintings from last month’s newsletter will be there, along with several other recent paintings, including my MUNI Bus Stop and the Green Victorian from Frank Bette. I’m also happy to have something in the HUGE category: Roxie Close Up, one of the first from my new series on neon signs, which you may remember from back in June. 

You can browse artworks from TINY on STUDIO Gallery’s website.

This year, I was selected by the San Francisco General Hospital to paint one of their heart sculptures for their annual fundraiser! You have most likely seen the giant heart sculptures all over San Francisco. This is a smaller version of the same thing, about 15 inches across. My heart design is also in the neon theme! It depicts the Castro blade sign fully lit up and restored, from both sides. Figuring out how to wrap the design around the heart was an interesting challenge, because the perspective means that the sign gets larger as it gets closer to the bottom, while the physical object I’m painting on gets smaller. I also wanted both sides to connect to each other smoothly. 

This piece will debut at the Hearts in SF gala on February 12th, so keep an eye out for more information to come on that event!

My recent obsession with neon signage, the upcoming opening of the renovated Castro Theater, and my relationship with Queer Arts Featured have come together to create my first solo show! Tentatively titled BEACONS, the opening will be February 6th during the Castro Art Walk. Follow along here as I create this series celebrating the lights in the dark that lead us to warmth, company, and culture in the city. This will be my main focus over the next couple of months as I paint this series from almost nothing to filling the gallery space!

BEACONS will be mostly large, acrylic paintings of my favorite neon signs around the city. However, I want to ground that work in direct observation and plein air painting. I’ve been taking advantage of the warm weather and the time change to go out and paint nocturnes! I keep preparing for a freezing San Francisco evening and then leaving my jacket hanging off my easel instead. I think direct observation is so important with neon in particular, because the color and light look so different in person than in my photo references. Taking the time to study them from life means I can bring that experience to the larger paintings.

Until the end of the month, you can still see two of my already existing neon paintings at Meet me for a Drink at Madrone Art Bar– one of my favorite hangouts. Swing by while you still can! My Tuesday figure drawing sessions with Sketchboard will be back at Madrone starting January 6th, but in the meantime we have a special fundraising session coming up on December 2nd! Check out the special events page for more info.

As always, my biggest recommendation for a night out each month is CROONERS. I include it in every newsletter because it is my favorite night of the month, and I want to both give you the opportunity to experience it and ensure that it keeps going.

This month’s show will be Sunday, November 23rd, at 7pm and 9pm at Stookey’s Blue Room. Grab your tickets early to reserve the best seats!

Join host Chester Vanderbox on the fourth Sunday of each month for an evening of jazz standards and smoky ballads, in the sumptuous atmosphere of the inimitable Blue Room!

Queer elegance abounds, with Chester's cunning co-hosts, drag luminaries EnSeanTé and Polly Amber Ross

Put on your sassiest duds and reserve a table today-- seating is extremely limited, as we welcome another fantastic Fancypants production! As you know, celebrity bartender MK is onhand, pouring out your favorites as we're pouring out our hearts to you.

Thanks for reading my newsletter! As a reward, here is a picture of Ruby.

While you await the next newsletter, you can check out my website to see my portfolio of cityscapes, still lifes, block prints, figure drawings, tiny model houses, murals, and you can also find information on commissions! Please feel welcome to email me (just respond here!) and ask about any ideas you have that aren’t covered on my commission page, I’m always willing to discuss.

Stay tuned for next month, and let me know what you’d like to hear about in the newsletter in the future.

-Nathaniel J. Bice

he/him

njbice.com