Does Anyone Want to Take Over My Studio?

Does anyone want to take over my studio?

I’m officially leaving my wonderful studio at the Brewery Arts Complex that I’ve spent the last year and a half making art babies in. This is because I’m moving into a gorgeous N. Hollywood apartment (still can’t believe it, I’m so excited), which means I’ll no longer afford to keep this place.

As for my work space, I’ll be sharing with the talented dudes from ThinkTank in the Fashion District. I’m excited to be able to work around other creative folks —I was starting to get cabin fever from being by myself so often.

So if anyone is seriously interested, here are the details:

Located at the Brewery Arts Complex, right outside of downtown. 5 minutes away from Little Tokyo and Chinatown. This big studio is in a loft apartment that sits over the 618E Gallery. The downstairs space is shared with Translight Photography Center. This situation would be perfect for anyone that does photography (TPC has dark rooms for rent) or graphic design (they also have large format printers). The place is only steps away from Barbara’s, the Brewery’s restaurant/bar. The front of the space would work well as a lounge area, this is where I currently keep my tv, couch and coffee table.

Available November 15th (possibly earlier). $790 a month, includes utilities/internet. Shared bathroom and kitchen area. The space is WORK ONLY, not available for a live/work situation. For more info or if interested, contact me at atorneros@gmail.com.

Interview: A Snapshot of AT

Just thought I’d share an interview I did for a student’s project at SFSU…

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Name: Allison Torneros
Age: 24
Where were you born? Daly City
Where do you currently reside? Los Angeles

How did you get started?
I can’t remember when I started drawing, because I’ve been drawing ever since I was a baby. But I started showing my artwork right out of high school when I was 18. A gallery curator found my website online and invited me to be a part of their group show in San Francisco. After that event, I started seeking out more opportunities to show my work, and the rest is history.

What current projects are you working on?
I’m all over the place.. At the moment I’m working on branding a bunch of new food trucks that are soon to come out, including Nom Nom Truck’s second truck (from Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race). Working on the launch of PowerwomenTV in New York.. I’m also in the beginning stages of getting set up with Disney so I guess we’ll see what kinda projects come from that. As for my art work, I’m always working on new stuff, got a few shows lined up for next year, some of which are part of a west coast tour, and I’m working on collaborating with a few different brands to license my artwork for their products. It’s an exciting time!

Define in your own words the meaning of art.
Art, at its very basis, is expression. It’s communicating a feeling, a thought, an emotion, a moment, an observation, through some visual means.

What does your art mean to you?
Art means everything to me, I couldn’t imagine my world without it. I guess you can say I also use my art as a sort of therapy..I’m a very anxious person, I’m pretty sure I suffer from anxiety… and when I’m just throwing paint around without a set plan it feels like I’m releasing all this crazy wound up energy

Where do you get your inspiration from?
Humanity, the people I meet, the things I read, it never really comes from one particular place. But strangely enough, I’ve been getting a lot of inspiration from online social media lately.

Name one person you look up to and why?
Too many.. I admire anyone who has the courage and the discipline to pursue their passions.

Happy Birthday MJ! My obsession, and his affect on my art

My boyfriend and I at the Michael Jackson memorial at the Staples Center.. this image ended up in the New York Times. Rocking a red arm band in memoriam.

Can’t believe it’s been more than a year since his passing. I’ve been one of his biggest fans since I was a kid, so I just wanted to take a moment to write about him, and share with you all how obsessed of a fan I was..

Being interviewed by the media at UCLA Medical Center the day of his passing

My closest MJ encounter, lol: I had painted the Thriller album cover for a group show at Gallery1988 LA sponsored by Rolling Stone back in 2008. Jensen, the gallery owner, told me that the night before the show opening, Michael was RIGHT next door at Golden Apple Comics with his kids. So with my painting in hand, Jensen brought the piece over to try and get it signed. Unfortunately, security was so high that they wouldn’t let him in.

My piece in the show

I fell in love with every part of his act, from his voice to the dancing to the music to the costumes to the music videos. When I was really young, Leave Me Alone was my favorite because of the surreal imagery and the collaged stop-motion animation. And I could stare at the Mark Ryden-illustrated Dangerous album cover for hours!! He was colorful in every sense of the word. And imagine how pumped I was when I found that he too loved to draw?? I was in love.

Mark Ryden’s illustration for the Dangerous album, at the Neverland Ranch auction exhibit that I went to

Aside from his undeniable talent and starpower, there was his immense celebrity and personal life. Not only did I want to dance like him, but as a kid I felt like I related to him, as someone who felt like she was never quite understood. It was like I was hiding a big secret from the world; the fact that I was truly, very very weird. Haha. I later embraced this ‘weirdness’ by wholly expressing myself through my artwork. I’ve always been interested in the psychology of human behavior (read my Artist Statement),and I’m sure my obsession with Michael Jackson had a BIG part to do with it.

Sculptures from the same exhibit, I think from his Ghost music video

He was a specimen for the public eye to pick apart, and with each new nose job or controversial headline, just about everyone became his psychologist.Everyone had their own theories as to why he acted or looked the way he did. The transformation of his face was a physical manifestation of these inner issues..It was mindblowing to me!!! What would drive a person to change their face so much, and keep continuing to do so until they were unrecognizable? All of a sudden I was interested in mental disorders, Which led me to wonder about everyone else in the world. About other people’s secrets, about their insecurities, their hopes, their fears.. And how all of that relates to their public persona, the way they present themselves to the world. Their inner selves vs. their outer identities. All of a sudden I realized that I wasn’t so weird, but also that no one is ever really completely NORMAL.

But all ‘weirdness’ aside, it always came down to the music for me.

So here’s to Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, and a huge source of inspiration for me! Happy Birthday.

Welcome Guys & Gals!

Well, hello.

You’ve stumbled upon my brand spanking new home. Gotta make this quick because I need to get ready to go out and celebrate my friend’s birthday, but! Before I head out I want to make sure I give you a proper welcome. So hey! This is it! It’s nothing special but I do like to think it’s better to navigate through. I brought my site onto the WordPress platform so that it would be easier for me to update the site as well as share content.

Look up at the Navigation bar– yes! There’s a SHOP link, for those who have been asking me about prints. I’ll be releasing a print in the next few weeks. The store will be up and running on August 3rd, so keep an eye out.

Ok, now look to your right. Uh-huh, there’s a YOUTUBE icon.. I’m planning on putting my old, naked Youtube account to good use by filling it up with time lapse videos of my artwork as well as footage from shows and whatever else. I’m learning to embrace social media…lol.

Oh, and I’ll be adding my ‘Digital’ gallery to the Portfolio section in the next day or so.

So there you go, new site. I do miss the fancy Flash menu on  my last site, and if you miss it too, no worries! You can just click here and knock yourself out.