I was given an amazing, albeit intimidating, opportunity to collaborate with Hsiao Ron Cheng for In League: an International Art Show.

Artists from France, Sweden, Taiwan, and Japan created work on A3 size paper and then the piece was given to an American artist to add their work.

 Opening Reception: this Thursday February 2 @ 6pm

Show closes February 25

My latest works, Lion Herder and Axolotlove, are now available in a limited edition print run of 24.
Paper type: 11”x17” Hahnemuhle Bamboo

Visit my Etsy store for more info.

If you’re local to Portland, prints will also be available at the Screaming Sky Gallery.

Happy Holidays!

-Kalina

Sugar & Spice Print Release

Limited Edition of 24 available now on my Etsy store.
Signed by artist

Size:11x17”
Paper type:
Hahnemuhle Sugar Cane Fine Art Paper
(Made from sugar cane by-product, environmentally friendly resource, renewable energy, acid-free & archival grade)

This artwork was originally created for a themed show: Sugar & Spice and Everything Nice. I went with something along the lines of “sugar-plum fairy meets Chinese folklore.” This image started out as a pencil drawing in my sketchbook. It was then inked by hand, scanned into the computer, and painted digitally in Photoshop.

Local to Portland? Prints will also be available at the Screaming Sky Gallery starting this Friday.

Email me with any questions: ktorino@gmail.com

Happy Halloween!

Opening reception tomorrow night!
Thursday, October 27 · 5:00pm - 9:00pm

Screaming Sky Gallery

1416 NE Alberta Street

Portland, Oregon

A group exhibit featuring female artists

Celebrate a stellar line up of female artists and join us for the opening of Sugar & Spice and Everything Nice!

DJ Tommy Tank will provide the music and Jenelle will keep the refreshments flowing!

Show runs October 27th through November 20th

Featuring artwork from:
Tamara Staser-Meltzer
Susannah Kelly
Sarah Jo Marks
Rebecca VanStralen
Nikki Peterson
Miss Mindy
Marybel Martin
Marie Barr
Lea Barozzi
Kat Brunnegraff
Kalina Torino
Junker Jane
Jackie Avery
Heidi Elise Wirz
Erika Jane Mallette
Emily Jannings
Cricket Elijah
Casey Brennan
Bonnie Durham
Alea Bone

Book is out! Designed cover. “Fading Into Magic” by Vone Savan. (Taken with instagram)

Upcoming Events:

Subaqueous

Solo show @ the Good Gallery

4325 N Mississippi Ave., PDX

Opening Reception: Friday, September 2nd from 7-10pm

There will be bubbles and booze! Also art. Lots of art.

If you don’t make it to the opening, the show will remain up for the month of September and can be seen during regular gallery hours—Saturdays: 12-7 & Sundays: 1-6p

 This show’s theme is character-driven, as per usual, exploring unique underwater oddities.  I have had fun learning about and reinterpreting them with my typical anthropomorphic flare.

**I will be handing out a special prize to the first person to locate me at the show and sing “Row row row your boat” to me :D**

Hope to see you there!

-Kalina

I am happy to announce that the Mixed Media IV fundraiser was a big successs—we helped raise $1,212 for PDX Pop Now!

This was the final version of my pin:

Bolo de los Muertos

Hopefully it now rests in a good home somewhere…:)

Check out more photos from the event.

Eeep! It’s that time again—Last Thursday’s art sale happens tomorrow, 06/30. I’m up to my ears in shiny new prints! Down to the wire now…

I’ll be set up in the Radio Room Art Square on the corner of NE 11th Ave & Alberta, PDX. The event will go from 6 PM to 9 PM.

Among the items for sale will be mini ready-to-hang prints, cards, and framed posters. Also in the mix are a few brand new artworks I’ve been busy with these last few weeks.

Hope to see you there!

-Kalina

Mixed Media IV is coming up on Friday, June 24. This is the same event I participated in last year. For those of you who are not in the know: Mixed Media is a Fundraiser and Local Artist Gallery event hosted by Grand Central Restaurant and Bowling Lounge. Grand Central donated 35 bowling pins this year to selected artists to decorate the pins. All the pins are being auctioned off in a silent style auction. Last year we had pins going from $10 - $175 and raised $1000 for PDX Pop Now! (an all-volunteer organization dedicated to stimulating and expanding participation in Portland music).

I am going with a “Day of the Dead” themed pin this year. Check out a sneak peek at my work in progress…

There will also be a chance to vote for your favorite pins and the winners will receive prizes from Widmer Brothers Brewing.

The event starts at 8pm and will also feature live music from Alameda and Mojave Bird. Should be fun—hope you can make it out!

Curated by local Portland artist Rachel Sanders, the Radio Room art auction on April 13 went really well— all 3 of my paintings that I donated sold and overall the event generated a substantial contribution to the American Mercy Corps for Japan Relief Efforts. Woot! 

I was also able to to participate in the “From Portland with Love” charity art show at Hatos Bar in Tokyo on April 16. There is a video of the reception party that hopefully gives you an idea of how well the show went. The show was made a reality thanks to valiant efforts from Matt Wagner of the Hellion Gallery. Despite being rattled by hefty after shock quakes while hanging the show, Matt persevered—the show was a great success. Not only did it generate over $1000 for the Japan Red Cross, it enlivened the quiescent Tokyo art scene and gave a reason for people to get out and enjoy themselves again. “Talk of problems was replaced with talk of art and drunken wrestling.” Matt shares interesting stories of his trip to Japan on his blog. 

It was an honor being able to participate in these events—many thanks to Rachel Sanders and Matt Wagner for making it happen. My heart goes out to the people of Japan and the troubles they have endured. Wishing them all the best and a swift return to better times.

This Wednesday, April 13: 4-9pm @ the Radio Room

3 of my original paintings will be up for grabs at this event along with a plethora of amazing work from a variety of artists. Please help spread the word!

More info about the event:

Over 30 local artists are donating their time and talent for Japan Relief efforts. Swing in for a silent art auction from 4pm to 8pm and enjoy deejays and 2.75 Well drinks until Midnight. Proceeds from the auction and 10% of Radio Room sales from 4pm to 8pm will go directly to Mercy Corps. Auction winners will be announced at 8:30pm and the art sale will continue from 9pm to 2am.

The art being showcased is a mix of contemporary works; including abstract paintings, photography, printmaking, fine pen and ink drawings, and mixed media.
 
“We have been moved by the willingness of so many artists to contribute their creativity and energy to helping in any way they can” said local artist Rachel Sanders, who is curating the event. “The people who have been impacted by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan need our support and, as artists, this is a small but natural way for us to help out.”
 
The contributing artists invite anyone with an interest in art and community to join them for a night of great local art and to help support the important work of Mercy Corp.
 
Mercy Corps is providing immediate relief supplies to tsunami- affected families living in evacuation centers on the northeast coast of Japan.
 
About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps helps people turn the crises they confront into the opportunities they deserve. Driven by local needs, programs provide communities in the world’s toughest places with the tools and support they need to transform their own lives. Mercy Corps has a worldwide team in 36 countries is improving the lives of 19 million people.

Work in progress for next month’s group show at the Good: “Life Underwater”

Opening reception: April 1st, 7-10pm

Micro Brood : a group show at the Screaming Sky gallery.

The show ran from November 26th thru December 26th, 2010.

I worked with J.Rollins framing (I highly recommend) to create a limited edition framed mini print series specifically for the show. I was so bummed to miss the opening night—a select group of incredible Portland artists were featured. It was a thrill to have been given the opportunity to show work with this talented crew at one of my all-time favorite Portland galleries.

Many thanks to Screaming Sky.

I thought it was a good time to follow up on the mural I painted last summer…yeah, I’m way behind in my posts…

The Radio Room Restaurant asked me to paint one of their walls on the upper outside deck. This was an exciting request for me, as I had no previous experience with mural painting…which was quite obvious when I showed up on the first day with a few puny brushes and little tubes of paint. I think the ten foot wall looming over me silently laughed in my face at that moment.

So after a trip or two to Home Depot, countless beers & delicious grilled cheese sandwiches, amazing summer night views from the Radio Room, a few sunburns, and 6 months later, I finally showed that wall who was boss. I ended up using exterior house paint for the majority of the mural, and for the detail work I used my own fine art acrylic paint.

I had such a blast working on this painting. It was a great practice to break out of my mold and extend my typical working area at least tenfold. Scaling up the characters was a bit weird at first— staring my googly-eyed wonders straight in the eye was somewhat frightening. Once I established my dominance with the paint brush, I became more comfortable around them. We are on good terms now.

Here’s a glimpse at the finished piece. To see more, check out my gallery on my Facebook Page. Or to get an even better view, might as well check it out in person. :) Enjoy!

Apparently, scamming artists is in.

I recently got this email from a very interesting Kathy Barnes:

From: Kathy Barnes

Hi,

Hope this message finds you well. I saw these creatives works on your web site and i will like you to get back with more details if they are still available for purchase.
 
Insatiable   and   Numb
 
I will appreciate an urgent reply.

Best Regards,
Kathy.

Skeptical, but curious, I politely replied back with a price list of the paintings and received a follow-up email:

From: Kathy Barnes

Hi Kalina ,

Thanks so much for your response to my query about those creative works. I will like to proceed with the purchase of both pieces ( Original ) . Can you pls get back with what inspire you to make the pieces.
 
I will look forward to hearing from you soon .

Best Regards,
Kathy.

Hmmm, something’s obviously fishy here…Driven by the entertainment value alone, I replied with a brief email answering her questions. Then voila!! The ultimate request.

From: Kathy Barnes

Hi ,

Good to hear back from you. Yes,i will like to proceed with the purchase of both works.  I think they are lovely works  and i hope to give them good home.

 I am presently away in London for my twin sister’s wedding even though it comes at a time when i was preparing for a big move and also expecting a baby  but it means so much to her. I should be back in few days.

Meanwhile,i will like you to forward your mailing address and phone number so i can inform my husband still shutling between our home in New Jersey and Jo’burg, SA on where to forward the payment . He has just been transfer to head the IT section of their head Office in Jo’burg.

I can also forward your contact info to the local cartage company that will be moving all our house decors so they can get in touch with you to arrange shipping details. They can arrange  FedEx pick up of the artworks  from your studio.

I will look forward to hearing from you so i can know how best to proceed. Cheers.

Oh Kathy, I can play this game too. I like wasting time anyway, and I’ll enjoy wasting yours. This was my final reply:

How do you do,

I will need your social security number, bank account and routing number, credit card number, and a messenger bird service, ideally owl or parrot, to arrange for these creative works to be transferred to your most common area of fecal disposal.

Coincidentally, my identical twin brother’s uncle’s ex-wife’s dog is catering at your sister’s wedding in London. She makes the best crab cakes, I recommend trying one if you’re not allergic. So once I get your information I will hand off the creative works to her to pass on to you once my first child has been conceived on a Fourth of July in New Zealand.

I encourage you to sit on your thumbs.

Best Regards,
Kalina

Had to share :)

Having received no response, I was quite satisfied with myself; it was a job well done.

Just for kicks, I did a little digging on this “Kathy Barnes” character and her fantastic emails (the top hit on Google for this name happens to be a fictional character from a soap opera, btw) and found an entire blog dedicated to bringing these scammers down. Good to know.

“The End: All Good & Bad things must come to an end”

Here’s my take on the end…

Get it? ;)

This painting premiered at the Compound Gallery on November 04, 2010.

The original is still up for grabs, contact me if interested. 

The gist: Grand Central generously donated 25 bowling pins to be painted by various selected artists…I was lucky enough to get one! The pins then get auctioned off, all proceeds going to a great cause: PDX Pop Now

And voila! Here is my finished piece:

The show was a huge success, with over 150 people in attendance and yielding a whopping $984 for PDX Pop Now!

Quick note to fellow artists: sounds like this will be an annual event so keep an eye out for the 2011 return.

June 25, 2010

Hot vs. Cold show

Digital painting created for the group show at the Angst gallery in Vancouver,WA.

Title: “I’ve been through the desert on a Yeti with no name.”

April 2, 2010

Mmm…Mantis!

Digital painting I created for Creepy Crawlies, a group show at the Good gallery

April 2nd, 2010

Robot Love…

February 2010 show at the Good gallery

I created these paintings last year for the themed show “Robot Love” with recycled materials and brilliant dirty robot talk written by my dearest: Jason Tate.

Materials—cardboard, acrylic paint, ink