Butcher

My best friend, mentor, and colleague of 9 years, Ben Butcher, recently left Pixar to pursue a new creative gig at Funko in Seattle. It's been one of the hardest goodbyes I have ever experienced. I will miss sitting in Ben's cozy office everyday eating copious amounts of candy while admiring his impressive collection of art books and yarn art--listening to him put life in perfect perspective. I already miss Ben tons and he hasn't even left the state yet!

I decided to make Ben a paper face as a parting gift. It was one of my favorite portraits to make, since, well, he is my favorite. I used fun, geometric shapes to define Ben's bold features, crazy piercings, and goofy beard!

I am excited to see where our friendship takes us now that a bit of distance is involved. I am also looking forward to inheriting some cool Funko figurines ;) This isn't goodbye, but rather, a slight detour in our path together as pals. I look forward to continued laughs and adventures with my Butcher!

Brave Win!

Me+Mark Andrews+Oscar=Golden

Yay for Brave...we brought home the bacon!!!

Eye Spy...

This past weekend while perusing The Daily Wag, I caught a glimpse of my paper piece inside Martha Stewart's blog studio! I am so wildly honored that my artwork is displayed at Martha's home! :D

An early morning @ Martha's blog studio.

Walkway to the studio!

Martha's blog studio is located on her sprawling estate in Bedford, NY.

A peek inside!

A spacious cottage for creativity.

Francesca models her new PetSmart outfit inside the blog studio. What's that behind her?

I hope Sharkey is impressed with her portrait! Polka dots suit her well.

Favs

Favorite artists who inspire me in both my personal and professional work:

FINE ARTISTS                 
Henri Matisse                    
Pablo Picasso                      
Ellsworth Kelly                    
Richard Diebenkorn
Willem de Kooning
Wayne Thiebaud
Robert Motherwell
Helen Frankenthaler
Tom Wesselmann
Donald Sultan
Mark Rothko
Andy Warhol
Egon Shiele
Grant Haffner
Fede Saenz
Jen Ramos
Marion Bolognesi

ILLUSTRATORS
SKETCH ARTISTS
DESIGNERS
M. Sasek
Saul Bass
Rex Ray
Mary Blair
Charlie Harper
Alexander Girard
Paul Rand
Anna Bond
Katie Rodgers
Chloe Fleury
Brittney Lee
Claire Keane
Anna Chambers
Lotta Jansdotter
Juli Douglas
Christian Robinson
Joey Chou
Sanjay Patel
Chris Sasaki
Matt Jones
Harley Jessup
Don Shank
Teddy Newton
Jeff Pidgeon

FILMMAKERS
Brad Bird
Pete Docter
John Lasseter
Tim Burton
Billy Wilder
Rod Serling
Clint Eastwood
Mike Nichols
James L. Brooks
John Carpenter
Sydney Pollack
Penny Marshall
John Hughes
Robert Zemeckis
Nora Ephron
Michel Gondry
Judd Apatow
Lena Dunham

PHOTOGRAPHERS
Thomas Whiteside
Jeff Newsom
Melissa Fuller
Debby Coleman

For the Birds

For the Birds inspired paper piece for a colleague's baby nursery.

Sweet baby birdie dreams!

iPhone skies

With my quick and easy iPhone, I've captured some stunning NorCal skies during my commute.

McDreamy Meets Doc

Last weekend, my family and I had the pleasure of meeting up with...hold your hearts...Patrick Dempsey, in my hometown of Sonoma, CA. Patrick and his Maserati racing team were in town to compete in the Maserati Gran Turismo MC Trofeo World Series race at Sonoma Raceway. They spent the weekend talking cars with my dad and spending time with our family (and Doc Hudson!) at the Maserati hospitality tent.  

Not only is Patrick an adorable actor, he is an incredible sweetheart (I felt like I was hanging out with my brother), an impressive race car driver, and a huge philanthropist. Check this out: http://www.dempseycenter.org/the-dempsey-challenge/ 

Patrick representing USA.

24 drivers from 12 countries...Patrick placed 6th! 

My dad, Dave Bonbright, with his fully-restored/custom-painted/stock 1951 "Doc" Hudson Hornet. Dad was a car historian/consultant on the 2006 Disney•Pixar film Cars, where he was a major influence in creating the character of Doc Hudson...he even recommended Paul Newman for the voice acting! 

Dad and Patrick.

A fine man behind the wheel: Patrick checking out Doc.

Mom, sister, and Patrick in the front seat.

Me and McDreamy!

Patrick's sweet tweet!

Shirley and Terry

My paper face of Shirley MacLaine and her beloved rat terrier, Terry. Signed by SM herself! I've been following the greatness that is Shirley since I was 8, the age at which my mother took me to see Postcards from the Edge (I was an extremely mature child to be viewing a film about drugs & hollywood in 2nd grade). 

Over the course of 24 years, I have eagerly studied Shirley's work: her films, her TV appearances and interviews, her books. I pretty much know her entire life story (it does help that I am close friends with her besties too). 

Whenever I am in the presence of Ms. MacLaine, my brain goes numb and I get all tongue-tied...I kick myself every time I am around her because I can't seem to shake my nervousness! Shirley is wickedly intelligent and intense…if you don't have something smart to say, then back off! 

Shirley's talent is boundless, her mind is curious, and her heart is full. One of my greatest teachers and creative inspirations!

The 40th AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Shirley MacLaine, Sony Pictures, June 2012. A dream-come-true evening. Don Rickles had the audience jumping out of their seats with laughter! 

The very first time I met Shirley in person! Seattle, June 2010. We shared dessert and laughs with friends (and Terry) after her one woman show. 

september rose

photo vault: animator overtime

Back in college, I took a Photojournalism course and was assigned to do a photo story. My boyfriend at the time was a student in the prestigious Character Animation program at CalArts in LA. His endless nights of animating intrigued me, so I decided to take a trip to SoCal and cover a late night in the CalArts animation cubicle hall for my photo assignment.

I observed a lot of wacky antics that evening: puppet shows, celebrity impersonations...an especially fond memory was learning how to skateboard through the hallways using a shopping basket. 

All photos were shot on 35mm.

Animator Overtime: A brief chronicle of a typical late night / early morning in the Character Animation department at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Valencia, CA. 

11:36PM: The workday has just begun as CalArts character animation student, Scott, 22 (center) reviews story ideas for a short film called Monster Hunter with fellow animators Dan, 28 (far left) and Bailey, 23 (back).

12:45AM: Character animation student, Sean, 20, spends his 36th hour without sleep in his cubicle animating a sequence for his upcoming student film, Hot Date on a Stick.

Atop Sean's cube is his newly constructed puppet "Mr. Walters", modeled after his high school science teacher. 

1:13AM: Amidst the mess of his tiny cube, Armen, 28, sketches some last minute storyboards for a class assignment. 

2:40AM: Through the pinhole into his cube, Travis, 22, busily sketches a sequence for his short film Incons'pig'uous.

Inside the wall of Travis's cube, a friendly creature greets visitors. 

3:10AM: Bogged down by the stress of the semester, Ron, 25, takes a moment to read the next chapter in his self help book.

Remnants of Ron's frustrations dangle from his doorway.

4:02AM: After 47 hours of animating, Tony, 21, takes a brief nap at his desk beside his puppet-friend Chuck, before getting back to work.