Elly in Ink & Gouache

It's always nice to break out the ink and gouache. Trying some things out with my Calico Elly character. Although the calico pattern is a little difficult to convey in paint. But hey, it's always worth playing around here:





And who wouldn't want an extra appendage for eating chips out of the bag while reading? I mean, c'mon.

Watching Artists Work

I don't know about you, but I love watching artists create, whether it's drawing, painting, sketching, doodling, pasting, sculpting, whatever. I love it. There's something about the process - the in-progress piece of work - and seeing it come about as it happens that totally appeals to me.

So, here's some videos of artists doing their thing:

Jackson Pollock:




Jean -Michel Basquiat (he's shown painting around :45):




Basquiat with spraypaint (From DOWNTOWN 81):




The great Picasso:




More Picasso:




Henri Matisse drawing:




Henri Matisse cutting out shapes:




Now, this is interesting. In 1985, Quantel invited David Hockney to try out painting on their Paintbox. Here's part 1 (of 5):



Part 2:



Part 3:



Part 4:



Part 5:

Last chance for b-boy

b-boy, my solo art show lasts til the end of this month. If you'd like to purchase a painting, now is the time! And yeah, I know the economy is in the pits, but peoples still gots ta make a living. Here are a few more pieces:


Backspin
Acrylic & ink on cardboard
41" x 38.5"


Headspin
Acrylic, marker & gesso on linoleum
12" x 9.5"


Top rock 3
Acrylic & ink on wood
10.5" x 21.75"


Freeze 1
Acrylic & ink on wood
19" x 13"

In the meantime, check out this über-cool b-boy papercraft automon. (Thanks, for the heads up, Laura!) I'm seriously thinking about printing this up and building it:

Some b-boys close up

In The Air 1
Acrylic and pencil on wood
9" x 8.25"
This one is SOLD.


Top Rock 2
Acrylic & ink on wood
10.75" x 15"
Buy it here.



Stance
Acrylic & ink on wood
10.25" x 21.75"
Buy it here.

Deep in it

With my show opening just days away tomorrow, I'm deep in it. My workspace downstairs looks like a true artist's enclave, with a vast array of paint & supplies sprawled all around. Never been one for the organizing thing, so you can only imagine. Well, here's a little peek at my desk for ya. That should tide you over, I guess. And if you want to see some more sneaky peeks, then check out the Flickr. Hopefully it'll wet your appetite for what's to come. Hopefully it'll make you want to get in your car and drive 300 or 400 (or however many) miles on Thursday evening just to see what else might be up on the Grassy Knoll Gallery's walls. Hopefully it'll make you want to plunk down hundreds of dollars for all the tasty artwork that's being offered. I know it will. Just know it.

The Grassy Knoll Gallery is owned & operated by Robert Lewis and Renee Marcotte and is located in the historic Merchant Hotel in Old Town, Portland. Robert is head of Fashion Buddha, an animation & design studio that shares its space with the gallery (the gallery is actually in its spacious foyer). What's interesting to note is the gallery's description: The Grassy Knoll is a unique gallery specializing in the work of innovative animators and illustrators.... I found this especially intriguing, what with me being both an animator AND and illustrator. It seemed only right that Robert & I connected.

I'm extemely honored to have a show at Grassy Knoll. The roster of previous artists who've shown their work is staggering: Amy Ruppel, Evan B. Harris, Alberto Cerriteno; I mean, I really don't deserve to be included with such company. And look who's coming up after me: Joel Trussell! Right on.

Regarding the show itself: "b-boy" came out of the conceptual illustrations I had done years before and had posted here on my blog several months ago. There was potential for an entire show with this theme and I went with it, eager to see where it would take me. Utilizing mostly "found" materials for the surfaces, such as cardboard, wood, linoleum, and formica, I wanted to forge a connection between the subject matter and said items. Dancers from back in the day had to improvise with whatever they could find to dance on. Concrete and asphalt was certainly not susceptible for backspins and windmills, so cardboard and linoleum were the usual preferred surfaces.

Never one to go with the grain, I've rarely worked on canvas. Back in college, I painted on cardboard out of necessity -- I couldn't afford canvas. I was working at a movie theater at the time and we'd get shipments of promotional standees -- they came in these huge cardboard boxes that provided me with acres of painting space. Perfect for what I had in mind. What was enjoyable for me working with cardboard was the fact that it's malleable -- I could add and subtract to a particular piece at will. Even though the actual surface of cardboard took some getting used to (a couple coats of gesso helped), it was the workable and shape-shifting nature of the material that inspired me. The fact that I could go beyond the typical square or rectangular painting dimensions was very appealing.

There's some great dancing to be had the night of the opening. I've done a little searching and found some great videos of Portland's own Moon Patrol Crew -- three members of which will be performing Thursday night at the Grassy Knoll. I'm incredibly excited! Here, check out their performance, "Toprock", at the PICA:Time Based Art festival:



That's such a sweet deal there. Love the fact that they took the 'toprocking' aspect of breaking and incorporated it into a singular performance, with several dancers. Very nice.

Here's a cool battle between Moon Patrol Crew & Def Con 5 at the recent Juice Jam (Moon Patrol kids are on the same side as the cameraman, facing the DC5 boys):



Hope that gets ya off your seat and down to Old Town.

If you can't make it for the opening, no problem. The show will be up for the entire months of October and November -- just call the studio to set up a time to come and check it out. Robert & Renee will be more than willing to open the doors for you.

Okay. Gotta finish this one last painting. See ya tomorrow!

Space Kids

I painted these astronaut kids a couple of weeks ago. Goauche and india ink on watercolor paper. I really enjoy working in this style. The ink is waterproof once it dries, but I could've painted the kids first and then applied the ink afterwards. It's all a matter of preference. Even though goauche is utilized more as an opaque medium, it behaves like watercolor when you add more water to the pigment.



I think I need to get new nibs. The one I used in these illos is several years old and is starting to fray.



I'd love to work on a children's book using this technique. *hint hint* Any takers?

aww yeah

Back in 1999, I had this idea for a side project on hip-hop and the culture that was born out of it. To this day, I'm still fascinated by hip-hop. Even though I've placed this particular project on hold, I never tire of digging out these paintings done with gouache and ink on illustration board. Some of these images are based off of photos, but altered just enough to incorporate a certain look & style I was trying to finesse at the time. I had a lot of fun working on these.





Oh, and I want to say that I really appreciate all the kind and encouraging words I've received from you all regarding my job situation. It's been nothing but ups & downs for me lately, but getting great comments and emails offering words of advice and support definitely will put me in the 'up' category. Many thanks, guys.

What's been going on with me lately? Ah, who knows? But I do have to say that I'm looking forward to taking a nice vacation with the family tomorrow. A much needed vacation. Be back soon, kids!

The Day of the Dead Show

Andrea took this one.

Hi, folks. Got some photos to share for ya. I would've posted them sooner but this past week was a little wonky for me. Got sick on Monday and still going through some of the yuckiness as I type this out. No fun. But last week's trip to Astoria to check out the Icons: The Day of the Dead group show opening was definitely fun! This time, Andrea went with me and the kids -- we didn't have as much time to hang out as I did with the kids the previous weekend when I dropped off the painting, but that's okay. It was just enough time to do some exploring around the small town and especially to check out the show itself.



We didn't get an early start, so by the time we got into Astoria, it was about 5:15pm -- basically dusk, thanks to the shorter days and the recent changing of the clocks. There was a great deal of activity on Commercial Ave., where Lunar Boy Gallery was located. Found out that there was an art walk happening, with various galleries in the downtown Astoria area open later in the evening. I thought it was cool that the people at Lunar Boy worked it out that the Icons show would open on the same night. It brought some extra foot traffic into the gallery.

We checked out the entire show, chatted with a few people (not many, though), but then headed out quickly with the kids to go eat.





After an hour and a half, we came back to the gallery and saw that it was more busy than before. Lots more people, and this time, some people that I recognized from LAIKA.


My piece with its neighbors. That's Tony Merrithew's piece on the right, with the skeleton holding the woman's face mask.


Ben Burch did the two paintings on the left there.


I like these ceramic skulls. They were painted by several artists.


Dick Daniels did the painting with the white background on wood. When I drove up to Astoria the previous weekend to drop off my painting, the gallery owner had just received in the mail those dolls over on the right there. I was very curious to see just how she was going to present them in the show.


I didn't know who that woman was with Ben Burch and Ben Adams, the two Bens who organized the show, but then found out that it was Ben Adams' mom. She created those ceramic skulls you see behind them. (She painted the colored ones, too!)


Me and the 2 Bens. We weren't trying to look like gangstas, it just came out like that. Ben A's got the power guitar stance going on.


Andrea took this one.


That's the back of Andrea's head there, buying something at the cash register.

So, yes, the opening was a blast -- the kids had a great time, nothing was broken, no one got hurt or sick -- a success for us! OH, and this gave us the perfect opportunity for us to take our brand new Nikon D40 out for its first stroll. Whee! To see more photos from our evening, check out the entire set HERE.



Hope you enjoyed the photos! Looking forward to doing some more painting, now. We'll see.

Here it is

This is my painting for the upcoming ICONS: A Day of the Dead Group Show at Lunar Boy Gallery.

I don't know what to call it. It's mixed media with gouache, india ink, a couple of cut up vintage magazine ads, an illustration from an old pamphlet on how to throw a successful party, gel medium and oil sticks all on some old print of a landscape that was in the frame I bought at a thrift store.

I'm not expecting to sell it. I mean, if it doesn't get sold, I don't mind. I'm just glad I got it done and that I participated in the show. Looking forward to seeing what everyone else did!

Hope to see you there on Saturday. If you can't make it to Astoria, don't worry. We'll still talk bad about you.

ICONS: A show at Lunar Boy Gallery

Flyer artwork by Ben Adams. Ben is selling t-shirts for the show with this design. Contact him if you want one.

As mentioned previously, the reason for visiting Astoria was to drop off a painting for an upcoming show at Lunar Boy Gallery. This will be my very first official gallery showing! (My senior show back in '95 doesn't count.) Words cannot express how I feel about this. One of my goals since moving to Portland was to get back into painting and get involved with a show somehow. Luckily, fellow LAIKA-ian Ben Adams, along with his cohort Ben Burch, organized the show with a Dia De Los Muertos theme. Lots of LAIKA artists are representing the studio, along with many others. Here's all the info that you need to know:

ICONS: A Day of the DEAD Group Show
Saturday, November 10th
5 - 9 PM
Lunar Boy Gallery
1133 Commercial Street
Astoria, Oregon 97103
503.325.1566

From an email sent to me via the gallery:

This show will feature paintings, drawings, mixed media, sculpture, pottery and video works - all created especially for our Dia De Los Muertos theme.

The line up for the show includes artists from all over the country including a host of favorite Lunar Boy regulars in addition to a strong showing of new regional talent:

Ben Adams, Mark Atomos-Pilon, Mike Bell, Chris Bivins, Ben Burch, Tony Candelaria, Stef Choi, Robin Davey, Brian Demeter, Don Frank, Madoka Ito, Ward Jenkins, Edward Juan, Max Kauffman, Danielle Lamberti, Santino Lascano, Mike Lewis, Katherine Reka O'Connell, Brett Superstar, Wilson Swaim, Tim Tanner, Vicki Tanner , Jane Thanner, Thomas Webb, Ulana Zahajkewycz

I'm so excited I could just piddle in me chair. Hope to see you all there this Saturday! I promise I'll clean up after myself.

I might post a teaser of my painting before the event. How's that sound?

white is so boring

Couldn't agree more, buddy.

Found on the side of a local middle school.

Painterly break

Thought that while I'm still working on the second part of how I got the job at LAIKA, I'll post pics of some paintings I did in college. Before you start to roll your eyes and groan, "Oh brother, he's starting to post college work..." I wanted to share these with you all because it was a key moment in my artistic career. Up until the time I took a Drawing & Painting class during my senior year, I never really had the chance to play around with paint and color. It was in this class where I started to see the many opportunities that afforded me when two (or more) colors started to work off each other. I was playing around, doing mostly studies based off of sketches I did in a figure drawing class a year before. All these paintings were acrylic on cardboard (I was in college, whuddya expect? I had no money for real canvas...) and are about 24 inches in height. Click on each to view larger.









Can't you tell that I've been going through some of my old stuff? These were in our storage space that we had to clean out before the Big Move. Man, talk about a Shrine To The 90's. Quite a trip back in time for us, going through all that junk.