More Plein Air
I painted a drab, crooked building on a very cold, gray and misty morning by Lake Merritt. And then afterwards I got breakfast at a diner and everything was fine.
Archived entries for Art
Plein Air Paintings
I’ve been painting en plein air the last few weeks with Dice Tsutsumi, Robert Kondo, and Shelly Wan, who have been kind enough to let me tag along on their weekly outings. It has been, at the same time, both horrifying and wonderful. I sweat the entire time. My hands tremble. I develop a stutter.
…this is the stuff of inspiration!
It’s been terribly foggy and overcast in the mornings, so the lighting hasn’t been very exciting. But at least it’s been consistent. More to come…
Beautiful Blood, the Mini-Comic!
Hey internet-ers. I recently finished a mini-comic for the Portland-based indie rock band The Crash Engine. Their latest album, Beautiful Blood, is pretty fantastic and you should go and listen to the LP sampler on their Facebook page right now. The entire album won’t be released for a couple of months. Here’s a few tidbits from the comic:
This was such a swell project to do for an equally swell group of guys. I’ll talk more specifically about it once I get a physical copy back from the printers, but in the meantime enjoy these sample images. And check out that music!
“Wait” Color Study
I did this loose color study for a friend’s project. I’m planning on doing a couple more so stay tuned.
Also, I decided to lock up my Twitter account because I’ve finally had it with the spam. If you’d like to follow me, don’t be shy, just send me a request.
XIV Temperance
John Straun over at Super Punch is putting together a Tarot deck in celebration of the site’s 3rd Anniversary. He recruited an array of artists to illustrate their take on a particular card. I chose Temperance (XIV). I must be nostalgic for the Northwest, because bears and salmon are what materialized.
Plans are in the works to show all the art at the Bear and Bird Boutique in Lauderhill, Florida early next year. I’ll update here as that approaches and I know more. In the meantime, check out all the other cards over here: http://endlessdeck.blogspot.com/
The Roof
“He leaves the water running to cover the sound of him crawling out the window. He pushes his backpack through, then shimmies out head and arms first.”
The Lobby
I’m starting to tackle designs for some of the locations in the comic book. Trying to find the right amount of freehanded-ness in the line, too.
Greek
Here is some stuff that I’ve been up to lately. Taking a few cues from the Provensens with these, trying some different things out. I want to break away from some of the fussiness of my process.
It’s funny how scaling back in certain formal aspects of illustrating will shift the paradigm by which you see the remaining ones. A lot of people believe particular fundamentals–like composition, value, etc.–always rule over others in an hierarchy of importance. I tend to think it’s more of a balancing act, or a series of compromises. If you want to ignore one, another will, by nature, take prominence. But they can’t all be The Most Important Thing. I think images that are over-worked or under-worked result because of a breakdown in the prioritization of its formal aspects.
In a lot of ways, when I look at these images now, I think they work better next to one another. On their own, I’m not sure if they’re quite refined enough; they haven’t found that place of balance yet.
Today’s Warm-Up and an Interview
Here are some architectural thumbnails for today’s warm-up. I love doing these quick little studies, just playing with shape and proportion.
In other news, Chris and I were interviewed over on Pinball Publishing’s blog, CoinOp, regarding our collaborative project, Rigamaru. We talk about how the whole thing got started, our process and inspiration, and what’s on the horizon this year. Check it out, folks.
One last thing, Chris has a monoprint up for auction in the Brownstones to Red Dirt charity fundraiser. The auction will take place online, March 6th-13th. Check out their website for more details, and to see all the fantastic work being donated!
Support these swell artists!
Just wanted to share some news about a few excellent artists and old classmates of mine. Firstly, the very talented Joey Weiser has organized a fundraiser in order to self-publish his second graphic novel, Cavemen in Space, which will then be distributed by Adhouse Books. Joey is giving out some excellent goodies in exchange for donations, including mini-comics and original art. Everyone wins! (Update: if you follow the link to Adhouse Books, there is a pdf for download with preview images of Cavemen in Space!)
Also, Eleanor Davis and Katherine Guillen have a show together that opens tomorrow night, January 16th, at Giant Robot 2 in Los Angeles. There are some preview images up on the GR2 website, and it looks to be a rad event!
A New Year
Here is an illustration I did sometime back in October for a children’s short story anthology. I’ve been experimenting with different digital painting processes, and the result here is one I’ve been more or less happy with.
I hope everyone has a swell time ringing in the New Year; I’ll be raising a glass to new and old friends, adventures, and opportunities. Cheers, everyone!
Grand Opening: Rigamaru Online Shop!
The little business that Chris and I started is finally up and running at http://www.rigamaru.com! If you missed us this year at Alternative Press Expo, our products can now be ordered online through the site. There are still lots of items I need to get photographed and added to the shop, so keep an eye out for updates via the blog, our twitter feed, or on our facebook page.
Chris and I are really excited about this new venture, and thankful for everyone’s support! We hope you enjoy the goodies!
Childhood Art
My mom recently mailed me some art that she’s had stored away in boxes since I was a kid. This drawing of Pongo, from 101 Dalmations, I did when I was 7. The lines at the top that get cut off are where I wrote “bad drawing!!!” largely across the top of the page. I’m glad mom snatched this up before I had a chance to toss it–I wish I still drew this good!
I gave this drawing to Chris this year for his birthday since he loves nautical themes so much. There are a lot of questions I would love to ask my 6-year-old self about this drawing. Like, why does the cloud get an outline, but not the chimney smoke? Why do pirates get facial features, but not princesses? Is that a spy approaching the ship in scuba gear? The other thing I love about this, which you can faintly see, is that I drew it on the back of my (still uncompleted) math homework. Who wants to do fractions when you can draw pirates?!
Rigamaru
Chris and I have spent the last few months working on this collaborative little venture called Rigamaru, which is also the banner we’re exhibiting under this weekend at APE. We’ve got a rinky-dink website up, complete with twitter feed, where you’ll eventually be able to buy our goodies and follow what we’re up to. This weekend we’ve got a selection of shirts, pocket-sized sketchbooks, posters, and assorted hand-made wares. Stop by and see us at booth #228!
