Seasons Greetings, now with skulls ...

Just a quick post to wish all you internetters a happy, drunken holiday. Cheers!

Sprawl, finished ... kind of

"Sprawl" 24 x 24

(Detail)

Okay, that took a lot longer than I had initially thought it would. Which further proves my theory that I should never guess about anything, especially time related. This monster is going to be a part of a big show in Spain next year. A concept that is, honestly, still a little to big for me to wrap my head around.

This painting still has to pass inspection from a few more people before I call it 'finished', but as of now it is 'complete'. Everything on the drawing is now on the painting, and while there may be some tweaks for it in the future this things pretty much done. I apologize for the poor quality of the detail, I adjusted the colors as best I could but my little camera isn't the best. Onward to more paintings ...

Shenanigans...

"Shenanigans"

Just a quick post to let you all know about next weeks show at the Hive. They'll be hosting their second annual "Price...Less" show, with all works in the group show under 200 dollars. This cheeky fellow here for example will be going for a palsy $100. They'll also be exhibiting featured artists works from some very talented individuals, including Naomi Nowak, one of my personal favorites.

On a side note, I got to attend my friend Mia's opening last night, and I strongly suggest you all go see it if you have the chance. The work is amazing, which is clearly evident in the fact that she had sold out completely before the show even opened. So if you can stop by Corey Helford and have a look see, you wont be disappointed.

Whats in the works ...

"Sprawl"

Wow, apologies all around for my atrocious posting habits of late. No real excuses to be offered, so instead have a look-see at whats currently crowding out my desk. This 24" x 24" beast is for a show in Barcelona next year. Yes, Spain. I'm pretty excited about the whole project, and I'm hoping I'll be able to attend the big event itself when the time arrives. The show is going to feature all LA based artists, from established giants to up and comers like myself, in a fancy art-based cultural exchange.

Rejoice, however, because there will be some more paintings coming in the near future. So at least for a while I should actually have something to post.

In other news, some of you may have wondered what it is I do for money, since this whole paint-slinging debacle doesn't really bring in the bacon. Well to answer your theoretical question, Internet, I happen to make my moneys building fancy flash websites (the brutal irony in this of course is that I have not once updated my own website in the last two years).

Two such fancy sites are currently up and operational for your general enjoyment and perusal, so if your interested why don't you check them out.

Firstly, there's the new Spyglass Entertainment website. A friend designed the site and I built the interactions and animations.

Then theres the Kid's Science Challenge, this site was a ton of fun to do. I got to design, code, and animate the majority of the site myself, including some sweet video games. Theres even a guest appearance by the Prince of Cake in the Skateboard Science Game. He helped me out with all the designs and decals in that game. The site itself is really cool, its a contest for the young and science inclined, where they can win prizes and help scientists with awesome experiments. So if you've got a wee friend with a hankering for science, you should have them check it out.

Thanks to the teams at A Creative Project, and Zumwinkle.com since theres no way I could have done these things myself.

Teeter ...

"Teeter"

I actually finished this piece with time to spare, its such a rare occurrence I felt like sharing, because usually I'm running out the door with the varnish still wet. Its especially uncanny considering the size of this piece, at 10" x 20" it's not the biggest thing I've ever done, but its still roughly twice the size of my usual fare.

This piece is going into a show with Brandon Sopinsky next week at Alpha Cult called "This is Going to Hurt". The title of the show sort of inspired this piece. I went through a lot of different ideas before I got anywhere I liked, and even then I had to draw this thing like four times before I liked it enough to start painting. Even then I still ended up making a lot of changes on the fly, which was sort of a change of pace. Usually I have everything locked in before I ever touch a brush.

The show is opening on the Eighth of November, so if your within a stones-throw of Long Beach you should pop in and have a look-see. Apart from being a classy gallery, Alpha Cult also boasts a fine selection of Vinyl Toys and Collectibles. It's totally the place I'd shop if I had enough money to buy my own paintings.

Atop a precipice ...

Just a quick post, letting you all know I still exist and post and such. Just a little sample of my current piece, as yet unnamed, which I'll be contributing to Brandon Sopinsky's "This is Going to Hurt" early next month. I just finished all the environment bits, so I figured this was a pretty good time to snap a picture and share it with all my internet friends. Stay tuned for more updates, and let me know what you think.

Au Naturel ...

"Au Naturel"

This Saturday, Alpha Cult will be hosting a little group show called "Against the Grain". The show is all about wood, specifically its use as a medium in the contemporary art scene ala Audrey Kawasaki.

I didn't have a lot of time to work on this piece, but I wanted to try something a little different, both from my usual offerings and from the current trend. For the most part woodgrain is often used as a background, so I decided it would be fun to try and use the woodgrain as my foreground element instead.

The skull in the painting above was masked out so that the original wood panel would still show through after I finished the background. Then I fleshed it out with some transparent washes to create a bit of rendering. Overall I decided to keep everything simple, because I wanted the usage of the wood to be the focus of the piece.

I ran into a few snags at the beginning, and anytime I try masking is always a harrowing activity, but I'm really happy with the final product. The whole thing was sort of an excuse to play around and experiment with technique, but I think it turned out for the best.

You can check the piece out this Saturday at Alpha Cult in Long Beach.