Birthday Party

"Birthday Party 16 X 20 Oil on Panel 2013"

Just finished up this painting for a group show at the Pony Club gallery later this year, called "Dead Man's Party". I'm also going to make a really small painting to complement this one. I think that would be fun.

Monday

A silly drawing I did at Sizzle Pie pizza... 

...and I'm mega stoked about this water color kit that I just got! It fits in my pocket!! Rad!!! 

Deadman's Party Part 1

Hello! Later this year I will be participating in a group show at the Pony Club Gallery in Portland. The theme is "Deadman's Party". Today I thought I would show a little of what I have been working on. For this show I decided that I would be fun to do one solid painting with a bunch of content, and a small portrait that matches the larger painting. Here are some work in progress shots! Below are some thumbnails. At this point, I am just playing around, trying to work out my concept and playing with ideas and shapes and characters and narratives. I think I did this at a coffee shop.  

Having settled on a main character, I have decided to do a couple larger thumbnails. I thought it would be nice to have the guy sitting, so I chose the lower of the two pictured below. From here I gathered a bunch of reference material, and worked on a master sketch.

 The is below is just for fun. I drew this a couple mornings ago.

And this is a really crappy photo of my sketch for the larger of the two paintings. At this point I am actually halfway finished with the painting. Hopefully I will finish it next week! Cheers!

Shut Up!!

"Shut Up!" 16 X 20 Oil on Panel 2013

Alright! A little behind on blogging....I finished this one up a few weeks ago! In addition to painting, I also tend bar on the weekends, and this was the inspiration for my painting. Don't get me wrong, I love my patrons but sometimes when you are the only sober person in a room and everyone wants to talk to you it get really tiring. SHUT UP!! :) Now that I am finished with the painting I'm not sure if I really like it... well better luck next time, I suppose.

Work in progress

Here is a quick sketch for my next painting. Not quite sure about the title.... it's a work in progress, so more to come. 

Exercising the Demon

"Exercising the Demon" 18 X 24 Oil on Panel 2013

Concept

The concept for this piece is basically about the relationship between people and dogs. I live in a neighborhood setting in Eugene, Oregon, and I go for a lot of walks. I am always seeing people with their dogs. I live next to a dog park, my brother and his wife own a dog, and most of my friends have dogs too. It is such a common thing that I bet most people don't really think much about it. I like that....taking the simple everyday things and turning them into something fantastical. Seeing this mundane daily routine of people exercising their canines, stirred something in my mind, causing me to come up with all sorts of "what if...." scenarios. Maybe I don't trust dogs. More than one of my friends has had their faces actually mangled and mauled by their beloved pet. To me, the dog's dependency on a human owner feels really uncomfortable. .....also, I might add, I am a cat person.  

Narrative     

Lately, more and more I have been building a fantasy world in my mind. This place is called, "The Commonwealth of the Yod-Ninivish". In short, it is a Victorian world with strong ties to the Medieval ages, a world filled with magic, witchcraft, the occult and actual living, breathing, demons. The Commonwealth of the Yod-Ninivish is a fairytale world that I use to create allegorical connections with the actual occurrences and observations that I make on a regular basis. It helps me make meaning. 

The narrative for this painting goes something like this: Occultist "Dr. Herbert Lewiston Milderstone " (feel free to make up your own name :)) is talking the demon out for a walk. He doesn't really feel like doing it today, but having a demon is a responsibility, and being a responsible demon-owner, he is going to man-up and do his duty. I was thinking of a Freemason-like character, who maybe stumbled upon the ancient secret of how to summon up this bizarre floating creature for some clandestine purpose. Maybe he belongs to a secret society, and maybe this demon is part of a some master plan.... we will never know. But, what the Occultist character never realized was the burden and responsibility that would come with owning a demon, the day-to-day chores and duties. Sure maybe the demon is happy to see the Occultist when he gets home from magical ceremonies and long days in the alchemy lab, the demon waving its fuzzy tentacles and all, but fuck, the responsibility can be a real bitch sometimes.  

Portraits of Comedians: Part 2

I finished up my Danny DeVito painting for the Portraits of Comedians group show at Jameson's.

"Danny" 11 X 14 Oil on Panel 2013

And also my lovely girlfriend and fellow artist, Sabrina Jackson, blasted out this awesome Janeane Garofalo! Sabrina rocks!!

"Janeane Garofalo" Ink and Colored Pencil on Watercolor Paper by Sabrina Jackson 2013

Well, that was a fun project and I have heard that there will be actual comedians at the opening, so it should be as blast.

 

Now, I am getting ready to start a new painting tonight, and I am stoked to post some pictures of it soon. My next painting will have a monster in it!!