Some Random stuff!

Hey Everyone,

I have a couple new things today. First I have a new sketch for a painting that I will start tomorrow. The painting will be 18 X 24, and will be called, "The Bitter Unveiling".

Sketch for "The Bitter Unveiling" 9 X 12

Here is a photo of my hands drawing a girl holding a skull that was taken a few months ago at Max's. I think the skull is my own.

Next I have a photo from the WAVE gallery in Eugene during my solo show from November. As far as I know, this is the only existing photo. My brother is a photographer and sadly, his camera was stolen after he took pictures at the opening.  

The WAVE gallery, Eugene, Oregon

And finally, this is what I did last night. I think this photo is hilarious. It looks like I am having second thoughts about shotgunning PBR with my friend Sam, either that, or I am worried about having my face sprayed with beer. Well, until next time friends....  

Out With the Old

Hey Friends,

I know it has been a while, but I finally completed a new painting that I have been working on for a little while, entitled, "Out With the Old". This is my divorce painting.

"Out With the Old" 48 X 36 Oil on Canvas 2012 

Here is a detail photo. I actually have a coffee mug with a skull and crossbones on it.

When the Shit Hits the Fan

Wow!!!

I don't really know where to begin. Sorry I haven't posted anything for a while, but this has been the craziest month of my life...

I drew this at Max's (a bar next to my house) one night with too much whiskey.

1. My wife and I are getting a divorce. Didn't really see it coming.

An awesome break-up album. I have almost worn out this record.

2. I had my best solo art show to date at the WAVE gallery here in Eugene. My brother took a ton of photos, which I will post as soon as I get them back. I gave an art talk too. I'm sort of a nervous public speaker, but after a few beers, I think everything went okay.

3. I moved. I have my own place now, and I actually have the sweetest studio space an artist could hope for.

my new studio!!! work in progress...the studio and the painting

4. I was too broke to make it up to Portland to attend the group show that I was involved in at Good Gallery....hope it went okay. Funny story though...when I took the train up there to deliver my painting, I got shitfaced at Mississippi Studios and stayed in the the seediest hotel I have ever stayed in. Cash only. Anyway, at about 7 am, I was awoken by two crack-heads looking for, "A-1 and his skinny, white girlfriend". I was still drunk at the time, and decided to smoke cigarettes with these fine gentlemen. They really wanted to use my cell phone charger, and sadly I didn't have any gas money for them, but eventually they did find "A-1 and his skinny white girl friend," who were staying the in the room next to mine. I hope they are still alive.

5. I am going to trial for bankrupcy tomorrow morning. That should be fun.

An awesome drunken moment of self-loathing.

6. I love booze. Thought out this entire thing I have had a ton of bizarre adventures, I have drawn more than I have ever in my life, and I have discovered that I am married to making art.

Another one of my weird adventures involved having my Tarot cards read at a strangely surreal party I didn't know I was going to until fifteen minutes before I left my house.  This is my future....my past, and my present.

The sketch for my current painting, entitled, "Out with the Old"

Well friends, seeing that I am single and slightly depressed, expect regular updates and spooky paintings. I have about a million ideas and I can't wait to paint them all. I'll see you at the bars.

...oh yeah, I also met the Sex Advice columnist, Dan Savage. Weird month.

Practice is Fun

This morning I went to a coffee shop, rocked out to High on Fire, and did a little practice drawing of my Grandpa from a photograph.I need to practice more actually, and I think the reason that I am not in a good routine is because I didn't have a cool coffee shop to go to.

Well... all that has changed now that I discovered Perk Coffee in Eugene. I think this place will help me to become a better artist.




This is my new favorite coffee shop!

Work in Progress: The Changeling

Yo Gangsters,

Today I delivered 11 paintings to the WAVE gallery for my show on Friday. It should be a really fun time, and I am trying not to think too much about it because the thought makes me excited and queasy.

Also...and to keep myself distracted...

I am getting ready to start a new painting tomorrow, and I thought that I would show you my preliminary drawings.

Drawing for "The Changeling"

This painting will the the first in a series about Elves and Fairies that I have planned for for late 2012 or early 2013. The painting will be 11 X 14, and will act as small support piece that will add to the impact of the larger conceptual pieces that I have planned....or at least that's what I am hoping anyway.

In my next series, I am planing on doing around ten small paintings, in addition to ten big ones. I never really paint small, so this should be pretty fun, and will probably only take me a few days.

This was drawn with graphite and white charcoal on tinted paper.

Thumbnails

The Antidote

Hey,

Here is a photo of the painting that I just finished.

"The Antidote" 18 X 24 Oil on Canvas 2011

Check this out, as I was walking home from the frame shop after getting a frame for this thing, I saw a real life wizard waiting at the bus stop. He wore a cloak, a wizard hat, had necklaces of beads and bones, and he even had a staff and a beard. Cool huh? I wish I had my camera with me.

Elves and Fairies are Metal

Hi Everyone,

I have finished the last piece for my upcoming show. I am pretty pleased with the results and I will post some photos of the painting tomorrow.

It is only 11 days away from the opening of my solo show at the WAVE gallery, and I am thrilled. After hundreds of hours of planning, drawing, and painting,  I think I have produced a pretty neat body of work and I can't wait share it my friends and the community. The show is called, "Death Potion" and the work represents the last few years of painting, loosely tied around themes of drinking, depression, and recession, juxtaposed with fairy tale imagery.

The album is insanely good, and served for a lot of inspiration when
creating my last body of work. Early Man will melt your face.

More than anything, the last series of paintings has been an exploration in discovering my personal voice as an artist, refining my art-making process, and learning how to become a better painter. I am still a beginner. I have only been painting seriously for two and a half years, and strangely, the only thing I am certain of in life is that I am supposed to paint every day.

THE HIDDEN FOLK 


Once you finish a painting, or even a series of paintings, you can't just sit back and relax. An artists work is never done. It's time to start a new painting. It's time to start a new series.

The show will be called "The Hidden Folk" and will, for the most part, be a series of semi-autobiographical paintings unified around folklore imagery. I believe the paintings will be set in the world of fairies, but will include modern day people who have stumbled into this world just like Alice, Dorthy, and all the others. I think coming up with my own interpretation of fairies, gnomes, elves, dwarfs, and goblins will be really fun. Don't expect any tiny half-naked nymphs with butterfly wings, or any other traditional representations of these creatures. Things are going to be a little more creepy than that.

This book is fucking rad!

"The Troll Book", shown above, was one of my favorites as a kid, and it is one of the few possessions I have kept from early childhood. It is essentially a beautifully illustrated educational text dealing with the lives of trolls and also describes other beings from Scandinavian folklore. After all these years, I still love this book, and some of the concepts with serve as a platform for the Hidden Folk series.

Arthur Rackham, Goblin Market

Arthur Rackham, is one of my favorite painters and is a pretty big inspiration. I love how he balances realism of the girl with almost cartoon-like characters.

The Labyrinth = Awesome!

Pan's Labyrinth = Metal!

And now I am off to paint!