What the fudge?

2003 was a good year, but only as far as the art went. I'm pretty sure a lot of unpleasant things happened that year as well because without the crap, I can't make anything good. This was my first attempt at making a comic strip of my life, which led to me thinking about drawing these horrible moments while they were happening.

The Art of Darkness

nothing more to say

kiddy pool

Push skateshop in Ashville, North Carolina curated a show last month called The Art of Darkness which consisted of skateboards cut in half to make tombstones. Artist were then allowed to create a stone of their liking using the boards as a canvas for their resting place. Darkness opened on the 16th of October, and closed on November 3rd. Posted in this entry is the grave marker entitled " Nothing More to Say." This took about one week to complete, along with an additional drawing submitted or the show. For the lack of time I had to produce the works, I'm pleased with the results.

http://www.pushtoyproject.com/

"She whipped them all soundly, and sent them to be."

"... and they kept going deeper and deeper into the forest. If help did not arrive soon, they were bound to perish of hunger and exhaustion."

"She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed. For they left their tails behind them."

"Little Betty Blue lost her holiday shoe... What can Little Betty do?"

If you can't make it to Bridgeport, CT by December, here's what you're missing. Of course, you're also missing out on Naughti Dolphin pizza and three newer drawings of mine. So, do what you gotta do.

Too Bad To Be True

The Bone Tails show from Little Berlin, well, my portion of it anyway, will be headed to Bridgeport, CT this November for a solo exhibit called Too Bad To Be True. The opening is scheduled for November 6th and will include drawings from the "Dark Ages" series of upcoming Slapstik graphics, along with three new drawings of Brothers Grimm fairy tales illustrated in contemporary settings. Stories include Hansel and Gretel, The Old Lady in the Shoe, Little Bo Peep, Little Betty Blue, Humpty Dumpty, Snow White, and Cinderella. For anyone in the area, passing through, or just curious to see what Bridgeport is like, stop by on Nov. 6th and check out the shop at 605 Brewster St. Bridgeport, CT. Bring a friend, or 3. It will make gas a lot cheaper.

dayoneskateshop.com

Cut it, if you're into that sort of thing.

Another show, another month of sleepless nights. Make it worth my time and show up to at least complain about how I'm not working hard enough.

You know you won G. Won what? The wet T-shirt contest MF!

this one's mine.

Studio 27.28 located on Girard Ave. recently relocated to 11 W. Girard Ave. and changed the space name to Slingluff. I have no idea what that means, but the location works in every aspect... except for my birdhouse. The previous location was a bit sketchy, and one wouldn't be too surprised at the sound of gun shots. I thought it would be funny to have my bird fall prey to the bullets of and angry fly-by shooter. This joke did not go over so well at the new location, but I still laughed. A few other memorable birdhouses are posted on this entry as well, but I neglected to get the artist's names. Well, maybe they have a blog, and can promote themselves.

Better Not Bring Your Kids

Insults vol. 1

Shit Talker

Fuckface

Bitch

Asshole

One show just isn't enough for me in the month of August. In addition to the Bone Tail exhibit at Little Berlin, I've also got six new paintings showing in the Rittenhouse district of Philadelphia at Square Peg Artery and Salvage. The series of paintings, titled Insults, are oils on wood panels, housed in leather spin clamshell boxes. Works in the show include Asshole, Bitch, Dickhead, Cuntface, Shit Talker, and Fuckface. As you can probably tell by the titles, it's not for kids. Two of the paintings have been posted on this site before, so included in this posting are a few more. 

Darkness MF, Darkness!

Shame on you for missing this one! Last night marked the opening of Bone Tail at Philadelphia's Little Berlin. Four artist, Salvador Cerceo, Dennis McNett, Shawn Beeks, and Damon Aners, came together under the curator Tyler Kline to present paintings, prints, video and sculpture which delve into the dark recesses of our minds. Focusing on myths and fables, the artist involved used new media and traditional visual arts practices to bring life to timeless psychological and social conflicts, presenting them in a contemporary context. But be warned... everyone involved brought their darkness to the table and bet the full house. The show runs through August 30th at Little Berlin, located at 119 West Montgomery, Philadelphia PA 19122. Gallery hours are Saturdays from 12 to 5pm. For additional images go to littleberlin.org.

Drive By's on Girard

Slingfluff Gallery presents Bigfoot, and Group Bird House Show featuring 30 National and International Artist, including me. Formerly known as Studio 27.28, the folks at Slingfluff will be hosting their opening at 11W. Girard Ave., spitting distance from The M Room and Johnny Brenda's. The event takes place July 11th with a silent auction from 6 to 9pm. 40% of all proceeds go to the PSPCA to prevent more birds from senseless shootings and such.  This is my first showing of anything with Slingfluff, so help me celebrate by telling them how much you like, have a beer, and buy something under the influence. Hope to see you there. 

Gates of Hell

I don't know why I hadn't posted this earlier. This is the product of a summer spent trying to make "abstract" art under the influence of professors at UArts. Over the course of June, July, and August, I completed two paintings. I'm actually afraid to post the other one, but whenever I delve into my subconscious and let the composition flow, it still comes out dark. Hopefully, what you see when you close you're eyes isn't as screwed up as what's painted behind my eyelids. 

People are Sheep

By 1998 I'd been living in Athens long enough to be thoroughly educated and disgusted with most of college life. The self destructive behavior, passed off as "finding oneself," manifested in binge drinking, drug use, casual sex, and weekend parties, moved me towards isolation amongst my peers. Skateboarding and art served as my escape from my surroundings, without which I could have gotten involved in something cultish like church. Luckily I didn't, and put all my thoughts and energy of the moment  on a skateboard for a few people to see. Everything I had to say was written directly on the board, which was a first for me. Previously, I'd felt that if someone didn't understand why I did something questionable, they could at least confront me about it, but in this case I didn't want there to be any confusion. People are sheep. I believe I had watched Taxi Driver an unhealthy amount of times before completing this drawing which is why it's so dark. It's been years since I've read this, but I still believe that most people will willingly screw themselves out of a future to avoid the present.

Barcode

1997 was the year  I had an opportunity to go to London for a week and test the European market for raped inc. At this time I had just released the barcode graphic which was the first full color design for raped inc. The drawing was inspired by conversations with others about consumerism, Orson Wells, and the Mike Leigh film Naked, which I highly recommend. I was happy with the simple design which visualized the of application of the creative arts practice to an economic brand. What I like most about this one is the concept of "revenge rape" that art enacts on business by turning a graphic soulless symbol into an artistic statement against capitalism. 

Somebody's Watching You

This board marked another series of first for raped inc. Although I continued with the war theme, I decided to use a black and white pallet again to enforce the cold feeling of being watched. The image was taken from a book at the UGA library on events leading up to WWII. I'm not sure exactly what the image is because I lost the notes, but the original covered only 66% of the deck. In order to make a functional layout I had to create the another 3 buildings and wall to cover the entire right side. I was enrolled in an American art history class focusing on Architecture making it easier to complete the buildings in a manner that matched the time period. At the time I also wanted to use ink on transparency instead of paper, forcing me to spend more time on the details of the board graphics. I was also living on my own, so I had plenty of time to draw.  All the time spent researching and drawing paid off to produce one of my favorite graphics of the raped inc. line. I had also stopped using the same graphic for every shape because sales had actually grown.  This was the last board to have raped inc. written out, to be replaced by the "r" logo. 

Rejection Letters

This is why I have problems getting art shows. 

artWORK

Something a lot of people don't realize is the amount of work it takes to make artwork. Galleries, museums, and especially entertainment give viewers the impression that art seems to magically appear on the canvas, paper, or clay, like some materialized drug induced vision. Ideas may come about this way, but that would lead me to discuss conceptual art, which is an entirely different story. My point is, it takes a lot of work to get from the idea, to the product and that's were the work comes in. Writers have to go through multiple drafts before submitting a version worthy of publication. Artists must do the same through research, sketches, studies, and failed attempts of full-size models. The amount of time, consumed by mental and physical exertion, is usually reflected in the price of the art, along with payment for name recognition, but what I'm focusing on is the work related to the art being viewed, not past achievements. Perhaps viewers would get a better understanding of the value of art if elements  of the practice were included in the exhibit. This may destroy the illusion that art comes from divine inspiration, thus making the artist as mortal as everyone else, but to be blunt, they are. If you shoot an artist in the head, it will die. The major differences between artists and patrons lies in the artist's ability to look at ordinary things with an attentive eye, rather than gloss over the daily obstacles, interpreted as annoyances by the masses.  Here are a few examples of watercolor studies made to better understand the zombie interpretation of St. Sebastian. Enjoy the vision. 

RKO, Skin & Bones sampler

He's Alive, source Caravaggio

Valezquez Cramps

Skinbar Study, source Waterhouse

Sexy Beast, source, too many to name.

For those who couldn't make it to the opening, I've posted a few watercolor pieces from the retrospective, along with some let out of the show. All of these were made around the same time period when I focused my studio practice on painting the master's works as the undead, or monsters. They materials used included cold press paper, watercolors, and the uniball micro pen. I'll post more, such as the studies for St. Sebastian in the next few days. 

Celebrating the economic downturn, I'm inviting everyone to RKO Video and South Philly Comics for the opening of Gods & Monsters, a collection of my work from University of the Arts. In addition to the drawings and paintings on display, I will will also have skateboards, shirts, and pins. No prints will be for sale, with the exception of the Kids series, because I don't believe in them. If you like the art enough, you'll buy it. Besides, I'm making it all very affordable. Hope to see you there.

Google It

For anyone interested in juvenile criminal justice in the cyber age, look into the Victoria Lindsay case from 2008 that took place in Polk County, Florida. I spent eight months researching the criminals and victims of cyber-bullying and found that youth of tomorrow will no doubt resemble the paranoid science-fiction of today. The motives involved in cyber crime usually include, a desire of fame and mastery, both of which contributed to the downfall of Lindsay. Posted are images from my Masters Thesis Exhibition at University of the Arts from December 2008. If you think I'm crazy for believing our lives will be handed over to machines, google it.