Blame Your Friends, Part 2

This is the final result of the input from Joc, combined with something Leesa mentioned (her instructor being fond of masking fluid). I probably need to find a way to put masking fluid more precisely, but this isn't bad at all. At least, not to my taste.

Blame Your Friends, Part 1

This is a sketch I did after Maia Joc* said my last finished piece looked a bit like a sacred lotus. This one is more lotus-y, and also more insectoid, somehow. Go figure.

I spent hours on this drawing, and then decided I wasn't happy with it, and had a small, but very satisfying revelation: I could just start over! This isn't news, exactly, but it is the kind of thing I have to re-know every once in a while. Anyway, it led to the next piece...

* sorry, both of you. I'll find something to blame on Maia eventually.

These aren't new, but...

These 5 paintings aren't new, but I just framed them last night. Framing them has revealed to me that I will be painting at least 2, and probably 3 new components for this set, because what's there either doesn't fit, or doesn't please me. That's just how it goes, I guess.

I've been stalling on framing these for 3 or 4 months, probably because I already knew I wasn't going to be happy, and didn't want to deal with it. Guess it's time to own up and finish it.

In which I spam you again.

First, 3 pages from my sketchbook:

Take 2.

Artist Betsabeé Romero carves tires (among other auto-related art and installations). Some of the tires get inked and leave a pattern print, which is very, very nifty. Do a Google image search on her name--that's what the last link was, but it expired or something. Her actual web site seems to be out of commission at the moment; I'm guessing this picture or others like it are what brought it down. A-frickin'-mazing stuff.

Just go see it.

Betsabee Romero

Just finished...

Just sprayed sealer on this. it's not bad, but it's not 100% what I wanted, either. The good news is, I think I know how to get what I wanted. Had a thought about that just as I was putting the last touches on this.

In case you were wondering, I'm pretty sure both the painting and the photograph are a little tilted, but when I mat this, I should be able to (mostly) correct that. I guess I'll find out...

If you have not done so...

You probably need to watch this. It is 26 minutes, but worth every second.

Until That Day, I Make My Home Down Here

Until That Day, I Make My Home Down Here
Originally uploaded by Patrick Gannon

Patrick Gannon continuing to make with the holycrapawesome. I highly recommend you browse his Flickr stream if you're just in it for the visuals. His web site has a lot more to it than that.

More Kickassery: Patrick Gannon

Making art and illustration from cut up bits of paper... sweet. You'll have to browse around Gannon's website a bit to get the full effect, but I find it to be both charming and delightful.

Patrick Gannon - cut paper art and illustration

Serendipitous Glimpses

Maybe this falls in the category of shoe-gazing, perhaps literally, but I love making pictures of little things I see on the ground when I'm out and about. They are invariably tiny details of the life of the sidewalk, but they please me a great deal.

Dunno if they are Art, except in the sense that they are capable of bringing to visibility that which only a few people ever apprehend directly.

This makes me very wanty.

Not because I actually want a knife of this kind, but because I crave this level of awesomeness.

Once Again, In Lieu of Content...

I give you a link to something awesome:

Some incredible woodworking, including a ukelele that has a pictorial guide to the mustaches of the world.

Someday, I hope to start posting my own stuff here again. Someday soon!

Dan Hillier

Here is a great example of the kind of visual art I like. It's got class, style, absurdity, and tentacles. Also, it is ink and engravings, which is hard to beat, in my book.

Check it out, yo: http://www.danhillier.com

Lost in the Dark

This week, my computer hard drive moved and did not leave a forwarding address. In the timeless wisdom of an idiot, I failed to make back up copies of almost anything from the last six months. This includes a fair amount of art, both original and reproduction. It is at times like this that I am glad I have made a habit, however sloppy and inconsistent, of posting my photos to the internet. Blogging may be one of the forms of poor mental hygiene, but at least it has a high Preserved For Posterity factor.

Go see Simon Schubert

Because the embossed paper architecture studies RULE!!

Seriously, check it out.

Go see Simon Schubert

Because the embossed paper architecture RULES!!

Seriously, check it out.

Two Heads and a Clown

At least, I think it's a clown. I don't remember exactly what I was thinking when I drew this. Just having a little sketchfest, I guess.

Another unfinished painting

The larger, pink, swirly painting is unfinished. It needs more contrast. More.... red. Mostly. I think. I'll paint on it more when I know what.

This is closer to what I was trying to get with the blue one, but it's still not right. And I'm still not totally sure why. Also, I painted it two weeks ago, which means that I'm actually moving farther from my target. Whee.

The other painting is just to demonstrate that I've become that kind of artistic bum who piles things up any which way. (When I say "become" it makes it sound like I was not already a bum. Please go along with this, my mom might be reading.)