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2-7-2010
Welcome to February.
The past week has been of a painful nature, mostly due to training for a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. It's actually been a lot of fun. More fun than you might think being roughed up on a regular basis would be. In fact, the only part of the whole business that is unsatisfactory, is the impact it has had on my time in the studio. Not that you need worry of course. I do have a fresh drawing for your enjoyment today:
I also had time to finish a commission for a theatrical poster for a project in San Francisco (more on this later) as well as organizing concepts for a few other pieces. That's right, there's no stopping me.
1-31-2010
Have I told you about Larry Marder's Beanworld yet? It's about beans. Walking, talking, adventurous beans who live on an island with a protective tree and spend their days either goofing off or conducting chow raids against the great Hoi-Polloi Ring Herd that lives below the Four Realities. If you didn't follow all of that, don't worry about it. The comic is pretty far off the beaten track. That being said, it all really does make sense, once you get into it and it is happily back in production after a period of several years of near desperate scarcity on local retail shelves. I highly recommend it for your reading pleasure. I also bring it up as a partial explanation for this week's drawing, which appears to be a drawing of me in the process of turning unto a member of the previously mentioned Hoi-Polloi Ring Herd:
In other news, I am studying like crazy for my black belt test in late February. This means the large stack of copper plates I just received will not be receiving the attention it deserves for a about three weeks. Rest assured, I shall make up for the delay with what would be called a vengeance, were I one to hold grudges. You may look forward to prints in March. I know I am.
1-24-2010
Stories are what sparked my interest in being an artist. The words of a story are translated by the mind into images and sensations. The images and sensations of art can be processed in the opposite direction, into the words of stories. A single image can tell an entire tale, or just a fragment. Each piece may be a detailed explicit narrative, or the narrative can be expressed in symbolic, even abstract, arrangements. With any piece of art, the person who creates the final narrative of that piece is not the artist, but the viewer. I am endlessly fascinated by the possibility that no two viewers looking at one of my drawings will come away with the exact same story.
Presentation is one of the most important factors in how a viewer interprets art. One of the most important parts of presentation is the method used to create an image. In my most recent work, the differences in how various media affect the execution and interpretation of each piece has led me to experiment with mixed media drawing and printmaking. Drawings done in my usual free style are punctuated by the emboss of carefully rendered etching plates and etching plates are used to create frames for the display of hand drawn and painted images.
That's enough of the serious stuff for now. Here's something else to think about:
1-17-10
This week's update includes four new images in the gallery. These images were part of my show at Gadsden Community College this last Fall. I hope you enjoy them.
In other news I have had the pleasure of receiving my collection of prints from The Littlest Print Exchange 09. There are some nice prints in there, so you should check it out. My print from the exchange was also featured at print blog Tradigital Printmaking and at the online gallery Captive Werewolf. Thank you to everyone who put work in on the exchange.
I have also had the pleasure of watching The Thief and the Cobbler recently. I understand the film was never completed properly and that there are several versions available to watch. I believe the version I saw was an edit put together by fans, though I'm not really sure. What I am sure of is that it is a beautiful piece of animation. Not all of it is done, but it is marvelous through and through. I don't know that I have ever been so impressed with how things move in hand drawn animation, and I absolutely love hand drawn animation. It is a shame this movie was never finished as they originally intended, but the movie itself is still a triumph.
1-10-10
I've been doing a fair amount of reading this week. This is what happens when illness prevents a body from going to work. It's not so bad, except for the parts where you can't breath and it hurts. Illness is, of course, not really the point today. Today I want to tell you all to take a look at Rice-Boy, Minus, and Steven Brust.
First up is Rice-Boy. It's a nice little fantasy. The art makes you smile. It is strange and magical and dreamlike. It's also available entirely online, which makes for a great value. That being said, I find myself enjoying Evan Dahm's new project, Order of Tales, even more. His drawing has matured, the transition to black and white was a wise decision, and the stories have grown in depth and wonder as well. If you enjoy a good story, make sure you give both of these comics a read.
The next item is Minus, by Ryan Armand. Remember all those Calvin and Hobbes strips where Calvin's imagination turns the entire world on its head and then populates it with dinosaurs? Minus does the same sort of thing, except she makes it real. Minus has some rough patches in regards to strip resolution, but the flavor of it all is more than enough to make it worthwhile. I rather wish it hadn't ended after so short a run.
Last, we have Steven Brust. I just finished the latest installment of the Taltos books, and now I am left to stew until the next volume comes out. While I enjoy Brust's stories very much, I am most impressed with his choices in narrative style. The way he tells a story is friendly, and playful (though some tell me it is simply aggravating) and I just can't get enough. I suggest you start with the Book of Jhereg. That puts you slightly out of step when it comes to chronological order, but with Brust, it's more fun that way.
And before I forget, here's a little something from me:
1-3-10
It's a new year. A new year means new art. You lucky people. You can look forward to weekly sketches here in the news section, as well as a changing of the guard in the gallery. 2010 will be a good one.
Her'es the first sketch for you. Please note the eager lean. The future is coming.
