Everything Must Go!

New one for fun. July was a fairly quiet month in terms of freelance work so it was nice to dive back into the pit of personal projects. Still trying to incorporate that love of all things neon into the usual way I work.

Quotes, Lines & Lyrics: Part 2

 This is my second piece for "Quotes, Lines & Lyrics" at Hero Complex Gallery. Show opens February 27th. This one was inspired by the line, "radiated men will eat the flesh of radiated men" from the poem Dinosauria, We by Charles Bukowski.

An alien for the birthday boy

Recent commission. The birthday boy who this was done for loves Alien 3 and his friends wanted to surprise him with a picture of the creature from the film. Below are some sketches and process pics. 

"King For A Day" at Hero Complex Gallery

I think I can finally mention this one. I did a promotional piece for "King For A Day" a tribute show to the works of Stephen King at Hero Complex Gallery. Show opens on March 21st. Big high-five from the east coast to Adam on the west coast for including me in this show. 

Below are some process pics and details from the final image.

"Where's my cake, Bedelia?"

C.H.U.D. Lives!

Life feels a bit more complete; I finally finished my ode to C.H.U.D. Ever since I did that little head study that was posted a few months ago, I've been wantin' to get around to doing a fleshed out illustration of a C.H.U.D. Welp, here it is. I included some detail pics as well, for your viewing pleasure.

Let These Monsters Skate

I have this piece on my website, but I don't think I ever posted anything about it on here. Unfortunately, due to funding, the board was never printed. I'm still pushing to get it done, so hopefully it will see the light of day at some point. I've included a good chunk of process pics that showcase most of the coloring process and the various shoes I wore while working on this.

I had just moved into a tiny bedroom in Brooklyn so the floor was my studio for a few months. Was laying on my stomach most of the time I worked on this.

It's like George Strait and Joy Division Had a Baby.

Did a shirt for Homegrown Skate Shop in Ithaca, NY. The owner, Andrew, had seen my dead cowboy image and wanted something along those lines. We still went through some other options but in the end decided upon the cowboy and his horse on their last ride. By the way, we're not trying to suggest anything about the shop with this theme. We just thought it looked badass. There's also a sketch in here you my recognize because it has been shown on here before in a fully fleshed out state. Sometimes a rejected sketch is too good to let go.

      

Once I had done all the inking, I felt like I still wanted more out of the image, and that thing I wanted more of was CLOUDS!! I love drawing clouds, and what brooding western scene isn't complete without some gigantic, majestic clouds? I sketched a ton of different types of clouds and they all sucked. I was starting to think it was hopeless, and then I saw it; Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures album cover. BOOM!  I sat back in my chair, elated, thinking to myself, "That's exactly what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna draw some clouds that look something like that album cover!" I knew I wanted the first round printed on black shirts anyways, so it was settled.

Does the Unknown Pleasures influence come through? Or does it just seem far fetched?

To top this post off I've included the colored illustration that is going to be used on the next round of shirts. Maybe for fall? Stay tuned for info.

NYC's Gritty Children of Film

Travis Bickle gonna blow you away with some Gimme! Coffee. I altered the quote slightly, so don't jump on my case if you notice it's not verbatim to what he says in the film.

all of these characters/movies played a role in my fascination and subsequent move to NYC. While they're all portraying negative sides of the city, I couldn't help but be drawn into the world that would create them. Plus it was only 5 hours away from where I was comfortably viewing them on my mom's t.v! I'm not sad that when I moved here, these worlds didn't exist, because who really wants to be worrying about getting eaten by a C.H.U.D. all the time? Just day to day life here is stressful enough. But, I think the energy and creativity of the city that spawned them is what I really came for anyways. 

However, I can say some of that alienation and loneliness of Travis Bickle's world is still around. I think the popularity of OKCupid is proof enough of that.