I Won't Be Needing You Anymore.

This triptych is part of my body of work currently hanging up in "Character and Narrative" at the Foothills Art Center. I made this series a couple years ago and had no outlet for it other than it was something I had been thinking about and wanted to make. I've been really fascinated by my/our love of the outlaw/classic male and moving ahead with the things we love about them and leaving behind the less than savory aspects. I'm also very interested in how they navigate their way, clumsily, through this changing world. Show runs until October 20th.

Ikebe Shakedown Record Release Poster

I recently completed this illustration for the Brooklyn-based band, IKEBE SHAKEDOWN, who is having a record release show in JUNE at ROUGH TRADE NYC. This piece was one of those freak times where everything just moves so smooth from sketch to finish, maybe a little too smooth? The gang gave me a few pics for reference and a song for a sample of the album's sound and I just immediately went for these sketches of this skeleton cowboy in a neon desert. I know it doesn't seem hard to translate your sketches into a finished piece that completely mimics the look of the sketch but I guarantee almost every artist you talk to will say something is lost in the process and they almost always love their sketches more. This was one of those really rare times where I feel like I got as close as possible to getting the piece right where I wanted it from sketch to finish. I will enjoy that feeling for a second and acknowledge this may not happen again for a very long time. Thanks again to Vince and the band. Process pics below.

I Won't Be Needing You Anymore

The battle of the modern cowboys has been completed! This one went through a lot of revisions and idea adjustments over the 4 months I was working on it. It bounced all over the place from purely focusing on one subject such as masculinity, business, technology, advertising, appropriation, or nostalgia and I think it managed to nestle in somewhere among all those things in the end. Enjoy all the process pics below.

Modern Cowboy Part 2

Here's the next step in the saga of the modern cowboy. I'll have a full explanation on this when I finish the final piece. Really enjoyed painting that little moon up there.

Like a Modern Cowboy

Something new-ish. Thinkin' there's going to be a triptych happening out of this piece. More will eventually follow until the exciting story is complete. 

The Lost Cola Cowboy

This fella was definitely one of my favorite pieces to work on for "Bathhouse". I had been dreaming of making this illustration for months and months and constantly had to push it back due to interfering deadlines and just general life chores. I was given a book for Christmas a couple years back filled with all these weird and random facts and at one point in the book it mentions that Coca-Cola, Marlboro and Budweiser were the 3 biggest brands in the U.S. back in the 50's. Those 3 are so quintessentially american to me, even though Budweiser has german roots and it instantly made me think of all the political bullshit going on and this desire that certain people have to reclaim some romanticized version of the "good ol' days", like this lost cowboy creating some weird americana dreamland. I wanted to make this so over-the-top and I think I did, somewhat. I could probably always push it further. Anyways, it was a blast to work on.

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.