sleeping-satyress-3

sleeping-satyress-3
Originally uploaded by brandnameartist

upturned-claw

upturned-claw
Originally uploaded by brandnameartist

sign

sign
Originally uploaded by brandnameartist

New ACEOs in the ol' shop

I'd like to say old ACEOs in the new shop, but that would be a lie. $3.50 each in my shop (brandnameartist.etsy.com). buy three or more and shipping is free! know me personally and can collect in person shipping is free for me as well! friend-prices apply if you fall into the latter category.

I say, I say, ACEO

ACEO prints now available at my etsy shop!if you don't know what an ACEO is, it's basically an art trading card. here's a link to the wiki page on the subject.

Hands across Mad Scientists

posted these both previously, but here are some nicer high-quality scans (thanks Kelly!) as you can see I added a striped sleeve to "Select" because it seemed to be missing something in it's previous iteration. I think the sleeve really ties it together. and I've added a new mad scientist, #6 "The Mind Ray"

Figure Drawing

from a figure drawing session. done in black and clear brush pen. taking suggestions for a name.

Left Turtle 1

here's the first Left Turtle I mentioned in the previous blog. black ballpoint in pocket-size sketchbook.

Turtles

this is the story of turtles. in 2001 I raised my left knee up and placed my hand down on it, fingers spread, and wrist aimed squarely at my eye and started sketching in ballpoint pen (and underrated medium). this was left turtle 1 (to be posted as soon as I can find it). I liked the pose, so I did it several more times. I called them "Left Turtles" because it was my left hand, and they looked like turtles, with the wrist the shell, the middle finger the head, and the other fingers it's legs. above we see attempt number two, this time in charcoal. I got a decent tone with it, but I think parts came out a bit flat. it looks almost as though it were a piece of paper folded to create a semi-3d.







for Left Turtle 3 I used ink and chinese brush. I kinda let myself go, and sketched with a quickness. this I was also unhappy with. it's rough, but rough is fine with me. but this roughness was not an interesting roughness to me. and having been so rehearsed I began losing control of scale and proportion. basically I was starting to get bored. the pinky is also not visible in this, as it was not in the the pose of my hand that time. each of these was drawn from a new pose.







my fourth attempt carries over some of the same problems as the third, and expands upon them. in charcoal again, I this time toned the paper with vine charcoal and started by gouging out the highlights with a moldable eraser as I was taught, and then shaded the rest with compressed charcoal, avoiding reliance on contour lines. I have to say I'm quite proud of the light/shadow on this one. I got the dimensionality right on this one, but again the proportion is totally fucked.







back again to the chinese brush, this time I was really getting fatigued with the whole idea, and it shows. proportion is all off, the ringfinger is bulbous and ungainly. the roughness is more jarring and even less interesting. not a success.







attempt six. desperately trying to breathe new life into my inspiration I decided to draw on black with white ink. my hatched highlighting on the forearm was problematic, and I countinued to screw up the ring finger. but overall I think it looks decent as a n image.







finally I was watching TV on the couch and decided to sketch a turtle on a board in pencil and carve it out for woodcut prints. I did a very simple and rudimentary line drawing, and then carved out out the shading freehand. success! the print was to be re-dubbed "Right Turtle", as it became a mirror image once printed. I experimented with different techniques for the print process and post-printing:







using dampened paper...







and going over it with water and a brush, to name a couple.








finally I carved lines into the background of the block to create the penultimate version.












and then a few years later I xeroxed it and when over it with a sharpie to fix any of the remaining roughness to create a clean, final version to be used in whichever context the rougness does not play well:





and that is the story of turtles.

My Mess

above is my newest creation, done in the same collage method as the Mad Scientists, with the same available elements, but not a mad scientist because the character is not present (or conspicuously absent), instead I have used a yellow xerox of a drawing I did of my left hand. to the right you can see a glimpse of the mess I am working with.

here is a glimpse into even more of that mess (but not nearly all):



these will all become things. mad scientists till I run out, other things after, or until I get bored and move on to the next idea ;)

and here is a new mad scientist too:



better images to follow once I get the scanned (these are taken with a camera)

Mission Statement

the above image is the first in an ongoing series I call The Mad Scientists, although really it's just one mad scientist repeated in different colors and contexts. each one has it's own subtitle, with the exception of the first (which by the way has already been given away as a gift, so it is not for sale unless I make a print available at some point). these were created as xerox collages. what I did was to take some pen and ink sketches I did on 4x6 notecards and take them down to kinkos where I xeroxed them in black and white on colored paper. then with an exacto knife and some paste I cut them up and re-assembled them in different configurations and colors. sometimes I started with an idea of what kind of mad scientist or mad scientist scenario they would represent, other times I named/assigned them after the fact. others may disagree, but I feel this is my first unabashed foray into pop art in that the idea was directly inspired by Worhol (although I hope to say that it is divergent enough as to not be dirivative).

those new to my art, or new to the direction my art has been taking over the last few years, may notice that much of it, especially the abstract stuff, has science fact or science fiction themes. I fully embrace that, and I think it is something that the art community at large has overtly neglected for fear of seeming unfashionable. personally I do not care for the idea of art as fashion that is to be adored for a week and discarded as passe the next. this has hindered art and has cut off the the general public from it. quick: name a current visual artist working today who is a household name. no, not some of whom you are a fan, someone your mother might have heard of. you probably can't. yet Worhol was a houshold name in his time. Picasso in his. most people nowadays do not think about or care about visual art, and that is a tragedy, given that people have been creating visual art for as long as there have been people. I believe the pretensions and the allignment with notions of fashion have put up a barrier between art and the people, and I seek to do my part in tearing down that barrier. how I intend to do that is to follow my bliss, and to be unashamed of the themes I convey, whether or not the black-turtleneck mafia characterizes those as "low culture". and I stand by my results. my art is to be appreciated on whatever level you, the audience, wishes to appreciate it on. you do not need to "know art" to know what you like. if you do "know art" and alos like mine, that is fine too. if my art makes you gigle, then gigle. if you see something in an abstract piece of mine that I did not notice or intend, you are not wrong in seeing it. and by all means tell me what you see. I for one love finding things other people see in my work that I never concieved of. that is one of the most fun things for me about making abstract art.

my art is for all levels and all people who like my art. and if you don't like my art, blow.

Welcome to my new art blog

I intend to make a big push with my art, and have decided to start this blog to promote myself in that. I think my art is ready to be exposed to the public, and so I have started an account on etsy (view my shop here). so far I already have my first sale!

I will be posting here regularly (I'll try to post at least once a week), as well as posting on my myspace blog. the content will be the same, so feel free to look at or bookmark either. I may post many pieces that are not for sale on my etsy site. if I get alot of interest in those pieces I may make them available for sale as originals or prints. and of course any item I do not have for sale elsewhere you are welcome to make an offer on.

I will also entertain any offers of commission work or spots in shows. I work a shitty job and I would much rather be making my money by making my art.

so welcome to my blog and enjoy!