Austin Comic Con

A little news to let you know that I enlisted myself in the army which is Austin Comic Con.  I felt the time was right & am willing to defend the dripping paint & wasted ink of all my attempts at artistic stimuli.  So as you see below, I've strapped on my imaginary, demon head helmet & will be going through extensive boot camp training to ready myself for November.  I will then enter the trenches of the Austin Convention Center for three, bloody days & hope to come out alive to tell you of the experience.

Here's my info on the Austin Comic Con page & keep checking back to see who else is added.  The current lineup of celebrities & especially artists is already impressive, so anything else will be a nice bonus.  Be sure to follow me on Twitter for more information & giveaways! Hope to see your smiling faces there!

Off to lift some finger weights....

heARTless bastards...

So's 'The heART Show' in Boston which opened on the 3rd(& is still running for the remainder of February) has been well received & a few of my paintings from the exhibition have found new homes! (Remember new owners: don't get them wet, keep them away from bright lights...especially sunlight & don't ever feed them after midnight!)  Great job to Brent at The Hallway Gallery for curating...

The 'Out o' the Woodwork' group show in Chicago which opened the 5th(yes...still running too) was also a hit, but there was a problem there for me: my paintings for the show never arrived due to the crazy amount of icy goodness falling from the sky.  Shed no tears just yet (as I almost did) as my pieces were simply a little arrogant & decided to show up fashionably late in a failed attempt that all eyes would be on them.  I got the word my two paintings arrived late last week, almost three weeks after I sent them!  The good people at OhNo!Doom Gallery gave me a few options for what we could do & I happily accepted their offer of them hanging on to the canvases & using them in an upcoming show opening in June.  I'll of course let you know of all the details the closer it gets....but it's going to be "heavy"!

I've spent this month so far doing some more sketching of creepy characters for the group show in Detroit coming up, but also tried my hand at something I haven't done before.  I was forwarded some info about a show opening on Feb. 26th in Arizona that Spraygraphic was throwin'. 'Fill in the Groove' is their Third Annual Vinyl Art Show where they display art on albums from all kinds of great artists.  Whelp I grabbed a couple from my collection that I never listened to(sorry Spandau Ballet) & started spraying & flinging paint all over them.  The end result turned out to be something pretty nifty which I enjoyed doing.  I'm definitely going to do some more of these in the future & put a few up in my shop hopefully soon & if you wanna special order one, by all means let me know.  Check out my first, two vinyl paintings eva:

"the creature" - spray paint/acrylic on 12" vinyl:

"the monster" - spray paint/acrylic on 12" vinyl:

So yeah...the 'Fill in the Groove' show will open February 26th at Hoodlums Music in Tempe, AZ & will run until April 15th.  Definitely check this out if you're in the area as I've seen a few of the other artists' yummy creations & it's gonna be awesome!  Of course all vinyl art will be on sale there as well so go get first dibs!

I also took the time to paint a piece for a benefit in Italy.  2 year old Mattia Fagnoni suffers from a very rare, degenerative disease called "Sandhoff Syndrome" & his parents have created the 'Mattia Fagnoni Association' to help raise awareness & funds in finding a cure.  You can read  about this amazing family on ESP Visuals' blog or become more aware of this genetic disease at NTSAD.org. Here's the painting I sent for their art show which will run April 26th-May 8th at Palazzo Filangeri in Naples, Italy.  There is an amazing amount of artist from all over the world showing support, so it's a real honor to be a part of such a great thing.  100% of the proceeds benefit the MFA:

"earl grey & chamomile"- 10"x 8" watercolor & india ink on gesso panel:

Back to the drawing board....

Showing my junk...

...as I mentioned in my previous post, there are two group shows in February in which I'll have some original goodness to view & purchase & they both open this week.  Yippee! (well...that is if the weather doesn't continue to dump milllions of tons of snow in these cities this week)...

Opening @ 6pm this Thursday, Feb. 3rd in Boston at The Hallway Gallery will be 'The heArt Show'.   There will be around 20 artists splattering their feelings/views/experiences of love with their mediums of choice all over The Hallway walls.  I conjured up 3(well...4 really) paintings for the exhibit which I'm sure will be a little out of place amongst the portraits of people kissing, holding hands & the pieces trying to be serious portraying their love stories.  More the better I say.  Check em out...:

"evol love"... 12"x 6"- watercolor & india ink on gesso panel:

"...sometimes it's ugly."... 9"x 12"- watercolor & india ink on gesso panel:

"connor's in love"... TWO 5"x 5"- watercolor & india ink on gesso panels:

...if you fancy any of these please email Brent at The Hallway & claim em!  The exhibition will run through the entire month of February, so if you're in the Boston area, go check out some cool art!  I also made a few prints of the first two that are available at my shop....you can request the other as well.  Nothing beats the originals however....kind of like potato chips.

Then @ 6pm this Saturday, Feb. 5th, the cats at OhNo!Doom Gallery in Chicago will also be throwing an opening shindig of their own.  "Out O' the Woodwork" is an open theme group show with some talented mofos creating some amazing stuff.  Here's more info with a list of the masterminds:

Since it was an open theme show, I wanted to have my two pieces show my style of line detail & watercolor(even though I'm definitely still learning this "painting" thing as I go & finding my groove...I only truly started painting late last year) but also wanted my pieces to be connected in some way.  I always sketch out these kids surrounded by demons & since I had a ton of reference drawings in my sketchbooks, I just went with that...

"a boy with his head"... 14"x 20" - watercolor & india ink on stretched. watercolor canvas:

"a girl in a head" 14"x 11"- watercolor & india ink on gesso panel

Again...if you have interest in purchasing these paintings, email the folks at OhNo!Doom Gallery & let them know.  If you're in the Chicago area, please go to this exhibit & show support to artist like me & the bad ass galleries that put together these events.

It was a busy January & I'm trying to keep the momentum going.  I'm already signed up to have two pieces in the April show in Detroit 'Meth & Hot Dogs II'.  Check out this bonkers list of participating artist...it's gonna be quite an awesome show for sure! I'm also still working on my personal art to have more prints & what not available sooner rather than later.  The Staple! Expo is in March here in Austin which I'm excited about.  I didn't sign up for a table since I wanted to get my poo more in order, so I'll definitely be networking & gathering ideas for next year. 

And on a completely unrelated, final note...today is the release of Adam Green's horror film Hatchet II on DVD/Bluray.  I'm a monstrous fan of the first Hatchet film & horror in general & when the sequel came out in selected theaters (VERY selected) back in October, I was pumped.  There was a giant hoopla & great controversy surrounding the film since it had an unrated rating.  AMC stepped up to release it, but after the first weekend it was pulled with many questions being asked from the fans.  This was quite a story that reached CNN & other major headline news which you can read all about on director/writer Adam Green's Blog.  Anyhoo...I was one of the few, extremely lucky people to witness this film on the big screen & what a damn fun flick this is.  Starting off directly from the final shot of the first Hatchet this gory goodness gives you exactly what you expect: buckets of blood, unbelievable death scenes & slapstick laughs.  After seeing the film almost 4 months ago, I had to sketch out our hero, Victor Crowley, after committing one of the most twisted killings in the film.  Take a look & yeah...I should've added more blood, i know:

So even though it now carries a rated 'R' rating on it's DVD/Bluray release today, go out & buy 'Hatchet 2' to support independent, unrated horror.  Hell...go buy both of these films.  I did!

Alright...we'll talk soon.

Not a full sigh of relief...

Hello computer screen readers....

I've been pretty darn busy with some deadlines this month.  Fortunately one has been dominated by yours truly as I finally finished my sketchbook for The Sketchbook Project 2011.  40+ pages of random, retarded globs of wasted ink now & forever will grace the pages of this moleskine.  It's hopefully being fondled by the moisturized hands of the operators over at The Brooklyn Art Library right now & getting prepped & ready to go on its 6-month, 8-city tour.  If it comes to a city near you, please take a glance through my book & send me some feedback via Twitter or here...I'd love to hear from you.  If you're a hermit & never go outside, then you can view my sketchbook at your own pace from the safety of your cave here.  OR if you're a hermit, never go outside and you're super lazy & don't want to keep pressing your mouse to view my pages, I've included a magical, video journey through every page of my book below.  Enjoy...

As I mentioned earlier before you watched that blockbuster of a YouTube video above, I've been pleasantly swamped with deadlines.  I have two shows that I'll have at least two original pieces in coming up in February.  They'll be in Chicago & Boston, but I'll share with you images, links & more information very shortly.

I also took a moment to illustrate something which was inspired by Mr. Alex Pardee's recent solo show which opened on Jan. 8th.  He spent a few weeks leading up to this exhibit creating a story/world about Caleb "Verti" Parker; a big game hunter turned nightmare hunter.  You can read all about it here & hopefully get lost in his awesomeness as I did.  Since Alex purposely didn't paint "Verti", I went ahead & created my own version of him based on the descriptions from the story with a fresh, fallen nightmare:

Definitely check out Alex's show "Vertigo: A Decade of Hunting Nightmares" at the Corey Helford Gallery in LA if you're in that area...it'll run until the end of the month, but will blow minds for a lifetime!

Now back to the grind.  I'm high five-ing myself since I seem to be truly following through on my New Years resolution of really focusing more on my art & getting my stuff out there.  I'm getting more & more things lined up, so hopefully you'll be seeing more of my crafty creations in the 11 months left in 2011....

xo,

c.

out with the old...in with the new.

Whelp...there went 2010.  That was a quick one.  The older I get the more the realization of how fast time sneaks away hits me.  Needless to say I welcome those pounding reminders, especially when I find myself being an unproductive slump.

It was a good year however.  My resolution last year was to really focus on my art which I'd been neglecting for far too long.  Even though I could always do more, I still accomplished some things:  I searched & destroyed a few storyboard jobs for different production companies, designed some posters/prints for bands & other projects, showed my art in a few shows & most importantly networked to meet a lot of amazing, talented peeps.  This year will only be better as the momentum is gaining & I have a lot more people kicking me in my ass for motivation which is what I was lacking for so long.  Spank you friends!

Some exciting news is by the time you read this I just updated my online shop with some new goodies!  I'm finally introducing my new trading cards "Those Weird Ones".  I went out & did some extensive interviews with the strangest people/creatures I could find....& they're more abundant & available than you think!  I have over a thousand pages of information on hundreds & hundreds of these bizarre folk, so I'm sitting on a plethora of material that soon will spill out to the public.  As of now however, there are only four available to get to know & wonder about.  These portraits are 4x6 cards created with the most loving watercolors & ink I could find to capture their stories.    They're all available at my shop individually or as a set...all hand signed.  Get to know Gill below & the other ones.  They always need new friends (Gill especially) so grab em now!:

During my travels through this twisted land finding & learning about "Those Weird Ones", I stumbled upon an unnamed creature sitting alone.  There was something oddly zen/peaceful about this guy, even though he just removed his own eyes!  I quickly did some study sketches & took some notes to refer to later as this fellow sat there for hours & hours...never moving...only thinking.  The final outcome was "The Thinkin' Demon" & I'm assuming he's still sitting in that exact spot I found him earlier this year.  These 11"x17" prints will all have their very own unique touches, as I luckily collected some of the demon's blood fresh from it's eye sockets & individually splattered it on every print!  OH YES I DID!!

With these new yummies (ALL available now at my online store), I'm still knocking out more stuff for the year ahead.  I have a few pages to fill in my book for The Sketchbook Project before it embarks on it's US tour.  I have prints/cards/customs/pins/other merchandise on the drawing table to have a nice display of visual stimuli for conventions/exhibitions I plan on being a part of this year.  In between all of this I'll of course keep revisiting the strange places that continue to feed me with the material & inspiration I seek.  You can easily stay up to date with all of this & random drawings/ideas/comments on a daily basis by following me on Twitter.  I've already given away some of my art to a few lucky (or unlucky...depending on how you like my stuff) followers & plan on doing more giveaways soon & often.  

Like I said before, my momentum is in full swing going into the new year & I'm going to attempt a lot more things than my lazy ass did (or only thought of) in 2010.  I hope you continue to show interest... .. .  .

..another video giving a peak at another new painting. I chose the appropriately creepy song 'Dark Night of the Soul' sung by Mr. Bizarre himself David Lynch. If you haven't checked out this Sparklehorse/Danger Mouse album do so immediately. It's been a consistent soundtrack during my recent works. r.i.p. Mark Lincous

...a very quick video of me working on a new piece for an upcoming show. I plan on doing more elaborate ones in the future with a higher quality, but I'm simply testing this out for now. I'm getting excited with every painting I'm working on...a lot of time/work, but the satisfaction of a completed piece is priceless.

It's been a while since I've sat down & hammered out a new blog post updating you peeps on what the hell I've been up to, so here I am now & gosh darn it, this just feels so right...

Two weeks ago I attended Austin's first Comic Con & enjoyed it thoroughly.  A conblobulation of talented artists, wacky celebs (The Human Centipede cast smelt surprisingly fresh & had no noticeable scars) & the collection of impressive, DIY costumes made the experience a memorable one.  Here Predator takes on Mr. Bruce Wayne himself in the lobby while unsuspecting fans went on with their joyous wanderings inside the Convention.  They fought for seven hours straight & later shared a giant pretzel with neon laughs & dark, family tales...

I met a few new friends & got a lot of ideas for next year as I plan on having a table.  I'll of course keep you updated on that.

....

I recently completed a painting for the 'Mix 'N' Mash' exhibit & art sale being held at Mexic-Arte Museum in downtown Austin.  All artists were given a 12"x12" gessobord to do what they want with it.  Since the deadline was so close & my time was limited I did another 'Bottom Feeder' design....

The exhibition will run from December 3rd-January 2nd with each panel being sold for $100 or any 3 for $250.  If you fancy mine, try to get down there & call dibs on it.  It will tie any room together with some matching throw pillows...

....

The groovy people at Munky King have launched their newest toy...the Omi.  With this new release, they will be having a showcase of custom Omi's from different artist ranging from masterminds like Alex Pardee & Greg 'Craola' Simkins to the "Who?" artists like me. The Omi Show will be held at their shop in Los Angeles from December 11th-December 31st.  My "Z'Omi" custom will be all smiles there....

And finally, amongst the mentioned & other projects going on, I'm still vigorously sketching in my Sketchbook Project book when I can as you've noticed in my post below.  I've been updating the post regularly with my new pages, so I hope you're checking back.  Or if you think it looks like poo & have no interest in it, I hope you're sticking to your guns & not checking back.  In that case, why would I even type that seeing as if you're one of those people who wouldn't be back reading this anyway...

I'd again like to mention that I'm constantly updating my pals on Twitter with art I'm working on & other random, ridiculous ideas.  Follow me for the updates & you can be a "pal" too!  

With all of this I'm also still painting, sketching, smearing & poking away at personal art as my first solo show is on the horizon.  I have a lot of work to do still, so I wouldn't be surprised if I'm typing this same paragraph again this time next year.  We'll see...

the sketchbook project 2011

I signed up for my first 'Sketchbook Project' this year which is both exciting & stressful.  "Exciting" because I get to fill this bastard with fun, new illustrations / "Stressful" because I've got a lot of other projects going on & I'm hoping I can fill this bastard by the deadline (January 2011).  If I have to resort to fancy stick people performing strange acts to fill all the pages, then I gotta do what I gotta do.  

These sketchbooks will eventually take an awesome, rock tour around the country in the following cities: Brooklyn NY, Austin TX, San Francisco CA, Portland ME, Atlanta GA, Chicago IL, Washington DC, & Winter Park FL and like most rock musicians will be checked-out, manhandled, poked & judged by anyone willing to do so.  I hope you take the time to fondle my book if/when it comes to your city.  After the tour my little, well-traveled book of drawings will permanently reside at The Brooklyn Art Library available to anyone or anything to view.

My theme (which every sketchbook in this exhibit has) is "Help!", so we'll see where that takes me.  I'll be posting my illustrations here as I get through them.  Check back or follow me on Twitter to get them instantly.

*Here's a video of my completed sketchbook as well on YouTube: