Count Ground Squirrel

Just having some fun.

The continuing story of the Walrus and the Albatross

The finished product. Water color is neat, eh? I think I'd like to do more stuff like this.




I also made this fancy animated gif. You can see our characters as they go from Kansas to the wonderful world of technicolor.

The Walrus and the Albatross

If you recall a very long time ago I invited people to send me pictures to draw. I think I only came through with one of them, but I never forget a project and I'm finally getting around to doing another. This is the beginning stages of a piece inspired by a photograph sent in by Lannice Montague, of San Diego CA. The two figures are leaning up against a section of the Berlin Wall with a Star of David painted on it. I'll be posting a more finished piece tomorrow.

Mon-key

Something I did a little while ago from a photo I took at the SF Zoo. With their wispy hair and mustaches these guys really remind me of Dr. Seuss characters.

If anybody has any great animal pictures I can draw please send them to dailysketch17@gmail.com

Dr. Stranglove or How I learned to stop worrying and make a tentacle out of papier mache'

In this blog you'll learn how I made the tentacle for my Sea Cave installation. First you start with a wire frame as a base, and tape tiny circles created from cardboard of varying size to the frame. This is time consuming.



When finished create your papier mache' out of water, flour, and salt. Instructions can be found on the internet. Using thin strips of newspaper soaked in papier mache' proceed to cover entire form. If you have the energy you can wad newspaper around each individual sucker for a more realistic look. I recommend watching TV on DVD while you do this as it is quite time consuming and tedious. Freaks and Geeks and Seinfeld are both good options.





Finally, paint it. You might want to start with a solid color base (such as white) in order to cover up all the newspaper text, and then add whatever detail you like. Then proceed to take nerdy pictures of yourself with your creation.



The state of my living room the week of my installation.



Be careful. Soon you'll realize that with enough wire and papier mache' you can create anything you want, transforming your normal everyday life into a veritable freakshow of terrible horrors. A perversion of everything we hold sacred as a species!

Or maybe that's your thing? If it is, go for it.

"So a mormon, a nun, a shaman, and a rabbi walk into a bar..."

My friend Sam hired me to do this drawing in honor of the one year anniversary of So Say We All. According to their website "So Say We All (SSWA) is a San Diego based producer of multi-media variety shows whose mission is to promote local artists, of all mediums, by staging their art in unexpected and accessible places."

The characters are, respectively, Justin Hudnall (the Mormon), Jess Jollett (the Nun), Sam Carr (the Shaman), and Jake Arky (the Rabbi). Their next show "Growing Pains" is this Saturday at Cream Coffee and Wine Bar in San Diego. Check it out if you get the chance.

SEA CAVE : The Beginning

This is my original sketch for the installation.



Some changes had to be made spatially when I actually got into the space, but for the most part it stayed the same. It sucks that I never got around to making a jellyfish, but the logistics itself had me in a tizzy. The second small window on the left that wasn't included in the photos has the title of the show on it now.

SEA CAVE: The Final Piece

Here are some pictures of the installation I did last week at the Emerson Space Case, courtesy of Stephanie Brachmann. It's a window gallery so the piece consists of four separate "frames" of work. Let's start with each frame individually and then some artier details, shall we?


Frame #1 : The Eyes


Frame #2 : The Octopus Den


Frame #3 : School


Frame #4 : The Whale


Detail #1 : The Eel

I may need to get a picture of the eel in the day because the blue light illuminating it belies the detailed color work of the actual sculpture.

Detail #2 : Tentacle

I'll be posting a separate blog soon about the making of the tentacle.

Detail #3 : Serpent Sea Star

Stephanie did an amazing job of painting this sea star for the installation.

Detail #4 : Fish

I actually wanted there to be an overwhelming amount of fish in this frame, but time did not allow. I'm considering doing more and adding them as the month goes on.

Detail #5 : Eel #2

Okay, so this eel is a little less blue saturated.

"From the Street"

There's a tree blocking the first window from the street, so it's impossible to get a full shot of the piece, but here's the closest we can get.

Thanks to everyone who made it to the opening Monday night, and if you didn't the installation will be up until the beginning of June, so stop by and take a look. And a big thanks to Stephanie for her help with everything along the way. If not for her I'd still be there working on it, I'm sure.

Once again, The Emerson Space Case is an installation window gallery on the corner of NE Emerson and NE 30th in Portland, OR. Check out their blog for news and pictures of shows past.

Thanks for stopping by everyone!

Ideas

I was considering making this guy out of paper mache and chicken wire for my installation, but plans changed. I guess I could still make him and put it in the front window of my house.

The Tylosaurus was a mosasaur and is related to modern reptiles such as lizards and snakes. The largest specimen found was over 49 feet in length. One of the only dreams I remember vividly from my childhood is being woken up by my parents and escorted out to our swimming pool for my birthday present. To my amazement it was an array of dinosaurs hanging out in our pool. And it was awesome.

It's called a Viperfish

This portrait of a Viperfish wearing a bowtie can be seen adorning the sea cave that is my new installation at the Emerson Space Case (corner of NE 30th and NE Emerson, Portland, OR). Opening reception is tomorrow evening starting at 8pm and going till we feel like leaving. Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

I've been working on this pretty much non-stop for the last two weeks and am really pleased with the way it turned out. I'll have pictures up as soon as I can, but it's best to see it in person. It'll be up for the month of May, possibly longer.