Big Spider's Back Baby

Here's my latest piece for music blog Chickens Don't Clap. Check out his latest post on Seattle "Chillwave" project Big Spider's Back. This was definitely one of my most frustrating pieces to date, but also perhaps my most successful. I wanted to steer away from the more literal approach I took with the last Chickens Don't Clap piece, and try and represent the music in a more abstract way, as well as do just to my friend Yair, the man behind the band. The music of Big Spider's Back is so rich with textures and layers of sound that it's hard to keep in mind that this is all coming from the fingertips of one person. This piece started as a simple pencil sketch, which I used as a template for the inked version. Both are displayed below.





I made the nearly regrettable mistake of using a ridiculously time consuming rendering style that I've never actually done before for the entire piece, and I might be really upset about it if I wasn't so pleased with the result. It was one of those (all too familiar) situations where you have an idea in your head of the final result, but are not exactly sure how you're going to get there, or what it's actually going to look like in the end. I think the line shading came out really cool, but I also think the piece would have been just as successful if the shading was done in solid black. I really like the way the background came out and though it was intended to be abstract I can't help but see the shapes over Yairs head as a sort of animal totem pole. Do you see the bear head and the bird skull?

DIY Halloween

Amidst a fever dream a few months ago I had a vision. It was of myself this past weekend, dressed as a lego pirate. I didn't know how I was going to do it, but I made this sketch to point me in the right direction. I'm happy to say that I saw this dream to fruition and managed to pull off a great Halloween costume.



I wanted to be able to move, so I decided to forgo the boxy body and stick to the parts that matter. The mask is made with papier mache' over a bike helmet so it would stay over my head. The face is drawn on with sharpie and I bought the sword at walgreens, gave it a curved blade, and wrapped it with duct tape. The tank top was originally white until I masked off the stripes with duct tape and spray painted several layers of blue on it. This all came together kind of last minute so the hands, that I were planning on making, had to be cut out, but I don't think many people noticed. I think next year I'm going to choose a costume that doesn't hinder my ability to see/speak/and party down. Please note the yellow turtle neck which does NOT appear in the original sketch. Not included is a video of me in costume doing an interpretive dance to "Human Nature" by MJ.

Seattle

Last weekend we went to Seattle to visit some old friends and take a break from our oh so strenuous life in this metropolis we call Portland. I think the highlight was our trip to the Frye museum, which also happens to be free. They have an excellent exhibit right now called "The Old Weird America" which showcases modern work commenting on American folk art, by using imagery and motifs from our Americana past. Here are some pictures of the show. It's definitely worth going to if you find yourself in Seattle or if it travels to a town near you.





The other highlight was probably seeing our friend do stand-up comedy at a lesbian bar under the title "Toots Blogwilde" followed by two bands: Butts and Spurm. The rest of our trip was spent eating delicious homemade food with our hosts Adam, Miles, Evelyn, and Alexis. That's Adam at the top. Thanks for the scavenged mushrooms Adam!

Wipe your filthy mouth!

... But not with these. These are worth $300 a piece. Just a chronicle from a breakfast outing to one of my favorite close by breakfast stops, Helsers. Some great $4.95 specials between 7-9 am. I think I like going out to breakfast with people more than any meal. Same goes for seeing movies. I think it gives me a sense of productivity without doing much, and I still have the whole day ahead of me.

"Portraits are not always supposed to look like you."

This is what I would like to tell people when I draw them. Given art history and certain iconographic art pieces people have certain expectations when it comes to portraiture and are often unhappy with the result. This stems from insecurity but also the belief that portraits are accurate portrayals of reality, like an artistic mirror of sorts. One of the reasons I enjoy portraiture is because you can do the exact opposite of that. The actual likeness of the person can be a jumping off point to ground the picture in some sense of reality, but after that anything goes. I particularly think it's important to draw the people around you, people who are close to you, or people who don't get any artistic attention on a daily basis. These are the people who matter most, possibly because it hasn't occurred to them that they matter at all. Without them there is no context for anything else.

Here is a semi-blind contour of my room mate Lily that I scribbled out one day in the kitchen. Disclaimer: she does not actually look like this in real life. Lily pens a delightful blog of her own where she muses about philosophy, films, fashion, and occasionally ... gay cowboys. Check it out here - The Petite Sophist.

Jacko - Lantern

Lily, Swoops, and I carved pumpkins while watching a couple Treehouse of Terrors tonight. I'm not sure if this is in bad taste or not, but I really couldn't resist it. Without a doubt, the best carved pumpkin of my life. I also like Swoops' cyclops.

I straight up invent people out of thin air.

This person does not exist. I completely invented her. Any resemblance to an actual person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Jet Lagged? How about a nap(kin)?

Amazingly I got some drawing done on my flight back to Portland on Monday, between working on the in flight crossword puzzles and reading my book. I'm pretty happy with the self portrait on the bottom. Perhaps it's time to shave the beard? It belies my youthful good looks. Right? (right?)

Bus Medley

I'm back! And for your viewing pleasure here is a medley of people on the bus. For the record that is not Ben Franklin. That is a woman reading who merely looks like Ben Franklin. And the squirrel was not on the bus either. I saw that dude as I waited for the bus. Speaking of Ben Franklin, remember this?

Astro-girl

Another bus ride sneak-a-sketch. I didn't feel like breaking out my sketchbook, so I just drew next to the crossword puzzle I was doing. I've always liked the pattern that words make when used as a canvas. Maybe I'll explore this more in the future.